Devotionals: 1 Timothy Archives - Page 2 of 3

A Work in Progress

By Andrew YoungJune 8, 2017Devotionals: 1 Timothy

“Be diligent in these matters… so that everyone may see your progress.” (1 Timothy 4:15) Bible Reading: 1 Timothy 4:15-16 A third way young church leaders can gain the confidence of those they serve is by making spiritual progress. John Stott puts it well when he says, “The example which Christian leaders set… whether in their life or their ministry, should be dynamic and progressive. People should be able to observe not only what they are but what they are becoming, supplying evidence that they are growing into maturity in Christ” (p. 123). This is what Paul wanted for Timothy. […]

Authority and the Scriptures

By Andrew YoungJune 7, 2017Devotionals: 1 Timothy

“Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching, and to teaching.” (1 Timothy 4:13) Bible Reading: 1 Timothy 4:13 Living an exemplary life is not the only way young leaders can gain the followers of those they seek to serve. Another is the way in which they use the Scriptures. People will feel confident in following leaders who demonstrate their own subjection to the authority of the Bible. If they handle the Bible loosely, using it to serve their own interests and ends, they won’t inspire confidence in their ability to lead and teach. But […]

Silencing Sceptics

By Andrew YoungJune 6, 2017Devotionals: 1 Timothy

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for believers…” (1 Timothy 4:12) Bible Reading: 1 Timothy 4:11-16 Authoritative pastoral leadership is never easy. And it is especially not easy for those who are young in years. They are always prone to being looked down upon for their youth and inexperience. Gaining the confidence of older people is one of the greatest challenges young pastors and leaders face. This, according to John Stott, has been a “perennial problem” both in the church and in society at large. “Older people have always found it […]

Detecting Error

By Andrew YoungJune 5, 2017Devotionals: 1 Timothy

“For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected…” (1 Timothy 4:4) Bible Reading: 1 Timothy 4:1-10 Error takes many forms and wears many faces. Sometimes it is easy to detect, at other times it is difficult. Sometimes it surfaces as blatant denial, at other times it appears as a slight imbalance. Whatever its form, it needs to be spotted and corrected. Paul provides two helpful tests for error in the early verses of 1 Timothy chapter 4. The church in Ephesus was evidently facing the threat of error, probably, according to John Stott, a form […]

The Roots of Error

By Andrew YoungJune 4, 2017Devotionals: 1 Timothy

“…some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teaching of demons…” (1 Timothy 4:1) Bible Reading: 1 Timothy 4:1-5 More than once we have mentioned that church leaders need to be on the lookout for error. They have a duty to recognise and refute it whenever it arises. Given that, there is need to look closely at what we might call the anatomy of error – its causes and character. Paul’s words to Timothy in the opening part of 1Timothy 4 provide a basis for doing that. The apostle mentions in these verses that he has […]

The Church and the Truth

By Andrew YoungJune 3, 2017Devotionals: 1 Timothy

“…the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.” (1 Timothy 3:15) Bible Reading: 1 Timothy 3:8-13 Paul was writing to Timothy so that in the event he was delayed in visiting Ephesus, Timothy would know how people should conduct themselves in the church. This was important because the church is “God’s household…the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). The fact that the church has a special role with regard to the truth – it serves as its “pillar” and “buttress”– explains why Paul pays so much […]

Able Teachers

By Andrew YoungJune 2, 2017Devotionals: 1 Timothy

“Therefore an overseer must be… able to teach…” (1 Timothy 3:2) Bible Reading: Titus 1:9 According to the apostle Paul, there is a second “spiritual” requirement for leaders (overseers, elders) in the church. They must not only be experienced Christians (not recent converts – 1 Timothy 3: 6) but also have a strong grasp of the apostolic truth and be able to teach it. It is in his letter to Titus that Paul emphasises the need for elders to have a firm grasp of the truth. An elder, he says, “must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has […]

No Novices Please!

By Andrew YoungMay 31, 2017Devotionals: 1 Timothy

“He must not be a recent convert…” (1 Timothy 3:6) Bible Reading: 1 Timothy 3:6 Paul says little about the spiritual requirements of elders in his first letter to Timothy. We may safely say, as John Stott observes, that he expected them to be truly converted believers – people who had made a sincere commitment to Christ and whose lives showed evidence of the fruit of the Spirit. But beyond that, he has just one thing to say about their spirituality – they must not be recent converts, lest they become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the […]

Character and Conduct in Leaders

By Andrew YoungMay 30, 2017Devotionals: 1 Timothy

“Therefore an overseer must be… sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable…” (1 Timothy 3:2) Bible Reading: 1 Timothy 3:2-3 When it comes to defining qualifications for leaders, the apostle Paul has much more to say to Timothy about character than he does about competence. He mentions the importance of leaders being able to teach, and of being spiritually mature people. But he devotes much more time to describing the moral and personal qualities that they must possess. They must, he says, “be temperate [‘sober’ or ‘clear-headed’], self-controlled [‘sensible’ or ‘disciplined’], respectable [the outward demonstration of inward self-control]” (1 Timothy 3:2). John Stott […]

Leaders and their Children

By Andrew YoungMay 29, 2017Devotionals: 1 Timothy

“He must manage his own household well… keeping his children submissive…” (1 Timothy 3:4) Bible Reading: Titus 1:5-9 Church leaders must not only have their marriages right but also have their households – and specifically their children – under control. An overseer (elder), Paul says to Timothy, “must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect” (1 Timothy 3:4). Writing to Titus he puts it this way: “An elder must be… a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient” (Titus 1:6). Paul’s reason for […]