The Living Bible (380 page)

2 Thessalonians
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Finally, dear brothers, as I come to the end of this letter, I ask you to pray for us. Pray first that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and triumph wherever it goes, winning converts everywhere as it did when it came to you.
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 Pray, too, that we will be saved out of the clutches of evil men, for not everyone loves the Lord.
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 But the Lord is faithful; he will make you strong and guard you from satanic attacks of every kind.
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 And we trust the Lord that you are putting into practice the things we taught you, and that you always will.
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 May the Lord bring you into an ever deeper understanding of the love of God and of the patience that comes from Christ.

    
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 Now here is a command, dear brothers, given in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ by his authority: Stay away from any Christian who spends his days in laziness and does not follow the ideal of hard work we set up for you.
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 For you well know that you ought to follow our example: you never saw us loafing;
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 we never accepted food from anyone without buying it; we worked hard day and night for the money we needed to live on, in order that we would not be a burden to any of you.
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 It wasn’t that we didn’t have the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to show you firsthand how you should work for your living.
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 Even while we were still there with you, we gave you this rule: “He who does not work shall not eat.”

    
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 Yet we hear that some of you are living in laziness, refusing to work, and wasting your time in gossiping.
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 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ we appeal to such people—we command them—to quiet down, get to work, and earn their own living.
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 And to the rest of you I say, dear brothers, never be tired of doing right.

    
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 If anyone refuses to obey what we say in this letter, notice who he is and stay away from him, that he may be ashamed of himself.
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 Don’t think of him as an enemy, but speak to him as you would to a brother who needs to be warned.

    
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 May the Lord of peace himself give you his peace no matter what happens. The Lord be with you all.

    
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 Now here is my greeting, which I am writing with my own hand, as I do at the end of all my letters, for proof that it really is from me. This is in my own handwriting.
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 May the blessing of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon you all.

Sincerely, Paul

1 Timothy

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1 Timothy
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From:
Paul, a missionary of Jesus Christ, sent out by the direct command of God our Savior and by Jesus Christ our Lord—our only hope.

    
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To:
Timothy.

    
Timothy, you are like a son to me in the things of the Lord. May God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord show you his kindness and mercy and give you great peace of heart and mind.

    
^3-4
 As I said when I left for Macedonia, please stay there in Ephesus and try to stop the men who are teaching such wrong doctrine. Put an end to their myths and fables, and their idea of being saved by finding favor with an endless chain of angels leading up to God—wild ideas that stir up questions and arguments instead of helping people accept God’s plan of faith.
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 What I am eager for is that all the Christians there will be filled with love that comes from pure hearts, and that their minds will be clean and their faith strong.

    
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 But these teachers have missed this whole idea and spend their time arguing and talking foolishness.
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 They want to become famous as teachers of the laws of Moses when they haven’t the slightest idea what those laws really show us.
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 Those laws are good when used as God intended.
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 But they were not made for us, whom God has saved; they are for sinners who hate God, have rebellious hearts, curse and swear, attack their fathers and mothers, and murder.
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 Yes, these laws are made to identify as sinners all who are immoral and impure: homosexuals, kidnappers, liars, and all others who do things that contradict the glorious Good News of our blessed God, whose messenger I am.

    
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 How thankful I am to Christ Jesus our Lord for choosing me as one of his messengers, and giving me the strength to be faithful to him,
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 even though I used to scoff at the name of Christ. I hunted down his people, harming them in every way I could. But God had mercy on me because I didn’t know what I was doing, for I didn’t know Christ at that time.
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 Oh, how kind our Lord was, for he showed me how to trust him and become full of the love of Christ Jesus.

    
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 How true it is, and how I long that everyone should know it, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—and I was the greatest of them all.
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 But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as an example to show everyone how patient he is with even the worst sinners, so that others will realize that they, too, can have everlasting life.
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 Glory and honor to God forever and ever. He is the King of the ages, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God, and full of wisdom. Amen.

    
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 Now, Timothy, my son, here is my command to you: Fight well in the Lord’s battles, just as the Lord told us through his prophets that you would.
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 Cling tightly to your faith in Christ and always keep your conscience clear, doing what you know is right. For some people have disobeyed their consciences and have deliberately done what they knew was wrong. It isn’t surprising that soon they lost their faith in Christ after defying God like that.
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 Hymenaeus and Alexander are two examples of this. I had to give them over to Satan to punish them until they could learn not to bring shame to the name of Christ.

1 Timothy
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Here are my directions: Pray much for others; plead for God’s mercy upon them; give thanks for all he is going to do for them.

    
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 Pray in this way for kings and all others who are in authority over us, or are in places of high responsibility, so that we can live in peace and quietness, spending our time in godly living and thinking much about the Lord.
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 This is good and pleases God our Savior,
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 for he longs for all to be saved and to understand this truth:
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That God is on one side and all the people on the other side, and Christ Jesus, himself man, is between them to bring them together,
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by giving his life for all mankind.

    
This is the message that at the proper time God gave to the world.
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 And I have been chosen—this is the absolute truth—as God’s minister and missionary to teach this truth to the Gentiles and to show them God’s plan of salvation through faith.

    
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 So I want men everywhere to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from sin and anger and resentment.
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 And the women should be the same way, quiet and sensible in manner and clothing. Christian women should be noticed for being kind and good, not for the way they fix their hair or because of their jewels or fancy clothes.
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 Women should listen and learn quietly and humbly.

    
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 I never let women teach men or lord it over them. Let them be silent in your church meetings.
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 Why? Because God made Adam first, and afterwards he made Eve.
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 And it was not Adam who was fooled by Satan, but Eve, and sin was the result.
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 So God sent pain and suffering to women when their children are born, but he will save their souls if they trust in him, living quiet, good, and loving lives.

1 Timothy
3

It is a true saying that if a man wants to be a pastor
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he has a good ambition.
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 For a pastor must be a good man whose life cannot be spoken against. He must have only one wife, and he must be hard working and thoughtful, orderly, and full of good deeds. He must enjoy having guests in his home and must be a good Bible teacher.
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 He must not be a drinker or quarrelsome, but he must be gentle and kind and not be one who loves money.
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 He must have a well-behaved family, with children who obey quickly and quietly.
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 For if a man can’t make his own little family behave, how can he help the whole church?

    
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 The pastor must not be a new Christian because he might be proud of being chosen so soon, and pride comes before a fall. (Satan’s downfall is an example.)
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 Also, he must be well spoken of by people outside the church—those who aren’t Christians—so that Satan can’t trap him with many accusations and leave him without freedom to lead his flock.

    
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 The deacons must be the same sort of good, steady men as the pastors. They must not be heavy drinkers and must not be greedy for money.
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 They must be earnest, wholehearted followers of Christ, who is the hidden Source of their faith.
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 Before they are asked to be deacons, they should be given other jobs in the church as a test of their character and ability, and if they do well, then they may be chosen as deacons.

    
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 Their wives must be thoughtful, not heavy drinkers, not gossipers, but faithful in everything they do.
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 Deacons should have only one wife, and they should have happy, obedient families.
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 Those who do well as deacons will be well rewarded both by respect from others and also by developing their own confidence and bold trust in the Lord.

    
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 I am writing these things to you now, even though I hope to be with you soon,
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 so that if I don’t come for a while, you will know what kind of men you should choose as officers for the church of the living God, which contains and holds high the truth of God.

    
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 It is quite true that the way to live a godly life is not an easy matter. But the answer lies in Christ, who came to earth as a man, was proved spotless and pure in his Spirit, was served by angels, was preached among the nations, was accepted by men everywhere, and was received up again to his glory in heaven.