I Urge You – Remain in Ephesus

I Urge You – Remain in Ephesus

1 Timothy 1:3

3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia—remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, 

4 nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith. 

   Timothy, like Titus, was a young man who Paul the Apostle called a son in the faith.  Here in the very beginning of his letter to Timothy Paul is telling him to remain in Ephesus.  By accounts I’ve read about the city, it wasn't easy to serve the Lord there.  It was one of the great cities of the ancient world, and was noted as a religious and economic center.  Ephesus had the famous temple to the goddess Diana and a thriving banking industry.  There were many things, both spiritual and material, that would make it difficult for a pastor to stand strong for the true message of the Gospel. 

   Even knowing that Timothy had a tough job to do and a tough town to do it in, Paul wanted him to "remain in Ephesus."   He also charged Timothy with the same basic instructions he gave to Titus.  The church there was a new church, and already opposition had been sent to interfere with the Gospel message.  The enemy does not waste time; he goes in for the kill quickly.  Living in NH in the 70’s, I witnessed the birth and death of a couple of churches.  They started with fire and determination and died under opposition and oppression.  The key weakness in both was the lack of a leader called of God to be a Pastor. 

   Paul did not want the church he had founded in Ephesus to face opposition without a Godly pastor to lead them.  Timothy had traveled with Paul for a while and he knew Paul’s heart and had sat under Paul’s teachings.  He was a young man with a good testimony and Paul entrusted him with the big job of coming against the enemy’s work in Ephesus and leading the church on the right path. 

   But reading this I get the impression, and this is my opinion, that Timothy must have wanted to leave Ephesus.  Paul is not telling Timothy in these verse to “go to” Ephesus, he is urging Timothy to “remain in” Ephesus.  Paul would not have said this to Timothy if there were not some kind of pressure for him to leave.  Something was pushing Timothy to give up, to resign, and to walk away from his charge to lead this church.  Paul is urging Timothy to resist the call to leave and to get back to work and bring the truth to these people who needed to hear it. 

   God will allow us to be in difficult situations at times.  We must set our minds to meet the challenge and never to entertain the thought that it’s OK to quit.  Quitting is an easy out but it becomes habit-forming.  Quit once and it’s much easier to quit the second time.  There will be opposition from the enemy any time you set out to do a work in God’s name.  Just preach the Gospel and you can see the dark clouds gather overhead and a storm will break on your life.  But you must determine to stand firm right from the start and never let thoughts of quitting enter your plans. 

   There is a story, not confirmed, that a newspaper ran the following, believed to have been written by Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton:

"Men wanted for hazardous journey, small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful.

Honor and recognition in case of success."

The ad is said to have received more than 5000 responses.  They were willing to give their lives to a big, difficult mission to follow a great leader calling to them.

   Timothy had a tough job, and we also face a tough job.  Sharing the Gospel is a job assigned to every Christian.  And the enemy does not want you to carry out your mission.  You can expect opposition whenever you tell a lost soul the Gospel.  You can expect that you will anger someone and you will be called things and/or accused of things.  But it is a certainty that a person who is unsaved and who never hears the Gospel will not come to salvation.  And that is the thing to keep in mind when you hesitate to speak out to an unsaved friend or family member.  If I don’t talk to them, will they get another chance?  I watch the news and there are stories of people who were going somewhere but their lives ended abruptly. 

   Has God called you to stay faithful through a difficult situation, when you would prefer to escape?  Has this been one of "those" weeks?  You can find the strength to remain where God wants you to remain, if you look for the strength not in yourself, but in God.

Stephen Cram                            August 5, 2012                    Colossians 2:8

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.  Colossians 2:8