Tag Archives: Spiritual Growth

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The Life That Honors God: Teach The Truth

This is part of the series The Life That Honors God, from 1 Timothy. Check out more from the series!

Over the next few days, I want to share five different aspects of The Life That Honors God. This series, based out of 1 Timothy chapter 4 and chapter 5, is all about how to live a life that makes a difference to others, but most importantly, to God. Click on the link in the box above to see the introductory post, with links to all five aspects as they are posted.

The Life That Honors God: Teach The Truth

1 Timothy 4:6 says:

If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.

Many of us have been brought up in the truths of the faith. God may have been talked about in your homes. The truths of the faith may have been taught to you by godly men & women, who gave of their lives to you as Sunday school teachers, preachers, youth leaders.

And those of you who didn’t grow up in homes built upon a Christian foundation, if you attend church, you still have the truths of the faith being taught to you weekly, right there.

Next time you’re there, look around you. See the people who are involved in teaching you the truth, right there with you. Some of those people you may have known all your life. And there are all kinds of people involved in teaching other people. Some teach younger children. Others teach adult Bible classes. These teachers bring Scripture to life for their listeners. And there are others, like VBS workers, small group leaders, elders and deacons, and the list goes on and on. And there is always a need for more people to become involved in teaching the truth.

I remember when I first became aware of this truth. I was going to be a freshman in high school. We had just started going back to the church that I had grown up in, Northside Christian Church. When the preacher left, and the church hired another, my parents took the family and went across town to another church for two or three years.

But now we were back at Northside. And I didn’t know anyone anymore, but I signed up to go to church camp anyway. There were at least twenty-five kids going, I should make some friends, right?

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Memorize Scripture: 1 Timothy 5:16

Paul has covered a lot of ground in chapter five, concerning older widows and the proper care for them from the church. He also discusses younger widows, and instructs Timothy on how to approach both groups.

He wraps up his instructions on widows in this week’s passage, which is found in 1 Timothy 5:16:

1 Timothy 5:16

Having finished his discussion on younger widows, which were presenting a problem for Timothy as he led the Ephesian church, Paul returns to the main thrust of this passage on widows, that of caring for those who had a genuine need.

The point of this passage is to reinforce the idea that those who have widows in their families should take it upon themselves to care for them, so that the church will not be burdened with that care, and can focus limited resources on those who have no other hope for assistance.

The surprising element here is Paul’s use of the phrase “any believing woman.” Early copyists altered the text, thinking they were correcting it, to read “any believing man or believing woman.” However, that may not have been the intent of Paul’s statement. One commentary suggests that Paul may have been referring to some of the younger widows, who had resources to draw upon, and were refusing to help a widowed mother or grandmother.

We cannot be certain of this, since the text doesn’t specifically state this, but it seems to make the most sense within the context of the passage. There may well have been a problem with women with financial resources failing to provide for widows in their households.

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The Life That Honors God

I love ministry. I love meeting people, getting to know people, hanging out with people, teaching people and discipling people. I love to watch people make a decision to give their lives to Christ and then begin that journey that lasts a lifetime with him. I love helping people grow into a life that honors God.

The Life That Honors God

This idea of honoring God with my life really began to fit together for me a few years ago. It’s been bouncing around in my mind since then, and I’ve been trying to develop this into practice in my own life. We were living in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and I went to Springfield, Missouri to participate in my brother Rick’s ordination service. My portion of the service was “Wisdom and Advice from an Older Brother in the Ministry.” So I began to think about what I have learned over the years about ministry, and how that applied to my brother’s life, and how it applied to my life.

Rick’s youth minister preached the ordination sermon during that service. Much of what he said began to refresh my memory about why I chose to serve Christ; and, more importantly, how I was to serve Christ.

Springfield, Missouri is a very long drive from Fort Wayne, Indiana. And when I drive I love to have some music playing. And, if my wife and the kids aren’t with me, I love to have it playing loud. But not as I drove back home that day. As I thought about my service to Christ, I began to be reminded that one of my roles in ministry is to teach others . . . ministry.

Sure, I’ve been ordained, and have dedicated my whole life to a career in ministry. But I began to wonder, how was that any different than what the Bible teaches about ministry for every Christian?

As I drove, I put in my CD of the NIV and listened to what Paul had to say to Timothy. And then it became clear. Each of us, as Christians, have been called to serve Christ with his or her entire life! Each of us are ministers in the Kingdom of God, not just members! Every one of us has a role to fill, and what is required to fill that role? Everything! Every aspect of our lives! Every waking moment of our day, and our sleep too! If God is not Lord of all, then he isn’t Lord at all!

So what does that mean? Over the next few days, I want to take a look at 1 Timothy 4, and part of 5, to see just what Paul says about serving Christ.

