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1 Timothy 1:5
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5 Now [de] the end [telos] of the commandment [paraggelia] is [esti] charity [agape] out of [ek] a pure [katharos] heart, [kardia] and [kai] of a good [agathos] conscience, [suneidesis] and [kai] of faith [pistis] unfeigned: [anupokritos] KJV-Interlinear
5 But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. NASB
The four aspects of the efforts of false instructors is their error, their goal, their motive, and their effect or outcome.
We covered their error. They have only myths and endless lists which lack truth or substance. Their arguments are made up, invented, and their statistics or views are repetitive, coming from nowhere and going to nowhere.
Now as to their goal. Paul contrasts the goal of the deceivers with the goal of truth.
First as to the goal of truth.
Truth seeks your completion as a human being. That means your body, soul and spirit. The first means of your completion, is your salvation and the certain promise of eternal life. That comes with faith in the Savior, Jesus Christ.
The second means of your completion, is your spiritual growth. This is your learning of doctrine, your living in fellowship, your understanding of what you learn, and finally your using what you learn on a daily basis, in your daily life. That last part creates your spiritual production.
Remember, your works, your efforts according to your standards, are not works according to Gods standards. You can say all of the words, sing all of the right songs, and feel all of the right feelings, but if your life is based on emotions only, then your life is seriously lacking in substance.
Bible doctrine, learned in an academic environment, is the substance and foundation of your spiritual life. And on that, is based the rest of your entire life.
Love, ‘agape,’ is the love of choice, it is the love of substance, not emotion. ‘Agape,’ is the content of the scriptures, which you have to learn, before you can know and use them.
But here it is translated, charity, and charity is the action, or the active use of the principles of life, in life.
Charity which also means giving to those who are in need, is a different type of charity, and not in view here, although it is incorporated because it is a part of the vast array of principles of doctrine that apply to ones life.
This word, ‘agape,’ here refers to the vast array of principles which you need to learn in order to grow up. And that in turn contributes toward the completion of your total life.
This is the goal of truth, to bring your life to its fullest possible point of completion and beyond.
But life is more than just knowledge, it is use and function in ones daily life, with a ‘pure heart.’
The Psalms cover the concept of the pure heart,
"Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place?" Psa. 24:3.
"He who has clean hands and a pure heart," Psa. 24:4.
"Create in me a clean heart, O God," Psa. 51:10.
"Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart!" Psa. 73:1.
And what exactly is a pure heart?
A heart washed by regeneration, Titus 3:5, an obedient heart, Rom 6:17.
The heart is the active function of the soul, symbolically in the soul, as it is a pump within your physical body. The heart represents the circulation (the use) of Bible doctrine in your soul.
And the only people who can possess this pure heart, are those who have been saved (regeneration), and those who live within the fellowship sphere of the spiritual life (obedient). This fellowship concept has been studied in detail within our studies of 1, 2, and 3rd Jn. Perhaps one day you will find the time to go over those studies.
Next is the good conscience. This is the self discipline within you, that keeps you alert as to the status of your spiritual life. It is the self evaluation, moment by moment of your life, monitoring for sin in your life, measuring your thoughts and actions, against that which is right, verses that which is wrong.
Everyone is born with a natural sense of what is right and what is wrong, Rom. 2:14-15. No one has any excuse for not knowing the fundamental difference between right and wrong. When you cross the line you experience guilt, fear, shame, remorse, nervousness, and so forth. So you are always alerted to the fact of your thoughts or actions, Titus 1:15. A good conscience is one who functions in fellowship.
‘And faith, unfeigned.’ The spiritual life cannot be faked with God. You may fake out people, with rhetoric and smiles, but God looks inside of the soul and sees the truth therein, or lack of it.
With truth, your thoughts are pure, your motives are pure, your actions are pure. There is no deceit or attempt to deceive or further your own self at the expense of others. You do not elevate yourself above others, or try to take advantage by dishonest means. You do the best you can with what the world dishes out to you and depend on God for the rest.
If you have to promote yourself at the expense of someone else, then your advancement is not really an honorable advancement.
The goal of truth is to build you up, to make you complete, to separate you and make you autonomous from the constraints of this world. To make you free, secure, prosperous, and contented. That is true happiness, and the underlying result is real meaning and purpose for your life. That is the ultimate goal of truth, for your life.
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