The world is watching to see if there is any difference between us and them. They are watching for two reasons. Some observe us because they are sincerely searching for some meaning to life, and they wonder if we have something that they don’t. Their hearts are open. If they observe hypocritical behavior, however, it convinces them that we are no different than anyone else in the world. And their conclusion is accurate.

Others watch us in hopes of discovering hypocrisy so that they can justify their own sin and continue in it. They think to themselves, “I’m better than Christians, because at least I’m not a hypocrite.” When professing Christians do what is right, however, it condemns those who watch. So they revel when they discover flaws in professing believers. Our sins are a salve for their guilt. Worse, our sins strengthen them in their sin.

How important it is that we live lives that mirror our profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ! The greatest hindrance to the gospel in the earth today is the church, the hypocritical church that is. Paul’s instructions regarding the behavior of professing believers is motivated, at least in part, by his concern “that the word of God not be dishonored” (2:5), and so that “the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us” (2:8).

For this reason, we should make it our goal to shame Christ-rejectors by our deeds. Twice in today’s chapter, and three times in the next chapter (2:7, 14; 3:1, 8, 14), Paul stresses how important it is that we be engaged in “good deeds.” In fact, Paul declares that the reason Jesus gave Himself for us was to “redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds” (2:14). God’s intention in the gospel was not just to forgive us, but to make us holy.

Holiness is indeed the major theme in today’s reading, and Paul hones in on specific behavior that is expected of older men, older women, young women, young men, Titus himself, and bondslaves (2:1-10). It is not that God has different standards for each of these groups, but that these groups each tend to face unique temptations because of their cultural roles. It is older women with time on their hands, for example, who are most likely to fall into the sin of gossip (2:3). Paul admonishes them to make use of their time by discipling younger women who can learn from their experience and wisdom.

How some women bristle when they read Paul’s words in 2:4, where he encourages younger women to “love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands.” Such women have been brainwashed (or better said, “brain-dirtied”) by the world into thinking that being a devoted wife and mother is ignoble. It is, however, a very honorable career, requiring the greatest virtue, servanthood. Keep in mind that in Paul’s day, there were no day-care centers at which mothers could drop off their children while they hurried off to earn a paycheck. The result was that mothers exerted great influence over their young children by virtue of their time together, and their children did not experience the negative socialization that comes from spending their days with groups of miniature cannibals!

Remember, “A scripture a day keeps Calvinism at bay,” and Paul does not disappoint us today. He wrote, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men” (2:11). God’s offer of saving mercy is offered to all, not just a selected few. Paul was not a Calvinist.

And is the grace that God is offering to all a grace that gives them license to sin? Is it so they can continue on their self-willed path while hiding behind the blood of Christ? No, Paul wrote that God’s grace instructs us “to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age” (2:12). That may not be the grace being proffered from many churches, but it is the only grace being offered from heaven!

It is thought that this letter was written some time after Paul’s trial before Nero and his subsequent acquittal, perhaps around AD 66, which would place it after the final chapter of Acts. Paul obviously continued traveling and ministering just as before his imprisonment, and after planting churches in Crete with Titus’ help, Paul left him behind to set things in order (1:5). Titus was a long-time, trusted co-worker of Paul’s, a Greek man, first mentioned as being with Paul when he journeyed to Jerusalem to submit his gospel to the scrutiny of Peter, James and John (Gal. 2:1-3).

In his very first sentence, Paul declared himself to be “an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God” (1:1). God has chosen to save people who repent and believe in Jesus, yet some would have us believe that He chooses to save people who would never, under any circumstances, repent or believe in Jesus, but whom He zaps against their wills and changes. They go from hating Him to loving Him, not because of yielding their free will under the influence of His drawing (a universal drawing which others resist), but solely because of His sovereign action that is directed only at the few whom He has pre-selected. As you realize by now, this is not what Scripture teaches. If it were true, it would make God unjust. If ten men were on death row for the same crimes, and the state chose to forgive and release one but not the others, they would rightfully accuse the state of injustice. That is what Calvinists claim God does.

