A FAITHFUL TRUST (20 OF 52)
Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:3-12
This content is part of a series.
A Faithful Trust (20 of 52)
Series: Discipleship Part 3
Christopher B. Harbin
2 Timothy 1:3-12
What does it mean to be faithful to a religious tradition? What does it mean to be faithful to Christ Jesus within a tradition? It is more than ascribing to a set of beliefs. Faith is more than trusting God. Faith is more than clinging to a heritage. Faith is more than repeating received traditions verbatim. At some point, faith must become more than what we have received. Honoring a tradition of faith requires allowing it to speak into new contexts with different words and concepts than those developed by those who have gone before us. Can we allow our faith traditions to lead us faithfully into issues and concepts we have never before addressed?
This passage of Paul's letter to Timothy is often cited in regard to hanging onto received traditions. We have often heard it read in homage to the faithfulness of his mother and grandmother for rearing him in their faith tradition. While this is an important point in the passage, it is definitely not all of what Paul says. To be honest, if that is the only point we take away from it, we are misreading it.
It is true that Timothy's was a received faith. It was true that the traditions of his faith had been passed down to him by his grandmother and mother. All the while, however, his was a new faith that departed from those same faith traditions. As Paul had moved away from traditional definitions of Judaism to embrace Jesus as the Christ and Son of God, the faith traditions passed down from his mother and grandmother had also suffered significant alterations in their comprehension of God's identity, character, and purposes. In light of Jesus, some issues Paul deems essential were changed.
Paul's ministry was at an end within 31 years after Jesus' death and resurrection. For Timothy's grandmother and mother to have been passed down their faith to him and Timothy to have reached adulthood beyond Israel, that herit ...
Series: Discipleship Part 3
Christopher B. Harbin
2 Timothy 1:3-12
What does it mean to be faithful to a religious tradition? What does it mean to be faithful to Christ Jesus within a tradition? It is more than ascribing to a set of beliefs. Faith is more than trusting God. Faith is more than clinging to a heritage. Faith is more than repeating received traditions verbatim. At some point, faith must become more than what we have received. Honoring a tradition of faith requires allowing it to speak into new contexts with different words and concepts than those developed by those who have gone before us. Can we allow our faith traditions to lead us faithfully into issues and concepts we have never before addressed?
This passage of Paul's letter to Timothy is often cited in regard to hanging onto received traditions. We have often heard it read in homage to the faithfulness of his mother and grandmother for rearing him in their faith tradition. While this is an important point in the passage, it is definitely not all of what Paul says. To be honest, if that is the only point we take away from it, we are misreading it.
It is true that Timothy's was a received faith. It was true that the traditions of his faith had been passed down to him by his grandmother and mother. All the while, however, his was a new faith that departed from those same faith traditions. As Paul had moved away from traditional definitions of Judaism to embrace Jesus as the Christ and Son of God, the faith traditions passed down from his mother and grandmother had also suffered significant alterations in their comprehension of God's identity, character, and purposes. In light of Jesus, some issues Paul deems essential were changed.
Paul's ministry was at an end within 31 years after Jesus' death and resurrection. For Timothy's grandmother and mother to have been passed down their faith to him and Timothy to have reached adulthood beyond Israel, that herit ...
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