The greatest purpose

The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith.

But some people have missed this whole point. They have turned away from these things and spend their time in meaningless discussions.

They want to be known as teachers of the law of Moses, but they don’t know what they are talking about, even though they speak so confidently. (1 Timothy 1:5-7)

charity—LOVE; the sum and end of the law and of the Gospel alike, and that wherein the Gospel is the fulfillment of the spirit of the law in its every essential jot and tittle (Ro 13:10). The foundation is faith (1Ti 1:4), the “end” is love (1Ti 1:14; Tit 3:15).
out of—springing as from a fountain.
pure heart—a heart purified by faith (Ac 15:9; 2Ti 2:22; Tit 1:15).
good conscience—a conscience cleared from guilt by the effect of sound faith in Christ (1Ti 1:19; 1Ti 3:9; 2Ti 1:3; 1Pe 3:21). Contrast 1Ti 4:2; Tit 1:15; compare Ac 23:1. John uses “heart,” where Paul would use “conscience.” In Paul the understanding is the seat of conscience; the heart is the seat of love [Bengel]. A good conscience is joined with sound faith; a bad conscience with unsoundness in the faith (compare Heb 9:14).
faith unfeigned—not a hypocritical, dead, and unfruitful faith, but faith working by love (Ga 5:6). The false teachers drew men off from such a loving, working, real faith, to profitless, speculative “questions” (1Ti 1:4) and jangling (1Ti 1:6).
(Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary)

There’s an old story about a man who was hired to drain a swamp. As he pumped the water out, alligators became a dangerous enemy. While he was surrounded by dangerous alligators, it was hard to remember the original purpose, so he started killing alligators. The more alligators he killed, and the better he got at killing alligators, the more he forgot the original purpose. Then one day the employer came to check the progress and asked, “Are you draining the swamp or killing alligators?”

This story has become an idiom in the English language. Are you draining the swamp or killing alligators? In other words, are you fulfilling the original purpose or have you become distracted from the original purpose?

Likewise, many Christians have been distracted from the purpose for thousands of years. The purpose of the Apostle Paul’s ministry was “that all believers would be filled with love.” He explained that kind of love came from “a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith.” It is good to minister on pure hearts. It is good to minister on clear consciences. It is good to minister on genuine faith. It is good to meditate on pure hearts. It is good to meditate on clear consciences. It is good to meditate on genuine faith. It is good to hold each other accountable for pure hearts. It is good to hold each each other accountable for clear consciences. It is good to hold each other accountable for genuine faith. But, “are you draining the swamp or killing alligators?”

If you get too focused on “a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith” it is easy to get stuck perfecting “a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith.” These things are good. But if you get too focused on perfecting them, it becomes hard to remember the purpose “that all believers would be filled with love.” Then one day the Lord will come to check the progress and he will ask, “Do you have love one for another?”

For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. (1 John 3:11-15)

Let’s move beyond the basics of “a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith” so we can fulfill the purpose “that all believers would be filled with love.” Anything less than this this is not worthy of a Christian. Anything less than this obscures the gospel of Jesus Christ. Anything less than this denies the gospel of Jesus Christ.