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Memorize Scripture: 1 Timothy 5:13-15

Paul has a lot to say about widows to Timothy in chapter five of his letter. His instructions about older widows and the care they need are gracious and giving. But his views concerning younger widows are much more strict.

This week’s passage is found in 1 Timothy 5:13-15:

1 Timothy 5:13-15

Paul’s advice to Timothy in the preceding few verses about younger widows wasn’t very positive. He felt that a younger widow caused more problems than not, and would be tempted to stray from Christ and his church.

In this week’s passage, he takes this view a step further. His concern is that the behavior of a younger widow, unable to control her passions, would bring disgrace to Christ. Financially supporting these women could potentially bring about a sense of idleness, giving them the time to go from house to house, gossiping, being busybodies, and meddling in affairs not their own. In short, Paul says, supporting such widows enables them to use the system, and cause significant harm.

Let’s take a brief look at a couple of the words Paul uses here. The word “idle” is translated in other places as lazy, useless, with nothing to do. The word for “gossip” is a much richer word than our English translations convey, carrying the idea of foolish talk and false accusations, along with spreading rumors and chatter.

Paul then gives a series of four instructions concerning younger widows. These younger widows are…

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Becoming A Model

I love it when I read a passage from the Bible that I’ve read dozens of times, and notice something completely new. Have you ever had that happen? It happened for me just the other day.

Coin In Sand

I was reading through the book of 1 Thessalonians this week, and I stumbled across a phrase, and a challenge, that I’d never noticed before.

Paul wrote this letter to the Thessalonian church while he was in Corinth, right around the halfway point of the first century. The church in Thessalonica was a young, small church in a very large and pagan city. These early Christians faced sever challenges to their faith at every turn, including persecution and social pressures, temptations from their old, previous lifestyles, and conflicts with other Christians. Paul’s letter to these readers sounds strikingly familiar to our culture today.

In the first chapter, Paul is expressing his thanksgiving for the believers in this church, sharing how they labored and endured in the face of the trials they were experiencing. Paul writes of how they were chosen by God and how they became imitators of the Lord, in spite of severe persecution and suffering.

And then, he writes verse 7:

And so you became a model to all the believers…

A model…

How many times have I read this passage and never noticed this phrase?

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Memorize Scripture: 1 Timothy 5:11-12

As Paul continues discussing widows in his letter to Timothy, he shifts from older widows to younger ones. His instructions concerning older widows were pretty generous, but that changes for the younger women.

Take a look at this week’s passage in 1 Timothy 5:11-12:

1 Timothy 5:11-12

Paul gave several characteristics that an older widow should display in the preceding verses.

In this next section, Paul explains why younger widows should not be included on the list with the older women. Exclusion from this list would not prohibit Timothy and the church in Ephesus from helping them if they were in need. Rather, this exclusion is based upon their youth and higher likelihood of remarriage.

Paul seems to indicate that their desire to remarry could become overwhelming, disturbing their devotion to Christ. That does not mean that a desire to remarry is an abandonment of the faith, as some seem to suggest; but rather, that the duties to a new family would be more immediately pressing than widowhood would allow.

Paul’s instructions here, while allowing remarriage, seem to suggest that he holds a very high view of the office of a widow. However, he does encourage remarriage later, in 5:14.

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Book Review – Red Like Blood by Joe Coffey and Bob Bevington

Red Like BloodWhen I saw the subtitle to Red Like Blood, by Joe Coffey and Bob Bevington, I really wanted to read the book. Confrontations With Grace… Intriguing. It captured my attention.

Unfortunately, it’s the only thing about the book that help my attention.

I found the book to be unengaging and uninspiring. In fact, it was crass, even to the point of offensive a few times. I wasn’t impressed.

I’m not knocking their story. Bob’s story is centered around a failed marriage, largely his own fault, an affair, and a new marriage. And how God worked in his life to restore him to grace, and to rebuild relationships with his first wife and kids is nothing short of amazing. Joe’s willingness to work with him to explore the depth of God’s grace is incredible.

It’s a great story. But the book isn’t written in a way that captures the reader and draws him into the story.

In my opinion, these authors tried too hard to make the book sound like something by Donald Miller. I enjoy a lot of Miller’s stuff, but Red Like Blood felt like a copy of that style. And a few choices of wording and language were inappropriate. I understand that this is a book on grace. But the apostle Paul made it clear that grace isn’t to be taken advantage of.

All in all, stories of grace are encouraging to read. But I didn’t find this one to be encouraging at all. If you have the opportunity to read it, you may gain something from it. But I wouldn’t recommend that you spend the money to purchase a copy. Look for something better. You’ll be glad you did.

How has God expressed his grace visibly in your life? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

Disclosure of Material Connection:
I received this book free from Cross Focused Media as part of their Cross Focused Reviews blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.“