HERE'S WHAT WORKS
1 Timothy 1:3-5 NLT
3 When I left for Macedonia, I urged you to stay there in Ephesus and stop those whose teaching is contrary to the truth. 4 Don't let them waste their time in endless discussion of myths and spiritual pedigrees. These things only lead to meaningless speculations, which don't help people live a life of faith in God.
5 The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith.
In Paul's letter to Timothy, we see a wise older apostle encouraging and instructing his son in the faith. Timothy was the pastor of a large church in Ephesus and was facing some real challenges. One of the challenges was to clear out wrong teaching and Paul went there first.
I like how the NLT reads for these verses. Paul told Timothy to stop those teachings that were contrary to the truth. That is part of the role of a pastor, to watch over what is being spiritually fed to the church. If it's contrary to the truth, which means contrary to the Scriptures, then it does not need to be taught. And not only truth according to the Scriptures but also the spirit of the Scriptures. Some can teach truth in a harsh or condescending way.
Paul warned Timothy about people wasting time with myths and spiritual pedigrees. The way to determine if something has value is to see where it leads. What these myths and spiritual pedigree discussions created was meaningless speculations. And they certainly don't help people live a life of faith in God. I admit, I am with Paul on this. There are subjects people get hung up on that have absolutely nothing to do with living a life of faith with God. If I can't use it, then I have no problem losing it.
But here is what works. Teaching that leads to people living a life of love from a pure heart. Paul did not veer from instructing people to walk in love. This was Jesus' commandment, and it never has lapsed. This is where we want to get to—walking in love out of a pure heart. This means we'll have to maintain and recalibrate our hearts on a regular basis. Stuff can get in our hearts, such as unforgiveness, offense, anger, envy, and all the other stuff that is a product of our fleshly nature and is nurtured by the environment of the world we live in. So, it's a good practice to do a heart check.
A clear conscience. This is definitely a part of Christianity that is vital but not often discussed. Paul spoke about trying to live with a clear conscience toward God and men. Part of a clear conscience is doing what we know to do. When we violate our conscience, we know it. Living with a clear conscience before men does not mean we are looking to please men. But it does mean that our behavior toward them will be honorable, and we'll be without regret. I know that I have done things in the past that have bothered my conscience regarding how I treated someone. Typically, an apology from me helps to clear that up. The same applies with the Lord. When we have missed it, we go to the Lord and ask forgiveness, confessing what we have done. Then, we receive His forgiveness and move on.
The last thing Paul mentioned was genuine faith. Not faith for the purpose of having other people notice us and be impressed—just a sincere faith in God and His word that is revealed by our actions and our words. Genuine faith is visible. And genuine faith does not have a disconnect between our words and our actions.
Paul was helping Timothy focus on the things that work, the things that matter most. These three things were important and relevant in Paul's day and in our day. These things work!
PRAYER
Lord, may I walk before You with a pure-hearted love, a clear conscience, and real faith that shows up in my heart and in my mouth, and on my face!