August 25, 2019
Morning Service

Last week we introduced the relationship that Timothy, the receiver of this letter, and Paul, the writer, had.  Paul was Timothy’s mentor and spiritual father and he wrote this letter to instruct and also encourage him along his way as he was spreading the Good News of Christ.  We discussed how Paul modeled a life that always went the extra mile to somehow reach as many as possible with the message of salvation.  “I have become all things to all men that I might by all means save some.”  We are to follow his lead and look to give the extra effort needed to share Christ with others.  We begin is verse 3 as Paul reminds Timothy of his previous charge to him.

1Ti 1:3-4 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia—remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, (4) nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith.  

            Paul had visited Ephesus on his 2^nd and 3^rd missionary journeys, staying almost 3 years the second time so he knew them very well and the problems they were having.  He had left Timothy there to emphasize the importance of teaching the truth.  Ephesus was plagued with many false teachers who taught “fables and endless genealogies.”  They made up mythical stories about OT characters that engaged the church into questions and controversies confusing them about what really was truth and what was not.  All these discussions and hypothetical questions caused only disputes and did not truly build their faith in the Lord.  It was far more detrimental than edifying.  Paul encourages Timothy and us to focus on the truth.

            We also need to take heed to not get caught up in discussions (hypothetical questions) that seem to take us down a rabbit hole and place our focus on things that really don’t matter.  We do not need to dwell there.  Be careful to always bring the conversation back to what we do know, focusing on that and acknowledging that there are some things that we are not given to understand.  Peter told us this:

 

2Pe 1:3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,

            Everything that we need to grow and thrive as a Jesus follower has been given to us.  There is nothing hidden from us that we need to know.  Yes, there are things that we are beyond our understanding at our level of faith and that needs to be okay with us.  We must be able to trust God to reveal to us only what we need or what we can handle at that point of our walk with Him and place the rest on the altar not letting it consume us and undermine our faith.  There are some who “wrestle” with this to their own destruction.  Paul now gives us the true purpose of this command to speak only truth.

 

1Ti 1:5 Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith,

            The goal of teaching only sound truth and not getting lost in these “fables” is love.  The true message of salvation is one that will penetrate the heart and conscience of the believer and create within them a “sincere faith.”  Many of the false teaching were very hypocritical and emphasized that works are what “earns” your salvation; rather than the truth that it is a relationship and not a religion.

 

  Do you know Jesus?

 

  Do you know how much He loves you? (Matt. 7:23)

 

When you can answer “yes” to these questions then your walk with the Lord will be based on your love for Him from a “pure heart, from a good conscience and from a sincere faith.”  It is the difference of just going through the motions of following Jesus out of a sense of duty and truly putting Him first in your life acting out of your love for Him.  Paul is emphasizing to Timothy that it is the teaching of true sound doctrine that edifies our faith and creates the pure love for our Lord that we need.  That is its purpose and goal.  These false teachers in Ephesus were not doing this.

 

1Ti 1:6-11 from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, (7) desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.  (8)  But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully,  (9)  knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,  (10)  for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine,  (11)  according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.

            Paul warns that these false teachers are very legalistic teaching the law as a set of rules and regulations to follow to be found just in God’s sight; “do this and don’t do that.”  They are missing the key point of giving our pure heart to Him and following by “loving the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind and loving our neighbor as Christ loved you.” (Matt. 22:37-40) This summarizes all the Law and the prophets.  Loving God and loving your brother will fulfill every command we are given.  If we truly understand the message of Christ and have accepted Him as our personal Savior, this will become who we are and what we do.  We love because we are loved.

            The Law is good and helpful as Paul shows us that it defines what sin is as he gives us a long list.  These things are part of the true doctrine Paul is teaching us not to stray away from.  We cannot be “tolerant” (willing to accept the existence of opinions or behaviors that we do not agree with) of any of these sins or lifestyles just because society wants us to.  Sin is sin.  We are bound to the truth and must teach the doctrine of what we read in the scriptures not “adding to our subtracting” from it.  We are not allowed to “pick and choose” our truth, because “all things that pertain to life and godliness have been given to us.”  Paul is challenging Timothy and us to teach this truth, but it is to be done in the manner he commanded the Corinthian church.

 

1Co 16:13-14 Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.  (14)  Let all that you do be done with love.

            It takes courage to stand up and teach the truth to those who do not want to hear it and to a society who wants to define their own truth.  Paul calls us to “stand fast, be brave, and strong,” but we must do it with the spirit of love.  It is not our job to condemn or judge others (Matt. 7:1), but only to love them.  We must, however, teach the true sound doctrine that we have been given without apologies but in a loving and compassionate spirit.  God said it and we believe it and that settles it.  He defines sin, I don’t.  I simply teach what He gives me to teach, following His lead as I imitate him.  Jesus said this:

 

Joh 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

 

Joh 8:32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

        We have been set free from the burden of lining up with the OT law and its “red tape” legalistic ways.  We are set free to simply follow our heart that we have fully given to Him.  The true doctrine of Christ that we find in our Bibles will lead us to having a “loving with a pure heart, from a good conscience and from a sincere faith.”  We are to avoid getting derailed by “fables” and hypothetical questions.  Read and study your Bible (the truth) and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth to you and change you to line up with it.

 

Heavenly Father grant us a hunger for Your Word and allow the Holy Spirit to move in our lives to give us that the ability to love from a pure heart.