Paul has just
written triumphantly of the glory and mystery of Christ at the heart of the Christian faith (3:16).Practically speaking, that means that Jesus - who He is
and what he has done - is the source and centre of our personal godliness and
relationship with God. Now Paul has to equip and encourage Timothy to face up
to those who are teaching that godliness and a maturing progress in the faith
is achieved by rigorous and austere self-discipline (4:3). This, says Paul, is
from the devil (v1) for it turns the Gospel on its head (v2): our standing with God is not based or maintained upon our attempts at self-sacrifice, but wholly and solely upon the sacrifice of Jesus.
Such tendencies
towards disciplined asceticism in the name of robust spirituality was not
restricted to the time of Paul and Timothy; rather it is, he says, a constant
danger for believers in what Paul calls the 'later times' (see also 2 Timothy
3:1, where he refers to the 'last days').
These 'later times' and 'last days' do not refer to the times
immediately before the victorious return of Christ; rather, they span the whole
period between Christ's first appearing at Bethlehem and his Second Coming. In
other words, we will always have "hypocritical liars" and
"deceiving spirits" (1-2) in our midst who will attempt to draw us
away from Jesus by imposing harsh, unacceptable, legalistic disciplines on the
spiritually unwary. All we need is
Jesus.
And yet, some
disciplined Jesus-focussed activity is necessary (v9) and commanded (v11) if we
are to enjoy the blessings of knowing and being known by Christ, now and in the
life to come (v7-8). As the athlete must discipline himself to pursue his or her goals, so we must regularly (daily) avail of - indeed, strive to avail (v10) - the means of grace God has kindly given us to build us up in the faith, namely,
prayer, Bible reading, worship and fellowship, service and evangelism. Make these basic disciplines part of our
daily and weekly training schedules for spiritual growth and our relationship
with the Lord will mature and deepen (v12).
Let these slip and our ministry effectiveness and usefulness among the
church fellowship and beyond will be weakened (v10, 15-16).
Church 'fellowship'
is, of course, more than a cup of tea after a morning service. It is a real, tangible, relevant and
effective "to-ing" and "fro-ing" of loving acts of mercy
and kindness throughout the church family, so that everyone's needs - practical
and emotional, deep and personal, relational and spiritual - are met and
no-one, especially the vulnerable (5:1-16), is neglected. Again, some of Paul's
instructions may seem harshly blunt and insensitive to our modern, Western,
social-service dependant ears. But in Timothy's world, in pagan Ephesus, with a
complex and defined social structure that still persists in many places in the
world today, such instructions as a display of the church's loving commitment
to those in need of practical care and thoughtful understanding , would have
shone out brightly throughout the city as a living testimony to God's grace to
everyone through the Gospel. And, at a time
when the normal social care is stretched to its limit, as now, it's the sort of caring
thoughtfulness that ought to characterise the churches in these difficult days.
Elders,
particularly, ought to keep a Christ-centred discipline in all they do
(5:17-25); and Christian slaves should not abuse their newly found 'liberty in
Christ' and become insubordinate to their earthly masters (6:1-2). Such
behaviour slanders both God and the Gospel. As does all false teaching that
diverges from Christ and the Gospel (v3-5). Gospel-motivated godliness helps
put 'money' into proper perspective, for grace and greed cannot co-exist
(v6-10). Those 'believers' who pursue wealth for its own sake open themselves
up to all sorts of spiritual dangers: "going
down that path, some lose their footing in the faith completely and live to
regret it bitterly ever after" (v10: 'The Message').
Personally,
Timothy's responsibility as both believer and leader, is to persevere in the
pursuit of godliness (v11), for this is why God, in His mercy, has saved us
(v12). To "fight the good fight of
faith" is itself what it is to live by faith. To keep our hearts and eyes upon Jesus, and
to live in light of His beauty and glory, is the pursuit of godliness; it is
the true fight for glory.
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