the point of teaching

Good afternoon friends,
This week we're talking about scripture and how scripture prepares us to be the church and to follow Jesus. Our reading today is from Paul's first letter to his protege, Timothy. Paul writes to Timothy about how important it is for church leaders to help people keep their focus on important things, not on meaningless controversy. He also reminds him that the law is for those who struggle with their behavior, as a check against doing the wrong thing. When we follow love in everything we do, we follow the law automatically. The point of the rules in the Bible isn't to trip us up, but to remind us when we get off the right path.

God bless,
Sam

1 Timothy 1:1-11

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, ²To Timothy, my loyal child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. ³I urge you, as I did when I was on my way to Macedonia, to remain in Ephesus so that you may instruct certain people not to teach any different doctrine, ⁴and not to occupy themselves with myths and endless genealogies that promote speculations rather than the divine training that is known by faith.

⁵But the aim of such instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith. ⁶Some people have deviated from these and turned to meaningless talk, ⁷desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make assertions. ⁸Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately. ⁹This means understanding that the law is laid down not for the innocent but for the lawless and disobedient, for the godless and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their father or mother, for murderers, ¹⁰fornicators, sodomites, slave traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching ¹¹that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.