Is there anything God cannot do? Yes! He cannot lie (1:2). He also cannot be tempted with evil, change, or deny Himself (Jas. 1:13; Mal. 3:6; 2 Tim. 2:13). I would be willing to bet that there are other things that He can’t do as well. Can He create another God equal to Himself? No, any created God could not be equal to Him, since He is not created! Can He foreknow the future final scores of football games that are never played? No, because there is nothing to foreknow.

Similarly to what he wrote in 1 Timothy, Paul lists the requirements for elders in today’s reading. Note that Paul uses the words elder (Greek: presbuteros) and overseer (Greek: episkopos) synonymously (1:5, 7). They identify the same ministry. Paul never mentioned pastors in either Titus or 1 Timothy, yet he told the elders (Acts 20:17) of Ephesus, whom he also called overseers (20:28) to “shepherd the church of God” (20:28). The Greek word translated “shepherd” there is poimaino, which is the verb form of the noun poimen, which is translated “pastor” only in Ephesians 4:11 and “shepherd” everywhere else it is found in the New Testament. For this reason, among others, it is safe to assume that pastors, elders and overseers are all the same. Thus we could say that Paul listed the requirements to be a pastor in Titus 1:6-9.

One requirement is that an elder/overseer/pastor not be “accused of dissipation,” which is defined as “a descent into drunkenness and sexual immorality.” Dissipation not only disqualifies one from being a leader of Christians, but also from being a Christian.

Elders/overseers/pastors must also not be “pugnacious,” which is defined as “being eager to argue, quarrel or fight.” Being pugnacious does not mean, however, that one is not eager to discuss true doctrine and expose what is false, as another requirement for church leaders is that they be able to “refute those who contradict” sound doctrine (1:9). Paul also instructed Titus to “severely reprove” those who accept false teaching (1:13).

False teachers were definitely making inroads into the young church in Crete. Paul refers to them as “rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers…who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain” (1:10-11). One false teacher, however, Paul agreed with at least in part, whom he quoted as saying, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” Paul elevated a well-known Cretan named Epimenides from poet to prophet for his accurate assessment of Cretan character!

The “double deception” that deludes so many professing Christians is this: First, they believe that they are saved when they actually are not; and second, they believe they can never lose what they actually don’t possess. Their doom is doubly sealed, often with the help of their pastor’s soothing sermons, and their only hope is if they will listen to what Scripture so plainly teaches. In today’s reading, Paul speaks of those who, in the pursuit of wealth, “wandered away from the faith” (6:10); and of those who, because they listened to false doctrine, had “gone astray from the faith” (6:21). Some attempt to persuade us that Paul was speaking of people who had previously been “considering” Christianity but who had never actually believed in Christ. If I said, however, “Joe Smith has wandered away or gone astray from faith in the Mormon church,” it would be quite safe to assume that at one time Joe Smith was a practicing Mormon.

Regarding false doctrine that has the potential to lead true Christians away from saving faith, Paul succinctly states two criteria whereby false doctrine can be identified. If teaching does not agree (1) with the words of Jesus, and (2) with the “doctrine conforming to godliness” (6:3), you can be sure it is false. Any teaching, for example, that leads you to think that we can gain heaven apart from holiness is false teaching, because it does not agree with the words of Jesus. Any teaching that leads you to think that it is impossible for you to forfeit your salvation is false teaching, because it does not agree with the words of Jesus.

As I already mentioned, Paul also warns how the love of money has the potential to pull true Christians away from the faith and “plunge men into ruin and destruction” (6:9-10). It was not “financial ruin” or “financial destruction” that Paul had in mind, but spiritual and eternal ruin and destruction. The remedy is to be content even if we only have food and covering (6:8).

