 Good morning everyone and welcome to the course on 1st Timothy, 2nd Timothy, Thaistus and Philemon. We began this looking at the introduction to 1st Timothy last week. We also read through first the chapter 1 and we came up to verse 3. We'll continue from there today so before we begin can one of you please lead us in prayer please anyone? It's prayer. Dear Evan Father we thank you so much for this wonderful morning. We thank you for allowing me. Hello can you hear Christopher? I can't hear Charles sorry. Charles we can't hear you. Are those able to hear him? No ma'am. Okay maybe his internet connectivity is interrupted so. Can somebody else lead us in prayer please anyone? Yes go ahead Asha. Thank you. Thank you so much for letting me in. Lord, as we are about to start our class, 1st Timothy, Thaistus and Philemon that you strengthen our minds and help us to grow in wisdom and knowledge and equip us to be our Lord that we may understand deep with us and deeper things that you have to teach God. Thank you all professors and as she teaches Lord that you continue to pour your spirit and help us to grow so God in the ways she's about to teach. Thank you so much Lord for everything. We pray in that. Amen. Thank you. Charles sorry we couldn't hear you Charles so I think maybe your internet connectivity was weak. So I asked Asha to lead us in prayer. Is that okay? Are you there Charles? He's disconnected I guess ma'am. Oh see him anyways. Okay thank you Stavini. So last Monday we began looking at 1st Timothy. We looked at the background and we got gathered some information about Paul, his missionary journeys. And we saw that you know after his release from his 1st Roman imprisonment, which is somewhere between 63 to 6780, you know Paul travels along with Thaistus to Crete, you know and he leaves Thaistus there to continue to work at Crete and then Paul travels along with Timothy to Ephesus. And this time he leaves Timothy, young Timothy at Ephesus to oversee the work there and then Paul travels on to other regions and he goes to Macedonia where he writes this letter to 1st Timothy and Thaistus during this time. And some people say he also wrote Hebrews during this time but it's most likely that he wrote it from Macedonia. He just writes 1st Timothy, he writes Thaistus who he has left at Crete is encouraging them, giving them the moral support, the encouragement that they need to continue the work because it's not easy for them being young and overseeing these churches, which already was established and had elders there and the false doctrines that were being preached and taught and also to bring in some order in the church. So he writes back to them talking about all of these things and basically just encouraging both Timothy and Thaistus. And we see that during Paul's 2nd Roman imprisonment he writes his last episode which is 2nd Timothy and we see that Timothy is a son who to Paul, who Paul mentored, who he established in the work of the Lord and Timothy has just matured, has grown in his love for God, his love for his work, his love for his word and that is why we see that Paul leaves him at this very strategic place in Ephesus which not only just had the house churches there at Ephesus but also was kind of a spiritual headquarters for the other churches in that region, the seven churches of Srinna, Pergamot, Tithedia, Philadelphia, Laodicea and Thaistus. So that was just going back to a brief background of what we had studied last Monday. And then we began studying 1 Timothy chapter 1, we read through 1 Timothy chapter 1, we came right up till verse 3. So Paul says in verse 3, you know, he's just encouraging Timothy to remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they may teach no other doctrine. And so this whole chapter 1, he's basically giving him reasons why he wants Timothy to remain in Ephesus. The reasons he's saying is because in verses 3 to 7 he says because they need the truth because of the false doctrines that were preached. Verses 8 to 11, he says, I know you minister in a hard place, 12 to 16, how God uses unworthy people. So Timothy must be feeling very unworthy and Paul is talking about how unworthy and the worst sinner that he was and Christ Jesus saved him. And he was the chief of sinners but Christ Jesus saved him and there's no one unworthy like Paul. And so he says, you know, when God can use me, he can even use you. And verses 17 he says because, you know, he's reminding Timothy of who he's serving, he's serving a great God. And verses 18 he's talking about, you know, in the battlefield, you know, a soldier does not surrender. He's reminding him of, you know, a soldier who surrenders is a coward and basically soldiers are trained. They never surrender to the enemy. They fight till the last breath. And then in verse 19 to 20 he says because not everyone else does so. So he's saying that in verse 3 he says, you know, that you may charge some. So he says, remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they may teach no other doctrine. So the ancient Greek word for charge basically has a military connotation. It's a military word is word charge in the ancient Greek. It means to give strict orders and the strict orders is coming from a commanding officer. So commanding officers giving strict orders. And so Paul is telling young Timothy that, you know, he's just supposed to give that order. So when he gives that orders, you know, there is no