1 Timothy 1:9

1 Timothy 1:9 says, Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,  Paul  stated that the law was not made for the righteous man, but for the unrighteous man.  The righteous man would know what to do and do it without needing instructions about what is right or wrong.  Of course, we are told that none is righteous, no not one.  This means that we must rely on the righteousness of Christ and when we do, we are no longer under the law, but under grace. 

Verse ten adds, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;  Paul continues to list those who are under the law, and once more it is sinners who have not accepted God’s gift of grace.  This makes me wonder why we want to post the Ten Commandments, the heart of the law of God, instead of posting the two that Jesus said were the greatest, which is that we are to love God with all our heart and we are to love our neighbor as ourselves.  Posting or reciting the Ten Commandments with hatred for anyone in our heart does us no good, just as trying to justify ourselves by how well we obey them does us no good.  If it did, we would be saved by works and not by grace.  

Verse eleven continues, According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.  Paul then began to list what sound doctrine is, and that is the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.  Paul said this gospel was entrusted to him to share, as it is for every Christian today.  We are called on to proclaim salvation through faith in Jesus alone, but we are often more interested in proclaiming God’s law instead of proclaiming His grace.

 

1 Timothy 1:5

1 Timothy 1:5 says, Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:  Paul summed up what those who had put their faith in Jesus Christ should do.  They should love others out of a pure heart which would leave them with a clear conscience from real faith and not just a faith that was faked.  This applies to all Christians for all time.  We must love our fellowman with a pure heart and never from an attitude of selfishness.  Our faith in God must be real.

Verse six adds, From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling;  Paul said that some of those who had professed to be following Christ had turned away from Him by vain jangling.  I believe this means trying to live by God’s commandments while trying to live by the world’s standards as well.  If we are following Jesus Christ, we must do so with all our heart, mind, and soul.  The is no room for trying to live by both standards.  

Verse seven continues, Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.  Paul said some who were claiming to be Christians were trying to be teachers of God’s commandments when they didn’t even know them.  They didn’t even understand what they affirmed to believe.  There are still many people today who want to be teachers and sometimes even preachers, who don’t understand what God’s word teaches, yet they want people to put their faith in their teaching and preaching. 

Verse eight concludes, But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;  Paul said that God’s law is good if people use it lawfully, but some of these teachers weren’t doing that.  I believe that some were teaching that a person had to follow God’s law as well as putting their faith in Jesus Christ in order to be saved, instead of just putting one’s faith in Jesus Christ to be the only requirement for salvation.  I believe that others were teaching that when a person accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord that they no longer had to follow God’s laws at all.  Both of the teachings are wrong.   

1 Timothy 1:1

Timothy 1:1 says, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;  Paul described himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God.  He said God was his Savior through the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for the sins of all mankind.  He was not declaring himself to be better than anyone else, nor did he believe that he was any less an apostle than those who had physically followed Jesus.  He was an apostle by the calling of God.  No Christian is better than any other nor any less spiritually than any other since we are all saved by Jesus Christ, but God does call us to different tasks in His kingdom.  Paul said his hope was in Jesus Christ and what He did for mankind on the cross, and so should ours be as Christians.  

Verse two adds, Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.  Paul said that this epistle, or letter, was to Timothy, who he said was his son in faith.  I believe thus means he was converted under Paul’s preaching, but in God’s kingdom, they were brothers.  We may think that we have a special relationship with someone who comes to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, but we will never be more than a brother or sister to them in God’s kingdom.  We may be a mentor and feel like a parent to them spiritually, as Paul did with Timothy, but God alone is the Father to all who believe in Him. 

Verse three continues, As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine,  Paul said he brought Timothy with him to Ephesus and left him there while he went on to Macedonia.  Like any father, Paul knew that he would eventually have to leave Timothy to do the work that God had called him to do.  Paul knew this was God’s plan and he carried it out.  I have to assume that Timothy also believed that it was God’s will that he remained in Ephesus while Paul went on to Macedonia.  There will come a time in the life of every Christian parent when they will need to allow their children to go wherever God leads them to do His work, yet many times if it means that they are going to be physically separated by several miles that they won’t want them to go, but this is not an attitude that we should ever have.  

Verse four concludes, Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.  Basically, Paul was telling Timothy to not get caught up in ideas that were not in accordance with God’s commandments but to teach the truth of God to edify, or build up, the faith of his fellow believers in Christ.  Many people today want to look into their genealogy for whatever reason, but if they are doing this to elevate who they are in the world, it is not in accordance with God’s will.  Paul also told Timothy to not get caught up in the fables of the world, which I believe would be anything that claimed to be the truth about the world that gives credit to anyone or anything other than God. 

Ezekiel Review

Ezekiel Review

Ezekiel prophesied while Israel was in captivity, the same as Jeremiah.  His prophesies were not only about the return of the nation of Israel from captivity, but also about the coming kingdom of Christ.  He was called by God to be a prophet and carried out his calling.  We as followers of Christ are called to a certain task or to certain tasks in God's work and we should faithfully carry them out.

Some of his prophesies can be interpreted in different ways, and are hard to understand completely, but God preserved them for us, so we must do our best to understand them under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  I believe many of his prophesies came to pass when the nation of Israel returned from captivity and some have yet to be fulfilled.

Ezekiel prophesied about the land of Israel being restored to the people who were in captivity and we who are in captivity to sin can be restored to God if we accept the only way possible to do so, and that is by putting our faith in Jesus Christ.

Ezekiel prophesied about the restored temple and its various uses, but we today as followers of Christ are the temple of the Holy Spirit, so we should all work together in accordance with God's calling.   

Ezekiel also prophesied about strangers coming to Israel to live.  They were to be treated just as other Israelites, I believe once they acknowledged God, though it doesn't really state that.  As Gentiles, this would apply to us, since we would have been strangers in Israel, God's Holy Land.

Ezekiel has a lot more lessons I am sure, but I will stop at these.  Next, we will look at 1 Timothy.