Knowing that, we no longer need to wonder where to separate our “needs” from our “wants.” All we need is food and covering, and this agrees with the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in His Sermon on the Mount defined our needs as being those two things (Matt. 6:25-33), and who also warned that serving God and serving mammon are mutually exclusive of each other (Matt. 6:19-24). That fact alone reveals that it is possible for followers of Christ to forfeit their salvation. Is it possible for someone who is serving God to start serving mammon? If the answer is “yes,” then it is possible for a Christian to forfeit his salvation.

May I also add that Paul’s words to Timothy, “Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called” (6:12), are additional proof that ultimate salvation is not the guaranteed right of everyone who currently believes in Jesus. Clearly, Timothy, a saved man when Paul wrote to him, had the option to “take hold” or not “take hold” of the eternal life to which he was called. How does one “take hold” of the eternal life to which he was called? By pursuing “righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness” (6:11). And, according to Paul, those who have more than they need “take hold of that which is life indeed” by doing good, by being rich in good work, by being generous, and by storing up heavenly treasure (6:18-19).

Finally, may I point out that Paul’s words to Timothy to “take hold of the eternal life to which you were called” (6:12) are just one more nail in the coffin of Calvinism, which I’m sure you were hoping I might not mention for at least one day. (My motto, however is: “A scripture a day keeps Calvinism at bay!”) Calvinists claim that God only calls those whom He has pre-selected for salvation, drawing them with an irresistible grace. Thus, everyone who is called by God is supposedly guaranteed to be eternally saved. Timothy, however, was called to eternal life, yet unless he took hold of it, he would not obtain it.

You don’t have to be putting churches in order to benefit from the wisdom in today’s reading. It is always wise to treat those who are older than yourself with due respect, even if you have been given some authority over them. Thus it is foolish to “sharply rebuke an older man” (5:1) and wise to treat “older women as mothers” (5:2). And for single men, like Timothy, it is also wise to treat “younger women as sisters, in all purity” (5:2).

Certain widows were supported by the early church, but keep in mind that the large majority of widows in Paul’s day would have been just like those in undeveloped countries today, having no income, savings, or life insurance settlements. Most widows in the modern Western world are living like queens in comparison. In any case, Paul lays down some wise rules regarding which widows should and should not be supported by the church’s charity. Again, most modern widows in the wealthy Western world do not meet Paul’s requirements.

First, and naturally, if a widow has children or grandchildren, they should be supporting her, not the church (5:4). If they don’t, they prove their profession of faith in Christ to be bogus, and they are “worse than unbelievers” (5:8).

Second, only genuine Christian widows whose daily lives and continual prayers validate their faith should be supported (5:5).

Third, only widows sixty years and older are to be helped by the church, presumably because those younger are generally strong enough to earn their own living (5:9).

Fourth, only those widows who have lived a consistent Christian life of service to their husbands, children, strangers and saints, “devoting themselves to every good work,” should be supported (5:9-10). They have served the church, and so the church should feel obligated to serve them in return.

Fifth, it appears that these widows were required to make a pledge to remain unmarried so that they could continue to serve the church (5:11-12). For this reason, younger widows were not permitted to be added to the list of those supported by the church, as they might “feel sensual desires in disregard of Christ” and “set aside their previous pledge” when they married once again (5:11-12). Paul is also concerned that younger widows who are receiving the church’s support will take advantage of it, and rather than being spiritually productive, they will be enabled to waste their time in ungodly activities, which might ultimately lead to their spiritual destruction (5:13-15). If only our government would be so wise as to not enable irresponsibility by its handouts!

So Paul wants younger widows to be motivated to marry and keep busy in their domestic responsibilities. “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.” Incidentally, Paul’s somber words about young widows who formerly served Christ, but who “turned aside to follow Satan”(5:15), is one more proof that there is no such thing as unconditional eternal security.

The church also supported the elders who served it, and Paul reminds Timothy that those who serve well in preaching and teaching should be proportionately honored (5:17).

