Beginning

1 I, Paul, am writing this letter. I serve God, and I am an apostle of Jesus Christ. God sent me to help his chosen people believe in Christ more and more. God sent me to help them understand even more the truth that leads to godly living. ² That belief and understanding lead to the hope of eternal life. Before time began, God promised to give that life. And he does not lie. ³ Now, at just the right time, he has made his promise clear. He did this through the preaching that he trusted me with. God our Savior has commanded all these things.

⁴ Titus, I am sending you this letter. You are my true son in the faith we share.

May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior give you grace and peace.

Choosing Elders Who Love What Is Good

⁵ I left you on the island of Crete. I did this because there were some things that hadn’t been finished. I wanted you to put them in order. I also wanted you to appoint elders in every town. I told you how to do it. ⁶ An elder must be without blame. He must be faithful to his wife. His children must be believers. They must not give anyone a reason to say that they are wild and don’t obey. ⁷ A church leader takes care of God’s family. That’s why he must be without blame. He must not look after only his own interests. He must not get angry easily. He must not get drunk. He must not push people around. He must not try to get money by cheating people. ⁸ Instead, a church leader must welcome people into his home. He must love what is good. He must control his mind and feelings. He must do what is right. He must be holy. He must control the desires of his body. ⁹ The message as it has been taught can be trusted. He must hold firmly to it. Then he will be able to use true teaching to comfort others and build them up. He will be able to prove that people who oppose it are wrong.

Warning People Who Fail to Do Good

¹⁰ Many people refuse to obey God. All they do is talk about things that mean nothing. They try to fool others. No one does these things more than the circumcision group. ¹¹ They must be stopped. They are making trouble for entire families. They do this by teaching things they shouldn’t. They do these things to cheat people. ¹² One of Crete’s own prophets has a saying. He says, “People from Crete are always liars. They are evil beasts. They don’t want to work. They live only to eat.” ¹³ This saying is true. So give a strong warning to people who refuse to obey God. Then they will understand the faith correctly. ¹⁴ Then they will pay no attention to Jewish stories that aren’t true. They won’t listen to the mere human commands of people who turn away from the truth. ¹⁵ To people who are pure, all things are pure. But to those who have twisted minds and don’t believe, nothing is pure. In fact, their minds and their sense of what is right and wrong are twisted. ¹⁶ They claim to know God. But their actions show they don’t know him. They are hated by God. They refuse to obey him. They aren’t fit to do anything good.

Doing Good Because of the Good News

2 But what you teach must agree with true teaching. ² Tell the older men that in anything they do, they must not go too far. They must be worthy of respect. They must control themselves. They must have true faith. They must love others. They must not give up.

³ In the same way, teach the older women to lead a holy life. They must not tell lies about others. They must not let wine control them. Instead, they must teach what is good. ⁴ Then they can advise the younger women to love their husbands and children. ⁵ The younger women must control themselves and be pure. They must take good care of their homes. They must be kind. They must follow the lead of their husbands. Then no one will be able to speak evil things against God’s word.

⁶ In the same way, help the young men to control themselves. ⁷ Do what is good. Set an example for them in everything. When you teach, be honest and serious. ⁸ No one can question the truth. So teach what is true. Then those who oppose you will be ashamed. That’s because they will have nothing bad to say about us.

⁹ Teach slaves to obey their masters in everything they do. Tell them to try to please their masters. They must not talk back to them. ¹⁰ They must not steal from them. Instead, they must show that they can be trusted completely. Then they will make the teaching about God our Savior appealing in every way.

¹¹ God’s grace has now appeared. By his grace, God offers to save all people. ¹² His grace teaches us to say no to godless ways and sinful desires. We must control ourselves. We must do what is right. We must lead godly lives in today’s world. ¹³ That’s how we should live as we wait for the blessed hope God has given us. We are waiting for Jesus Christ to appear in his glory. He is our great God and Savior. ¹⁴ He gave himself for us. By doing that, he set us free from all evil. He wanted to make us pure. He wanted us to be his very own people. He wanted us to desire to do what is good.

¹⁵ These are the things you should teach. Encourage people and give them hope. Correct them with full authority. Don’t let anyone look down on you.

Do What Is Good Because You Are Saved

3 Remind God’s people to obey rulers and authorities. Remind them to be ready to do what is good. ² Tell them not to speak evil things against anyone. Remind them to live in peace. They must consider the needs of others. They must always be gentle toward everyone.

