Titus 3

¹Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God.

²Consequently, whoever resists authority is opposing what God has set in place, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

¹³Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to the king as the supreme authority,

¹⁴or to governors as those sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right.

⁴If the ruler’s temper flares against you, do not abandon your post, for calmness lays great offenses to rest.

⁹Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

¹⁰Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to the family of faith.

²¹My son, fear the Lord and the king, and do not associate with the rebellious.

²¹“Caesar’s,” they answered. So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

³¹Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.

²⁴And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing.

²⁵He must gently reprove those who oppose him, in the hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.

²with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

¹²Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

¹³Bear with one another and forgive any complaint you may have against someone else. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

³not dependent on wine, not violent but gentle, peaceable, and free of the love of money.

¹⁰For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.

¹And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,

²in which you used to walk when you conformed to the ways of this world and of the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience.

²¹Once you were alienated from God and were hostile in your minds, engaging in evil deeds.

¹⁷But thanks be to God that, though you once were slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were committed.

⁷When you lived among them, you also used to walk in these ways.

⁹Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts,

¹⁰nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

²⁹They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips,

³⁰slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful. They invent new forms of evil; they disobey their parents.

⁴But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,

⁵made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!

¹⁰not stealing from them, but showing all good faith, so that in every respect they will adorn the teaching about God our Savior.

¹¹For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to everyone.

¹⁰To this end we labor and strive, because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of everyone, and especially of those who believe.

²⁰The law came in so that the trespass would increase; but where sin increased, grace increased all the more,

²¹so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

⁴Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?

¹⁰And now He has revealed this grace through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has abolished death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the gospel,

⁸For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God,

⁹not by works, so that no one can boast.

⁹He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time began.

¹¹And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

²¹And this water symbolizes the baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

²Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

²⁸And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.

⁵And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.

⁴⁵All the circumcised believers who had accompanied Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.

²⁵I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.

³For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.

²³If you had repented at my rebuke, then surely I would have poured out my spirit on you; I would have made my words known to you.

¹⁷And if we are children, then we are heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him.

¹¹For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to everyone.

²⁴and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

¹¹And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

²in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.

⁶And if it is by grace, then it is no longer by works. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.

¹⁴And our people must also learn to devote themselves to good works in order to meet the pressing needs of others, so that they will not be unfruitful.

¹⁴He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.

⁹He must hold firmly to the faithful word as it was taught, so that he can encourage others by sound teaching and refute those who contradict it.

²I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing.”

³As for the saints in the land, they are the excellence in whom all my delight resides.

¹Remind the believers to submit to rulers and authorities, to be obedient and ready for every good work,

⁵However, to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.

¹⁴Remind the believers of these things, charging them before God to avoid quarreling over words, which succeeds only in leading the listeners to ruin.

⁷But reject irreverent, silly myths. Instead, train yourself for godliness.

²³But reject foolish and ignorant speculation, for you know that it breeds quarreling.

¹⁴and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of men who have rejected the truth.

¹⁶But avoid irreverent, empty chatter, which will only lead to more ungodliness,

³As I urged you on my departure to Macedonia, you should stay on at Ephesus to instruct certain men not to teach false doctrines

⁴or devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculation rather than the stewardship of God’s work, which is by faith.

¹⁷Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Turn away from them.

¹⁰If anyone comes to you but does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your home or even greet him.

¹⁵If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.

¹⁶But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’

⁵having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!

¹⁴Take note of anyone who does not obey the instructions we have given in this letter. Do not associate with him, so that he may be ashamed.

⁶Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who leads an undisciplined life that is not in keeping with the tradition you received from us.

²⁶If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains,

²²His master replied, ‘You wicked servant, I will judge you by your own words. So you knew that I am a harsh man, withdrawing what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow?

¹⁸Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

²⁶‘You wicked, lazy servant!’ replied his master. ‘You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed.

²⁷Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received it back with interest.

²⁴It has come to our attention that some went out from us without our authorization and unsettled you, troubling your minds by what they said.

⁴⁶Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “It was necessary to speak the word of God to you first. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.

⁹Make every effort to come to me quickly,

⁴Paul was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.

²¹Make every effort to come to me before winter. Eubulus sends you greetings, as do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers.

⁸But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost,

⁹because a great door for effective work has opened to me, even though many oppose me.

¹²Tychicus, however, I have sent to Ephesus.

⁶Perhaps I will stay with you awhile, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go.

²⁴Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, well versed in the Scriptures.

⁶They have testified to the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God.

⁷For they went out on behalf of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles.

³⁵One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with a question:

¹⁰The islanders honored us in many ways and supplied our needs when we were ready to sail.

³⁰But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.

²⁴I hope to see you on my way to Spain. And after I have enjoyed your company for a while, you can equip me for my journey.

¹⁰so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,

⁸This saying is trustworthy. And I want you to emphasize these things, so that those who have believed God will take care to devote themselves to good deeds. These things are excellent and profitable for the people.

¹⁹Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

⁶Then Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard. He went to look for fruit on it but did not find any.

⁷So he said to the keeper of the vineyard, ‘Look, for the past three years I have come to search for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Therefore cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’

⁸For if you possess these qualities and continue to grow in them, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁸This greeting is in my own hand—Paul. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.

¹The elder, To the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I alone, but also all who know the truth—

²because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:

²³Peace to the brothers and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁴Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

⁶For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. What matters is faith expressing itself through love.

²To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

²⁵Grace be with all of you.