Psa 89
 
bf[See ver. 1 above]

Psalms 89:1

I Will Sing of the Steadfast Love of the Lord

A Maskil
Probably a musical or liturgical term
of bEthan the Ezrahite.

1 cI will sing of dthe steadfast love of the Lord, forever;
with my mouth I will make known your efaithfulness to all generations.

This pastoral letter from Paul to Titus was intended to offer encouragement and wisdom as Titus endured ongoing opposition from the ungodly and from legalists within his congregations. Paul instructed Titus to complete his assigned job of establishing overseers (elders) for the churches under his care. He described what sort of people these leaders should be, and how all believers should live in relation to each other as well as in their interactions with nonbelievers. Proper Christian behavior is based on the fact that “the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,” and therefore those who believe in Christ are to “live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives” as they await his return (2:11-13). Paul probably wrote this letter in the 60s a.d.

Titus 1

Greeting

1Paul, a servant
Or slave (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface)
of God and gan apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and htheir knowledge of the truth, iwhich accords with godliness,
2 jin hope of eternal life, which God, kwho never lies, lpromised mbefore the ages began
Greek before times eternal
3and oat the proper time manifested in his word pthrough the preaching qwith which I have been entrusted rby the command of God our Savior;

4To Titus, smy true child in ta common faith:

uGrace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Qualifications for Elders

5 vThis is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and wappoint elders in every town as I directed you 6 xif anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife,
Or a man of one woman
and his children are believers
Or  are faithful
and not open to the charge of aadebauchery or insubordination.
7For an overseer,
Or bishop; Greek episkopos
acas God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not adbe arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent aeor greedy for gain,
8but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, afand disciplined. 9He must aghold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in ahsound
Or healthy; also verse 13
doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

10For there are many who are insubordinate, ajempty talkers and deceivers, especially those of akthe circumcision party.
Or  especially those of the circumcision
11They must be silenced, since amthey are upsetting whole families by teaching anfor shameful gain what they ought not to teach. 12 aoOne of the Cretans,
Greek  One of them
a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”
Probably from Epimenides of Crete
13This testimony is true. Therefore arrebuke them assharply, that they atmay be sound in the faith, 14 aunot devoting themselves to Jewish myths and avthe commands of people awwho turn away from the truth. 15 axTo the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and ayunbelieving, nothing is pure; but both aztheir minds and their consciences are defiled. 16 baThey profess to know God, but they bbdeny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, bcunfit for any good work.

Titus 2

Teach Sound Doctrine

1But as for you, teach what accords with bdsound
Or healthy; also verses 2, 8
doctrine.
2Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, bfsound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3 bgOlder women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, bhnot slanderers bior slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled, bjpure, bkworking at home, kind, and blsubmissive to their own husbands, bmthat the word of God may not be reviled. 6Likewise, urge bnthe younger men to be self-controlled. 7Show yourself in all respects to be boa model of good works, and in your teaching bpshow integrity, bqdignity, 8and brsound speech that cannot be condemned, bsso that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. 9 btBondservants
Or Slaves (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface)
are to be submissive to their own masters bvin everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative,
10not pilfering, bwbut showing all good faith, bxso that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

11For bythe grace of God bzhas appeared, bringing salvation cafor all people, 12training us to renounce ungodliness and cbworldly passions, and ccto live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in cdthe present age, 13 cewaiting for our blessed cfhope, the cgappearing of the glory of our great chGod and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 ciwho gave himself for us to cjredeem us from all lawlessness and ckto purify for himself cla people for his own possession who are cmzealous for good works.

15Declare these things; exhort and cnrebuke with all authority. coLet no one disregard you.

Titus 3

Be Ready for Every Good Work

1Remind them cpto be submissive to rulers and authorities, cqto be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 crto speak evil of no one, csto avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and ctto show perfect courtesy toward all people. 3For cuwe ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4But when cvthe goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5he saved us, cwnot because of works done by us in righteousness, but cxaccording to his own mercy, by cythe washing of regeneration and czrenewal of the Holy Spirit, 6whom he dapoured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that dbbeing justified by his grace we might become dcheirs ddaccording to the hope of eternal life. 8The saying is detrustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful dfto devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. 9But dgavoid foolish dhcontroversies, digenealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for djthey are unprofitable and worthless. 10As for a person who stirs up division, dkafter warning him once and then twice, dlhave nothing more to do with him, 11knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

Final Instructions and Greetings

12When I send Artemas or dmTychicus to you, do your best to come to me dnat Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. 13Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and doApollos on their way; see that they lack nothing. 14And let our people learn dpto devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not dqbe unfruitful.

15All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith.

drGrace be with you all.

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