1 Timothy 1:1-20

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus under command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus, our hope, 2 to Timothy, a genuine child in the faith:

May there be undeserved kindness, mercy, peace from God [the] Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

3 Just as I encouraged you to stay in Eph´e·sus when I was about to go my way into Mac·e·do´ni·a, so I do now, that you might command certain ones not to teach different doctrine, 4 nor to pay attention to false stories and to genealogies, which end up in nothing, but which furnish questions for research rather than a dispensing of anything by God in connection with faith. 5 Really the objective of this mandate is love out of a clean heart and out of a good conscience and out of faith without hypocrisy. 6 By deviating from these things certain ones have been turned aside into idle talk, 7 wanting to be teachers of law, but not perceiving either the things they are saying or the things about which they are making strong assertions.

8 Now we know that the Law is fine provided one handles it lawfully 9 in the knowledge of this fact, that law is promulgated, not for a righteous man, but for persons lawless and unruly, ungodly and sinners, lacking loving-kindness, and profane, murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, manslayers, 10 fornicators, men who lie with males, kidnappers, liars, false swearers, and whatever other thing is in opposition to the healthful teaching 11 according to the glorious good news of the happy God, with which I was entrusted.

12 I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who imparted power to me, because he considered me faithful by assigning me to a ministry, 13 although formerly I was a blasphemer and a persecutor and an insolent man. Nevertheless, I was shown mercy, because I was ignorant and acted with a lack of faith. 14 But the undeserved kindness of our Lord abounded exceedingly along with faith and love that is in connection with Christ Jesus. 15 Faithful and deserving of full acceptance is the saying that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Of these I am foremost. 16 Nevertheless, the reason why I was shown mercy was that by means of me as the foremost case Christ Jesus might demonstrate all his long-suffering for a sample of those who are going to rest their faith on him for everlasting life.

17 Now to the King of eternity, incorruptible, invisible, [the] only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

18 This mandate I commit to you, child, Timothy, in accord with the predictions that led directly on to you, that by these you may go on waging the fine warfare; 19 holding faith and a good conscience, which some have thrust aside and have experienced shipwreck concerning [their] faith. 20 Hy·me·nae´us and Alexander belong to these, and I have handed them over to Satan that they may be taught by discipline not to blaspheme.

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