Micah 2 - Judgement and Salvation

Men (and women) make plans, some of them very evil. They think they can make great gain for themselves at the expense of others, and that they will get away with it. They make plans and then carry them out. 

But they forget the Lord, and there will be a day of reckoning. There will be a day when judgement comes and wrongs are put right. The wicked will be brought low, no longer will they walk proudly. Instead of being feared, or even admired, they will be viewed with scorn and ridicule. The Assyrians would come and divide up the land for themselves. The rich would have no one in the "assembly of the Lord" to speak on their behalf, for they had forsaken the Lord.

The wealthy did not want the Lord's prophets to prophesy. They did not want to hear the truth. So they thought up schemes which denied what the Lord was saying. Today, people produce clever "theologies" to do away with the bits of the Bible that they do not like (its teachings on sexual morality, on hell, on judgement, on the uniqueness of Christ etc), but they are just talking nonsense.

The rich were exploiting the women and children. The rich did not want to hear about righteousness, they want a prophet who spoke about more wine and beer. 

But the Lord watches over His people, and He would send a deliverer. V12,13 are a clear reference to the coming of Christ. Jesus makes a way for our salvation.

Micah 1:8-16 - A Lament

Micah mourns for the sin of the nation, in particular Samaria. At the time Israel was split in two, a southern kingdom (Judah) and the northern kingdom (Israel or Samaria). Samaria's wound was incurable, and her wound was sin. This should be noted when reading Isaiah 53:5, "by His wounds we are healed". There is healing in the cross (Matthew 8:17), but this verse is primarily referring to he wound of sin. Moreover, this "infection" has spread to Judah as well and is at the gate of Jerusalem. Sin is our most serious problem. The reference to Micah going about naked may be hyperbole, or he may have actually done this, for Isaiah did the same (Isaiah 20:2).

There then follows a lament by Micah. Micah saw the disgrace that was going to come upon Israel, the destruction of the nation, and the besmirching of God's name because of Israel's sin.

A conqueror would come. This is a reference to Assyria. It is notable in the Bible that judgement against sin comes primarily against God's people. The message is not "all other nations are terrible but you are wonderful", rather it is that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all can be saved by faith in Christ.

Lessons from 1 Samuel

Here is a sermon on lessons we can learn from 1 Samuel on how God works in the lives of individuals and of nations.
http://gatechurch.co.uk/media/ian-mackie-sunday-26th-may-2013/

Micah 1:1-7 - A place of idols.

Micah means "who is like the Lord". The word of the Lord came to Micah. No details are given on exactly how the word came to him, just that it did. This occurred over a period of time during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. Jotham (2 Kings 15:34) and Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:3) were generally good kings, Ahaz (2 Kings 16:2) was not.

Micah's word is addressed to all the world, not just Israel. So how does this work, given that Judah and Israel would be the only ones who would hear it? Israel was meant to be an example to the world, to show the world how we are meant to live. Similarly, God speaks to us, and we are meant to be witnesses to the world.

Things were not as they should be in Israel, so the Lord would come down and judge the people. God lets us get on with things for a time, but will at some point execute judgement. Jerusalem is referred to as a "high place". High places were places where false gods were worshipped, often associated with sexual immorality as well. Jerusalem should have been the place of the holy temple of God, a place of holy worship. Instead it had become a disgrace.

Samaria had become full of idols, so the place would become a heap of rubble.

Micah - Introduction

Little is known about Micah himself. He came from southern Judah, and he was active sometime between 750 BC and 686 BC. So he was active around the time of Isaiah. He was concerned with the social conditions in Israel, or more specifically Judah. There has been an unhelpful tendency in the church to divide between the so-called social gospel and salvation. One is concerned with social ills in society and sees individual sin as a minor issue (unless it is sin against the "poor"). The other focuses almost exclusively on the issue of individual sin, and to neglect structural sin and wrongs in society. Now, this is a caricature, but there is an element of truth in it. The key thing is that the Bible is concerned both with individual sinners and societal wrongs. One could say the Bible's favourite word is "and", while we like "or".

Micah seems to be more familiar with the villages in Judah, rather than the "big city" of Jerusalem. Micah foresaw the fall of Samaria (Northern Israel) and the later fall of Judah.

