Book 54 1 Timothy 001:001 Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God our Saviour and Christ Jesus our hope: 001:002 To Timothy, my own true son in the faith. May grace, mercy and peace be granted to you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 001:003 When I was on my journey to Macedonia I begged you to remain on in Ephesus that you might remonstrate with certain persons because of their erroneous teaching 001:004 and the attention they bestow on mere fables and endless pedigrees, such as lead to controversy rather than to a true stewardship for God, which only exists where there is faith. And I make the same request now. 001:005 But the end sought to be secured by exhortation is the love which springs from a pure heart, a clear conscience and a sincere faith. 001:006 From these some have drifted away, and have wandered into empty words. 001:007 They are ambitious to be teachers of the Law, although they do not understand either their own words or what the things are about which they make such confident assertions. 001:008 Now we know that the Law is good, if a man uses it in the way it should be used, 001:009 and remembers that a law is not enacted to control a righteous man, but for the lawless and rebellious, the irreligious and sinful, the godless and profane—for those who strike their fathers or their mothers, for murderers, 001:010 fornicators, sodomites, slave-dealers, liars and false witnesses; and for whatever else is opposed to wholesome teaching 001:011 and is not in accordance with the Good News of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted. 001:012 I am thankful to Him who made me strong—even Christ Jesus our Lord—because He has judged me to be faithful and has put me into His service, 001:013 though I was previously a blasphemer and a persecutor and had been insolent in outrage. Yet mercy was shown me, because I had acted ignorantly, not having as yet believed; 001:014 and the grace of our Lord came to me in overflowing fulness, conferring faith on me and the love which is in Christ Jesus. 001:015 Faithful is the saying, and deserving of universal acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; among whom I stand foremost. 001:016 But mercy was shown me in order that in me as the foremost of sinners Christ Jesus might display the fulness of His long-suffering patience as an example to encourage those who would afterwards be resting their faith on Him with a view to the Life of the Ages. 001:017 Now to the immortal and invisible King of the Ages, who alone is God, be honour and glory to the Ages of the Ages! Amen. 001:018 This is the charge which I entrust to you, my son Timothy, in accordance with the inspired instructions concerning you which were given me long ago, that being equipped with them as your armour you may be continually fighting the good fight, 001:019 holding fast to faith and a clear conscience, which some have cast aside and have made shipwreck of their faith. 001:020 Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have delivered to Satan so that they may be taught not to blaspheme. 002:001 I exhort then, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be offered on behalf of all men; 002:002 including kings and all who are in high station, in order that we may live peaceful and tranquil lives with all godliness and gravity. 002:003 This is right, and is pleasing in the sight of God our Saviour, 002:004 who is willing for all mankind to be saved and come to a full knowledge of the truth. 002:005 For there is but one God and but one Mediator between God and men— Christ Jesus, Himself man; 002:006 who gave Himself as the redemption price for all—a fact testified to at its own appointed time, 002:007 and of which I have been appointed a herald and an Apostle (I am speaking the truth: it is not a fiction), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 002:008 So then I would have the men everywhere pray, lifting to God holy hands which are unstained with anger or strife; 002:009 and I would have the women dress becomingly, with modesty and self-control, not with plaited hair or gold or pearls or costly clothes, 002:010 but—as befits women making a claim to godliness— with the ornament of good works. 002:011 A woman should quietly learn from others with entire submissiveness. 002:012 I do not permit a woman to teach, nor have authority over a man, but she must remain silent. 002:013 For Adam was formed first, and then Eve; 002:014 and Adam was not deceived, but his wife was thoroughly deceived, and so became involved in transgression. 002:015 Yet a woman will be brought safely through childbirth if she and her husband continue to live in faith and love and growing holiness, with habitual self-restraint. 003:001 Faithful is the saying, "If any one is eager to have the oversight of a Church, he desires a noble work." 003:002 A minister then must be a man of irreproachable character, true to his one wife, temperate, sober-minded, well-behaved, hospitable to strangers, and with a gift for teaching; 003:003 not a hard drinker nor given to blows; not selfish or quarrelsome or covetous; 003:004 but ruling his own household wisely and well, with children kept under control with true dignity. 