1 Timothy 1:18-19 “This charge
I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made
concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, having faith
and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have
suffered shipwreck.”
My devotion
today read that Paul had been entrusted with the gospel of Jesus Christ by
Christ Himself, and he did not take this fact lightly when it was time to pass
on the job of guarding and propagating the truth to others. Following his
praise to God for giving him such a function, Paul now “charges” Timothy to
follow in his footsteps. The word “commit” finds usage in banking vocabulary
and implies a deposit of something of great value. Timothy was to continue to
teach the valuable, life-changing truth of the gospel in love while guarding
the flock of Believers against the teaching of false teachers.
Paul had not
found such a responsibility to be easy. In 1
Timothy 1:18-19, he reminds Timothy of this fact, encouraging him to “wage the
good warfare.” Note the two weapons of Timothy’s warfare mentioned here. First,
faith, which, while not specified, certainly implies faith in God and Christ’s
atoning sacrifice, and faith that this cause is just and right. Second, a good
conscience, yielding a life and ministry free from both controlling sin and the
guilt of that sin. Such a conscience comes from a lifestyle brought into
submission to God’s Word. In fact, this couplet—faith and a good conscience—is
said to be “the end of the commandment”, along with love.
Some had
abandoned these vital weapons to the “shipwreck” of their own faith and the
faith of their followers. Nevertheless, such weapons, properly used, are
“mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds”.
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