1 Timothy 1 - Sing It
The best way to wage war against this sinful world is to sing Biblical songs often!
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1 Timothy 1 (ESV)
1 Paul,
an apostle of Christ Jesus
by command
of God our Savior
and of Christ Jesus our hope,
2 To Timothy,
my true child in the faith:
Grace, mercy, and peace
from
God the Father
and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus
so that you may charge certain persons
not to teach any different doctrine,
4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies,
which promote
speculations
rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.
5 The aim of our charge is love
that issues from
a pure heart
and a good conscience
and a sincere faith.
6 Certain persons, by swerving from these,
have wandered away into vain discussion,
7 desiring to be teachers of the law,
without understanding either
what they are saying
or the things about which they make confident assertions.
8 Now we know that the law is good,
if one uses it lawfully,
9 understanding this,
that the law is not laid down
for the just
but for
the lawless and disobedient,
for the ungodly and sinners,
for the unholy and profane,
for those who strike their fathers and mothers,
for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,
11 in accordance with
the gospel
of the glory
of the blessed God
with which I have been entrusted.
12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord,
because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service,
13 though formerly I was a
blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent.
But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief,
14 and the grace of our Lord
overflowed for me
with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance,
that Christ Jesus
came into the world
to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
16 But I received mercy for this reason,
that in me, as the foremost,
Jesus Christ might
display his perfect patience
as an example to those
who were to believe in him
for eternal life.
17 To the King of the ages,
immortal,
invisible,
the only God,
be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
18 This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child,
in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you,
that by them you may
wage the good warfare,
19 holding faith and a good conscience.
By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith,
20 among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander,
whom I have handed over to Satan
that they may learn not to blaspheme.
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Read previous DIG DEEPER posts on 1 Timothy
1 Timothy 1 Summary
Unfortunately, for nearly as long as the church has existed, there have been those who have tried to pull it off of its original foundations. Sometimes the controversy is started by those who seek followers based on obscure rules are adherence to unbiblical doctrine. Others pull the church's attention away from the gospel and to whatever woke social causes happen to be popular.
The advice Paul gave Timothy millennia ago still holds true today: "command men not to teach false doctrines (v3) or anything else contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God (v10-11)." False teaching must always be aggressively rooted out of the church.
Dig Deeper
Verse 17 is a perfect example of the spontaneous doxologies (words of glory) that Paul often drops into the middle of his writings:
To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
It's almost like he just can't contain himself, and in the middle of a thought he drops what he was writing and breaks out into praise.
This is an example of an awesome Spiritual Discipline that you can emulate as well. Keep your mind so aligned with God's will, that at random times throughout the day you find yourself praising God, even if the words you use (or even just think) aren't quite as eloquent as Paul's.
It's quite likely that both these words and the famous quotation in v15 (Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost) were lines to ancient hymns.
If that's the case, Paul is simply writing down the songs echoing in his mind from a recent worship service, again underscoring how important it is for us to sing, and thereby burn solid truths into our minds!
AAA Prayer:
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Immortal, invisible, God only wise
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that, like Timothy, you will be able to wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience.
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
