Sunday, October 07,
2012, 7:42 a.m. – the Lord woke me with the song “Seek the Lord” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant
is listening. I read 1 Timothy 1
(NIV 1984):
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 into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men
not to teach false doctrines any longer nor to devote themselves to myths and
endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God’s work—which
is by faith. The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart
and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have wandered away from these
and turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they
do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.
We know that the law
is good if one uses it properly. We also know that law is made not for the
righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy
and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers,
for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for
whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the glorious
gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.
I thank Christ Jesus
our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing
me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a
violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The
grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love
that are in Christ Jesus.
Here is a trustworthy
saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so
that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example
for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. Now to the King
eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and
ever. Amen.
Timothy, my son, I
give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you,
so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and
a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their
faith. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan
to be taught not to blaspheme.
The
Goal is Love
Paul, who served as a mentor to young
Timothy, wrote him a letter with some instructions and words of exhortation and
encouragement to help him in his personal life, in his witness for Jesus, and
in his spiritual leadership of others. The goal of what Paul wrote Timothy was
love, “which comes from a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith.” Yes,
it is loving to give instructions, to urge the people of God toward holy
living, and to warn them against following false teachers and false doctrines,
provided these instructions and urgings are from the Lord and do come from a
pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith.
What
Not to Teach
Paul urged Timothy to command certain men not
to teach false doctrines any longer, nor to devote themselves to myths, etc.
Some teachers had wandered away from the truth and away from having a pure
heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith, and had turned to meaningless
talk. They didn’t know what they were talking about or what they so confidently
affirmed.
And, these types of false teachers of the
gospel still exist today. I think they outnumber those who are teaching the
pure word of God (the whole gospel). These false teachers take on many forms
and follow varied practices, yet they have several things in common. They
distort the truth of scripture either by adding to or subtracting from the
words of Christ, and from the gospel of Christ, in order to make the gospel
more appealing to man, and/or to gather disciples for themselves. They, as well,
are followers of men and are teaching their disciples to be followers of men or
of a Jesus Christ made in the image of man, which is not the true Christ of the
Bible. They have bought into the lie, and oftentimes refuse to even listen to
the truth of scripture, and will even follow what man says over the word of
God.
We need men of God in our churches who are
willing to follow the truth of scripture, who will take a stand against these
false teachings going on within today’s church, who will expose the lies, and
who will teach the truth so that God’s people will not be led astray. Timothy
was such a man! We need more Timothys in today’s church here in America!
Law
and Grace
The biggest issue in Paul’s day, or else I
should say that the biggest threat to the truth of the gospel then came from
the Judaizers, though libertines also existed among them. The Judaizers taught
that believers in Jesus Christ had to keep the Mosaic Law, including all the
ceremonial laws and restrictions, and special days, etc. Under the New Covenant
relationship with Jesus Christ we have been freed from that. We are not free to
live a life of sin now that we are under grace, which is the libertine
approach, but we are free from human regulations and the requirements under the
Old Covenant relationship between God and man. The Judaizers, or should I say “legalists”
add external requirements to the gospel which then puts us back under a yoke of
slavery, thinking if we follow a set of man-made rules and regulations that we
will be in a better standing with God. Think again!
The biggest issue in our day, though, is not
legalism, though it still exists in today’s church. The biggest issue in our
day, I believe, is a libertine approach to the gospel, though it may not be so outright
(obvious) but is more subtle in its approach. What I mean is that many, many of
today’s church leaders have bought into the lie that they must soft-sell the
gospel of Christ in order to make it more appealing to mankind. By doing this,
they give people a false hope of eternity with God in heaven, thus leaving
people still in their sins, giving them the impression that they can continue
in sin now that they are under grace.
They do this by teaching them that repentance
and obedience to Christ are not required for salvation (eternity with God), and
that God is pleased with us no matter what we do. Some of these teachers come
right out and state that, while others just water down the message to where
they cut repentance and obedience and living holy lives pleasing to God out of
the gospel presentation, so that adherers to their message believe they are not
required to turn from their sin or to obey Christ, and that God is still
pleased with them. They often will share only the scriptures that sound nice
and will present a picture of God as only loving, but more like a doting grandfather.
Their invitation to believe in Jesus is so “user-friendly” that it lacks the
convicting power of the Holy Spirit in order to bring people to repentance.
Transformation
Paul was one who had it wrong, so he
understood how easy it was to be deceived and to follow a false belief, even if
done in all sincerity and with great earnestness and zeal. Yet, the Lord Jesus
was merciful to him, he opened his eyes to the truth, and he gave him the
opportunity to follow the right path and to teach others to follow the right
path. I understand this, too, for there were many things I had wrong, and the
Lord had to open my eyes to his truth, as well. He is willing to open our eyes,
I believe, if we are willing to have our eyes opened. We have to be receptive
to hear his voice speaking and we have to be willing to forsake our traditions,
the teachings of men, our culture, or anything we have been taught wrongly. I
had a pastor who used to teach us to go into God’s word as though we never read
it before so that we can hear a fresh word from God. As I took this approach to
God’s word, I unlearned a lot of things I had been taught wrongly and I learned
what the word of God really teaches on these subjects.
Jesus Christ came into the world to save
sinners. For that reason, said Paul, he was shown mercy so that in him, “the
worst of sinners,” Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an
example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. What was
he saying here? Have you ever noticed the people in the Bible God chose for his
service? They were not perfect people when he called them. They did not have
super abilities or powers of persuasion, nor were many of them charismatic in
nature so as to draw in large crowds of people. They were sinners, human and
weak in many respects. Yet, God transformed their hearts by the power and
working of the Holy Spirit, so that he might display his work, his power, and his
love, grace and mercy in and through them. And, I am so thankful, too, for God’s
grace and patience in my life in transforming my heart and in using me for his
service, because I am so underserving.
So, what should our heart response be to God’s
amazing grace? We should turn from our sin, walk in obedience to God, serve
him, continue in our faith, persevere in times of trial, and be diligent in
prayer and in our times in his word, in order to hear from him and to do what
he says. If we do not, we run the risk of “shipwrecking” our faith in Christ,
and of being handed over to Satan (church discipline; God’s discipline and
correction) to be taught not to take God’s grace lightly or to treat God and
his grace with disrespect.
God is calling out to each and every one of
us to come to him and to find our satisfaction and our fulfillment in God, and
in God alone, forsaking our sins and the ways of this world, and in seeking his
truth - to follow it, and to follow him wherever he leads us.
Seek
the Lord / An Original Work / July 20, 2012
Based off
Isaiah 55
“Come
to Me all you who thirst; come to waters.
Listen
to Me, and eat what’s good today,
And
your soul will delight in richest of fare.
Give
ear to Me, and you will live.
I
have made an eternal covenant with you.
Wash
in the blood of the Lamb.”
Seek
the Lord while He may be found; call on Him.
Let
the wicked forsake his way, in truth.
Let
him turn to the Lord, and he will receive mercy.
Freely,
God pardons him.
“For
My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor
are your ways My ways,”
declares
the Lord, our God.
“My
word that goes out of My mouth is truthful.
It
will not return to Me unfulfilled.
My
word will accomplish all that I desire,
And
achieve the goal I intend.
You
will go in joy, and be led forth in peace.
The
mountains will burst into song… before you,
And
all of the trees clap their hands.”
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