PRaP
2/27/08
“False
Teachers and Grace”
In
1 Timothy which we know is a letter to Timothy from Paul he starts out as he
usually does with a prayer and then he jumps right into the meat of what up.
He reminded Timothy why he was in Ephesus and that was to command certain
men about their false teachings of the law.
Here let’s pick up at verse 8:
8We
know that the law is good if one uses it properly. 9We also know that law[a]
is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and
sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers,
for murderers, 10for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and
perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine 11that
conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.
I
find it interesting that once all that was said Paul went right into how through
Jesus Christ saved the sinner, who was named Saul at the time, and forgiven
through Grace. We all know how Saul
was persecuting Christians and how he even got a letter from leadership to
imprison or even kill Christians. Here
let’s read:
12I
thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me
faithful, appointing me to his service. 13Even though I was once a blasphemer
and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in
ignorance and unbelief. 14The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly,
along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
15Here
is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into
the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16But for that very reason I
was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display
his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and
receive eternal life. 17Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only
God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
What
Paul is saying also here is that it is through Grace alone that he was called
into ministry. Same applies to us
as well it is through the Grace of Jesus Christ alone that we are called to
share the truth about who He is. You
cannot just make a decision to go into ministry you must be called through the
Grace of Jesus Christ. This is why
we have ministries today that are about the money. They may have started with good intensions but the end result
has become the money. They have
gone from being about the Truth to being about how much money can we get out of
this so we can quit our jobs. I am
not saying it is wrong to get paid for ministry work, a worker is worth his
wages, but I am saying it is wrong
to get more than the average of your congregations’ income.
I have also noticed that when ministry becomes your job it loses ministry
and becomes work. Then it becomes
what? A false teaching, because you
will have a tendency to candy coat things so you will not offend the ones who
are paying your salary.
Key
Verse:
1
Timothy 1:8
We know that the law is good if one uses it properly.
1
Timothy 1:7-9
(in Context) 1
Timothy 1
(Whole Chapter)
Week
9
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PEACE
and AGAPE LOVE, Pastor, Dad, DJ Dude
From
The Desk Of:
Pastor
Stephen Eldridge
christian_connection_ministry_me@yahoo.com
c2C
http://www.c2cministry.org
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