New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Titus 1
1
I, Paul, am writing this letter. I serve God. I am an apostle of Jesus Christ. God sent me to help his chosen people believe in Christ. I have been sent to help them understand the truth that leads to godly living.
Reference
Faith
1 Timothy 3:16
Parallel theme
2 Timothy 2:23
References Christ
Colossians 2:2
References God
2 Peter 1:3
2 Peter 3:11
References Jesus
Romans 1:1
1 Timothy 6:3
Philippians 1:1
Truth
2 Timothy 2:25
1 Timothy 2:4
2
Faith and understanding rest on the hope of eternal life. Before time began, God promised to give that life. And he does not lie.
Reference
Covenant
1 John 2:25
2 Timothy 1:1
Eternal Life
Titus 3:7
Jude 1:21
1 John 5:20
Hope
Titus 2:13
Parallel theme
2 Timothy 1:9
2 Timothy 2:13
1 Samuel 15:29
References God
Numbers 23:19
3
At just the right time he made his word plain. He did it through the preaching that he trusted me with. God our Savior has commanded all those things.
Reference
Parallel theme
Colossians 1:23
Ephesians 2:17
1 Corinthians 9:17
References God
1 Timothy 1:11
Colossians 1:6
Salvation
1 Timothy 1:1
Titus 2:10
Isaiah 45:21
1 Timothy 4:10
1 Timothy 2:3
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.
Reference
Faith
Romans 1:12
Grace
2 Timothy 1:2
Parallel theme
2 Corinthians 2:13
References Christ
2 Corinthians 8:23
Salvation
Jude 1:3
2 Peter 1:1
2 Peter 1:11
John 4:42
5
I left you on the island of Crete. There were some things that hadn't been finished. You needed to sort them out. You also had to appoint elders in every town. I told you how to do it.
Reference
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.
Reference
7
A church leader is trusted with God's work. 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.
Reference
Parallel theme
2 Peter 2:10
Ephesians 5:18
Luke 12:42
Isaiah 28:7
Proverbs 14:17
Proverbs 15:18
Ezekiel 44:21
References God
1 Peter 5:2
1 Peter 4:10
8
Instead, he 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 what his body longs for.
Reference
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.
Reference
Faith
2 Timothy 1:13
1 Timothy 1:15
Parallel theme
1 Timothy 1:10
1 Thessalonians 5:21
Revelation 3:3
Job 2:3
Proverbs 23:23
Titus 2:1
Word
2 Thessalonians 2:15
1 Timothy 6:3
10
Many people refuse to obey God. All they do is talk a lot. They try to fool others. No one does these things more than the circumcision group.
Reference
Parallel theme
1 Timothy 1:6
1 John 4:1
Galatians 2:4
Ephesians 4:14
Acts 11:2
James 1:26
2 Timothy 3:13
11
They must be stopped. They are destroying entire families. They are teaching things they shouldn't. They do it to get money by cheating people.
Reference
12
Even one of their own prophets has said, "People from Crete are always liars. They are evil beasts. They don't want to work. They live only to eat."
Reference
13
What I have just said is true. So give them a strong warning. Then they will understand the faith correctly.
Reference
Faith
Titus 2:2
1 Timothy 4:6
Parallel theme
1 Timothy 5:20
2 Corinthians 13:10
Titus 2:15
2 Timothy 4:2
Psalm 119:80
Psalm 141:5
Proverbs 27:5
14
They will pay no attention to Jewish stories that aren't completely true. They won't listen to the commands of those who turn away from the truth.
Reference
Parallel theme
Galatians 4:9
Isaiah 29:13
Truth
2 Timothy 4:4
2 Peter 2:22
Word
Colossians 2:22
Matthew 15:9
Mark 7:7
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.
Reference
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.
Reference
Parallel theme
1 John 2:4
Isaiah 29:13
Ezekiel 33:31
Revelation 21:27
1 Samuel 15:22
Revelation 21:8
References God
Ephesians 5:6
Jude 1:4
Romans 1:28
Isaiah 58:2
Chapter Summary
Titus 1 focuses on the establishment of trustworthy church leadership, the importance of godly character, the responsibility of elders to protect sound teaching, and the need to confront false teachers whose corrupt doctrine, immoral behavior, and pursuit of financial gain were damaging Christian households and communities in Crete.
Paul begins by identifying himself as a servant of God and apostle of Jesus Christ, explaining that his ministry exists to strengthen the faith of God's people and lead them toward the knowledge of truth that produces godliness.
He connects this ministry with the hope of eternal life promised by God, emphasizing that God's promise is trustworthy because God cannot lie and that the gospel was revealed at the proper time through the preaching entrusted to Paul.
