I Timothy 6:11-16

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called… (v. 12a) Paul gives Timothy two admonitions here – that he (and we?) need to fight for “the faith” and that we need to more regularly consider that we are called to eternal life. I’m not sure what Paul means by “the faith”. If he had not included the definite article “the”, I would have thought that he was talking about Timothy’s (our?) personal faith. But “the faith” is different from “faith” – I think “the faith” is a more corporate expression, something related to the entire church’s body of belief. Think of the title, “Defender of the Faith” assigned to the King/Queen of England. “The faith” there is a much more corporate usage. And as for our taking hold of eternal life… That’s something we need to do every day, to know that we are called to eternal life – not just after we die, but also a special life that we are to live day to day, a life that begins anew every day and will last eternally. What a concept!! Glory!

Slava Bohu!

I Timothy 6:1-10

Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved. (v. 2) At first this seemed to be a strange comment from Paul, in that he already urged slaves (bondservants) in the preceding verse to glorify God in their service. But now he makes a special plea to slaves who serve believing masters, essentially repeating his comment in the first verse, but also adding to it something about the slaves considering their believing master’s welfare. I imagine that Paul added this second verse because of his time with Onesimus, the slave whose owner was Philemon. No doubt he had spent hours chatting with Onesimus and possibly hearing about Onesimus’s jealousy for his master’s wealth, even though both of them were believers. Maybe Onesimus felt like Philemon should have freed him? Again the larger context helps us understand the verse!

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. (vv. 9-10a) This verse is true enough, but we have another context today that was less an issue for Paul: POWER!! Switch “rich” for “powerful” and “money” for “power” and we have a good picture of politics in the USA today – on both sides of the aisle! Nothing more to say on that! Back in Paul’s time the Romans were powerful and there was little that the Jews or other conquered people could do (although there were numerous uprisings that were put down fairly quickly). However, it is also true that the Jewish leaders also craved power, as did the regional Roman rulers (like Herod and Pontius Pilate). So “rich and powerful” could have easily been the bigger context for these two verses.

Slava Bohu!

I Timothy 5:17-25

My Study Bible guided me well this morning – almost the entire reading today is speaking about elders, all except the last three verses. Seeing this reading in its full context makes it more clear than taking a verse out of context. Today’s first three verses obviously point to elders. However, verse 20, “As for those who persist in sin…” is referring back to the “charge against an elder” in verse 19. I suppose it’s possible to interpret verse 20 as applying to anyone in a congregation, not just elders, but again reading within the larger context is more appropriate. Likewise, verse 22 could easily be misinterpreted: “Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands…” This verse refers to the ordination process which is still alive in our churches today. Initially I had read this verse in the NKJV: “Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people’s sins…”. I had first related this verse back to those who were “persisting in sin” (v. 20), with members of the congregation arguing that they were deserving of some sort of physical punishment. Again, a verse taken out of context can be easily misinterpreted!

Finally, today’s last two verses are worthy of note: The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later. So also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden. (vv. 24-25, ESV) The phrase, even those that are not is translated those that are otherwise in both the NKJV and the NASB, leaving out the clarifying word “even”. Again in reading these other two versions before the ESV I had thought that “otherwise” referred to the opposite of “good works”, i.e., sins. So for clarification, these two verses are saying that some sins and some good works are readily evident (conspicuous) in some people’s lives, and that some sins and some good works are not immediately evident, but will surface later. Thankfully most committed Christians understand that in sharing our faith we often do not see repentance and redemption coming forth from an unbeliever and we lay claim to Isaiah 55:11, So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth. It will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. We now also have I Timothy 5:25 to fall back on! GLORY!!

Slava Bohu!

