Church Blog (Page 9)

For many Christian, 2 Timothy 2:15 may be the most familiar verse in the entire letter. Paul’s instruction that we “study” (lit. make an effort, try, exert ourselves) is actually a counterpoint to the “efforts” of those who “strive about words to no profit” in verse 14. It also sets the stage for his command in verses 16-18, to “shun” (avoid, keep away from) the behaviors – unholy, empty “chattering” – of those like Hymenaeus and Philetus, whose actions and…

Just as children sometimes protest that they “have no choices” or are “controlled” by their parents’ rules and requirements, so immature Christians sometimes resent the limits God’s word places on our behavior. Paul did not imply that Timothy was spiritually immature, or even that he was in any way feeling “boxed in” by being a Christian, but in 2 Timothy 2:3-7, Paul indirectly addresses this attitude (as something Timothy would undoubtedly confront, and need to answer, in others). Through three…

After vividly expressing his own commitment to the Lord, his affection for Timothy, and the purpose of his writing, Paul issues the first actual instruction of this letter in chapter 1:8 – “don’t be ashamed of either the Lord’s ‘testimony’ or of me as a prisoner for His sake.” The word “ashamed” has the same range of meanings in our English bibles as in the original Greek text; a sense of guilt or remorse, fear of embarrassment or humiliation, lacking…

It is generally believed that Paul’s second letter to Timothy was written in 68 A.D. (or possibly late 67), roughly 4-5 years after the letter we know as 1st Timothy. When Paul had appealed to Caesar in Acts 25:11, it seems very clear that he was confident of being acquitted of the false charges brought against him by the Jewish leaders – even though he would spend about two more years in the Roman legal system (Acts 28:30). Since it…

One of the most “controversial” topics in the new testament appears in 1 Timothy 2:11-15, when Paul addresses the subject of a woman’s public role in the church. Through the last half of the twentieth century, and especially now, in the twenty-first, much of western society has recoiled in disgust from the very idea that there could or should be any distinction at between the roles of men and women within the church. Liberal protestantism led the way in asserting…

Some of the most specific biblical instructions about prayer appear in 1 Timothy 2. Here, the Holy Spirit not only gives us direction about the various “types” of prayers we may employ, he also points us toward some of the “objects” for whom our spirits and voices should be raised in prayer. While Paul does not give an exhaustive list of “prayer topics” in this context, the words of verses 1-2 show that the prayers we offer to our Father…

The scholarly community generally describes the letters Paul wrote to Timothy and Titus as the “pastoral” epistles. This is not really an accurate description because it derives from the denominational concept of a preacher as being THE “pastor” of a congregation. The new testament shows a distinctly different picture of the church, with each congregation having multiple “pastors” (i.e., shepherds, elders, overseers), not the “one-man-rule” so common in modern denominationalism. (Acts 14:23 shows clearly that each individual congregation had plural…

Second Thessalonians 2:12-15 presents the simplest explanation of the doctrine of “election” in the bible. “Election” describes how God chose who will be saved and who won’t. This may be THE most misunderstood biblical concept in all of christendom’s various denominations. Protestant denominations mainly base what they teach about election on what John Calvin wrote about it. Calvin wrote that the way God predestined (“elected”) people for heaven or hell was completely random and arbitrary. (We might compare it to…

Mother’s Day Mother’s Day in Scotland happens in March. We try to organise something for them and present our mothers with a small gift and recognition for all they do for us. As we still had some restrictions in the building because of Covid, they had more time in the afternoon with their own families. Ladies’ Appreciation Day Every year we like to spoil our ladies with a special day just for them. Not all the ladies chose to attend…

The companion Paul mentions in verse 1 as “Silvanus” was almost certainly the Silas of Acts 17:1-10, as this is a shortened form of the longer name (a “nickname,” as Jim is to James). In chapter 1:5, Paul mentions that the Thessalonian Christians were suffering for their faith. Their suffering had begun with persecution by the local Jewish community, mentioned in Acts 17, and Paul makes the point that they should view their trials as an evidence that they were…

First Thessalonians 3 makes it very clear that Paul was under no “illusions” about what it would “cost” to be a faithful Christian. He sent Timothy to Thessalonica to strengthen the saints there, in the face of opposition from their community (he was himself worried for their welfare, vv. 1-2). In verse 4, Paul also alludes to his own hard circumstances when he was there. In Acts 17 we read of how Paul and Silas had been “hounded” from Thessalonica…

The entire message of 1 Thessalonians 1 could be very well-summarized in the word “sacrifice.” Paul commends these Christians for having “paid the price” in order to become Christians. In verse 6, they had willingly accepted the gospel message, despite opposition. By this, Paul says they had become shining examples not just to other Christians in their own mountainous, poverty-stricken region of Macedonia (northern Greece) but also to the more “well-todo” saints who lived in Achaia, where Athens was located…