The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde that debuted at the St. James Theater in London on Valentine’s Day 1895. The play is a humorous satire that mocks the rather serious social obligations of Victorian society. The story revolves around two young gentlemen who use the same pseudonym (“Ernest”) on the sly, which is fine until they both fall in love with women using that name, which leads to a hilarious mess of mistaken identities. Wilde uses the name “earnest” as a clever wordplay with its adjectival definition of “serious.” Throughout The Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde asserts that being earnest isn’t really all that important.
While Oscar Wilde’s play teaches us that we shouldn’t take our social obligations too seriously, the Apostle Paul’s first letter to Timothy teaches us that we need to take our spiritual obligations very seriously. Paul’s begins this letter like he does most of his other letters: he states his name, his authority as an apostle, the recipient, and the traditional Christian greeting “Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord,” but he omits his typical word of thanksgiving because the Ephesian church didn’t give him much reason for thankfulness.
Instead, Paul launches right into his purpose for writing to Timothy, which was a very serious matter. Paul charges him to remain in the city of Ephesus and continue to oppose the false teachers who were corrupting the church. A group of leaders within the church had been teaching false doctrines and were leading people away from the true gospel of Jesus Christ, and Paul had appointed Timothy to combat the false teachers and restore the church to spiritual health. In the opening passage of Paul’s letter to Timothy, he establishes the importance of being earnest in Christian belief and Christian behavior, which are both necessary for a healthy church. As we look this passage, let us consider our own earnestness in Christian belief and behavior?”
1.) The Importance of Being Earnest in Christian Belief (3-7)
Timothy had already been in Ephesus for some time, but the problem of false teachers within the church was persisting. Therefore, in verse 3, Paul commands Timothy to stay there and continue to fight the good fight of faith against this group of people who were promoting false doctrines. The doctrines that they were spreading were different, strange, novel, and inconsistent with the gospel of Jesus Christ. These church leaders had instead devoted themselves to “myths and endless genealogies.” “Myths” refer to untrue stories or fables that only the gullible would believe or follow, which support nothing of value. “Endless genealogies” refers to wearisome lists of personal origins. Paul doesn’t explain the precise nature of these teachings, but they both seem to reflect some type of Jewish heresy infiltrating the church.
What we do know is that Paul stands boldly against such teachings because they produce speculations instead of God’s work. The Greek word translated here as “speculations” means “pointless controversies, meaningless talk, and worthless arguments.” These false doctrines were distracting the church from real spiritual growth and the ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The teachers did not have pure motives nor did they have the right qualifications to be in church leadership. They desired to be teachers, but they didn’t know what they were talking about.
Paul’s motivation for Timothy to oppose the false teachers was love that is manifested in a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. The purpose for ordering the false teachers to stop spreading heresy was to help the church get back to what it is supposed to be doing; that is, making and maturing disciples of Jesus Christ. Paul wanted Timothy to be earnest in protecting the church against false doctrine so that it could stay focused on its true mission.
It is sad to think about how many times throughout the history of the church that false teachers and heretical doctrines have diverted the church from its mission. For instance, I think about the scholastic theologians in the mid-1200’s A.D. who used to sit around and debate how many angels could dance on the head of a needle. (Talk about vain discussions and pointless speculations!) Some historians have linked this debate to the medieval theologian Duns Scotus, from which we get our modern term “Dunce Cap.” If it is true, it is certainly fitting!
Can you imagine sitting around and talking about something like this? What a waste of time! What a distraction from the church’s real purpose! But similar things happen in the modern church all the time. Some false teachers today lead churches into the heresy of legalism, where they spend more time debating how long a Christian’s hair should be than spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. Other false teachers lead churches into charismatic heresies, where everyone in the church is passed out on the floor and barking like dogs, rather than promoting the real work of the Holy Spirit. Still other false teacher’s side-track the church by becoming political activists—I don’t think protesting outside the funeral services of our fallen soldiers is a part of the church’s true mission! As you can see, it is important to be earnest in our Christian beliefs!
