Author: Joshua Kansiewicz

“A church leader must not be a new believer, because he might become proud, and the devil would cause him to fall. Also, people outside the church must speak well of him so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the devil’s trap.”

“Why?”  There is no question more infamous in parenting. “Why do I have to study my spelling words?  Why do I have to clean my room? Why do I need to turn the music down? Why do I have to stop watching TV?”  As a parent, I try to answer the “why” questions as honestly as possible. Unfortunately, however, some of the directions I give my kids are hard to explain.  Sometimes I have to simply say “I don’t know how to help you understand this one, so I need you to trust me, ok?”

Many of God’s rules and standards seem to be like that.  We have to trust Him because His reasoning may be beyond us.  It may address blindspots we don’t even know that we have. Therefore, it can be refreshing when a rule or standard is explained.  Such is the case as Paul’s first  list of standards for church leaders comes to a close. He finishes it with two important character traits. First, leaders must have been following Jesus for a while.  Why? Because otherwise Satan might use their position of influence to tempt them to pride. Second, they must have a positive reputation outside the church. Why? Because people who “fall into disgrace” with outsiders are easily tempted to fall into Satan’s traps.  What do all these leadership standards have in common?  They are all attainable by anyone who is willing to let Jesus lead their life.  

Here’s your freedom for today:  God’s leadership standards are attainable.  God’s leadership standards is that can be met by anyone who is willing to grow and mature under Jesus’ training and leadership.  God doesn’t limit leadership to people with brown hair or people who are six feet tall. He limits leadership to those who are wholeheartedly and passionately growing through their relationship with him.  Hopefully, that means you.

 

“Women should learn quietly and submissively. I do not let women teach men or have authority over them. Let them listen quietly. For God made Adam first, and afterward he made Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived by Satan. The woman was deceived, and sin was the result. But women will be saved through childbearing, assuming they continue to live in faith, love, holiness, and modesty.”

I remember a worksheet that I had to do in third grade science class.  It had 8 different circles, and in each circle there was a photo of something with a pattern.  One had a pattern of blue and teal. Another had a cross-hatched pattern of tan and yellow. The assignment was to figure out what was in each circle.  What the worksheet did not explain is that each image was zoomed in very close so it looked different than expected. Zoomed out, the blue and teal picture was easily recognized as a fish.  Zoomed out, the tan and yellow picture was easily recognized as a giraffe.

This current passage is somewhat like that worksheet.  It can only be understood if we zoom out and look at the broader context of the Bible.  If we were to read the Bible from cover to cover, we would find a long line of women who lead and teach: Miriam (Ex. 15:20), Huldah (2 Kings 22:14-20), Philip’s daughters (Acts 21:8,9), Priscilla (Philippians 4:2,3), as well as many others like the handful of  women mentioned in Romans 16. Several of these examples are of Paul commending women as leaders and teachers. What, then, is going on in this passage? Is Paul contradicting himself? That seems unlikely. Some experts suggest that Paul is addressing a specific situation in which the women of the church needed to be removed from leading because they were abusing the leadership role.  Is that correct? Perhaps. It is more important, however, to always let the big-picture view of the Bible set the limits for how we understand specific passages like this one.

Here’s your freedom for today: you CAN understand the Bible.  Sometimes the Bible seems overwhelming. Who can possibly understand it? The exciting answer is: anyone. It doesn’t take a special level of education.  It doesn’t take special training. It just takes time, which is a resource everyone has.  Regular, daily reading will eventually help you build up an understanding of what the Bible is saying – of it’s larger themes and storyline. The goal is not to understand the Bible perfectly today. The goal is to understand the Bible a little bit better every, single day.  

 

“In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy. And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes. For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do.”

Throughout the years, there have been several moments at our church when someone became a distraction.  One man stood in an aisle and flipped off the Pastor while he preached. Another week someone decided to get up and greet each person in the front row while the Pastor preached.  Each time something like this happens, I walk the person out of the auditorium and we have a short conversation. During that conversation I want to make one thing very clear: church is a place where Jesus is the center of attention. No one gets to act in any way that distracts the rest of the church from Jesus.

