1 Timothy 1:1-11

introduction

We start a new year with a new series. We will be looking at the Pastoral Epistles going through the books deeply and looking at how the Pastoral Epistles pointed towards the heart of the Church! What does Paul intend with these letters to Timothy, and Titus? and how can we apply it’s message whether or not we are in ministry? A few years ago at a Methodist Church in North Wales, as worshipers arrived at the church, they were distressed to see a dirty, drunk, smelly homeless man on the front steps. They didn't realize this bum was actually their pastor, Derek Rigby, who had disguised himself as a homeless man. To prepare for that morning, Derek hadn't shaved that week. He caked dirt on his hands and face and drew on tattoos. He went to a thrift shop and bought old clothes and ripped them, rubbed them in dirt and soaked them in beer. To complete his disguise he donned a scraggly wig and put on thick broken glasses and hung a half-smoked cigarette from his mouth. Then he sat on the church steps clutching a can of beer. On that morning not one of the members of his congregation spoke to him or offered to help. You can imagine their shock when it came time for the sermon and this homeless man walked on staged and took off the wig. Then he told them they were a stingy lot. He talked about how Jesus said that when we help one of the "least of these" we are helping Jesus. What would we do if this happened to us, would we accept him? Let’s keep this in mind as we begin to break down the first letter of Paul speaking on the topic of leadership in the church!

The first Epistle begins as many of Paul’s letters do:

1 Timothy 1:1–2 CSB

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope: To Timothy, my true son in the faith. Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

What an amazing introduction to this letter. Paul points out who is writing, gives his position, connects with his audience on a deep spiritual level, and then on a deep personal level. Paul was the same Paul from the book of Acts, a man who completely changed his life around from a man who ordered the death of a believer to being willing to die for his faith. This letter was written around 64-65 AD which means that Paul has been in ministry for at least a dozen years at this point. He had made relationships, pastored many churches both in person and away, and put his life on the line for gospel numerous times before. His role as an apostle meant that he witnessed the resurrected Jesus. In Paul’s case it happened during his conversion. Paul knew Jesus well, he had been dedicated to proclaiming Jesus as Lord. Romans was already well in the past and he had led them in many incredible statements of faith. So Paul’s title here he attributes to God who saved him, and Jesus who is their hope. This immediately puts us in a place where we know the gospel and we know that what is coming is going to be much deeper.

Then Paul calls Timothy his true son in the faith. Throughout Acts we can see part of Paul and Timothy’s story. Acts 16:1–3 says “Paul went on to Derbe and Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman, but his father was a Greek. The brothers and sisters at Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him. Paul wanted Timothy to go with him; so he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, since they all knew that his father was a Greek.” Timothy was a young Christian who came from a Gentile and a Jew! He was everything that the early Christians were excited about. An opportunity for anyone to come and believe. For Christ to be the Lord of everyone in the World equally. Paul calls Timothy his son because he had taken the time to raise Timothy in Christ. He guided him, and fathered him in how to live a good life.

With letter addressed, Paul gives a warm greeting and the thesis for the first bit of his letter. Grace, mercy and peace are all things that God gives to us freely through his son Jesus Christ. Paul wants to remind Timothy of the free gift that was given without consequence and the outcome of that gift.

Paul continues,

1 Timothy 1:3–4 CSB

As I urged you when I went to Macedonia, remain in Ephesus so that you may instruct certain people not to teach false doctrine or to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies. These promote empty speculations rather than God’s plan, which operates by faith.

Paul asked Timothy to stay in Ephesus. Now we know that the church in Ephesus was doing an incredible job fighting against False doctrine. In fact, in the letter to the church in Ephesus in Revelation we learn this, Revelation 2:2–7 “I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people. You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars. I know that you have persevered and endured hardships for the sake of my name, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet you do have this: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” Paul asks for these men to watch out to the doctrine that they were teaching and making sure to stay away from the things that distract people. As Paul words it, “empty speculation”. But, the church in Ephesus focused to much on it and lost the plot for the details. They forgot their passion for Christ and their love for God. They were able to stave off Christian Mysticism and Gnosticism but they lost Jesus in the process.

