1 Timothy 1:1-11
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus
by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,
To Timothy my true son in the faith:
Grace, mercy and peace
from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies.
These promote controversies
rather than God’s work—which is by faith.
The goal of this command is love,
which comes from a pure heart
and a good conscience
and a sincere faith.
Some have wandered away from these
and turned to meaningless talk.
They want to be teachers of the law,
but they do not know what they are talking about
or what they so confidently affirm.
We know that the law is good if one uses it properly.
We also know that law is made not for the righteous
but for lawbreakers and rebels,
the ungodly and sinful,
the unholy and irreligious;
for those who kill their fathers or mothers,
for murderers,
for adulterers and perverts,
for slave traders
and liars and perjurers—
and for whatever else is contrary
to the sound doctrine that conforms
to the glorious gospel of the blessed God,
which he entrusted to me.
