Free Bible Commentary
“1 Timothy 1:1-7”
Categories: 1 Timothy“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope, to Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith. But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.”
---End of Scripture verses---
When Paul had met with the Ephesians elders in Miletus toward the end of his third preaching journey, he conferred upon them the following charge: “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.” (Acts 20:28-30)
At the time of the writing of this letter, “certain men” had already begun “speaking perverse things” and teaching “strange doctrines” (verse 3). Others were trying to pass off mere “myths” and fables for the truth, and trying to impress people by their supposed illustrious ancestries (verse 4). There is not the slightest indication in the Gospel of Jesus Christ that our salvation depends upon our “genealogies” or bloodlines, but only upon the precious blood of the Son of the living God. We should not “pay attention” to anything other than the “sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1) that can only be derived from “the teaching of Christ” (2 John 1:9).
Please do not base your soul’s eternal salvation upon mere “speculation” and conjecture. There are numerous people in the world, and many with good intentions, who base their spirituality and relationship with God upon feelings, visions, dreams, and subjective things of this sort. But life and truth and eternal salvation can only be acquired by the pursuit of pleasing God through the objective, inspired revelation of the Lord’s will found only in the Bible, and specifically in the New Testament. When Paul encourages us to further “the administration of God,” he is telling us to stick to God’s clear-cut plan of salvation that can only be found in “the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints” (Jude 1:3).
Please stay with these verses for tomorrow. Lord willing we will focus on what Paul wrote in verses 5-7.
Have a blessed day!
- Louie Taylor
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