timothyreading2

Timothy Reads From Paul's Letter

Let us try and picture the members of the Church meeting together the next Sunday in the home of Aquila and Priscilla. It would have been Sunday as by now those early Christians had settled on the first day of the week for worship. Because the discovery of Christ’s resurrection was made on the first day of the week, it is easy to understand why this day so quickly replaced the Jewish Saturday Sabbath for worship. The careful historian Doctor Luke writes,

The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment. On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb but when they entered they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightening stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here. He has risen!” (Luke 23:55, 24:1-6. NIV).

In another of his books Luke writes of being with Paul when the apostle preached to a Christian gathering in Troas on the first day of the week.

As soon as the Passover season ended, we boarded a ship at Philippi in Macedonia and five days later arrived in Troas where we stayed a week. On the first day of the week we gathered together to observe the Lord’s Supper. Paul was preaching and since he was leaving the next day he talked until midnight. (Acts 20:6-7).

We may safely conclude then that it was on Sunday that the church met again in the home of Priscilla and Aquinas.

After perhaps reminding the people of Paul’s challenge to him, “When I left for Macedonia I urged you to stay there in Ephesus and stop those who are teaching wrong doctrine,” (1 Timothy 1:3), we may imagine Timothy inviting discussion as he asks the congregation, “How are we going to call these teachers to account? How are we going to answer their false teaching?” By the words Paul used they all knew that he expected them to make a strong stand. The word translated ‘stop’ is παραγελλω [paragellō]. The word is a strong military term used when ordering a person to do something. Realising this, one person may have replied, “Well then, let’s chase them out of the city.” Another may have suggested, “Perhaps we should ask Paul to return.” Yet another may have called out, “Read some more Timothy. There may be something more in the letter that will help us know what to do.”

As Timothy pauses in his reading, we may think of him quietly asking, “Did you notice how Paul relates the truth of the gospel to his own experience of salvation? He has experienced what he is talking about. Think about what I have just read. The transformation that has taken place in his life demonstrates the truth of what he is teaching. We must never allow false teachers to teach in our church. But we must do more than that. In order to overcome their teaching we need to give evidence for the truth of the Christian message by living as changed people.”

Those gathered that day in the home of Aquila and Priscilla would have been strengthened in their faith as they thought about this section of Paul’s letter. Some may have even made some notes of the way they understood Paul’s life to have changed. They could not help but notice that Paul had changed ...

They recall what Paul had written, “How thankful I am to Christ Jesus our Lord for considering me trustworthy and appointing me to serve him.” (1:12). Paul had formerly risen to be among those who were at the top of the Jewish religious hierarchy. He was devoted to the cause of Judaism. He had been taught by Gamaliel, one of Israel’s leading religious teachers. Paul refers to this when speaking to the crowd who gathered after his arrest in Jerusalem. “I was brought up and educated here in Jerusalem under Gamaliel. At his feet I learned to follow our Jewish laws and customs very carefully. I became very zealous to honour God in everything I did.” (Acts 22: 3). Later he explained this part of his life as he defended his faith before Herod Agrippa II, Tetrarch of Chalcis and the Northern Territory, AD 50-70. “As the Jewish leaders are well aware, I was given a thorough Jewish training from my earliest childhood among my own people and in Jerusalem. If they would admit it they know that I have been a member of the Pharisees, the strictest sect of our religion.” (Acts 26:4-5). And then someone pointed out how Paul had changed ...

Timothy reads again Paul’s reference to the time in his life when he persecuted Christians. “I hunted down his people harming them in every way I could.” (1 Timothy 1:12). Paul also spoke of this time as he continued his defence before Agrippa. “I used to believe that I ought to do everything I could to oppose the followers of Jesus of Nazareth. Authorised by the leading priests, I caused many of the believers in Jerusalem to be sent to prison. And I cast my vote against them when they were condemned to death. Many times I had them whipped in the synagogues to try and get them to curse Christ. I was so violently opposed to them that I even hounded them in distant cities of foreign lands.” (Acts 26:9-11).

But as Timothy and the people meeting that day knew, Paul’s life was transformed when he came to know the Lord. They remember Luke’s account of Paul’s conversion as he was on his way to Damascus for the purpose of arresting ‘any there who belonged to the Way.’[1] followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them - both men and women - back to Jerusalem in chains. As he was nearing Damascus on this mission, a brilliant light from heaven suddenly beamed down on him! He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?’ ” (Acts 9:2-4). In this encounter with the risen Christ, Paul became a believer and was called to preach the Gospel. “The Lord said ... ‘Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for me.’ ” He obeyed the call of the Lord, but in doing so he often ran into the same kind of persecution he had handed out to others. Paul talks in another letter about the kind of persecution he experienced. “I have ... been whipped times without number and faced death again and again. Five different times the Jews gave me thirty nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned.” (2 Corinthians 11:23-25). Paul also changed ...

Timothy reads Paul’s reference to his time as a persecutor of Christians. “But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief.” (1 Timothy 1:13). Prior to becoming a Christian, Paul followed the way of his fellow Jews. It was the way of trying to keep the law. He had no knowledge at that time of the way of faith.

Paul wrote about this to the Christians in Rome. “I know what enthusiasm they have for God but it is misdirected zeal. For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Instead, they are clinging to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. They won’t go along with God’s way. For Christ has accomplished the whole purpose of the law. All who believe in him are made right with God.” (Romans 10:2-4). From being ignorant of the way, Paul had come to be a follower of the One who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6).

Paul’s life was completely transformed after he trusted Jesus Christ for his salvation. His life also changed ...