As in many of the prophets, there is a mixture of doom and hope. The hope offered in the Bible is offered in full recognition of the reality of sin.

Psalm 135 - Praising Servants

Another call for servants of the Lord to praise His name. The original reference was to servants who ministered in the temple of the Lord, but we can now apply to all of us who serve the Lord. We are temples of the Holy Spirit, and so everything we do is serving the Lord. 

We are to praise the Lord for He is good, and it is pleasant to praise His Name. Praising God is what we were created to do. He has chosen us to be His own, to be His treasured possession. This was applied to Israel here, but Jesus has chosen all of us. We belong to Him. Now some will object to the idea of belonging to God, but this is the root of rebellion. It also denies the truth. You did not create yourself, you do not sustain the universe, you do not give life to yourself. 

The Lord is Almighty. He has power over all things, over all of nature. 

Next the Psalmist recalls how God struck down enemies of Israel. He struck down Egypt, and various other nations.

The nations worship all kinds of idols, but these idols are useless. They cannot see, cannot speak. They have the appearance of ears, mouths and eyes, but they are utterly useless. The worldly powers have the appearance of power, but are in actual fact useless. Those make idols will become like them.

So the servants of the Lord are to praise Him.

Psalm 134 - Praise the Lord

Another short one!

First all the servants of the Lord are urged to praise the Lord. We were created to worship God, this is always a good thing to do.

Indeed it should be an essential part of our lifestyle.

There is an obvious reference to those who served in the temple, but it applies to all of us. We are to lift our hands to the Lord in worship. What we do with our bodies has a bearing on our soul.

We are called to worship, and the Lord will bless us from Zion.

Psalm 133 - Unity

Another short one. This time the emphasis is on unity. The source of all unity is God Himself. There is perfect unity within the Godhead, the Trinity. Father, Son and Holy Spirit exist together in perfect unity. We were made in God's image, so should reflect that unity. Marriage is about unity. Jesus prayed that His disciples would be one.

Unity brings the anointing of God, and it brings the blessing of God. Now this unity is not unity at all costs, there is no Biblical warrant for that. But we should make sure that we do not divide over things that do not really matter, or use "Biblical principle" as a cover for selfish ambition or other fleshly motives. This requires great wisdom.

Psalm 132 - The Future King

David had always wanted to build a temple for the Lord, but the Lord had not allowed him to (1 Chron 28:1-3), but his descendants would, namely Solomon. So this Psalm is expressing the thought that whoever sat on David's throne should be dedicated to building the Lord's temple. Now Solomon did build the temple, but this Psalm probably comes after the time of Solomon. So there is a recognition that the physical temple was not it. Indeed, Solomon himself knew that no temple of stone could truly be the house of God (1 Kings 8:27).

In the New Testament we read that we are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19), and Christ is dedicated to making us, both as individuals and as a church, a suitable dwelling for the Lord.

Humans were designed to want to worship God, it is what we were meant to do. And we are to be clothed with righteousness and joy. Through the cross Christ has clothed us in righteousness, and joy is the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Verse 10 is a call for God to remember the king, we can also see it as a call for God not to reject Christ on the cross. Now, of course, God did forsake Christ for a moment, but then raised Him from the dead on the third day.

Verse 11,12 are looking forward to a future Son of David. They also stress the importance of obedience.

Jerusalem is God's chosen dwelling place. The final outcome is that Gods' kingdom will be established in Zion. This will be a kingdom of righteousness, of faith, and of joy.

Psalm 131 - Trust in God

Man tries to gain peace by control and power. We are by nature control freaks. But this leads only to frustration and anxiety. The fact is that we are not and cannot control everything. We cannot work everything out. Now, we must not go to the other extreme and think that we should not try and understand the world, this is equally wrong and stupid. Instead we accept our place in the scheme of things. God is God and we are not. We find peace by quieting our souls in God's presence. Trusting in God is the only way to peace. He is the source of our security.

Let everyone put their hope in God.

This is a very short Psalm, but there is much to be gained by dwelling on its simple message.