option that is presented, you know. So Timothy wasn't to present the option of correct doctrine to be some in, you know, Ephesus. He was to command them like a military officer saying that this is the correct doctrine, not just give them the option to choose saying this is the correct doctrine and they have to follow it. So there were some people, you know, who were teaching these false doctrines and and was for he says, you know, what are these false doctrines. So what do we know about it. We gather some information from Westport where it says now give he to fables and endless genealogies, which causes disputes rather than godly edification, which is in faith. So these false doctrines, or the other doctrines, which is basically talking about is Jewish fables and, you know, endless Jewish genealogies. I had mentioned about this when we studied the book of Romans. So it was not just something very this problem was not just a challenge was not specific only to the churches at Ephesus but was something that was some prevalent throughout, you know, Europe and Asia Minor and, you know, all the places that Paul minister to basically was because Jews were turning. They're accepting Christ they were becoming Christians and joining the church, and they were bringing in all of these Jewish legalistic rituals of circumcision, keeping the food we looked at it in studied it in Romans chapter in the book of Romans. And we also see that, you know, they, they brought about these Jewish fables which are not it's not part of the Bible, but there was a lot of ancient Jewish, you know, writings that they had discovered, which talks about fables and endless genealogies and the other doctrine, which was very prevalent at that time was a Gnosticism and Gnosticism was something that was impacting the Christian mindset the Christian world the Christian church during Paul's time. It was a prominent heretical movement during the second century in the Christian church. So basically I like to give you a little background about Gnosticism because it's something that, you know, was a prevalent teaching that was that had spread and was in the churches disturbing the minds of the people in the churches so it's good to know about it just for your, you know, for your information. The term Gnosticism is derived from the Greek word, which means the Greek word Gnosis, which means to know or knowledge. So it was a second century religious movement. And the people who brought about this, this teaching said that salvation could be gained through a special form of secret knowledge so you can just receive salvation through secret knowledge. And the secret knowledge will be revealed to those who are, you know, spiritual enough in their mindsets to understand the spiritual knowledge and only those who received this impartation of the spiritual knowledge, they would receive salvation. So basically Gnosticists believe that the world was divided into physical and the spiritual realms. So, you know, a matter, you know, the physical world created a matter is evil, and therefore it's an opposition to the spirit world. And they believe that only the spirit is good and everything in this world is evil. For the Gnosticists, they believe that God is incomprehensible, he's unknowable. And this, you know, of course this conflict, you know, is an idea that conflicts are Christian understanding or a Christian understanding or a concept of God who is personal, a personal God who desires a relationship or fellowship with human beings. But the Gnosticists believe that God is incomprehensible and unknowable. Gnosticists also, you know, believe that there is an inferior God and a superior God. So they have this distinction between an inferior God and a superior God. They don't believe that God created the world because they're saying that the world is, of course, the physical realm is evil. So God cannot create evil. So they divide again, you know, they separate. And they say there's an inferior God who created this world. And there is a superior God who brought about redemption and salvation. And for salvation for Gnosticists, you know, they divide Christians into two categories. They say one group is Karnan, which is, and they believe they are inferior and the others are, and the other group is spiritual or superior. And they say only the superior Christians, you know, are divinely enlightened persons and they can comprehend these secret teachings and they can obtain true salvation. So what is these secret teachings? We really don't know. You know, it's something that they believe that will be revealed to them by the superior God. But we believe that, you know, the Bible teaches us that salvation is available for everyone. It's not just for the few, but salvation is from grace to faith in Jesus Christ. We read about this in Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 and 9. And it's not through works, but it is by grace through faith. And about Jesus Christ Gnosticists, you know, when divided on their beliefs about Jesus Christ, one view, you know, held that, you know, Jesus only appeared to have a human form, but that he was actually a spirit being only, but he appeared to have a human form. And the other view of Gnosticists believed that, you know, that the divine spirit came upon Jesus's human body at baptism and departed before his crucifixion. But we believe, or the Bible teaches us, the Bible tells us that, you know, Jesus was