Mr. D's Notes on I Timothy
Rev. Stanley L. Derickson Ph.D.
Copyright 2000

CHAPTER 5

When we were in Wyoming, we lived about 50 miles north of Cheyenne and about 40 miles from any other town. The roads between were long and very empty. Many were the times when we would be plugging along at the speed limit and we would be passed by cars, pickups, and jeeps traveling at 80-90 miles per hour.

Naturally there were never any state patrolmen around when this happened - well almost never. One night we were headed to town and a pickup zipped past us and we had our usual conversation about there not being any police in the area. As we topped the next hill, we saw this same vehicle pulled over with a state trooper writing him a ticket. As we traveled on down the road, I noticed that the pickup pulled back onto the road and the trooper did a U-turn and headed back south.

You guessed it as soon as the officer was out of sight the guy went ripping around us as before. One of us commented that it would be neat if there was another officer near Torrington that would catch him again - the other mentioned that there was no way that could happen.

Just outside Torrington there is huge curve with a railroad track crossing in the middle. There was the pickup with another officer doing business with the driver!

You see the law is good when it is applied (in America it isn't applied anywhere enough) but our laws are good!

Paul knows this was true of God's law as well.

8 But we know that the law [is] good, if a man use it lawfully;

Paul says to Timothy - we know or we perceive the law is good, if a man use it lawfully.

The statement is open ended in that the phrase "if a man use it lawfully" is what is called a third class condition - maybe he will and maybe he won't. Clearly the pickup driver did not know how to use the law.

Clearly the law can be used properly as it was in the Old Testament to bring the Israelites to God, or it can be misused as it was at Ephesus. The false teachers were not using the law well - they were using it improperly and they were holding their teaching up as truth, when they didn't really know what they were talking about. In truth they were using the law for a purpose never intended.

The first item is that the "law is good,” and naturally it must be good for it came from God! It is only good however if it is used properly.

It seems a tad dumb for Paul to tell Timothy that the law is good since indeed, it came from God in the first place. Most feel this statement was for Paul's detractors more than for Timothy or even the Christian reader of the ages. He didn't want to get nailed to the wall by someone that was looking for a chance to point a finger at him.

Paul does not elaborate on the phrase "if a man use it lawfully" so we should probably relate this to the context - the thought of NOT teaching the law without understanding it - as has been the case of the false teachers.

The question is this, what law are we talking about?

The Mosaic Law? Probably. There is little question of this among commentators, but there are some that believe that it speaks of the ceremonial law - the sacrifices etc., while others hold that it speaks of the moral law - the "thou shalt nots." The later seems to be the wiser choice since that is the immediate context that we are about to see.

Let's read verses 6-9

6 From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling;
7 Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.
8 But we know that the law [is] good, if a man use it lawfully;
9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners,

The men wanted to teach the law in verse seven. It is indicated to me that they wanted to teach the law to the believers at Ephesus and put the people under the law and its many rules.

Paul is telling Timothy that they don't understand the law if that is what they are trying to do. MacArthur puts it this way: "It is bad enough to be ignorant, but they were dogmatic about their ignorance." (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary I Timothy; p 21; Moody Press, Chicago; 1995)

The law is for two things. One is just as the text states. It is for the unrighteous. It is used to judge them before God. The second use of the law was to bring the lost to God. It is a schoolmaster to draw us to the gospel. As we realize that we can't fulfill the law and we realize how sinful we are, then we turn to the free gift of the gospel with a real understanding that salvation is not in keeping or doing, but in accepting.

To illustrate this thought we might just look to our own speed limit laws. I normally drive the speed limit. I seldom speed. I never am stopped for speeding - the speed limits weren't set for me. They were set for the group of people that drive pickups too fast in Wyoming - they drive with the pedal to the metal. They are the ones that have the law applied to them.

It is not that I am exempt from the speed limit - all I have to do is speed and it will certainly be for me!

Ray Stedman quotes the following from a magazine article (no foot noting was given) "Laws, rules and regulations define social morality. They are often very little help in the growth of personal morality. The reason for this is not hard to understand. A law may prevent me from robbing my neighbor, but no law can prevent me from coveting his possessions and thinking of new and devious ways of making them mine. A law can discourage me, if not prevent me, from abandoning my wife and children, but it cannot stop me from making them miserable. A law can inhibit me from knifing an enemy, but it can do nothing if I merely hate him and make him feel my hate. The law, in short, can regulate my behavior, within certain limits. It cannot cleanse my mind, nor purify my heart, nor neutralize the poison of my worst intentions." What the law couldn't do the Gospel can!

The law is good, but it is limited in what it can do!

I would like to show you from the Old Testament just how good the law is. Turn to Exodus 34.1 "And the Lord said to Moses, "Cut two tablets of stone like the first [ones], and I will write on [these] tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke"

God thought they were so good He took time to rewrite them when Moses broke the first tablets! Just envision you are Moses for a moment and savor that moment when the Lord said that to him.

