The Living Bible (383 page)

2 Timothy
4

And so I solemnly urge you before God and before Christ Jesus—who will someday judge the living and the dead when he appears to set up his Kingdom—
²
 to preach the Word of God urgently at all times, whenever you get the chance, in season and out, when it is convenient and when it is not. Correct and rebuke your people when they need it, encourage them to do right, and all the time be feeding them patiently with God’s Word.

    
³
 For there is going to come a time when people won’t listen to the truth but will go around looking for teachers who will tell them just what they want to hear.
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 They won’t listen to what the Bible says but will blithely follow their own misguided ideas.

    
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 Stand steady, and don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Bring others to Christ. Leave nothing undone that you ought to do.

    
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 I say this because I won’t be around to help you very much longer. My time has almost run out. Very soon now I will be on my way to heaven.
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 I have fought long and hard for my Lord, and through it all I have kept true to him. And now the time has come for me to stop fighting and rest.
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 In heaven a crown is waiting for me, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that great day of his return. And not just to me but to all those whose lives show that they are eagerly looking forward to his coming back again.

    
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 Please come as soon as you can,
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 for Demas has left me. He loved the good things of this life and went to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.
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 Only Luke is with me. Bring Mark with you when you come, for I need him.
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 (Tychicus is gone too, as I sent him to Ephesus.)
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 When you come, be sure to bring the coat I left at Troas with Brother Carpus, and also the books, but especially the parchments.

    
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 Alexander the coppersmith has done me much harm. The Lord will punish him,
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 but be careful of him, for he fought against everything we said.

    
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 The first time I was brought before the judge, no one was here to help me. Everyone had run away. I hope that they will not be blamed for it.
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 But the Lord stood with me and gave me the opportunity to boldly preach a whole sermon for all the world to hear. And he saved me from being thrown to the lions.
*
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 Yes, and the Lord will always deliver me from all evil and will bring me into his heavenly Kingdom. To God be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

    
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 Please say hello for me to Priscilla and Aquila and those living at the home of Onesiphorus.
²⁰
 Erastus stayed at Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick at Miletus.

    
²¹
 Do try to be here before winter. Eubulus sends you greetings, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the others.
²²
 May the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Farewell, Paul

Titus

1
 
2
 
3
 

Titus
1

From:
Paul, the slave of God and the messenger of Jesus Christ.

    
I have been sent to bring faith to those God has chosen and to teach them to know God’s truth—the kind of truth that changes lives—so that they can have eternal life, which God promised them before the world began—and he cannot lie.
³
 And now in his own good time he has revealed this Good News and permits me to tell it to everyone. By command of God our Savior, I have been trusted to do this work for him.

    
⁴
 
To:
Titus, who is truly my son in the affairs of the Lord.

    
May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior give you his blessings and his peace.

    
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 I left you there on the island of Crete so that you could do whatever was needed to help strengthen each of its churches, and I asked you to appoint pastors
*
in every city who would follow the instructions I gave you.
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 The men you choose must be well thought of for their good lives; they must have only one wife and their children must love the Lord and not have a reputation for being wild or disobedient to their parents.

    
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 These pastors
*
must be men of blameless lives because they are God’s ministers. They must not be proud or impatient; they must not be drunkards or fighters or greedy for money.
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 They must enjoy having guests in their homes and must love all that is good. They must be sensible men, and fair. They must be clean minded and level headed.
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 Their belief in the truth that they have been taught must be strong and steadfast so that they will be able to teach it to others and show those who disagree with them where they are wrong.

    
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 For there are many who refuse to obey; this is especially true among those who say that all Christians must obey the Jewish laws. But this is foolish talk; it blinds people to the truth,
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 and it must be stopped. Already whole families have been turned away from the grace of God. Such teachers are only after your money.
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 One of their own men, a prophet from Crete, has said about them, “These men of Crete are all liars; they are like lazy animals, living only to satisfy their stomachs.”
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 And this is true. So speak to the Christians there as sternly as necessary to make them strong in the faith
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 and to stop them from listening to Jewish folk tales and the demands of men who have turned their backs on the truth.

