1 Timothy 1

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¹This letter comes from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus appointed by the authority of God our Savior and Christ Jesus, who is our hope.

²I'm sending it to you Timothy. You are my true son because of your trust in God. May you have grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

³When I was on my way to Macedonia I asked you to stay behind in Ephesus, so that you could speak with those who teach false ideas and insist that they stop.

⁴They shouldn't concern themselves with legends and never-ending obsessions about ancestry. Such ideas only lead to pointless debates, instead of understanding God as we trust in him.

⁵The reason why I insist on this is so we may have love that comes from a pure heart, from a clear conscience and sincere trust in God.

⁶Some have deviated from these things, and have ended up talking nonsense.

⁷They have ambitions to be teachers of the law, but they have no idea what they're talking about or what they're so boldly announcing!

⁸Now we recognize that the law is good if people use it properly.

⁹We also know that law isn't laid down for those who do what is good and right, but for those who are rebellious and ignore the law. It applies to people who have no use for God, who are sinful, who treat nothing as holy and are completely irreligious. It's for those who kill fathers and mothers, for murderers,

¹⁰for those who are sexually immoral, homosexuals, kidnappers, liars, false witnesses—and anything else that's opposed to good teachings

¹¹as determined by the wonderful good news of our blessed God which he entrusted to me.

¹²I'm just so grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord for the strength he's given me, and that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to work for him.

¹³Even though I used to insult God, and persecuted and abused God's people, God showed me mercy because of my ignorance and unbelief.

¹⁴Our Lord in his grace filled me to overflowing with trust and love that comes from Christ Jesus.

¹⁵You can trust this saying that everyone should accept: “Christ Jesus came to this world to save sinners,” and I'm the worst of them.

¹⁶For this reason I was shown mercy—since I'm the worst sinner, Jesus Christ could demonstrate his infinite patience as an example to those who choose to trust in him and gain eternal life.

¹⁷Honor and glory forever and ever to the eternal King, the immortal, invisible, and only God! Amen.

¹⁸These are the instructions I want to give to you, Timothy, my son, following the prophecies that brought you this far, so you can fight the good fight!

¹⁹Keep on trusting God and make sure you have a clear conscience. Some have refused to do this and have shipwrecked their trust in God.

²⁰Hymenaeus and Alexander are such people, and I have “handed them over to Satan” to teach them not to misrepresent God.