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Titus 1

Paul connects the truthfulness of God with faithful church leadership and exposes teaching whose claims are contradicted by conduct.

Paul writes to Titus, whom he left in Crete to put unfinished matters in order and appoint elders in every city. He begins with God’s promise of eternal life and the message entrusted to him. Then he describes the character and teaching required of church leaders. The need is urgent: deceptive teachers are disrupting whole households for money. Paul calls for firm correction so that those caught in error may become sound in faith.

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1Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s chosen ones and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness,
2in hope of eternal life, which God, who can’t lie, promised before time began;
3but in his own time revealed his word in the message with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior,
4to Titus, my true child according to a common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.
5I left you in Crete for this reason, that you would set in order the things that were lacking and appoint elders in every city, as I directed you—
6if anyone is blameless, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, who are not accused of loose or unruly behavior.
7For the overseer must be blameless, as God’s steward, not self-pleasing, not easily angered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for dishonest gain;
8but given to hospitality, a lover of good, sober minded, fair, holy, self-controlled,
9holding to the faithful word which is according to the teaching, that he may be able to exhort in the sound doctrine, and to convict those who contradict him.
10For there are also many unruly men, vain talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision,
11whose mouths must be stopped: men who overthrow whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for dishonest gain’s sake.
12One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, and idle gluttons.”
13This testimony is true. For this cause, reprove them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,
14not paying attention to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn away from the truth.
15To 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.
16They profess that they know God, but by their deeds they deny him, being abominable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Titus 1:2God’s inability to lie grounds the hope of eternal life and contrasts with the deception threatening the churches.
Titus 1:16The closing accusation exposes the gap between the teachers’ claim to know God and the deeds that deny him.
Titus 1:15Paul locates defilement in unbelieving minds and consciences, exposing the failure of the human commands he has challenged.
Where this chapter reaches

Titus shares with 1 Timothy qualifications for overseers, and with 2 Timothy a concern for sound teaching amid deception. Matthew and Mark also address the relationship between purity and the heart, while Hebrews shares the assurance that God cannot lie.

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After reading the whole chapter

Which elder qualification stands out to you, and how does it answer the problems Paul describes?

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What does the contrast between God’s truthfulness and the teachers’ conduct help you notice about faith?

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Questions people ask about Titus 1

What does “blameless” mean in Titus 1?

Paul explains blamelessness through the elder’s household, conduct, and teaching. The elder must be free from the charges listed, including violence and dishonest gain, and must show hospitality and self-control. The passage describes a credible, accountable life suited to caring for God’s people; it does not claim that elders never sin.

What does “To the pure, all things are pure” mean in Titus 1:15?

The statement follows Paul’s warning about Jewish fables and human commands that turn people from truth. His contrast concerns purity and defiled minds and consciences. It grants no permission for wrongdoing: the next verse condemns disobedient deeds. The exact practices promoted by these teachers are not specified.

Why does Paul say Cretans are always liars?

Paul quotes someone he calls a Cretan prophet, whose name the chapter does not give. He accepts the harsh saying as a rebuke in his argument against deceptive teachers. The stated purpose of correction is that those rebuked become sound in faith. The passage centers on false teaching and corrupt conduct.

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Titus · 3 chapters
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).