fully God and fully man, that he was both human. He had both human and divine nature that were present in him. And hence he was able to provide a suitable sacrifice for, you know, the sins of the entire world. So just as a basic background of Gnosticism, you don't have to, you know, it's not something that you need to keep in mind, but just, you know, in case you're studying scripture deeply and you need to know what Gnosticism is, what they believed in, and what context the writers of the New Testament are writing, especially Paul, when he's writing to these churches. It's because of this heretical movement that was very prevalent in the Christian church during Paul's time in the second century. Now, the endless genealogies which he's talking, he's mentioning here in West Ford, is connected with, you know, one can be Jewish type of legalism. You know, again, about circumcision, that those who are Greeks and Gentiles and they come to the faith, the Jews were imposing upon them that, you know, they have to be circumcised, they have to eat certain kind of food, observance of certain days. So they were bringing in all these Jewish legalism, which is kind of overburdening the people in the church. And so it does again come into a place where salvation is not by grace to faith, but by works which these Jewish believers were bringing into the church. And also this Jewish type of legalism, which they were teaching was that you can receive righteousness by virtue of one's ancestry. So they were saying that, you know, the Jews, they had the upper hand because they were from the generation or the race of Abraham. And so we see how beautifully Paul is writing the church at Rome and he talks about how Abraham receives righteousness. Not, you know, he received righteousness not just because of the covenant that got made with him and the sign of that covenant, the circumcision, but before that he was declared righteous, but it's because of his faith. And how beautifully Paul talks about, you know, how we can be made righteous in Christ Jesus is through our faith and how we can be interlinked into that. It's because of what Jesus did on the cross for us. And then we also see that, you know, when Paul was writing about these doctrines he had in mind, you know, this mystic readings of Old Testament genealogies. Now, ancient Jewish writings had discovered, you know, most complex genealogies, you know, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, just complex genealogies connecting, you know, them with spiritual mysteries, wild speculations about spiritual mysteries. So, and people, the Jewish people were consumed and were very interested in all of these things. But Paul is saying, you know, these other doctrines, these endless genealogies, these fables, what is the end result? He's telling Timothy that his end result is it's not going to bring godly edification, but it's just going to bring dispute and strife. Okay. So we see that when, you know, how do we know what is the many doctrines that are coming up today. The main thing is to just stand behind and watch. Because if it is some teaching from the Word of God, the right doctrine, then it's going to bring about godly edification in the faith. It's going to build up people in the faith. But if it's not something that is from God, it's not from the Word of God, then it's something that's going to bring about strife and division. So one way to know whether what we are listening to hearing from a speaker or, you know, some new theology that's come up is just wait to see, you know, what is the end result. Because Jesus says you'll be known by your food. So works will be known by the foods will make known your work. So what is the fruit of these wrong doctrines that people are teaching the end result is going to be just strife and division. But if it is the right doctrine, it's going to build up people in the faith. People are going to be strengthened in their faith. It's going to bring about godly edification. We also see that it was not something that Paul is just mentioning to Timothy. Now it has been a problem in the Church of Ephesus long before even, you know, before Timothy took on charge of overseeing or spiritually overseeing the churches at Ephesus, you know, during the end of the third missionary journey. Paul also, you know, meets the elders, you know, nine years before he writes first Timothy, he meets these elders. And he also, you know, speaks to them. We looked at it in the background when we did the background on the study, the introduction to first Timothy. We also see that Paul had warned these elders of his leaders at the church in Ephesus about these false teachings. And we get a glimpse of this in Acts chapter 20 versus 28 to 32. So can one of you please read Acts chapter 20 versus 28 to 32 please. Acts chapter 20 was 28 to 32. Therefore, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the Church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. For I know this that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves, men will rise up speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore, watch and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. So now brethren, I commend you to God and to the Word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. Thank you, Divya. So Paul is already warning them. He's writing, he's telling the leaders here at Ephesus nine years before he's even writing to