That is the essence of what Paul is writing here.  When people are trying to focus on worshipping God, there shouldn’t be distractions.  Paul lists several potential distractions. Men should avoid causing distraction through “anger” or “controversy.” Women should avoid causing distraction through “their appearance.”  Beyond these specifics, however, is an important principle. Every follower of Jesus is responsible for helping to create a distraction-free environment for everyone one else who is trying to worship Jesus.  

Here’s your freedom for today: worshipping God together is dynamically powerful.  Each of us has the power to help everyone else to worship.  We do this by how we dress and how we act when we arrive at church.  We do this through our posture and our attitude during church services.  We do this especially through how we relate to others. When we choose to give our full attention and effort to encountering God through the service, we not only help ourselves, but we help everyone else around us.  The inverse is also true. If you are ever having a hard time connecting with God, go find a giant crowd of people who are wholeheartedly worshipping. If you let it, their passion and attitude will rub off.

“For, There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time. And I have been chosen as a preacher and apostle to teach the Gentiles this message about faith and truth. I’m not exaggerating—just telling the truth.”

I went for a daddy-daughter walk last week.  We grabbed a game called Beat the Parents, walked down to Dunkin Donuts, and spent an hour or so just having fun together.  On the way home, my phone buzzed. While I didn’t answer it, it still distracted me. When I finally got my attention back onto my  daughter, she was saying “…the one with the pink and the purple. What do you think?” I had two choices: I could pretend I’d had been listening and just generally agree, or I could admit I got distracted and ask her to repeat herself.  

When a section of the Bible begins with the word “for” we find ourselves having to make a similar decision.  Do we go back and see what the writer is talking about? Or do we just assume we’ll figure it out? In this case, the previous sentence was really important: God “wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.”  Everyone means everyone. God wants every single person on earth to know that he loves them and forgives them and wants to lead their lives. God wants to rescue every single person out of whatever brokenness, sin, and pain they are in.  That is what leads to Paul’s comment that there is only one God and one mediator. The idea is that God wants everyone to be rescued, and he offered a way for that rescue to happen: Jesus.

Here is your freedom for today: God sent Jesus to make a plan specifically to rescue you.  That is what a mediator does – he makes a plan. Jesus serves as a mediator between us and God.  He makes a plan for restoring the broken relationship between us. We are each offered that plan.  We can accept his forgiveness or we can choose not to. The one option we are not given is to ask for a second plan.  Jesus is God’s best and only offer. There is no need for alternatives – Jesus is enough.

 

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.

Several years ago, I went on a retreat with a group of friends.  We stayed in little cabin on a lake, and we spent time fishing and hiking and playing laser tag.  All of them were followers of Jesus, and it was an election year, so eventually politics came up. I was amazed at the variety of opinions.  “Good Christians always vote Republican,” said one guy. “No,” said another, “they always vote democrat!” Another claimed Christians shouldn’t align with any of the political parties, and a fourth said that Christians shouldn’t even bother to vote.  

In these verses, Paul has finished setting the scene for Timothy.  The introduction to the letter is over, and now the directions begin.  What is fascinating is that the first direction involves how Christians should engage with the political world around them.  Christianity for Paul was a very public thing. So was prayer. So praying should start where it can have the most impact, and where is that?  With those who have the most influence. Political leaders – whether the kings of Paul’s day or the presidents of our own – are people of great influence.  They can make the world in which we live chaotic or peaceful. As a follower of Jesus, you can actually help determine whether their leadership directs the world towards chaos or peace.

Here’s your freedom for today: your prayers can influence powerful people to do peaceful things.  The kings of Paul’s day were self-centered, sinful, at times insane men. Yet Paul commands that believer’s pray for them.  Why? Because only God can change the heart of a ruler. Only God can transform the inner life of a leader so that he or she leads with Godly principles.  What might cause God to act in the heart and life of that leader? Paul is gives a very simple answer: your prayers. So if you want peace in the world, pray for your political leaders – presidents, senators, governors, mayors and judges.  Your prayers may actually change the future of the entire world.