Beginning

Advice to a Young Preacher

1 From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus our hope.

² To Timothy, a true son to me because you believe.

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Warning Against False Teaching

³ I want you to stay in Ephesus. I asked you to do that when I went into Macedonia. Some people there in Ephesus are teaching false things. Stay there so that you can command them to stop. ⁴ Tell them not to spend their time on stories that are not true and on long lists of names in family histories. These things only bring arguments; they do not help God’s work. God’s work is done by faith. ⁵ The purpose of this command is for people to have love. To have this love they must have a pure heart, they must do what they know is right, and they must have true faith. ⁶ Some people have wandered away from these things. They talk about things that are worth nothing. ⁷ They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about. They do not even understand what they say they are sure about.

⁸ We know that the law is good if a man uses it right. ⁹ We also know that the law is not made for good men. The law is made for people who are against the law and for those who refuse to follow the law. It is for people who are against God and are sinful, who are unholy and ungodly, who kill their fathers and mothers, who murder, ¹⁰ who take part in sexual sins, men who have physical relations with other men, those who sell slaves, who tell lies, who speak falsely, and who do anything against the true teaching of God. ¹¹ That teaching is part of the Good News that God gave me to tell. That glorious Good News is from the blessed God.

Thanks for God’s Mercy

¹² I thank Christ Jesus our Lord because he trusted me and gave me this work of serving him. And he gives me strength. ¹³ In the past I spoke against Christ and persecuted him and did all kinds of things to hurt him. But God showed mercy to me because I did not know what I was doing. I did those things when I did not believe. ¹⁴ But the grace of our Lord was fully given to me. And with that grace came the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

¹⁵ What I say is true, and you should fully accept it: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the worst of those sinners. ¹⁶ But I was given mercy. I was given mercy so that in me Christ Jesus could show that he has patience without limit. And he showed his patience with me, the worst of all sinners. Christ wanted me to be an example for those who would believe in him and have life forever. ¹⁷ Honor and glory to the King that rules forever! He cannot be destroyed and cannot be seen. Honor and glory forever and ever to the only God. Amen.

¹⁸ Timothy, you are like a son to me. I am giving you a command that agrees with the prophecies that were given about you in the past. I tell you this so that you can follow those prophecies and fight the good fight of faith. ¹⁹ Continue to have faith and do what you know is right. Some people have not done this. Their faith has been destroyed. ²⁰ Hymenaeus and Alexander are men who have done that. I have given them to Satan so that they will learn not to speak against God.

Some Rules for Men and Women

2 First, I tell you to pray for all people. Ask God for the things people need, and be thankful to him. ² You should pray for kings and for all who have authority. Pray for the leaders so that we can have quiet and peaceful lives—lives full of worship and respect for God. ³ This is good, and it pleases God our Savior. ⁴ God wants all people to be saved. And he wants everyone to know the truth. ⁵ There is only one God. And there is only one way that people can reach God. That way is through Jesus Christ, who is also a man. ⁶ Jesus gave himself to pay for the sins of all people. Jesus is proof that God wants all people to be saved. And that proof came at the right time. ⁷ That is why I was chosen to tell the Good News and was chosen to be an apostle. (I am telling the truth. I am not lying.) I was chosen to teach the non-Jewish people to believe and to know the truth.

⁸ I want men everywhere to pray. These men who lift up their hands in prayer must be holy. They must not be men who become angry and have arguments.

⁹ I also want women to wear clothes that are right for them. They should dress with respect and right thinking. They should not use fancy braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes to make themselves beautiful. ¹⁰ But they should make themselves beautiful by doing good deeds. Women who say they worship God should make themselves beautiful in that way.

¹¹ A woman should learn by listening quietly and being fully ready to obey. ¹² I do not allow a woman to teach a man or to have authority over a man. She must remain silent. ¹³ For Adam was made first; Eve was made later. ¹⁴ Also, Adam was not the one who was tricked by the devil. It was the woman who was tricked and became a sinner. ¹⁵ But women will be saved through having children. They will be saved if they continue in faith, love, holiness, and self-control.

Leaders in the Church

3 What I say is true: If anyone wants to become an overseer, he is wanting a good work. ² An overseer must be so good that people cannot rightly criticize him. He must have only one wife. He must have self-control and be wise. He must be respected by other people and must be ready to help people by accepting them into his home. He must be a good teacher. ³ He must not drink too much wine, and he must not be a man who likes to fight. He must be gentle and peaceful. He must not love money. ⁴ He must be a good leader of his own family so that his children obey him with full respect. ⁵ (If a man does not know how to be a leader over his own family, he will not be able to take care of God’s church.) ⁶ But an elder must not be a new believer. A new believer might be too proud of himself. Then he would be judged guilty for his pride just as the devil was. ⁷ An elder must also have the respect of people who are not in the church. Then he will not be criticized by others and caught in the devil’s trap.

