"This charge I commit to you , son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare." (v.18)
In the rest of this letter (after the next two verses) Paul proceeds to instruct Timothy on how to "wage the good warfare." The NLT translates this phrase, "fight well in the Lord's battles." The NIV says to, "fight the good fight."
No matter which translation you may prefer, the point of Paul's urging remains: Christian ministry is a battle. What is it a battle against? It's a battle against those who:
a) teach other doctrine (v.4, 11), and,
b) stray from keeping Christ the "main thing" (v.5-7)
Together, denying doctrine and denying Christ will be what leads a church astray. No doubt these types of fallouts happen in many churches. Paul knew this would happen and had seen it happen and spends the rest of the letter preparing Timothy on how to keep this from happening. More on this soon...
No comments:
Post a Comment