(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)
“Moreover Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, “Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and tell him, ‘The Lord Yahweh says:
“You were the seal of full measure,
full of wisdom,
and perfect in beauty.
You were in Eden,
the garden of God.
Every precious stone adorned you:
ruby, topaz, emerald,
chrysolite, onyx, jasper,
sapphire, turquoise, and beryl.
Gold work of tambourines
and of pipes was in you.
They were prepared in the day that you were created.
You were the anointed cherub who covers.
Then I set you up on the holy mountain of God.
You have walked up and down in the middle of the stones of fire.
You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created,
until unrighteousness was found in you.”
(Ezekiel 28:11-15)
“But the Spirit says expressly that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, through the hypocrisy of men who speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron, forbidding marriage and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving. For it is sanctified through the word of God and prayer.”
(1 Timothy 4:1-5)
The ruler of Tyre was the prince of Tyre. The king of Tyre was the spiritual force behind the throne. The one they had dedicated themselves to and who was calling all the shots from the background. The prince of Tyre was a very egotistical human. The king of Tyre was the devil. It was his kingdom. He had completely dominated them with lies, getting them to worship him through idols and ideology. They were totally given over to his character and his morals. They defied God and God’s people – but were completely willing to trade with them as they tried to dominate them financially. They were THE example to the world around them about how great money and possessions were. How untouchable they made you. How you could control the world with them. Yet they were headed for a fall. For a collapse. Judgement was coming because they were rebelling against God and refusing to repent. They were about to reap what they were really sowing and they were blind to it.
Timothy was a teacher. A preacher. The people he was there to instruct were not necessarily all that open to receiving from him. He was young. He wasn’t preaching a popular message – the gospel is NEVER a popular message because it says we need God. Timothy was being encouraged not to divert. To keep to the teaching that he knew to be true. Not to be a populist preacher, but a preacher of Truth. Not to give up or ignore that which God had given him, but to hold onto it and God’s promises. To not let false doctrine and false teachers blind the people. Not to let his flock get pulled into folly. But to preach the truth. Hold to the truth. Keep God’s message front and centre. To be a light shining in the darkness.
Summary
There are always those who put limits on salvation. Who want us to pay a price for admission. Salvation is a GIFT. We can’t earn it. We don’t get in because we’re circumcised or because we don’t eat kale or because we stay abstinent. God doesn’t call us to a particular diet in order to gain enough righteousness to get through the door. God doesn’t call us to celibacy in order to be holy enough to serve Him. God grants us salvation by GRACE through TRUST in Him. Period. We cannot earn salvation. That rubs humans the wrong way sometimes. We like to achieve. We like to do it our own way. We like to earn it. But we can’t. We need to remember that we can’t. We need to remember it isn’t about US, but about what Jesus did FOR us. We need to hold to that and not try and gatekeep salvation. People don’t need to earn their way in. They need to realize they can’t get in on their own and accept Jesus. That’s the gospel. That’s the message.
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