9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;

The list breaks down into two categories.

AGAINST GOD

Lawless
disobedient
ungodly
sinners

unholy
profane

AGAINST GOD AND SOCIETY:

murderers of fathers and mothers,
manslayers,
whoremongers (this is term porno/fornicator according to Young's concordance)
them that defile themselves with mankind (homosexuals)
menstealers (kidnapers - in Paul's day it was for slavery)
liars
perjured persons
if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine

We want to take a look at these terms. They, are for the most part, kind of self-explanatory, but we might find some deeper understanding of them. If you have time to study on your own relate these to the ten commandments.

AGAINST GOD:

LAWLESS: Lawless is the opposite of the term used of law in these verses - without law or a transgressor.

II Thess. 2.8 mentions this word: "And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:"

The term Wicked is our term. This is speaking of Antichrist and his demise. The term is a little more descriptive now isn't it?

The same term is also used of the actions of the Sodomites in II Pet. 2.7-8. They were lawless and wicked.

DISOBEDIENT: This term is used In Titus and is translated “unruly.”

UNGODLY: Thayer says of this term "destitute of reverential awe towards God, condemning God, impious. . . . " Jude uses the term when he mentions Christ coming to judge the ungodly. Jude 1.15 "To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard [speeches] which ungodly sinners have spoken against him."

Simply it relates to those that do not worship God. They have no desire to know Him, nor to serve Him.

SINNERS: This term covers all sorts of sins - it is the normal word translated “sin” in the New Testament. Missing the mark set is the idea.

UNHOLY: Unholy or ungodly is the thought. II Tim 3.2 is the only other occurrence of the word. It is translated “unholy” there also, and is in a long list of not very nice things.

PROFANE: Heb. 12.16 mentions "Lest there [be] any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright."

This is the same term translated “profane.” The term comes from a root which relates to the foot - "something common" according to Thayer. The attempt to make God common might give the proper thought.

Barnes says "A man who treats religion with contempt, mockery, or scorn, would correspond with the meaning of the word."

AGAINST GOD AND SOCIETY:

When Paul lists murderers he distinguishes between types.

MURDERERS OF FATHERS: This Greek word actually is used of patricide or killing of ones father while murderers of mothers is a different Greek word for matricide or the killing of your mother. Then he uses another term for murder which is translated manslayers.

It is of interest that Paul uses three words here that are never used elsewhere in the New Testament. I suspect they may have been words known specifically by the Ephesians and possibly not widely used in other areas of the world at the time.

The murder of a father or mother was forbidden in the law. Ex. 21.15 "And he that striketh his father, or his mother, shall certainly be put to death."

Barnes mentions concerning killing your father "It is said to have been a crime which the Roman law did not contemplate as possible, and hence that there was no enactment against it. It is indeed, a crime of the highest order;"

MURDERERS OF MOTHERS:

Barnes mentions of “murdering your mother”: "A still more atrocious and monstrous crime, if possible, than the former. We can conceive nothing superior to this in atrocity, and yet it has been committed. Nero caused his mother to be murdered, and the annals of crime disclose the names of not a few who have imbrued their own hands in the blood of those who bare them." Nero was mentioned - he fell in love with a young woman that talked him into killing mom and divorcing his wife so she could be queen.

Gill mentions something that might be of interest to us in relation to the murder of fathers and mothers. "According to the Pompeian (city in Italy - Pompey) law, one guilty of parricide was to be sewed up in a sack with a dog, a cock, a viper, and an ape, and cast into the sea, or into a river."

MANSLAYERS: This would be the regular murder, which is forbidden in Ex. 20.13 "Thou shalt not kill"

WHOREMONGERS: This term is basically a male prostitute. (this is the term pornos/fornicator according to Young's concordance) Thayer suggests "a man who prostitutes his body to another's lust for hire"

THEM THAT DEFILE THEMSELVES WITH MANKIND (HOMOSEXUALS): Paul seems to lay it right out there in detail so they won't misunderstand him. Thayer suggests that this means "one who lies with a male as with a female, sodomite, homosexual" "It is translated abusers of themselves with mankind" in I Cor. 6.9

This also was forbidden in the Old Testament. Lev. 20.13 "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood [shall be] upon them."

While on this subject we mentioned in our past studies of those that hold out falsehood as truth - the vain jangling - the vain talkers - the empty words - there are churches today that teach that homosexuality is okay and that it is as normal as can be. This list as well as the I Corinthians list would suggest they speak with empty words.

A man that fits one of these sins (homosexual) and certainly is misleading if not deceptive about his lifestyle before writing the book - and he is invited into a fundamental church to participate in the service. I trust that you see the error of this action in light of the context we have before us in I Timothy.

