Bible Study - 1 Timothy 1:9b-11

 

Led by Shaun Fereday, Leader @SFGH Church

1 Timothy 1:9b-11... What the Law is Really For.

We picked up our 1 Timothy study again last night after the Easter break. It felt good to be back in the room together.

Shaun took us from verse 8 onwards. He reminded us that Paul tells Timothy: “We know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully.” Then Paul makes it very clear – the law isn’t written for righteous people. It’s written for the lawless, the disobedient, the ungodly, and sinners.

He then gives quite a long list: people who strike their fathers or mothers, murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practise homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and then the catch-all phrase – “and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine.”

We spent a bit of time looking at that list. It’s not random. As Brian pointed out, if you lay it alongside the Ten Commandments you can see Paul is basically walking through them in order – first the commands about our relationship with God (ungodly, unholy, profane), then the commands about how we treat other people.

Shaun made a really helpful point: the list isn’t meant to be exhaustive. Paul even adds “whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,” so anything that goes against healthy, correct, uncorrupted teaching is included. Sound doctrine, he explained, is teaching that comes from God’s Word – healthy and uncorrupted because it’s inspired by the Holy Spirit and always lines up with “the gospel of the glory of the blessed God.”

The big idea we kept coming back to is this: the law is good, but it has a specific job. It’s like a big pointing stick. It shows us we are sinners. It reveals our disobedience. Once we see that clearly, we realise we need a Saviour. That’s why the law is useful – but it can never save us. Salvation only comes through grace, through turning to Jesus in repentance and faith.

We talked about how this links with other parts of Scripture. In 1 Corinthians 6 Paul gives a similar list and then says, “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified…” The law shows the problem; the gospel gives the solution.

Someone asked about the Sabbath, and we had a good, honest chat about it. Under the old covenant it was very strict for Israel. As Christians under the new covenant we’re not bound by the Jewish Sabbath rules in the same way, but we are still called to set aside time to honour God and worship Him. The exact day matters less than the heart behind it.

The main thing that came through was balance. We shouldn’t throw the law away – it’s still God’s good law and it points out sin. But we must never think we can be saved by keeping it. We are saved by faith through grace. And once we’re in Christ, we’re called to live in a way that is in line with sound doctrine – practising righteousness rather than practising sin. We turned to 1 John 3:3-8 which outlines this really clearly. The key word in these verses isn't "sin" but "practicing" (ποιέω - poieo in the Greek). So the difference between those in Christ and those who don’t know Him is that when we sin we acknowledge it and then repent of it. In essence we practice "righteousness."

It was a really helpful evening. We’re only part-way through chapter 1, but already you can feel Paul’s pastoral heart coming through as he equips Timothy (and us) to deal with wrong teaching in the church.

We’ll pick it up again next week from verse 12 onwards.

Scripture References 

• 1 Timothy 1:8-11

• 1 Timothy 1:9-10

• Exodus 20 (The Ten Commandments)

• 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

• 1 John 3:1-8 (especially 1 John 3:4-8)

• Galatians (general reference to circumcision and the law)

• Romans 1

Article written by Shaun Fereday, Leader @SFGH Church 

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