Three verses in the New Testament refer to a busybody—2 Thessalonians 3:11, 1 Timothy 5:13, and 1 Peter 4:15. The following briefly explores the meaning of busybody in each verse. 2 Thessalonians 3:11 For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. “Busybodies” in this verse… Read More »
Not many use the term pugnacious today. Looking at just the word itself, if I didn’t know any better, I’d guess it referred to possessing a tenacious love for the dog breed pug (pug + tenacious = pugnacious). Apart from my own nonsense, pugnacious is indeed a biblical term. “Pugnacious” is the NASB’s translation of… Read More »
A pastor’s children are to be kept “submissive” according to 1 Timothy 3:4. They should obey their father and follow his instruction in the home. Titus 1:6 requires the same of the children, and depending on whether one translates pistos as a noun or an adjective, they must be “believers” or “faithful.” Either way, they… Read More »
Two verses describe the children in a pastor’s home, and it is debated whether or not the descriptions in these verses require that a pastor’s children must be saved. This post is a quick look at both sides of the matter and attempt to give my personal answer to the matter. First, Paul positively states… Read More »
The pastor is to be an example in all ways to others (1 Pet 5:3; cf. Phil 3:17; 2 Thess 3:9; 1 Tim 4:12; Titus 2:7). So, when Paul requires a certain character of pastors in 1 Tim 3:2–3 and Titus 1:7–8, if a pastor is to have exemplary character for others, this character is… Read More »
From Paul’s letters to Timothy, leaders in the church can gather quite a bit for how to deal with so-called teachers who profess Christ but deny Him in word and deed. Be an example in the midst of false teachers (1 Tim 4:12). In in event that one might “despise you for your youth” (or… Read More »
Raised in Lystra (Acts 16:1–5), “from childhood,” Timothy had “been acquainted with the sacred writings” (2 Tim 3:15), thanks to his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice who had “a faith that dwelt first” in them (2 Tim 1:5). Eunice was “a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek” (Acts… Read More »
Timothy was sent by Paul to preside over the church in Ephesus and restore it to order in light of a problem with its elders (cf. 1 Tim 1:3–5). In doing so, his attention to the weekly assembly was to ensure the presence of several components, three of which are mentioned in 1 Timothy 4:13.… Read More »
One of the first sermons I preached at my church was entitled “The Conduct and Confession of the Church,” a sermon from 1 Timothy 3:14–16. This post is a simple summary of that sermon. Paul emphasizes the conduct of the church in 1 Timothy 3:14–16a. This conduct is noted in his statement that specifies his purpose for writing… Read More »
A recurring theme in 1 and 2 Timothy is how false teachers and their heresies affected women. We see this theme come up in at least three ways. First, some women disdained marriage and refused to remarry (1 Tim 5:14–15). This disdain for remarriage likely stemmed from false teachers’ heresy of forbidding marriage (1 Tim… Read More »