Helpers in the Church

⁸ In the same way, deacons must be men that people can respect. They must not say things they do not mean. They must not use their time drinking too much wine, and they must not be men who are always trying to get rich by cheating others. ⁹ They must follow the faith that God made known to us and always do what they know is right. ¹⁰ You should test those men first. If you find nothing wrong in them, then they can serve as deacons. ¹¹ In the same way, the women^[a] must have the respect of other people. They must not be women who repeat evil gossip about other people. They must have self-control and be women who can be trusted in everything. ¹² Deacons must have only one wife. They must be good leaders of their children and their own families. ¹³ Those who serve well as deacons are making an honorable place for themselves. And they will feel very sure of their faith in Christ Jesus.

The Secret of Our Life

¹⁴ I hope I can come to you soon. But I am writing these things to you now. ¹⁵ Then, even if I cannot come soon, you will know about the things that people must do in the family of God. That family is the church of the living God, the support and foundation of the truth. ¹⁶ Without doubt, the secret of our life of worship is great:

A Warning About False Teachers

4 The Holy Spirit clearly says that in the later times some people will stop believing the true faith. They will obey spirits that lie and will follow the teachings of demons. ² Such teachings come from hypocrites, men who cannot see what is right and what is wrong. It is as if their understanding were destroyed by a hot iron. ³ They tell people that it is wrong to marry. And they tell people that there are some foods that must not be eaten. But God made those foods, and the people who believe and who know the truth can eat those foods with thanks. ⁴ Everything that God made is good. Nothing that God made should be refused if it is accepted with thanks to God. ⁵ Everything God made is made holy by what God has said and by prayer.

Be a Good Servant of Christ

⁶ Tell these things to the brothers. This will show that you are a good servant of Christ Jesus. You will show that you are made strong by the words of faith and good teaching that you have been following. ⁷ People tell silly stories that do not agree with God’s truth. Do not follow what those stories teach. But teach yourself only to serve God. ⁸ Training your body helps you in some ways, but serving God helps you in every way. Serving God brings you blessings in this life and in the future life, too. ⁹ What I say is true, and you should fully accept it. ¹⁰ For this is why we work and struggle:^[c] We hope in the living God. He is the Savior of all people. And in a very special way, he is the Savior of all who believe in him.

¹¹ Command and teach these things. ¹² You are young, but do not let anyone treat you as if you were not important. Be an example to show the believers how they should live. Show them with your words, with the way you live, with your love, with your faith, and with your pure life. ¹³ Continue to read the Scriptures to the people, strengthen them, and teach them. Do these things until I come. ¹⁴ Remember to use the gift that you have. That gift was given to you through a prophecy when the group of elders laid their hands on^[d] you. ¹⁵ Continue to do those things. Give your life to doing them. Then everyone can see that your work is progressing. ¹⁶ Be careful in your life and in your teaching. Continue to live and teach rightly. Then you will save yourself and those people who listen to you.

Rules for Living with Others

5 Do not speak angrily to an older man, but talk to him as if he were your father. Treat younger men like brothers. ² Treat older women like mothers, and younger women like sisters. Always treat them in a pure way.

³ Take care of widows who are all alone. ⁴ But if a widow has children or grandchildren, the first thing they need to learn is to do their duty to their own family. When they do this, they will be repaying their parents or grandparents. That pleases God. ⁵ If a widow is all alone and without help, then she puts her hope in God and prays night and day for God’s help. ⁶ But the widow who uses her life to please herself is really dead while she is still living. ⁷ Tell the believers there to do these things so that no one can say they are doing wrong. ⁸ A believer should take care of his own relatives, especially his own family. If he does not do that, he has turned against the faith. He is worse than a person who does not believe in God.

⁹ To be on your list of widows, a woman must be 60 years old or older. She must have been faithful to her husband. ¹⁰ She must be known as a woman who has done good works. By this, I mean good works such as raising her children, accepting visitors in her home, washing the feet of God’s people, helping those in trouble, and using her life to do all kinds of good deeds.

