For many, retirement is an opportunity to slow down in life. Many retirees focus on activities that bring joy and relaxation. Some travel. Some find new hobbies. Others spend more time with loved ones.
Those options weren’t on the Apostle Paul’s radar as he approached the later years of his life. The same zeal for the gospel that began burning the day he encountered Christ continued burning in old age. In fact, before being imprisoned, he was planning his most ambitious mission trip ever (Rom. 15:28). The Pastoral Epistles (1 and 2 Timothy and Titus) give us a glimpse of what was on his heart during these years.
Paul had mentored Timothy for many years, and in his first letter to Timothy, he wanted Timothy to ensure that the church in Ephesus would be “a pillar and buttress of the truth” (3:15, ESV), which is why Timothy’s first mandate was to stop false or unhealthy teaching. Beyond referring to “myths and endless genealogies” (1:4), Paul doesn’t go into details describing the teaching. All we know is that it was inconsistent with the gospel (1:15, 3:16).
What the congregation in Ephesus needed then (and what congregations need now) was sound doctrine, which leads to love that arises from a pure heart, good conscience, and genuine faith (1:5). False teaching leads people away from these realities. The false teachers in Paul’s day misused the law (1:8–11). The law teaches people what’s right and wrong. Since God forbids murder, then Christians know that God’s will is for people not to murder. Dishonoring one’s parents, sexual immorality, homosexual practice, kidnapping, and perjury are all, Paul says, “contrary to sound doctrine” (1:10).
How much do we care about what is taught in our churches, both from the pulpit and in informal settings? False teaching will drive us away from truth and goodness. Do we hold those in teaching ministries accountable, as Paul exhorted Timothy to do?
Paul’s discussion of the law leads to a second major point. A problem specific to Paul is that if the law forbids murder, how can Paul, as a former murderer, represent Jesus as an apostle? Paul highlights the fact that the gospel leads to forgiveness. God called Paul into His service not because Paul was good but because God had mercy. Paul famously says in this section, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost” (1:15). Paul calls himself the chief of sinners, yet he still speaks with confidence on behalf of the Lord throughout this letter. The question for us today is how seriously we take forgiveness. Do we allow the law to drive us to our knees asking for God’s forgiveness?
The first chapter ends with Paul’s charge for Timothy to do his work with the help of the Spirit (18–20). Paul was deeply concerned that the work would continue, and Timothy would need the same Spirit who spoke to (or through) him at his ordination. Promoting sound doctrine, a healthy use of the law, and the forgiveness of sins is not an easy task, but for Paul the fight was worth it, even at retirement age. The gospel is still worth fighting for, and the same Spirit who spoke to Timothy will enable God’s people to do the work to which God has called them.