I Timothy 5:11-16

But refuse to enroll younger widows, for when their passions draw them away from Christ, they desire to marry and so incur condemnation for having abandoned their former faith. (vv. 11-12) I can’t speak directly to this topic, but Carol and I do have some connection to this sort of outcome. We spent many years as “missionary visitors” to Mark Bruner and his church in the Czech Republic. We staffed his week-long English Camp five years running, from 2011 to 2015, then again in 2017 and 2019. It was wonderful to build deep connections year-after-year with some of these kids, typically aged 6 to 16. Our disappointment came when many of these girls whom we had grown to love entered high school and found non-Christian boys to be handsome and exciting, with Christian boys too boring. Their “passions drew them away” and they would “abandon their faith”, many failing to return even after many years. So Paul’s words ring true for us, even though the context is somewhat different.

If any believing woman has relatives who are widows, let her care for them. (v. 16) It just dawned on me that life expectancy in the 1^st century was a lot lower than today, with women back then outliving men just as they do today. So this “widow” problem (see Acts 6) was probably bigger than we might imagine.

Slava Bohu!

I Timothy 5:1-10

So what’s to discuss with today’s reading…? We have different household arrangements today than they did in the 1^st century. Widows were in an unenviable situation back then, dependent on their families and (to some extent) the larger society for their welfare. Paul saw that the church needed to step in for Christian widows – I’m guessing that for some widows their children and members of society may have regarded them as outcasts if they had turned to the Christian faith and their children had not. What a sad situation, at this point clearly dependent on the church for their welfare! Things are different today – although we have Social Security and retirement funds, children still have responsibilities for their parents. Nursing homes are no fun, but extended families are less and less common these days. Difficult situations for many families…!

But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. (v. 8) In our Men’s Group we have had many discussions about our financial wealth. Most of us have accumulated (or are accumulating) IRAs and other savings for our retirement – and often those funds can get to be quite large. Recall that the gift that the church received from Mim Stambaugh’s bequest was more than $224,000 – and we were one of a number of beneficiaries of her generosity. So those dollars can be big! We men have often asked how we are to be responsible for those (sometimes) large amounts. What is our responsibility for us to take care of our remaining years; to provide for our children as we leave this world; or to care for others in need while we are still here? Scripture does not give us a lot of guidance, except for the Gospel story of the “rich, young ruler”. Finally, this issue is not one just for men to consider today. I’m sure there are many more widows active in the church than there are widowers. More questions…!

Slava Bohu!

I Timothy 4:12-16

Let no one look down on your youthfulness… (v. 12a, NASB). I don’t think anyone reading this verse needs to apply it directly to him/herself! HOWEVER, we would do well to always give heed to the younger members of our congregation. I believe that we do that at St. Andrew’s – maybe because we are, in general, a much older crowd. Still, we are constantly looking to have our younger members attain to Vestry membership and younger folks have been asked to serve on our search committee for a new rector. So I think we have a good record in that regard.

Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you… (v. 14a, NASB). I wonder how many of us have truly considered the spiritual gifts with which we have been endowed. One online resource (http://www.kodachrome.org/spiritgift/refer.htm) lists 28 spiritual gifts (more than I would have named)! It also lists a few Bible chapters as the main places where we learn about spiritual gifts: 1 Corinthians 12-14; Romans 12; Ephesians 4. They also list a number of caveats and overlaps regarding the 28 spiritual gifts that they have listed. But back to the verse quoted… We need to take Paul’s directive seriously. He follows verse 14a with a stronger statement, Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. (v. 15) If you are uncertain about any spiritual gifts that you may possess, you may want to take the spiritual gifts test that the online link offers: http://www.kodachrome.org/spiritgift/. I’ll be doing that myself later today.

BTW, just announced – our daughter, Nancy (in Maryland, where we are) just delivered a 6 lb, 7.3 oz. baby girl. (No name yet…)

Slava Bohu!

