Titus 1

Paul opens by tying his apostleship to “the knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness,” resting on “the hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began.” He reminds Titus why he left him in Crete: “that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town.” He then lists the qualifications for an elder (overseer): “above reproach,” faithful in marriage and family, self-controlled, hospitable, upright, and disciplined, and one who “must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught,” so that he can “give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.” For there are many “empty talkers and deceivers,” especially of “the circumcision party,” who are “upsetting whole families” for gain and must be silenced — and Paul bluntly cites a Cretan prophet’s low estimate of the island’s character, urging that such people “be rebuked sharply, that they may be sound in the faith.”