first, writing to Timothy in his letter, first Timothy. We also see that when Paul writes his epistle of Ephesians, you know, to the church at Ephesus when he was imprisoned in Rome, he wants the believers to be built up. And he says in Ephesians chapter four verse 14 that you should no longer be children tossed to and for and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. So we see that, you know, this is an ongoing problem and Paul has been talking to them, writing to them, warning the leaders, but, you know, it still continues in the church and Paul is writing to Timothy and telling him what he needs to do. So what, why is Paul, you know, stressing on this whole thing of doctrine, because, you know, doctrine is very important to God. And it should also be important to us as his people, we need to guard the truths that has been revealed to us in God's word and to guard the truth. One of the ways we can do it is, you know, we need to study God's word. We need to learn God's word. So even as you are, you know, learning so many courses, learning so many things from the Word of God, learning all of these, the books that are there in the Old Testament, New Testament. You know, it's important for you to take time to study it, to know the doctrines, we studied about the doctrines and systematic theology as well. The doctrine of Jesus Christ in Christology, important to be grounded in the truths of all the doctrines so that, you know, you can teach and impart the right doctrines to the people, you know, who God is going to make you overseers, or to be shepherds of the flock that God is entrusting you to, or, you know, teaching it to your children, or teaching it in the Bible study group, or the cell group, or life group, whatever you are part of. So today, you know, in today's world, what one believes that is, you know, the doctrines that people believe is unimportant for most people, you know, the spirit of the modern age that we are living in, you know, has so much influenced, or heavily influenced, you know, the Christian doctrines, or the Christian mindset, or what people believe in, you know, and we live in a day when Pilate's question that Pilate asked in John chapter 18 verse 38, what is truth, you know, and the same question, if it's asked today, you know, people answer it as, you know, whatever it means to you. So whatever you understand, whatever you want to think, whatever you believe in, that is the truth, you know. So, but that is deviating from or misleading, or, you know, is Satan's way of deception of leading us from the truth in God's word. So, you know, we see that, yes, truth is important to God, and also should be important to His people. And that is what we see the high priestly prayer with Jesus prayed, you know, other, let them know the truth and let the truth set them free. Okay. Any questions so far from verses one to verse four? If not, we'll move on to verses five to seven. Anyone has any questions from verses one to four? Okay, there are no questions. Can one of you please read verses five to seven, please. As Timothy chapter one verses five to seven. Verses five to seven. Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, from some having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding either what they say, or the things which they affirm. Thank you, Christopher. So, what I'm saying is the purpose of the commandment or the purpose of the law is found in its inward work upon the heart of a person. It's not just mere outward observance, because the law had become just a mere outward observance. And that's why God is saying, you know, I will remove, you know, Desmond, I will remove your heart of stone, I will give you a heart of flesh. I will write my laws upon your heart and my mind and my spirit will help you to keep my laws and my command. So, you know, it had just become something that was very outward for them. It was not something that was an inward, you know, out of an inward love for God that they were keeping the laws, the commandments of it, making those sacrifices, observing those special days. But, you know, the whole purpose of the law that was given to them, it just became an outward work, you know, and not an inward work that God meant it to be. So without this understanding, you know, it was easy for the people, the Jewish people to get into, to become very legalistic in keeping the laws. And we read about that, even Jesus talks about this when he encounters these Jews in the gospels. And it become to an extent where it just became an outward performance and appearance. And that's why Jesus says that, you know, they're like these whitewashed tombs that look very beautiful on the outside. You know, they were wearing, you know, these, they had their word written on their forehead, bound on their forehead and the tassels, you know, on their clothes and everything. And it went about judging people, you know, praying loudly in the synagogues and in the street and all of those things. It was just an out mere outward appearance, but it was not something that it did out of a love for God or, you know, out of worship or reverence to God. But here, you know, Paul is saying, what does God want from us? So the purpose of the commandment, basically he's saying, or the purpose of the law is, first of all, love. You know, love from a pure heart, a good conscience and sincere faith. So Paul is talking about why God basically gave the commandment