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Timothy: Pastor Paul's Counsel

CONNIE: What does it take to be a successful Christian leader? Join us today, as we take a look at the Apostle Paul’s counsel to a young man entrusted with a big responsibility to lead for the Lord.

Giving God’s trumpet a Certain Sound for more than 70 years, this is the Voice of Prophecy.

CONNIE: Hello, I’m Connie Jeffery,

LONNIE: and I’m Lonnie Melashenko. Welcome to our broadcast. We’re glad you’ve chosen to join us.

CONNIE: Today as we look at Paul’s letters to Timothy, we’re looking at a different category of letter than we’ve studied before, aren’t we, Lonnie?

LONNIE: That’s true. The two letters to Timothy, along with the one to Titus, are called the “Pastoral Epistles,” because they’re addressed to young men whom Paul was training as church leaders. Timothy and Titus weren’t exactly pastors—as we’d think of it today—but they were responsible to overseeing the work of their churches. And Paul’s letters to them are full of pastoral counsel about how to guide the church.

CONNIE: Most of the other letters were written to whole churches, weren’t they?

LONNIE: That’s right. In his earlier ministry, Paul often went into a city, preached and taught for long enough to raise up a congregation, then he hurried on his way to the next place. Then when questions or problems arose, he’d try to work things out by writing letters.

CONNIE: That didn’t always work out too well, did it? I remember when we were looking at his letters to the Corinthians—there were a lot of problems that couldn’t be solved by long-distance correspondence.

LONNIE: And Paul came to realize this. And that’s why we have these letters to men who had been put in charge of churches, after Paul had moved on.

CONNIE: Timothy seems to have had some theological challenges to meet in Ephesus, and Paul advised him on how to deal with them. We’ve invited Professor Larry Richards of Andrews University to bring us a little perspective on the issues raised in 1 and 2 Timothy. Ken Wade spoke with him.

KEN: I want to welcome today Dr. Larry Richards, a New Testament professor at Andrews University. Dr. Richards we were talking earlier today about the epistles of 1st and 2nd Timothy, and you were sharing with me a fascinating thing, that Paul is actually dealing with something that maybe we aren’t familiar with by and large. Tell us a little about that.

LARRY: The term that I use is Gnosticism, which is simply the view that all things in the material world are evil, and the only things that are good and eternal belong to the spirit world and Gnosticism in the early centuries consisted of a very complex hierarchal development of eternity probably best described in Paul’s words to young Timothy as endless genealogies. We found that in 1946, the so called Nagahamdi documents; about the same time the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, and these Gnostic Gospels are actually heretical documents from Christianity that have very complex genealogies…

KEN: I see, so that would explain why in Timothy he’s cautioning him against these endless genealogies, wouldn’t it?

LARRY: It’s a different doctrine, Paul calls it, he’s talking about people who teach any different doctrines and they are persons that occupy themselves with myths and in chapter 1:4, it promotes speculation rather than divine training.

KEN: Now this idea of Gnosticism actually comes from the same root as we use for knowledge, so it was a special knowledge, and Paul contrasts that with his own salvation, not by knowledge but by coming to accept Jesus as his personal Savior doesn’t he?

LARRY: Right! In fact, the reason that this was such a sinister heresy in the early centuries is that the Gnostics believed that they were already divine, and they did not believe that they needed a savior, they believed that they were divine, they believed that all they had to do was get rid of their bodies. Their spirit was encumbered in a body, and that body had to go, and so they deny the body, and Timothy is being told here for example, about the people who are troubling the church at Ephesus where Timothy is pastor, are saying, you can’t get married, their arguing for celibacy, and widows are not to remarry, and Paul says look this is all wrong, I want you to know that widows should remarry, and that women will actually be saved by the baring of children. It’s a question here of denying the body…

KEN: This would relate to their teaching about people denying that you couldn’t eat certain foods and all of that sort of thing, all of this asceticism, trying to save yourself by what you don’t do I suppose.

LARRY: One form of Gnosticism was a denial of the body, where as in 1 Corinthians, it was the body is of no value so you can do anything you want with it. You can prostitute it, you can do whatever you think of to get rid of the body, at Ephesus, and Timothy is dealing with a form in which the heresy is a denial of the body.

KEN: So Paul’s counsel here is teach these people to look to Jesus rather than to what’s inside themselves in order to find salvation.

LARRY: That’s true, and I think that he wants to remind Timothy that it’s important that instead of getting involved in these very complex discussions and speculations about endless genealogies, and it’s going to remind them that God our Savior desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, for there is one God. Gnostics argued that there were multiple gods. There is only one mediator, Gnostics argued that there were multiple mediators, and that’s were this endless genealogy comes from.

KEN: We have run out of time already, but this is relevant today as well isn’t it?

LARRY: It is, because there are so many movements today and Ken, you yourself have studied some of them, movements where the focus turns to self. I can save myself by meditation, or by the amount of information or knowledge that I have, the key for me is to know more or meditate more and the focus is on self, and the beautiful thing about the gospel is that the focus is on Jesus Christ and what He and the Father have done for us. That is where the answers are.

