1 Timothy 1:8-11 says,...
Today's verses are 1 Timothy 1:8-11, which read,
But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.
Here is another long run on sentence from Paul and also another list given to Timothy as the pastor of the Ephesus church. Paul has just spoken to Timothy on how to instruct others in love from a pure heart, good conscience, and sincere faith. The false teachers were using the Law but for their benefit and not that of their listeners or students. Paul doesn't want Timothy to throw out the material that the false teachers were using. It is good and useful. It needs to be handled correctly so that it does what it is suppose to do, convict us what God says is sin and point us to the need of a Savior.
Paul takes us and Timothy through the 10 commandments in a different way.
"Lawless and rebellious," "ungodly and sinners," and "unholy and profane" all deal with the commandments 1-4. They are sins that are in direct violation with our relationship with God. We take His name in vain. We have other gods before Him. We don't keep holy what God wants us to keep holy. The next ones deal with our relationship with others, commandments 5-10.
"who kill their fathers or mothers" is violation of commandment 5 to honor our fathers and mothers
"for murderers" is violation of commandment 6 to not murder
"immoral men and homosexuals" is violation of commandment 7 to not commit adultery, or to say another way to violate God's creation of the only acceptable sexual relationship between the biological male husband and biological female wife
"kidnappers" is violation of commandment 8 to not steal
"perjurers" is violation of commandment 9 to not bear false witness, to lie
"whatever else is contrary to sound teaching" covers the coveting of others or commandment 10
The Law leads us in sound or healthy and wholesome teaching that we agree on when we look at the 10 commandments and how they affect society at large. We need those 10 commandments in place in our hearts and minds to keep order in our world. They may take them off of the court room walls but they still need to be the moral code that we go back to as right and wrong set by God.
Within that order we bring the glorious gospel of the blessed God. Paul instructs Timothy that the Law and the keeping of the Law gives the environment for the gospel to be presented by himself and Timothy as glorious. The gospel presents us a Savior who forgives us of sin and transforms us to see the good that the Law affords us on this side of salvation.
On the other side of salvation, not saved, the Law condemns us. On this side of salvation, saved, the Law protects and guides us to live lives holy and pleasing onto the Lord. It assists us to know how to love God and to love others. The same Law is presented to both the saved and the unsaved but one sees the freedom it brings to follow and the other sees the bondage it holds over us because we have not submitted to the Savior and are in bondage to sin and its leader, Satan. The glorious gospel of the grace of God through the cross of Christ transforms our view of the place of the Law in our lives and we see that it is good.
Paul's instruction to Timothy is to preach the glorious gospel that has been entrusted to him while living a life that upholds God's Law of the 10 commandments as good. Let's pray.
"Lord, the Law points us of our need of You. The Law gives us the ways to obey You and therefore love You and love others. The Law is good but You are glorious because You complete the Law, You fulfill the Law, and You make the Law make sense. May I be so thankful that I am obeying now because of my relationship with You over sin rather still under the condemnation of Law pointing to my sin. Amen."
Pastor Adam
But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.
Here is another long run on sentence from Paul and also another list given to Timothy as the pastor of the Ephesus church. Paul has just spoken to Timothy on how to instruct others in love from a pure heart, good conscience, and sincere faith. The false teachers were using the Law but for their benefit and not that of their listeners or students. Paul doesn't want Timothy to throw out the material that the false teachers were using. It is good and useful. It needs to be handled correctly so that it does what it is suppose to do, convict us what God says is sin and point us to the need of a Savior.
Paul takes us and Timothy through the 10 commandments in a different way.
"Lawless and rebellious," "ungodly and sinners," and "unholy and profane" all deal with the commandments 1-4. They are sins that are in direct violation with our relationship with God. We take His name in vain. We have other gods before Him. We don't keep holy what God wants us to keep holy. The next ones deal with our relationship with others, commandments 5-10.
"who kill their fathers or mothers" is violation of commandment 5 to honor our fathers and mothers
"for murderers" is violation of commandment 6 to not murder
"immoral men and homosexuals" is violation of commandment 7 to not commit adultery, or to say another way to violate God's creation of the only acceptable sexual relationship between the biological male husband and biological female wife
"kidnappers" is violation of commandment 8 to not steal
"perjurers" is violation of commandment 9 to not bear false witness, to lie
"whatever else is contrary to sound teaching" covers the coveting of others or commandment 10
The Law leads us in sound or healthy and wholesome teaching that we agree on when we look at the 10 commandments and how they affect society at large. We need those 10 commandments in place in our hearts and minds to keep order in our world. They may take them off of the court room walls but they still need to be the moral code that we go back to as right and wrong set by God.
Within that order we bring the glorious gospel of the blessed God. Paul instructs Timothy that the Law and the keeping of the Law gives the environment for the gospel to be presented by himself and Timothy as glorious. The gospel presents us a Savior who forgives us of sin and transforms us to see the good that the Law affords us on this side of salvation.
On the other side of salvation, not saved, the Law condemns us. On this side of salvation, saved, the Law protects and guides us to live lives holy and pleasing onto the Lord. It assists us to know how to love God and to love others. The same Law is presented to both the saved and the unsaved but one sees the freedom it brings to follow and the other sees the bondage it holds over us because we have not submitted to the Savior and are in bondage to sin and its leader, Satan. The glorious gospel of the grace of God through the cross of Christ transforms our view of the place of the Law in our lives and we see that it is good.
Paul's instruction to Timothy is to preach the glorious gospel that has been entrusted to him while living a life that upholds God's Law of the 10 commandments as good. Let's pray.
"Lord, the Law points us of our need of You. The Law gives us the ways to obey You and therefore love You and love others. The Law is good but You are glorious because You complete the Law, You fulfill the Law, and You make the Law make sense. May I be so thankful that I am obeying now because of my relationship with You over sin rather still under the condemnation of Law pointing to my sin. Amen."
Pastor Adam
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