I Timothy 4:6-11

… for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. (v. 8) I hope and trust that I am pursuing godliness – that I have even moved somewhat along that scale to some level of godliness here on earth. And presuming that I have moved in that direction, I can lay full claim to the second half of that verse, that godliness “holds promise” for this life and the next. I have often made that argument in sharing my faith with others. It’s something that I learned a year or more prior to my own born-again experience. My friend, Jim, was a freshman at the University of Illinois when I met him; I was a sophomore and five years his senior. He began at that early age and persisted in sharing his faith with me for three and a half years before I accepted Jesus’ Lordship in my life. Somewhere along that time line I considered Jim’s life compared to mine. And long story short, while I thought (hoped??) that I would probably attain to heaven when I died, I was certain that Jim had a guaranteed entry. But more than that, Jim was extremely happy in his earthly life – without the drinking and partying that was more my life. That is, Jim was pursuing godliness and it was blessing him in this life – and he was fully prepared for the next. That comparison stuck with me and I’m sure had an impact in my eventually surrendering my life to the Lord. Yes, folks, “godliness is of value”!!

Slava Bohu!

I Timothy 4:1-5

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared… (vv. 1-2) The words in these verses are stronger than words that I might use in applying Paul’s words to the times in which we live. Yes, I believe many have departed from the faith – so many in those liberal denominations within Christianity, including the Episcopal Church from which we have come. And yes, I believe that there are deceitful spirits – seminary professors who create, follow, and teach liberal doctrines not at all in harmony with traditional Christian beliefs. And yes, I have no doubt that Satan has had his influence in liberal seminaries and denominational hierarchies and that many clergy are led astray and take their flocks along with them. But I have trouble with Paul referring to the “insincerity of liars”. (The NASB has “hypocrisy” instead of “insincerity”.) I believe that these professors, clergy and denominational leaders honestly believe what they are teaching and preaching, that they are mostly sincere in their beliefs. But I don’t believe that these folks have made Jesus the Lord of their lives, that they are filled with the Holy Spirit. They are overly worldly, trusting in the doctrines of man instead of seeking and listening to the Spirit. I may be wrong, but I’m more than willing to take my chances with the Lord whom I am blessed to serve.

Slava Bohu!

I Timothy 3:14-16

We’ve only got three verses today – but they’re powerful!

… I am writing these things to you so that … you may know how one ought to behave in the … church of the living God… (vv. 14-15) It’s always helpful for me to edit out incidental phrases in Paul’s letters so that I can see exactly what he is saying. And here, although it’s a bit late in the letter (already the end of the third chapter) Paul finally tells Timothy the intent behind his writing to him. As I have noted before, Timothy is in Ephesus, a very pagan city, and the new converts are probably somewhat familiar with pagan worship. Naturally, Christian worship would be very different, as Paul proclaims Jesus’ majesty in the closing verse to this chapter:

He was manifested in the flesh,
    vindicated by the Spirit,
        seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
    believed on in the world,
        taken up in glory. (v. 16b)

These “poetic” lines are a bit confusing – they are not chronological for Jesus’ life. They make more sense if we move the last line two lines up, since He ascended well after His resurrection (… seen by angels).

I Timothy 3:8-13

We saw in Acts 6 that the early church had appointed deacons (although they were not named as such) to serve in more mundane, “earthly” matters. The qualifications for these deacons were few in number, but no less demanding: …pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom… (Acts 6:3). A man (or woman, a deaconess) who is of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom must surely have the necessary qualities for service that Paul mentions in today’s reading!

Paul has a separate verse for deacon’s wives that he does not includes for priests (elders, overseers): Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. (v. 11) Strange that he would have that additional line for deacon’s wives!

There are a couple of other noteworthy items for deacons that Paul does not mention for priests. First, it seems that deacons had to serve a trial period before being fully “ordained”: And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless.(v. 10) Seemingly during this probationary period a candidate could be ruled unfit; Paul does not mention the same for priests. Second, although Paul mentions that priests should not be a “lover of money”, for deacons he goes one step further in that deacons should not be “greedy for dishonest gain”. The NASB has an even better phrase, “not fond of sordid gain”. I’m imagining some sort of ranking of the Ephesian men, from those who are most qualified to serve (becoming priests) on down to those who are maybe younger in their faith and possibly too nearly tainted by the Gentile world around them. Recall the riot that broke out when Demetrius, the silversmith led the Ephesian merchants in claiming that Paul was disrupting their trade! (Acts 19:23, ff.)

Slava Bohu!