The goal of this command is love

1 Timothy 1:1-17 (TNIV) -

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

2 To Timothy my true son in the faith:
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain persons not to teach false doctrines any longer4 or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith.5 The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.6 Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk.

7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.
8 We know that the law is good if one uses it properly.9 We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers,10 for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers. And it is for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine

11 that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.
12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service.13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.

14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.

17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

My thoughts -

Paul is writing to Timothy as a mentor, and has all kinds of practical ministry advice for him. In warning against false teaching I love what Paul has to say about those who promote this false doctrine:

They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.

That really strikes me. Sometimes my own lack of education slaps me in the face and I wonder, in my ignorance, if Paul isn't talking about me. Can I hold others to a standard I don't even really understand? Then again, what Paul has to say about the law I think I have a pretty firm understanding of. First, as the title of this post may suggest, the goal is love. Not legalism but love. Discipleship is all about learning to love God and to love others. If what we are preaching is mindless adherence and not love then we are missing the point.

So what about the law, then? First off, I have neglected my study of the Old Testament in a shameful way and am not fit to talk about the law. This is something I plan to correct soon and may be forced to stop blogging or to at least not post nearly as often in order to accomplish that goal. But what Paul says about the law appeals to me. The law is not for the righteous but for those who rebel against God. If everything you do is done out of a love for God and a love for others then you're probably okay under the law. If you earnestly desire to serve God and to place the needs of others above your own wants and desires then you're doing just fine. If you are selfishly motivated by your own sinful desires to do whatever you want to do then you probably need to be told what is and is not acceptable.

So how much discussion about what is and isn't okay under the law is in love and productive and how much is what Paul calls "meaningless talk"? I wish I knew. People who are far more educated than I am may or may not be able to adequately address this. Like all things I'm not sure we humans have one clear, definitive, absolute answer. There's a balance to be found. I'd make sure, though, that when we talk theology we are doing so out of love for God and love for others and not because we want to score rhetorical points and "win" an argument. Even I, the "I'm just a guitar player" guy, get caught up far too often in "winning" the debate instead of learning from others how to love God better. I guess no one likes to be wrong, ever.

Now as for love, Paul is coming at this from an interesting perspective. The law he understood. Love, not so much. Remember (and I'm sure you do) that Paul was a fierce defender of the law against early followers of Christ. He even went so far as to stone them. I love how he contrasts himself with Christ:

Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.

Paul was shown mercy from Christ. Paul, who was a violent persecutor of the faithful, was shown mercy even though he did not show mercy. Jesus is merciful, even to those who persecute his followers.

Jesus has shown mercy to us, as well. We often fail. We may try to serve God and to love all of God's children, but we have our own wants, our own desires, and our own agendas. We don't get it right. We screw up time and time again. It seems, at least for me, that every time I take one step forward in faith I end up taking two back in pride. Every time I learn something new about God and how to serve I end up puffing myself up and lording what I have over others.

And yet I have been shown mercy. We all have. And we need to show mercy to others. Everything we know about God and everything we do in the name of God is completely worthless without love and mercy.