Paul continues in 1 Timothy 1:5

1 Timothy 1:5 CSB

Now the goal of our instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.

Paul wanted Timothy to preach about love. As we know there are three: Faith, Hope, and Love and the greatest of these is Love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 The goal of proper teaching in a church is love! That loves comes from someone who lives a good life, has tried not to anything wrong, and puts their belief into action which is the definition of sincere faith! It wasn’t enough just to teach people about love, they has to live it out and teach from example as well as through the words they spoke. This is why the eventual end of the Ephesians is sad. I had the opportunity to visit John’s Church just outside of Ephesus. The ruins told a sad story of a church that forgot how to love. How many of us had opportunities to go out and proclaim the gospel but we were too afraid, too tired, or too anxious to do it? Every time we can preach to others love, and we don’t we are very similar to the Ephesians.

So Paul gives numerous examples of how the church can go astray as a warning to Timothy and to us 2000 years in the future. 1 Timothy 1:6-11 says

1 Timothy 1:6–11 CSB

Some have departed from these and turned aside to fruitless discussion. They want to be teachers of the law, although they don’t understand what they are saying or what they are insisting on. But we know that the law is good, provided one uses it legitimately. We know that the law is not meant for a righteous person, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and irreverent, for those who kill their fathers and mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral and males who have sex with males, for slave traders, liars, perjurers, and for whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which was entrusted to me.

Many times we want to argue about our faith, we feel like it is the best use of our time, but often, those discussions go nowhere. The man who will not change their mind is a hard wall to talk to, however, there might be someone who has a soft heart to hear about God their savior. Recently Community Bible Church in Texas went viral because a man was swearing in their congregation, the Pastor heard it and instead of kicking him out he asked them questions and found out that this man was a homeless man that one of the congregants had brought to church because he been convicted at an earlier service that day. This man desperately needed a hug, and God’s love as he revealed to the church that he was only minutes from ending his life when the congregant had come to him. The pastor used to opportunity to love this man multiple times, he had to stop his congregation from coming forward to give money to help the man, and he preached about the prodigal son who came home and was given a robe and was loved rather than chastised for living the life he did. He was in a place of darkness and he was finally home and that was all the Father cared about. never once did this pastor outright yell at the man for swearing but showed care and compassion asking those around him to help him watch what he was saying. three weeks later, they posted a follow up where the man was taking a trip down to Texas on a bus and checking himself into rehab where his life could be changed for the better. During those three weeks, many of the men and woman in the church went to visit the man and continued to proclaim the love of Christ for him. The pastor paused his message to care about the heart of one homeless man. He cared so much that he made sure that they were not just giving him money and sending him on his way. He made sure that the man was taken care of, that people were watching out for him, and that he was hearing about the love of God at every opportunity. Often, the teaching comes in the way of the heart of mercy. often the message comes in the place of love. That was what the Ephesians were dealing with. v.6 says they wanted to teach the law, but they didn’t understand what it was there for. It wasn’t meant to teach the Christians and Jews who already knew about it, it was meant for the lawless and rebellious, for ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and irreverent, for those who kill their fathers and mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral and males who have sex with males, for slave traders, liars, perjurers, and what else is contrary to the sound teaching. This message was made for men like Tony who desperately needed the gospel to save their lives. In Tony’s case, literally. How much better would our world be if every church could act like Community Bible Church did? If we were to show the love of Christ to everyone around us and proclaim the law to those who are broken and sinful to draw them away from the corruption that comes with sin. We need love, not just teaching. Which is a great way to start off speaking about those who guide our churches in the Pastoral Epistles. The first and most important point that Paul makes is that it is all about the Grace, Mercy, and Peace that comes from God through Jesus! Let us go today and love those around us.