Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Timothy 1-4.

In what is believed to be Paul’s last letter, he tells Timothy to warn people against quarreling about words and to avoid godless chatter.  Such things ruin those who listen and lead those who indulge in them away from the truth.  He then points out that those who confess the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.  In may ways I think this adds clarity to what Paul wrote in Romans where he said, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”  The point here being that if you do those things you will turn away from wickedness.  Paul continues to remark that we should avoid stupid and pointless arguments.  We should not be quarrelsome, rather we should gently, and humbly, instruct those with whom we disagree.  We should not be resentful.  If we find ourselves becoming quarrelsome and/or resentful of those with whom we disagree this may be a sign that we have become lovers of ourselves, and lovers of money rather than lovers of good and of God.  We should also watch out for those who are such who claim to be teachers of God’s word.  Signs to watch out for in ourselves are: have we become boastful, proud, abusive, ungrateful, treacherous, slanderous, unforgiving, and/or rash?  If we see those traits rising in ourselves we must strive to discipline ourselves to increase our love of goodness and God.  When we see such traits in those who claim to be preaching God’s word, we should gently rebuke them and remind them to humbly seek God, while we do the same.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Timothy 5-6.

Paul begins to wrap up his letter to Timothy by giving him some pointers on recognizing false teachers.  He tells Timothy, and us, that false teachers are conceited and have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words*.  These things result in a host of relational issues, they cause friction between people.   Paul points out that those who do not accept godly teaching have corrupt minds and typically believe that godliness is a means to financial gain.  They have allowed themselves to be robbed of the truth in order to justify filling their base desires.  I want to point out that these last two sentences apply to both false teachers and to those who follow their teaching.  Paul points out to us that we should be content with what we have while living a godly life.  Doing so is greater gain than any material possessions we might acquire.  Those who seek to become wealthy as a primary goal fall into temptation.  Elsewhere Paul points out that the love of money, which is greed, is a form of idolatry.  Those who eagerly pursue money wander from faith and give themselves over to much grief.  Paul tells us that if we have food and clothing we should be content, and if we are we will gain much joy from doings so.

*One aspect of quarreling about words are those who think one must study Scripture in one particular translation.  Recently someone called me to task because I don’t use the “correct” translation.  They did not tell me what translation they think is correct.  If you have a problem with the NIV, which I am currently using, read what I write and compare my conclusions with whatever translation you prefer.  If you believe that my conclusions are wrong, please explain how I am wrong (and what translation you are using to reach that conclusion).  I will tell you that I have read enough different translations that my conclusions about the meaning of a passage are rarely altered by reading a different translation.  Although sometimes reading how a different translation renders a passage will give me insight I did not have before.  It is for that last reason that I plan to begin using the English Standard Version at the beginning of the new year.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Timothy 1-4.

Paul begins by telling us that Jesus came into the world to save sinners and displays His patience to all sinners by showing mercy to Paul.  Paul’s message here is similar to the way in which Luke records Jesus responding when confronted by the Pharisees over socializing with sinners.  Another passage which gives us insight into this message is when Peter did not want to let Jesus wash his feet.  Jesus came to save us because we are sinners, and here Paul is reminding us, by using himself as an example, that it is not our righteousness which qualifies us to tell others about God’s saving grace.  Rather, our qualification for telling others that God loves them and has redeemed them is the very sins we are often too embarrassed to share.  Paul was qualified to be an apostle sent to tell people about Jesus’ love and willingness to accept all who turn to Him because of his sins.  In the same way, it is our sins, which God has forgiven and turned us away from, which qualify us to call others to Christ.  No matter how bad they are, we are no better.  If we think we are better than anyone else, we have not truly understood the depth of our depravity without Christ.

When I started to write this I intended to go on to other things in this passage.  But I am going to add just one more thing: once again in today’s passage, Paul calls us to pray.  I know that I am being repeatedly shown Paul writing about prayer because I need to work on my prayer life.  Perhaps some of you, my readers are as well.  Let us commit ourselves to working on praying more.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Timothy 5-6.

Paul concludes his letter of instruction to Timothy by saying that those who teach otherwise to what he just laid out are conceited, understand nothing, and do not agree to sound teaching.  Paul gives us some clues on how to recognize such people, and how to recognize if we are becoming one of them.  Paul writes that they have an interest in controversies and quarrels which result in strife, malicious talk, and friction between people.  These false teachers think that godliness is a means to financial gain…which is the clearest counter to the various types of “prosperity gospel”.  Paul tells us that the true gain, the blessings, of following the gospel comes from being content with what God gives us as we live a godly life.  In fact, Paul writes that the love of money, and its pursuit has led many people into being the false teachers which he has just warned against, thus warning us not to fall into the same trap.  Paul instructs us that rather than pursuing material wealth we should pursue spiritual wealth which can be found as we acquire righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.  I want to note that Paul’s warning against false teachers who have an interest in creating friction between people can help us recognize those who are not acting in good faith in other areas.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Timothy 1-4.

