the tindog coffeehouse

Last week I wrote about my, um, “difficult” neighbors, the ones who hang out in their driveway at night getting drunk, spewing obscenities, and bringing down the rest of the neighborhood’s property values. And I also mentioned how poorly I had handled myself around them.

The good news — if you want to call it that — is that I’m not the first Christian to make a complete fool out of myself. And really, compared to people like Pat Robertson or Fred Phelps, my overreaction was extremely minor. Nevertheless, it wasn’t right, and as I said, I don’t want to live that way anymore.

Timothy, a young pastor in first-century Ephesus, ran into a similar situation. Even though the Christian church there had been growing, some within the church had veered away from the Gospel and had started teaching things that weren’t in line with Scripture. It would’ve been easy for Timothy to go off on them, to fight fire with fire, and in all likelihood he had every right to do so. But Paul had different ideas.

Yes, Timothy had a responsibility as the pastor to confront the false teachers, but Paul made it clear that the goal of such a confrontation must be love, “which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:5). It wasn’t about who was right and who was wrong. It wasn’t about winning an argument or proving that Timothy was better than them. It was about showing them love. That didn’t mean excusing their behavior, which is often the case in many politically correct churches today. But it didn’t mean shouting at them that they’re all going to hell either.

So what did that love look like?

Paul explains that even though he was a “a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (vv. 13-14, emphasis mine). He goes on to say, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners — of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life” (vv. 15-16, emphasis mine).

Mercy. Abundant grace. Unlimited patience. The faith and love that comes from the Holy Spirit through Christ. That was Christ’s response to Paul, and it was to be Timothy’s response to those who had “shipwrecked their faith”.

And it should be my response as well.

Previously:
You obviously haven’t met my neighbors