    
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 A person who is pure of heart sees goodness and purity in everything; but a person whose own heart is evil and untrusting finds evil in everything, for his dirty mind and rebellious heart color all he sees and hears.
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 Such persons claim they know God, but from seeing the way they act, one knows they don’t. They are rotten and disobedient, worthless so far as doing anything good is concerned.

Titus
2

But as for you, speak up for the right living that goes along with true Christianity.
²
 Teach the older men to be serious and unruffled; they must be sensible, knowing and believing the truth and doing everything with love and patience.

    
³
 Teach the older women to be quiet and respectful in everything they do. They must not go around speaking evil of others and must not be heavy drinkers, but they should be teachers of goodness.
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 These older women must train the younger women to live quietly, to love their husbands and their children,
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 and to be sensible and clean minded, spending their time in their own homes, being kind and obedient to their husbands so that the Christian faith can’t be spoken against by those who know them.

    
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 In the same way, urge the young men to behave carefully, taking life seriously.
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 And here you yourself must be an example to them of good deeds of every kind. Let everything you do reflect your love of the truth and the fact that you are in dead earnest about it.
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 Your conversation should be so sensible and logical that anyone who wants to argue will be ashamed of himself because there won’t be anything to criticize in anything you say!

    
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 Urge slaves to obey their masters and to try their best to satisfy them. They must not talk back,
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 nor steal, but must show themselves to be entirely trustworthy. In this way they will make people want to believe in our Savior and God.

    
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 For the free gift of eternal salvation is now being offered to everyone;
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 and along with this gift comes the realization that God wants us to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures and to live good, God-fearing lives day after day,
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 looking forward to that wonderful time we’ve been expecting, when his glory shall be seen—the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
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 He died under God’s judgment against our sins so that he could rescue us from constant falling into sin and make us his very own people, with cleansed hearts and real enthusiasm for doing kind things for others.
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 You must teach these things and encourage your people to do them, correcting them when necessary as one who has every right to do so. Don’t let anyone think that what you say is not important.

Titus
3

Remind your people to obey the government and its officers, and always to be obedient and ready for any honest work.
²
 They must not speak evil of anyone, nor quarrel, but be gentle and truly courteous to all.

    
³
 Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient; we were misled by others and became slaves to many evil pleasures and wicked desires. Our lives were full of resentment and envy. We hated others and they hated us.

    
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 But when the time came for the kindness and love of God our Savior to appear,
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 then he saved us—not because we were good enough to be saved but because of his kindness and pity—by washing away our sins and giving us the new joy of the indwelling Holy Spirit,
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 whom he poured out upon us with wonderful fullness—and all because of what Jesus Christ our Savior did
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 so that he could declare us good in God’s eyes—all because of his great kindness; and now we can share in the wealth of the eternal life he gives us, and we are eagerly looking forward to receiving it.
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 These things I have told you are all true. Insist on them so that Christians will be careful to do good deeds all the time, for this is not only right, but it brings results.

    
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 Don’t get involved in arguing over unanswerable questions and controversial theological ideas; keep out of arguments and quarrels about obedience to Jewish laws, for this kind of thing isn’t worthwhile; it only does harm.
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 If anyone is causing divisions among you, he should be given a first and second warning. After that have nothing more to do with him,
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 for such a person has a wrong sense of values. He is sinning, and he knows it.

    
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 I am planning to send either Artemas or Tychicus to you. As soon as one of them arrives, please try to meet me at Nicopolis as quickly as you can, for I have decided to stay there for the winter.
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 Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos with their trip; see that they are given everything they need.
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 For our people must learn to help all who need their assistance, that their lives will be fruitful.

    
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 Everybody here sends greetings. Please say hello to all of the Christian friends there. May God’s blessings be with you all.

Sincerely, Paul