³ At one time we too acted like fools. We didn’t obey God. We were tricked. We were controlled by all kinds of desires and pleasures. We were full of evil. We wanted what belongs to others. People hated us, and we hated one another. ⁴ But the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared. ⁵ He saved us. It wasn’t because of the good things we had done. It was because of his mercy. He saved us by washing away our sins. We were born again. The Holy Spirit gave us new life. ⁶ God poured out the Spirit on us freely. That’s because of what Jesus Christ our Savior has done. ⁷ His grace made us right with God. So now we have received the hope of eternal life as God’s children. ⁸ You can trust this saying. These things are important. Treat them that way. Then those who trust in God will be careful to commit themselves to doing good. These things are excellent. They are for the good of everyone.

⁹ But keep away from foolish disagreements. Don’t argue about family histories. Don’t make trouble. Don’t fight about what the law teaches. Don’t argue about things like that. It doesn’t do any good. It doesn’t help anyone. ¹⁰ Warn anyone who tries to get believers to separate from one another. Warn that person more than once. After that, have nothing to do with them. ¹¹ You can be sure that people like this are twisted and sinful. Their own actions judge them.

Final Words

¹² I will send Artemas or Tychicus to you. Then do your best to come to me at Nicopolis. I’ve decided to spend the winter there. ¹³ Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos. Send them on their way. See that they have everything they need.

¹⁴ Our people must learn to commit themselves to doing what is good. Then they can provide for people when they are in great need. If they do that, their lives won’t turn out to be useless.

¹⁵ Everyone who is with me sends you greetings.

Greet those who love us in the faith.

May God’s grace be with you all.

¹ I, Paul, am writing this letter. I am a prisoner because of Christ Jesus. Our brother Timothy joins me in writing.

Philemon, we are sending you this letter. You are our dear friend. You work together with us. ² We are also sending it to our sister Apphia and to Archippus. He is a soldier of Christ together with us. And we are sending it to the church that meets in your home.

³ May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

Paul Prays and Gives Thanks

⁴ I always thank my God when I remember you in my prayers. ⁵ That’s because I hear about your love for all God’s people. I also hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus. ⁶ I pray that what we share by believing will help you understand even more. Then you will completely understand every good thing we share by believing in Christ. ⁷ Your love has given me great joy. It has encouraged me. My brother, you have renewed the hearts of the Lord’s people.

Paul Makes an Appeal for Onesimus

⁸ Because of the authority Christ has given me, I could be bold. I could order you to do what you should do anyway. ⁹ But we love each other. And I would rather appeal to you on the basis of that love. I, Paul, am an old man. I am now also a prisoner because of Christ Jesus. ¹⁰ I am an old man, and I’m in prison. This is how I make my appeal to you for my son Onesimus. He became a son to me while I was being held in chains. ¹¹ Before that, he was useless to you. But now he has become useful to you and to me.

¹² I’m sending Onesimus back to you. All my love for him goes with him. ¹³ I’m being held in chains because of the good news. So I would have liked to keep Onesimus with me. And he could take your place in helping me. ¹⁴ But I didn’t want to do anything unless you agreed. Any favor you do must be done because you want to do it, not because you have to. ¹⁵ Onesimus was separated from you for a little while. Maybe that was so you could have him back forever. ¹⁶ You could have him back not as a slave. Instead, he would be better than a slave. He would be a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even more dear to you. He is dear to you not only as another human being. He is also dear to you as a brother in the Lord.

¹⁷ Do you think of me as a believer who works together with you? Then welcome Onesimus as you would welcome me. ¹⁸ Has he done anything wrong to you? Does he owe you anything? Then charge it to me. ¹⁹ I’ll pay it back. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I won’t even mention that you owe me your life. ²⁰ My brother, we both belong to the Lord. So I wish I could receive some benefit from you. Renew my heart. We know that Christ is the one who really renews it. ²¹ I’m sure you will obey. So I’m writing to you. I know you will do even more than I ask.

²² There is one more thing. Have a guest room ready for me. I hope I can return to all of you in answer to your prayers.

²³ Epaphras sends you greetings. Together with me, he is a prisoner because of Christ Jesus.

²⁴ Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke work together with me. They also send you greetings.

²⁵ May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.