Our church is studying 1 Timothy together in small groups. I get to teach part of the session to our ladies group on Wednesday evenings. Teaching Bible study is my favorite part of serving my church.
I have to admit that when I heard 1 Timothy was the book chosen for this semester I was a bit disappointed. Of all the New Testament books, why this one? I mean it has the verse in it. You know the one. ( 1 Timothy 2:11)
Women need to shut up & sit down in church.
Ok, so that’s not what it says, but that’s how I’ve heard it summarized.
But it begs the question. What do we do with those verses in scripture that we don’t like or that offend us? I think the first question we ask is “What do I believe about God?” Then we ask, “Do I believe his Scriptures are inerrant and alive?” These 2 questions should lay the foundation for how we study the Bible. If we go in with a better understanding of who God is and the purpose of this Word, though we still may wrestle with certain passages we will wrestle to understand, not wrestle to prove we are right.
Consider the source. It’s something I’ve told my kids for years when they heard something said about something or someone. Who said it & can their word be trusted? Are they a gossip, or are they mature and discerning when they speak? When we read a passage we don’t agree with or that offends us, we need to consider the source. Who wrote that? God did. Is God sovereign? Yes Is he wise & trustworthy? Absolutely!
R.C. Sproul gave excellent advice for those times we come up to those verses. He said to read with a red pen. Mark in the margin with a question mark what you don’t understand. Mark passages with an X that offends you. Afterward, you can focus on those area’s you struggle with. He says, “This can be a guide to holiness because those X’s show us quickly where our thinking is out of line with the mind of Christ.” This has helped me so much in studying the Scripture. If I don’t like something I read it’s probably because I just don’t understand it. If I understand and still don’t like it that reveals faulty thinking on my part, rather than the Bible being wrong.
As we study, we must keep humble hearts and minds. We must be teachable so that when we encounter offensive passages we can recognize the source of the offense…our sinful hearts.
Back to my 1 Timothy study. I immediately began asking the Lord to show me his purpose & heart behind the words of this small 6 chapter epistle. I began reading it in its entirety every day for several weeks. At first it seemed to be a book that I could only partially relate to. I’m not an elder, not a false teacher. I’m not a widow, but I am a woman.
Lord, show me my role in your church.
Over time I began to see 1 Timothy as a letter written from an older preacher to his intern. Paul’s love and compassion for Timothy are so evident. He has entrusted the care of several churches to this very young man who was disciples by his mother and grandmother.
What a beautiful reminder to me as a mother and grandmother of my purpose and role in my family and my church. I want to be used of God in my family, church and community. In order for that to happen in the most God glorifying way, I must study his Word with a teachable spirit that wrestles to understand and resist the temptation to wrestle with this Word in a way that takes me away from him rather than draw my closer.
As we read and teach from challenging passages in God’s Word, we must not miss the clear message of the gospel. It is of first importance. However, when the spotlight is on the cross, obscure and difficult passages don’t disappear in its shadow.
We believe God has given all his Word—even challenging passages—to reveal himself and his will. As those who humbly and expectantly want to receive what God has given, we should seek his help as we do the hard work to understand the Bible accurately and communicate it with others lovingly.
Isaiah 40:8, The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
2 Peter 3:16, “as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.”
Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
Dana Bailey 