The living God, the Saviour of all people
19th November 2023
… we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Saviour of all people, and especially of those who believe.
1 Timothy 4:10 (NIV)
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The living God, the Saviour of all people
It was a sad and dark day for the Church of England this week, with General Synod deciding to take the next step towards allowing the blessing of same-sex relationships in parish churches, as this is clearly contrary to the teaching of Scripture as well as the consistent teaching of the church throughout history and indeed throughout the world today.
What are we to say in response? I have been struck by how relevant our studies in 1 Timothy at our evening services are to our current situation (but isn’t that typical of God’s word, which has a habit of speaking into our lives? He truly is the living God). Paul is writing to his trusted assistant Timothy, whom he has left in Ephesus to sort out the mess the church is in there. The ‘mess’ includes certain people, probably themselves elders, who are teaching false doctrines and devoting themselves to myths and endless genealogies (1:3-4). As I have been studying chapter 4 for this Sunday, two thoughts occur to me:
First, we should not be surprised because, “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron” (4:1-2). Quite! Even if the false teaching in Ephesus isn’t exactly the false teaching we are facing, surely these words apply to our situation? God is not surprised, indeed he has warned us this will happen, so we should not be surprised either.
Second, we should not give up. Rather, “we labour and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Saviour of all people, and especially of those who believe” (4:10). In other words, Paul keeps going – and expects Timothy to keep going – in the knowledge that God is still alive and he is still saving those who believe in him (as he always has). It’s almost as if he’s saying, “Situation normal, press on.”
No doubt there will be lots of things for us as a church family to think through in the short to medium term, but I feel that these are two words to us at this moment (or at least to me): Don’t be surprised and don’t give up.
May I also commend to you the statement made on behalf of the Church of England Evangelical Council:
https://ceec.info/ceec-responds-to-general-synod-decision/?fbclid=IwAR2qcnE3p0eM8jvgYobdpYex0kDWKkxYEURh-HNnYNzhDjJMDyFdhbBqCns
and also the pastoral letter from the Bishop of Ebbsfleet:
https://www.bishopofebbsfleet.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Bishops-Letter-Nov-2023.pdf
Living God, have mercy on us and give us grace at this present time, that the churches in the Church of England may continue to be ‘the pillar and foundation of the truth.’ Amen.
Yours warmly, in Christ,
Chris Hobbs (Senior Minister)