Grace + NotOneSingleLittleBittyOtherThingAtAll

We are so messed up. Thank God for grace.

The new believers in Ephesus were pretty messed up too. Timothy was there to try to straighten them out, but he was discovering that this was no small task. Paul wrote him a letter detailing all of the things Timothy needed to know and remember and that's the book of 1 Timothy. We have it divided into chapters and verses, but really, it was originally just a letter written to Timothy from his mentor, Paul. These two had been trying so hard to spread the good news of what Jesus had done just 30-40 years before, dying on the cross and rising from the dead to bring salvation to anyone who believes. But they were constantly faced with the messed-up-ness of the people around them. At that time, it was culturally acceptable to worship many different gods, so the concept of ONE God was pretty foreign. Many people were still convinced that they needed to keep the Law (those first five books of the Old Testament), so the concept of a Savior was totally incomprehensible. And that he would offer something called grace? Unheard of. Timothy was preaching a brand new message.

Paul had laid out directions for how to organize the new believers. He told Timothy some things that the men should be doing and some things to tell the women. The purpose of these rules was to bring order to the church so that the gospel could spread more effectively. Paul also told Timothy about some requirements for pastors and deacons and their wives. Paul knew something crucial...if the Church was in chaos, the good news of grace would stop spreading, so keeping order was important. 

When Paul finished telling Timothy about how to organize the people of the Church (1 Timothy 1-3), he went back to talking about false teachers and false ideologies that were being taught (1 Timothy 4). He said that in later times, which is basically the entire time between the ascension of Jesus into heaven and his return one day, many would depart from the faith. The fancy word for turning away from God is apostasy. It's been happening for centuries. We got into a pretty good discussion during our Bible study time about apostasy...We good Baptists like to say "once saved, always saved" as our stance on the eternal security of the believer. But if Paul is saying that one can "depart" from the faith, that implies that he must first be IN the faith, right? And if he's in the faith, he can remain or he can depart? If that's true, as one of our ladies put it, then nobody's safe! Seems like maybe our doctrinal belief has been a little fuzzy. Let me try to clear the muddy waters.

The answer here comes down to semantics. Being in THE faith is not the same thing as being saved, having a personal faith. Check out Hebrews 6:4-6... 

"For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt." 

This is another passage of Scripture that says that people can fall away. If you read closely enough, you'll see that these people have been enlightened (they've heard the gospel), they've tasted the heavenly gift (they know all about Jesus), they've shared in the Holy Spirit (they've seen the Spirit active in their midst, often through other believers), and they've tasted the goodness of the word of God (they've heard Scripture). In other words, they've been in THE faith. This Scripture mentions nothing of having a personal faith in the grace of Jesus Christ, which is the only requirement for salvation. So you see, a person can be in THE faith and then fall away, turning to other gods. One can be in the faith without having a personal faith of their own. In even simpler terms, they knew all about God but they never accepted His gift of salvation, so when they fall away, they were actually never saved to begin with. 

This can be pretty confusing and make you really question your salvation, right? Good! It's GOOD to question and search for an answer in Scripture. Ask yourself this: Have I accepted God's gift of grace (meaning that he is your Savior and Lord)? If the answer is yes, hooray! You're saved! If you feel more like you're just in THE faith, going through the motions, coming to church or Bible Study, but not having a faith of your very own, stop right now and get right with God. Tell him you want his grace, you're thankful for what he did on the cross and you're ready to make him your boss. He'll save you right now!

Now back to 1 Timothy 4.  Rules can be good if they're used to create balance and order in the church or in the home. But if you tie following the rules to your salvation (which is legalism), you are saying that God's grace-gift isn't free. Many teachers in Ephesus were teaching salvation through Jesus but they were also saying that rules had to be followed in order to receive that salvation. Paul puts a stop to those rumors, emphasizing that everything created by God is good and it is to be received with thanksgiving because all created things point us back to God! That's not to say that all rules are bad or that we won't display a changed life after salvation. Disciplines are great for keeping order in our personal lives, but we must not elevate those disciplines and make them "laws" for ourselves, tying them to our salvation. Jesus came to fulfill the law so that we can live in freedom, simply abiding in Him! 

Think false teaching only happened back in Ephesus in AD 40? Think again! Just flip on the tv and you can find many preachers and teachers delivering messages of health, wealth and prosperity. They, like the false teachers in Timothy's day, take the truth of Scripture and twist it ever so slightly so that many don't even recognize their own deception. In 1 Timothy 4:6-16 Paul tells Timothy what a good servant looks like. He charges Timothy to put all of these things before the church. Leaders in the church must point out false teaching and behaviors that are inconsistent with God's ordered design for the church. They're brave enough to do what's hard. We should never turn a blind eye to the misrepresentation of Scripture. We are responsible for confronting false teachers, just like Timothy did. Another trait of a good servant is that he is "constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following." Ministers need to be grounded in the Word, making their own spiritual renewal and growth a priority.

