1 Timothy

I am not Amish. However, from what I know about the Amish, they have a reputation for being righteous people. They live by rules designed for a different time and a different place than I live. Therefore, I do not believe I have to follow the same rules they follow to be right with Christ.

As I have stated before, rules are a cultural and temporal application of principles. The principles of godly living do not change, because the principles of right relationships do not change. Jesus summed it up when he said, “…do to others what you would have them do to you.” The principle is unchanging, but culture and time determine what constitutes right action.

Paul wrote to Timothy to give him guidance on pastoring the church at Ephesus. Paul told Timothy what would be right for him to do under the circumstances, the time, and culture he was living in. Because I do not live in Ephesus, less than 100 years after the birth of Christ, in a culture dominated by Greek philosophy, many of the rules that Paul gives Timothy defining right action by a pastor will not apply to me. Anyone who wants to pretend they are still living 1900 years ago in a land far away as part of a church that had existed for less than 100 years should follow Timothy literally. That is definitely not me.

However, that does not mean I can ignore what Paul wrote; it means I have to work to discover the principles that guided Paul’s directions to Timothy. It is not enough to know what actions Paul told Timothy were righteous; I have to seek to understand the underlying principles that made them righteous. After all, principles do not change.

People like rules, because rules make life simpler. If our rules are going to result in righteous living, we must ground them in right principles. Our task is to discover the principles behind Paul’s rules and determine how to apply them today.