Post by Admin on Apr 28, 2019 3:16:30 GMT
We begin at the beginning in reading Paul's counsel to Timothy and Titus, both younger men who Paul mentored. These letters include advice that in some cases do not match our modern views, which make them even more important to read and discuss. Here is Chapter 1 (NIV).
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,
2 To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer 4 or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith. 5 The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.
8 We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. 9 We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine 11 that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.
12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
18 Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, 19 holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith. 20 Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.
Some background on Timothy's tough assignment in Ephesus (from Ligonier Ministries):
We would be hard-pressed to find a city in the first century that offered a more fertile soil for false doctrine than Ephesus. Located in modern-day western Turkey, Ephesus was the capital of the Roman province of Asia and a political, commercial, and religious hub. Home to the temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, it would later become a center of caesar worship. A large Jewish community lived in Ephesus, and the heresies plaguing the Ephesian churches when Paul wrote to Timothy appear to have been a strange mixture of Judaism, paganism, and Christianity.
It is notoriously difficult to determine the exact content of the false teaching promulgated in Ephesus. But the “myths and endless genealogies” in verse 4 are probably evidence that Jewish legends were a part of the errors taught in the church there. Many first-century Jews enjoyed “devotional” works full of inventive stories about people in the genealogies of the Old Testament. The book of Jubilees, for example, is a non-canonical writing that was popular with the sect that produced the Dead Sea Scrolls. Instead of fulfilling their call to equip the saints for ministry and lead the Ephesian believers into Christian maturity, they were speculating about information that was of no edifying use to the churches there.
Even Christians in our day can get lost in conjectures that offer no real benefit to the church at large. Speculations about the present identity of Gog and Magog (Ezek. 39:1–6; Rev. 20:7–10), America’s place in biblical prophecy, and the like, while not heretical in themselves, usually contribute little in the way of edification to the bride of Christ. John Calvin writes that those doctrines that “contribute to edification may be approved, and that those which give ground for unprofitable disputes may be rejected as unworthy of the church of God.” Though some find it a lot of fun to argue over minor tenets, causing strife over disputed matters while ignoring the essentials of the Christian faith is no good for anyone.
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,
2 To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer 4 or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith. 5 The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.
8 We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. 9 We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine 11 that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.
12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
18 Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, 19 holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith. 20 Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.
Some background on Timothy's tough assignment in Ephesus (from Ligonier Ministries):
We would be hard-pressed to find a city in the first century that offered a more fertile soil for false doctrine than Ephesus. Located in modern-day western Turkey, Ephesus was the capital of the Roman province of Asia and a political, commercial, and religious hub. Home to the temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, it would later become a center of caesar worship. A large Jewish community lived in Ephesus, and the heresies plaguing the Ephesian churches when Paul wrote to Timothy appear to have been a strange mixture of Judaism, paganism, and Christianity.
It is notoriously difficult to determine the exact content of the false teaching promulgated in Ephesus. But the “myths and endless genealogies” in verse 4 are probably evidence that Jewish legends were a part of the errors taught in the church there. Many first-century Jews enjoyed “devotional” works full of inventive stories about people in the genealogies of the Old Testament. The book of Jubilees, for example, is a non-canonical writing that was popular with the sect that produced the Dead Sea Scrolls. Instead of fulfilling their call to equip the saints for ministry and lead the Ephesian believers into Christian maturity, they were speculating about information that was of no edifying use to the churches there.
Even Christians in our day can get lost in conjectures that offer no real benefit to the church at large. Speculations about the present identity of Gog and Magog (Ezek. 39:1–6; Rev. 20:7–10), America’s place in biblical prophecy, and the like, while not heretical in themselves, usually contribute little in the way of edification to the bride of Christ. John Calvin writes that those doctrines that “contribute to edification may be approved, and that those which give ground for unprofitable disputes may be rejected as unworthy of the church of God.” Though some find it a lot of fun to argue over minor tenets, causing strife over disputed matters while ignoring the essentials of the Christian faith is no good for anyone.