But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. (15) You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. (16) All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. (NLT)
Paul's writings to his protege, Timothy, are some of the most character challenging material available. We can similarly draw many challlenges for our own lives.
1. In what ways does First Timothy 1:5 sum up some vital aspects of what character is?
| Purpose: | To give final instructions and encouragement to Timothy, pastor of the church at Ephesus |
| Author: | Paul |
| Date Written: | Approximately A.D. 66 or 67, from prison in Rome. After a year or two of freedom, Paul was arrested again and executed under Emperor Nero. |
| Setting: | Paul was virtually alone in prison; only Luke was with him. Paul wrote this letter to pass the torch to the new generation of church leaders. He also asked for visits from his friends and for his scrolls, especially the parchments possibly parts of the Old Testament, the Gospels, and other Biblical manuscripts. |
| Key Verse: | "Work hard so God can approve you. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth" (2:15). |
| Key People: | Paul, Timothy, Luke, Mark, and others |
| Key Places: | Rome, Ephesus |
| Special Features: | Because these are Paul's last letters, it reveals his heart and his priorities for character, sound doctrine, steadfast faith, confident endurance, and lasting love. |
Paul charges Timothy with several aspects that required deep personal character:
Paul strongly urges Paul to guard sound doctrine, which simply means to ensure that people know what the Bible teaches. There is a direct corelation between a person's character development and their regard for the Word of God.
3. Note this corelation as warned in First Timothy 4:1-2. How does a disregard for the Word of God lead to malformed character?
People who develop really strong character usually have help from childhood. Timothy knew that he could trust what he was taught, because he could trust those who taught him (3:14)
He was made wise through being discipled in the Scriptures
Timothy was grounded in the Old Testament Scriptures so that he might come to salvation (Jn. 5:39)
Paul wanted to Timothy to move beyond his present appreciation of God's Word, to a deeper level.
This deeper level of the Word was to benefit not only himself by equipping him for greater works, but was also for equipping others.
Character begins with an acknowledgment of our sinfulness and confession of our need for Christ. The Scriptures are a message from God to mankind about our deepest and greatest need- salvation from sin through Jesus Christ.
We may disagree about many issues in the Scriptures, but we need to be absolutely committed about this: every person on the face of the earth needs Jesus to be saved.
6. How can a person truly commence a journey of character development according Romans 10:17?
(16) All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, (17) that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
The Scriptures show us how we need to change: they show us what's wrong with our lives. The message of Scripture is meant to bring change to our character. We therefore need to study the Scriptures, not just read them.
Amen.