Titus 1:13 (YLT)

Passage

this testimony is true; for which cause convict them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,

Nearby Context

Titus 1:11 whose mouth it behoveth to stop, who whole households do overturn, teaching what things it behoveth not, for filthy lucre's sake.

Titus 1:12 A certain one of them, a prophet of their own, said--`Cretans! always liars, evil beasts, lazy bellies!'

Titus 1:13 this testimony is true; for which cause convict them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,

Titus 1:14 not giving heed to Jewish fables and commands of men, turning themselves away from the truth;

Titus 1:15 all things, indeed, <FI>are<Fi> pure to the pure, and to the defiled and unstedfast <FI>is<Fi> nothing pure, but of them defiled <FI>are<Fi> even the mind and the conscience;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "faith", "testimony", "true", "cause", "convict", "sharply", 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 "A certain one of them a prophet..." into verse 14's "not giving heed to Jewish fables 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.