The Strand Study Bible

Written From Macedonia During Paul’s Release From House Arrest In Rome

2022

I TIMOTHY

NOTE - Although God loves sinners (Jn 3:16), He hates sin. And, according to both the Old Testament ( Gen 13:13 , 18:20 & 19:24-25, Lev 18:22 & 20:13, Deut 23:17-18, Jud 19:22-23, I Ki 14:24 & 15:11-12 and II Ki 23:7) and the New Testament (Mt 11:23- 24, Rom 1:24-32, I Cor 6:9 b and Jude 7- 8 ), alternative lifestyles go against God’s created order and expressed will. Thus, the Church must take its stand, for if the Church doesn’t take a stand, the alternative lifestyle movement will prevail in our country. Joe Dallas in The Gay Gospel notes:

In the face of ongoing pressure to change her views, the church has no choice but to argue. If we fail–if we find it too difficult or too intimidating–then I believe there are at least three general and drastic consequences we’ll face… Whether or not we have to face these consequences will largely be determined by the success of the pro-gay movement within the church, a movement that, if not confronted, will succeed. 1

1:10b Menstealers were slave traders and slave trading is wrong. There were only two reasons why the OT law allowed enslavement: (1) restitution (Exo 22:1-3); and (2) reprisal (Lev 25:39-46). While the Bible as a whole may recognize slavery, it never sanctions its practice ( I Tim 6:1 ). 1:13 THE ADAGE IS TRUE: Your past ( before ) does not determine who you are; your past prepares you for who you are to become 1:17 The King eternal ( the only wise God ) refers to CHRIST . The New Testament and Wycliffe Bible Commentary notes: God the Father has not been mentioned in the context, so this doxology to God may possibly be taken as directed to Christ or to the Triune God. 2 1:18 This word ( commit ) is the Greek word παρατιθεµαι ( paratithemai ). It’s a banking term and means “ to deposit .” Like Paul (vs 11), the preaching of the gospel was “deposited” into Timothy’s care. The gospel ministry is therefore an office of trust. It is the first and foremost duty of every pastor to contend for the simplicity of the gospel (I Cor 9:17, Colo 1:25-29 and Jude 1:3 ). 1:19 There are two areas in a believer’s life that must be maintained if that believer is to finish the race he/she started the day he/ she was saved (I Tim 1:18-19): 1. Holding faith (taking God’s Word over our own – Heb 11:1 ); being grateful (vs 12) Not only did God save Paul, but He used Paul, and Paul was extremely grateful for that. The day we stop saying “thank you” to God is the day we begin losing hold on our faith; it’s the day we start our downward spiral into spiritual shipwreck because we stop giving God the “last say” in our life. Paul said in I Thessalonians 5:18: “ In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you .” The day we stop being grateful is the day we become critical and begin to live a life of heresy as a believer (vs 20). NOTE – According to II Timothy 2: 17- 18 , the heresy that earned Hymenaeus his punishment was in stating that the resurrection was already past and that it did not apply to any more Christians. If the resurrection was already past, then Christians lose hope concerning three expectations ( I Jn 3: 2- 3 ): (1) a glorious future state ; (2) rewards for services and sufferings ; and (3) a reason to live right . According to II Timothy 4: 14- 15 , the heresy that earned Alexander his punishment was the evil he showed towards God’s men. You never want to fight a man of God just because you don’t like the men of God. 2. Holding a good conscience (always admitting that God is right and we are wrong); staying humble (vs 13) Don’t think for a moment that Paul didn’t regret not knowing God for a certain portion of his life (Lam 3:19-20). 1:20 The true end and purpose of expelling a believer from fellowship is always for the sake of restoration ( that they may learn not to blaspheme - I Cor 5: 1- 5 ). 2:3 The will of God is good government. Thus it should behoove every believer to pray continually for their governmental leaders (vs 1-2). Why? Because good government makes possible the preaching of the gospel (vs 4), while bad government hinders it. Derek Prince in Shaping History Through Fasting & Prayer notes: 2:4 The heartbeat of God is for all men to be saved . Therefore, our prayer is good and acceptable to God (vs 1-3) because it is a prayer for all men and those in authority, to the end, that the gospel may go forth unhindered (Colo 4:2-3). Nations are made up of people and people are made up of hearts. Thus, in order to change a nation you first have to change the heart… and only Christ can change the heart (Acts 9:1-6/I Tim 1:11-15). Unless the gospel of Christ is preached to men and accepted (Rom 10:13- 14), men’s hearts cannot change (Mt 12:43-45); and if a man’s heart cannot change, neither can the nation in which he abides. 2:5 You will notice that between God and man there is just one Mediator – JESUS CHRIST . Nowhere in the entire New Testament does it ever say that any person but Christ is empowered to make intercession before the throne of God for a contrite sinner (Heb 7:22-25 and I Jn 2:1-2). To believe that other people (even other saints) can intercede on your behalf before a holy God is to say that a man has more power with God than Christ. If Christ alone is the sufficient Savior, then you need no other mediator than our Lord Himself. 2:8 Prayer is utterly impossible to carry out whenever bitter and faithless attitudes ( without wrath and doubting ) are present. The truth is that Christians are not held responsible by God to criticize their government, but they are held responsible to pray for it. So long as they fail to pray, Christians have no right to criticize … Furthermore, if Christians would seriously begin to intercede, they would soon find less to criticize. 3

1 Dallas, Joe. The Gay Gospel ? Eugene, OR: Harvest House Pub. 1996. 2007. Print. 2 The New Testament and Wycliffe Bible Commentary . NY, NY, The Iversen Associates, 1971. Print. 3 Prince, Derek. Shaping History Through Fasting & Prayer , Old Tappan, NJ, Revell, 1973. Print.