Jan. 5 – We Really Believe this Stuff: The Authority of Scripture in How We Do Church

Jan. 12 – 1 Timothy 1:1-7: A Good Conscience and a Sincere Faith

Jan. 19 – 1 Timothy 1:8-11: The Law is Good, If...

Jan. 26 – 1 Timothy 1:12-17: To the King of the Ages, Immortal, Invisible

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With the rise of the 24-hour news channels and constant media coverage, there is proliferation of a certain group of people who are labeled “pundits.” A pundit is someone who is usually (not always...) an expert in some field, and they are therefore called upon to weigh in publicly on a certain issue. Pundits in the media are often people with strong opinions - whether they are right or wrong, they tend to hold their views with supreme confidence. Pundits are not generally known for being reserved, humble, or open-minded. Their value is often that they can make a compelling argument for why their understanding is the correct one. 

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In the Bible, we see a very different sort of “talking head.” Instead of employing pundits, God chooses to speak through people known as “prophets.” When the Lord’s people began to stray and head towards disastrous idolatry or fearful self-reliance, God sent messengers to them to warn them and to remind them of their good Father. The difference between pundits and prophets is stark - pundits speak their minds, whereas prophets speak the mind of God. Pundits are sure that they are right - prophets are sure that God is right. Pundits speak from their human knowledge - prophets speak from supernatural insight. Pundits are called on to give their preferences, while prophets are sent to give God’s prescriptions. 

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Throughout the Old Testament, when people listened to the prophets and heeded their words, things went well for them. After Moses interceded for them, the Israelites drank the water sprinkled with the dust of the golden calf and moved on to the Promised Land (Exodus 32:20). Nineveh was spared destruction after taking listening Jonah’s message and turning to the Lord (Jonah 3:10). King David composed Psalm 51 after being confronted with the truth by the prophet Nathan. The lesson for us here is that God’s ways really are best. God gives us his prescriptions because he loves us and wants what is best for us. Most of us would say we believe that. Most of us would agree that we want to conform our lives to what God prescribes for us. Most of us would say that we want to align our lives, both individually and corporately as Woodmont Baptist, with God’s Word. But what happens when we read those texts in the Bible that fly in the face of our modern sensibilities? What happens when God’s Word obviously confronts our cultural norms? Are we still willing to lay aside our personal preferences and submit to God’s prescriptions? 

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This is the choice that is set before us in walking through 1 Timothy together. The apostle Paul writes this prophetic letter to his young assistant, Timothy, a pastor called to help lead the church in Ephesus. The theme verse is in 1 Timothy 3:14-15, in which Paul says, “I am writing these things to you so that ... you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.” I have heard it said that 1 Timothy would serve well as a blueprint for church-planting. I also believe that it may serve as a potential course-correct for established churches, too. When it comes to how we “ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church,” we all have our preferences. But I think we have an exciting opportunity to ask, “What are God’s prescriptions for how we do church? Are we really committed to following his ways, as revealed in Scripture, when it comes down to how we actually live together as Woodmont Baptist Church?”

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My prayer is that we will dive into this text together and honestly examine God’s design for his new covenant people, the Church. We have been blessed with some incredibly smart and gifted leaders over the past 83 years of our church’s life. But in the end, all of the human ingenuity and talent in the world will not help us become the church that the Lord desires us to be - a people who are fully committed to the Great Commandments (love God, love neighbor) and the Great Commission (make disciples of all nations). We need God’s prophetic word to speak to our hearts, and to follow in full obedience, believing that his ways are best and will lead to our flourishing. May these next four months in 1 Timothy serve to move us closer to God’s vision for our church, all by his grace and for his glory.

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Grace and peace,

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