Why did Paul instruct Timothy to “use a little wine for the sake of his stomach and his frequent ailments” (5:23) rather than instruct him to pray for healing? Notice that Paul first said, “No longer drink water exclusively.” Obviously, Timothy was breaking the first rule of all traveling missionaries: “Don’t drink the water!” Although people generally acquire an immunity to the bacteria in their local water, outsiders will find that their first drink results in some rather unpleasant symptoms. Wine, however, is clear of the local bacteria, and it also provides a medicinal effect upon a sick stomach.

Divine healing does not nullify the need to practice hygiene and the laws of health. If you are a true servant of Christ and you find yourself sick, it is wise to question if you are violating some natural law. It is scientific fact that most of the diseases that kill Americans, for example, are the direct result of their unhealthy eating habits. They are committing slow suicide. I recommend reading Eat to Live by Dr. Fuhrman in that regard.

Paul’s words, “In the later times some will fall away from the faith” (4:1), clearly indicate that it is possible to “fall away from the faith.” In order to fall away from the faith, one must first be “in the faith.” If I said, “Mr. Smith fell away from his belief in communism,” that would indicate that Mr. Smith at one time believed in communism.

Moreover, Paul wrote that the reason some will fall away from the faith is because they pay attention to “deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons” (4:1). Those who were never in the faith in the first place have always been paying attention to demonic doctrines.

All this being so, we would be wise to guard ourselves from being influenced by anything that might pull us away from our faith in Christ. In reality, we need not concern ourselves with demons, but with the human agents whom those demons use to attempt to pull us away. Paul described them as hypocritical liars, “seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron” (4:2). They are, foremost, unholy, yet they are also hypocrites, preaching what they don’t personally practice. Thus, in order for us to judge them, we must be able to observe and know them, which is essentially impossible in our age of media ministries and mega-churches. So even greater caution is advised! Beware of TV preachers!

Those demonic human agents who deceive the unsuspecting may appear to be quite committed in their devotion to Christ. Paul mentions that some may “forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods” (4:3), impressing their followers with the self-denial which they advocate or even practice. Self-denial is, of course, the essence of following Christ. We should beware, however, of those who deny themselves what God intended for us to enjoy, such as food (4:3), yet indulge in that from which God intended us to abstain.

I feel I must mention that when Paul wrote this letter to Timothy, there was basically no such thing as processed food. Sugar and white flour, for example, were unheard of. People ate food that God created in its natural form, not food that man had stripped of its God-given nutrients and then chemically altered. Junk food is not what Paul had in mind when he wrote, “Everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer” (4:4-5). Try praying, “Lord, bless this poison,” and see how He answers!

“Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness” (4:7). Both experience and Scripture teach us that if we want to be godly, self-discipline is required. Holy people are holy because they want to be holy, and they take action to reach their goal, just as physically fit people are fit because they want to be physically fit, and they take action to reach their goal. Imagine a coach exhorting his team, “This season, we are not going to work out or practice, lest we foolishly try to get in shape in our own strength, and rob God of glory! This season we are simply going to ‘Let go and let God!’ This isn’t about ‘works’ or self-effort, which would doom us to failure. No, this is all about grace!”

Sounds ludicrous, doesn’t it? Yet we’ve probably all heard sermons about holiness that parallel similar logic.

“But I’m just not a self-disciplined person!” some claim as their excuse. The real problem is with desire. If we want something enough, we will do what it takes to get it. So Paul admonished Timothy to “take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all” (4:15).

Jesus “is the Savior of all men, especially of believers” (4:10). Why then do Calvinists claim that Jesus only died for a limited number of people whom God allegedly pre-selected for salvation? If that were true, how is Jesus in any sense, as Paul says, the Savior of unbelievers—for whom He supposedly did not die—those unfortunate folks allegedly destined from eternity for damnation?

