## Greetings and Grace 

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Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of God's elect and the full knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, 

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in the hope of eternal life, which the God who cannot lie promised from all eternity, 

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but at the proper time manifested His word in preaching, with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior, 

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To Titus, my genuine child according to our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. 

## Qualifications of Elders 

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For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you, 

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_namely_, if any man is beyond reproach, the husband of one wife, having faithful children, _who are_ not accused of dissipation, or rebellious. 

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For the overseer must be beyond reproach as God's steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of dishonest gain, 

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but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, righteous, holy, self-controlled, 

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holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to reprove those who contradict. 

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For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, 

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who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not _teach_ for the sake of dishonest gain. 

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One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons." 

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This testimony is true. For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith, 

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not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth. 

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To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. 

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They profess to know God, but by _their_ works they deny _Him_, being detestable and disobedient and unfit for any good work.