suedeboy

Paul here is making a statement that in the house which represents a Church, there are 2 groups of worshipers, the gold or silver which represents the faithful, and the wood or earth which represents the hypocrites or unfaithful.Many of us when we go to Church, we put on our best behavior just like our best silverware.Once we leave the Church, we go back to our old ways like our everyday silverware. So Paul is telling us to cleanse ourselves by shunning away from sin and have a Christian spirit by living a pure life,loving one another and teaching or guiding the younger Christians.

A skilled craftsman is one who does his work professionally without any flaws. So Paul is telling Timothy that when he preached, he should stick to the truth and do not waste time quarreling with others over the meaning of words.He reminded Timothy of his own situation and how some have deserted him and he urged Timothy to endure in spite of these difficulties. The first responsibility of a preacher is to please God and not men.No matter how unpalatable the message is, he is to preach the truth of the message and not what he thinks the people wants to hear.Many preachers today are preaching a feel good message.You feel good on leaving the Church but it leaves you spiritually dead.Only when you learn the Truth then you are really free.( Romans 8:32)

There have been many times in the past during a conversation someone will say some derogatory things about Christianity or Jesus and I will keep silent.I know this is wrong and signs of cowardice.I think I do this is because I don't want to create friction and lose a friend.This is due to weak faith and the way to remedy this is to spend more time with the Lord and his Word.The Bible said "if you are friend with the world,you are an enemy of God.I have now tried to socialize with non-believers and fellowship more with people of the same faith.

There are many causes for a person to allow the fire for the love of God to die.All we can do as fellow Christians is to show our love,encouragement,and to remind him of the special gifts that God had given him and the many souls that he can bring to the Lord with that special gifts.We can also refer him to Paul's words "crown of righteousness on the Lord's return.(Timothy 2 4:7-8).I will also encourage the person to take a sabbatical and spend some quiet time with the Lord and his Word to refresh himself.

The lure of money will always attract an audience.Con artist usually use the get-rich scheme to lure their victims.Some unscruplous preachers are using the same trick to fool the people.They tell them you reap what you sow and the more you reap the more you sow.People are asked to send money in to plant a seed and the more they sent the greater will be the harvest.

It is very important that we do not make a quick and hasty decision before we put someone in office.First,we have to look amongst the congregation to see if there is anyone qualified to hold that office.Once we have identified the candidate,we have to allow for some time to observe that his character is beyond reproach.Paul said in Titus 1:7 "For a bishop must be blameless as a steward of God ...." As the saying goes "You can't judge a book by its cover", so it's important that we put the right person that follow scripture teaching and not led the congregation on the wrong path.

The bible has made it abundantly clear that we should not denied the worker of his wages.There are many scripture verses on this.For example :Galatians 6:6, Leviticus 19:13,Deuteronomy 24:5-14.However, we need to be careful that the people we are paying are preaching the true gospel.Like in the Ephesian church where there were many false teachers,the same is true of many of the churches today.

Teaching the right doctrine will not produce godliness.It must produce fruit of the spirit within the congregation.The bible said in Peter 1:22 "you have purified yourself by obeying the truth,so that you have sincere love for your brother,love one another deeply from the heart".This love for one another must be extended to people new to the Church and people outside the Church.This picture of godliness is essential for the leader because the congregation is his flock and they will follow whatever the leader doe.

It is attractive to people because it makes them feel they are obedient to God and show the people around them that they are pious and holy.People who do that are simply being taught the wrong doctrine.The bible said in Ephesian 2:5-8 "For by grace are you saved through faith,and not of yourselves.It is a gift of God.Not of works,lest any man should boast".Isaiah in 64:6 said "all our rightousness are like filthy rags".So being legalistic and following all the rituals and traditions does not make a person a person spiritual.One has to constantly read the bible to know God's will.

Paul knew false prophets had already infiltrated the Church in Ephesus.He reminded Timothy of them and warned him to be on the lookout for these false teaching and to remain strong in his faith and continue to preach the truth.

Paul knew that there were serious arguments in the Ephesian church because of the controversies created by some of the false teaching.So here he is telling them to have a right attitude and a pure heart when they come to worship the Lord.Jesus said in Matthew 5:24 "first be reconcile with your brother,and then come and offer your gift".The phrase "lift up holy hands* mean leaving a godly life.You cannot come and worship with a unrepentant heart and expect God to hear you.

I agree fully with what ILOVEJESUS wrote.I couldn't say it better.This forum help me to get a better understanding of the scripture from various viewpoints.

We read in Timothy 1:15 that "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" and in Timothy 2:4 he wants " All men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the Truth".But this was not happening in Ephesus.Instead some of the Jewish leaders in the Church were teaching a different doctrine to the Gentile believers and making them follow the Jewish tradition of salvation which require the Gentile believers to be circumcised.

Timothy,as we know is a protege of Paul.In fact,Paul treat him like a son (Titus 1:4).He has followed Paul all over Asia Minor setting up churches and whilst Paul was in prison,Timothy continue to preach the Gospel.So Paul is reminding Timothy of the gift which the Holy spirit has given him and to continue to spread the faith in spite of mounting opposition from some of the Church leaders.He reminded Timothy not to be influenced or tempted by old wives stories but to remain true to the faith.