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The Goal Of Instruction Is Love

(Midweek Devotion - 1 Timothy)

1 Timothy 1:5-7

5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.

One of the struggles of any faithful preachers and teachers of the Gospel is to be misunderstood in their delivery of Bible interpretations, moreover, be driven by their personal or natural intentions.

Though the doctrine of the Bible claims that the Scripture is inerrant, infallible and Holy Spirit inspired Word of God; its interpreter is a fallen creature which can be prone to errors at any given times, maybe not on his intention but on his different methods used for delivering the message.

Therefore, this task of truthful and faithful stewardship of the Gospel is the primary responsibility of anyone who are enlisted in the Ministry of Word. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4:1-2, “1 This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.”

Paul reminded Timothy that this task entrusted to him and all the apostles of Christ is, first and foremost, aiming for love; not selfish love or childish love, but selfless love or childlike love. Paul described this love as one that is not native to any fallen human being but a charater that comes from (1) a pure heart, (2) a good conscience, and (3) a sincere faith; which are manifestations of one who has a new heart (Eze 36:26), becomes a new person (2 Cor 5:17), and given a new birth in Spirit (John 3:3,6).

Therefore, anyone who preach and teach will have to soaked themselves in the study of the Word of God as they carefully understand and be an instrument of God’s sovereign love to externally call His people to repentance and faith. If you take this lightly, then, you will caught yourselves in errors that not only dangerous but also destructive to any souls including yours.

While Paul clarifies the end state of every apostolic instructions he gave is love, he also gave Timothy some warnings to be vigilant and observant to one who are swerving (or getting away) from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and is described and characterised as:

(1) engaging in vain (or useless) discussion,

(2) without understanding of (2.a) what they are saying or (2.b) or things that they asserts (or insist on).

These characteristics when seen among our congregations and/or our regular fellowships, is to be alarmed by any genuine disciples of Christ. As Paul warned Timothy, we must be warned as well for the Word of God is not for vain discussion but for sanctification of His people (John 17:17), the power of God for salvation to those who believed (Romans 1:16), and no other Gospel than what the disciples has received and passed on to us (Galatians 1:11-12).

Therefore, the intentions of the heart for the Word of God is to manifest love not for worthless discussion that ruins not only ourselves but also the hearers and of doubting in faith. This is the reiteration of Paul to Timothy in dealing with falsehood among congregations and in teaching and preaching of the Truth of Christ.

2 Timothy 2:12-14

14 Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. 16 But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness.

Such worthless discussion and activities will lead us to more and more ungodliness. Therefore, as an approved worker of Christ, we all have to be responsible enough to rightly divide (rightly understand and communicate) the word of truth. There are principles of interpretations, different tools of logic, and guiding inspirations of the Holy Spirit that has to operate in making a meaningful, truthful, and approved communications of the Word of Truth.

This is every disciple’s responsibility, just like the Bereans of Acts 17, they are eager to receive and examine the scriptures revealed to them from the pages of the Bible if genuinely truth or not.

Our problem in contemporary age is not the unbelievers or the pagans, but the increasing numbers of Christian counterfeits, falsehood, and heresies. Our goal, therefore, is to study or to examine (not irreverent babbling and squabble) the truth that we may be able to distinguish the real and unreal, truth and false, genuine or couterfeit, good and evil, agreeing and contrasting to the Word of God.

Moreover, we need to be ready to give reasons to the hope we have in Christ Jesus not to win any arguments but to defend the faith and shuts the mouth of any lies, but do it with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15) always.

Like Paul, I firmly believe that Truth will always reveal itself in love, which comes from a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith.

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