1 Timothy Free Bible thoughts

Daily Bible thoughts 1008: Tuesday 10th November 2015: 1 Timothy 3:8-13: Serving well.

1 Timothy 3:8-13: Serving well.(click here for todays Bible passage)

There clearly are areas of overlap between the qualifications for elders and those for ‘’Deacons’’. See the word ‘’likewise’’ (8).The boundary line between these two roles may not be so clearly demarcated as we sometimes imagine, but it appears that the elders were the ‘overseers’ of the church, perhaps assisted by deacons, who could also exercise a teaching/preaching ministry (9). There are four areas mentioned where deacons must be similar to elders:

They should have integrity and be of good character (8): Who they are counts; not just what they can do;
They must be theologically sound (9): This is a particularly interesting statement in the light of the fact that it is regularly thought that a deacon’s ministry may have been more practical in nature (see Acts 6:1-7, which may refer to the appointment of the first diaconate);
They have got to prove themselves first (10): ‘’Let them prove themselves first. If they show they can do it, take them on.’’ The Message. This may link to the next point (see also 4, 5. We saw yesterday that the home is the proving ground for church leadership);
They have to be exemplary in home and family life (12): Perfection is not asked for, but a good example in moral/sexual conduct is required.

Verse 11 points to the character which is also required for deacon’s wives. But I understand the word can also refer to ‘deaconesses.’ ‘’No exceptions are to be made for women – same qualifications: serious, dependable, not sharp-tongued, not overfond of wine.’’ The Message.

When people serve well in Christian leadership they receive both external and internal blessings (13). Externally, there is an honour placed on them by God (and the church). Internally, they grow in a sense of assurance that they are saved people demonstrating and expressing their salvation in the good works of ministry.

‘’Those who do this servant work will come to be highly respected, a real credit to this Jesus-faith.’’ The Message.

Pray today that your leaders will serve well.

November 10, 2015 0

1 Timothy 2:9-15: Orderly worship (please click here for todays passage)

Without getting into detail on the more controversial aspects of this passage, I do want to underline certain truths that I believe are in keeping with all Scripture.

God has an order/a pattern for public worship. We are not free to ‘bin it’. Everything in the Bible is important, and we must apply our hearts and minds to understand it, and try to make faithful application to church and personal life
God has an order/a pattern for male-female relationships. This applies to the home, the church and society at large. This template entails men taking a lead. ‘’I don’t let women take over and tell the men what to do.’’ The Message .But this is not because men are superior to women or more important creatures. They are in fact both equal before God in Christ (Galatians 3:26-28). Paul gives theological reasons for his argument here in (13, 14); but be clear that he is not arguing that men are lesser sinners than women. ‘’Adam was made first, then Eve; woman was deceived first – our pioneer in sin! – with Adam right on her heels.’’ The Message. It’s beyond the scope of these daily inspirational thoughts to fully unpack the details of Paul’s argument (and there are many good commentaries available that can help you). But it must be born in mind that in the Bible’s big picture (and every text must be understood in terms of this larger context) many women played important leadership roles.
God’s order/pattern for public worship involves dressing in a way that does not distract our brothers and sisters from the worship of God. Although the message is delivered to women in this passage, it is surely applicable to both sexes. True beauty is inward, not outward. It is the beauty of holiness: ‘’…doing something beautiful for God and becoming beautiful doing it.’’ The Message.

Donald Guthrie, the renowned New Testament scholar, believes that these verses may relate to a specific problem at the time of writing where women, who were downtrodden in that culture, but now newly liberated through faith in Christ, and were beginning to dominate men in the church. So they were in danger of bringing the church into disrepute. Guthrie writes these wise and balanced words, and I find them helpful: ‘’If we say that Paul was culturally conditioned, so that if he were writing today he would emphasize only the equality of the sexes, we make God’s revelation dependent on transitory fashion – changing from year to year. And who can tell what Paul would write if he were here today? If, on the other hand, we insist on a precise application of each feature of first century practice, we run the risk of being irrelevant to modern life and even ridiculous. Our task is to discern the basic biblical principles which do not change and apply them sensitively to our present situation, bearing in mind that it is better, in the last resort, to appear ridiculous than to be disobedient to God’s loving purposes.’’ ‘The New Bible Commentary’, p.1298.

One final word, it is possible that the rather strange sounding fifteenth verse may refer to the ‘’childbearing’’ of Mary, who brought the Saviour, Jesus into the world. But it is by no means certain that this is the correct interpretation (lovely thought that it is) and the point continues to be debated.

Prayer: Thank you for your Word Lord. I want to always bow to your wisdom, when I understand it and when I don’t.