and the laws. And he knows that even as this, he's writing this letter, it's not just going to be read by Timothy, but also be going to be read aloud to the churches at Ephesus and the surrounding area. So he's saying the purpose of the commandment is love. And, you know, and he says that, you know, keep focused on these three things, loving out of a pure heart, good conscience and sincere faith. Do not stray away from this, do not deviate from this core truth into other unnecessary things. So pure heart is basically, you know, being pure in your motives, having no selfish interest, no personal agendas. You know, love from a pure heart suggests the idea that the problem in Ephesus, you know, which was along these Jewish type of legalistic lines where these Jews basically misunderstood the commandments and the laws and they were bringing it in. And they would just basically love and accept people who would follow these strict rituals and laws that the Jews, you know, want to be brought into the church. But he's saying, you know, this is not love. This is not what the commandment of love that God has given to us. It's not about legalism. It's not about keeping certain rituals, but it's just loving people, you know, out of pure motives, no selfish interest or personal agendas and a good conscience or a clear conscience. You know, it's good conscience, a clear conscience where, you know, one is living right before both God and man. And then since your faith, he's talking about real faith and he's not talking about a faith that is a pretense that you put in front of people so that people will think, oh, how spiritual they are, you know, how much they love the law, how much they love God, but it's not putting on a pretense before people, but it's just real genuine faith. So, you know, how does this apply to us, you know, when we spend time in God's Word, you know, if it does not produce love from a pure heart, if it's not producing a good conscience and since your faith, then there is something wrong. There can be a problem where we are becoming very legalistic and there are many churches where legalism, you know, is so overpowering, is so over-burdening people, you know, and legalism kind of twists God's Word, what he has said. So instead of showing love, people become very harsh and judgmental. If you don't dress up in a certain way, you don't worship in a certain way, you don't do things in a certain way, you know, people can become very harsh and judgmental. We see this very prevalent in our churches, you know, instead of having a good conscience, people feel condemned, you know, thinking that they don't measure up because they are not able to keep up with the devil. The legalistic rituals or the legalism that the church is bringing about, and also they begin to feel very condemned in the sight of God that, you know, they doubt their own salvation, they doubt whether God loves them. And it's easy for people to see that they really don't fit in church or they're not able to do things. And because they're not able to keep the church, so-called church commandments or laws, and they basically breaking it and people are becoming very judgmental of them, it's better to leave the church. And so they have nothing to do with the church. They don't have the fellowship and then they stray away from God. And this kind of legalism, you know, is a subtle way that Satan just, you know, enters our churches and brings about strife and division and also a lot of lies. So we're so bound by these things. And we look at people in other faith, you know, who do not know Christ, who do not know Jesus, who are so bound by rituals, who are so bound by days and customs and things that they have to do and living in so much of fear that if they don't do it, you know, they will incur curses or the judgment of God. So basically all boils down to works and not grace, which Satan, you know, easily leads people astray. And then he's, you know, instead of sincere faith, you know, practically we trust in our own ability to please God. So people come to a place where they're saying, hey, I'm keeping all of these rules and rituals that the church wants me to, and hence I'm pleasing to God. But those who are not able to keep it, you know, they feel condemned, they feel that they are not worthy in God's sight, they become unworthy people, and they're not able to do things. And hence it becomes no longer salvation by grace through faith, but by works which we see in many churches today. So, you know, it's important that, you know, even as we study God's word, even as you're studying these doctrines, you know, it produces in us a love from a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith. So as believers, let's stay with this pure heart, a good or clear conscience, good or clear conscience and sincere faith. Verse 6, Paul writes from which some have strayed and have turned aside to, yes, Christopher, you can go ahead. You know, I'm huge a mic and I just wanted to find out with regards to, or understand this a little more clearly. When it mentions about the purpose of the commandment, is it referring to also the 10 commandments and, you know, how people should live their lives based on those 10 commandments? And the second question is with regards to, if you could give us a few examples in the current times where people have, where there's a lot of legality being, you know, proclaimed and therefore people have, you