Should we pray for “kings and all who are in authority” (2:1-2) even if they are unbelieving, corrupt politicians? In light of the ungodly character of those in governmental authority in Paul’s day—of whom we read about in the book of Acts—the answer must be “yes.” The result of our prayers can be “that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity” (2:2). We can not only pray for leaders, we can elect them! Cast your vote for the most righteous candidates, because “When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when a wicked man rules, people groan” (Prov. 29:2).

The result of our being able to lead “a tranquil and quiet life” is that the gospel can be spread more freely, which is a good thing, since God “desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (2:4), and people must hear the gospel to be saved. Hostile governmental authorities are perhaps the greatest hindrance to the gospel around the world. Imagine what would happen, for example, if there was true freedom of religion in the Muslim nations.

Once again we see that Scripture stands in complete contrast to the cardinal Calvinist doctrine that God desires only a few, pre-selected people be saved. Paul believed that God desires “all men to be saved” (2:4). This verse also stands in complete contrast to the Calvinist theory that, “because God is sovereign, everything He desires, He gets.” That is utterly false, and anyone who reads any part of the Bible should realize that when it comes to the free-will decisions of the majority of human beings, God rarely gets what He desires.

Moreover, the cardinal Calvinist doctrine that Jesus died only for a very limited number of people—those allegedly predestined to be saved—is also debunked today. Paul declares that Jesus “gave Himself as ransom for all” (2:6). The “all” of which Paul writes in 2:6 is the same “all” of whom he wrote in 2:4, the “all” whom God desires to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. All of this is unmistakably clear.

Is Jesus the only way to heaven, or are there “many ways to God”? Do other religions simply offer a different path to the same God? The answer is that God has provided only “one mediator between God and men” (2:5), the solitary God-man, the only sacrifice for our sins, Jesus Christ. True Christians are very close-minded on this matter, and they can afford to be close-minded, because they are correct!

Paul wrote specific instructions to men and women in this chapter, and his words, “I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man” (2:12), have been the subject of controversy. To make his point, Paul appeals to the order of creation (2:13) and the record of fall, during which time Eve, not Adam, was deceived (2:14). Because there is no specific Greek word that is equivalent to the English word wife, context must be used to determine if the best translation of the Greek word gune should be “woman” or “wife.”

In this passage, I think “wife” would be a better translation, because Paul appeals to the relationship between Adam and Eve, a husband and wife, for his reasoning. Additionally, in other passages, both Paul and Peter instruct wives to be subject to their husbands (Eph. 5:22; Col. 3:18; 1 Pet. 3:1). So is Paul teaching in this passage that all women must be submissive to all men, and is he forbidding any and all women from teaching any and all men? I don’t think so, especially in light of the fact that God has, at times, appointed women to teach or exercise authority over men, as in the cases of Deborah, judge of Israel (Judg. 4:4-24), and Huldah, a prophetess (2 Kings 22:13-20), not to mention Jesus’ instructions to the women at His tomb to go and give instructions to the apostles (Mark 16:7). When looking for truth, we must take the whole Bible into consideration, not just one or two verses.

When we read, just a few days ago, the opening sentence of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, we learned that the early churches were served by overseers (Greek: episkopos) and deacons (Greek: diakonos), the latter of which is more literally translated “servants.” There were no “deacon boards” in Paul’s day who ran the affairs of the church. Deacons served in various capacities, such as in administrating assistance to the poor, while it was the overseers (who are synonymous with elders and pastors; see, for example, Acts 20:17, 28) who shepherded the flocks under their care. Timothy was apparently selecting men in Ephesus to serve as overseers, and he was selecting men and women (3:8-13) to serve as deacons. So Paul listed the qualifications that Timothy should require of potential candidates. Obviously not every believer qualified, which is one more indication that all true Christians have not reached sinless perfection, as some tell us.

