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Entry One Hundred Seventy-Three: Timothy's Big Challenge
ENTRY ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-THREE – JANUARY 27, 2009
173) TRAINING OTHERS (Timothy's Big Challenge) I Timothy
- Note to the reader: We are following Dr. F. LaGard Smith’s chronological bible, called THE NARRATED BIBLE (also known as THE DAILY BIBLE) published by Harvest Press and available through Amazon and many Christian bookstores. Dr. Smith inserts the letters of Paul and others as they occurred historically in the book of Acts, so it is really like getting a history lesson and a bible lesson all in one go! Have fun!
- This entry covers a day of reading and topics such as the FATHER/SON DISCIPLING RELATIONSHIPS, SOUND DOCTIRNE, SPECIFIC COMMANDS FOR SPECIFIC PEOPLE, ELDERSHIP, GODLINESS, WIDOWS, and MONEY.
- Dr. Smith conjectures that Paul was eventually set free from captivity in Rome, and allowed to travel the region once more. He speculates that after Luke’s narrative ended, Paul took Titus to Crete, and Timothy to Ephesus. Dr. Smith then speculates, based on I Timothy 1:3, that Paul went to Macedonia, by way of Miletus and Troas, around A.D. 63-64, and that he stayed on and wrote the letter from Macedonia.
- No matter where Paul was when he wrote the letter, we know that Timothy was in Ephesus, and was a young evangelist faced with real leadership problems. These are not the problems that happen during persecution, where you are trying not to get killed, or during illness, where you are hoping that you don’t die. These are the problems that wrack the heart of leaders – when their people are facing issues of faith, doctrine, and unity. Paul got word of Timothy’s burdens, and wrote him a sweet yet strong letter of encouragement. This letter has inspired many leaders over the centuries, and I hope it inspires you this time.
- Chapter One
- Paul and Timothy had a special relationship that had developed over the years. Had Paul lived longer, they might have become peers. As it happened, Paul and Timothy had a father/son bond, and Paul mentioned it straight away. The father/son style relationship was such partly because of the huge age difference, partly because of how young Timothy was when he began to follow Paul, and partly because Timothy had such an incredible learner’s heart. (My speculation based on all the passages about him.)
- Unlike other letters, Paul dispensed with the usual encouragement to get straight to the point – Timothy had to be strong in dealing with the perpetrators of false doctrine. Paul let his protégé know that this was not a command based on harshness: 5The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. We all struggle to find the balance between “grace” and “truth”. Paul was helping Timothy with the same thing.
- Paul, of all people, understood grace, because he knew how sinful he had been and how much grace God had extended to him, “the worst of sinners.” (I heard one bible teacher say that Paul’s understanding of his own sin became deeper as he got older: in I Cor 15, he said that he was the least of the apostles, but here he said the he was the chief of sinners… )
- As Paul encouraged Timothy to be strong, he told him to “fight the good fight” because every Christian, and certainly every leader, will fight many spiritual battles. In Ephesians 6, Paul taught them to put on “the full armour of God”. Here, he gives the abbreviated version – hold on to faith and a good conscience. A question I have asked myself before is, “if I betray my conscience, than what am I converting people to?” (please forgive the poor grammar!) Every time I betray my conscience, my heart gets a little bit harder, and I feel far from God. Hopefully it doesn’t happen too often!
- Chapter Two
- Paul then began to instruct Timothy as to particulars for different groups of people, with the intent that, just in case he didn’t get to visit Timothy again, he told him, “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.”
- He began with a call to prayer, and kind of interrupted his own thought to remind Timothy that God desires for everyone “to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” Then Paul went back to his teaching on prayer, and specifically called for Men to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing. I personally don’t think it is wrong for women to lift up hands to the Lord in prayer, but that is debated by some. However, as far as I am concerned, Paul was emphasising to Timothy that MEN, who have a tendency to argue in anger over all sorts of church matters, should life up their hands in prayer instead.
- His command for WOMEN was first and foremost to be modest. Now if the women of the Singapore church know anything about me, it is that I have always taught very strictly about modesty. Singapore is a first world city with a tropical climate, and from the time I arrived here over twenty years ago, I have spoken to the women about not wearing mini-skirts, spaghetti straps, and short shorts, not to mention other items I consider to be “lewd”. That is an old-fashioned word, but it really says what I mean it to say – there are clothes that we can wear which contribute to men having lustful thoughts, and we should, as loving sisters in Christ, not wear those clothes! Yes, there are some Neanderthal types who will lust over you if you wear a black plastic bag. I am not talking about that. I am saying that when wear things that make the brothers at church blush, we are going too far. Many women don’t like this teaching – they will like the next one even less, and that is that WOMEN are to learn in quietness and full submission, not teaching or having authority over men. Now many women hate this passage, but it doesn’t bother me in the least. I trust God’s wisdom that there needs to be a leader in the husband/wife relationship, and it would be very hard if the wife was preaching to her husband, especially in public! (Nagging is usually done in private!)
