1 Timothy 1:6-7

Summary retelling of 1 Timothy 1:6-7

Paul warns Timothy that some people have gone away from the truth and wandered into vain discussions about some things.  They desire to teach the Law without really understanding what they are talking about.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Paul talks about people who have gone into “vain discussions.”  Synonyms for vain are: empty, shallow, and meaningless.  Paul knows that there are people who like to spend more time arguing about the stuff that doesn’t matter rather than genuinely teaching the stuff of true faith.  There are people that would rather argue about how baptism occurs rather than focus on the genuine presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  There are people who would rather argue about the shape of our worship rather than revel in the glory of being able to worship God in any form.  There are people who would rather argue about what foods we can and cannot eat and how and when we should prepare ourselves for the presence of God rather than giving God the glory that all things are created by Him and for Him.

Why do you think so much of what “the church” talks about is really “vain?”  Why is it so easy to get sidetracked onto conversations that really just don’t matter?  Why do we have such a difficult time simply focusing on worshipping God and being His servant in whatever form He calls us to take?

Second Thought:

We have an expression in English: “I know just enough to be dangerous.”  This expression doesn’t literally mean that a person is a danger to themselves.  Rather, what it means is that a person knows enough to think they can teach it to someone else but they really don’t grasp what is actually going on.  They know enough to think they’ve gotten it, but they haven’t gotten enough of the deeper connections to be able to anticipate to consequences of taking a particular stand on an issue or doing a particular action.

Do you know anyone like this?  Do you know someone who may even genuinely try and teach something that they really haven’t studied enough on to know that they have more to learn?  In what way does this idea have to do with humbleness before God?

Third Thought:

In this case, Paul is concerned that people will be teaching the Law for all the wrong reasons.  Don’t get me – or Paul – wrong.  There is nothing wrong with teaching the Law.  There is nothing wrong with promoting obedience to God.  But when we teach the Law and promote obedience for the wrong reasons, we do more damage than good.  We end up setting up human understandings and we end up creating systems of “works-righteousness” instead of systems of “works-as-a-response-to-grace.”

Can you see how teaching the Law for the wrong reasons can lead to an attitude of works-righteousness?  Why do you think this is such a danger to the church?  What happens to congregations of believers who do things because they “have to do them” instead of congregations who do them because they are “grateful to God?”

Passage for Tomorrow: 1 Timothy 1:8-11