Posts: 1 Timothy

1 Timothy

Attitude is extremely important. In his instructions to Timothy concerning what needed to be taught in Ephesus, Paul contrasted helpful versus self-serving attitudes (1 Timothy 1:3 – 7). Faith versus fables. Faith is based on physical evidence and simplicity. Fables are complex and theoretical. Other-centered versus self-centered. Love focuses on the needs of others without regard to the effect on me. Unfortunately, some desire the adulation and acclaim so focus on how to be clever and controlling. The faithful today must determine which teaching is which.

Law is for the lawless (1 Timothy 1:8 – 11). Historically, church leaders have had little confidence in the faith of their followers, so resorted to rules to keep order. Paul’s point was that faith reaches the same behavior goals without rules. Liberty allows growth; authority stunts it.

Paul took ownership of his past as an example to others (1 Timothy 1:12 – 17). He had thought he was right to persecute Christians, but discovered that his attitude had been self-serving. But, even with that start, God built on his misdirected faith and gave him an important task. God repaired the damage Paul had caused to his own character through his self-deception. His example, Paul wrote, illustrated that Jesus came to rescue those who had gone seriously off track. The attractions from God were His grace, faith, and love.

Paul instructed Timothy to teach about prayer, that the faithful should pray for all, including kings (1 Timothy 2:1 – 8). Importantly, these requests should be built upon an attitude of thanks concerning them, which may have been challenging considering the governments of Paul’s day. The objective was not for better governance but to be able to live quietly and peaceably. Paul reminded the faithful that God desires that all turn to Him, so no outsider should be written off. Despite the impossibility of the goal, Paul said not to doubt.

Throughout the history, the church has wandered off in various directions. Paul reminded Timothy how to keep the faithful centered (1 Timothy 3:14 – 16). First, it is not about me; collectively we are the temple and where reality may be found. People have been trying unsuccessfully to do the right thing for millennia; the gospel teaches how to be successful. God in the flesh provided an easily understood example. Physical evidence has been provided. The message went to the whole world and generated faith. God returned to heaven victorious.

God put the church in the custody of people, knowing full well that we would mess this up. All the writers of the New Testament wrote about our inevitable disaster, not from a position of defeat, but in preparation for overcoming. To Timothy, Paul wrote (1 Timothy 4:1 – 5) about deception, hypocrisy, and asceticism. If it sounds complicated, it is probably wrong. Practice what you preach. Build a thankful life; don’t suck all the joy out of it with rules. Find the good in everything and use that goodness to expand the kingdom of the faithful.

That which would make Timothy successful in the kingdom was not his teaching or gifts or authority, but his progress in his interactions with people and the character revealed in doing so (1 Timothy 4:1 – 16). To this day, the primary attractions that bring outsiders to the gospel are the kindness of God, the miraculous character development of the faithful, and physical evidence. People want what is real and what will enable them to overcome themselves. Being comfortable is nice, but being at peace with who you are is far better.

The church was designed as a family, not a business. Within this spiritual family are many physical families who have primary responsibility for the maintenance of the elderly among them. The larger group is responsible for those without faithful family (1 Timothy 5:1 – 16). Neither social programs nor retirement accounts existed. Although the society of that time acknowledged the theory of caring for the elderly, the common practice was far from compassionate. The faithful stand out because of their history of family loyalty and care.

The faithful understand that, although sometimes evil is exposed quickly, often it gets covered up. Nevertheless, Judgment Day is certain and all will be exposed. Likewise, good works may be seen and appreciated immediately, but often the good stuff does not make the news. Nevertheless, that goodness will eventually come to light, if only at that same Judgment. (1 Timothy 5:24 – 25) The faithful learn patience, being fully convinced that all things are in the plain view of God, so neither will evil escape nor goodness be lost.

Slavery was common in the era in which Christianity first arose. Fighting against it would not only have been futile but also contrary to the character of Jesus which the faithful sought to adopt. Instead, the early church taught faithful slaves to treat their masters with respect, which was highly unusual at that time. Neither were faithful slaves to despise faithful masters as supposed hypocrites, but rather to be happy that their service was benefitting a brother. (1 Timothy 6:1 – 2). Such attitudes caused the gospel to be esteemed among the people.

For many, contentment is always around the next bend in the road, but they never seem to arrive. Instead, they find only envy, strife, and suspicion. Rather than contentment being found in the next physical attainment, let it be instead in godliness and simplicity of life which are available to all. We brought nothing into this world; we can carry nothing out (1 Timothy 6:3 – 8). And, this life is the short part. Instead, deal with the reality of the eternal.

