Spiritual Health and Wellness

“Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (1Tim 1:13).

With healthcare costs going into orbit, there’s a HUGE emphasis these days on staying healthy. If we don’t get sick in the first place, we don’t have to shell out the copay and the insurance company doesn’t have to pony up the rest. It’s all about health and wellness. You know the drill. Eat right. Get some exercise. (Don’t freak out. This isn’t some never-ending open enrollment meeting.)

So what in the Wide World of Sports does the frustrating world of health insurance have to do with Paul’s second letter to Timothy? So glad you asked. The apostle writes his spiritual son a prescription for a healthy lifestyle in Jesus. “Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (v13). Eat right by consuming a high protein diet of God’s Word. Get some exercise as you trust Jesus and serve others. It probably comes as no surprise that they are the keys to a lifestyle of spiritual health and wellness.

But Paul’s not writing to Tim from some squeaky clean doctor’s office or ultramodern research hospital. He’s in jail. On Death Row to be specific. There’s no doubt he realizes his days are numbered (2Tim 4:6-7). He writes with a couple of important purposes. First, the apostle begs the young pastor to drop everything and come see him before its too late (2Tim 4:9, 21). Second, he writes critical instructions to his protege just in case they never see each other again (2Tim 2:1-4:5). 

Paul tells Pastor Tim, “Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me” (v13). The folks at the ESV make an interesting choice in using the word “follow” here. The original language is a command which is probably better translated as hold tightly or hang on securely. Whatever this is, don’t lose it, don’t drop it, don’t fumble it. Get a firm grip and don’t let go!

The apostle instructs his young friend to grab on to “the pattern of sound words” (v13). Here’s where the picture of spiritual wellness becomes clear. First of all, Paul talks about a “pattern” and uses the Greek word hupotuposis, which is literally a description of an outline or sketch. Tim has a basic outline of what to do. He doesn’t get a specific point-by-point to-do list. Think of it as rough instructions that apply to any and all circumstances. When we’re following Jesus and walking in His Spirit, there’s a LOT of freedom in how we do it. It’s a general prescription for spiritual health.

Tim is to follow the outline of Paul’s “sound words” (v13). And by “sound,” he uses a word (Gr. hugiaino) which certainly can mean accurate and correct. But it carries the idea of healthy and thriving. You see, it’s a medical term often thrown around by the apostle’s personal physician Luke. Dr. Luke knows all about wellness. He quotes Jesus’ words to the religious do-gooders at Levi’s big party, “Those who are well (Gr. hugiaino) have no need of a physician, but those who are sick” (Lk 5:31). 

Later in the good doctor’s bio of Christ, he describes how the Lord healed a Roman army officer’s civilian staff member without even making a house call. “When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well (Gr. hugiaino)” (Lk 7:10). Since Luke is currently the only person visiting him in prison (2Tim 4:11), it makes sense that Paul is using medical terminology.

In his prequel to Tim, the apostle describes our Savior’s teaching as “the sound (Gr. hugiaino) words of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Tim 6:3). There’s that phrase again. “Sound words.” Words of wellness from the Great Physician. The message of the Gospel is anything but a 98-pound wimp. The grace of Jesus is here to pump…you up! These are healthy words. Thriving words. Buff words. Words with six-pack abs.

The apostle reminds his protege how these are the same healthy words “that you have heard from me” (v13). Paul didn’t just think good thoughts. He said good stuff. Mentoring requires not only demonstration but explanation. Do it and then describe it. Give the “why” behind the “what.” If you’re the student in a discipling relationship, don’t be afraid to ask questions if you don’t know the reason why something is done. Actions do speak louder than words, but words explain your actions. Just like a good doctor with great bedside manner not only tells you to cut back on the french fries but why you should do it.

The two keys to spiritual wellness are “the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (v13). Faith is trusting totally in the Son of God as our cosmic Hero who came to our rescue. The Second Person of the Godhead left heaven to do for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves. He lived the life of 100% obedience to God’s commands that when we failed to do so. He died the death for our disobedience in our place. He rose to new life we certainly don’t deserve. And we trust Him to lead us by following His guidelines to an overflowing life.

But there’s a powerful connection between faith and love. Think of it like a spiritual drug interaction. Did you realize that trust in Christ produces love for people? So it’s no mistake that Jesus went out of His way to command His followers to love one another (Jn 13:34-35). And when the Lord and the human authors of Scripture talk about love, they’re not simply talking about the warm and fuzzy feelings you see greeting cards. Agape is like Boston’s song “More than a Feeling.” While there is certainly emotion involved, it’s a whole lot more. It’s love in action. Love that sacrifices. Love that does. Love that goes. 

Jesus clearly demonstrated His love for us by living and dying for us when we still a total dumpster fire of sin (Rom 5:8). Because of trusting in His ultimate act of love to us, we sacrificially love and serve the people He puts in our path. He calls me to a love-is-a-verb lifestyle. Someone once called it a “Me Third” attitude. God first. Others second. Me third. I worship God by getting my eyes off the doofus in the mirror and look around for whoever needs a hand. 

