I’m off this Sunday but next week (May 29) kicks off the summer season and we will be kicking off our summer sermon series. This summer the sermons will be based on 1st and 2nd Timothy. There will be 14 lessons from these two books, beginning on May 29 (Memorial Day weekend) and ending on September 4 (Labor Day weekend). We will take a break from the series on July 31. May 29-July 24 the sermons will be rooted in 1st Timothy. August 7-September 4 the sermons will be rooted in 2nd Timothy.
There is simply too much good information in these two short books to cram into 14 sermons so we will be posting stuff here from 1st and 2nd Timothy that may not make it into the sermons but is still just as important and relevant to our walk with the Lord.
The Book of 1 Timothy is the first of three consecutive books in the New Testament (2 Timothy and Titus) commonly referred to as the “pastoral letters”. Unlike most of Paul’s letters, which were written to whole congregations, these particular letters were written to individuals.
The original intended audience in 1 Timothy is Timothy. Timothy was from Lystra, a city in southern Asia Minor, and he had a good reputation there. His father was a Gentile, but his mother and maternal grandmother were Hebrews. During Paul’s second journey there, he asked Timothy to join him. In order to avoid potential conflicts with Jews, who knew Timothy’s father was a Gentile, Paul had Timothy circumcised (Acts 16:1-3). Why did Paul have Timothy circumcised? This was evidently done to avoid opposition from the Jews. It was an act of expediency for the sake of peace, and was consistent with what Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 9:20 “To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.” Paul anticipated objections from the Jews. Knowing Timothy’s father was a Greek they would have assumed he had never been circumcised. The Jews would neither have heard him preach, nor would have any connection with him, had Paul not had him circumcised.
From this little fact mentioned in Acts 16:3 we learn a lot about how to bring the truth to others. We have to anticipate objections and deal with them proactively like Paul did. We have to make every effort to do what leads to peace (Romans 12:18; 14:9). We need to follow Paul’s example (1 Corinthians 11:1) as listed in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some (1 Corinthians 9:22).
Timothy’s Background: Timothy served as Paul’s representative to several churches and became one of his closest companions. Timothy is mentioned as a co-worker with Paul in Acts and in Paul’s letters to the Corinthians, Philippians, and Thessalonians. In 1 Timothy, he is being advised to stay in Ephesus in order to straighten out problems within the church, mainly false teaching.
We can gather from the Scriptures that Timothy’s mother and grandmother were instrumental in developing his strong faith. 2 Timothy 1:5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. 2 Timothy 3:14-15 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
Paul, inspired by God, wrote this letter to give Timothy encouragement and instructions on how a healthy community of Christians (church) should behave and be organized. It is relevant to Christians today because it gives us examples to follow in organizing a local congregation of believers and guidelines for what is appropriate and inappropriate within the Lord’s church.