Paul warned Timothy about irreverent, silly myths and old wives tales that were being taught. Like I said before, they were so messed up! Those people didn't know what the truth was and the teachers weren't helping at all. To be able to discern the false things from the true things, a believer must be solidly grounded in the truth of God. We have something that first century Christians didn't have - the Bible. The Old Testament and The New Testament! Most of us have multiple copies in print as well as access to the Bible on our phones, Kindles, iPads and computers. We have NO valid excuse for not  having a deep knowledge of God's word. How will we know the truth from the lies if we don't know what's true?

And then Paul goes right into talking about training ourselves in godliness. Nobody ever just wakes up "trained". It takes a lot of work! If I tried to go out tomorrow morning and run a marathon, I'd collapse after the first few blocks because I haven't trained for it. But my friends who have trained for marathons can proudly wear their medals because they trained and finished the race. Training in godliness takes daily exercise in the spiritual disciplines of prayer, Bible study, meditation, etc. And the good news is, physical training is of some value here on earth, but training in godliness has eternal value! It will last even when we get to heaven! Get out there and train!

Paul says in verse 10, "For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe."  Jesus came to save us ALL. But unfortunately, some will not believe. Those of us who do believe have our hope set on the living God! What a privilege it is to believe! However, we do not believe and then add works to our faith, just to make sure. We do not believe and then make up additional rules for righteousness. No! We just simply BELIEVE.

Paul insisted in verse 11 that Timothy command and teach these things. Grace was no side issue. Legalism was no weak enemy. These things were matters of life and death. And they still are today.

Paul reminds young Timothy that chronological age does not necessarily bring spiritual maturity. The issue for leadership is never age, but spiritual development. We are all younger than somebody! Age doesn't matter, but some people do get hung up on those numbers. So set an example in speech and life (the observable aspects of life), in faith and love (the essence and evidence of the Christian life), and in purity (both sexual conduct and integrity of heart).

And he's not done yet! Paul gives some more instruction to Timothy regarding public gatherings of believers and worship services. They should devote themselves to the public reading of Scripture. They needed to be reminded that Scripture was the very breath of God! Remember, they didn't have access to the entire Bible that we have today. But we have access to it all. Sometimes it can get a little stale when we see it in a daily devotional reading or scroll past it on Facebook. But it's an important, life-giving, useful thing and we are not to neglect it. Scripture was especially important then, and equally as important now, because as they faced false teachers, the public reading of Scripture defended against falsehood. Preaching and teaching the Word encourages, instructs, exhorts, warns and explains. The point is not to create some rigid rules, but to encourage the body and allow God to reveal himself through His Word.

Every believer has been gifted by the Holy Spirit and with that gift comes responsibilities in the Church. Timothy's gift was probably given when he was "ordained" with the laying on of hands by the elders. This was Paul's way of affirming God's call on Timothy's life and it serves as a good reminder to us that we are not to neglect our gifts. Do you know what your spiritual gifts are? The Bible says all believers have gifts. If you don't know what yours is, or if you know but you're not using them, let me challenge you to find out and start using them!

Paul wraps up this section by encouraging Timothy to endure. Be diligent, persevere, abide in Him. This ministry is your life, not a job. It takes endurance! A life growing close to God cannot be hidden - everyone will see your progress (the authentic presence of Christ in his people). That's why we endure! 

Paul reminds Timothy to keep a close watch on himself and on the teaching.  He was charged with refuting the lies of the false teachers and preaching the truth of Jesus Christ. In so doing, he was responsible for both himself and his hearers. Salvation is no light matter. "Salvation is a process. It has a beginning point at conversion and its full realization when we are united with Christ. In between is the process of becoming more Christlike in our person and behavior."

In the time between Christ's ascension and the time he returns, some people will get confused, fall away and follow false teachers who make up all sorts of rules and laws for salvation. Paul wanted Timothy (and us!) to understand what he was (we are!) up against! It is our job as Christians to point out the falsehood and point people to Jesus Christ and the free gift of salvation he offers. To do this, we have to train ourselves in godliness and remember to use the gifts the Spirit has given to us. We do this so that news of the gospel can spread and people can hear of God's grace. 

The precious promise here?

Grace + NotOneSingleLittleBittyOtherThingAtAll.

Know Your Place!

