What is the church supposed to be? There's a never ending list of how to "do church" books. There are conferences, study guides, church planting manuals and on and on the list goes. I suppose they have their place; yet the proof of Ecclesiastes 12:12 comes through again, there really is no end to the writing and gathering of books.
When it comes to telling the church how to be the church, God has already written the book. The Bible as a whole describes everything we need to know. And specifically the pastoral letters instruct us in church life. In this study of first Timothy I want to look at God's prescription for the church.
The title and the topic take themselves from 1 Timothy 3:15, "...I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth." There it is, Paul clearly spells out his purpose as nothing more than to describe for believers how to "do church."
Let's take this journey together through Church 101.
I ran across a poem recently by an unknown author called "A Perfect Church".
I think that I shall never see
A Church that's all it ought to be.
A Church that has no empty pews,
Whose Pastor never has the blues.
A Church whose Deacons always Deke
And none is proud but all are meek
Where gossips never peddle lies
Or make complaints or criticize
Where all are always sweet and kind
And all to other's faults are blind
Such perfect churches there may be
But none of them are known to me
But still we'll work, and pray and plan
To make our Church the best we can!
I suppose it's catchy but I liked another one just a bit more, it's author is unknown as well. I'm not sure why nobody ever seems to claim these things, maybe they're afraid of some repercusions or who knows what.
If you could find the perfect Church without one fault or smear For goodness sake, don't join that church You'd spoil the atmosphere! But since no perfect church exists Where people never sin Let's cease looking for that church And love the one we're in!
I'm very excited this morning to be beginning a new adventure walking through what is commonly called a "Pastoral Epistle" or letter -- First Timothy. For many months now we've done a series of topical subjects, everything from Spiritual Warfare -- to Marriage and Family. And yet there is a special place in my heart for methodically working through as much as we can grasp of a single book.
To help gain an understanding of each portion we need a grasp of the big picture on which to hang them.
The Book of Acts ends with Paul in house arrest in Rome -- this would have been somewhere between 60AD -63AD. Apparently after his release, Paul traveled into the western regions again, preaching and teaching. First Timothy then would have been written right around the time of 63 AD, that is perhaps thirty years after the resurrection of Jesus, and during a time when the church had moved from infant to toddler and now was stretching into the first stages of maturity -- complete with the growing pains of not quite knowing how to control itself.
1 Timothy was written in order to combat some specific heresies that were beginning to show themselves in the Ephesian church. There were men in Ephesus who were teaching false doctrines, mixing Pagan practices with Jewish legalism, and pursuing power and prestige. Beyond that as the Ephesian church grew and matured there was an increased need for adequate teachers and standards by which those teachers should teach and live by.
Just like children the emerging church needed standards to guide them into maturity in a godly way. So Paul sat down to write this letter which, unlike so many of his other letters, is not intentionally theological -- but focuses on the practical. It's kind of a manual on "how to do church."
The Title Of This Series is taken from what Paul says in the third Chapter at verse 15. 1 Timothy 3:15 "...
I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.
"
Since the stated purpose of the book is to teach the church how to be the church I'll call this series "Church 101".
In the first chapter Paul starts with the authority of the leadership of the church and moves into the measure of good doctrine being that which conforms to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Not only the measure of Good doctrine, but the purpose of doctrine altogether. And while we're on the subject of doctrine in general How does the law figure in? Paul then moves on to his testimony which results in an outpouring of his love for God. He touches on the nature of pastoral Leadership. He teaches about the purpose and implications of church discipline.
While on the topic of Pastoral leadership Paul starts chapter two with the duties of everyone. Every man should be praying; Paul tells us who for and what for. What about the roles of women in the church? What kind of clothing is proper for Church? Paul answers these questions and explains the theological reasons in the second chapter.
Chapter three brings us further into the issue of Church leadership by defining Biblical Elders and Deacons, what are their qualifications and why? Is it a good thing to want a position of Church leadership and what are the ramifications of it? Once that's all been covered Paul explains his purpose in what he's writing: To teach how the people of the church should behave in the church (Being mindful that the church is never a building -- but is always the group of people who belong to the Living God through Faith in Jesus Christ.)
So Paul talks about Worship, Prayer, Sound Doctrine, Authority, Church leadership and he talks about Godliness.
