Preview on Paul’s Pastoral Letters
We have been Chronologically
covering the Bible. In the Gospels,
Jesus is being presented as
the obedient Servant in Mark,
the Savior of the world in Luke,
Israel’s Messianic King in Matthew
and the Son of God in John gospel.
We have also covered Acts which
chronicles Growth of the Church.
Then Paul urges the Galatians to
live by Faith alone, Thessalonians
to Serve ahead of Second Coming,
to Corinthians to Live Rightly,
to Romans Justification by Faith,
Ephesians living as Body of Christ
to Colossians Doctrinal Purity; and
to Philippians the Call to Unity.
Next, we go to the pastoral letters:
Timothy, a young disciple Paul
discovered on his 2nd missionary
journey (Act 16:1) enjoyed a unique
relationship with the apostle.
Referred to as his “own son in
the faith”, Timothy ministered
side by side with Paul as a
missionary, and later received
the challenging assignment of
pastoring the church at Ephesus.
Paul’s first letter to him resembles
a manual for building church
leadership. More generally, it is
a rich mine of principles for anyone
who wishes to have a spiritual
impact in the lives of others.
2 Timothy: Paul’s life is drawing
to a lonely close in a Roman prison
as he writes to encourage Timothy
who now faces new challenges
as pastor of the church in Ephesus.
Paul advises Timothy to remain
solidly grounded in Christian
service and to endure suffering.
He lay down principles for those
pursuing ministry of discipleship.
Underlying each theme is the
importance of God’s Word
as the foundation for living.
Philemon: On the run after
committing a wrong against
his master, Onesimus the slave
sought refuge among the masses
in the city of Rome. There he
crosses Paul’s path and converts
to faith in Jesus Christ. Though
he shows his gratitude by serving
Paul, he still must reconcile with
his master Philemon. Paul writes
this letter to Philemon asking
him to forgive Onesimus and to
accept him as a brother in Christ.
Titus lived in Crete, the largest
island in the Mediterranean, and
worked among a people who
collectively had one of the worst
reputations in the world. Paul had
left Titus to oversee the growth of
the church there & now writes to
encourage him in that difficult task.
To promote sound teaching and
offset false doctrines, Titus is told
to appoint & train spiritual leaders
as elders. Paul’s letter is a summary
of Christian doctrine emphasising
holy living and encourages all
to live worthy of the gospel.
We’ll cover Paul’s letters to Timothy
over two weekends & his letters to
Philemon & Titus in one weekend.
Lookout for them to understand
the need to persevere in service; the importance of reconciliation
and to live worthy of the gospel.
Blessings/chris