August 20, 2015 THE GOAL OF INSTRUCTION
1 Timothy 1:5: “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”
2 Thessalonians 3:4-5: “And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will continue to do what we command. And may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.”
We have just three things to attain: love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.” The word of God is neither burdensome nor complicated, but rather it is liberating and not difficult to understand. I don’t know about you, but I like to keep things simple and doable, and certainly the instructions in these three verses is just that. The Apostle Paul was a brilliant, highly educated man who could debate and stand his ground with the most educated of his day; however, Paul preached the message of the simplicity that is found in Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3). Man, apart from God, is incomplete and is on a constant search for a sense of fulfillment, a fulfillment that is found only in Christ. Man’s search for completeness leads him down many dead end paths and life becomes unfulfilled and complicated. The beauty of the gospel is that it brings to us what we could not find on our own. As much as he may try and as sincere as he may be, man by his own doings cannot gain a pure heart. However, when one is born again, God gives him or her a new heart and the heart He gives is a pure heart. The new heart we get resembles the heart of our Father and it’s a heart of love. Because of the new heart given to us, we can now express a love that is not based on selfish motives. When we live out of our new heart, the deeds we do and the thoughts we have are righteous, and by living a life that expresses righteousness, we have a good conscience. Also, our new heart is grounded in a “sincere faith” because the new heart we have, has its trust in God. The sobering truth is that as believers, we can choose to not live according to our new heart and revert back to the old heart we use to have. In 1 Peter 1:14 we read: “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lust which were yours in your ignorance.” The word “conformed” refers to the fact that we have been “formed” into something new; and the word “were” refers to the person we use to be. We can now live and walk in a new way as we see in Romans 6:4: “we too might walk in newness of life.” There is a connection between obeying God and knowing God as we discussed in my previous blog. With a heart to follow the teachings of scripture, God will continue to direct our hearts into the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ. The gospel IS good news for you and I and by the gospel, we can live in peace, we can express love, we can forgive, we can have faith, we can experience joy, we can live free of doubt and fear—we can be all that God designed us to be- it’s not complicated.
Isaiah 26:3 “Thou will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work,”
1 John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”
Blessings,
Buddy
1 Timothy 1:5: “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”
2 Thessalonians 3:4-5: “And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will continue to do what we command. And may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.”
We have just three things to attain: love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.” The word of God is neither burdensome nor complicated, but rather it is liberating and not difficult to understand. I don’t know about you, but I like to keep things simple and doable, and certainly the instructions in these three verses is just that. The Apostle Paul was a brilliant, highly educated man who could debate and stand his ground with the most educated of his day; however, Paul preached the message of the simplicity that is found in Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3). Man, apart from God, is incomplete and is on a constant search for a sense of fulfillment, a fulfillment that is found only in Christ. Man’s search for completeness leads him down many dead end paths and life becomes unfulfilled and complicated. The beauty of the gospel is that it brings to us what we could not find on our own. As much as he may try and as sincere as he may be, man by his own doings cannot gain a pure heart. However, when one is born again, God gives him or her a new heart and the heart He gives is a pure heart. The new heart we get resembles the heart of our Father and it’s a heart of love. Because of the new heart given to us, we can now express a love that is not based on selfish motives. When we live out of our new heart, the deeds we do and the thoughts we have are righteous, and by living a life that expresses righteousness, we have a good conscience. Also, our new heart is grounded in a “sincere faith” because the new heart we have, has its trust in God. The sobering truth is that as believers, we can choose to not live according to our new heart and revert back to the old heart we use to have. In 1 Peter 1:14 we read: “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lust which were yours in your ignorance.” The word “conformed” refers to the fact that we have been “formed” into something new; and the word “were” refers to the person we use to be. We can now live and walk in a new way as we see in Romans 6:4: “we too might walk in newness of life.” There is a connection between obeying God and knowing God as we discussed in my previous blog. With a heart to follow the teachings of scripture, God will continue to direct our hearts into the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ. The gospel IS good news for you and I and by the gospel, we can live in peace, we can express love, we can forgive, we can have faith, we can experience joy, we can live free of doubt and fear—we can be all that God designed us to be- it’s not complicated.
Isaiah 26:3 “Thou will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work,”
1 John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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