MENSTEALERS: Menstealers is actually speaking of those that steal men to put them into slavery. This is in a list of not very nice sinners. To be quite honest I was not aware of this side to the Scriptures as they related to slavery. It is of note that the epistles have a lot to say of how a believing slave is to act toward an owner indicating that slavery was kind of neutral - that if you are a slave - live like a Christian. The master is also encouraged in certain manners toward his slaves, yet here we see that the ENSLAVER was a sinner of great magnitude. That might be a topic for further study when someone has time.

Again, as several times before, the law forbids this activity - no great surprise - God dislikes sin against Himself and His creation. Ex 21.16 "And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death"

LIARS: John 8.44 mentions that Satan is a liar. This is the same term used here - someone that is "a liar, one who breaks faith, or a false and faithless man" according to Thayer. ("Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it") See Lev. 6.2-4 also.

PERJURED PERSONS: We don't think too much about perjury in our society - even the president does it with little punishment. God calls it a biggie sin. Isn't that what one of the ten commandments is all about? Thou shalt not bear false witness. Ex 20.16 Paul puts it in the same list with a murderer! We in America should do no less. See Ex. 20.7 also.

This was a major no-no in the culture. The Greeks in their mythology placed perjury on the same level with killing your parent!

"IF THERE BE ANY OTHER THING THAT IS CONTRARY TO SOUND DOCTRINE:" And if you think of anything else that is against sound doctrine stick it in this list too!

The term translated “sound” is the word we gain our word "hygiene" from. Soundness is something that is wholesome and good for us.

The idea seems clear that Paul didn't want to leave anyone out in his listing. "any other thing" covers about everything that the list doesn't cover.

Verse eleven connects back up with the first part of the sentence, "But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;" ... "According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God. . . ."

All of the sins are kind of a parenthesis to the main message that Paul is putting forth.

11 According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.

I want to list the last part of verse ten and first of eleven in several translations.

ASV "and if there be any other thing contrary to the sound doctrine; 11 according to the gospel"

KJV "and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; 11 According to the glorious gospel"

DARBY "and if any other thing is opposed to sound teaching, 11 according to the glad tiding"

NIV "and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine 11 that conforms to the glorious gospel"

NKJV "any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 according to the glorious gospel"

YOUNG "and if there be any other thing that to sound doctrine is adverse, 11 according to the good news"

Now, just what can we glean from that section of Scripture? Have you ever heard anyone say something along the lines that we don't have to worry about doctrine - just concentrate on the Gospel? I have, and this verse says they are incorrect. You can't have the gospel without doctrine!

Just for fun - what are some doctrines involved in the Gospel.

Deity or Christ
Virgin Birth
Humanity of Christ
Eternality of God
Satan
Evil
Sinfulness of man
The fall
Creation
Resurrection
Sin
Or maybe we should take the easier route and list the doctrines that don't relate to the Gospel!

"which was committed to my trust" is literally "with which I have been entrusted." as Darby translates it.

This entrusting is not something special that was given to Paul, but it is a general entrusting to every believer. We are all entrusted with a job.

In I Cor. 5.20 it tells us we are ambassadors: "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech [you] by us: we pray [you] in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." Verse 19 mentions that we are entrusted with the word of reconciliation! "To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation."

Now the application to that truth is simply witnessing in any manner we can, as well as helping others do the same around the world. Teachers and preachers have a special work over and above this work and that is to train all believers to do this same work.

MISSIONS IN A NUTSHELL!

Not only are we commanded to witness, but we have been trusted by God to share in that ministry.

We want to be clear that these sinners are not forbidden from heaven in this text - only that they are sinners and they are examples of those that the law was given for. They will not enjoy heaven unless they see themselves in this list and accept Christ.

The obvious thrust is that we have the privilege to share our faith in Jesus Christ with these people and assist them to understand the sinfulness of their lives, and the free gift of the Lord that is offered to them.

"Many years ago in St. Louis, a lawyer visited a Christian to transact some business. Before the two parted, his client said to him, "I've often wanted to ask you a question, but I've been afraid to do so."

"What do you want to know?" asked the lawyer.

"The man replied, "I've wondered why you're not a Christian."

"The man hung his head. "I know enough about the Bible to realize that it says no drunkard can enter the kingdom of God; and you know my weakness!"

"You're avoiding my question," continued the believer.

"Well, truthfully, I can't recall anyone every explaining how to become a Christian."

"Picking up a Bible, the client read some passages showing that all are under condemnation, but that Christ came to save the lost by dying on the cross for their sins. "By receiving Him as your substitute and redeemer," he said, "you can be forgiven. If you're willing to receive Jesus, let's pray together."

"The lawyer agreed, and where it was his turn he exclaimed, "O Jesus, I am a slave to drink. One of Your servants has shown me how to be saved. O God, forgive my sins and help me overcome the power of this terrible habit in my life." Right there he was converted. That lawyer was C.I. Scofield, who later edited the reference Bible that bears his name."

May we be so open to share the Word with the lost we come in contact with - it is our duty and our honor to do so.