Timothy turns to Paul’s further reference to the change in his life. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - and I was the worst of them all. But that is why God had mercy on me, so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst of sinners. Then others will realise that they too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.” (1 Timothy 1:15-16).

It is becoming clear to the people that a changed life was the best evidence for the truth of the Gospel message. Paul rejoiced in the knowledge that the change in his life could lead others to see that the message he proclaimed was true. The change in his life would show others that they too could experience the forgiveness of sins that he had. They too could receive the gift of eternal life.

With the evidence before them of the transformation that had taken place in Paul’s life, people would more readily be able to acknowledge the truth of what Paul taught, “This is a true saying and everyone should believe it. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” (1 Timothy 1:15).

Two dramatic word pictures emerge from the scroll as Timothy reads more of the letter.

In these few sentences Paul moves from the word picture of a soldier engaged in battle to that of a sailor battling the dangers encountered at sea. In both, Paul is drawing attention to the need for finishing well. In the first of the word pictures, he encourages Timothy and the church to fight well. To hold on to their faith. To never give up. Paul has set them an example. In his second letter he is able to write, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.” (2 Timothy 4:7).

In the second of these two word pictures, Paul reminds the church of ...

The Possibility of Shipwreck

Paul had experienced shipwreck three times while travelling by sea.[2] He was also well aware of the possibility of spiritual shipwreck. In this section of his letter he mentions two people this had happened to. On hearing the names someone may have asked, “How was it that Hymenaeus and Alexander came to be shipwrecked?” Several suggestions may have been put forward as the church discussed the question. “Was it because of some moral lapse?” one person wondered. Other reasons might have been put forward.

Paul points to the underlying cause for their shipwreck in his second letter where he mentions Hymenaeus again. He writes, “Avoid godless, foolish discussions that lead to more and more ungodliness. This kind of talk spreads like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are examples of this. They have left the path of truth, preaching the lie that the resurrection of the dead has already occurred; and they have undermined the faith of some.” (2 Timothy 2:16-18). Their ship of faith was wrecked on the rocks of foolish discussions and the refusal to accept the evidence for Christ’s resurrection. In another letter Paul wrote, “But tell me this - since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ was not raised, then all our preaching is useless and your trust in God is useless.” (1 Corinthians 15:12-14).

Spiritual shipwreck is equally possible for Christians today. But disaster can be avoided if there is an experienced hand on the wheel. Jesus is such a one. When Jesus is allowed to remain in control he steers around the rocks. He pilots the vessel through the storms.

One of my favourite paintings is that of a young man at the wheel of a sailing vessel. A storm is raging, dark clouds hang low overhead, the roaring sea is buffeting the ship. It seems that the ship is about to go down. But behind and to the side of the young man is the calm, gentle, strong figure of a person. It is clear that he is in complete control of the situation. His left hand rests reassuringly on the young man’s shoulder. His right hand points forward. It is Jesus steering him through the storm.

The members of the house church in Ephesus had a lot to think about as they left for their homes that Sunday. They thought about Paul’s instructions to oppose the teaching of error. They were challenged by the realisation that they needed to confront the teachers of error with the irrefutable evidence of a transformed life. They also realised that spiritual shipwreck was a possibility unless the Lord was invited to remain in control.

As we leave the members of the house church pondering the things Paul had spoken about in his letter, we need to remind ourselves of the fact that ...

If we take the wheel ourselves and our ship of faith does smash to pieces on the rocks, such is his grace that the Lord is able to put it all together again for us. Sins can be forgiven, error corrected, faith restored. As John wrote, “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.” ( 1 John 1:9). The Lord is able to rebuild our lives after shipwreck. He is able to build something worthwhile out of the wreckage.

Sheila Miller[3] tells the story of the building of a residential school for the children of missionaries of the China Inland Mission (now Overseas Missionary Fellowship). Hudson Taylor, the founder of the mission, was convalescing after an illness, on the shores of the Yellow Sea, at a port named Chefoo in China. Taylor saw it as an ideal site for the building of a school. While he and Mr Judd were walking across some land near the beach one day, they met the Chinese owner of the land. He asked them if they wanted to buy the land. A price was agreed on and the deal settled.

With limited finance available they quarried stone and made their own bricks. But soon the need for timber arose. And then, writes Miller, “They noticed a ship lying wrecked in Chefoo Bay. It was made of sturdy oak and Norwegian pine. They purchased a large part of the wreck for rafters and heavy beams. It was incredible that the ship carried the name ‘The Christian’. A Shanghai newspaper later carried an article which stated that ‘The Christian’ had ceased going to sea and had joined the C.I.M. Another wreck provided teak for the floors and its cabin fittings were just right for furnishings. The price was just right too. They could have as much as they liked for three shillings and nine pence per hundred weight. The first school building was put together with five rooms upstairs and five rooms downstairs, with an out-house and lean-to rooms as extras.”

The wreckage was fashioned into something new in Chefoo. In the same way, the Lord is able to bring something new out of spiritual shipwreck. As Paul wrote, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17. NIV).

And just as the potter can remake the marred vessel so the Lord can rebuild the life that has been shipwrecked. Jeremiah passed on this assurance from the Lord to his people.

The LORD gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, “Go down to the shop where clay pots and jars are made. I will speak to you there.” So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so the potter squashed the jar into a lump of clay and started again.

Then the LORD gave me this message: “O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.” (Jeremiah 18:1-6).

[1] Acts 9:2. NIV.
[2] 2 Corinthians 11:25.
[3] Miller, Sheila. PIGTAILS, PETTICOATS, AND THE OLD SCHOOL TIE. Kent: O.M.F. 1981.