Devotions with Jonathan

1 Timothy 1:1-11 (that's... a lot of 1s)

I've put this off for long enough.

This particular passage of scripture focuses in on false teachers and heretical doctrines, stories, and teachings running around in Ephesus at the time. The NIV Study Bible speculates that the heresy and stories that Paul mentions in this section are similar to the myths that he talks about in Titus and was the forerunner of Gnosticism (Jewish myths, they are called in Titus, the other pastoral letter).

The particular verses that stood out to me (and stood out even more upon reading of the Bible commentary that I'm using [The Bible Knowledge Commentary by Walvoord and Zuck]) was the "myths and endless genealogies" that "promote controversies rather than God's work - which is by faith." (1:4). This reminded me of my own personal love of intellectual argument and it seems that God is prodding me gently, reminding me of my own argumentative nature. For Paul continues on in verse 5 to say that the goal of his command is love, something in which I definately lack many times that I enter into intellectual debate over theology and doctrine. No matter how sound the doctrine that I debate, if I do not enter into it with an attitude of love, then it is meaningless and stirs up nothing but controversy. I like what the commentary says. "Such speculations were to be avoided because they did not further God's plan, which is grasped and implemetned not by human imagination, but by faith. By contrast, human speculations tend to lead off down endless blind tunnels which serve only to confuse and obscure God's truth."

In connection to that, 1 Corinthians 13:2 "If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge... but have not love, I am nothing."

Verse 7 was also pretty convicting to me. It condemns these false teachers for wanting to be teachers of the law and being all conceited, when in fact they know nothing. It was a good reminder to myself to remember that, as a DG leader, I'm not to start expounding and showing off my knowledge and such but to depend on God to speak and teach "sound doctrine" and to do so in love.

One question that came up as I was reading this was the whole idea of sound doctrine. When I think the word doctrine, I start thinking of things like beliefs about salvation (predestination and free will), baptism, etc. According to this epistle, sound doctrine is anything that conforms to the gospel of the blessed God. Literally, sound doctrine translates into healthy teaching. So maybe I need to reform the definition of sound doctrine in my head to the more correct literal meaning of healthy teaching. Do debates, arguments, and discussions about Calvinism vs. Armenianism, immersion vs. sprinkling, and the like lead to a healthy faith? If so, then all for it, but in my personal experience, such discussions have led to more confusion and chaos then when we initially began, thus how can it be healthy?

By my own thought processes, I've come to the conclusion that as long as the basic teaching of Christ death on the cross for our sins, resurrection from the dead, ascendency to heaven and the empowering of the Holy Spirit (and a few other important things that I seem to be missing but can't for the life of me remember), then the other things are irrelevant. But again, I'm warning myself here about what the commentary said, and I agree about human speculation and reasoning leading to endless tunnels of confusion. So at some point, I'll have to come back to that and find a biblical basis for the view or else abandon it.

How can I apply this to my life? I see some direct application in a few areas of my life. For one, when my DG starts up, I refuse to get caught up in long theological debates about things if I find that it is hindering growth rather than aiding it. The other place that I can apply this to my life is when I go sharing. I find that I like to intellectualize much of what I'm saying, and even though that act in and of itself is not intrinsically wrong or unbiblical, it would be so much more effective if it were backed by love.

The problem that THAT leads to is how can I have love for a complete stranger that I've probably never seen before. The answer: by God's grace and strength. So if you could pray for me that God would constantly remind me to do the things that I do in love, for "love covers over a multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8b) not only in terms of forgiveness, but in terms of the way that we view sinners as well. Not to say that it covers it up, but that love allows us to see the faults and sins of others and love them despite these things.

Prayer: Dear Lord, Thank you for the revelations and reminders that you have given me this day. I know that I have an argumentative spirit, a sinful twist on my love of all things academic, and so I pray that this spirit would be tempered by the love that YOU have for all people, so that it would be used in a manner that glorifies your name rather than slanders it. I pray that I would be reminded of the fact that the goal is to love others with "pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith." (1:5).

In Jesus name I pray,
Amen.

posted by Jonathan P @ 11:54 PM