Then in Chapter four Paul moves into the warning phase: Apostasy is coming to the church, how do you recognize it? Where is it coming from? What do we do about it? How do we prevent it? And what should our focus be?
Chapter five brings us to interpersonal relationships in the church -- how to make them pure and how to keep them pure. How should the church treat it's elders -- Specific roles and ways to live out godliness for different types of people: Brothers and sisters in Christ, widows and Elders. It's continued in chapter six with the ancient model of Slaves and masters -- but what about Employees and Employers? What about people who disagree with good doctrine; and what about money and everything we do with it?
Materialism: the false god we all battle comes front and center towards the end of the book with the familiar verse... NAU 1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. So how do we overcome it? The answer is in the book.
From beginning to end The entire book is flooded with timely practicality. If we were to walk through these pages with eager anticipation and a hunger for personal holiness we will be rewarded in the end by each one of us becoming together the church that God wants us to be. But why Strive to be the greatest example of God's church? Because the world has grown disillusioned with Christianity. Our culture is trapped in a maze of religious pluralism where quite frankly every religion looks and acts like every other; and they need to see what Authenticity looks like.
In the words of Phillips Brooks: "
Men are questioning now, as they never have questioned before, whether Christianity is indeed the true religion which is to be the salvation of the world. ... It is for us, in whom the Christian church is at the moment partially embodied, to declare that Christianity... can do that for the world which the world needs.
You ask, "What can I do?" You can furnish one Christian life. You can furnish a life so faithful to every duty, so ready for every service, so determined not to commit sin, that the great Christian church shall be the stronger for your living in it, and the problem of the world be answered, and a certain great peace come into this poor, perplexed phase of our humanity as it sees that new revelation of what Christianity is.
"
1
We don't need to pursue a study of first Timothy simply so we can sit on our sanctimonious pews grateful that we at least know the truth, while all the world goes on without it. We pursue proper avenues for living out our faith so that people who do not know God will see him in our lives, and hear of him from our lips without having cause to point fingers at our own paltry example. But when it does we know that the proper church points never to self but always to Jesus who is our Hope.
We pursue Church 101 because it's in God's word and he has called us to know Him and knowing Him to follow Him, in following Him to lead others to Him.
So this week I invite you to begin praying. Pray that in God's word he will reveal Himself to us. Pray that He will use his word in our lives to correct, rebuke, teach and train in righteousness. Pray that He will find in you and in I, faithful servants who answer. Pray as you each read and study First Timothy this week and invite God to do the very work he is eagerly doing: continuing in you the creation of Christ-likeness and obedience to His word.
Παῦλος ἀπόστολος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ κατʼ ἐπιταγὴν θεοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν καὶ Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ τῆς ἐλπίδος ἡμῶν
The standard format in ancient letters was succinct: name of author, name of recipient, and greetings.i ) For example: Paul, to Timothy, greetings.ii Paul's greeting, as is typical of his writing provides an indication of what is to follow.iii
On the very first day of any college level course the students are handed a Syllabus and are more or less told they will be responsible to live according to what it contains. Of course frequently they are reminded that the teacher is the supreme authority in the room and he overrides the syllabus. No pastor can override the authority of scriptures - but in terms of helping the church live according to the Scriptures the pastor needs authority. Not to Lord it over his congregation, but authority to guide them to Christ, even when they don't like it. Timothy was no different. If he was going to stay in Ephesus and correct error.
That's why looking at the start of Paul's "Church 101" letter to Timothy the first inferred subject is that of pastoral authority.
Paul starts by claiming a specific apostleship. To be an "apostle" means to be sent as a representative of someone with a specific purpose. To be an apostle of Christ Jesus then clearly means that Paul has been sent to represent Jesus in an official capacity bearing his message. Being an apostle is the highest office available. It means he has all the authority of representing Christ. The greeting here is meant to convey Paul's authority upon Timothy.
Paul doesn't have to say , "Timothy must be in charge". There is more significance in saying that his apostleship is "by the commandment of God our savior and of Christ Jesus who is our hope...". Timothy is listed in the third verse in direct lineage to Paul; a lineage with starts with God. Timothy is in Ephesus because Paul told him to be there. Since God has installed Paul, Paul then has the authority to install Timothy. Therefore Timothy, as Paul's representative, has the authority to lead the Ephesian church.