Any time I read the qualifications Paul lists for one to be an overseer, I am reminded of how much the church has drifted from its original pattern. Note that the majority of the qualifications Paul listed have to do with the candidate’s character, and nothing to do with his education, charisma, or ability to deliver interesting sermons (three things that seem to be essential qualifications for pastors in most churches today). The reason is because a biblical overseer/elder/pastor is a disciple-maker, and he teaches primarily by the example that he sets before the members of his little flock. They are all well-acquainted with him and should strive to imitate him (1 Cor. 4:16; 11:1; Eph. 5:1. 1 Thes. 1:6; Heb. 13:7). They likely meet in a house, and in fact, one of the requirements for overseers is that they must manage their own households well (3:4), because managing a church is so similar.

Paul wrote that elders must be “free from the love of money” (3:3), which indicates that love of money is something that can be observed and judged by one’s actions, and thus it is not just an attitude of the heart as is so often claimed. To be more specific, Timothy could, by observing how people gained and used money, righteously judge if they loved it or not. Those who spent all their time working to gain it, or who gained it by unscrupulous means, or who used what they gained to pile up additional earthly treasures rather than lay up treasures in heaven revealed their love of money. If the love of money were only an attitude of the heart, there would have been no way for Timothy to determine if potential candidates for overseers were qualified.

Like overseers, deacons were required to be men and women of holiness, who maintained a “clear conscience” (3:9). Both overseers and deacons should first be tested to make certain they are “beyond reproach” before they were put into their positions of ministry (3:10). Thus we see the repeated emphasis on the necessity of holiness required of those who will minister to the body of Christ. The simple reason is that true Christianity is all about faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and obedience to His commandments. Without holiness, one is not qualified to serve in ministry. Many who are called to ministry disqualify themselves because of their character flaws. Those flaws keep some from entering ministry, yet God will still hold them accountable for their calling. And those flaws are often the undoing of those who are already in ministry, and they find themselves expelled from the very thing God called them to. How tragic this is. Yet, if in either case there is repentance, grace can be found and lost opportunity can be regained.

Those who “have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus” (3:13). As one is established in holiness and bears more fruit, a benefit is that one’s assurance of salvation increases. It is those who “ride the fence,” dabbling in sin and worldliness, who are always wondering if they are truly saved. Not so for the committed!

It is commonly thought that Paul wrote this letter to Timothy after his trial before Nero and his subsequent acquittal, which means it was written after the events recorded in the final chapter of Acts. If so, Paul and Timothy would have been closely associated for at least 12 years when Paul wrote this letter to him. (Remember that Paul named Timothy as co-sender of six of his letters: 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians and Philemon). Both Paul and Timothy had been ministering once again in Ephesus, but Paul moved on to Macedonia, leaving Timothy behind to tend to the needs of the growing Ephesian church (1:3). How amazed Paul would have been to know that his private letter to Timothy would eventually be printed in hundreds of millions of books in many of the world’s languages and read by countless people during the next 2,000 years!

Of greatest concern to Paul was false teaching that was infiltrating the Ephesian church. Like most “strange doctrines” (1:3), this particular strain pulled its pupils away from what was most important, namely, obedience to the commandments of Christ (1:5). Apparently the false teachers’ focus was upon “myths and endless genealogies” (1:4), which did nothing to engender what God desired, which is “love from a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith” (1:5). How much of modern preaching and teaching engenders what God desires?

The false teachers in Ephesus were apparently taking their texts from the Mosaic Law (1:7), which makes us wonder if Timothy found himself battling the Jewish legalists once again. Paul affirms that the Law is good, yet it was not written for righteous followers of Christ, but instead for rebels, to lead them to repentance (1:8-11). This is just one more indication that true Christians are those who have repented and who are now on the path of holiness. If this were not the case, Paul would not have written that the Law was only relevant to rebels and irrelevant to the righteous.