003:005 (If a man does not know how to rule his own household, how shall he have the Church of God given into his care?) 003:006 He ought not to be a new convert, for fear he should be blinded with pride and come under the same condemnation as the Devil. 003:007 It is needful also that he bear a good character with people outside the Church, lest he fall into reproach or a snare of the Devil. 003:008 Deacons, in the same way, must be men of serious demeanour, not double-tongued, nor addicted to much wine, nor greedy of base gain, 003:009 but holding the secret truths of the faith with a clear conscience. 003:010 And they must also be well-tried men, and when found to be of unblemished character then let them serve as deacons. 003:011 Deaconesses, in the same way, must be sober-minded women, not slanderers, but in every way temperate and trustworthy. 003:012 A deacon must be true to his one wife, and rule his children and his own household wisely and well. 003:013 For those who have filled the deacon's office wisely and well, are already gaining for themselves an honourable standing, and are acquiring great freedom of speech in proclaiming the faith which rests on Christ Jesus. 003:014 All this I write to you, though I am hoping before long to come to see you. 003:015 But, for fear I may be hindered, I now write, so that you may have rules to guide you in dealing with God's household. For this is what the Church of the ever-living God is, and it is the pillar and foundation-stone of the truth. 003:016 And, beyond controversy, great is the mystery of our religion— that Christ appeared in human form, and His claims justified by the Spirit, was seen by angels and proclaimed among Gentile nations, was believed on in the world, and received up again into glory. 004:001 Now the Spirit expressly declares that in later times some will fall away from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and the teachings of demons; 004:002 through the hypocrisy of men who teach falsely and have their own consciences seared as with a hot iron; 004:003 forbidding people to marry, and insisting on abstinence from foods which God has created to be partaken of, with thankfulness, by those who believe and have a clear knowledge of the truth. 004:004 For everything that God has created is good, and nothing is to be cast aside, if only it is received with thanksgiving. 004:005 For it is made holy by the word of God and by prayer. 004:006 If you warn the brethren of these dangers you will be a good and faithful servant of Christ Jesus, inwardly feeding on the lessons of the faith and of the sound teaching of which you have been, and are, so close a follower. 004:007 But worldly stories, fit only for credulous old women, have nothing to do with. 004:008 Train yourself in godliness. Exercise for the body is not useless, but godliness is useful in every respect, possessing, as it does, the promise of Life now and of the Life which is soon coming. 004:009 Faithful is this saying and deserving of universal acceptance: 004:010 and here is the motive of our toiling and wrestling, because we have our hopes fixed on the ever-living God, who is the Saviour of all mankind, and especially of believers. 004:011 Command this and teach this. 004:012 Let no one think slightingly of you because you are a young man; but in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, be an example for your fellow Christians to imitate. 004:013 Till I come, bestow your attention on reading, exhortation and teaching. 004:014 Do not be careless about the gifts with which you are endowed, which were conferred on you through a divine revelation when the hands of the elders were placed upon you. 004:015 Habitually practise these duties, and be absorbed in them; so that your growing proficiency in them may be evident to all. 004:016 Be on your guard as to yourself and your teaching. Persevere in these things; for by doing this you will make certain your own salvation and that of your hearers. 005:001 Never administer a sharp reprimand to a man older than yourself; but entreat him as if he were your father, and the younger men as brothers; 005:002 the elder women too as mothers, and the younger women as sisters, with perfect modesty. 005:003 Honour widows who are really in need. 005:004 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let these learn first to show piety towards their own homes and to prove their gratitude to their parents; for this is well pleasing in the sight of God. 005:005 A widow who is really in need, friendless and desolate, has her hopes fixed on God, and continues at her supplications and prayers, night and day; 005:006 but a pleasure-loving widow is dead even while still alive. 005:007 Press these facts upon them, so that they may live lives free from reproach. 005:008 But if a man makes no provision for those dependent on him, and especially for his own family, he has disowned the faith and is behaving worse than an unbeliever. 