FATHERLY COUNSEL
2 Timothy 1
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,
2 To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;
4 Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;
5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.
6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.
7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
What a way to start a letter!
The start of a letter sets the tone and boy this is some start. Paul is speaking to his spiritual son Timothy.
Paul warns Timothy, he encourages him, he stirs his faith. Let us be encouraged also.
First, Timothy is not to give attention to any fables or anything that would bring needless questions. So many Christians get involved in arguments over some minor point and never move on from that. These things do not edify, they do not build up, they just divide the body of Christ.
In verse 6, Paul describes what people who engage in constant arguments are like. It is like vain jangling. People who jangle money in their pockets sure are irritating! Well, Paul uses this example to show how people who are constantly disputing about some minor point of doctrine.
We are warned not to stray away from the truth. Do not be concerned about minor points of doctrine. Many Christians argue for hours over whether women should wear trousers etc. It is worthless because whilst we argue, thousands are dying and going to hell. We fiddle while the lost are perishing.
These people don’t really understand what they say, they want to be teachers, but they have no idea what they teach. They want to be teachers of the law, not teachers of the truth of God’s word, they need to be avoided at all costs.
What is it that Paul says is good? It is love flowing from a pure heart, with a good conscience and pure faith. We are to seek after these things. We are to seek to have our hearts full of God’s love, flowing out to God and to our fellow man. We are to have our minds renewed by the word of God, so that our consciences are good and sound.
Romans 12:1-2 Phil 4:7-8.
Timothy had an unfeigned faith 2 Tim 1:5, it had been groomed by godly parents and grandparents. It had taken a long time to flourish, but now it has.
Paul instructs is as to what we should seek as believers in Christ: we should be seeking to love, seeking to increase in faith and seeking to make our consciences good, by soaking it in the word of God. He tells us not to get involved with constant debates over fables or minor points of doctrine. These will tie you in knots. There are many believers, who when you meet them talk about their special focus in the Bible. You hear nothing else but about their pet subject, when they need to concentrating on becoming more like Christ, like in verse 5.
Which of these people are you?
One who has an unfeigned faith and a pure heart? vs 5
Or you a vain jangler.. constantly arguing about your pet subject?
God bless you
KEITH