3 As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I
went into Macedonia,
We don’t know exactly what time Paul
left Timothy behind, but we do know from the Scriptures that God directed Paul
away from Asia to Macedonia (the area of Greece) in a vision. It could have
been at this time that he told Timothy to abide—stay, remain—at Ephesus. . . .
most likely to minister.
that thou mightest charge some that they teach
no other doctrine,
The Apostle Paul’s letter ministry
was almost solely for the purpose of getting people back to sound, solid,
Biblical doctrine and away from extremes and conforming lives. Paul sends
Timothy to do the same thing—to deal with those that were in the wrong and
charge them—command them, hold them accountable—to teach no other doctrine but
the truth.
4 Neither give heed to fables
and endless genealogies,
You know what a fable is—it is a
cleaver story. Well we as Christians can get to caught up in “clever stories”
and “illustrations” and walk down a path that is unscriptural. And endless
genealogies—think of the list of Jesus ancestry in Luke and Matthew. There are
some people that reject the Christian Faith because of a one name difference in
those two genealogies! From study, I am fairly sure that the reason for the
difference is because one of the lineages is Mary’s side and the other Joseph’s.
But the main point is that we shouldn’t get caught up on such a minor issue as
genealogies and knit pick.
which minister questions,
Fables, genealogies and whatever
only create questions (doubts) so as Paul told Timothy, I tell you “don’t give
heed to them!” Don’t entangled and caught up in foolish controversies. Preach
the Word in season and out of season, and trust the Lord to build the house
(Church).
rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so
do.
Instead, focus on godly
things—edifying (encouraging, building up) which is in the faith. Paul built
people up in the Faith—reminding them of the basics—reminding them of the
centrality of the message Christ: his life, his death, his resurrection,
ascension, and REDEMPTION! You, young man, do the same. Remind people about
Jesus and what He did for them—DO THIS! Don’t get caught up in fables and
genealogies (whatever your “fables” and “genealogies” might be.
