Keeping the Faith
This is the first of two letters that Paul wrote to Timothy. Timothy was a 3rd generation Christian. Both his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice were believers and he received his faith through their instruction. But Timothy is more than just a 3rd generation believer. Timothy is also a pastor and a preacher. It appears that he is a leader in the community at Ephesus. It also appears that Paul has been his teacher in the ways of preaching and leading a community of faith. Paul also considers Timothy to be like a son to him – not in the physical sense but in the spiritual sense. In verse 2 he addresses him as “my true child in the faith”.
Paul himself knew how difficult it was to speak to people about matters of faith as any belief we hold is so deeply personal. No matter how convincing someone may be in communicating the faith, no one but God and the Holy Spirit can really convince us to grasp that faith and keep it. Paul knew very well that Timothy would face many challenges as he sought to communicate the truth of the message about Jesus Christ. Even though Timothy was a believer from a young age and everyone in Ephesus would have known his family, he was young. It appears that he was probably in his early to mid twenties. He may have even be thirty but not much more. Those who were older than him would have questioned how one so young could be so wise or have the ability or authority to lead others in matters of faith and practice.
It is clear from a reading of the two letters that Timothy possessed the gifts to be a great leader but he lacked the confidence needed to overcome the opposition he faced.
Paul knew that it was critical for the new community of believers to be conscious of the truths of the new faith they had adopted and not only conscious of the truths but vigilant to practice those truths in their daily life. It is also clear that people in the community were questioning the faith as they had received it from Paul and were seeking to pull the community into doctrinal stances that were built more on myths and half-truths.
It is clear that for all his theological training and knowledge of God, Paul knew that the heart of the message from God was love. All actions in the community were to be guided by and issue from this heart. And as much as Paul cautioned people against certain practices and actions, it was all motivated by a desire for people to follow the path of love and consider carefully both their words and actions so as not to show the community as wandering from the truth they had been taught to believe.
Paul knew that many were probably questioning his right to be a teacher and a leader as he had once been a person who acted in a manner that was far from loving. He recognized that he had been ignorant of the message of God in Christ and had acted maliciously towards the new faith without taking the time to understand its message. Of course his blinding on the road to Damascus was a dramatic way of getting his attention but get his attention it did. It gave him pause and as he evaluated what had happened to him, he encountered people who did not seek to kill him when he was most vulnerable but who treated him with compassion and love. In spite of the great persecution he had inflicted upon so many of them, they received him with mercy and grace. Paul began to understand that the message of God in Christ was not a threat to the faith people already had for God but rather it was intended to bring the people into a deeper and more personal relationship with God – not one based on sacrifice of things but one based on the sacrifice of heart and soul.
For Paul it was critical that people debate the truth of the Gospel but it was also critical that the truth of that faith not be altered from its origin and changed into something that suited the ears of those who were hearing its message. Something that every community of faith must wrestle with is how to live the message of God in Christ but we must also be careful not to make the Gospel what we want rather than letting the Spirit direct our path.
Paul believed that Jesus had shown great patience with him. He knew that Jesus would have been fully within his rights to destroy him for what he had done but Jesus showed him grace and mercy and love. Rather than seeing himself as a great theologian and missionary, Paul saw himself as a great sinner who had been given a great pardon. If someone like him could receive forgiveness and mercy from God, then that forgiveness and mercy could be received by anyone.
Paul knew that when we stop seeking to be led by the Spirit of God to understand the message of the Gospel that we will begin to lead ourselves and convince ourselves of the truths that do not match with the truth of the word of God. His greatest fear was for those who had lost their moral compass so to speak. By that, he is not thinking strictly of morality as we might think in terms of behaviours that align with our faith or not, he is thinking more of a frame of mind that keeps us ever seeking for God and the influence and guidance of the Spirit.
And so he encourages Timothy to take up the charge and maintain the truth of the faith in the face of the challenges that many people would seek to bring against it.
Keeping the faith is about living the truth of God’s message as revealed through Jesus Christ, Keeping the faith is about finding our path through life that is consistent with the truths we have been taught. Keeping the faith is about seeking for and incorporating the fruit of the Spirit in our daily living. Keeping the faith is about maintaining our connection to God through an honest and conscientious evaluation of the principles by which we are guided in what we think, say and do. Keeping the faith is also about honouring and respecting the wisdom that God gives to people of all ages. Perhaps with age comes greater wisdom but each of us can be taught valuable lessons for life and faith even from the very young.
Perhaps I have not exactly told you how to keep the faith but know this that it is far more than a matter of budgets and buildings; it is about a way of life that guides us and directs us wherever we go. It is about being a people of faith even in situations and places where faith may not be expressed in words.
AMEN