005:009 No widow is to be put on the roll who is under sixty years of age. 005:010 She must have been true to her one husband, and well reported of for good deeds, as having brought up children, received strangers hospitably, washed the feet of God's people, given relief to the distressed, and devoted herself to good works of every kind. 005:011 But the younger widows you must not enrol; for as soon as they begin to chafe against the yoke of Christ, they want to marry, 005:012 and they incur disapproval for having broken their original vow. 005:013 And at the same time they also learn to be idle as they go round from house to house; and they are not only idle, but are gossips also and busybodies, speaking of things that ought not to be spoken of. 005:014 I would therefore have the younger women marry, bear children, rule in domestic matters, and furnish the Adversary with no excuse for slander. 005:015 For already some of them have gone astray, following Satan. 005:016 If a believing woman has widows dependent on her, she should relieve their wants, and save the Church from being burdened— so that the Church may relieve the widows who are really in need. 005:017 Let the Elders who perform their duties wisely and well be held worthy of double honour, especially those who labour in preaching and teaching. 005:018 For the Scripture says, "You are not to muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain;" and the workman deserves his pay. 005:019 Never entertain an accusation against an Elder except on the evidence of two of three witnesses. 005:020 Those who persist in sin reprove in the presence of all, so that it may also be a warning to the rest. 005:021 I solemnly call upon you, in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels, to carry out these instructions of mine without prejudice, and to do nothing from partiality. 005:022 Do not ordain any one hastily; and do not be a partaker in the sins of others; keep *yourself* pure. 005:023 (No longer be a water-drinker; but take a little wine for the sake of your digestion and your frequent ailments.) 005:024 The sins of some men are evident to the world, leading the way to your estimate of their characters, but the sins of others lag behind. 005:025 So also the right actions of some are evident to the world, and those that are not cannot remain for ever out of sight. 006:001 Let all who are under the yoke of slavery hold their own masters to be deserving of honour, so that the name of God and the Christian teaching may not be spoken against. 006:002 And those who have believing masters should not be wanting in respect towards them because they are their brethren, but should serve them all the more willingly because those who profit by the faithful service rendered are believers and are friends. 006:003 So teach and exhort. If any one is a teacher of any other kind of doctrine, and refuses assent to wholesome instructions— those of our Lord Jesus Christ—and the teaching that harmonizes with true godliness, 006:004 he is puffed up with pride and has no true knowledge, but is crazy over discussions and controversies about words which give rise to envy, quarrelling, revilings, ill-natured suspicions, 006:005 and persistent wranglings on the part of people whose intellects are disordered and they themselves blinded to all knowledge of the truth; who imagine that godliness means gain. 006:006 And godliness *is* gain, when associated with contentment; 006:007 for we brought nothing into the world, nor can we carry anything out of it; 006:008 and if we have food and clothing, with these we will be satisfied. 006:009 But people who are determined to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many unwise and pernicious ways which sink mankind in destruction and ruin. 006:010 For from love of money all sorts of evils arise; and some have so hankered after money as to be led astray from the faith and be pierced through with countless sorrows. 006:011 But you, O man of God, must flee from these things; and strive for uprightness, godliness, good faith, love, fortitude, and a forgiving temper. 006:012 Exert all your strength in the honourable struggle for the faith; lay hold of the Life of the Ages, to which you were called, when you made your noble profession of faith before many witnesses. 006:013 I charge you—as in the presence of God who gives life to all creatures, and of Christ Jesus who at the bar of Pontius Pilate made a noble profession of faith— 006:014 that you keep God's commandments stainlessly and without reproach till the Appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. 006:015 For, as its appointed time, this will be brought about by the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 006:016 who alone possesses immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, and whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be eternal honour and power! Amen. 006:017 Impress on those who are rich in the present age that they must not be haughty nor set their hopes on riches— that unstable foundation—but on God who provides us richly with all things for our enjoyment. 006:018 They must be beneficent, rich in noble deeds, open-handed and liberal; 006:019 storing up for themselves that which shall be a solid foundation for the future, that they may lay hold of the Life which is life indeed. 006:020 O Timothy, guard the truths entrusted to you, shunning irreligious and frivolous talk, and controversy with what is falsely called 'knowledge'; 006:021 of which some have spoken boastfully in connexion with the true faith, and have erred. Grace be with you all.

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