1 Timothy
The first epistle to Timothy.
1. Warning Against False Teachers
3-4: Different doctrine? What different doctrines? "Myths and endless genealogies" could mean a lot of different things.
Paul had specific people in mind here. But clearly this sort of thing is a perennial problem. It would be nice to know more from Paul what all he meant by myths and genealogies. This could refer to shady gnostic alternate histories designed to trap you into a cult, but maybe it includes what we think of as proper academics, intellectualism, and official histories as well.
The point is, some people treat Christianity as a speculative endeavor. A basis for metaphysics and alternate interpretations of history. It does give you a lot to think about, after all. But it is not about that. It is about stewarding what God gives us with extreme faithfulness.
Being a conspiracy theorist is a lot more fun than being an accountant. But when it comes to loving people and repenting from sin, God cares a lot more about careful accounting than he does in you spinning a grand narrative where you are the hero.
5: Regardless of vast metanarratives, love and faith are all fairly clear in their fruit.
How do we know we have a good conscience and haven't ruined it?
6-7: We must be very careful not to conduct vain discussions or try to push the law on other Christians.
8: What does it mean for us to use the law lawfully if it no longer applies to us, who believe in the gospel?
9-11: Bad doctrine is that which promotes rebelliousness, intergenerational hatred, murder (we must include murderous anger) lying, fornication, homosexuality, slavery, and so forth.
Unfortunately a lot of churches seem to promote (or at least turn a blind eye) to a lot of these things.
Perjury here means an oath-breaker. Jesus taught that we must let our yes be yes and our no be no.
12-14: God graciously changed Paul's heart and allowed him to see that he had been utterly wrong to oppose Christ and Christ's people.
15: Paul admits that he is the foremost of sinners. Very rare to see a pastor admit that!
16: God takes the worst of the worst and uses them to humble the proud and display his mercy, patience, and glory. So don't write off the wicked. Love your enemies and pray for them. They could be persecuting your people and God could still transform their heart.
17: We must give glory to God for what he has done for us. If we don't do this, we wither up inside.
18: What prophecies were made about Timothy? Presumably, someone was prophesying that Timothy would be a faithful teacher of Christianity.
'The good warfare' is that which Paul has refers to later as the fight of faith; think also of his description of the armor of God in Ephesians 5 - we are fighting against cosmic powers of darkness. Or 2 Corinthians 10: it is not a fleshly war, but a divine war against the evil thoughts that control mankind.
The job of a Christian teacher is to destroy those thoughts and replace them with thoughts that obey Christ. The more we do this in our minds, the more we find a proper position in the hierarchy of the universe, which has been reorganized under Christ's throne.
19-20: What specifically did Hymenaeus and Alexander reject?
What does it mean that Paul handed them over to Satan? Perhaps it is similar to an Ananias and Saphira situation. Or we may compare with 1 Corinthians 5, where a man who commits sexual immorality should be 'handed over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.' Presumably this means excommunicating him from the church and allowing him to suffer from the Law, so that even if he dies he might be saved.