Daily Devotional Details

Date

Stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines. 1 Timothy 1:3 (NIV)

What is Timothy to do in Ephesus when he stays? The whole letter answers this question, but it begins right here.

When Paul speaks about “false doctrines,” it shows that right from the earliest days of the church, there were doctrines taught by the apostles and received by the churches as true.

The Bible speaks about: “The faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 3). “The pattern of sound teaching” (2 Tim. 1:13). “The good deposit that was entrusted to you” (2 Tim. 1:14). All these are talking about what we would call “the gospel.”

In other words, Paul is saying, “Timothy, here’s what you need to do—guard the gospel. Keep it front and center in the church. Preach it, live it, advance it, and if necessary, die for it. This is the trust that has been given to you.”

Notice that Timothy must protect the church from people who deny the truth and from people who distract from the truth. Paul says that certain men “devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies” (1 Tim. 1:4).

The word myths just means stories. So, Paul is describing men in the church who love to tell stories. That’s what some congregations want their pastors to do.

Then Paul talks about “endless genealogies.” Evidently there was great interest in what line you came from. You can see why that would be of special interest to Jewish believers, tracing their line back to Abraham and so forth.

The New Testament begins with a genealogy that leads to Jesus Christ. But these genealogies are endless. The problem for people who get wrapped up in genealogies is that they get stuck in a fascination that keeps them from Christ.

Is your church primarily about telling stories? Your lineage? The gospel? Something else?