4 or to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies. These promote empty speculations rather than God’s plan, which operates by faith.
5 Now the goal of our instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.
vs. 3 - "Macedonia" - An area (now a country) located East and North of Greece. The Aegean Sea is east of Greece and separates Greece from the Turkish peninsula (and actually is part of the Mediterranean Sea). Macedonia, sometimes part of Greece, sometimes autonomous, was a significant part of the Grecian history - think of Alexander the Great, and his father Philip.
"Ephesus" - A city on the west edge of the Turkish peninsula. Turkey, Macedonia and Greece were major areas of emphasis of Paul's evangelism. Many of the cities listed in the discussion in verse 2 above are mostly located in what is now known as Turkey. There is no easy way to get from Ephesus to Macedonia, especially without airplanes. There is no land route, unless you wanted to go several hundred miles east, past the Straits of Bosporus, around the Black Sea, and back along the coast line. The trip had to be by boat, across the Aegean Sea to the Macedonian coastline.
"not to teach a different doctrine" - The church (universal, not the local body) is but a few years old - about 30-35 years. It has grown from about 12-20 people cowering in Jerusalem to being spread throughout the Roman Empire, at least the part of the Empire located in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. That is fairly amazing, since everything was word-of-mouth - no telephones, no television, no radio, Twitter, Facebook, or blogs. This was up-close and personal - one-on-one talking about Jesus, small group evangelizing. This is cold-turkey witnessing.
In any endeavor in which information is passed from one person to another and spread this way, there is bound to be errors of understanding, resulting in dilution and minor changes to the message, or in some cases major changes. This is what Paul is writing about - to correct the misunderstanding or deliberate errors in the gospel message being taught.
vs. 4 - "myths and endless geneologies" - I think Paul takes a swipe at both pagan religions and Judaism in this phrase. I don't know how many other religions were as obsessed with genealogy as the Jews. Even in modern times, second and third world cultures are quite cognizant of their tribes or groups. See Sunni and Shia in middle east - these are religious sects of Islam. This is their source of belonging. The Spartans and Athenians were more political, or power oriented than spiritual in their tribal connections.
The Roman and Greek gods were the most familiar of non-Judaic religions at that time. But the Jews would not have forgotten the problems caused by turning to the gods of the Canaanites, Midianites, Philistines, or any other of the cultures of the lands of and around Israel. God spoke through Isaiah and asked if a god made by human hands could answer the human prayer, or save them in times of need. See Isa. 44:13-20. This was not a rhetorical question! “Can these gods save you?” The answer was “No!” It will always be no.The Greek mythical gods cannot save you from your sins, any better than Dagon (Jud. 16:23; 1 Sam. 5:2-7), Baal (Jud.2:3; 1 Kings 18:21-40), or Ashtar.
"...God's plan, which operates by faith." - Jesus was asked what needed to be done to do the works of God. His answer - believe! That belief has a specific object - the person sent by the Father, i.e., Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God. (John 6:29)
Anything else leads to wasted time and effort - dreaming up stuff to do, things to believe, secrets to know, or specialized knowledge. All of those efforts take our attention off Jesus. We are saved by faith in Jesus. We must live out our salvation in the same way.
Are there rules to follow? A few. Are there formulas and rituals that will put us right with God? Not exactly. Formulas and rituals devolve into a 'works' religion: that is, what we do is what makes us acceptable. This is not living by faith. However, in Col. 2:6 We read, "Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed."
vs. 5 - "the goal of our instruction...' - There is more to the instructions Paul has given than just salvation. It sounds wrong somehow to say "just salvation" - because salvation is so amazing, so divine. It cost so much, and yet is freely given to you and me. Paul is referring to discipleship - learning how to live the Christian life, beyond becoming a born again Christian.
"...pure heart, clear conscience, and sincere faith." The instruction (discipleship training) produces these three in the believer:
- A pure heart - Jesus Christ indwells the believer. (John 14:20, 21, 23)
- A clear conscience - the believer confesses and repents of sin and is forgiven and cleansed of all unrighteousness (1 Jn. 1:8,9).
- A sincere faith - a full commitment of the believer to Christ, no half-measures. (1 Cor. 15:58; Col. 1:23; Heb. 6:19)
A pure heart and a good conscience are all founded in a sincere faith - believing that Jesus is the Son of God who died for your sins and was resurrected in righteousness signifying the whole penalty was paid in full. When living empowered by the Holy Spirit your conscience is guided by the Holy Spirit - this is the only path to purity and goodness. Our personal consciences, without the Holy Spirit, are too easily nudged off course with rationalizations. This is how people can come to call evil as good, and good as evil. (Need proof? Look at the political milieu in our present culture. Or look at how killing babies can be described as a good thing; or how adultery will enhance a marriage relationship; or how sexual abuse depends on how politically powerful, or wealthy the person.) ***
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