I was on my way to work this morning in one of those early morning thinking moods initiated by seeing the sun come up. Looking at the sky trying to fathom the love I feel from our Heavenly Father, a verse came to mind that I’ve been reading over and over this week. The verse comes from 1 Timothy 1:5;
“The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”
When I read first Timothy, this is the verse that pops out at me. God must be trying to teach me something with this and I believe He has. I want to break this down and share with you what I believe God has been speaking to me through this verse.
- “The aim of our charge”…
What’s our charge?
I believe our “charge” comes from Matthew 28:19… “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
What is our aim?
Our “aim” is love. Loving both the believers and unbelievers the same. Not “us” against “them,” but just “us.” All of “us.” To go with love from the Father to reach all nations which means all peoples. We are all God’s children. It can’t be “us” against “them” because that would be “us” against “us.” There is no “them.”
- “that issues from a pure heart”…
Issues = comes from; love that comes from a pure heart.
How do we obtain a pure heart?
Let’s look at the word heart first. Often times the heart is referred to a person’s “inner being.” The heart is the center of a person and concerns their thought life and spiritual life. The inner part of a believer can be cleansed from sin which would then refer to a “pure heart.” Knowing that, we can look at 1 John 1:9…“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
- “and a good conscience”…
The conscience can be what gives us an awareness of conduct issued from a set of standards, in this case, God’s standards. Maybe it’s someone who has studied and meditated on God’s word and knows God through an active relationship with His Son Jesus and therefore can make conscience decisions on living and doing life according to God’s standards.
Acts 23:1…“And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.”
1 Timothy 1:19… ”holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith,”
1 Peter 3:16… ”having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.”
1 Peter 3:21… “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,”
- “and a sincere faith”
The sincerity of our faith can be determined by the actions of our heart. It’s no mistake that Paul told Timothy “the aim of our charge is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13… “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” or
John 15:13… “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”
John 3:16…“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Thousand Foot Krutch has a song called “Courtesy Call.” There is a line in the song that says “this world we’re fighting is not just rotting.” I’ve heard this song a hundred times by now and I’ve heard those lyrics being sang that many times as well. I sincerely believe God clearly pointed those lyrics out to me because the world we live in isn’t just rotting, it’s dying and as a believer having the gift of the saving grace of our Heavenly Father, I feel nothing less than an obligation to share this good news with a dying world. I believe this can be lived out through this statement.
“Our aim as disciples is to go and make disciples by loving others with a love that comes from a pure heart justified by the cleansing of sins after our confession of sin to God, living by the standards of God, and having a sincere faith believing that God gave his Son Jesus as a sacrifice on behalf of all sinners in order that we may have eternal life with Him.”
