Day 975: Three vital ingredients - 1 Timothy 1 vs 1 - 7
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Saviour and of Christ Jesus our hope, to Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 3-4 As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship (good order) from God that is by faith. 5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6-7 Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions. 1 Timothy 1:1-7 English Standard Version
Paul wasn't the sort of evangelist who visited a place, and then forgot about the people there as he moved to new areas. He was concerned for those who'd become Christians through his ministry and, apart from praying regularly for them, wrote many letters to those who were caring for the Churches that had been started. What was it that led to this letter to the younger man, Timothy, who Paul had urged to stay on in the city of Ephesus rather than continue with Paul on the journey he was undertaking? (vs 3-4)
In the book of Acts we read of a day when Paul warned the leaders of the Church at Ephesus, and said: “after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things to draw away the disciples after them.” (Acts 20:29-30) From the early days of the Church there’ve been people who pushed their own theories about the Bible, resulting in false teaching and confusion. The words 'myths' and 'genealogies' suggest they distorted the plain teachings of the Old Testament with their 'insights'. We've seen much of that by liberal Bible scholars ever since. But what did Paul remind Timothy was the aim of true Bible teaching? (vs 5)
What a lovely trinity that is! A pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. If these are the well from which Christian loves flows, that love will be a wonderful testimony to Christ. A pure heart means not only clean thoughts, but of there being no double standards. There is no hidden motive in our conversation with others. A good conscience means there is nothing we are ashamed of in the way we have behaved towards others. A sincere faith suggests that the things we do spring from a genuine desire to put the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ into action every day of our life.
What Paul wrote to Timothy still applies to all of us as we try to make God's message known to our neighbours, and when we have conversations with brothers and sisters in Christ. We should never be trying to promote ourselves, parade our intellectualism, or push personal doctrinal opinions. Our goal should be to make the love of Christ known. When the apostle Paul arrived in Corinth, a city where many people took pride in being clever, he was able later to say to them: “When I came to you, I didn't come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:1-2) He had spoken from a pure heart with no hidden motives. His conscience was clear that he had not tried to impress them. And his message was totally sincere. He wanted them to know the amazing love of Jesus.
So what had caused some people in Ephesus to become wolves rather than sheep? (vs 6-7)
They had swerved away from what the gospel calls us to aim for. The gospel calls us to pursue a heart that is pure, a conscience that is good, and faith that is sincere. If we ignore these and focus on trivial speculations about the Bible, and want people to see how clever we are, we run the risk of going astray, and then leading others astray. This is a big reason why we have so many cults in the world today. They were started by people who were aiming for the wrong things – and God's love was lost along the way. May we ever keep the goal of God's teaching in sight.