Archive for the ‘1 Timothy’ Category

Spiritual Training 18 October 2013

Posted: October 17, 2013 in 1 Timothy, Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

1 Timothy 5:3-5 Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. 

Because there were no pensions, no social security, no life insurance, and few honorable jobs for women, widows were usually unable to support themselves. The responsibility for caring for the helpless naturally falls first on their families—the people whose lives are most closely linked with theirs. Paul stresses the importance of families caring for the needs of widows, and not leaving it for the church—so the church can care for those widows who have no families. A widow who had no children or other family members to support her was doomed to poverty. From the beginning, the church took care of its widows, who in turn gave valuable service to the church.

The church should support those who have no families and should also help the elderly, young, disabled, ill, or poverty-stricken with their emotional and spiritual needs. Often families who are caring for their own helpless members have heavy burdens. They may need extra money, a listening ear, a helping hand, or a word of encouragement. Interestingly, those who are helped often turn around and help others, turning the church into more of a caring community.

Lets Bring it Home: Don’t wait for people to ask. Take the initiative and look for ways to serve them.

Spiritual Training 17 October 2013

Posted: October 17, 2013 in 1 Timothy, Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

1 Timothy 5:1-2 Do not rebuke an older man harshly but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity. 

Men in the ministry can avoid improper attitudes toward women by treating them as family members. If men see women as fellow members in God’s family, they will protect them and help them grow spiritually.

People often find it easy to dismiss the opinions of the elderly and avoid taking time to visit with them.  But the fact that God commanded the Israelites to honor the elderly shows how seriously we should take the responsibility of respecting those older than we.  Their wisdom gained from experience can save us from many pitfalls.

Lets Bring it Home: Ho do you show respect and honor to your elders?

Spiritual Training 16 October 2013

Posted: October 16, 2013 in 1 Timothy, Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

1 Timothy 4:13-16 until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.  Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

The “Scripture” referred to here is, in fact, the Old Testament. We must make sure to emphasize the entire Bible, both the Old and the New Testaments. There are rich rewards in studying the people, events, prophecies, and principles of the Old Testament.

Highly skilled and talented athletes lose their abilities if their muscles aren’t toned by constant use. Likewise, we will lose our spiritual gifts if we don’t put them to work. Our talents are improved by exercise, but failing to use them causes them to waste away from lack of practice and nourishment. What gifts and abilities has God given you? Use them regularly in serving God and others. (See Romans 12:1–8; 2 Timothy 1:6–8 for more on using well the abilities God has given us.)

Lets Bring it Home: We must be on constant guard against falling into sin that can so easily destroy us. Yet we must watch what we believe (“doctrine”) just as closely. Wrong beliefs can quickly lead us into sin and heresy. We should be on guard against those who would persuade us that how we live is more important than what we believe. We should keep a close watch on both, staying true to the faith.

 

Spiritual Training 15 October 2013

Posted: October 15, 2013 in 1 Timothy, Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, trust in the Lord with all your heart
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Under Gods Command

1 Timothy 4:12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. 

Apparently Timothy needed some encouragement. Most likely, so do many people around you. Each day we have many opportunities to support and inspire family members, fellow workers, and even total strangers. People need help and affirmation all along the way. Paul modeled six important principles to help us encourage others:

(1) Begin with encouragement. People who know we will encourage them will be happy to work with us.

(2) Expect of others only what you expect of yourself. People will resist being held to unfair standards.

(3) Develop expectations of others with consideration for their skills, maturity, and experience. People will reject or fail to meet expectations that do not fit them. Be patient with distracted or slow learners.

(4) Monitor your expectations of others. Changing circumstances sometimes require revised or reduced expectations.

(5) Clarify your expectations with others. People are not likely to hit a target that no one has identified.

(6) End with encouragement. People love to be thanked for a job well done.

 Lets Bring it Home: Do we do more encouraging or discouraging in a day, week or month?  Lets flip the scrip and be more encouraging towards others.

Spiritual Training 02 October 2013

Posted: October 2, 2013 in 1 Timothy, Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

1 Timothy 4:12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. 

Timothy was a young pastor. It would have been easy for older Christians to look down on him because of his youth. He had to earn the respect of his elders by setting an example in his speech, life, love, faith, and purity.

