In All Purity - June 25 Readings: 1 Timothy 5:1-6:2

Today’s Readings

Context

One of the frustrating things about the New Testament is that often things were clear in that context and so they were not clearly explained. For instance, in today's passage, Paul talks about some kind of registry of widows. What is it? Timothy knew, so Paul didn't explain. We don't know and are left to speculate.

What is clear is that respect and holiness were key elements in the life of the early church and Paul admonished Timothy to live these things out daily. 

Devotional - In All Purity

Three simple words struck me in this reading today. In 1 Timothy 5:1-2, Paul gives his apprentice a series of instructions about how to deal with various people. The older men are to be shown respect as if they were fathers and encouraged in the faith, the younger men treated as brothers. The older women were to receive respect as mothers and the younger women were to be treated as sisters.

The church is a family and we must walk in unity and fellowship, sharing our lives and hearts with one another. But there is a problem with that; one Paul seemed to understand. We are not actually family. And when you share your heart and your life with others, when relationships grow deep and friendships blossom, there are times that temptations can also grow.

• How many pastors or church leaders have shipwrecked their ministries when they "counseled" a troubled sister and that relationship grew too close?
• How often has a friendship between a brother and sister in Christ crossed that line? 

The intimacy of Christian fellowship drives us so close in relationships that we are sometimes tempted to cross that line of propriety and Paul's last words in verse 2 come into play.

...in all purity. 

It is far too often that the stories circulate of another pastor or church leader who has "fallen" and most of the time the sin takes place with one of those spiritual family members. There is a growing movement in the church today that says we've made too big a deal over sexual matters. We've shamed people, heaped guilt on them, set ridiculous and old-fashioned standards.

But for Paul there is only one standard in the church of Jesus Christ and it is a high one. It is not just purity, but "all purity." We are called to walk the path of sexual and moral chastity and fidelity in the church. It must not reflect the world's values or standards, but the righteousness of God.

Because of the spiritual intimacy that comes from fellowship in Christ, from being part of the family of God, we must be constantly on guard and vigilant in maintaining "all purity" in the church. We must walk in mental purity, verbal purity, relational purity, and moral purity.

Father, cleanse my heart and make it pure. Help me to see temptation coming before it traps me. May I always be put in Christ. 

Think and Pray

Are you walking in "all purity" in your relationships within the body of Christ?
Are you careful to maintain boundaries and structures to protect your purity?