In the last verse, Paul was urging Timothy, his younger disciple, to stay in Ephesus because he was known for being a little timid. But in this next verse, he's going to tell him why. And I am going to read part of verse three and all of verse four:

that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. — 1 Timothy 1:3b-4

The metropolis has always been the epicenter for the sharing of "new" ideas. This is exactly why Paul centered on preaching the gospel in major cities. Ancient Ephesus, where Timothy was currently, was one of those cities. Ephesus was a coastal city with roughly 250-500 thousand residents. And because it was a major port, it was always full of activity. Some of the richest people in the world of the time lived on the hillside of Ephesus because it was beautiful and modern. It had a modern water system, modern business with lots of commerce, and a large theater that still exists today that held about 25,000 people. Before Paul wrote this letter to Timothy, we know he previously spoke at this theater about Jesus, which resulted in a major riot.

One of the primary issues for Christians at Ephesus was the constant assertion of new ideologies. Because Ephesus was a port and a thought center in the Roman empire, there were always new ideas on the rise. We have seen this in our time over the last couple of years. And their woke ideas threatened the gospel as much our new woke ideas do. This is the reason Paul is writing the letter. He has heard that woke ideas have infiltrated the church, and some people with more influence than others are mixing these ideas, concepts, and beliefs with the truth of the gospel.

But notice in the text that Paul says these ideas "promote speculation." For me, this signals the reasons for issues at Ephesus. Paul is warning Timothy that he is hearing there are new ideas being embraced by believers and that they have promoted enough speculation that they are now capturing their attention, a bit like a magic trick or sleight of hand. But like a magic trick, these ideas have shreds of visible truth that conceal something hidden — a falsehood or lie (the trick). But by the time they figure out the trick or the lie, they have speculated too long. Thus the idea has been embraced to the point it's being supported and taught to others. I don't think I need to make a contemporary connection, but this is happening in both schools and churches today. And by the time we've figured it out, the ideology is seeded too deep, and the return to truth becomes challenging.

And guess what? Paul wants Timothy to deal with it. To address this issue — woke speculation.

Fellas, this is why we need to be reading God's Word. We cannot sit back and just accept what we are being taught by anyone at any time. We need to test everything. We need to read God's Word, study it, and then test it against what we are hearing. If we don't, we might end up drifting and discover we no longer are following God because we've been following man-made speculations with only shreds of truth. So the next time you find you are speculating, or your church is speculating, then right at that moment, stop speculating and start searching. Truth is found in searching for the Truth in the Truth, not speculating about it.

ASK THIS: What one woke idea are you most concerned about today?

DO THIS: Search God's Word for a response to that idea.

PRAY THIS: God, give me the wisdom to discern truth and avoid meaningless speculation.

PLAY THIS: A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.

Check out other all Vince Miller's videos and audios for small groups at: https://beresolute.org/

Get Vince's most widely read resources The Daily Devotional at: https://beresolute.org/mdd

Check out more ALL IN products like the one Vince is wearing at:
https://beresolute.org/product-category/all-in-hats/
____________________________________________________________________________________
Connect with Vince socially:
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/millervince
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/vinceleemiller
LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vincemiller
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/vinceleemiller