Paul wrote that Timothy should command “certain people” to stop teaching false doctrines and promoting controversial speculations.  Both of which took people away from advancing God’s work.  Those to whom this command is directed have abandoned focusing on having a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith in favor of meaningless talk.  They seek to be seen as teachers of the law, as spiritual leaders, but fail to understand what they are talking about.  Paul then explains that the law is not for the righteous, it does nothing for them as they do what is right without needing a set of rules to tell them what to do.  Rather the law exists for lawbreakers and rebels.  It exists to show them all of the ways in which they fail to be righteous.  I never noticed today that Paul lists slave traders among the ungodly and sinful for whom the law is intended.  And why is that significant?  Because there are some who claim that Paul defends slavery.  So, while Paul did not seek to do away with slavery, he clearly considered it something which was not a good thing.

Paul also writes a bit about how men and women should behave.  He writes that men should pray without anger or disputing and that women should adorn themselves with good works rather than with elaborate hairstyles, jewelry, and expensive clothes.  I would say that all of us should pray without anger or disputing AND adorn ourselves with good works rather than elaborate hairstyles, jewelry, and expensive clothes.  This is followed by a passage which has caused much controversy in the Church.  Most translations record that Paul wrote that women should learn in quietness and submission and that he would not permit them to teach or assume authority over a man.  The translators’ notes for the NIV say that the word translated as “women” could be translated as “wives”, and the word translated as “man” could be translated as “husband”.  That change takes away most of the controversy.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Timothy 1-4.

Paul warns Timothy, and us, against quarreling and being argumentative, especially over foolish and stupid things.  Instead, gently instruct those whose opinions you oppose.  We should pursue righteousness, faith, peace, and love, being kind to everyone.  Paul is not telling us not to disagree with each other, but to remain loving towards those with whom we disagree so that the Holy Spirit can move in them.  It is true that when we disagree we cannot both be right.  However, it is possible that we are both wrong.  In addition, sometimes the reason we think we disagree with someone is because we misunderstand them, or they misunderstand us.  Of course Paul also warns us about another reason we sometimes have hostile disagreements in the Church.  People become boastful, proud, and without love as a result of loving only themselves and/or money.  They may display an appearance of godliness without showing its power.  The power of godliness comes from the love with which the Spirit will fill us.

I am not happy with that last sentence, but could not find a better way to conclude what I was writing.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Timothy 5-6.

Paul writes that some sins precede us, while others only become obvious later.  He followed that by writing that good deeds are obvious, and even those which are not obvious cannot remain hidden.  It took me quite awhile to figure out what he was saying by writing this.  After some thought, I came to the conclusion that he meant that some sins are obviously sins, while others allow us to convince ourselves that committing them is not actually a sin.  In contrast, we all know a good deed when we see it, and even if we do good deeds in secret, eventually people will notice.  As for the sinful acts which we convince ourselves are not sins, since good deeds are obvious, we can avoid those sins by only doing those things which we know are good.  Or to put it another way, if we avoid doing anything which is not obviously a good deed, we will not sin by accident.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Timothy 1-4.

In his letter to Timothy Paul urges us to pray and intercede for all people, especially for kings and those in positions of authority.  In addition, we should thank God for these people, even those we think are doing a bad job and/or persecuting Christians.  Doing so pleases God, who desires that everyone come to know the Truth and be saved.  The Truth which God wants everyone to know is that He is One and that Christ is the only mediator which anyone needs between God and man.  We should all pray without acting or dressing provocatively.  We should not seek to draw attention to ourselves, but rather should act so as to bring glory to God.  We should not allow anger to control our actions, nor should we dress to inspire lust.  When we do either of these things we are trying to make ourselves the center of attention.

Paul transitions from speaking about prayer and keeping the focus on God to writing about the qualifications for leadership in the Church.  He begins that transition by saying that a woman should learn in quietness and submission.  Followed by saying that he does not permit a woman to teach or have authority over a man.  However, the translators’ notes suggest that “woman” could be translated as “wife” and that the “man” she should not teach or have authority over is her husband.  Such an interpretation would put this passage into the same context as what Paul wrote in Ephesians 5 where he told wives to submit to their husbands and husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the Church.  Christ loved the Church so much that He sacrificed Himself for it.  Similarly, a husband should sacrifice himself for his wife.

Starting from there, where Paul says that a wife should not be put into authority over her husband, he goes on to lay out the qualifications for leadership in the Church.  Paul tells us that a Church leader should be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, and hospitable.  He goes on to write that women leaders in the Church should be temperate and worthy of respect.  Really, all Paul says here is that those chosen for leadership positions in the Church should embody those characteristics which we should all strive to exhibit.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.