Friday, February 9, 2018
Timothy, my
son, here are my instructions for you, based on the prophetic words spoken
about you earlier. May they help you
fight well in the Lord’s battles. Cling
to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated
their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked. Hymenaeus and Alexander are two examples. I threw them out and handed them over to Satan
so they might learn not to blaspheme God.
1 Timothy 1:18-20(NLT)
Paul was Timothy’s mentor. From other references in Scripture we know
that Timothy was raised in a Godly household, and Paul was probably instrumental
in his conversion.[2] Timothy accompanied Paul on his missionary
journeys, and at times was sent to churches by Paul when he couldn’t go personally. Six of Paul’s letters have Timothy’s greetings
to the churches, if not his influence in what Paul wrote.
As much as Paul was a tutor and “father”
in the faith to Timothy, this friendship included Timothy’s influence on Paul. When Paul came to the end of his days on earth
he called for Timothy to come to the Roman prison, and bring the Scripture scrolls
(2 Timothy 4:9). Like any other human, at the end you want your
closest friends. For Paul it was the
Word of God and his “son” in the faith.
In giving Timothy some final
instructions for his life and ministry, Paul charged Timothy to live with
particular attention to the meaning of his name, which is: honoring God.
The caution to Timothy in this
advice is that only an un-violated conscience can honor God. Hymenaeus and Alexander were believers who
had crossed that line intentionally. It
may have been that they were under some pressure from authorities to deny
Christ, or it may have been a temptation that they just weren’t willing to
fight…but it was serious enough for Paul to act with discipline – a last ditch effort
to save their souls. These men had made
a shipwreck of their faith walk with Christ; Paul was throwing them a compassionate
lifeline in the form of a wakeup call. Better
to get a cold splash of holy water in the face than wake up in the searing
fires of hell.
The whole point is conscience –
that inner voice of God’s Holy Spirit which, if we let Him, directs our daily
life’s choices, and leads us into living a Godly life. Paul strongly reminded Timothy that nothing
mattered as much as clinging to that faith (in Christ) once-delivered to the
saints. Trusting Christ would help him
stay clean in conscience and strong in the battle against the darkness of life
in a godless world.
This is certainly true in the life
and ministry of those called to work in God’s field. And whether pastor or lay person, we are ALL
called to labor in God’s vineyard! God
calls us to do so with these clean tools:
·
faith in Christ alone,
·
the Word of God,
·
unending prayer,
·
the daily surrender of self, and
·
a clean conscience.
These are the tools of a follower
of Jesus; we must keep those tools clean and sharp!
For You Today
Look over
your toolbox today. When you reach for
help in that toolbox you don’t need to find a dull, rusted conscience!
You chew on that as you hit the
Rocky Road; have a blessed day.
Go to Devotion VIDEO
[2]
Robert Dean in Holman Bible Dictionary © 1991 Holman Bible Publishers Electronic
Edition STEP Files
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