1 Timothy 6:11-16
Dearly beloved,
Today we pause in the Epiphany season to give thanks to the
Lord for the work of St. Timothy, pastor and confessor. Today is St.
Timothy day in the church year. This day gives us a chance to look into
Paul’s words to a young pastor. When we look at the Holy Scriptures, we
learn that there are prophets. Prophets were the Old Testament men of God
who told the people what God wanted them to say and do. Then, the New
Testament came into view and we have apostles. The apostles were sent out
to proclaim all that they had seen and heard and to write for the church of
all ages the New Testament.
Then from the apostles comes pastors. Timothy and Titus,
two men to whom Peter wrote epistles, were pastors. Timothy was a pastor,
so the two letters that Paul wrote to him give us insight as to how Paul
envisioned the pastoral ministry. Timothy was the bishop in Ephesus, having
been ordained by Paul. Paul gives Timothy a lot of things to think about,
but in a couple of places we learn that the pastoral ministry was to be one
of teaching. In fact, the most important verses to Timothy are written by
Paul in 1 Timothy 4:13-14, “Until I come, devote yourself to the public
reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.
“Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by
prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.” Paul is
reminding Timothy of his ordination, when the council of pastors laid hands
upon him. “Do not neglect the gift you have….” by the laying on of
hands. This
was to be something that Timothy was always to remember as he shepherded
God’s people. We know that Paul was serious about reminding Timothy of his
ordination, because in 2 Timothy 1, Paul reminds Timothy, again, to remember
his ordination.
Paul says, “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame
the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God
gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” Why
these admonitions for Timothy? Paul speaks against the spirit of fear. In
another place Paul tells Timothy not to let people despise his youth. Put
another way, Timothy had a tough time as the bishop in Ephesus because
people did not want to listen to him. They gave him trouble. This brings
us to the epistle for today. Paul tells Timothy to fight the good fight of
faith as a faithful bishop and pastor. These words are meant as
encouragement for contending for the faith within the church.
Paul doesn’t tell Timothy to be a “people-pleaser.” Paul
tells Timothy to be faithful. “Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith,
love, steadfastness, and meekness of spirit.” The next words, while they
can be applied to every Christian, carry a special insight into the rite of
ordination in the apostolic church. Paul continues, “Fight the good fight
of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about
which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”
Timothy received the laying on of hands. According to Paul,
Timothy was given something by the laying on of hands, and he made the good
confession of the apostolic faith in the presence of many witnesses. Then,
Paul charges Timothy to keep the commandment unstained and free from
reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul is reminding
Timothy of the holy orders he received and all the responsibility that is
entailed.
These are clearly fulfilled through Timothy’s teaching,
exhorting, and the public reading of Scripture (liturgy). This is really a
beautiful thing to focus on today, because we are noticing that from the
Holy Scriptures we are seeing an emphasis on the proclamation of the
scriptures, ordination and pastors, the preaching of sermons and
catechetical instruction. We also see that it is imperative that the pastor
confess and further the kingdom of God through faithfulness and the
proclaiming of the ancient Christian message.
We Lutherans, today, look very much like the early apostolic
church. While these letters of Timothy are the words of an apostle meant
for a young pastor, we can all see the importance of living out our baptisms
with this same faithfulness. The church finds success not in making sure
everyone is happy, but success is found in faithfulness. Paul’s words to
Timothy, while being meant for a pastor, also carry meaning for the
baptized.
“Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love,
steadfastness, meekness of spirit”(1 Timothy 6:11). If we could all just
begin to live out these qualities, then the church would be a merciful
place. But the reality is that you are sinners. You don’t often pursue
righteousness, godliness, or love by God’s standards. You pursue them by
your standards.
Most think that righteousness is not breaking what we
consider the “big” commandments such as murdering, stealing, or committing
adultery. What isn’t realized about righteousness and godliness is the
truth that our sins run so deep, that even our thoughts condemn us. We are
reminded by Jesus Himself, that if we even hate someone else, then we have
murdered them in our hearts. Your sinful flesh wants, at every turn, to get
you to compromise Jesus.
What it all boils down to is that you cannot keep the
commandments. But as long as we think we can keep the commandments and that
we are “pretty good,” then all that faith becomes is an affirmation that we
are better than all those unbelievers in the world. In our minds, we don’t
do all those nasty things that unbelievers do. Satan is so tricky because
when we categorically rate the commandments, we end up doing a greater
injustice to ourselves and Jesus. Jesus is set aside or only made to be
“window dressing” for our own felt needs. We see from the scriptures
themselves that the human being is weak. Continuing with this same thought,
think about the other side of Paul’s words to Timothy. There is something
in this for all of us. Why does Paul need to keep reminding and encouraging
Timothy?
Timothy is beset by sin, and the resistance that he is facing
in Ephesus causes Timothy to want to buckle and cave in. Timothy’s danger,
which we see from Paul’s words, is that Timothy is in danger of compromising
the confession of faith which he took at ordination in order to make people
happy. Paul says don’t do it. Remember what you have been given. Remember
who you are. This is the danger that we all have.
So there are two sides of sin to watch out for: The first
side is to make light of all that Jesus has done and to focus on all the
good we are doing. This is a failure to see the depth of our sins. The
other side of sin is in trying to keep the truth, we buckle due to pressure
and compromise Jesus and His ways. Satan is so clever. What this means is
you are stuck between two positions. What is your way out? Listen to the
words of Paul, this time to the Roman Church: “So I find it to be a law that
when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law
of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war
against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that
dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this
body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”(Romans
7:21-25)
Jesus is your way out, your only way out. When you awake in
the morning, confess your sins and remind yourself that it is Jesus who has
saved you. Then remind yourself that you need more Jesus. You must despair
of yourself and look to Jesus. Jesus is your strength against
self-righteousness and against buckling and compromising your faith because
of the influence of the sinful world. When it was all said and done, it was
Jesus who sustained Timothy. What sustained Timothy is the same thing that
sustains you in the Christian faith. Jesus gives His church the holy
sacrament of His body and blood. We gather despairing of ourselves and
looking to Jesus the author and perfector of our faith, who forgives,
strengthens and blesses as we continue confessing the ancient Christian
faith of the apostles, of St. Paul, and of St. Timothy, pastor and
confessor. Amen.
--
Rev. Chad Kendall
www.frchadius.blogspot.com
Trinity Lutheran Church
Lowell, Indiana
www.trinitylowell.org
