SEPTEMBER 26 READING..1 TIMOTHY 1
1 Timothy begins the “pastoral epistles”, that is letters to the pastors from the Apostle Paul. Timothy had a special place in Paul’s heart. It is clear that Paul poured his life into this young pastor, and Paul was praising God for all He was doing through Timothy. You will notice that Paul calls Timothy his, “true son in the faith”. This epistle is directly written to Timothy, but more generally written concerning the call to all pastors. What should a pastor be like? How should he lead the church? What should be his priorities? Who should he listen to? What should he speak and teach? Paul calls Timothy and all pastors to teach only biblical doctrine, to stay away from fables, and the concern for ancestries as a means of being more special to God…for these cause division. He calls pastors to have a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. You don’t want a pastor who does not possess these things. Do not get caught up in idle talk, because they don’t understand the wonderful mysteries of God’s truth. Paul puts the proper understanding and application of the law before the pastor, and exhorts them to continue to teach only the glorious Gospel message.
Paul praises the Lord for the privilege of the call to ministry. I hope each of us, especially pastors, see the wonderful privilege the Lord has afforded us in allowing us to minister in His Name, and His church. Paul confesses that he once was, a blasphemer, a persecutor, and insolent man. But God’s mercy and grace was given to him, and God changed him. That is the power of the Gospel in the lives of sinful people. God’s grace is always greater than our sin…if it were not so, we would have no hope. That grace and forgiveness is available to us through Jesus and His finished work of redemption by going to the cross. Jesus has brought us salvation in order that we might share that message with others. Paul closes this chapter by charging Timothy, and I believe all pastors, to fight the good fight. The battle before us is great, it is spiritual, and pastors have to be aware of the enemy. Pastors need to be out front of the battle and be unafraid as they stand in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Please share your thoughts from today’s reading.
TOMORROW’S READING…1 TIMOTHY 2
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