The Gospel is the Essential

Readings for today: 1 Timothy 3-4, Psalms 20

Imagine you’re Timothy. A young man (perhaps in his late twenties or early thirties) who’s been entrusted by Paul with the church in Ephesus. Ephesus is at the zenith of its power and influence. Made capital of the region by Caesar Augustus, it is a center for learning and commerce. It is home to one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. The Temple of Artemis draws thousands of pilgrims from all over the region. They came to worship. They came to trade. They came to make deposits at the Temple which served as the largest bank in the area as well. The cult of Artemis created great wealth. An entire economy had grown up around the worship of their deity. The priestesses exercised great political and social influence. Your mentor Paul started a riot here when he preached the gospel and the church he left behind was facing some significant challenges. 

Whenever the gospel penetrates a new region, one of the real dangers that pops up almost immediately is syncretism. The merging of older, pagan religious beliefs with the truth of the Christian faith. Some of it is brought on by the missionaries themselves as they try to translate the gospel into the local language and culture. Some of it is brought by the new believers as they struggle to leave the old ways behind. What often ends up emerging is a faith that is sub-Christian or pseudo-Christian and this is exactly what Paul warns Timothy about in the beginning of this letter. “As I urged you when I went to Macedonia, remain in Ephesus so that you may instruct certain people not to teach false doctrine or to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies. These promote empty speculations rather than God’s plan, which operates by faith. Now the goal of our instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. Some have departed from these and turned aside to fruitless discussion. They want to be teachers of the law, although they don’t understand what they are saying or what they are insisting on.” (1 Timothy‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬-‭7‬ ‭CSB) Of course, the same challenge holds true in areas that are gospel-saturated. Consider the challenges of the post-Christian west. The rapid decline of Christianity in Europe and the United States. The fracturing of the church. The emphasis on non-essential doctrines. The utter lack of grace and charity for fellow believers. It’s just so hard to keep the main thing the main thing.

So what is the “main thing” you might ask? Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 3:16, “The mystery of godliness is great: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.” Put another way, Christ was born. Christ died. Christ was raised. Christ’s resurrection was witnessed by angels. Christ has been proclaimed among all the nations. Christ has been believed by all kinds of people. Christ ascended into heaven. This is the great mystery of our faith. This is the beating heart of the gospel. It has nothing to do with us and everything to do with what God has done for us. Sure, we can parse out the finer points of theology. We can engage in all kinds of metaphysical speculation on how Christ’s two natures co-existed. We can wax philosophical about the eternal mysteries of the Godhead. We can debate the ethical implications of the Kingdom. We can argue over the specifics of eschatology. But all of it is meaningless - vanity of vanities according to Ecclesiastes - in comparison to what God has revealed in Jesus Christ.

These words are as much for us as they are for Timothy. The challenge is just as real for the church today as it was for the church in Ephesus. Unity in the essentials. Liberty in the non-essentials. Charity for all. The reality is it is so easy for us to get bogged down. Even as we read this letter, we find ourselves tempted to focus on non-essential questions like who gets to serve and in what role or what people should wear to worship or the patriarchal nature of 1st century culture. Put aside the petty squabbles. Let go of any personal preferences. Relinquish your grip on theological certainty and instead embrace the great mystery of our faith - Christ was born, Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ ascended, and Christ will come again.

Readings for tomorrow: 1 Timothy 5-6, Psalms 21

Essentials

Readings for today: Acts 15-16

It’s so easy for human beings to divide. We’ve been doing it for centuries. We divide over language, culture, ethnicity, and tribal affiliation. We divide over land, money, wealth, and power. We divide over politics, social action, and religious faith. We divide over disappointments, hurts, and fears. Christians are no different. Despite the fact that we are bound by a spiritual bond in Jesus Christ that is thicker than blood or water, we cannot seem to help ourselves. We are vulnerable to the same pressures that divide every other group of human beings.

The early church had to fight to stay together. Despite the cultural forces arrayed against them and the persecution they suffered at the hands of their enemies, they still found the time and energy to fight amongst themselves. Circumcision was the pressing issue of the day. The cultural practice had set apart the Jewish people since the beginning. All the way back to Abraham. It was essential to their identity as God’s covenant people. But now Gentiles are coming to faith in droves. Their numbers are threatening to overwhelm the early church. The Jewish Christians are rapidly becoming a minority and probably feeling under threat. Like all these new people had stolen “their” church. So a group of them band together and begin teaching the new Gentile Christians that faith in Jesus Christ was not enough. Baptism was not enough. They needed to be circumcised in addition to these things if they truly believed and wanted to belong. This created all kinds of controversy. Paul and Barnabas go nuts. The early church is wracked by conflict and so they call a meeting of all the leaders in Jerusalem. The case is presented. They seek the mind of Christ together. The Holy Spirit makes His will known. And the mark of circumcision is rejected as a requirement.

This won’t be the end of the story, of course. Human beings are notoriously rebellious and many of those early Jewish Christians will continue to cause Paul headaches as he plants his churches around the Roman world. So will the Gentile Christians, by the way! It’s just so easy for any of us to fall prey to focusing on the non-essentials rather than the essentials of our faith. It’s so easy for us to focus on what separates us rather than what holds us together. It’s so easy to focus on our differences rather than our shared convictions which is why there are so many different denominations and churches in the world today. Boil the Christian faith down to it’s essentials and what do you have? Romans 10:9, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Readings for tomorrow: None