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Paul continues to describe to Timothy godly traits of a potential overseer (elder). He also describes another office of leadership within the church: a deacon. Paul outlines character qualities of deacons for both men and women. According to this passage, deacons can be either male or female.
The grace, mercy, and love of God form the basis for serving others. Understanding these things will result in gratitude, humility, and praise that are necessary to truly love others.
Key biblical teachings often strike us as contrary to common sense, counter-intuitive, or even foolish. This is because it is actually our thinking about major areas of life that is backward. Ultimately, at the center of the backwards wisdom of God is the cross.
Timothy had to deal with false teachers pushing the idea that Christians need the Law to continue their spiritual growth. We learn from Paul that this is not true and he refutes it with Jesus's own teaching. The law isn't for the righteous but it is meant to lead those who need forgiveness toward God.
Paul instructs Timothy about how to approach false teachers who are inaccurately using the law. Paul reviews for Timothy the purpose of the law: to show humanity how they fall short of God's perfect standard and that they need a savior. Humans can only gain righteousness through grace, not by following the law. The law also defines what is sin.
We start the book of 1 Timothy with background on the author Paul the Apostle and on Timothy (who the letter is written to). Paul talks about having a "pure heart and a good conscience, and a sincere faith". How can we have a good conscience serving God in today's world of compromise?
Three guidelines to represent Jesus well in what we say: 1) pray for open doors; 2) make the most of every opportunity; and 3) speak graciously. Each Christian has a significant role to speak in a way that attracts people to Jesus. It's important to pray for ourselves as well as each other. It's important to be sensitive to the open doors God will give to share something about Him. It's important to be good listeners and good question askers. The purpose of following Paul's instruction in this way is to be God's ambassadors to the people He's put in our lives.\r\n
The New Testament always reasons from what God made us to be into our experience of that. The new self is characterized by love toward others, thankfulness, and knowledge of the truth.
Part one of a two-part series on the path to spiritual maturity. Paul teaches the Colossians how to move toward spiritual maturity by cultivating a proper mental focus. ?Keep seeking the things above? emphasizes the need to keep increasing in our understanding of God's grace. ?Set your mind on the things above? emphasizes the need to keep identifying false thoughts and replacing them with the truth about what God has given us in Christ. We cannot grow to maturity without embracing these truths.