Paul's word for "command" is ?p?ta??????? (epitages); used in formula this way with "according to" (?at? ?p?ta???) it takes on a meaning consistent with a royal decree as in "By order of the king!"iv
The effect is that our attention is drawn not merely to the word "command" or even the substance of the command -- our attention is pulled to the commander. Because of this, I would say that Paul is an apostle not because God _told_ him to be one, but because _GOD_ told him to be one. The authority of God alone has made Paul an Apostle, therefore to reject or neglect Paul or Timothy for that matter is to reject the lineage of Authority that God has established.
The opening salvo in the battle for the holiness of the Ephesian church has been fired. The heretics were busy discussing worthless topics and Paul takes immediate action to publicly arm Timothy with the authority he needs to make it stop and provide an adequate mid course correction.v When it comes to the church being the church; pastoral authority is necessary for the church to function properly.
Anecdotal evidence would suggest that the rejection of Pastoral Authority is very well near universal in the church -- at least the American church-- today. The pastor's task is to train the saints to do ministry rather than to do all the ministry.vi The pastor's task is to rebuke, correct, teach and train with the scripturesvii. But because pastors are denied authority in what are often unspoken ways they risk becoming fearful of losing their jobs if they dare to actually do their job.
Most people don't mind if the pastor teaches theology --providing of course that they agree with the theology, it's another story if they don't -- but a biblical rebuke is out of the question. In fact the very vital task of correction is sometimes perceived as out of bounds.
When I worked as a zone manager at Wal-Mart I made decisions worth lots of someone else's money every day. Some decisions were good and some were bad, but at the end of the day - everything was on my shoulders. The behavior of my employees rested on my shoulders. And you can bet if I was going to answer for them, I was going to hold them accountable -- and they had no right to take exception to it. In fact it was expedient for them to listen to what I had to say.
Some of the most sobering words in the Scriptures for me are found in Hebrews 13:17 "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you." (NASB)
That tells me among other things that on the day of Christ's appearing I will have to explain your behavior to Jesus. Therefore as your pastor, I must tell you that it behooves you to heed my position of authority, especially when I have to rebuke or correct --not for my sake-- but for yours. That level of Pastoral Authority is mandatory if the church is going to be the church.
The authority of the pastor does not rest in himself but rests instead in the authority of his superior. The identity of that superior then becomes important. So if Pastoral authority is a basic principle of being the church; the identity of Christ is superior to that. The specific branch of theology concerned with the person and work of Jesus is called "Christology".
Paul starts with the designation of God as our savior. Throughout the New Testament it is clear that Jesus Christ is our savior. The significance, however, of Paul frequently describing God as savior in the Pastoral letters comes from the Old Testament usage. Throughout the Old Testament you'll find more than two dozen times where God is called our Savior, especially in Isaiahviii.
For Timothy, who was very familiar with Paul's teachings, and because his mother brought him up with the Hebrew scriptures, he was familiar with the concept of God as savior. For the church who was hearing this letter for the first time, we need to understand that in Ephesus, as well as in the rest of the Roman Empire, the Emperor was honored and even worshiped as "savior"ix. It's a significant statement then to declare to a Gentile church that instead God is our Savior.
Since most American Christians are almost exclusively familiar with the New Testament only, we are used to calling Jesus our savior. But the Old Testament usage demands that we think of God the Father as our savior because he is the initiator of our salvation. God the father is the one who sent Jesus to be the Savior. In fact, Jude 1:25 states: "...to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen."x God the Father is our savior because he sent Jesus to be our savior. It is primarily in that sense that the Old and New Testaments come together with God the father being the initiator of salvation by sending his son Jesus to become the savior. But there is also a second nuance that shouldn't be missed.
By Calling God "Our Savior" Paul intentionally forces the issue of the doctrine of the deity (or God-ness) of Jesus Christ. One of the chief markers of a cult from the Evangelical perspective is the answer to the question "What do they say about Jesus?" That's the litmus test in 1 John 4 for determining the Spiritual root of a given teaching.
It doesn't have to be a question of "Who is our savior, God or Jesus?" It's both and only one at the same time - Jesus is our Savior and, being the son of God, Jesus is God in the flesh. Titus 2:13 reads that "...we wait for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,..." (Emphasis added.) There Jesus is called our great God as well as our savior.
