Empty Talk. 1 Timothy 1:5-7.
The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, Desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.
Dear People Belonging to God,
We examine further the task that Timothy has in Ephesus. The false teachers he has to silence lack a key basis for attitudes.
Genuine Desire (v. 5). Love is the desire for others to have the best. True love has no impure motives. It is based on good intentions and always clings to honest, sincere faith. Paul wants Timothy to maintain these values.
Grave Deviation (v. 6). When people wander from good intentions, disaster follows. There is nothing to be gained from insincere and impure motives and everything to be lost. They end up in “vain discussion,” empty talk that yields nothing useful. We cannot ignore attitudes and intentions.
Gross Delusion (v. 7). The false teachers desire to be teachers of the law, but they have no understanding. To teach, one must understand the subject matter. Worse still, the false teachers make “confident assertions” but in ignorance. Let us remember that confidence is not a mark of genuineness. One can confidently declare nonsense. It is our responsibility to examine what is taught and ascertain whether it is in agreement with the Bible.
Your Loving Pastor Chris