Paul then addresses Titus as his genuine son in their shared faith and reminds him that he has been left in Crete to complete unfinished work and appoint elders in every city, establishing Titus as an important organizer and spiritual leader within the developing Cretan churches.
The qualifications for elders are extensive because Christian leadership is presented primarily as a matter of character rather than status or ability.
An elder must be blameless, faithful in marriage, capable of managing his household well, and known for children who are not rebellious or disorderly, because someone unable to demonstrate responsible leadership within his own family would not be suitable to manage God's household.
Paul further explains that an overseer must not be arrogant, quick-tempered, violent, controlled by alcohol, or motivated by dishonest financial gain, while instead demonstrating hospitality, goodness, wisdom, justice, holiness, and self-control.
The leader must also hold firmly to the trustworthy message he has been taught, because he needs both to encourage believers through sound teaching and to refute those who contradict the truth.
Paul then turns directly to the problem of false teachers, particularly those who promoted circumcision and other teachings connected with Jewish religious traditions, explaining that such people were rebellious, deceptive, and capable of damaging entire households.
Their teaching was especially dangerous because they were not merely mistaken but were apparently using religion for dishonest financial gain, making their motives and conduct incompatible with Christian leadership.
Paul refers to a well-known saying about Cretans and uses it to describe the cultural and behavioral problems that Titus needed to confront, instructing him to rebuke people firmly so that they might become spiritually healthy and sound in their faith.
He warns believers not to become distracted by Jewish myths and human commandments, because religious traditions can become spiritually harmful when they replace or distort the truth of God.
Paul concludes by emphasizing that genuine spiritual purity begins within the person, because corrupted minds and consciences produce corrupted behavior even when someone outwardly claims to know God.
The central message of Titus 1 is that Christian churches require leaders whose personal lives, families, teaching, and conduct demonstrate genuine godliness, because those entrusted with God's household must protect sound doctrine, encourage believers, confront false teaching, reject dishonest religious practices and financial exploitation, and demonstrate through their own transformed lives that genuine knowledge of God always produces faithful and useful Christian behavior.
Paul begins by identifying himself as a servant of God and apostle of Jesus Christ, explaining that his ministry exists to strengthen the faith of God's people and lead them toward the knowledge of truth that produces godliness.
He connects this ministry with the hope of eternal life promised by God, emphasizing that God's promise is trustworthy because God cannot lie and that the gospel was revealed at the proper time through the preaching entrusted to Paul.
Paul then addresses Titus as his genuine son in their shared faith and reminds him that he has been left in Crete to complete unfinished work and appoint elders in every city, establishing Titus as an important organizer and spiritual leader within the developing Cretan churches.
The qualifications for elders are extensive because Christian leadership is presented primarily as a matter of character rather than status or ability.
An elder must be blameless, faithful in marriage, capable of managing his household well, and known for children who are not rebellious or disorderly, because someone unable to demonstrate responsible leadership within his own family would not be suitable to manage God's household.
Paul further explains that an overseer must not be arrogant, quick-tempered, violent, controlled by alcohol, or motivated by dishonest financial gain, while instead demonstrating hospitality, goodness, wisdom, justice, holiness, and self-control.
The leader must also hold firmly to the trustworthy message he has been taught, because he needs both to encourage believers through sound teaching and to refute those who contradict the truth.
Paul then turns directly to the problem of false teachers, particularly those who promoted circumcision and other teachings connected with Jewish religious traditions, explaining that such people were rebellious, deceptive, and capable of damaging entire households.
Their teaching was especially dangerous because they were not merely mistaken but were apparently using religion for dishonest financial gain, making their motives and conduct incompatible with Christian leadership.
Paul refers to a well-known saying about Cretans and uses it to describe the cultural and behavioral problems that Titus needed to confront, instructing him to rebuke people firmly so that they might become spiritually healthy and sound in their faith.
He warns believers not to become distracted by Jewish myths and human commandments, because religious traditions can become spiritually harmful when they replace or distort the truth of God.
Paul concludes by emphasizing that genuine spiritual purity begins within the person, because corrupted minds and consciences produce corrupted behavior even when someone outwardly claims to know God.
The central message of Titus 1 is that Christian churches require leaders whose personal lives, families, teaching, and conduct demonstrate genuine godliness, because those entrusted with God's household must protect sound doctrine, encourage believers, confront false teaching, reject dishonest religious practices and financial exploitation, and demonstrate through their own transformed lives that genuine knowledge of God always produces faithful and useful Christian behavior.