In fact it is possible in this verse to translate the word for "and" with "even". The result of such a translation would read: "...by the command of God our savior even Christ Jesus our hope."xi
Within just a very short time in this letter Paul is going to declare that accurate doctrine is only that doctrine which conforms to the gospel (1 Timothy 1:10b-11a "...whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel...":) and he'll allude to that that sentiment in the fourthxii and sixthxiii chapters. Primary to the essence of the gospel is the deity of Jesus, and good doctrine (or teaching) is only that doctrine which conforms to that truth.
So the Deity of Jesus is emphasized as well as denoting that God the Father is the initiator of our Salvation by sending Jesus.xiv
And Jesus, Paul says is our Hope. "Jesus is "not merely the object of [our hope] . . . or the author of it . . . but its very substance and foundation"... Unlike secular apathy and pessimism, Christian hope is sure. It is never a fearful dreading of what lies ahead; rather it is an eager and confident anticipation of what God has in store for believers. It is not so much a subjective emotion as an objective fact."xv
In Ephesians 2:2 Paul reminds the Ephesians that there was a time outside of Christ that they were "without Hope".
Let me ask you this: "Are you hoping in Jesus?" I don't mean the moment by moment emotional-directional pull towards Christ. That emotion will fluctuate like the changing tides. What I mean is this: is your future staked upon Christ or upon Something else? Do you consider Jesus to be your only hope? If you can't sign your name at the bottom line saying, "If Jesus doesn't save me - no body can or will." Than you're not truly trusting in Jesus as your hope; you're trusting yourself - and that's not even a risky hope, it's a baseless and foolish hope which will not pay off.
Yet, if Christ is your hope --indeed if the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ is your ONLY hope of heaven-- then there is in that statement a foundation of certitude. Your destiny is secure and even amidst today's struggles - we can look to the future to that time when our hope - our steadfast assurance of deliverance, salvation, redemption, and perfection in Christ will come to fruition.
Jesus Christ, and Christ alone is our hope. If we could attain hope by our own godliness or actions, then Jesus died for nothing.
Romans 5:1-2, 5-6 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. ... 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. 6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
For the church to be the church, there must be a recognized Pastoral authority rooted in the supremacy of Christ. Christ must be Lord of this church -- this local body.
iMounce, William D. Vol. 46, Word Biblical Commentary : Pastoral Epistles. Word Biblical Commentary, Page 4. Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2002.
iiIbid Mounce, William D. Vol. 46, Word Biblical Commentary : Pastoral Epistles. Word Biblical Commentary, Page 4. Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2002.
iiiibid:Mounce, William D. Vol. 46, Word Biblical Commentary : Pastoral Epistles. Word Biblical Commentary, Page 4. Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2002.
ivPer Simpson referred to in Mounce, William D. Vol. 46, Word Biblical Commentary : Pastoral Epistles. Word Biblical Commentary, Page 6. Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2002.
vIt's not really clear from the letter if Timothy's authority was actually being called into question, though there are subtle hints. For instance 4:12 "Let no one look down on your youthfulness..." seems to imply that people were skeptical of Timothy because of his comparative youth.
viEphesians 4:11
viiFirst himself 2 Tim 3:16, and then others
viiiNET notes
ixMounce, William D. Vol. 46, Word Biblical Commentary : Pastoral Epistles. Word Biblical Commentary, Page cxxxv. Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2002.
xNASB 95 Emphasis added
xiCref. Bill Mounce (WBC) quoting Barret p. 38, "Another interesting observation is made by Barrett when he says that v 2 [sic]could possibly be translated "God our Savior, even Christ Jesus our hope" (38). Mounce, William D. Vol. 46, Word Biblical Commentary : Pastoral Epistles. Word Biblical Commentary, Page 9. Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2002.
xii4:6
xiii6:3
xiv"It requires little theological development to move from the [Old Testament] thought of God as savior, to Jesus' salvific work, and finally to Jesus as the one who saves." (Marshall, Origins of New Testament Christology, 168). Mounce, William D. Vol. 46, Word Biblical Commentary : Pastoral Epistles. Word Biblical Commentary, Page cxxxv. Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2002.
xvQuoting Ellicott: Mounce, William D. Vol. 46, Word Biblical Commentary : Pastoral Epistles. Word Biblical Commentary, Page 6. Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2002
As we turn back into the first Timothy this morning we finally get to the first major heading for "Church 101" It has to deal with the focus or purpose of teaching. What should be happening when I step into the pulpit? Or what should be the end goal of Sunday school, Sunday night, or anytime there is doctrine being taught? Paul answers that question in the first Chapter of Timothy verses 4-7. Since we're still close the start of the book, I'd like to read some extra for context let's read verses 1-11.
