Good morning and welcome.

On Sunday mornings, we're going through the Bible, verse by verse, book by book, chapter

by chapter.

We two weeks ago completed the book of Second Thessalonians, and we started in First Timothy

last week. Today we are going to be

in chapter 1 and our text is going to be verses 3 through 11. I'll ask you to turn there.

And for those of you that are here, if you're able, I'll ask you to stand. You can follow along

as I read the text. If not, where you're seated is fine. The Apostle Paul

by the Holy Spirit is writing to Timothy, a young pastor, and says, verse 3, as I urged you

when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people

not to teach false doctrines any longer, or, verse four, to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies.

Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God's work, which is by faith.

The goal of this command is love, which comes from

a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some, verse 6, have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk.

They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about,

or what they so confidently affirm. We know that the law is good if one uses it properly.

We also know that the law is made not for the righteous, but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful,

the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers,

for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and

liars and perjurers, and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms

to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God which He entrusted to me.

Let's pray if you would join with me. We'll ask God's blessing on our understanding.

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