1 Tim 1:1-11 — Greeting, Warning Against False Teachers
1 Tim 1:12-20 — Christ Jesus Came to Save Sinners
1 Tim 2 — Pray for All People
1 Tim 3 — Qualifications for Leaders and Deacons
Thoughts about serving others
This link includes a list of posts about Serving the Least, the Lost, and the Lonely.
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Let the Word evoke words. May your life encourage lives.
Today we begin the “pastoral letters” from Paul to some of his first pastors, Timothy and Titus. Timothy is a significant character in the growth and development of the early church. Paul writes Timothy to give him great support while giving us timeless words of direction.
Paul’s writing are consistently meant to keep us on track, to avoid distractions and meaningless pursuits. In the introduction to his letter to Timothy, he reminds him to, “command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work–which is by faith” (1 Timothy 1:3-4). This is so true in today’s culture as well, so many “have turned to meaningless talk” (1:6) and it appears obvious to outside observers that “they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm” (1:7). Sadly, this has much to do with the rise in atheism and decline in church participation and probably why we read so much about it in Paul’s letters. Lord help us to focus on the sound doctrine you have made so clearly seen by those of us who follow Christ and help us to show others with great love and compassion. Help us to be those who “pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing” (2:8).
For the church to be effective, it must be organized and led by those who are trustworthy and properly motivated. Paul provides a list for our consideration: “above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money” (3:2-3). All of these qualities are those we expect of a pastor (and rightly so). I really appreciate that Paul adds this attribute: “He must also have a good reputation with outsiders” (3:7). This is a pivotal concept for Organic Outreach as Kevin Harney writes about (and lives out). We must be known by the church within and the community without Christ if we are to be a beacon of hope, guiding the lost to Christ. Lord help me to be one known by the community as one who is trustworthy, one who is sought out for your glory, not my own, and give me the right words to say at the right time to draw them to you!
Timothy probably really appreciated the reminders Paul is providing here, very definitive words on which he can help build the church in Ephesus, the capital city of the most difficult Macedonian area. Lord help us to hear the words for our home towns, our area.