 Lets Bring it Home: Regardless of your age, God can use you. Whether you are young or old, don’t think of your age as a handicap. Live so others can see Christ in you. 

Spiritual Training 01 October 2013

Posted: October 1, 2013 in 1 Timothy, Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, trust in the Lord with all your heart
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Under Gods Command

1 Timothy 4:7-10 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales’ rather, train yourself to be godly.  For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God who is the Savior of all people and especially of those who believe.  

 Are you in shape both physically and spiritually? In our society, much emphasis is placed on physical fitness, but spiritual health (godliness) is even more important. Our physical health is susceptible to disease and injury, but faith can sustain us through any  tragedy. To train ourselves to be godly, we must develop our faith by using our God-given abilities in the service of the church (see 4:14–16).

Lets Bring it Home: Are you developing your spiritual muscles? Christ is the Savior for all, but his salvation becomes effective only for those who trust him. How much do we trust him?  What happens when we are squeeze by the world?  What comes out, is it worldly or Spiritual Actions that come out?  Do we immediately lead toward our own understanding until it goes wrong, then come back to Jesus.  If that is the case, we need to work out more with the Lord.

Spiritual Training 30 September 2013

Posted: September 30, 2013 in 1 Timothy, Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command
(False Teaching)

1 Timothy 4:1-5  1The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. 4For everything God created is good and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. 

 The “later times” began with Christ’s resurrection and will continue until his return when he will set up his kingdom and judge all humanity. 4:1, 2 False teachers were and still are a threat to the church. Jesus and the apostles repeatedly warned against them (see, for example, Mark 13:21–23; Acts 20:28–31; 2 Thessalonians 2:1–12; 2 Peter 3:3–7). It is not enough that a teacher appears to know what he is talking about, is disciplined and moral, or says that he is speaking for God. If his words contradict the Bible, his teaching is false.

Paul said the false teachers were hypocritical liars who encouraged people to follow “deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” The danger that Timothy faced in Ephesus seems to have come from certain people in the church who were following some Greek philosophers who taught that the body was evil and that only the soul mattered. The false teachers refused to believe that the God of creation was good, because his very contact with the physical world would have soiled him. Though these Greek-influenced church members honored Jesus, they could not believe he was truly human. Paul knew that their teachings, if left unchecked, would greatly distort Christian truth.

Satan deceives people by offering a clever imitation of the real thing. The false teachers gave stringent rules (such as forbidding people to marry or to eat certain foods). This made them appear self-disciplined and righteous. Their strict disciplines for the body, however, could not remove sin (see Colossians 2:20–23). We must not be unduly impressed by a teacher’s style or credentials; we must look to his teaching about Jesus Christ. His conclusions about Christ show the source of his message.

In opposition to the false teachers, Paul affirmed that everything God created is good (see Genesis 1). We should ask for God’s blessing on his created gifts that give us pleasure and thank him for them. This doesn’t mean that we should abuse what God has made (for example, gluttony abuses God’s gift of good food, lust abuses God’s gift of love, and murder abuses God’s gift of life). Instead of abusing, we should enjoy these gifts by using them to serve and honor God. Have you thanked God for the good gifts he has given? Are you using the gifts in ways pleasing to you and to God?

Lets Bring it Home:  Like Timothy, we must guard against any teaching that causes believers to dilute or reject any aspect of their faith. Such false teaching can be very direct or extremely subtle. Believers ought to respond quickly when they sense false teaching being promoted. The truth does not mind honest questions. Sometimes the source may prove to be ignorant of the error and appreciate the correction. But a firm warning may at least keep potential victims from the disastrous results of apostasy that Paul described. (For how to spot false teaching, see Spiritual Training 16 August 2013).

Spiritual Training 19 September 2013

Posted: September 19, 2013 in 1 Timothy, Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

1 Timothy 3:16 Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great:

He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angles, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.

In this short hymn, Paul affirms the humanity and divinity of Christ. By so doing he reveals the heart of the gospel, “the mystery from which true godliness springs” (the secret of how we become godly). “Appeared in the flesh”—Jesus was a man; Jesus’ incarnation is the basis of our being right with God. “Was vindicated by the Spirit”—Jesus’ resurrection showed that the Holy Spirit’s power was in him (Romans 8:11). “Was seen by angels” and “was taken up in glory”—Jesus is divine.

