Titus 1:13 (KJV)

Passage

This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;

Nearby Context

Titus 1:11 Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake.

Titus 1:12 One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.

Titus 1:13 This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;

Titus 1:14 Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.

Titus 1:15 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "faith", "witness", "true", "wherefore", "rebuke", "sharply", and "sound". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "faith" and "witness", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "One of themselves even a prophet of..." into verse 14's "Not giving heed to Jewish fables and...", so "faith" and "witness" 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 "witness" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.