¹¹ But do not put younger widows on that list. After they give themselves to Christ, they are often pulled away from him by their physical desires. And then they want to marry again. ¹² And they will be judged for not doing what they first promised to do. ¹³ Also, those younger widows begin to waste their time going from house to house. They begin to gossip and busy themselves with other people’s lives. They say things that they should not say. ¹⁴ So I want the younger widows to marry, have children, and take care of their homes. If they do this, then no enemy will have any reason to criticize them. ¹⁵ But some of the younger widows have already turned away to follow Satan.

¹⁶ If any woman who is a believer has widows in her family, then she should care for them herself. The church should not have to care for them. Then the church will be able to care for the widows who have no living family.

¹⁷ The elders who lead the church well should receive great honor. Those who work hard by speaking and teaching especially should receive great honor. ¹⁸ For the Scripture says, “When an ox is working in the grain, do not cover its mouth to keep it from eating.”^[e] And the Scripture also says, “A worker should be given his pay.”^[f]

¹⁹ Do not listen to someone who accuses an elder, unless there are two or three other persons who say he did wrong. ²⁰ Tell those who keep on sinning that they are wrong. Do this in front of the whole church so that the others will have a warning.

²¹ Before God and Jesus Christ and the chosen angels, I command you to do these things. Be careful to do them without showing favor to anyone.

²² Think carefully before you lay your hands on^[g] anyone for the Lord’s service. Do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.

²³ Timothy, you stop drinking only water and drink a little wine. This will help your stomach, and you will not be sick so often.

²⁴ The sins of some people are easy to see even before they are judged. But the sins of others are seen only later. ²⁵ So also good deeds are easy to see. But even when they are not easy to see, they cannot stay hidden.

6 All who are slaves should show full respect to their masters. Then no one will speak against God’s name and our teaching. ² Some slaves have masters who are believers. This means they are all brothers. But the slaves should not show their masters any less respect. They should serve their masters even better, because they are helping believers they love.

False Teaching and True Riches

You must teach and preach these things. ³ If anyone has a different teaching, he does not accept the true teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ. And that teaching shows him the true way to serve God. ⁴ The person who teaches falsely is full of pride and understands nothing. He is sick with a love for arguing and fighting about words. And that brings jealousy, making trouble, insults, and evil mistrust. ⁵ And that also brings arguments from men who have evil minds. They have lost the truth. They think that serving God is a way to get rich.

⁶ It is true that serving God makes a person very rich, if he is satisfied with what he has. ⁷ When we came into the world, we brought nothing. And when we die, we can take nothing out. ⁸ So, if we have food and clothes, we will be satisfied with that. ⁹ Those who want to become rich bring temptation to themselves. They are caught in a trap. They begin to want many foolish things that will hurt them, things that ruin and destroy people. ¹⁰ The love of money causes all kinds of evil. Some people have left the true faith because they want to get more and more money. But they have caused themselves much sorrow.

Some Things to Remember

¹¹ But you are a man of God. So you should stay away from all those things. Try to live in the right way, serve God, have faith, love, patience, and gentleness. ¹² Keeping your faith is like running a race. Try as hard as you can to win. Be sure you receive the life that continues forever. You were called to have that life. And you confessed the great truth about Christ in a way that many people heard. ¹³ Before God and Christ Jesus I give you a command. Christ Jesus confessed that same great truth when he stood before Pontius Pilate. And God gives life to everything. Now I tell you: ¹⁴ Do the things you were commanded to do. Do them without wrong or blame until the time when our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. ¹⁵ God will make that happen at the right time. He is the blessed and only Ruler. He is the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords. ¹⁶ God is the only One who never dies. He lives in light so bright that men cannot go near it. No one has ever seen God, or can see him. May honor and power belong to God forever. Amen.

¹⁷ Give this command to those who are rich with things of this world. Tell them not to be proud. Tell them to hope in God, not their money. Money cannot be trusted, but God takes care of us richly. He gives us everything to enjoy. ¹⁸ Tell the rich people to do good and to be rich in doing good deeds. Tell them to be happy to give and ready to share. ¹⁹ By doing that, they will be saving a treasure for themselves in heaven. That treasure will be a strong foundation. Their future life can be built on that treasure. Then they will be able to have the life that is true life.

²⁰ Timothy, God has trusted you with many things. Keep those things safe. Stay away from people who say foolish things that are not from God. Stay away from those who argue against the truth. They use something they call “knowledge,” but it is really not knowledge. ²¹ They say that they have that “knowledge,” but they have left the true faith.

God’s grace be with you.