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1 Timothy Bible study notes

Daily Bible thoughts 1034: Wednesday 16th December 2015: 1 Timothy 6:3-10: You can’t take it with you.

 1 Timothy 6:3-10: You can’t take it with you.(please click here for todays Bible passage)

Someone said, ‘’You will never know that Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.’’

I heard a young woman give a testimony on one occasion. She was a Christian, but she said that she had been through a period in life when she felt ‘’so discontented’’. Then, in reading her Bible, these words hit her (6): ‘’But godliness with contentment is great gain.’’ (6). They brought perspective and changed everything in her outlook.

What lies at the back of this passage is the lust for money; the love of money. False teaching and money-grabbing tend to go together. When you see greed for monetary gain in a leader/preacher it should set off alarm bells in your head. Be wary. If you are in a position of leadership in the church, and you sense such desires growing in your heart, that is an ‘eye’ to be gouged out and a ‘hand’ to be cut off (Matthew 5:29, 30). Don’t allow such longings to stay. Go to war against them. They may well destroy you if you let them stay. So, as the Sergeant used to say in ‘Hill Street Blues’: ‘’Do it to them before they do it to you.’’

Paul says there’s a standard of teaching by which you can ‘measure’ all teaching, and anything out of true should not be tolerated. In his day he knew of false teachers ‘’who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.’’ (5; Hebrews 13:5). Again, the problem here is the focus on money and the greed for it. The tenth verse has been misquoted as ‘’The love of money is the root of all evil.’’ It isn’t. But it is a serious problem. It leads to bad places. It can lead your heart away from Jesus so that your devotion is given to an idol that will bitterly disappoint (10). You can’t take it with you (7). We should be content with the basics of life (8). God may bless us with more, but it is wise, and right, to cultivate thankful, contented hearts. ‘’Since we entered the world penniless and will leave it penniless, if we have bread on the table and shoes on our feet, that’s enough…Lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble. Going down that path, some lose their footing in the faith completely and live to regret it bitterly ever after.’’ The Message.

False teaching has to be dealt with. It is like a serious infection; a contagion that will spread: ‘’If you have leaders who teach otherwise, who refuse the solid words of our Master Jesus and this godly instruction, tag them for what they are: ignorant windbags who infect the air with germs of envy, controversy, bad-mouthing, suspicious rumours. Eventually there’s an epidemic of back-stabbing, and truth is bit a distant memory. They think religion is a way to make a fast buck.’’ The Message.

A well-known preacher was asked to speak at a meeting in the Stock Exchange in London. He said he wanted to entitle his talk: ‘’You can’t take it with you, and if you could it would burn!’’

Prayer: Lord, keep my heart free from the love of money

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Daily Bible thoughts 1033: Tuesday 15th December 2015: 1 Timothy 6:1, 2: He’s my brother.

 1 Timothy 6:1- 2: He’s my brother.(please click here for todays passage)

I heard a story about a private soldier who was attending a communion service. When it came time for him to leave his seat and go and receive the bread and wine, he noticed that his major was in the queue behind him. So he stood back to let the senior officer go first. But the man refused. As the story goes, he said, ‘Anywhere else, but not in here.’ We are on level ground before the cross.

Paul did not campaign against slavery. It would have been futile for him to do so under the Roman Empire. But it could be argued that he sowed the seeds of its destruction in his revolutionary teaching about masters and slaves. They could sit together in the same pew, you might say, and call each other ‘brother.’

However, Paul wanted the Christian slaves to understand that they should not abuse their privileged position of serving fellow-Christians (2). They were not to ‘short change’ them in any way.

Whoever we are; whatever we do; whether we are slaves or free, we need to understand that by our behaviour we can discredit the God we claim to love and the teaching we say we follow. There is urgency about understanding this point because so much is at stake. It really is important. Eyes are on us, and how we live matters.

‘’Whoever is a slave must make the best of it, giving respect to his master, so that outsiders don’t blame God and our teaching for his behaviour. Slaves with Christian masters all the more so – their masters are really their beloved brothers!’’ The Message.

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Daily Bible thoughts 1027: Monday 7th December 2015: 1 Timothy 5:1-8: Practical as a pair of shoes!

 1 Timothy 5:1-8: Practical as a pair of shoes! (please click here for todays passage)

‘’…let them learn that religion begins at their own doorstep and that they should pay back with gratitude some of what they have received. This pleases God immensely.’’ The Message

It is said that ‘’charity begins at home’’, but true religion starts there too. The eighth verse is such a strong statement: ‘’Anyone who neglects to care for family members in need repudiates the faith. That’s worse than refusing to believe in the first place.’’ The Message. In a section of practical instructions about different relationships in the church, Paul states clearly that Christian families should look after their own. This is a sacred responsibility (4).

But where someone is truly destitute (3, 4); where there is ‘real’ need, the church should do what it can. Let’s remember that Paul was writing in a context where there were no state benefits to be had. But the principle still applies in our culture. Where there is genuine need we can show we are Christians by our love (John 13:34, 35; Acts 4:34a).

Ethel Barrett writes: ‘’Christianity is as practical as a pair of shoes – not just for putting on and showing, but for getting up and going.’’

D.L. Moody said: ‘’Every Bible should be bound in shoe leather!’’

Our ‘’religion’’ must be ‘’put into practice’’ and it starts at home, which may be, for some, the hardest place to walk it out. But we only believe as much of the Bible as we do.

It pleases God when we remember the good things done for us by parents and grandparents and we honour them in our conduct towards them. Even if they don’t need 24 hour care, they should know that we love them; that we appreciate them. ‘’…this is pleasing to God’’ (4).

