2 Timothy 4

1 When Christ Jesus comes as king, he will be the judge of everyone, whether they are living or dead. So with God and Christ as witnesses, I command you 2 to preach God’s message. Do it willingly, even if it isn’t the popular thing to do. You must correct people and point out their sins. But also cheer them up, and when you instruct them, always be patient. 3 The time is coming when people won’t listen to good teaching. Instead, they will look for teachers who will please them by telling them only what they are itching to hear. 4 They will turn from the truth and eagerly listen to senseless stories. 5 But you must stay calm and be willing to suffer. You must work hard to tell the good news and to do your job well.

6  Now the time has come for me to die. My life is like a drink offering being poured out on the altar. 7 I have fought well. I have finished the race, and I have been faithful. 8 So a crown will be given to me for pleasing the Lord. He judges fairly, and on the day of judgment he will give a crown to me and to everyone else who wants him to appear with power.

Personal Instructions

9  Come to see me as soon as you can. 10 Demas loves the things of this world so much that he left me and went to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus has gone to Dalmatia.

11 Only Luke has stayed with me.
Mark can be very helpful to me, so please find him and bring him with you. 12 I sent Tychicus to Ephesus.

13  When you come, bring the coat I left at Troas with Carpus. Don’t forget to bring the scrolls, especially the ones made of leather.

14  Alexander, the metalworker, has hurt me in many ways. But the Lord will pay him back for what he has done. 15 Alexander opposes what we preach. You had better watch out for him.

16  When I was first put on trial, no one helped me. In fact, everyone deserted me. I hope it won’t be held against them. 17 But the Lord stood beside me. He gave me the strength to tell his full message, so that all Gentiles would hear it. And I was kept safe from hungry lions. 18 The Lord will always keep me from being harmed by evil, and he will bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. Praise him forever and ever! Amen.

Final Greetings

19  Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila and to the family of Onesiphorus.

20  Erastus stayed at Corinth.
Trophimus was sick when I left him at Miletus.

21  Do your best to come before winter.
Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, and Claudia send you their greetings, and so do the rest of the Lord’s followers.

22  I pray that the Lord will bless your life and will be kind to you.

Titus 1

1 From Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I encourage God’s own people to have more faith and to understand the truth about religion. 2 Then they will have the hope of eternal life that God promised long ago. And God never tells a lie! 3 So, at the proper time, God our Savior gave this message and told me to announce what he had said.

4  Titus, because of our faith, you are like a son to me. I pray that God our Father and Christ Jesus our Savior will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!

What Titus Was to Do in Crete

5  I left you in Crete to do what had been left undone and to appoint leaders for the churches in each town. As I told you, 6 they must have a good reputation and be faithful in marriage. Their children must be followers of the Lord and not have a reputation for being wild and disobedient.

7  Church officials are in charge of God’s work, and so they must also have a good reputation. They must not be bossy, quick-tempered, heavy drinkers, bullies, or dishonest in business. 8 Instead, they must be friendly to strangers and enjoy doing good things. They must also be sensible, fair, pure, and self-controlled. 9 They must stick to the true message they were taught, so that their good teaching can help others and correct everyone who opposes it.

10  There are many who don’t respect authority, and they fool others by talking nonsense. This is especially true of some Jewish followers. 11 But you must make them be quiet. They are after money, and they upset whole families by teaching what they should not.

12 It is like one of their own prophets once said,
“The people of Crete
always tell lies.
They are greedy and lazy
like wild animals.”

13  That surely is a true saying. And you should be hard on such people, so you can help them grow stronger in their faith. 14 Don’t pay any attention to any of those senseless Jewish stories and human commands. These are made up by people who won’t obey the truth.

15  Everything is pure for someone whose heart is pure. But nothing is pure for an unbeliever with a dirty mind. That person’s mind and conscience are destroyed. 16 Such people claim to know God, but their actions prove that they really don’t. They are disgusting. They won’t obey God, and they are too worthless to do anything good.

Titus 2

Instructions for Different Groups of People

1 Titus, you must teach only what is correct. 2 Tell the older men to have self-control and to be serious and sensible. Their faith, love, and patience must never fail.

3  Tell the older women to behave as those who love the Lord should. They must not gossip about others or be slaves of wine. They must teach what is proper, 4 so the younger women will be loving wives and mothers. 5 Each of the younger women must be sensible and kind, as well as a good homemaker, who puts her own husband first. Then no one can say insulting things about God’s message.

6  Tell the young men to have self-control in everything.

7  Always set a good example for others. Be sincere and serious when you teach. 8 Use clean language that no one can criticize. Do this, and your enemies will be too ashamed to say anything against you.

9  Tell slaves always to please their owners by obeying them in everything. Slaves must not talk back to their owners 10 or steal from them. They must be completely honest and trustworthy. Then everyone will show great respect for what is taught about God our Savior.

God’s Kindness and the New Life

11  God has shown us how kind he is by coming to save all people. 12 He taught us to give up our wicked ways and our worldly desires and to live decent and honest lives in this world. 13 We are filled with hope, as we wait for the glorious return of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. 14 He gave himself to rescue us from everything that is evil and to make our hearts pure. He wanted us to be his own people and to be eager to do right.

15  Teach these things, as you use your full authority to encourage and correct people. Make sure you earn everyone’s respect.