1:3  As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus . . .

BACKGROUND 

* Acts 16:1-3
1 - Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek,

2 - and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium.

3 - Paul wanted this man to go with him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

* 2 Timothy 1:5
- For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well.

* 1 Timothy 4:12

 - Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.

* 1 Timothy 3:15
- but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.

INSPIRATION 

* 1 Timothy 1:1

-  Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope,

* 2 Timothy 1:1

-  Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus,

* Hebrews 1:1

 God spoke long ago to the fathers in prophets in many portions and in many ways

 THEME 

* 1 Timothy 1:1-3
1 - Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope,

2 - To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

3 - As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines,

* Ephesians 4:11-14
11 - And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,

12 - for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;

13 - until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

 14 - As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;

 STRANGE LEGALISTIC DOCTRINES VS THE TRUE GOSPEL

1)  vs 4 Myths

 2) vs 4 Endless genealogies

 3)  vs 4 speculations

                 - vs 5  a definition of true teaching

4) vs 6 Fruitless discussions

 5) vs 7 teachers of the law

* Isaiah 64:6

 - For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

* Galatians 2:16

-  nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.

* Romans 3:19-20

-  Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God;

20 - because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

* 1 Timothy 1:6-7

6 - For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion,

7 - wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions. 

 Acts 15:1 -  Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Acts 15:5 -  But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses.”

Acts 15:11 -  “But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”

FRUITLESSNESS OF LEGALISM 

1:6 . .  Turned aside to fruitless discussion

*Colossians 2:20-23 –

20 - If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as,

21-  “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”

22 - (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men?

23 These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.

* Hebrews 10:1
 For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.

* Hebrews 7:19

-  (for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

TEACHING THE LAW 

1 Timothy 1:6-7
6 - For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion,

7 - wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.

CONFIDENCE ASSERTIONS 

* Isaiah 8:19-20
19 - When they say to you, “Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter,” should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?

20 - To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.

* Ezekiel 13:1-3
1 - Then the word of the Lord came to me saying,

2 - “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy from their own inspiration, ‘Listen to the word of the Lord!

3 - ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Woe to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have seen nothing.

THE RIGHT USE OF THE LAW  

1 Timothy 1:8-10
8 - But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully,

9 - realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers

10 - and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching,

THE TRUE PRINCIPLE OF CHRISTIAN ETHICS 

1 Timothy 1:5

- But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

John 13:34 -  “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

Galatians 5:6 -  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.

Galatians 5:14 -  For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

1 Corinthians 9:20-21

 -  To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law;

21 - to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law.