KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Tuesday, December 19, 2018
Chapters: Book of I Timothy
Message: It’s Not Religion, It’s Jesus
Hello My Friend,
In all the crazy, and uncharacteristic things I have done in my lifetime, I can honestly say that I only have one regret, and that was that it took me so long to know the truth of the Gospel, get saved, and dedicate my life to Christ. I believe that our salvation is in God’s time also, our heart needs to be right, and while freewill gives us the right to choose, that does not mean that Jesus is not working on us from birth to encourage us to choose Him. I, like so many, grew up in religion, and not Jesus, oh, I knew about Jesus, and we went to midnight mass, and or church on Christmas, and Easter, and whenever we felt the whim to go, but we followed all the rules of the church, but Jesus was not prominent in our lives. The greatest example we could ever have about Jesus turning a life away from religion to Him is Paul, he grew up in religion, got saved, and became an example for all of us.
“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.” – I Timothy 1:12-16.
“because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.” We are taught many things through religion, some of them down right untrue, and yet ignorantly believed them because we did not know any better. The Book of I Timothy was written by Paul to Timothy, whom he called his adopted son in faith. The date in which he wrote it is unconfirmed, but probably about 63 AD. The purpose of the letter was to address some of the problems and needs which existed in the church. What we are to learn from the book is that not every church is a genuine church of Christ and we should live our lives by an example as a genuine believer of Christ. Now. as the churches of Christ increased in number, questions of church order, soundness in faith, and of discipline became important. At first the apostles regulated these things directly, but as they got up in age, it was clearly necessary for them to pass on their knowledge to saved, Godly men. Paul sent Timothy this letter to use as a guide, reminding them that while they are not under the law of Moses, it should never be discredited.
“As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm. But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.” – I Timothy 1:3-11.
“which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith:” How many times have you walked out of a church service and started wondering if they said were true? We put so much trust in those who preach the Gospel that we do not question their doctrine, and no one is perfect, but we really ought to be studying the Bible for ourselves so we can know whether or not what they are preaching is from God. We all interpret things as we hear them, I had a preacher that said, “Never let an obscure passage lead you away from the simplicity of the Gospel.”, and that is never more true. Do you want to know why there are four books that tell the Gospel? Or why I and II Samuel are almost identical to I and II Chronicles? Or why we read the same ten commandments in Exodus as we do Deuteronomy? It is to show us that the living Word is not textbook, these are real people, led by the Holy Spirit who wrote these words down in their own words. If every one of the Gospels were worded the exact same way it would be as though it were scripted. And let me tell you, there are thousands of transcripts that prove that each one of them told their story as God wanted them, even His own story. “The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.” – Proverbs 15:28.
No law has never been given that had not been an issue to begin with. How many people run red lights, get tickets in the mail, and try to dispute it only because they got caught? Now, we are all sinners, which is why God’s grace abounds so much more than we deserve, but to knowingly allow sinful practices in the church is going to cause more harm then good. People come to church because they are spiritually sick, and they want to be healed, they do not need things sugar coated for them, they need the truth, although being compassionate about it is a good practice. Paul continues, reminding us that we are all subject to the same authority, God’s Word.
“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.” – I Timothy 2:1-5,9-12.
“For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;” There is only one doctrine to follow, and that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And whether we like to admit it or not, only saved, born again, Godly men are to be the leaders of the church, women, while they are welcomed to be teachers of children and women, and have their own ministries, they are not to lead men in the church nor be leaders of the church themselves.
“This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.” – I Timothy 3:1-6.
“the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour,” Even though countless men that God used had several wives, God has always instituted marriage as between one man, and one woman. The reason these men had so many wives to begin with was that divorce was unheard of (although it was an option), and adultery carried a death sentence (yes, that is in the Law), so instead of going against God, they chose to just put up the wives in their own homes or rooms, and keep marrying more. Just like everything else, they picked and chose what commands they wanted to follow. We cannot live by which commands we choose to obey, which is why God put away the Law, you cannot say, “I will not commit adultery, but I can drink a six pack.” Break one command, you break them all. “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.” – James 2:10-11.
You may not realize this, but churches have bylaws to follow and if you want to join the church you must agree to the bylaws. While everyone ought be welcome to come to church and grow in Christ, every member ought to be likeminded, likewise, every church ought be under the same authority, Christ. Paul warns of the false doctrines that will take over the church, and this was before Catholics and Mormons.
“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained. But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” – I Timothy 4:1-7,15-16.
“for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” You cannot preach the Gospel if you do not believe in yourself. And yet you see it all day long, on the televisions, stages, and even the big screens, men and women, who appear to be ministers of God, but what they are are ministers of the devil, preaching those profane, and old wives tales. Priests and nuns, these are prime examples of religion that forbids marriage to the ones who want to serve God in the ministry, Mormons and Muslims, these are prime examples of religion that commands one to abstain from certain meats. It is not religion that saves us, it is not following every command that saves us, it is following one command that saves us, and that is accepting Jesus Christ as our Saviour. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” – Romans 10:9-10.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” – I Timothy 1:15.
Today’s Prayer: God, It is still amazing to get up every morning knowing that it is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me. He has turned my life completely around as I learn the truth from Your Word and grow in obedience to it. Lord, I know I mess up, but I am trusting You to lead me and guide me in whatever will that You have for me. Show me the way, help me understand, and never let me cease from developing that personal relationship with Christ that shows me I can do all things through Him. I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
Are You 100% Sure You Are Going To Heaven?: http://readytofollow.com/
Receive The KJB Daily Devotions In Your Email: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
Missed A Message: http://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/
Visit I’m Following Jesus Missions: http://imfollowingjesus.com/index.html
I’m Following Jesus On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/byhisstrength
Copyright © 2018 I’m Following Jesus, All rights reserved.