Psalm 130 - Forgiveness

The Psalmist is crying to the Lord out of the depths. As I have mentioned several times before, there are many Psalms where the psalmist calls out of his distress. No matter what our circumstances, we can always cry out to the Lord, and He does hear us.

The psalmists knows that he has no merit of his own. If the Lord kept a record of his sins he would have no hope. This is the situation with all of us. It is not that God ignores sins, rather He forgives them. This is completely different from overlooking them. Forgiveness faces up to full reality of sin, then does what is necessary, and clears the debt. This is what God did on the cross through His Son Jesus. 

So we wait for the Lord and put our hope in His word. His word is full of promises of deliverance, but there is a waiting involved. 

Finally he urges all of Israel to put her hope in the Lord, for with Him there is full redemption. We have been totally forgiven, but receiving the full benefits of that, the full redemption, is a process.

Psalm 129 - Oppressed

This Psalm has rather a strange start, with Israel declaring that she has been greatly oppressed since her youth. This is referring to her enslavement in Egypt, and maybe also to the fact that many nations had sought to oppress her since. Indeed, this is still true today. However, they have not gained the victory over her. 

They tried many things to destroy Israel, but the Lord rescued her. Indeed, it is a miracle that Israel exists today as a nation. For many years she had no homeland at all, yet still maintained her identity, and now has a homeland. Likewise, our society is increasingly anti-Christian, but we should not fear for the Lord is on our side. The day I am writing this (30/3/2013), Lord Carey has written an article in the Daily Mail complaining about this very matter. However, we need to remember that when society turns against God it is society that has most to fear, not the church. We know God, we know His salvation. Society cannot and will not defeat us. It is society that we need to feel sorry for, for they bring pain upon themselves. And we need to pray for the salvation of our land, pray that our land will turn to Christ.

Postscript:
As you will see this was originally written about seven weeks ago. Yesterday the Church of Scotland General Assembly decided to allow parishes to ordain practising gay clergy, and the in the UK parliament legislation on same-sex-marriage made further progress. So this post seems particularly apposite.
It is important to remember in these times the famous words in John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

At a time when society and parts of the church are going against the clearly revealed word of God we need to remember that God has both an absolutely clear view of what is right and what is wrong, and a deep sacrificial love for humanity.

Psalm 128 - Blessings and Prosperity

If we fear the Lord and walk in His ways then we are blessed. Was does it mean to be blessed? It means we walk in the favour of God. 

We will eat the fruit of our labour and know blessings and prosperity. Now if you regularly read this blog you will know I give frequent warnings against some forms of prosperity teaching. However, this verse (and others like it) are a warning against going to the other extreme. We would all get on better if we lived in fear of  obedience to the Lord. Our prospects are better because we fear the Lord. 

The best thing to do is to look at Jesus. When we see the gospels we see that Jesus did not live in fear or anxiety. He always had all that He needed. The closer we walk with Jesus, the more Christlike we become, the more true of us this will become as well. But we will also share more in His sufferings as well.

Finally, we need to remember that after Christ returns there will be no more suffering, no more tears, no more death. There is a time when all the trouble of this world will be gone forever.

Psalm 127 - Building with God

This Psalm is ascribed to Solomon, though not all manuscripts do so. However, the content looks very much as if it comes from Solomon, the reference to building being very appropriate with his building of the temple.

Solomon knew that all his efforts were in vain unless the Lord was behind the building work. Notice the pattern here. The Lord builds and we build, the Lord watches and we watch. So often we do one or the other, but not both. We sit back and expect the Lord to do everything, or we try and do everything forgetting about the Lord. God created us to live and work in partnership with Him. 

If we try and do everything in our own strength then we are wasting our time and effort. We can put as much effort into things as we like, they will not succeed. Moreover, we will suffer much anxiety and lose a lot of sleep. Life is not meant to be like this, for the Lord grants sleep to those whom He loves.

Children are a blessing from the Lord, a heritage and a reward. There is a generational aspect to the advance of the kingdom. We build not just for our own time but for future generations as well.

