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1 Timothy
1 Timothy is a charge to one of Paul’s most trusted disciples.
He led Timothy to Jesus, worked with him, and now sent Timothy on his own to strengthen churches.
We need Timothies.
We need people we can trust to work together to strengthen this church.
Are you on board?
This church is going through a time of transition, a time of testing.
It’s easy for people to jump ship.
It’s harder to step up and be counted.
I am impressed that when the Apostle Paul engaged with difficult churches like Corinth and Ephesus, he chose to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
As Paul played a role and Timothy another one, we need people to step up their game for the glory of God.
In the next few weeks, we will study 1 Timothy.
One reason is that 1 Timothy is a study of behavior in the household of God.
Look at how the church is pictured.
Household
In the New Testament time, grandparent, children and grandchildren often shared the same living quarters.
If one were rich, it might be a large complex.
If one were poor, it might be a small house.
Two key words come out of this picture.
Together
Family
If your mother or father were in the hospital, would you visit them?
Most would say, “yes.”
Why?
Because they are family.
If someone from the church was in the hospital would you visit them?
Why not?
One reason is that many do not identify other Christians as family on a practical level.
One practice of the second century church was for everyone in the church to come together to escort the body of a dead believe to the cemetery.
All rejoiced together in the knowledge of the believer’s entrance to heaven.
All grieved together at the loss.
How do you think a grieving husband, wife or child would feel if everyone showed up to support them at the loss of a loved one?
That is what “together” and “family” would look like.
Church of the living God.
The Greek word for “church” means “assembly” or “called out ones…”.
It was used to describe meeting of the citizens, i.e. town meetings.
Only those who were citizens could attend and have a say.
Paul pictures the church as believers of assemble together to serve the living God.
God is not a dead stone or clay image as many of the Romans thought.
God is a living God.
He is the one who has called us out into his family to work with Him and serve him.
Pillar and buttress of the truth.
A pillar holds up the roof.
It rests on the foundation and heads vertically to support a roof or ceiling.
A buttress supports or protects a building.
The church uses truth to support all that is laid on the foundation of Jesus Christ.
The church uses truth to protect people from bad teaching, bad thinking and bad decision-making.
Paul uses this word, “truth”, five times in this book.
What is this truth that holds up and protects the church?
The truth that holds up and protects the church is the Word of God.
Jesus is the center of that truth.
The truth is revealed to us in the Old Testament and the New.
The apostles wrote much about Jesus.
They knew him and they understood what he taught.
They supported their understanding of Jesus by extensively quoting the Old Testament.
They believe in its inspiration and its accuracy.
Paul writes Timothy a second letter.
In it he says,
If it is God-breathed, it is true.
Do you believe the Bible is true?
If you say, “not all of it…” then whatever you leave out does not support your life choices nor does it protect you from spiritual harm.
If you believe that the Bible is true, then obey it.
It is only in the spirit of this age that someone can say, “I believe…” and not act on it.
In Biblical times, that would not be considered belief.
Ephesus was a rich church.
The apostle Paul preached there for two years.
Priscilla and Aquilla disciples Apollos who also preached there.
Timothy was sent to help it.
The apostle John mentioned Ephesus in the book of Revelation and may have preached there.
Yet, Ephesus was a difficult city to minister in.
Ephesus was the third largest city in the Roman Empire.
It was multi-cultural with a lot of ethnic diversity.
It also was home to many religious groups.
Artemis was the goddess of fertility.
Part of her worship included making money off from sexual prostitution.
The imperical cult which often deified Roman Emperors, Gnosticism and magic were rampant in the city.
Some “Christian” teachers tried to merge Christian belief about Jesus with some of the local religious teachings.
In Acts, Paul warns the Ephesians about this.
Paul sends Timothy to stop this trend.
,
As we can see, a twisted form of Christianity struck at the heart of the gospel message.
Jesus Christ came to save us from sin.
He started by forgiving us and paying the price on the cross.
He continues to save us from sin by telling us to leave our sinful ways and live according to the truth that is in Christ Jesus.
He promises to deliver us from sin totally by giving us a new mind, a new spirit and a new body when we go to be with him for eternity.
The church today is facing the same kind of attacks.
Christians are condoning abortion and homosexuality.
Many are indifferent to people who commit immorality, who lie, who are greedy, and who commit other sins.
We often engage in slander, backbiting, murmuring and complaining.
Christian are looking at porn, swearing and using illegal drugs.
What Paul is telling Timothy is that he needs to go to Ephesus and tell them,
“how one ought to behave in the household of God.”
This is not telling them not to run in church or not to complain to visitors who sit where you usually sit.
The focus is not on conduct within a building, but conduct within a family, the household of God.
The church should be a household, an assembly of those who serve the living God, and a pillar and buttress of truth.
In order to do that, the church needs teachers.
So Paul gives him the qualifications for overseers.
The main distinction between and Elder or overseer and a deacon is that the deacon must be able to teach.
That will be fundamental to the long-term health of the church.
That will be the focus, along with the book of Titus, on a Sunday school class starting in September.
Let me close with several questions for you.
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