TRUE OR FALSE: Paul was a Jew.
TRUE OR FALSE: Paul was a Roman citizen.

If you answered TRUE to both of these, you are smarter than me! God has a way of keeping us humble and he certainly doesn't want us to start thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought to. So on Wednesday night when I taught our group of ladies that Paul was NOT a Jew, God was quick to correct me through them! Scripture points to the fact that Paul was a Jew (Acts 22:3) and a Roman citizen (Acts 22:29). And one of our ladies emphasized to us that because God took a man who was both a Jew and a Roman citizen to spread the Gospel to the Gentiles, both Jews and Gentiles were able to understand his message more clearly. He could relate to both sides of the aisle in this circumstance. God's plan is so far-reaching, even when we don't understand it.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love studying the Bible with these women on Wednesday nights? If you ever have the opportunity to join us, I encourage you to come! You will be so blessed and challenged!

If you haven't read last week's blog over 1 Timothy 1, now would be a good time to back up and read it. But to put it in a nutshell for you, Paul wrote the letter, 1 Timothy, after he left Timothy in Ephesus and continued on his missionary journey. Paul wanted him to correct the people that were teaching false doctrine. Not only were some teachers teaching idol worship and pagan rituals, but many were teaching that following the Old Testament law was still a requirement for salvation. Jews and Gentiles alike were confused by the false teachers. Paul's message was that Christ came to the world to save sinners and that he was the foremost. Having been a persecutor of Christians before his salvation experience, he had become an example of God's power and patience.

1 Timothy 2:1-4 is a call to depend upon God by praying for others. Paul's message was that Timothy should be praying fervently for the spread of the gospel. Paul wanted the good news to spread to the Gentiles. He knew that prayer was the fuel for his journey and he wanted Timothy to know that too. In the same way, those of us who follow Christ today should also be praying diligently that the gospel would spread to all nations.

Paul also encouraged Timothy to pray for authorities in government. Paul knew that when a government operates well, it is a significant ally to the gospel. Governmental leaders and policies have a direct bearing on our freedom to live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness (not for our own comfort and enjoyment, but for God's glory!) Proverbs 21:1 says "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases". Living a holy, godly life is pleasing to God. God wants all men to be saved and to come to knowledge of the ruth. But does God save everyone? No, he doesn't. God's plan is for the evangelization of all nations and peoples, but he will never force someone into a relationship with him. He has given us the freedom to choose whether or not to follow him. Sovereign will vs free will is one of the great mysteries of the Bible. God certainly has a plan for us, but he will never force himself on us.

1 Timothy 2:5-6 is a call to depend upon God by confessing who Christ is. If we want to see the spread of the gospel in our lifetimes, we must first gain a solid understanding of who Jesus really is and why he came. Verse 5 says there is ONE God and ONE Mediator between God and man: Jesus. Some people discard truth for sincerity in the name of tolerance, believing that there is a god, but he can be found many different ways. (John 1:1, 14) Jesus is not one among many. He is the one and only! 

Jesus gave himself as a ransom for all men. Are you ready for a Greek lesson? Here ya go: The Greek word, antilytron, meaning loosing or freeing, was often used in reference to buying a slave’s freedom. Do you know who the slaves are in this analogy? YOU. ME. WE are the slaves, Jesus is the ransom! Jesus was the substitute spotless lamb that replaced all of the sacrifices offered in the OT. And not only was he the perfect sacrifice, he came at the perfect time. Galatians 4:4 says “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”

1 Timothy 2:7 is a call to depend upon God by remembering who we are. Paul told Timothy of his conversion experience on the road to Damascus. God radically changed his life by knocking him to the ground, taking away his sight and telling him exactly where to go. In Acts 26:17-18, Paul tells of his encounter with God and his specific calling to take the gospel to the Gentiles. His message to Timothy was this: Have confidence in your calling. Paul knew people would challenge the message of the Gospel – Jesus being the sole means to salvation and that salvation was for all people, Jews as well as Gentiles. He knew that Timothy would need to be confident in knowing that he was called to spread the gospel there in Ephesus. We need to have confidence in our calling as well if we want God to use us in the spread of the Gospel message.

This chapter takes a turn at verse 8. Paul was very concerned about keeping order in the church. The rest of the chapter is a call to order in the church. 1 Timothy 2:8 details some important instructions for men. The Greek word here for "men" is aner (ah-nair), which referred specifically to males, not the general term used for mankind. Paul said that men everywhere should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling. Keep in mind that lifting the hands emphasizes holiness, not physical posture. As usual, God was more concerned with the heart than he was with outside appearances. If anger and quarreling exist between men in the church, there is a spirit of disunity, which prevents the spread of the gospel.