Along these lines, Paul recalls the time when he himself was a rebel who needed the Law’s conviction to lead him to repentance and faith in Christ. He was, in his own estimation, the “foremost” of sinners, being a former “blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor” (1:13). But the mercy God granted him in Christ was more than sufficient, not only to forgive him for his crimes, but to put him into valuable service. Imagine forgiving your worst enemy and then making him the president of your multi-national company! That is what God did for Paul. And He did so, at least in part, to demonstrate His “perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life” (1:16). If God would forgive Paul and put him into service, He will also do those things for you. Amazing grace! “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1:15).

This amazing grace, however, is not given to us as a veil behind which we can continue sinning out of God’s sight. And for this reason Paul admonishes Timothy to “keep faith and a good conscience” (1:19). Others, who at one time had possessed both, had rejected them, and “suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith” (1:19). It is amazing to me that theologians and Bible teachers can read such verses and still cling to the concept of “once-saved-always-saved.”

Paul specifically names two men whom Timothy apparently knew, Hymenaeus and Alexander, who were prime examples of the very thing of which Paul was warning against. If one does not “keep faith and a good conscience,” that means he previously possessed faith and a good conscience. Hymenaeus and Alexander were now apparently blaspheming, and thus deserved to be “handed over to Satan” (1:20). Whatever that means, it also indicates that Hymenaeus and Alexander were previously on the right path, because there would have been no reason for Paul to “hand over to Satan” those who had never escaped Satan’s captivity, as is the case of all unregenerate people.

Anxiety flees from a heart that trusts God. But who among us finds it easy to trust the Lord when our circumstances are tempting us to doubt? So we must do something to overcome our worries and doubts, and Paul offers some great advice in that regard.

First, “Rejoice in the Lord always” (4:4). Regardless of what we’re enduring, we always have much for which to rejoice. We’re on the road to heaven! Rejoicing is faith in action.

Second, “In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (4:6). Thanksgiving is the key. Faith-filled prayers are full of thanksgiving.

Third, monitor your thought life and determine to dwell upon only those things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, excellent, and worthy of praise (4:8). Grumpy, negative people are the product of grumpy, negative thoughts! Positive thinking is powerful!

Doing those three things is a sure recipe for experiencing “the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension,” which “guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (4:7). Our journey is supposed to be a joyful, peaceful one.

One other ingredient in Paul’s recipe for peace is found in 4:9: “The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” Peace is the possession of those who do the will of God. And isn’t it interesting that, while many modern ministers say, “Don’t follow me; follow Christ,” Paul encouraged everyone to practice what they saw him do? He similarly wrote to the Corinthians, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1). That is the motto of every disciple-making minister.

As Paul closed his letter, he expressed his gratitude for the offering he had just received from the Philippians via their messenger, Epaphroditus. As those who believed the gospel, the Philippian Christians naturally wanted to help the person whom God used to bring the gospel to them and who was taking the gospel to others. What a privilege it is to “participate in the gospel” (1:5) by supporting God’s messengers!

Paul made it clear that, although he “rejoiced in the Lord greatly” when he received their gift, it wasn’t because he was in great need (4:11), although he admitted to having an “affliction” (4:14). His joy had more to do with the fact that the Philippians were laying up heavenly treasures, or as he beautifully said it, “Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account” (4:17).

Even prior to the arrival of Epaphroditus, Paul was content in his circumstance by the power of Christ (4:11, 13). He had learned to “get along with humble means” as well as “live in prosperity” (4:12).

Of course, when he referred to being periodically prosperous, he did not mean that there were times when he lived in lavish luxury and self-indulgence. That would make him a hypocrite, since he had instructed the Philippians to “do nothing from selfishness” (2:3) and so on. Paul more clearly defined the periodic prosperity he enjoyed in verse 12. When he was prosperous, he was “filled” rather than “hungry.” When he was prosperous, he had “abundance,” that is, more than he needed, contrasted with when he found himself “suffering need.” As a result of the Philippians’ offering, he was now again enjoying “abundance” and was “amply supplied” (4:18). Obviously, he did not mean that he could now live in luxury like a modern prosperity preacher, since he was under house arrest when he wrote those words. Yet Paul considered himself prosperous even under such circumstances.

