Pastoral letters 2

The Nelson Study Bible: New King James Version Introduction

Timothy had accompanied Paul for years (Acts 16:1–3; 17:10; 20:4), assisting him and acting as his liaison to a number of churches. Paul had not only taught Timothy the essentials of the Christian faith, he had modeled Christian leadership to him. Now Paul was leaving Timothy in charge of the church at Ephesus. From Macedonia, Paul wrote to encourage his “son” in the faith. In effect, this letter is Timothy’s commission, his orders from his concerned teacher, the apostle Paul.

Last week we introduced the Pastoral letters. This week we begin to look at them verse by verse. We will be starting in . Timothy had been the companion of Paul for many years. Durring that time Paul had given Timothy many important assignments. This assignment was one of the more important ones. Paul had left Timothy in Ephesus to teach sound doctrine and refute false teachings. There appear to be two major problems with what the teachers where teaching in Ephesus, Jewish legalism(keeping the law in order to be saved) and mysticism. Timothy was to refute these teachings, and establish the Church founded upon solid biblical principles.

1 Timothy 1:3–11 NKJV

As I urged you when I went into Macedonia—remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith. Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm. But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.

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TS: Now that we know what is going on in Ephesus, Lets look at what Paul charged Timothy to do.

The Charge

Timothy's assignment

To teach the people of Ephesus and to refute false teachings there.

To teach the people of Ephesus and to refute false teachings there.

Our assignment

To ensure the continuance of sound doctrine

2 Timothy 2:2 NKJV

And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

Have you ever had a contractor do shoddy work on your house or project? It all starts when that contractor was learning how to do the work and a mentor said “Let me show you an easier way to do that” If the teacher would have held fast to the right way of doing things there would have been no problems. In the same way we must teach the “right way” otherwise false doctrines will creep in to our churches.

TS: now that we know our charge, let us look at what our character should be.

The Character

Not only should we teach the right things but our lives should match our teaching.

We have all been let down by someone we esteem. That goes as well for the church as anywhere else. A few years ago, there was a famous pastor that was on television a lot. He wasn’t one of those crazy televangelists who are always asking for your money. He was a good preacher and teacher and, as far as I could tell, taught the bible rightly. It soon came out that this man was involved in a homosexual relationship. When it first came out he lied about it but eventually confessed. He was teaching rightly but his life didn’t match his teaching.

A pure heart

we must stay pure and clean before the Lord.

we must stay pure and clean before the Lord.

1 Peter 1:15–16 NKJV

but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

1 Peter 1:16–17 NKJV

because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;

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1pe1.15

A good conscience

We must know the difference between right and wrong and follow the right.

We must know the difference between right and wrong and follow the right

ja4.17

James 4:17 NKJV

Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

A sincere faith

The Greek word for sincere is the same word often translated hypocrite

The Greek word for sincere is the same word often translated hypocrite or hypocrisy. Our faith should be without hypocrisy

We cant as Christians say one thing and do another. Jesus was always after the pharisees for doing just that. All of the woe to you’s in are directed at people who are hypocritical in their teaching.

TS:Now that we know what our charge is and our character should be lets look at what we are up against, the clueless.

The Clueless

Verse 6 makes it clear that false teachers do not know what they are talking about.

You ever watch a debate? Not a presidential one, those are so well rehearsed that you would rarely see what I am talking about. Go and watch a high school debate team. Every so often the debaters will be arguing and you find that one of them has no idea what he is talking about. Our natural reaction as humans is, rather than suffer the pain of humiliation, we make up facts to support our argument. We get our “facts” from the Word of God, If it is not in there don’t use it.

Teachers must know the word

We must study, learn, and know the word of God so that we can give a biblical answer to any false teaching

We must study, learn, and know the word of God so that we can give a biblical answer to any false teaching

2 Timothy 2:15 NKJV

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

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1 Peter 3:15 NKJV

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

Purpose of the Law

in a defence of the Gospel of grace, Paul tells us what the true purpose of the Law is in verses 8-11.

The law was made to show us our sin and need for a savior

The law was made to show us our sin and need for a savior

Galatians 3:24 NKJV

Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

I hope that through this lesson you have learned that it is of the utmost importance for not only christian leaders but also everyday Christians to know the word of God and sound doctrine. False teachers will always be around and as Jesus said will lead many astray. We must keep to our charge and character to teach, preach, and communicate sound teachings.