1 Timothy 6:17-21 - Handling Riches

Having previously warned against seeking after money, Paul now addresses those who are rich. Note that he does not say that riches are wrong. The Bible is wonderfully balanced in its treatment of many issues. We have a terrible habit of taking hold of half of the truth and forgetting the other half, and so we end up with a lie. In terms of money some run with the truth that God cares for our material needs, and that material things can be a blessing from God. This is true, but the Bible also talks about concern for the poor, not worshipping riches, and suffering with Christ. Conversely, there those who run with the concern for the poor part, ignoring   other parts of the Bible.

Now we are all imbalanced to some degree (even if we think we aren't) but we should read the whole counsel of God on any matter. That is one of the reasons why it is good to have systematic approach to ensuring we read through the whole Bible, then we are more likely to see the totality of God's instruction and wisdom.

So the rich are not to be arrogant, not to trust in wealth. For no matter how much wealth we have or do not have, it can all go in an instant. And it will be of no use to us at all when we die. Our hope should be in God. Again, note how Paul phrases this, "who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment". Riches are a good thing!

So the rich are to have right attitude. They are also to be generous towards others and willing to share. This then gives us a firm foundation in the coming age. Riches are a blessing if we use them for good purposes.

Paul closes the letter with a reminder of what has been the main theme of the letter, namely to oppose false and fruitless teaching.

1 Timothy 6:11-16 - Fight the Good Fight

The charge to Timothy applies to all of us. We are men and women of God. This is our identity and our purpose in life. The world will try and mould us into its shape, but we must resist this. Instead we are to make it our goal to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.  This is not an easy option, but is a fight, and we are to fight the good fight of faith. So we need to set our minds to do this, we need to have inner resolve. As Peter says, we are to prepare our minds for action. 

We are to take hold of the eternal  life to which we were called. We too often think of eternal life only in terms of "going to heaven". This is a mistake. Eternal life is not just about everlasting life, but about the quality of life, about the nature of life. And we have been called to a Christlike life. So we are to keep God's commands. This is not about earning our salvation, it is about living the life that Christ gives to us. 

Christ will return and fully institute His kingdom, and He will do this in His time. Christ is Lord of All, He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. So in the midst of all sorts of opposition we need to remind ourselves who it is that we serve.

1 Timothy 6:6-10 - The Love of Money

"Godliness with contentment is great gain".We will never find happiness in material goods if make an idol of them. Godliness, ie living a Christlike life, and contentment are the way to go. Paul then states a simple but profound truth. We brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out. There is no point whatsoever in making material goods the goal of our life, it is an approach doomed to failure. Moreover, as Jesus said, a man's life is not made up of his possessions. The world is always trying to get us to take our value from something else, whether it be sexuality or money or status. 

So we should have a simple attitude of contentment. If we have enough we should be happy, and some so-called prosperity teachers would do well to dwell on this verse. You see, chasing after money leads us into trouble. It leads us into temptation and into a trap, it leads us to do foolish things, and then afterwards we wonder why on earth we did it.

"The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil". This verse is often misquoted as "money is the root of all evil", or "the love of money is the root of all evil". Nevertheless, the love of money causes all kinds of problems. Indeed, the world economy bears witness to the truth of this. But note that it is not money itself, but the love of money that is the problem. There is nothing wrong with money itself, it is our hearts that we need to watch. If our attitudes are right then money can serve a good purpose. It can be used to help others, to further the work of the gospel, to provide for our needs, and also some luxuries as well. While we must be absolutely clear about the warnings in Scripture about the danger of the love of the money, the Bible is also clear that there is nothing wrong with material things themselves.

1 Timothy 6:3-5 - False teachers

"These things ..." refers to all of the instruction given by Paul. Now to some Paul's words might seem very rigid, but if we look at what he has been saying we will see things differently. There are some things that he is absolutely clear on, but on others his teaching is against those who are putting wrong restrictions on people, such as forbidding them to marry or eat certain foods. 

Today we have a great emphasis on people having a right to their own views (though we tend to become less keen when they disagree with us). However, Paul reminds us that what he is talking about here is the instruction of Jesus Christ and godly teaching. The church is not here to offer human solutions, but to offer Christ to the world. There are some who just want to pronounce their own ideas and thoughts, and they have an "unhealthy interest in controversies ..".

