1 Timothy 4:6

If thou put the brethren in mind of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished in the words of the faith, and of the good doctrine which thou hast followed until now:

This is one of the passages which the source critics have bitterly complained about, Faith in the Pauline epistles is a subjective experience, but in the Pastorals it is more objective in character."[18] Of course, this is their excuse for denying Paul wrote the Pastorals. However, as pointed out extensively in this series, it is simply a conceit on the part of scholars that "faith" is usually subjective in Paul's other writings. "Faith" in this place is undeniably objective, being related not so much to "trusting" as it is to piety and good works; and Paul's letters do not contradict each other. See extensive exegesis on this in my Commentary on Galatians, pp. 69,70.

In his book on Romans, Sanday tells us that we must distinguish between at least seven different senses given the word "faith" in that one epistle, and he says that Paul has all of these meanings before him.[19]

The most widespread theological error of this age is that of misunderstanding the use of "faith" by Paul in his letters, and the unlawful, ridiculous interpretation of it as meaning, invariably, "trust/faith." That it does occasionally have that meaning is certain; but as Dr. Howard of the University of Georgia declared, "The usual meaning of the word in the New Testament is fidelity."[20]

Paul's emphasis in this place on sound doctrine is also offensive to some who boast that they do not "preach doctrine"; and such a boast separates one emphatically from the New Testament tradition. "A good minister," in the Pauline definition, is one who is both nourished by and a teacher of the sound Scriptural doctrine upon which the New Testament church is founded.

[18] D. A. Hayes, Paul and His Epistles (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1969), p. 453.

[19] Ibid, p. 458.

[20] George Howard, article: "The Faith of Christ," in Expository Times, Vol. 7 (April, 1974), pp. 212-214.