The gift sent by the Philippians was sacrificially given and “well-pleasing to God” (4:18). Because the Philippians had “sought first God’s kingdom” (Matt. 6:33), Paul was quite confident that God would keep His promise to supply all their needs “according to His riches in glory” (4:19). The only Christians who can rightfully claim that God will supply all their needs are those who, like the Philippian believers, are givers. I hope you are in that category!

Philippi was not off the radar for Paul’s old nemeses, the Jewish legalists, who wanted to line up Gentile believers for circumcision and put them under the Mosaic Law. Thus Paul admonished believers in Philippi to “beware of false circumcision,” and reminded them that they were the “true circumcision” (3:2-3). The difference between the two groups is that the former had been physically circumcised and trusted in that, along with their physical lineage and limited law-keeping, to make them right before God. They were hopeless, condemned sinners who were making a pathetic attempt to save themselves. The latter, however, had their confidence in Christ, who made them righteous by means of His substitutionary death and a circumcision of their hearts. They had been saved by faith in Him.

Paul was a perfect example of the former who had become the latter. He had all the credentials that the Jewish legalists could boast of and more, yet he considered it all rubbish, or literally “dung,” in comparison to what he had gained in Christ (3:7-8). He had tossed aside his reputation, his career, and his social standing within Judaism, all with no regrets. What he had gained compared to what he lost was of no comparison, and the same is true for anything that we have given up to gain Christ. We have found “the treasure hidden in the field” (Matt. 13:44)! Anytime anyone moans about what they have forsaken or lost to become a Christian, it reveals a glaring lack of understanding. They insult Christ by their grumblings—as if what they’ve gained in Him is hardly worth what they have lost—which is no doubt why God is so offended when His people grumble.

It was not just being made righteous and the hope of heaven that Paul counted as a benefit of salvation by grace through faith. Just as importantly, he recognized the wonderful benefit of knowing Christ, and of identifying with Him in His sufferings, death and resurrection. Believers in Christ are rejected by the world just as Jesus was. They, just like Christ, die to the world and all that previously captivated and held them. And they are reborn, resurrected like Christ, to walk a new path in obedience to God.

This resurrection is an on-going experience. Speaking of it, Paul wrote, “Not that I have already obtained it [the resurrection from the dead] or have already become perfect” (3:12). Figuratively speaking, we are progressively becoming more and more resurrected, as we walk a new life and grow closer to perfection, fully obedient to God. This requires that we, like Paul, “press on,” in order that we “may lay hold of that for which [we were] laid hold of by Jesus” (3:12). That is, Jesus laid hold of us to make us holy, and we must cooperate with Him on our journey to that goal. All true believers are following an “upward call” with their eyes on a prize (3:14). (I wrote a song about that once that you can listen to here: www.heavensfamily.org/songs/lead_me_higher.)

Tragically, some who begin on this journey don’t finish it, straying from the path of sanctification. Paul sadly mentions some of them who, having followed Christ at one time, had ultimately become “enemies of the cross…whose end is destruction” (3:18-19). Here we see again that the idea of unconditional eternal security is only a man-made doctrine that contradicts Scripture.

Those who had strayed had allowed the desires of the flesh to dominate their lives once again, and they began to seek after “earthly things” rather than remaining dead to the world. Thus we are well warned to be diligent to seek continually that which is spiritual and heavenly, remembering that we are citizens, not of this world, but of heaven, where our Lord Jesus Christ lives. He will soon return and finish the good work He began in us, giving us glorified bodies and transforming us fully into His image (3:18-21).

The allure of the world and the flesh can be deadly! Don’t allow either to pull you away from the path of righteousness! “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth” (Col. 3:2).