CONNIE: Amen! We Would See Jesus—that was the Andrews University Singers capping off our interview with Dr. Larry Richards of the same university.

LONNIE; As Dr. Richards pointed out, it didn’t take long for Christians to begin to lose sight of Jesus, and to stray into heretical teachings. It was happening already when Paul wrote to Timothy.

CONNIE: That’s why it’s so important for us, as Christians, to keep the right focus. To remember that our religion is not about doctrines or genealogies, or anything like that. It needs to focus on the One who’s at the center: Jesus the Savior of the world.

LONNIE: If you’re looking for ways to keep your focus right, may I recommend the Discover Bible study guides? One thing that students of these lessons often comment about is how Christ-centered they are. The lessons delve into a lot of areas of the Bible—they cover all of the fundamental teachings of the Bible. But all the while the focus is on Jesus and why He has given us the counsel we find in His book.

CONNIE: You can study the Discover Bible Guides free—right in your home, either via the Internet, or via the mail. To sign up on the Internet, go to our web page at vop.com. If you’d prefer to receive the lessons in the mail, call us or write to us. Our toll-free number is 1-800-872-0055, and I’ll share our mailing address a bit later. But right now, let’s listen to Lonnie’s message for today: “Pastor Paul’s Counsel”.


Pastor Paul’s Counsel

Timothy was the Apostle Paul’s protégé, his most trusted companion and closest associate throughout much of the apostle’s ministry.

But the young evangelist wasn’t a perfect replica of his teacher. Although he was eager to do the work of ministry, he may have been a bit more timid than his mentor. And even after years of watching Paul at work, he still had some things to learn about doing the work of a gospel minister.

Which is a good thing for us?

Because if Timothy hadn’t had some things to learn from Paul, we might never have had the two epistles that the older man wrote to his young companion—the epistles we call First and Second Timothy.

We can learn a lot about Timothy by reading through the New Testament—more than we can know about almost anyone else except Jesus himself, and perhaps Paul. We even know his mother’s and grandmother’s names, and that his father was a Greek. We know something about his home life, because Paul affirms in 2 Timothy 1:3 that Timothy’s faith had been developed in his home, under the influence of his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice.

Acts 16:2 (NKJV) affirms that “He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium”—the churches in his home territory.

Because of this, Paul wanted to take Timothy with him as he continued on his second missionary journey. And Timothy must have been eager to go, because Acts 16:13 reveals that he even submitted to adult circumcision—a very painful and humiliating procedure—to be qualified for the job.

Timothy served well with Paul. When Paul was driven out of Berea, Timothy stayed behind with Silas to make sure the Christian church there got off to a good start.

Later, when Paul was concerned about how things were going in Thessalonica, Timothy was the man he sent back to encourage and strengthen the new believers there. Perhaps we can learn something about Timothy’s enthusiasm from these experiences. He had caught a vision of life as a missionary. And when the opportunity to travel with the gospel presented itself, nothing could stop him from going. When Paul needed to send someone on an extended journey, I can picture Timothy almost dancing from foot to foot in anticipation of the chance to be the one sent.

Later, when Paul and his companions were establishing the work in Ephesus, and they heard that there was trouble in the church in Corinth, guess who Paul sent to try to settle the problems there. You can almost hear him saying, “Timothy, you’re young and strong. You make the journey. You instruct them in the right ways and bring us back a report.”

And you can see Timothy happily putting on his traveling cloak, strapping on his sandals, and hitting the road again. Apparently, though, he didn’t have a lot of success in straightening things out in Corinth.

In 1 Timothy 4:12, Paul wrote, “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (NKJV).

In a society where age, gray hairs, and experience were valued over youthful enthusiasm and energy, Timothy may have handled things with a bit more deference than Paul would have recommended.

Paul was never one to mince words. He generally thought it best to attack a difficult situation head on. Timothy may have been on the other end of the spectrum, letting people’s opposition hinder his work. To the Corinthians Paul had to write, “Now if Timothy comes, see that he may be with you without fear. . . . Let no one despise him. But send him on his journey in peace (1 Corinthians 16:10, 11, NKJV).

Later, Paul left Timothy in charge of the work in one of the most important early Christian centers. He’s known in Christian history books as the first bishop of Ephesus.

In Ephesus, Timothy continued to face challenges. And that’s why Paul wrote to him, to instruct him in how best to lead the church there.

The concerns that Paul wrote about give us a fascinating glimpse into the issues the early Christian churches faced. The epistles to Timothy are some of Paul’s last letters. 1 Timothy was apparently written after Paul had been released from prison in Rome, perhaps in AD 61 or even as late as 64. 2 Timothy was written later, during Paul’s second and final imprisonment in Rome.

