1 Timothy
Lesson 21 Timothy Chapter 1
This lesson continues our study of the first of the so-called "Pastoral Epistles;" or, as we commonly know them, First and Second Timothy plus Titus. Written by Paul, they provide us excellent instruction regarding our responsibilities in building and stewarding the Gospel and the Church that Christ founded at Calvary.
As I considered this study of First Timothy, I was struck by something in the first chapter; i.e., Paul’s initial warning against false teachers. I asked myself as I was reading this chapter, "How can we recognize and discern a false teaching?," and it occurred to me that the answer is found in this chapter. It also occurred to me that another way to know that something is false is to clearly know what is true, so that you are able to compare it against that. And so, it inspired me to develop a short series of lessons on truth as we know it, called Doctrine; i.e., what is it that the church teaches as truth, and why.
We will also learn from our study of I Timothy guidelines for church worship, instruction for church leadership, how we are to maintain the truth, and some instructions on managing and living within the church.
This promises to be an exciting study that will shed much light on the truth and equip us to be better witnesses and better discerners of God’s Word and God’s Will.
Read 1 Timothy Chapter 1 and consider the following:
- If we were to outline the book of 1 Timothy, it would be organized something like the list of Scriptures below. For each scriptural section of the outline, identify the core point, event, or problem in the church that Paul was addressing. Everything from false teachers acting as though they were the authority, the apostle, the teacher, to improper worship.
- 1 Timothy 1:1-2
- 1 Timothy 1:3-20
- 1 Timothy 2:1-15
- 1 Timothy 3:1-13
- 1 Timothy 3:14-4:16
- 1 Timothy 5:1-6:10
- 1 Timothy 6:11-12
- What was Timothy’s relationship to Paul? (see 1 Tim. 1:2)
- What was the name of the church that Timothy was responsible for? (see 1 Tim. 1:3)
- What did Paul tell Timothy to command certain members of the church? (see 1 Tim. 1:3)
- What are Paul’s seven charges against the false teachers at Ephesus? List each below:
- 1 Tim. 1:4 and 1 Tim. 4:7
- 1 Tim. 1:4 and 1 Tim. 6:4
- 1 Tim. 1:6
- 1 Tim. 1:7
- 1 Tim. 4:3
- 1 Tim. 6:5
- What was motivating the false teachers at Ephesus? (see 1 Tim. 1:4-7)
- How many of the Ten Commandments does Paul refer to in 1 Timothy 1:8-10?
- How can false doctrine (teaching) be recognized? (see 1 Tim. 1:10-11)
- Basic Bible doctrine can be found throughout the Bible, by definition. For an example of this, list all of the doctrine that you can identify in 1 Timothy 3:16.
- Why does Paul say that God saved him through Christ? (see 1 Tim. 1:12-16)
- List the doctrine that you can find in 1 Timothy 1:17.
As we can observe from our study, Paul’s single biggest concern for his new pastor and new church was the teaching of false doctrine, and the influence that those teaching false doctrine could have on the church. On this subject, we should be just as concerned as Paul was.
As Christ’s children, we are charged with protecting the gospel message, and keeping it pure and unchanged by false teachings. But how can we do this if we do not know what sound doctrine is?
To learn more about the basic Bible teaching or "doctrine" that forms the basis for all Christian faith and life, I encourage you to explore the Christian Doctrine area of Daniel222.com. There, we examine who God is, who Jesus is, and what our salvation is all about; and we learn about angels, man, the Bible as God’s Holy Word, Satan and the demons, and Heaven and Hell.
May God richly bless you as you read and study His Holy Word with us.
In Christ,
Wes
[2020]