Finally, Paul says they have see godliness as a means to financial gain, and this is the topic of much of the rest of this chapter. There are many today who similarly seem to see the gospel as means to financial gain. We need to beware of such tendencies in ourselves, and to be on our guard against teachers and preachers who seem to have such an unhealthy interest. We also need to pay heed to what Paul is about to say in the next few verses.

1 Timothy 6:1,2 - Slaves

This and similar verses are sometimes seen as Paul, or the Bible, supporting slavery. They are not such thing, rather it is Paul giving teaching on how to live under the current situation, and that was that some people were in slavery. It was a normal part of society, and there were Christians who were slaves, and those who had slaves. They needed advice on how to live now. Slaves were to respect their masters, and so ensure that God's name is honoured. We all face situations we don't like, and which may have at least an element of injustice about them. Our first reaction should not be to make sure we get our "rights". Our first response is to remember that we are servants of Jesus Christ.

We should also note that Paul is not speaking about a situation of slave traders, or sex-slave trading, or people trafficking that goes on today. This is shown by his words in verse 2 where he speaks of Christian slave owners taking good care of their slaves and looking after their welfare. In such cases the Christian slave is still to work well.

So we see a different approach to dealing with circumstances here. One approach is the "let's have a revolution", or find a political solution approach. Now there are times to take political action, and we should seek to improve the running of society. However, sometimes this is not possible, or at least not possible in the foreseeable future. In these situations we can still triumph, and we do this by a radical approach to living.

1 Timothy 5:22-24 - Elders

Paul instructs Timothy not to be too hasty in "laying on of hands", ie in ordaining elders. Leaders need to mature in the faith, and to prove themselves before they are given church leadership roles. Being a leader in a church is not a position of status, but one of service, of service to Christ, and the people. It requires responsibility and will involve you being subject to great pressures. Your flesh will also rise up and seek to lead you in the wrong direction. So leaders need to be strong in the Lord. There may be times when Timothy felt pressured to ordain an unworthy man, he was to resist this, as to do so would be to share in his sins. We will also see others doing things that are not right, or having wrong attitudes, and seeming to get away with it, or seeming to do OK. We should not be tempted but focus on keeping ourselves pure. Christ is the One who we measure ourselves against.

Paul then gives some very practical advice. Water could be contaminated, so Paul advises him to drink a little wine as well. Now two things need to be said. This wine would be alcoholic (which is why it would be safer to drink), and any attempts to say that positive Biblical references to wine are to some form of non-alcoholic wine are nonsense. However, Paul tells Timothy to drink a "little" wine, he is to exercise moderation.

Some sins are punished in this life. Others seem to get away with it, but they will definitely receive judgement on the last day. Likewise, some good deeds are rewarded in this life, and those that are not will be rewarded on the last day. God is our judge, and the certainty of the day of judgement assures us that it is always worth doing the right thing.

1 Timothy 5:17-21 - Dealing with accusations against leaders

All Christians are to be honoured, but elders who direct the church well, and especially those who preach and teach, are to be doubly honoured. The Greek speaks about "toiling" at preaching and teaching. Preaching and teaching well requires hard work and commitment. So we are to respect those who lead us.

We are also to pay them. Now there are some parts of the church where pastors and ministers are relatively poorly paid, and it is almost seen as right and proper that they are poorly paid. Other parts of the church seem to glory in leaders being super-rich. Neither of these positions seems particularly Biblical to me. A church should seek to pay its leaders a reasonable salary. 

Church leaders are subject to accusations, this is one of the attacks of the enemy. Now if a leader is genuinely guilty of some misdemeanour then proper actions should and must be taken. However, accusations should only be entertained if there are two or three witnesses. If there is a genuine case against a leader, then they are to be "reproved publicly". Now this does not mean we do this for every little fault, but it must be done for anything serious. This counsels against the practice of dealing with things in private.

Paul reminds Timothy that he is a servant of Christ. In situations like these it is very tempting to want to take the easy way out. We must take the proper way out.

1 Timothy 5:9-16 - Get real

There were strict and clear instructions on who could go on the "widow's list". This was presumably a list that   was kept of who was entitled to support from the church. The widow had to have been faithful to her husband, known for good deeds, and over sixty years old. So the woman had to be beyond the age where she could reasonably be expected to earn her own living, and had to be a good person. These verses do call into question the attitude of some parts of the church of a more socialist mindset. There are also lots of parts that call into question the capitalist mindset as well. I am not seeking to make a political point, it is just that this part seems to question some socialist type attitudes. All of us need to subject all our thinking to Scripture.

