Dr Paul Allen

“Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.” ( Philippians 4:15 ) As Paul went on his missionary journeys, he never asked for money for himself from the people to whom he preached. He later wrote to the Thessalonians “because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God ” ( 1 Thessalonians 2:9 ). He did stress the teaching of Christ that “the labourer is worthy of his reward” ( 1 Timothy 5:18 ; Luke 10:7 ) and that “even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel” ( 1 Corinthians 9:14 ). But he himself said: “I have used none of these things: neither have I written these things, that it should be so done unto me” ( 1 Corinthians 9:15 ). Thus, he was especially moved when the impoverished Christians at Philippi , without being asked, “sent once and again unto my neces...

Give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if you do these things, you shall never fall.” ( 2 Peter1:10 ) Although the calling of God is solely by His grace apart from works ( 2 Timothy 1:9 ), and although “the gifts and calling of God are without repentance” ( Romans 11:29 ), it is quite possible for a person to believe mistakenly that he has been called, and so Peter urges each professing Christian to make sure of his calling. In the first place, one who is truly called will love God ( Romans 8:28 ), and such love should not be superficial but with the whole heart and soul and mind ( Matthew 22:37 ). One who is called should “walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love” ( Ephesians 4:1-2 ). If our lives fail such tests, we should at least “examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves” ( 2 Corinthians 13:5 ). God’s call is not only unto salvation, ...

Saint Timothy (ortodox icon) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus ." ( 2 Timothy 2:16-17 ) Paul's earlier warning about "word fights" ( 2 Timothy 2:14 ) is strengthened in the text above with a different emphasis. Word fights are "picky" debates started by quarrelsome people. They are useless and divisive. They create conflicts and schisms. Profane and vain babblings, however, are worldly and valueless "noise." Less obvious and more subtle than fighting, they have the effect of destroying godliness . "But refuse profane |ungodly| and old wives' fables |myths, baseless stories|, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness" ( 1 Timothy 4:7 ). Because "godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come" ( 1 Ti...

Saint Timothy (ortodox icon) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "Of these things put them in rememberance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers." ( 2 Timothy  2:14 )   This command emphasizes the necessity to avoid "word fights." The apostle Paul has much to say about this in other passages. "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers" ( Ephesians  4:29 ). Our words should be "wholesome words" ( 1 Timothy 6:3 ), "that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment" ( 1 Corinthians  1:10 ).   We are not to "give heed to fables and endless genealogies" ( 1 Timothy 1:4 ), but are to "refuse profane and old wives' fables" ( 1 Timothy 4:7 ). We are not to listen to ...

Rembrandt's Timothy and his grandmother, 1648. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth." ( 2 John 1 ) The Greek word for "lady" (kuria) is used only two times in the Bible , and both of these occurrences are here in the one-chapter epistle of 2 John. It is also fascinating to note that kuria is the feminine form of kurios, which is the Greek word for "Lord." Evidently this "elect lady" was a special woman, very highly esteemed by the apostle John as a capable and conscientious mother to her children. It is uncertain however, whether this distinguished lady was a literal mother in the church with literal children or possibly a metaphor for the church itself, with the "children" its individual members. Good reasons can be given for both interpretations, and it may even be that John wrote his letter with t...

English: Saint paul arrested (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God , with is in thee by the putting on of my hands." ( 2 Timothy 1:6 )   The apostle Paul uses more unique words in his writings than any other Bible author. Such is the case with the verb  anazopureo , translated as "stir up" in our text for today, which is a compound of three Greek terms.   Ana , a primary preposition and adverb, is most often translated as "again" or "each," depending on its context.  Zoon  is a frequently used noun meaning "life" or "living creature." And  pur  is a root word meaning "fire" or "fiery." Since it is only used this one time in the Scriptures, the translation is a bit difficult to coin an adequate English word or phrase.   "Bring the fire alive (again)" is certainly implied from the syntax. "Make each fire alive" wou...

English: Young saint Timothy with his mother (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy , according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare ; Holding faith , and a good conscience ; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck .” ( 1 Timothy 1:18-19 ) Paul had been entrusted with the gospel of Jesus Christ by Christ Himself ( vv. 1 , 12-16 ), and he did not take this fact lightly when it was time to pass on the job of guarding and propagating the truth to others. Following his praise to God for giving him such a function, Paul now "charges” Timothy to follow in his footsteps. The word "commit” finds usage in banking vocabulary and implies a deposit of something of great value. Timothy was to continue to teach the valuable, life-changing truth of the gospel in love ( v. 5 ) while guarding the flock against the teaching of false teachers ( v. 3 ). Paul had not found...