- Chapter Three
- Next, Paul reminded Timothy of the qualifications of an elder. This is quite a list!
- *above reproach
- *only have one wife
- *temperate
- *self-controlled
- *respectable
- *hospitable
- *able to teach
- *not given to drunkenness
- *not violent but gentle
- *not quarrelsome
- *not a lover of money
- *manage his family well
- *see that his children respectfully obey him
- *have a good reputation with outsiders
- *not be conceited
- *not be a young Christian
- Gracious, no wonder most churches don't have many elders! After reading that list, I will say that if my husband ever sets his heart on being an elder, and if he is called to the task, then I shall be extremely proud of him indeed!
- Of course, the wives do have a part to play, too, but it looks like the main thing for wives is to be worthy of respect, not talk bad about others, be self-controlled, and be trustworthy. Well, ok, that is not exactly easy, but at least the list is shorter! I’m
- certainly not there yet, but this sure gives me something to shoot for!
- Deacons have a shorter list, but still have to meet up with some pretty high expectations. (And later in chapter five, Paul will mention that preaching elders have the right to be paid, plus he will put some conditions on accusing an elder.)
- Chapter Four
- Here Paul wrote about specific false doctrine that are man-made and appeal to our human tendency to make things into laws. Have you ever noticed that we love to make up rules and then demand that others follow them? How about just sticking to THE law, of loving God with all our hearts, etc, and loving our neighbours as ourselves? Easier said than done…
- Paul said that all good Christian ministers would teach this stuff (anti-legalism), avoid godless myths, and purposefully train themselves to be godly. You don’t just become spiritual by accident, just like you don’t just get in shape by accident. It takes discipline and training. Likewise, Paul expected Timothy to make sure he was spiritually “in shape!”
- He also wanted Timothy to teach the same stuff to others. This paragraph contains the oft-repeated, “12Don'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.
- It also contains some other specific commands for an evangelist:
- *Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.
- *Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message 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.
- I don’t know about you, but I sure expect my evangelist to take both his life and doctrine quite seriously (of course, I live with my evangelist, so I get a close up view!) and I expect the same thing from myself, not as a leader, but as a Christian.
- Chapter Five
- I love this chapter because I have always thought it was so cool how Paul almost dissected for Timothy the different ways to treat different groups of people in the church! So sensitive, and spot on, as well.
- FOR OLDER MEN – Timothy should not be harsh with them, but speak to them as he would his own father.
- FOR YOUNGER MEN – Timothy should treat them as brothers.
- FOR OLDER WOMEN – Timothy should treat them as his own mother.
- FOR YOUNGER WOMEN – Timothy should treat them as his own physical sisters, in absolute purity.
- What does all of this say? FAMILY! God has given us the blueprint for how a leader should treat people and for how we in the church should treat each other. The problem is that many of us came from messed up families, so that doesn’t help much! But we can learn…
- Paul also went into detail about the treatment of widows. One can only speculate that was because there were a lot of them! Notice that there are always more women than men in the church! (I mean no malice or disrespect, but my husband has openly preached that is because women’s hearts are softer and more naturally spiritually than mens’.) Women also usually live longer, so of course there will be widows. This is important for us to consider in today’s church as well. I won’t comment much as I wrote quite a bit about this back in my early Genesis entries, but I will draw attention to the warning that older women should not be idle or gossips. I don’t think Paul was being mean – I just think it is true – some of the widows I know do gossip a lot and it is hurtful! We should love our older women enough to teach this, and as a woman who is quickly getting older (I just turned 47), I better make sure I am not a gossip myself!
- After a few other specific commands in almost random areas, Paul ended his letter with some major teaching on money. He talked about the attitude that people have toward wealth, including the bad motives some have, linking false teaching with financial gain. He contrasted that with the contentment we are supposed to have and how “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.”
- Verse 10 is especially scary:
- 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.Of course, one way we can show that we don’t love money is to make sure we are generous, which does help us lay up treasure in heaven…
- Lastly, Paul ended with a charge:
20Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, 21which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith. Grace be with you.
May we all be like Timothy. To God be the Glory!
karenlouis@seachurches.org
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