For a description of the (Y2) reading plan, see the “About” page.
1 Tim. 1
Paul commissioned Timothy to confront those who were stirring up trouble in the church. These people were teaching false doctrines and focusing on things other than the gospel of Christ. How was Timothy to handle this confrontation? He certainly wasn’t to accept what these people were doing or even simply to ignore it. He was to confront it; to “command” it to stop, actually. However, he wasn’t to point a self-righteous, condemning finger, either. Paul said, “The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” (1 Tim. 1:5). Our desire should be as God’s, “who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim. 2:4).
Motives matter. Our motives will impact our approach. The concern is always to stand for truth, but we don’t do this to prove ourselves right or to shame and condemn others. We do it with the hope that God’s truth will restore them to Christ, and thus to us as well. So if we find ourselves engaging in what Paul refers to as “meaningless talk”, we need to step back and return to the basics of the gospel message. That seems to me to be the best way to seek peace. If we can’t do that, we are more worried about ourselves and being right than we are about each other. And if the other party isn’t willing to likewise let go of self in favor of God’s peace, it may well be that they have not yet come to a saving knowledge of the truth.
Job 13-14
What does Job wish he could do? What does he want from God? How does he characterize his comforters? Job and his friends were all trying to make sense of Job’s situation based on what they knew and believed to be true. They all knew that God is just. And they believed they knew how God’s justice should look. So something didn’t fit. For Job’s friends, the most obvious solution was to not believe Job’s claims of innocence. Job, however, knew he had done nothing to deserve his situation. Thus, the only conclusion that made sense to him was that God simply didn’t care about him.
Job never doubted that God was his sovereign creator. He also never doubted that God is just. That is why he was willing to take his chances with stating his case before God. “Why do I put myself in jeopardy and take my life in my hands? Though He slay me, yet will I hope in Him; I will surely defend my ways to His face.” (Job 13:14-15). All Job wanted was to know why. It’s a question we all want answered. If God is good and just, why do bad things happen to good people?
We don’t yet have that answer, and I don’t believe we get it in Job’s story. I continue, though, to see another side to his story. As with the mediator comment from the other day, Job asked a couple more questions that were answered in Christ. “Who can bring what is pure from the impure?” (Job 14:4a). And, “If someone dies, will they live again?” (Job 14:14a). So again I see that, whatever the reason for the bad things that happen, Christ is our hope in our suffering.