Saint Timothy (ortodox icon) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience , and of faith unfeigned." ( 1 Timothy 1:5 ) The Greek noun parangelia and its corresponding verb paranello appear six times in the book of 1 Timothy, translated as either " charge " or "commandment." Paul was quite concerned for his young disciple Timothy and went to great effort to remind him of the truth and charge him to keep it and encourage its keeping in the lives of those in his care. Let us briefly look at these charges. First, Paul wanted to charge Timothy to remain strong in his personal faith. "Thischarge I commit unto thee . . . that thou . . . mightest war a good warfare; Holding faith, and a good conscience" ( 1:18-19 ). "I give thee charge in the sight of God . . . . That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ ...

English: Their are thousands of artworks created in the art world depicting St Paul. This painting was created by the famous artist called Rembrandt. It hangs on the walls of the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) In his final letter, Paul charges Timothy , his son in the faith, to "do the work of an evangelist" ( 2 Tim. 4:5). By these words, the aged Apostle establishes the timeless standard for pastoral ministry, not only for young Timothy but for all pastors in every generation and in every place. With Apostolic authority, this imperative command comes with binding force. All pastors must do the work of an evangelist. They must earnestly proclaim the gospel message, urging people to trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. So, where should this pastoral evangelism begin? First, every pastor must preach the gospel to himself. Before any pastor can call others to repent, he must believe in Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul exhor...

English: Young saint Timothy with his mother (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." ( 2 Timothy 2:19 ) One of Paul's major messages to his young disciple Timothy was to strive for purity in every area of his life. Compromise and impurity were not to be glossed over; they were to be vigorously opposed. Concerning purity in doctrine, Paul charged, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" ( 2 Timothy 2:15 ). He was to "charge" his followers not to wrangle over trivial issues, and not to listen to false teaching ( v. 14 ). They were to "shun" vulgar and empty talk, knowing that such will only lead to more impurity and doubt ( vv. 16-18 ). Furthermore, he was to actively "oppose" those...

Saint Timothy (ortodox icon) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ . No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier." ( 2 Timothy 2:3-4 ) As Paul came to the end of his earthly life, he took great pains to encourage his disciple to "be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus " ( 2 Timothy 2:1 ) and to guard and pass on the precious teachings that Paul had taught him. Paul compared Timothy 's life in the ministry of the gospel to the life of a soldier. The Greek word translated "endure hardness" is used twice more by Paul, each in this book. "But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions |same word|, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry" ( 2 Timothy 4:5 ). Paul holds himself up as an example of such endurance when he claims: "I suffer trouble |same word|, as an ...

William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) - The Flagellation of Our Lord Jesus Christ (1880) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God , which was committed to my trust." ( 1 Timothy 1:11 ) In the opening chapter of Paul's first letter to Timothy, his "son in the faith" ( v. 2 ), Paul gives various instructions concerning the proper teaching of doctrine, "which was committed to |his| trust," and which now Paul was passing on to his followers. He took great care to charge Timothy to "hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus" ( 2 Timothy 1:13 , and elsewhere). Before launching into a testimony and defense of God's grace in salvation ( vv. 12-17 ), Paul gives stern warning against false doctrines and false teachers ( vv. 3-11 ). These teachers, "having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; Desiring to be teachers of t...

Image via Wikipedia 1 TIMOTHY 5:22–23 “Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands , nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure” (v. 22). Disciplining the elders in Ephesus and even removing some of them should it be necessary is not the only step that Timothy must take in order to correct the errors in the church there (1 Tim. 1:3–4; 5:19–20). If leaders are removed, they will need to be replaced. We have already read about the kind of men that should be ordained in 1 Timothy 3:1–7, but when the church needs officers, there is always the possibility that it will choose hastily and thus unwittingly pick men for elders who later prove to be ill-suited for the task. So Paul issues a word of caution in today’s passage to prevent Timothy and the generations of Christians after him from making a costly mistake. We are encouraged not to engage in the laying on of hands too quickly. Laying on of hands, of course, is commonly done when new church officers are set apart...