12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
18 This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 19 holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, 20 among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Paul gets a little sidetracked here. He had just listed sins that the law was laid down for and that probably made him recall his own sin. He takes a moment to thank God who showed him incredible grace by appointing him to His service even though he had been a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. He had acted ignorantly in unbelief because he had believed he was serving God by opposing a false Messiah. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” Paul believed he was the greatest of sinners, not because of some objective sense, but in humility recognising the gravity of his sin against God. Each one of us should view ourselves in the same light. What sin we have committed isn’t really the issue when you have sinned against a perfect and holy God. When we recognise that Jesus has shown perfect patience towards us when we didn’t deserve it, then we can be a good example to those who still do not believe. We are all sinners saved by grace through faith with a message of good news to those sinners who have not yet been saved by grace through faith. We are nothing more, they are nothing less.
In verse 18, Paul returns to discussing the charge he began in verse 3. Timothy had been appointed to the ministry by the church elders (1 Tim 4:14). Because of his appointment, he could be sure of this charge to teach sound doctrine he had been given and wage the spiritual warfare needed in confidence. Ministry is hard and Satan will look for ways to demotivate you and sway you from your course. Knowing that you are working within God’s will is a great motivator to continue serving faithfully. Timothy was to hold to faith and good conscience by teaching the truth even though others had rejected this and made a wreckage of their faith. Making a wreckage doesn’t mean they had lost their salvation, because the Bible is clear that can’t happen (John 5:24) but rather they had not remained faithful in service to God and would lose out on their future reward.
It is vitally important that we recognise the importance of sound doctrine. Some people use the Bible as a guise to teach their own ideas but that does not produce faith and good conscience, that results in uncertainty, lack of assurance and a Christian walk that ends like a shipwreck. Are you making sure that you only expose yourself to solid Bible teaching? Are you taking the time to make sure you read and understand the Bible for yourself?