The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (1Timothy 1:5)
Why did the Apostle Paul send Timothy to be the Bishop (or Lead Pastor) in Ephesus? You might answer with verse 3 of 1 Timothy 1—to “command certain people not to teach false doctrines.” You wouldn’t be wrong, but there’s more to the story. Paul does want Timothy to fight against false teachers. But there’s another reason why in the text. You can see Paul’s ultimate reason for appointing Timothy to be Bishop in Ephesus—and the reason to oppose false doctrine—in verse 5: “goal of this command is love.” Specifically, the kind that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. For this reason, Paul sends Timothy to organize and teach the church in Ephesus.
It’s easy to misunderstand why it’s important to have good order and a careful grasp of doctrine. In fact, it can feel downright legalistic to insist on things like order and right doctrine, and especially so in two cases: (a) when someone identified as a “false teacher” is having an evidently successful ministry, and (b) when these topics have led to so much division between believers who otherwise are of good will toward each other. It is true that a person can fall into error when they are opposing false teaching. Errors in this regard can include strict conformity, behavior control, discouraging critical thought, and emotionally manipulative teaching, among other things.
But we know that’s not what Paul envisions here. We know it because Paul was trained as a Pharisee before he was converted. Strict legalism was young Paul’s stock-in-trade. Paul’s zeal for the Law led him to violently arrest and persecute the new Christian movement. But the Apostle was radically converted when he had a vision of Jesus. Jesus asked why Paul was persecuting him. This was Paul’s judgment. Paul realized that even though he had studied the scriptures closely and deeply, all his study did not lead him to love God and his neighbor, but rather to arrest and murder both God and neighbor.
Jesus invited Paul to hear and believe the gospel. The gospel is the power of God for salvation. It is God’s promise that through Jesus, our sins—our deepest guilt, shame, and fear—may be forgiven. Our sin is nailed to Jesus’ cross; our sinful selves drowned with Christ in baptism and raised with him from the dead to new life. Paul was free from Legalism.
What, then, does Paul envision? Paul understands that good order and the right teaching of the law and the gospel will actually empower believers to live out of love—love for God and neighbor, love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. In verse 19, Paul encourages Timothy to hold on to faith and a good conscience. Why? Because when you let go of these, you make a shipwreck of your faith—you lose your mooring.
Paul is asking Timothy to keep his eyes on Jesus. Paul is asking Timothy to exercise his ministry by leading the ministers and congregations under his care to look to Jesus. It’s through Jesus that our hearts are washed pure. It’s through Jesus’ life, ministry, and death, that we are judged, cleansed from our sin, and freed from our deepest fears. It’s through Jesus that we are both fully known and fully loved. It’s through Jesus’ teaching and example that we learn to see the Law as a path of love, rather than a curse. Paul is calling Timothy to make disciples of Jesus.
Do you feel like you’ve lost your mooring? Like you don’t know who to trust? Who’s right and who’s wrong? Friend, if that’s you, look to Jesus. Jesus taught us that in him, God is moving toward us. Jesus is inviting us, inviting you to live in repentance and faith—that is, humble reliance on God. Jesus will give you a new pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. Then, we can walk in new life—a life characterized by love.
Today's Reading: Psalm 36, 1Timothy 1, Numbers 9, 2Chronicles 19, Jeremiah 52
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