1 Timothy 2:9-10 was a call to order with instructions for women.  Paul told Timothy to instruct the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety. Braided hair, gold, pearls and costly attire were disrupting and interfering with worship in Ephesus. Many wealthy women were flaunting their attire and jewelry before the poor. Men were being distracted by the visual stimuli. Rather than letting their beauty come from the outside, women were to adorn themselves in good works, which is proper for women who profess godliness. Paul wanted the women to know that  good works won't save you, but they do call attention to God and promote worship.

The last area Paul addressed in his call to order was spiritual leadership. This topic can get a little touchy - I want to present to you several ways of interpreting this passage. Pray through it, research it, ask God to give you eyes to see and understand the truth here in this passage.

Paul tells Timothy that women are to learn in quietness and full submission. Quietness here means peaceableness. Women are to be peaceable. It seems that some of the women in the church at Ephesus were causing quite a stir. Full submission means that women should be willing to surrender questions of spiritual authority to men. Paul also writes that women may not teach or have authority over a man. They must remain silent. Some believe this was purely cultural and there is no application for today. I believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God and that there are NO errors in it. There is always application today! We have to look at the context here. This is specifically about spiritual leadership in the church, not in other situations. It doesn't mean that women can't be CEOs or president of the United States. Paul was writing specifically about women in the church. (There are other places in Scripture that address women and men in the home. This is about the church!) 1 Thessalonians 4:11, another of Paul's letters says to women, “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life.” This is the kind of “silence” Paul was requiring of women in the church. Women are to rest in the sovereign teaching and will of God. 

Verse 13 addresses the order in creation that shows the role structure God intends. Adam was formed first, then Eve. This shows a hierarchy from the very start, even before sin entered the picture. One of our ladies put it this way: If a woman and a man are standing in the rain, the man holds the umbrella over the woman. That doesn't mean the man is better or the woman is less, but the man is the leader that can be God's instrument to shield and protect the woman! The difference between life before and after the fall is that these structures and positions of authority changed from joyful harmony to festering conflict. 

Eve was deceived by the serpent in the garden. Adam’s sin was intentional. He took the fruit from Eve. It is highly possible that this reference to Eve’s deception is a link in understanding Paul’s concerns—women in the Ephesian church were usurping the authority of the church leaders. Perhaps they were also being carried along by the deceptions of the false teachers.

Are you ready for verse 15? This verse can get a little bit confusing. I was rocking right along in my study of 1 Timothy 2 until I came to this verse and it STUMPED me for a while. "Yet she will be saved through childbearing- if they continue with faith and love and holiness, with self-control." Let me make one thing very clear. This does not refer to earning justification and salvation through childbearing. 

One possible explanation: The unity in the church at Ephesus would increase by women embracing the submissive role that God has given them, which is exemplified in bearing and nurturing children. Remember, women in the church at Ephesus had started to focus on their attire, had become loud and a bit "catty" with each other and were distracting the men from worship. Paul may have been saying here that if the women would focus on their children, which is their primary calling in this life (remember the first command in the garden to "Be fruitful and multiply?"), then unity in the church would increase and through their obedience to their calling they would be working out their salvation (Phil 2:12). 

Another possible explanation: “Saved” is used in the sense of progressively coming to experience all the aspects of salvation. As we embrace our God-given roles as men and women, we will be working out our salvation. (Phil 2:12) Paul didn't mean that childbearing would be a salvation experience, but that it would be a part of growing in the faith as they experienced their purpose of childbearing.

Another possible explanation (and my personal favorite!): The "she" in this verse might refer specifically to Eve. "She" would find salvation in childbearing because salvation himself would come from her lineage...JESUS. 

Agree? Disagree? It's ok. Our Bible study time is a great time to talk, share, discuss and learn.

To Sum It Up:

God desires order, peace, and holiness in our lives, in our worship, and in our relationships within the church and our communities. This reflects the order, constancy, and righteous character of God. When we live this way, God is revealed and people will embrace him as Savior.^[1]

In other words, order in the church is important. It's important for men to take their place and have confidence in the calling of God on their lives. It's equally important for women to take their place and have confidence in the calling of God on their lives. When everyone is focusing on fulfilling the roles to which God has called them, His purpose can be fulfilled in spreading the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles alike. When we know who God is, who Jesus is and who we are, and we are faithful to fill the roles he has for us, all will hear the good news of his salvation.

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^[1] Larson, K. (2000). I & II Thessalonians, I & II Timothy, Titus, Philemon (Vol. 9, pp. 167–172). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.