In the opening two verses we find wisdom for young men in ministry (but not exclusively for younger men.)

In (5) there is a principle which applies more broadly. When anyone, or any ministry, is ‘up against it’ and doesn’t know where the next penny is coming from, they are thrown back on God, and their prayer life intensifies. God answers prayer, and He does it through His people. Where we know of genuine need and we can meet it, it is surely not up to us to pray about it, but to dig into our pockets and put our religion into practice.

Prayer: Lord God, please strengthen me to live out my faith at home today.

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Daily Bible thoughts 1020: Thursday 26th November 2015: 1 Timothy 4:6-16: Embody the message.

 1 Timothy 4:6-16: Embody the message.(please click here for todays passage)

‘’Restlessness is discontent, and discontent is the first necessity of progress. Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure.’’ Thomas Alva Edison.

Timothy was given a tough assignment. He had to work in the same arena where the false teachers were active and stand his ground. Here are some things he was told to do:

  • Teach the truth (6, 11, 13, and 14). Where there is darkness the entrance of light will dispel it. Whereas Timothy was to teach God’s Word verbally, he also was expected to do so visually; to live it out before men. ‘’Teach believers with your life…’’ The Message. He was called to lead by example (12); to embody the message. Indeed, Paul wanted people to be able to see Timothy’s ‘’progress’’ (15), both as a preacher and as a man. Apparently the godly Scottish pastor, Robert Murray McCheyne , said, ‘’What my people need most from me is my personal holiness.’’ It remains the case that leaders/preachers should ‘’Watch’’ their lives and doctrine ‘’closely’’ (and) pursue growth constantly. ‘’Keep a firm grasp on both your character and your teaching. Don’t be diverted. Just keep at it.’’ The Message. Timothy’s teaching was to have at its heart the gospel message of salvation in Jesus (9, 10)
  • Turn away from error (7). We can’t help others reject heresy if we are enamoured by it ourselves. There can be an unhealthy fascination with unimportant speculative material.
  • Train to be godly (7b, 8). The idea of training implies work and effort. You think about an athlete training for a big race, and how he or she is disciplined; how they keep working, working to improve their time, even if only marginally. They are constantly straining to get better, and make numerous sacrifices in the process. They push themselves. They don’t take the easy option. We should all want to become better people, more and more like Jesus. Those of us who lead ought to have a strong desire to get better at what we do. This involves trying alongside trusting. We try even as we trust solely in Christ’s power. ‘’Exercise daily in God – no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever. You can count on this.’’ The Message. Timothy had the example of Paul to copy as he read his words, for the great apostle (and his team) certainly put their backs into their ministry (10): ‘’This is why we’ve thrown ourselves into this venture so totally.’’ The Message.

‘’If believers would put as much effort into the spiritual life as they do their recreation and hobbies, what a difference it would make! Physical exercise is important, but spiritual exercise is even more essential. Both discipline and devotion are needed to make a winning athlete and an effective Christian.’’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word’, p.799.

Prayer: May other see Jesus in me more and more.

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Daily Bible thoughts 1009: Wednesday 11th November 2015: 1 Timothy 3:14-16: Truth matters.

1 Timothy 3:14-16: Truth matters.(please click here for todays Bible passage)

We need to understand that there is behaviour which befits church members, and there is conduct that is unbecoming (14, 15). There are ways to be that have an ‘’ought’’ attached to them. They are obligatory rather than optional. We have spent two days looking at what church leaders ‘’ought’’ to be. The truth is that this ‘ought’ applies to all of us in the church. Leaders must be a certain way because all God’s people are called to live like that. Shepherds are to be models to their sheep. If we conduct ourselves like our leaders we shouldn’t be going too far wrong. (Otherwise, something has gone terribly awry with the leadership.)

The church is a wonder and a marvel, and it has an important relationship to the truth. It is not composed of a bunch of deluded people who believe in fairy stories. It is made up of those who care about truth; they know the truth has set them free. Leaders in the church are not to play ‘fast and loose’ with the truth (2, 9). The revealed truth of God is to shape and govern their consciences, and all their teaching and living. They must be people of the Word, following the ‘Map’ placed into their hands by the Lord, and showing others the way from this same Map. The ministry of Biblical preaching is vitally important to the health of a local church. It cannot be sacrificed without terrible cost. Paul calls the church ‘’the pillar and foundation of the truth.’’ It’s been said that there are two aspects to this ministry: guarding and defending the truth (‘’foundation’’); and lifting it high, proclaiming it (‘’the pillar’’). A pillar thrusts something upwards and holds it aloft; a foundation (or bulwark) prevents something from falling down. The church has this dual protective and proclaiming ministry with regard to the truth.

Ultimately, Jesus Christ is the embodiment of truth (John 14:6). He is at the heart of the church’s message. The living Word is the centre point of the written Word. It all converges in Him and focuses on Him. This chapter concludes with a beautifully succinct statement about Jesus (16).

‘’The Christian life is a great mystery, far exceeding our understanding, but some things are clear enough…’’ The Message.

People may disagree about what aspects of the career of Jesus some of the lines in this short ‘hymn’ are describing. But no one can miss the central point that it is about the glory of Jesus and the success of the gospel in the world. That is what the church is all about, proclaiming and defending the eternal truth about Jesus to the glory and praise of His Name forever.

Prayer: Lord God help me to always stay on the rails of your truth.

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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.

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Daily Bible thoughts 1003: Tuesday 3rd November 2015: 1 Timothy 2:9-15: Orderly worship

 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.

 

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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.

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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:

  1. 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’;
  2. 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.

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