Bible Study 1 Timothy 1:1-9 Refresher

 

Led by Shaun Fereday, Leader @SFGH Church

Refresher of 1 Timothy 1:1-9... Gently Easing Back into Study.

We began with a helpful refresher on the background to 1 Timothy, since it had been a while since our last session in February.

Shaun reminded us that 1 and 2 Timothy (along with Titus) are known as the Pastoral Letters because they were written to guide and instruct young leaders in their ministry. Specifically, 1 Timothy was written to Timothy while he was overseeing the church in Ephesus.

Both letters were written near the end of Paul’s life. From 1 Timothy 1:3 we see that Paul was likely a free man when he wrote this one — he had been released from his first Roman imprisonment and was travelling again (he mentions urging Timothy to stay in Ephesus while he went to Macedonia). 

In contrast, when Paul wrote 2 Timothy he was back in prison, chained “as a criminal” (2 Timothy 2:9), and knew his death was near. The appalling conditions of a Roman prison make Paul’s continued faithfulness and care for the churches even more moving.

We then revisited the opening verses of 1 Timothy as a refresher: Paul writes to Timothy as his “true son in the faith.” He prays that grace, mercy, and peace would be poured out on him from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord — a beautiful Trinitarian note right at the start.

Paul’s main charge to Timothy is to confront false teaching that had arisen inside the church at Ephesus (not from outside). He uses strong language — he “charged” Timothy, which carries the sense of a solemn command, not a polite suggestion. The false teaching involved “myths,” “endless genealogies,” and a wrong handling of the Mosaic Law (likely Judaizers insisting on circumcision, dietary rules, or other Old Testament practices as necessary for salvation).

We then picked up where we left off last time — 1 Timothy 1:8-9 (up to the comma): 

“Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient…”

Main teaching points we discussed: The Mosaic Law is good when used properly. The problem in Ephesus was that some were using it wrongly.

Christians are not under law but under grace (Romans 6:14). We are saved by grace through faith in Christ, not by keeping the law. However, we must not discredit or throw away the law just because we are under grace. Paul is clear in Romans 3:31: 

“Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.”

The law cannot save us because we are sinners and cannot keep it perfectly. The main purpose of the law is to convict us of sin. It shows us our rebellion against God and our need for a Saviour. When we see that we have failed to keep God’s good law, it drives us to Christ.

Brian added a helpful illustration from Galatians: the law was like a pedagogue (a strict guardian or tutor in Roman households) whose job was to bring children safely to their teacher — in this case, to bring us to Christ.

We stopped at the comma in verse 9, just before the long list of sins. Next week we’ll look at that list (which has strong echoes of the Ten Commandments) and see how it all points forward to “the glorious gospel of the blessed God” in verse 11.

It was a really encouraging and solid evening — reminding us again of the goodness of God’s law, our inability to be saved by it, and the wonderful grace we have in Jesus Christ.

Scripture References:

• 1 Timothy 1:1-3
• 1 Timothy 1:8-9
• 2 Timothy 2:9
• Romans 6:14
• Romans 3:31
• Galatians 3:24 
• 1 Timothy 1:11 

Article written by Shaun Fereday, Leader @SFGH Church