The Text
1 Timothy 1:1–11 (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. 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. Now the goal of our instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. 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.
The Meditation
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
There is only one God. And he is the maker of heaven and earth. Grace, mercy, and peace come only the God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I stand on the foundation of Christ whom has used the Apostles and the early church to build His kingdom.
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.
Once upon a time, in my own lifetime, I feel like either we didn’t face such misinformation or I was too young or naïve to pay attention. But as we descend into the Age of Information, we are certainly not becoming wiser, smarter, or more moral. The Age of Information has proven one thing to be true: most of us have already decided what is good, true, and right and we will only seek sources of information that confirms and coddles what is right in our own minds. Some of us would dare to use God’s name in vain to try to convince ourselves that we know is right and good is actually right and good.
This is my own downfall and the downfall of Christians. If we have already made up our minds what is right and yet we have a low understanding of the Bible, when we get to the parts of the Bible that tell us that we are wrong, one of three things happen:
- We are wrong
- How it was taught to us was wrong
- Or the Bible is wrong
I wish and pray and hope that number one would be the most common response among Christians. Sadly, it is the least common. Because we have so much more information at our fingertips that can confirm what we think is right, all of that information will overshadow and almost, outvote, what is absolute truth.
Scripture is where God has truly reveal himself to us. You might want God to do a certain thing or look the other way on certain sins, but where God has been clear to reveal himself to us, we have to change our minds accordingly. We are called to worship the Lord our God and this is how we do so:
Romans 12:1-2 (CSB) Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
The Christian is not called to be right and win every argument. Those battles belongs to the Lord. Instead, we are called to trust in God, who is the source for all truth, obey him, and take him at his world. And when he shows us who he really is and revealed himself to us, we have to pay attention.
And this is how he has reveal himself to us: Jesus Christ.
Do you want him to look the other way on one of your sins? That sin that you think that will make you happy, whole, content, secure, and safe? But Christ died to take that sin from you. He was crucified 2,000 years ago. What are you going to do? Hold on to sin so hard that you would go back in time, climb that bloody, piss-fece-soaked cross and extract your sin from his blood?
Hebrews 9:27-28 (CSB) And just as it is appointed for people to die once—and after this, judgment— so also Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
Here is what the gospel of God calls you to do right now: repent because the kingdom of God is here. Here is your other choice: don’t repent and let the wrath of God remain upon you. (John 3:36)
Now the goal of our instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith
This is why Paul instructs in, in the middle of eagerly desiring the gifts of the Spirit such as prophecy and praying in tongues (1 Corinthians 12 & 14), in the midst of instruction on how to minister to one another, that we should do all things in love. What did Christ say were the greatest commandments in the Bible? Love God and love one another. Everything that we do or we think we do in the name of God is for nothing if we do not sincerely love the people we are called to minister to.
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
This hurts my heart. I have known way too many people who have turned away from the gospel only to increase the law which only exposes more sin that they do not want to repent of.
Romans 6:1-11 (CSB) What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, since a person who has died is freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him, because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will not die again. Death no longer rules over him. For the death he died, he died to sin once for all time; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
But repentance is a gift of God alone. I can only pray and proclaim the gospel to them. Will God grant them repentance?
The Prayer
You are the way
the truth
the light
and no one comes
to the Father my God
but by you.
You are the only one who gives us
grace upon grace
mercies new every morning
and peace beyond all understanding.
These things are only from you
and you are the source of all things good
and you give freely to all who would receive it.
My Lord
there have been so many
who have lived in your goodness and mercy
and have stepped away
for one reason or another
hurts
wounds
scars
pain
sometimes
sin
and holding on
to the only thing they have known
more than you.
But my Father,
I saw you
be there for your children
when you rescued them
and they went back to their vomit
they urged to go back to slavery to sin
instead enjoying the freedom of the glory
of being your precious children.
Satan is ruthless
and relentless
and he preys on us
because he is a wolf
sending out his wolves
into the sheep's den.
Jesus
be my Good Shepherd
protect us
love us
and keep us.
Beat back the wolves
with your iron rod
and your staff
it comforts me
all the days of my life.
Be our pastor
and send help.
Amen.
Media
Today’s episode at The Study
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