It’s interesting to compare and contrast these two books with the ones that immediately precede them in the New Testament—1 & 2 Thessalonians, which are Paul’s first two epistles—written 10 to 12 years earlier.

While the first two epistles focus largely on urgent expectation of the Second Coming, by the time Paul wrote to Timothy, churches had been established longer, and were facing the challenge of continuing an effective presence and witness while waiting for the return of Jesus.

At the very beginning of the first letter to Timothy we discover that some of the teachers in Ephesus had moved on from discussions of just when Jesus would return to concerning themselves with “myths and endless genealogies,” and “meaningless talk” (1:4, 6, NRSV). These men wanted to be teachers of the law, but didn’t really understand either the purpose or meaning of God’s law. So Paul reminded Timothy that law’s main purpose is to straighten out sinners. “The law is laid down not for the innocent but for the lawless and disobedient,” he wrote in chapter 1, verse 9 (NRSV).

Paul’s focus was on the gospel and the grace of God, not on the law. But these false teachers were trying to impose legalistic requirements on people. This was not the gospel Paul had delivered to them. So he reminded Timothy that he, Paul, had actually been the chief of sinners. “But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:16, NRSV).

“Get the focus of the gospel right,” Paul urges Timothy. “Remember it’s about grace and mercy, not about lists of rules for righteousness.”

The apostle goes on to urge that a large part of Christian life should focus on praying for world leaders and others, so that the peace can be maintained and the gospel can continue to spread worldwide. Here also he addresses one of the most ticklish subjects—at least from our modern, Western perspective—making it plain that such prayer services are something for men to participate in while women sit back and listen and learn in silence.

We haven’t the time to tackle that issue in depth here. Perhaps it is sufficient to allow that Paul was working within a cultural setting that called for that sort of division of society and found it only natural. We’ll touch more in depth on this issue when we look at the question of slavery in connection with the epistle to Philemon.

It’s in conjunction with his instructions about how the church should function that Paul gives us valuable counsel about the qualifications of leaders and servers (called deacons in many churches, from the Greek term diakonos). In chapter 3, he sets high moral standards for those who aspire to positions of trust in the church.

Then, in chapter 4, Paul returns to the issue of false teachings that are creeping into the church. The congregation is threatened by would-be leaders who are “paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,” (4:1, NRSV) and leading the people astray into ascetic practices that really have no value. Paul urges Timothy to pursue godliness instead of these things.

First Timothy also gives an intriguing glimpse into the day-to-day practices of early Christian churches. One thing the congregations considered important was caring for widows. But apparently that had gotten out of hand, and some young women were taking advantage of the situation to become freeloaders and busybodies. Paul called them to a higher standard and insisted that widows not be allowed to “retire” on the church dole if there were family members who ought to provide for them, and that they certainly shouldn’t become dependent on the church before age 60.

In his second epistle to Timothy, Paul gets very personal with his young disciple. This letter was written under dire circumstances.

Apparently after his first trial in Rome, Paul was set free—after having spent about five years in prison for the sake of the gospel—and he went on to minister and raise up churches in several areas. But then, toward the end of Emperor Nero’s reign, he was arrested again.

Now he finds himself in a damp, cold prison, with little hope of deliverance. Under these circumstances he takes the time to write a personal, heartfelt appreciation to his companion of so many years; urging young Timothy to stay true to his calling, to be firm and not to let discouragement hamper his ministry. “You then, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus; and what you have heard from me . . . entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well. Share in suffering like a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:1-3, NRSV).

Was Paul concerned that perhaps the hard twist his own fate had taken would dismay Timothy and dissuade him from continuing to minister? “Do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel,” he pled (2 Timothy 1:8, NKJV).

The core of this gospel is worth suffering for, he affirms: “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David—that is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is NOT chained” (2 Timothy 2:8, 9, NRSV).

Imprisonment is not easy for Paul. But the gospel of freedom he proclaims to the world makes it all worthwhile. Still, he longs for his young companion. The close of 2 Timothy is one of the most touching, poignant passages in all of the Bible. “Do your best to come to me soon,” he writes. “Get Mark and bring him with you. . . . When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. [And Timothy] . . . [with pathos] Do your best - - - to come before winter” (2 Timothy 4:9, 11, 13, 21).

He is not discouraged. Not sad for the hand life has dealt him. No. He knows whom he has served. He knows what the reward is. And he is satisfied. It’s not his life that’s at an end—just a race that he has been running. And he’s not been defeated. In fact, he’s the winner of the race. A crown—a victor’s wreath—is waiting for him as he crosses the finish line.

To Timothy he writes, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Tim 4:7, 8, NKJV).

That includes you, Timothy.

That includes you, Lonnie.

That includes you, my listening friend.

Do you love and long for the return of Jesus?

Then whatever your circumstances. Whatever hardship life has dealt you. You can say with Paul when life is at its bleakest, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” And you can look forward to that victory wreath—the crown of life that already has your name written on it.

Do you have that hope, today, my friend. You can, as you commit your life—your race—to Jesus.