Young widows were not to go on the list. Paul is entirely practical about the realities of life. It would be wrong to encourage a young widow to make a vow of remaining single, when there is a fair chance she will break it later on. We should not impose unnecessary burdens on people. In fact Paul encourages them to remarry. As a church we should have an equally down-to-earth attitude to life.

Overall the community is to look after its members without putting a burden on the church, the church can then focus on those who really need help. We can see this problem with society as a whole. Part of the reason our social security systems and health care systems are breaking down is that we are expecting them to do everything. 

The church needs to be realistic and at times hard-nosed about some things.

1 Timothy 5:1-8 - Widows and the poor

There is to be proper respect for people. Timothy is to treat older men as if they were his father. Ie he is to respect them, and not act in an overbearing manner. Instead he is to exhort them in an encouraging way. There is a world of difference between telling someone all the things they are doing wrong, and in exhorting them to do things right, or even better. Leaders should always be careful how they treat people of the opposite sex. Older women are to be treated as mothers, and younger women as sisters.

Paul then gives very practical advice on looking after those in need. There is a proper concern for the poor, but also a realistic and firm line and people taking proper responsibility. Too often the church in its pronouncements on poverty takes a very one-sided (and therefore unbiblical) view of the matter, focusing purely on the need of people. A statement by Church of England bishops a few weeks ago was a prime example of this. Those who are really in need are to be helped, but families must take proper responsibilities for members of their family. In today's terms we should not offload our responsibilities to the state. Taking proper care of our families is seen as a crucial example of putting religion into practice.

Just because someone is poor does not mean they are godly. Some will be, like the widow here who devotes herself to God, but equally there will be widows who devote themselves to pleasure. Such a person is spiritually dead and needs to repent. Not to take proper care of our families makes us worse than unbelievers.

In all matters we need to bear in mind that sin is our biggest problem, and sin is a problem for all human beings, rich and poor. Some liberal/socialist leaning Christians seem to treat the problem of poverty as if all we need is a state that takes proper care of the poor. This is nonsense and neglects the problems of sin. However, others of a right-wing persuasion are equally prone to ignore sin. State solutions and free -market solutions will all ultimately fail because of the corruption of sin. We need Christ. 

1 Timothy 4:11-16 - Life and Doctrine

"Command and teach" . Part of the duty of leaders is to command as well as teach. We can feel uneasy about this, and with good cause as there are too many examples of leaders using authority in a wrong way. However, the answer to this is to use authority in a Christlike way. 

Paul tells Timothy not to let anyone look down on him. Earlier we had instructions that leaders should not be new Christians, but that does not mean leaders cannot be young. One of the devil's tactics will be to disparage leaders, we must not let this happen. We do this not by indulging in witch-hunts, but by having confidence in the position to which Christ calls us. 

Timothy was to show that he was worthy of respect by living a godly life.

He was to devote himself to reading of Scripture, preaching and teaching. We are to speak the word. Timothy had been given gifts in this area, and was to make sure he did not neglect them. Even if the Holy Spirit gives us a gift, it is our responsibility to use and nurture the gift. Note that the prophecy was given in the  company of the elders, so there was proper accountability.

Timothy is to be diligent and dedicated to the task given to him, and to watch his life and doctrine.

1 Timothy 4:6-10 - Training Day

It is difficult to be in leadership. We are faced with problems and challenges, and the tendency is to focus on ourselves and on the pressures put on us by other people. Verse 6 reminds us that we are servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. We need to make sure that we are fed by the truths of the faith and good Biblical teaching, not by circumstances and pressures.

So Paul again warns Timothy to have nothing to do with "godless myths". Instead he is to focus on training himself to be godly. All of us should take this on board. We do not become godly be default or automatically. We need to train ourselves. We all know that if you want to be physically fit you need to take action regarding diet and exercise. Likewise, if we want to be spiritually fit we need to take action. 