know, are not really, they are actually getting, they are actually having, they are strayed and they are, you know, they are, as you mentioned, you know, run aside or I will talk with you. So give us a few examples for that, please. Yes. Thank you, Christopher. So your first question is, you know, with regard to the commandments, the purpose of the commandment is not just 10 commandments, but there are also 613 more commandments or laws that God had given to them. Basically in every area that we read in, you know, in the book of Leviticus, Deuteronomy, where the laws are all mentioned, also about, you know, about the covenant, the laws about keeping the covenant of God. So it's talking about the whole purpose of the law, looking at it as one, because, you know, Paul says, if you, you know, keep one law and break the others, it's as good as, you know, you've broken everything. So we see the law as just one whole entity, but when we keep one, you know, we also require to keep the others or it requires us to keep the others as well, not just keep some, which is easy for us, comfortable for us and break the others. Does that help, Christopher? No, sorry, sorry, sorry. So you're saying that the purpose of the commandments will be the 10 commandments and also the 630. Yes, they're looking at the law as a whole. Okay, but I thought that if we just live by the law, then we are not, you know, as mentioned over here, right? People who have lived by the law are not, may be ones who are, you know, not really, you know, practicing it or, you know, they're not. So I just wanted to understand the distinction between what, you know, the commandment and the law, what is the distinction between the two? Yeah, the law has the commandments as well. Commandment is also the law, yes. So here Paul is not saying that, you know, he's, as he's written in Romans we studied, it's not the law, but and here, you know, they're bringing in all of these laws and they're saying you have to follow all of these laws. That's how you receive, you keep your salvation going. So he's saying it's not about, it's not about these legalistic rituals that you, you know, observe, it's by grace through faith that you receive. But, you know, the Jews, even though they have received salvation, they come to the church, they have, they're bringing in these Jewish legalism. And that is what is causing a lot of strife and dispute and disorder in the church, which he mentions in verses three and four. Does that help, Christopher? Basically, some of the ones that are man-made are the ones that actually come from God. Is that, is that kind of the distinction? So the ones that are man-made? Man-made and the ones that really come from God as in, as in, you know, in the Bible or, you know. You mean the circumcision and the rituals of keeping food and all of those things? So I'm just going to, okay, I'm just going to understand if we follow the law, is that the right way to do it? Even if it is man-made, I mean made by, you know, created by man, or do we need to follow, do we follow what is there in the Bible? Okay, so this circumcision ritual is yes, is there in the Bible, the food, the way you dress, the way you do things is all what the law God had given the people. But then Paul is bringing them to an understanding of that the law was just something that, you know, showed them. He talks about it in the verses below in chapter one. You know, the law was not for the righteous but for the sinners because it basically, what did the law do? The law's basic work was it made a sinner know that they have sinned against God. And keeping the law is not going to bring about making you righteous. That means it's not going to give you a right standing with God. But, you know, it's by grace and what Jesus has done and through faith in Christ Jesus that gives you a right standing. But the whole purpose of the law was it revealed sin. It showed a person that they have broken the commandments of God. They've not kept the law. How do people know that they have, you know, not kept the law of God? It's a law that showed them. It was a law that revealed to them that they are sinners, that they need grace, they need forgiveness and they need salvation. So you're talking about whether it's keeping godly laws or it's about keeping man-made laws. Even now, even though we live by grace, yes, we still, you know, the commandments, the laws are still applicable because the law is not something that is bounding or binding on us. It's not something that is going to kind of burden us. But that was not God's main intent or purpose for keeping the law. The law is something that helps us to enjoy life in God, to know what God wants us to do, to live lives that are pleasing and holy and acceptable and to receive the fullness of life. So some of the laws even had to do with, you know, what kind of food to eat, what kind of clothes to wear. You know, people who study the Old Testament laws, they say, you know, in those days, God gave these, these, you know, food, the laws for food, dietary things. It is so good, so healthy and so applicable for people in our today's world to go back to those kind of eating habits or the kind of food that we need to eat. So the law that God gave us is not something that we need to keep it as something that, you know, is out of a ritual or something that is binding us, something that is trading us, something that's overpowering us, but