In the Pastoral Epistles, Paul repeated uses the term “the faith” (1 Timothy 1:2; 4:1, 6; 6:10, 12, 21; 2 Timothy 3:8, 4:7; Titus 1:1). Note that when he wrote about “faith”, he was referring to the faith we have in Jesus by placing our trust in Him. Paul also mentioned “sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:5; 2 Timothy 1:5) which points to the relationship we have with Jesus Christ and the genuine knowledge of it. When he used the term “the faith”, he was referring to a body of gospel truth. This includes several dimensions:
Doctrine. Paul refers to the “truths of the faith” (1 Timothy 4:6). The faith has doctrinal content—truths about the triune God, about Jesus and our salvation in Him, and our hope in Him. Paul urged Timothy to keep what he had heard from Paul as the “pattern of sound teaching” and to “guard the good deposit that was entrusted” to him (2 Timothy 1:14). The faith not only has sound content but can be passed from one person to another—through teaching.
These doctrines have a depth that must be noted. Paul refers to the “deep truths of the faith” and how they must be held on to with a clear conscience (1 Timothy 3:9). The wonder of these gospel truths is that our understanding and appreciation of them grow deeper as we plumb their depths.
Liturgy. “The faith” can also refer to the way we worship God as an expression of personal faith. The early church had a simplicity of worship. We find rubrics of it in passages such as Acts 2:42, where the worship of the early church involved apostolic teaching from God’s Word, prayer, the breaking of bread, and the experience of Christian fellowship. The Corinthian church had various problems during worship services, and Paul had to write to correct the abuses. Some of it involved impropriety in prayer, misunderstanding and abuse of the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11), and the disorderly use of spiritual gifts in worship (1 Corinthians 14). Paul insisted that “everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way” (v. 40).
Paul gave similar instructions on worship in the Pastoral Epistles (1 Timothy 2). The right and proper worship of God is important and has its roots in the Old Testament commands to reject idolatry. Even in the tabernacle and temple, there were clear instructions on worship, and where these were transgressed, God often acted severely. For instance, when Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu offered unauthorised fire in the tabernacle, God sent a fire that killed them (Leviticus 10:1–2).
Lifestyle. The doctrine we believe in is connected to how we worship, and these are connected to how we live. Paul not only reminded Timothy of his teaching, he also reiterated his way of life—his purpose in life, how he lived with faith and love, and how he endured suffering and persecutions with godly patience and endurance (2 Timothy 3:10). In his earlier epistle to Timothy, Paul sadly pointed out some bad examples of Christians who had lost their witness. In giving in to love for money, they pursued lifestyles contrary to the faith; hence Paul identified them as having “wandered from the faith” (1 Timothy 6:10).
The term “the faith” thus refers to the body of gospel truth that has been revealed in Scripture and by Christ. It can also secondarily refer to liturgy and lifestyle befitting that body of truth. The church has held to a canon of Scripture containing the gospel truths. This faith is to be held with conviction, preserved, and passed on. Through the study of canonical Scripture, the church has also developed canonical creeds, or statements that summarise its key beliefs. When we stray away from Scripture and creed, we stray away from the faith. Therefore, if anyone claims that Jesus is not God or promotes a habit or lifestyle that is contrary to the teachings of Scripture, he has begun to abandon the faith.
How we worship reflects what we really believe. If someone introduces elements or directions in a church worship that challenge the scriptural and doctrinal standards of the faith (for example, the worship of nature), he is in danger of leaving the faith. Finally, what we believe not only influences how we worship, but also how we live. We cannot adopt a lifestyle that runs contrary to the faith. Many Christians do live as if they were functional atheists. They make decisions, spend their leisure time, choose their lifestyles, speak, consume, and relate to people as if God is absent or irrelevant to the warp and woof of their lives. If they do this, they have already left the faith. It is for this reason that Paul urged Timothy, “Watch your life and doctrine closely” (4:16).
Our faith primarily has to do with our relationship with Jesus. We are called to put our trust in Jesus for our salvation and all the needs of our lives. It is when we believe in Him that we gain true knowledge of God. As we continue to relate with Him, we will also be in touch with the faith—comprising doctrine, liturgy, and lifestyle. These are built on the fundamental relationship that we have with Jesus. Without this, all else will lack life and meaning, understanding, and reality. “I know whom I have believed” forms the basis of all the “what I have believed”.
Consider this:
In your own words, what is “the pattern of sound teaching” that Paul referred to? How do doctrine, liturgy, and lifestyle provide sound patterns of the faith? How can they be guarded and passed on at home and in church? What are serious obstacles and challenges in this process?
Excerpted and adapted from Faithful to the End: A Preacher’s Exposition of 2 Timothy by Robert M. Solomon. ©2014 by Robert M. Solomon. Used by permission of Discovery House Publishers. All rights reserved.
Related Resources:
What We Believe: Foundations of Christian Doctrine.. Beliefs, no matter how unexamined or illogical, are at the root of everything we do. That’s why we must be clear about what we believe and why. Learn how to think right about God and our relationship with Him. Find out more here.
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