Daily Bible thoughts 1002: Monday 2nd November 2015: 1 Timothy 2:1-8: The church’s priority

1 Timothy 2:1-8: The church’s priority (please click here for todays post)

I imagine most churches in the UK are wide of the mark if they measure their public worship against Paul’s words here. He says clearly that the church’s priority is to pray, and it is an ‘urgent’ requirement. This praying is to be carried out in unity and with purity of heart (8). And it comes ‘’first of all’’ (1). That could mean ‘first in time’, i.e. it’s the first thing you should do in a service; or as a priority, so that it is seen as the most important thing you do. I take it to mean the latter.

Notice a number of interesting and important details:

There are different types, or forms, of prayer (1; see Ephesians 6:18);
Prayer is to be offered for ‘’everyone’’ ;
We are to pray for people in authority (2), and be thankful for them too! We may not approve of them. We may not have voted for them. But we do have a solemn duty to pray for them, and to thank God for them. In His sovereignty He has raised them up for a reason. (Remember Paul and his fellow-Christians lived under Roman rule when he wrote these words and they read them. They didn’t have the opportunity of casting a vote);
Our prayers will affect the atmosphere of our society (2; see also Jeremiah 29:7). We can pray that the culture will remain open and free so that we can continue to spread the gospel and live the Christian life;
In particular, in praying for our leaders, and for all people, we are to remember that this pleases God because He ‘’wants all men to be saved’’ (4). It may be hard for us to believe at times, but God can save those in high authority in our land. (In fact, we are led to believe that there already are many Christians working in and around Westminster, and they need our prayer support);
So at the heart of this passage a classic statement is made about the saving work of Christ through the cross (5, 6). We pray for people knowing how much Jesus loves them, and in the certainty that only He can save them. We pray with the confidence that He is able to save them. This message of salvation through Christ’s death lay at the heart of Paul’s ministry (7). Whenever we come boldly before God in prayer it is because of Jesus’ sacrifice. At the heart of all our praying there must be this evangelistic desire that all people may be brought to know God through Jesus. ‘’Since prayer is at the bottom of all this, what I want mostly is for men to pray – not shaking angry fists at enemies but raising holy hands to God.’’ The Message.

What a privilege we have; what a responsibility. Probably most Christians and churches in Britain today need to take these words more seriously, and get on with obeying them; at least, doing so more consistently. Our land desperately needs the urgent, on-going prayers of God’s people.

‘’The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Saviour God wants us to live.’’ The Message.

Prayer: Lord, teach us to pray.

November 2, 2015 0

Daily Bible thoughts 977: Monday 26th October 2015: 1 Timothy 1: 18-20: Shipwrecks.

1 Timothy 1: 18-20: Shipwrecks. (click here for todays Bible passage)

When a shipwreck occurs valuables are lost or plundered. It is sadly possible to ‘shipwreck’ your faith. You can probably think of those you know who have done just that to themselves. Paul mentions two known to him (20) who were currently on the rocks. (But he still had hopes of their being salvaged, and I will return to the point later.)

However this short passage points out 2 clear ways of remaining on course; staying afloat on the high seas of faith:

Hold on to ‘’faith’’ (19a). Always remember that there is a ‘’thief’’ who ‘’comes only to steal and kill and destroy’’ (John 10:10). He wants to take this precious cargo from out of your ‘hold’;
Hold on to ‘’a good conscience’’ (19a). The ‘thief’ has also set his sights on seizing this oh so valuable commodity.

We need to keep right on trusting in the right Person (Jesus) and believing correct doctrine. (We should also hold on to prophetic ‘words’ which we have good reason to believe are genuine. See 18) Linked to this, we are to go on living the right way. Part of this right living is getting on with what God has called us to do, just like Timothy did, even though it may not necessarily be easy (18a). This is about calling and vocation; not just about moral conduct.

But we do these things with our eyes wide open. We are not naïve (or shouldn’t be) about the true nature of things. We know that we’re in a furious fight. It’s a fight all the way; a battle to the end of our days. But it is ‘’the good fight’’ (18b). It’s in a good cause. It’s a fight for right against wrong. And the God who is good is ‘’for us’’ so ‘’who can be against us?’’ (Romans 8:31).

‘’There are some, you know, who by relaxing their grip and thinking anything goes have made a thorough mess of their faith. Hymenaeus and Alexander are two of them. I let them wander off to Satan to be taught a lesson or two about not blaspheming.’’ The Message.

In the mention of ‘’Hymenaeus and Alexander’’ who shipwrecked their faith, there is an intriguing note about Paul handing them ‘’over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.’’ This is generally taken to refer to excommunication. They were put out of the church into the world, which is Satan’s domain. But there is an implicit note of hope that this disciplinary measure will be corrective; that they will be ‘’taught not to blaspheme’’. Spiritual casualties can be healed and restored; the shipwrecked may one day find the wind of the Spirit in their once again unfurled sails. Me must hope and pray it will be so in a number of cases known to us.

Prayer: Pray today for those you know who have shipwrecked their faith.

October 26, 2015 0

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