Lets Bring it Home We can’t please God on our own; we must depend on Christ. As a man, Jesus lived a perfect life, and so he is a perfect example of how to live. As God, Jesus gives us the power to do what is right. It is possible to live a godly life—through following Christ.

Spiritual Training 18 September 2013

Posted: September 18, 2013 in 1 Timothy, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

1 Timothy 3:08-15 Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursing dishonest gain.  They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience.  They must first be tested, and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. 

In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.  A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well.  Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.  Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. 

3:8–13 Deacon means “one who serves.” This position was possibly begun by the apostles in the Jerusalem church (Acts 6:1–6) to care for the physical needs of the congregation—at that time it was the needs of the Greek-speaking widows. Deacons were leaders in the church, and their qualifications resemble those of the overseers. In some churches today, the office of deacon has lost its importance. New Christians are often asked to serve in this position, but that is not the New Testament pattern. Paul says that potential deacons should have high qualifications and should be very carefully chosen.

3:11 The women can refer to women helpers or deaconesses. It could also mean wives of deacons, or female leaders of the church (such as Phoebe, the deaconess mentioned in Romans 16:1). In either case, Paul expected the behavior of prominent women in the church to be just as responsible and blameless as that of prominent men.

3:14, 15 The Bible is the written form of what God expects us to know and do. God chose Paul to carry out one phase of the plan. Through Paul, the inspired teaching was written down. As such, it was passed on to Timothy. Then, it was passed on to others. Later, it was passed on to us.

Lets Bring it Home: Times have changed, but the original authority remains. Because the Bible is from God, it must be studied seriously, understood thoroughly, and applied faithfully. Paul intended this letter to teach believers how to conduct themselves. We would do well to read carefully.  How much time are we spending obtaining a relationship with God, by reading his word?

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Spiritual Training 17 September 2013

Posted: September 17, 2013 in 1 Timothy, Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

1 Timothy 3:01-07 Here is a trustworthy saying. If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer is to be 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. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect.  (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.

3:1 To be a church leader (“overseer”) is a heavy responsibility because the church belongs to the living God. The word overseer can refer to a pastor, church leader, or presiding elder. It is good to want to be a spiritual leader, but the standards are high. Paul lists some of the qualifications here. Church leaders should not be elected because they are popular, nor should they be allowed to push their way to the top. Instead they should be chosen by the church because of their respect for the truth, both in what they believe and in how they live.

3:2 Paul’s statement that each overseer should have only one wife prohibits both polygamy and promiscuity. This does not prohibit an unmarried person from becoming an elder or a widowed elder from remarrying.

3:4, 5 Christian workers and volunteers sometimes make the mistake of being so involved in their work that they neglect their families, and especially the firm discipline of their children. Spiritual leadership, however, must begin at home. If a man is not willing to care for, discipline, and teach his children, he is not qualified to lead the church. Don’t allow your volunteer activities to detract from your family responsibilities.

3:6 New believers should become secure and strong in the faith before taking leadership roles in the church. Too often, in a church desperate for workers, new believers are placed in positions of responsibility prematurely. New faith needs time to mature. New believers should have a place of service, but they should not be put into leadership positions until they are firmly grounded in their faith, with a solid Christian lifestyle and a knowledge of the Word of God. Younger believers who are selected for office need to beware of the damaging effects of pride. Pride can seduce emotions and cloud reason. It can make those who are immature susceptible to the influence of unscrupulous people. Pride and conceit were the devil’s downfall, and he uses pride to trap others.

3:7 People outside the church should speak well of those who would lead in the church. The good reputation with outsiders that Paul required is realized when Christians act as dependable friends and good neighbors. How we carry out our duties as citizens, neighbors, and friends facilitates or frustrates our ability to communicate the gospel.

Lets Bring it Home: Do you have friends who are not believers? Does your conduct help or hinder the cause of Christ? As the church carries out its mission in an increasingly secular world, the church needs those who build bridges with unbelievers in order to bring them the gospel.

Do you hold a position of spiritual leadership, or would you like to be a leader some day? Check yourself against Paul’s standard of excellence. Those with great responsibility must meet high expectations.

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