Godliness is great gain, it will benefit us here and now and in the life to come. Christians have a tendency to either focus on the present or on what happens after death. The Biblical way is to focus on both. We work hard because we have put our hope in Christ Jesus. And He is the saviour of all people. This is not universalism, what it means is that He is the only hope of salvation. If anyone wants to be saved then they must turn to Christ, and if anyone does turn to Christ, then he or she will be saved.

1 Timothy 4:1-5 - Devil's doctrines

"The Spirit clearly says ..." What does Paul mean by this? He could be referring to the warnings that Jesus gave, eg in Mark 13, or it could be to specific revelation, or a mixture of both. Whatever the case, the warning is clear. Some will abandon the faith. Instead they will follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Now see here one way in which the demonic operates. It is not always, indeed not often, through dramatic means. Rather it is through the mundane. However, behind false teachings are deceiving spirits and demons. We see examples of that today in false teachings on things like sexual morality, the reality of hell, the divinity of Jesus. Indeed, anything that is contrary to the clear teaching of the Bible. Now we do need to be careful here. There are matters where there is genuine debate, and even when someone is wrong in some matter of teaching it does not automatically mean that they are teaching "devil's doctrines"! We do not want to go around accusing each other of teaching demonic doctrines just because we happen to disagree on a certain matter. However, it does mean that we should be on our guard and take proper Biblical teaching seriously.

The people who advance these false teachings will have lives that match. They will be hypocritical liars, and have seared consciences, ie be numb to the normal warnings of our conscience. Now look at how they showed themselves here. It was not in advocating immoral behaviour, but in forbidding people from marrying, and in advocating abstaining from certain foods. Sometimes those who teach "demonic doctrines" will have a seemingly pious attitude. However, the teaching will be wrong, and there will be hypocrisy behind the teaching. The world was created by God, and all things created by Him are to be received with joy and thankfulness. Indeed it is holy, consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

1 Timothy 3:14-16 - A mystery

Paul wanted to visit the church, but knew that he might be unable to do so. So he was writing to give Timothy instructions on "how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household". The church is not a man-made organisation, but belongs to God. Things go wrong, and we go wrong, when we forget this. 

The church is the pillar and foundation of truth. This is an amazing statement, and one we need to take hold of. Not to make us arrogant or proud, but so that we realise the responsibility and authority that we have in the world. The church is the primary means by which God has chosen to work in the world.

"The mystery from which true godliness springs", is referring to the means by which truly good behaviour, truly good life springs. 

Note that Christ is focus of this. For it says "he appeared in a body .." The Holy Spirit was with Jesus. He descended upon Jesus at His baptism, and gave Him power to perform various miracles. The message of Christ was preached to the nations. People believe in Jesus, and He was taken up to glory at the ascension.

1 Timothy 3:8-13 - Deacons

The basic meaning of the word "deacon" is one who serves. Acts 6 is the first mention of the term deacon, where they were appointed by the church to enable the apostles to focus on their work of preaching the word. So it is likely that deacons were there to support overseers. However, this in no way means that they were inferior to overseers, and the qualifications are pretty much the same.

Like overseers, they are to be worthy of respect and to live good and upright lives. They are to have a deep faith, and to understand the truth. Deacons were not to be appointed lightly, but were to be tested. We are not told exactly how they were tested, but it seems reasonable to assume that it was to make sure that they did indeed have the qualities outlined in these verses.

Verse 11 could refer to deacon's wives, or to deaconesses. They too are to be of good character and lifestyle. 

Deacon's are to look after their families well, just as overseers are.

Serving the Lord well brings assurance to our faith, ie it makes us all the more convinced of God's faithfulness.

1 Timothy 3:1-7 Choosing Leaders

We now come to one of the several sections in the Pastoral epistles that looks at the qualifications for various tasks in the church. This section looks at overseers and deacons. Overseer is roughly equivalent to bishop. However, there it does not help to try and find a precise model for church governance, for there isn't one in the New Testament. The important thing is the principles.

