Titus 1:13 (LSB)

Passage

This testimony is true. For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith,

Nearby Context

Titus 1:11 who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of dishonest gain.

Titus 1:12 One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”

Titus 1:13 This testimony is true. For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith,

Titus 1:14 not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth.

Titus 1:15 To 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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "faith", "testimony", "true", "reason", "reprove", "severely", and "sound". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "faith" and "testimony", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "One of themselves a prophet of their..." into verse 14's "not paying attention to Jewish myths and...", so "faith" and "testimony" belong inside that flow. In Titus context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "faith" and "testimony" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.