Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Who DON'T You Want God to Save? | New Testament | 1 Timothy 2

Episode Date: September 18, 2023

Can God really save everyone? Why doesn't he? Are you reluctant to share Jesus with other people? Why? In today's episode, Keith uses 1 Timothy 2 to discuss a problem in Christianity: not talking with outsiders about Jesus. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Join the TMBT community in reading the entire New Testament in one year. Get your FREE reading plan here. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: 1 Timothy 2

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. In the time it takes to get to work. I'm Keith Simon. Hey, we're going to start today with a modern-day parable. Here it goes. Now, it came to pass that a group existed who called themselves fishermen, and there were many fish in the waters all around them. In fact, the whole area was surrounded by streams and lakes filled with fish, and the

fish were hungry. Week after week, month after month, and year after year, these who called themselves fishermen met meetings and talked about their call to fish, the abundance of fish, and how they might go about fishing. Year after year, they carefully defined what fishing means. They defended fishing as an occupation, and they declared that fishing is always to be the primary task of fishermen. Continually, they searched for new and better methods of fishing, and for new and better definitions of fishing. They loved slogans such as fishing is the task of every fisherman, and every fisherman is a fisher. They sponsored special meetings called fishermen's campaigns. They sponsored costly

nationwide and worldwide congresses to discuss fishing, to promote fishing, and to hear about all the ways of fishing such as the new fishing equipment, fish calls, and whether any new bait was discovered. These fishermen built large, beautiful buildings called fishing headquarters. The plea was that everyone should be a fisherman, and every fisherman should fish. One thing they didn't, to, however, they didn't fish. In addition to meeting regularly, they organized a board to send out fishermen to other places where there were many fish. All the fishermen seemed to agree that what is needed is a board, which could challenge fishermen to be faithful in fishing. The board was formed by those who had a great vision for fishing, courage to speak about

fishing, to define fishing, to promote the idea of fishing, and far away streams and lakes where many other fish lived. Also, the board hired staff. and appointed committees and held many meetings to define fishing and defend fishing, but the staff and committee members did not fish. Large and elaborate and expensive training centers were built whose original and primary purpose was to teach fishermen how to fish. Over the years, courses were offered on the needs of fish, the nature of fish, where to find fish, the psychological reactions of fish, and how to approach and feed fish.

Those who taught had doctorates in fishology, but the teachers did not fish. They only taught fishing. Year after year, tedious training after tedious training. Many were graduated and given fishing license. They were sent to do full-time fishing, some to distant waters that were filled with fish. Some spent much study and travel to learn the history of fishing, and they lauded the faithful fishermen of years before who had handed down the idea of fishing. Further, the fishermen built large printing houses to publish fishing guides. Presses were kept busy day and night to produce materials solely devoted to fishing methods, fishing equipment, and programs to arrange and encourage meetings to talk about fishing. A Speakers Bureau was also provided to schedule special speakers on the subject of fishing.

Many who felt the call to be fishermen responded. They were commissioned and sent to fish. But like the fishermen back home, they never fished. Some felt their job was to relate to the fish in a good way, so the fish would know the difference between good and bad fishermen. Others felt that simply letting the fish know they were nice, land-loving neighbors, and how loving and kind they were, was enough. After one stirring meeting on the necessity for fishing, one young fellow left the meeting

and went fishing. The next day he reported that he had caught two outstanding fish. He was honored for his excellent catch and scheduled to visit all the big meetings possible to tell how he did it. So he quit his fishing in order to have time to tell about the experience to the other fishermen. He was also placed on the fisherman's general board as a person having considerable experience. Now, it's true that many of the fishermen sacrificed and put up with all kinds of difficulties. Some lived near the water and bore the smell of dead fish every day. They received the ridicule of some who made fun of their fishermen's clubs and the fact that they claimed to be fishermen yet never fished.

They wondered about those who felt it was of little use to attend the weekly meetings to talk about fishing. After all, were they not following the master who said, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men? Imagine how hurt some were when one day a person suggested that those who didn't catch fish were really not fishermen, no matter how much they claimed to be. Yet it did sound correct. Is a person a fisherman if, year after year, he never catches a fish? I've always liked that parable because it explains how we talk more than we do. And that's true in a lot of areas in our life. You can easily write a parable like that about how we talk about reading our Bible or we talk about prayer,

but we don't often read our Bible or actually pray. But I think this parable is especially true when it comes to introducing people to Jesus. We talk about it more than we actually do it. Which makes it odd for people to ask, Why doesn't God save everyone? In other words, why doesn't God bring everyone into a relationship with Him? In 1 Timothy chapter 2, we will see that God's heart is for everyone to come to know him. God is not reluctant to save people.

If anyone is reluctant to do their part, it's us. In 1 Timothy 2, verse 1, Paul encourages us to pray for all people. And then in verse 4 he says that his desire is for all people to be saved. In verse 6, we're told that Jesus gave himself as a ransom for all. And in verse 7, Paul says that he was called to go to the Gentiles and not just the Jews. So it's hard to miss that God is concerned about all people, and he wants them to come to faith in him. Since 1 Timothy 2 starts with prayer for all people, let's consider our prayers. My prayers tend to focus on one person, and that's me, or maybe my family, or on a good day a few people I know and I care about.

God wants us to pray for all people. He wants us to pray for everyone in the world. I want my heart to grow to be more like God's heart, so that I care for all the people that he cares about. Paul instructs us to pray in verse 2, quote, for kings, and all who are in high positions, that we may lead peaceful and quiet, lives in all godliness and holiness. We pray for peaceful conditions so that we as Christians can live lives that reflect the gospel and those around us will be drawn to Jesus. And 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul says, to live quiet lives so that our daily life may win the respect of outsiders. You see, there's a lot of power in a life well-lived for Jesus. Then back in 1st Timothy 2 verse 4, it says that God desires all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. Now, we're glad when we hear that, right?

We're glad that God wants everyone to come to faith in him. But then remember, remember, that means that God loves all the people that you don't like. All the people who live differently and act differently and have a different set of values and vote differently. The people who've hurt you and offended you, the people who drive you crazy, well, guess what? God loves them too, and he wants them to come to faith in him. So because God loves all people, he provides a mediator to pay for sin. Here's verse 5 and 6. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. Because Jesus is fully God and fully human, he can be the mediator between sinful people and a holy God. He can give himself as a ransom for all people.

God is not reluctant to save people. He sent his son to die for them. He commissions us to pray for them and then sends us out to represent him in our words and our actions to a lost world. Let's pray that God would make our heart as big as his.