2.) The Importance of Being Earnest in Christian Behavior (8-11)
Now that Paul has established the importance of sound Christian doctrine, he moves on to the importance of being earnest in Christian behavior. In response to the false teachers’ improper use of God’s law (the Old Testament in this context), Paul sets forth its real intent, which is distinguishing between right and wrong behavior. The law is God’s standard of moral conduct for human beings. It was given to show humans that they are all lawbreakers and sinners—the law shows us our need for a savior!
After asserting the purpose of the law, Paul reaffirms some of the foundational parts of the law by including a list of common sins. This list is certainly not exhaustive—that is why it begins with general terms like “the ungodly, sinners, unholy, and profane.” This would include anyone who does something that is contrary to God’s character or moral expectations that are laid out in the Bible.
The second half of the list bears a clear correspondence to the Ten Commandments. “Those who strike their fathers and mothers” is a breach of the fifth commandment to honor your father and mother. “Murders” obviously is a breach of the sixth commandment that you shall not murder. “The sexually immoral and men who practice homosexuality” refers to any sexual activity outside of marriage and to any type of homosexual behavior and it corresponds to the seventh commandment that you shall not commit adultery. “Enslavers” specifically refers to those who are involved in slave trading and human trafficking and breaks the eighth commandment that you shouldn’t steal. “Liars and perjurers” is an obvious breach of the ninth commandment. Paul rounds out the list with the categorical phrase “and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine” or any other behavior that conflicts with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Paul includes this list of specific sins because Timothy needed to be reminded of God’s laws as he fought against the false teachers who were trying to change God’s laws. Like Timothy and the Ephesian church, we all need to be reminded of God’s laws. We need to be reminded that it is our duty before God to honor our parent’s, even when that is difficult to do. We need to be reminded that any sexual activity outside of marriage and homosexual behavior is sinful in God’s sight. We need to be reminded stealing, lying, and anything else that is contrary to God’s Word is a breach of his law.
I learned this lesson a number of months ago. I was driving to my in-laws house in St. Albans when I came to the traffic light at the three-way intersection at what is called Gallagher’s Corner. The light was red and I wanted to turn right. After seeing that an oncoming car was still quite a ways off, I turned right without coming to a stop. My wife, who was sitting in the passenger seat beside me, had the audacity to rebuke me for not stopping at the light. Then I began to explain to her that when you are turning right at a red light and there aren’t any cars around that you don’t have to stop at a red light. She objected and we found ourselves arguing about the law.
Our argument was rudely interrupted when I looked into my rear view mirror and saw the flashing lights of a cop car. As soon as I pulled over, I immediately knew that my wife was right. Thankfully, I got off with just written warning and a correct understanding of the law. The kids in the back seat thought the whole ordeal was exciting, but I wasn’t very excited when my in-laws drove passed us at that very moment. I had to deal with the embarrassment the rest of the day. Needless to say, I won’t forget that law ever again.
We all need to be reminded of the law, especially God’s law! That is why Paul reminds Timothy of God’s here. And that is why God is reminding all of us about his law this morning! We need to be reminded that it is important to be earnest in Christian behavior!
In this passage, the Apostle Paul is telling us that it is important to be earnest in our beliefs and our behaviors. We need to take them seriously! Don’t be lured away doctrines and teachings that go against God’s Word. Don’t engage in practices that go against God’s law! God wants us to live lives of purity for him!
But maybe there is someone here today who says to themselves, “Gosh, my beliefs haven’t been right” or “O my, I have broken God’s law.” I want you to know that you are not the only one. We are all law breakers! We are all ungodly! We are all sinners! That is why Jesus died for us on the cross! He died to take our sins away and whenever we repent from our sins and put our faith in Jesus Christ, we are forgiven completely and have the hope of everlasting life. This is the gospel of glory to which Paul refers in verse 11.
As we go from this place, may be all be earnest in pursuing proper Christian belief and behavior, but let us do it with the grace and mercy that we have received through our Lord Jesus Christ!