prosenstein

Well, obviously, Paul didn't let his contentment stop him from achieving his goals and spreading the gospel. I think that if we are content with what we have, it frees us up to achieve more. If we are constantly worried about money, constantly seeking to improve our financial situation, we can't concentrate on other things. We can't concentrate on what's really important. Of course, we need to try to take care of our families and prepare for financial emergencies. We need to be responsible with the money that God has given us and do our best to prepare for the future, but all of our best laid plans can go astray. If we are content, we can concentrate our energies and efforts on the things that are greater than having more than enough. I think Paul means contentment as personal contentment with our own situation, not contentment with the world situation. Paul didn't allow his contentment to stop his mission.

I believe that people are so susceptible to distorted Bible teaching concerning financial gain because they want to justify being greedy and having more than they need. We all want to justify our greed. Yes, wealth is a blessing; there are many different blessings and we don't always receive them all. There is no sin in being poor, and it doesn't necessarily mean that we have done anything to deserve it. The sin in poverty is that we allow other people to be poor. When we start taking the belief that God will take care of us to mean that if we're good, we deserve to be wealthy we distort the word of God. The truth is that material wealth can fade. The only thing that lasts is God, and that is where we should put our faith. We should be full of gratitude for the blessings that we do have.

The Gospel has sown the seeds that will eventually destroy slavery: Paul said in Galatians 3:28 that all are one in Christ and that there are no distinctions between slave or free. Paul appears to condone slavery becasue he doesn't want to heap more condemnation on the church, who is currently being accused of being atheistic. Paul is just trying to protect the church from appearing too rebellious in society as it is dealing with all the condemnation that it can handle during that time.

Paul says not to be hasty in the laying on of hands because the person doing the commissioning is also responsible for the performance of that person in office. If not much is known about the person commissioned, bad choices can be made about choosing the leaders. That's why Paul cautioned that elders should be seasoned Christians, not novices. The character of elders should be known before they are commissioned. They should be tested and proven worthy of the office. The dangers of hasty commissioning can be lessened by carefully choosing elders from among seasoned church members who have proven to be of worthy character.

It was necessary to make formal accusations and try false teachers so that things were done with justice, so that prejudice or malice did not enter into judgments. Temptations to compromise were great because that would have been easier and the course of less resistance. It is difficult to exercise church discipline today because the people in control do not want to give up their power. Instead of acting in the power of Christ, they act under their own power

Elders should be compensated financially for their work as leaders of the congregation, for teaching and preaching as opposed to administrative work, for doing their work well. Scripture references: 1 Cor. 9:5-14, Deut. 25:4, Luke 10:7, Lev. 19:13.

The preachers and teachers should be compensated financially for their work. The Hebrew scriptures told how the Levitical priests were compensated by the religious community. The workers deserve their wages. (Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Luke and James).

We have the responsibility to help aging family members. We are to honor widows who are really widows, It is our religious duty to take care of our own family and repay our parents. Whoever does not provide for family members has denied the faith. The church should not have to assist widows who have families to take care of them. Taking care of parents is a repayment of a debt because they took care of us when we were young and could not take care of ourselves. Those who refuse to take care of family memebrs have denied the faith and are worse than unbelievers.

Rigid orthodoxy cannot produce godliness because it is putting works first before the Spirit. We need godliness in church leaders who are led by the Spirit in love. Godliness is not just about righteousness but it's also about mercy and love. Justice always needs to be balanced with mercy. Rigid adherence to rules produces a hard judmental character that relies on self rather than God.

I would define godliness as being led by the Spirit in love. The fruit of the Spirit will produce godliness by us living a Spirit-led life. Godliness is different from embracing a strict morality because there is no love in that. Paul said that all the great things we do if not done with love are meaningless.

I believe the performance of legalistic requirements is attractive to people because some people like to have goals and measure their performance. They are under the impression that works can lead them into God's favor. Instead of being led by the Spirit into doing good works as a fruit of the spirit, they start out with a to do list of works that may be good but they are working under their own power and not being led by the Spirit. No matter how much good we do, if it is not Spirit led, it is only us trying to achieve accolades. I don't believe that following legalistic requirements really produces fruit in a person's life. It leads to the impression that we can achieve goodness under our own power. The gospel emphasizes that goodness comes from God and that the Spirit within believers will produce these fruits as we are led by the Spirit. If we are Spirit-led, we will produce the fruits of good works.

Paul reminds Timothy and the church of predictions concerning widespread apostasy so that Timothy can be on the alert for false teaching and hold fast to the true gospel. Paul is helping them be alert and also giving them confidence that when they see apostasy that they will pay attention to their suspicions. I know that when I have doubts about church leadership or if things are going in the right direction, it helps to have a wise person whose opinion I respect affirm that. Timothy, being young, might doubt his own judgment, but since Paul has given him this warning, and he knows that Paul has divine inspiration, Timothy will be less likely to doubt his own judgment. This should also help the church to see false teachings for what they are.

Paul wants Timothy to stand firm in the faith of the true gospel. Standing firm against opposition takes a firm character; Paul doesn't want Timothy to cave in to false teachings. Knowing that false teaching is to be found in the church leadership, Timothy can be alert to test the leaders' teaching and not go along with the crowd. Timothy can also enlighten the church and help it see false teaching and not follow a wrong gospel. Paul wants Timothy to be aware of what's going on; he's giving Timothy a heads up.

I don't see much difference; the same qualifications are necessary for both positions. I assume that the elder as the overseer is higher ranking than the deacon. The text says that deacons must be tested, so I assume one would go through the testing process first as a deacon before one became an overseer although the text doesn't say that it is necessary for an elder to first serve as a deacon. It also says that the overseer should not be a recent convert so perhaps a deacon, once tested, could be a recent convert.

Church officers should not easily fall prey to the work of the devil; therefore it takes a mature, well-tested Christian to serve as a church officer because this person would be less likely to fall under the devil's influence. Pride and anger can cause bad decisions, and one who is easily intimidated also would not make good decisions. If these factors are not considered in choosing church officers, the church could be led by weak and prideful leaders who would easily make bad decisions and lead the church astray.