it's something that is going to just enable us to understand the heart of God, what He has for us. And the other purpose of the law is also why God gave the Israelites, is so when they live by this law, you know, every nation around them had laws, the Israelites did not. So the purpose God gave them all of these laws, you know, if you look at so many laws that God gave them, is so that through these laws, people will know the Lord, their God, their thing worship. So that was another, the reason why God gave them the law was for them to enjoy who God is, what He's doing in their midst to live that fullness of life, the meaningful life that is in God. And also for other people to come and know this God has given them this law, so through this law they would know and encounter God Himself. And the man made laws that they made of all these Jewish fables and genealogies, yes, was binding on people and Paul was saying, you know, this is causing strife and division and this is not what is important. And that's why he's bringing them back to the core of why the commandments of the laws that God has given them is for love, a good conscience to know what is right and wrong and for faith in God. Did that help, Christopher? Yes, thank you. Okay, some examples that you had asked for some of the legalistic rituals that people, you know, have in churches today. Some of them, you know, is one of them is if you, you know, if you receive salvation, then you can't be baptized. You have to be part of the church for three months or six months, and you'll have to be, you know, joined up the fasting prayer, come to every services. And after that, you know, based on, you know, they're involved in the church and how regular they are the attendants, then the pastor will think, okay, this person is eligible for baptism. But that's not what the word of God says, you know, when you receive Christ, you know, you're baptized, you know, you can receive baptism. And in some churches, you know, only after you have received salvation, after you are baptized, after you are growing in the Word, then you can be prayed for Holy Spirit baptism, then you can receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. You can start speaking in tongues. If you're a new believer, you cannot, which is not true because, you know, some people have, we see that in acts, you know, at the Cornelius place when Paul goes to Cornelius's house, and Paul is just preaching the gospel. He's not even yet come to the place where he's giving them the altar call. And these people are cut in their heart, which means they realize that they have sinned against God. And, you know, and they start speaking in tongues and Paul and the other Jews will come along with Paul. They are surprised because they thought it's only for them, you know, but it's also for the Gentiles and no one prayed over them. They were not even baptized in the water. No one even gave them the salvation altar call, so to say, but they received Christ and they were not even water baptized, but they received the gifts of the Holy Spirit. So God was showing, the Holy Spirit was showing Paul how he's working, you know, so this can become like a legalistic thing. You have to do all of these things, then only you can, you know, receive baptism. You can receive the gifts of the Spirit. You can receive Holy Communion. You have to be of a certain age. You have to do certain things. Then you can receive Holy Communion, but, you know, Holy Communion is something that you can give people who've accepted Jesus Christ so that they can just receive the full benefits of what Jesus has done on the cross. Why make them wait for them to just participate and receive and be blessed with what Jesus has already done on the cross? And also in the area of, you know, certain kinds of dressing, you know, in certain churches you're not allowed to wear jewelry. You are, you know, you are any certain kind of people can teach and preach. You know, but if you have that gift of teaching and preaching, you can't. You have to wait. You have to, you know, go through certain classes and all of that before you teach and preach, even if you've come from a Bible study or from a Bible college. So all of these are kind of, you know, the dressing where you sit down, you know, all of those can be binding on people. And people again can get very offended sometimes because they are judged if they are not dressing in a certain way. They're not doing things in a certain way. If, you know, they have, they're worshiping in a certain church, but they're giving that, you know, they're also part of missions with another mission organization contributing there, supporting there. Then, you know, they're judged. They are questioned. But we have no rights on what people, where people go and minister, where they go for Bible studies, where they, you know, give their tithes and offerings. But yet they need to be faithful to the local church. And if they're doing that, then, you know, we just can't control people if they want to be part of other ministries where they're learning and just being built up and edifying. More of you can add to Christopher, you know, if you have seen some legalistic rituals and rules that are binding on people in your churches, we can come back after the break and some of you can share that. Is that okay, Christopher? Okay, we'll go for a break now and we'll come back after the break and continue. Thank you.