The worst part of the love of money is that it can’t love you back. It’s just money. Those who pursue it fall into the trap of fools, drowning the very success they desire, piercing themselves with sorrow over that squandered love. (1 Timothy 6:8 – 9, 17 – 19) Instead, use the riches of this world, rather than letting those riches use you. We only slightly influence the passage of money, so let us bend what we can toward doing good.

1 Timothy 1:3 – 4, “…that they teach no other doctrine, nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith.” Unprovable stories (fables) are a waste of time and have no place in the church. Christianity is the only religion based on evidence, so anything less than evidence is paganism. But, in less than ten years after the gospel reached Ephesus, fables and complexity had begun to take over. The faithful must be vigilant to stop this persistent malady.

1 Timothy 1:5 – 7, “The purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith, from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the Law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.” Many teach favorite doctrines of behaviors, practices, and rituals, missing the central theme of love, peace, and faith. Every teaching must pass through faith, love, and peace or it is worse than useless; it becomes counterproductive.

1 Timothy 1:9, “…The law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate…” The kingdom of God is composed of 100% faithful people, although some faithless people may be listed in the local church directory. The faithful are not held together by rules but by mutual trust and selfless concern.

1 Timothy 1:15 – 16, “…Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe upon Him into eternal life.” Paul gave hope to those who, for whatever reason, had gone terribly wrong, using himself as an example of how patient God can be in allowing people to come around. As long as we are still breathing, we have the opportunity to change direction and choose to trust God.

1 Timothy 2:1 – 2, “I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers , intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.” In Paul’s day, liberty was rare, authorities were generally corrupt, the robbing of dignity rampant. The faithful were enjoined to pray that they be left alone so they could live honorably. Neither civil disobedience nor regime changes were on the menu.

1 Timothy 2:4, [God] “wills for all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” God’s desire is for all to come to His version of faith. We can be very certain that God will not achieve this desire. God has built a creation which includes free will, so many things go wrong. But, God’s system is designed to give the highest probability of success for this optimal outcome. Nonetheless, the ratio of those who espouse truth never gets above single digit percentages.

1 Timothy 4:8, “Bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, holding promise for the life of the present and the coming.” Greek culture championed physical exercise as an important part of health, so Paul used it as a comparison to the much greater benefits of faith, as beneficial both for this life and the next. Godliness does not dampen life on earth, but rather enhances it.

1 Timothy 5:4, “If any widow has children or grandchildren, let them learn to show piety at home and to repay their parents.” In many cultures, adult children assume responsibility for their aging parents or grandparents as a part of life. In more affluent cultures, adult children are too busy. Aging parents “don’t want to be a burden.” And, some governments encourage this self-centeredness with social programs. While the financial cost of eldercare can be staggering, the strength accrued to the family is greater.

1 Timothy 5:8, “If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” There is nothing new under the sun. If this had not been a problem in the first century, Paul would not have needed to address it. The ancient prophets lamented the same. But the faithful take heed.

1 Timothy 6:1 – 2, “Let as many bondservants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and His doctrine may not be blasphemed. And those who have believing masters, let them not despise them because they are brethren, but serve them because those who are benefited are believers and beloved.” Selflessness yields peace and joy even in slavery.

1 Timothy 6:6 – 8, “Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, we can carry nothing out. Having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.” Different people have different quantities of assets pass through their hands, all of which will be left behind. Contentment, which may be achieved at any economic level, is far more valuable, allowing enjoyment of life. Contentment arises from knowing God’s purpose for life.

1 Timothy 6:9 – 10, “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” When Jesus broached this subject, the disciples immediately discerned that “rich” is a relative term (Matthew 19:23 – 26). Jesus replied, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

1 Timothy 6:11 – 12, “But you, O man of God, flee these things [particularly the dangers of wealth] and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold of the eternal life to which you were called and did confess the good confession before many witnesses.” Avoiding temptation is not enough. Godly character is to be pursued, which is obtained by allowing the indwelling Spirit to do its job. The path is arduous and includes speaking out about the Good News. “I believed, therefore, I spoke” (2 Corinthians 4:13).

1 Timothy 6:17 – 19, “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to have hope upon uncertain riches but upon the One God, who gives us richly all things into enjoyment: to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, ready to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation into the future, that they may take hold of that which is indeed life.” The joy of riches is in sharing, which leads to a life worth living.