Our ultimate source of wellness is found “in Christ Jesus” (v13). Unlike the skyrocketing price of medicine, your spiritual healthcare costs are NOT going up. That bill was paid in full and paid in advance. Our Savior screamed it from the cross, “It is FINISHED!!!” (Jn 20:30, emphasis added). Believe it or not, there’s just one single word here (Gr. tetelestai). It’s no coincidence that this is the very same word someone in the first century would write on a receipt once the bill had been paid. Think of it as “PAID IN FULL.” There’s no payroll deduction or shared costs in God’s plan. He picks up the full tab for anyone and everyone who trusts in the sinless Son of God. Now THAT’S what I call universal health care!

Paul encourages Timothy to continue pursuing fitness by following this prescription through a healthy diet of the Gospel and getting plenty of exercise trusting Jesus and loving others. While there have been limitless breakthroughs in medicine since the apostle wrote his friend, these are timeless principles for holy health. So hang on tight to the words of spiritual health and wellness the apostle talks about. You know you’re trusting Jesus when you’re serving others. 

Filthy Food

“To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled” (v15).

Gluten-free. Low fat. Low sodium. Low carb. Lactose intolerant. Vegan. Vegetarian. Fruitarian. It seems like just about everybody I know is on some sort of restricted diet. It’s amazing how much discipline these folks have when it comes to food. They know what they should eat. And they know what they should avoid. For the new believers on the island of Crete, a team of false teachers demand that they follow a diet as key part of their faith in Jesus. Here in his letter to Titus, the Apostle Paul reminds his go-to guy that this idea of filthy food is crazy talk. 

As part of his assignment, Titus is to shut down and shut up a posse of spiritual snake oil salesmen who are distracting new Christ followers from the main thing (Titus 1:10-11). And that main thing is following Jesus! These con artists are members of the “circumcision party” (Titus 1:10). These are Jews who demand that Gentiles must convert to Judaism before they can ever consider following Messiah Jesus. Paul dealt with the same sort of knuckleheads in Galatia. This became such a hot button issue for the new church that they called a meeting back at the home office in Jerusalem to figure out what to do (Acts 15). They quickly decided that if God is saving non-Jews and bringing them into His kingdom, there’s no reason to burden these new believers with following the Old Testament and getting circumcised (whew!). A huge part of living life under the OT law is Jewish food regulations. In other words, there’s no requirement for Gentile believers to order the kosher meal.

Clearly, these new followers of Jesus understand the beauty of God’s creation and the glory of a good meal. “To the pure, all things are pure” (v15). In other words, when we place our trust in our pure and holy High Priest, we no longer have to worry about those incredibly complex rules of ritual purity God handed Moses in the Old Testament. Jesus is our ultimate High Priest (Heb 4:14-16). He makes EVERYTHING ritually pure and clean. The religious police challenged Jesus on this very same idea one night at dinner. The Pharisees’ jaws hit the floor when the Rabbi/Carpenter from Galilee didn’t wash up before dinner (Lk 11:38). They didn’t give a hot hoot about sanitation. They were obsessed with Jewish regulations of religious purity. At that point, Christ busts their chops and tells them they are totally preoccupied with the wrong stuff. He told them that they were like bad dishwashers. They scrubbed clean the outside of cups and dishes but never even touched the inside (Lk 11:39). “You fools! Did He who made the outside make the inside also? But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you” (Lk 11:40-41). 

Paul also ran into similar food controversies. No we’re NOT talking about who has the best barbecue (why can’t we all just get along?!?). It was huge point of contention for his friends in Rome. He let Roman believers know that we shouldn’t let food rules drive a wedge between each other. “Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats” (Rom 14:20). Forbidden foods was also a controversial issue in Corinth. The apostle reminds the Corinthians to not get all hung up on what they should eat. The bottom line is to remember that food and religious diet is a big deal for a lot of fellow believers. Don’t let what’s served at dinner “become a stumbling block to the weak” (1Cor 8:9). We need to stop worrying about what we want and start concerning ourselves with the good of others. “‘All things are lawful,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful,’ but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor” (1Cor 10:23).

The problem with the false teachers is that they see the world like my wife looks at a service station restroom. It’s disgusting. It’s filthy. “But to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure” (v15). This is WAY more than just whether or not there’s bacon on my cheeseburger. This is failing to trust that Jesus completely saved you and me. These Jewish circumcisers believe that Christ may have gotten us into God’s kingdom but it’s now up to us to stay in. And a big part of that is following a complicated list of religious rules and regs. Trusting in Jesus means wrapping your arms around His completed work. When He yelled from the cross “It is finished!” (Jn 19:3), He wasn’t kidding! He did it all. There’s nothing left for us to do except believe that He did for us what we could never do for ourselves. He lived the perfectly obedient life of purity that I completely failed to live. He died the death for my sinful disobedience that I should have died. He rose to a spectacular new life that I totally do not deserve. 

As a result, I don’t have to worry about my diet. Well, I probably do need to cut back on my red meat, but that’s a completely different issue. Jesus has freed us not just from the kosher food rules, but the obligation to follow the rules to self-salvation. It’s a reminder of God’s critique of His spectacular creation. “And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good” (Gen 1:31). Yeah, this idea of filthy food is crazy talk.