Jump Start # 3443

1 Timothy 1:5 “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”

I have been reading a book about Benjamin Franklin. Not the statesman and founding father, but the early Indiana preacher. He was related to the famous Franklin, but among Hoosier disciples, he holds a fond place as one of the early preachers and writers that helped restore the ancient way of things. There are several good books about preacher Franklin, but the one I’m reading was published in 1879 by his son, Joseph.

It tells the struggles of a poor preacher in a pioneer world who is trying to establish the Gospel way. Franklin held many debates and although not very well educated, started publishing a paper that blazed the trail in Eastern Indiana for the N.T. pattern.

In describing these early pioneer disciples in Indiana, Joseph Franklin states, “Their religion was to believe the facts, obey the commands and enjoy the promises.” What a great summation and description. It is fitting not only for those log cabin pioneer Christians, but it is fitting for us in our fast paced, highly technological world that we live in.

What’s it all about? Believe the facts. Obey the commands. Enjoy the promises. As some would say, “That’ll preach.” More than that, what an easy and simple way of describing what we are about. We believe the facts. We obey the commands. We enjoy the promises. 1-2-3. That’s it.

Here are some things I want to share with you about that:

First, sometimes we make things harder than they need to be. Sure, diving into Romans is a deep study. But, we can get bogged down with so many things that we forget the big picture. What a great explanation to share with a new convert: believe the facts, obey the commands and enjoy the promises. Maybe if we returned to that simple statement, there would be less arguing and fighting among some.

Second, this statement shows us the balance that we need to keep before us. It’s not all commands to obey. It’s not all promises to enjoy. Some seem to stress one over the other. All three— believe the facts, obey the commands, enjoy the promises. Those aren’t choices. Those aren’t picks that we make. It’s all three. The promises cannot be enjoyed without the commands obeyed and the facts believed. One won’t obey the commands unless he first believes the facts. But facts and commands can seem dry and lifeless. They can seem like doing a hitch in the military. There are promises to be enjoyed. Believe. Obey. Enjoy. Together, all three work wonderfully well in the heart of a disciple.

Third, most of those early Indiana pioneer disciples would not believe the luxuries we have in worship today. Large church buildings, hundreds of hymns that can be projected on a screen, multiple translations at our fingertips on our phones. We can chase down the meaning of original words, bring up maps and even photos of the lands where the Bible events took place and have so many rich resources available to us. Yet, with all of this, believe, obey and enjoy can often escape us. We have it so nice, but we can complain so much. We have it so good, but we do so little. The life of compliancy can fill our hearts to which we become observers and spectators rather than deep worshipers of God.

Our verse today reminds us that there is a purpose or a goal to all of this. And, in this simple Timothy passage, we find three powerful statements: love from a pure heart; a good conscience; a sincere faith. That’s what Paul was aiming for.

And, for those early Christians in the wilderness of Indiana, it was, Believe the facts—obey the commands– enjoy the promises. That’s it. That’s what it is all about. That was their religion. Is it ours?

Roger