Book of Common Prayer

Paul exhorts Titus to ordain priests or bishops in every city, declares what manner of men they ought to be that are chosen to that office, and charges Titus to rebuke such persons as withstand the gospel.

1 Paul the servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ to preach the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth, which leads to godliness ² in the hope of eternal life. Which life God, who cannot lie, promised before the world began, ³ but has declared his word openly at the time appointed through preaching, which preaching is committed to me by the commandment of God our Saviour.

⁴ To Titus, his true-born son in the common faith.

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.

⁵ The reason I left you in Crete was in order that you should complete that which was lacking, and should ordain elders in every city as I directed you – ⁶ if any be faultless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not known for running wild or disobedience. ⁷ For a bishop must be faultless, as it becomes the minister of God: not stubborn, not angry, no drunkard, no fighter; not given to the love of money, ⁸ but welcoming toward people and willing to take them in; one who loves goodness, sober-minded, righteous, holy, temperate; ⁹ and such as cleaves to the true word of doctrine, so that he may be able to exhort with wholesome teaching, and to refute those who speak against it.

¹⁰ For there are many contrary, who speak vanity and beguile minds, namely they of the circumcision, ¹¹ whose mouths must be stopped. They pervert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for easy money. ¹² One of them, who was an author of their own, said, The Cretans are always liars, evil creatures and lazy gluttons. ¹³ This witness is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they may be sound in the faith, ¹⁴ and not paying heed to Jewish fables, and to commandments of men that turn from the truth.

¹⁵ To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but even their very minds and consciences are defiled. ¹⁶ They confess that they know God, but with their deeds they deny him, and are abominable and obstinately self-willed, not to be trusted for any good works.

²⁹ The next day, John saw Jesus coming to him and said, Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is he of whom I said, after me comes a man who went before me, because he was before me. ³¹ And I did not know him. But in order that he should be declared to Israel, I have come baptizing with water.

³² And John bore witness, saying, I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove and rest upon him. ³³ And I did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize in water, the same said to me, Upon whom you see the Spirit descend and remain still on him, the same is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. ³⁴ And I saw and bore witness that this is the Son of God.