Category: 1 Timothy

“Timothy, my son, here are my instructions for you, based on the prophetic words spoken about you earlier. May they help you fight well in the Lord’s battles. Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked. Hymenaeus and Alexander are two examples. I threw them out and handed them over to Satan so they might learn not to blaspheme God.”

Throughout my life, I have been in many situations where I wanted to hear a clear word from God telling me about my future or my calling.  I remember praying for direction in my college dorm room long enough that the pattern of the industrial carpet imprinted itself on my knees.  I remember being in a church service where a special guest was preaching. I sat in the back thinking, “Let God give that guy a special word just for me.”

Maybe we all want God to deliver special messages just for us, or maybe it’s just me.  Timothy had apparently received just such a message – some kind of “prophetic words.” Whatever these words were, they led Paul to give Timothy very specific advice: “Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear.”  On second thought, maybe the advice isn’t that specific. Maybe God’s most important messages to his people aren’t the unique ones that differ from one person to another. Maybe the most important messages are the universal ones – the ones that are the same from person to person.

Here’s your freedom for today: through His Word, God is speaking directly to you.  This command to Timothy is as directly to you as it is to Timothy. God is challenging you through Paul to “Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear.”  The alternative is spiritual shipwreck – a road many have gone down including Hymenaeus and Alexander. That painful road is one you don’t have to go down, though. With God’s command comes God’s power.  If God commands you to cling to your faith in Christ, he will empower you to hold on tight. If he commands you to keep your conscience clear, he will help you do exactly that. So now today, you have heard God speak directly to you.  Will you obey? That’s the only question that matters.

 

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of 1 Timothy 1 before reading the devotional below.

My family and I recently went on vacation to France.  Every day was filled with timeless architecture, world-class artwork and breathtaking views into ancient history.  We saw the Arche De Triomphe, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Mona Lisa, and Van Gogh’s Starry Night. We saw the best of medieval art and modern art all in the same day.  As the days filled, I found myself grateful for the moments before bed when I could review my pictures. It helped me to catalogue what I’d seen throughout the day – to put the pieces of my day together into a coherent whole.  

As we finish 1 Timothy 1, we pause for a similar reason.  We have spent almost a week reading a single chapter of the Bible together.  During that time we have zoomed in on several significant words, phrases, and ideas.  But God didn’t tell Paul to write a series of disconnected tweets. 1 Timothy is a letter, and we must intentionally pause to put the pieces of what we’ve learned back together.  So what has Paul said? First, we notice that Paul both began (vs. 5) and ended (vs. 19) by connecting the ideas of “a clear conscience” and “faith in Christ.” The intersection of these ideas matters far more to him than fancy spiritual talk or debate.  We also see Paul highlight the value of God’s law – it is a tool for those who are not doing what is right to get them back on track. It is not a tool designed for those who are doing right to give them feelings of superiority. Finally, we see Paul wrapping all this up in an encouragement to his mentee Timothy.  Timothy has been commissioned by Paul to help keep a church in Ephesus focused on the main thing as it is here described.

Here’s your freedom for today: if you cling to Jesus, he will cling to you.  Life is filled with struggles and distractions. Some come from people who claim to be “spiritual” like those who get distracted by needless religious debates.  Others come from people who know nothing about Jesus and are simply seeking to make it through life on their own steam. Others come from within your own heart and mind.  Regardless of where the struggles or distractions come from, however, God has given you a way to overcome. Clinging to Jesus and having a clear conscience aren’t separate ideas – the one enables you to have the other.  Clinging to Jesus will guarantee you a clear conscience you could never have had on your own. So no matter what comes, cling to Jesus. As long as you do that, you can figure out everything else.

 

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.

 

“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.

 

“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.