First, to desire to be an overseer is to desire a noble task. Church leadership is important. However, character is vital. An overseer must be beyond reproach, ie not someone who can be easily accused of various things. He must be faithful to his wife, for if we are not faithful to our wives how can we be trusted to be faithful to the church. We need to be self-controlled, respectable and hospitable. Leaders, more than other church members, will  be on public display. He must be able to teach. A leader needs to be able to instruct others in the faith, and to explain and defend the faith to the world. 

We must not be lovers of  money, and must run our own families in a proper way.

A leader should be established in the faith, not a recent convert. Pride is an enormous problem, and there is no point in exposing someone to the risk too early. The devil loves to trap leaders and so bring disgrace upon the church and upon the name of Jesus, so we need to be wise and vigilant.

1 Timothy 2:8-15 - Authority over a man

Paul now gives instructions on worship. Men are to pray without "anger or disputing". Women are to dress modestly. Now this does not mean that it is wrong to wear nice clothes, but church is not to become a fashion parade! Now are women to provide a distraction for men. We are to focus on what really matters, which is good deeds. This is also a challenge to our image obsessed culture.

Verse 11, of course, is controversial in terms of whether or not women should be allowed to preach or have roles in leadership. There is an interesting analysis of these matters if you follow this link. The key issues are over the extent to which these instructions are situational or absolute. Elsewhere Paul does allow women to prophecy, so we should not take this as an absolute ban on women speaking in church.

If we take a more positive view, ie focusing on what should happen, rather than on what people cannot do, then men should take up responsibility. A key failing on our society, and in the church, is men failing to take up the proper responsibilities that we have. 

The reference to Adam and Eve may tend to imply that the instructions are more absolute, rather than being particular to the situation in Ephesus. However, v14 most definitely does not mean women are inferior to men. Adam sinned, and the general teaching in the NT, and in Paul in particular, is about Adam's sin. 

The talk about being saved through childbirth is even stranger to us. Some see it as meaning we are saved through "the birth" of Jesus, but this is stretching things a bit. Perhaps it is better to see it as a positive endorsement of the importance of childbirth and the role of a mother. This is still relevant today, for there is a tendency to denigrate childrearing, seeing it as an interruption to pursuing a career. This is wrong thinking. Bearing and raising children is perhaps the most important thing a person can do.

1 Timothy 2:1-7 - All people

Now Paul gives Timothy instructions on prayer in church. First, prayers, petitions and thanksgiving are to be made for all peoples. The church has a global mission, our mission and concern is for the whole world. Society would like to make religion a purely personal matter, and if we are honest sometimes would we. But God is the creator of all things and all people. So we are to pray for all people.

This includes praying for governments and authorities that we might live in times of peace, and live peaceful and quiet lives. Now, there is something of a paradox here. The gospel is and should be a challenge to society, and many places that Paul went to riots started! However, we are not seek conflict for its own sake. The early church started at a time when Rome ruled most of Europe, and so the conditions were ripe for the gospel to spread.

The heart of the matter is that God wants all people to be saved. It doesn't matter whether or not you or I want all people to be saved. It doesn't matter whether or not society thinks proselytisation is a good idea or not. It is God's desire that counts. There is one God and creator of all people, and there is one means of salvation, faith in Christ. Paul had been appointed as an apostle of this message, and the church has been charged with the great commission.

1 Timothy 1:18-20 - Fight the battle

Paul now turns his attention back to Timothy. He addresses him as a son. Leadership within the church is more than management, but involves relationship as well.The command he gave to Timothy (dealing with false teachers and teachings) was in line with prophecies that Timothy had received. The prophetic has a role to play in guiding individuals and churches. This does not mean that prophecies are accepted unthinkingly. As it says elsewhere, we must test everything. Above all everything must be tested against Scripture. We must also use common sense and intelligence. However, a stupid, and unbiblical, thing to do is to reject prophecy outright.

Next, note that Timothy has a battle to fight. The prophecies and Paul's exhortations were given to enable Timothy to fight the battle. As Christians we have battles to fight. He needs to hold on to his faith. Some do let go off their faith, their lives and their faith become shipwrecked. Paul cites two particular examples, whom he has handed over to Satan. What does he mean by this? It means that he either let them leave the church, or expelled them, letting them live as part of the world so that they could "enjoy" the consequences of their rejection of the faith. The hope is that this would lead to them seeing sense.