<Read 1 Timothy 1:1-11>.
Prior to this point we've built the foundation themes of the book around pastoral authority, Pastoral longevity, Pastoral correction, and good Christology as the four essentials from which everything else is derived.
The first major personal application for us to live the Christian life is answering the question,
"what is the goal of the church's teaching" or phrased from every believer's perspective: "What should I come to church expecting to take home with me?" Should the goal be a good feeling? Should the goal be good friends or great fellowship or something else? Any goal, however, which falls short of that which is in this passage, is a faulty goal.
Sometimes the goal of the teacher and the goal of the student don't exactly line up. Paul warns that in the last days people will try to find teachers who only say what they want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3). The problem is that there are only too many ways to get just precisely that: Teachers who will tell you what you want to hear.
False teachers may have a thousand options as their goal. They may desire that people will follow them. They might desire to be well thought of. They might even have relatively pure motives of wanting to teach God's word - but they don't know it and yet think they do. I would almost dare say that this last group is among the most dangerous because pride is likely to stop them from learning.
As you look at verses 4 and 6 you quickly discover that whatever the goal of a false teacher might be invariably it results in a lack of positive Christian action even though it may generate a lot of theological speculation and lots of warm fuzzy discussions. The contrast is the goal of Godly teaching which answers the question, "What should I come to church expecting to take home with me?"
The answers are simple and they are briefly listed in the fifth verse.
1. Love from a pure heart / 2. A good conscience / 3. A sincere faith
There are many different types of love in this world. We use the same word to describe favorite foods (I love pizza), fancy new clothing, (I love that shirt!), vehicles, (I love that new truck) and don't forget your spouse. "I love you!"
That last phrase is easy to say but hard to do. I love you might mean anything from "you make my liver quiver" to "I've grown so used to you that I can't imagine something else." Or it could mean that "I'm willing to sacrifice everything for you." You get the point I'm sure.
"This love may be described as a personal delight in God, a grateful outgoing of the entire personality to him, a deep yearning for the prosperity of his redeemed, and an earnest desire for the temporal and eternal welfare of his creatures. Far better, however, is Paul's own description of its meaning in I Cor. 13."1
Here, however, there is a differentiation in the way that Christians are supposed to express love. Not from selfish motives or impure goals. The only love acceptable is love from a pure heart. The heart is purified when under conviction of sin; we turn to God and are cleansed by the Holy Spirit (Psalm 51:10).2 When once the heart is cleansed by God the automatic result is to rush headlong into loving others. 1 Peter 1:22.
When in Sunday School, or in the Sermon, or even in individual Bible study it comes time to teach - the goal of that instruction, my goal in speaking and teaching has got to include training myself and everyone here to love and for that love to generate from a pure heart. Throughout the week as I prepare the lessons I share your responsibility as students of God's word to seek to walk away from the lesson having learned how to love.
Moreover when we enter into the study of God's word be it at the desk or in the pew on Sunday Morning - we ought to eagerly expect the teaching we receive to purify our hearts, making them a suitable spring from which the love of Christ may overflow both towards God and also towards others. The Goal of our instruction is Love from a pure heart and a good conscience.
When we come to Christ for the first time, we come guilty. There is no way around it. Our guilt is as certain as the boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar. But when we come to Jesus we are cleansed.
Do you remember Isaiah's encounter with God? He spends the first five chapters proclaiming "Woe to those people, woe to the other people, and woe to them people!" Suddenly when he's confronted with the very presence of God he comes completely unglued and cries, "Woe is me! I have unclean lips and I live among people of unclean lips!" For Isaiah - the realization of his own guilt is overwhelming. But God dispatches the angel to heal Isaiah's confessed sin; and taking a live coal from the altar touches it to Isaiah's lips and God pronounces him clean. The immediate action for Isaiah is to volunteer to serve the very God who had cleansed him. When we come to God in Christ, he cleanses us from all sin and we receive a good conscience.
I drove into a gas station and began filling up the tank and depleting my life savings at the same time. While I was standing there (in warmer weather) my eyes wandered over to the little squeegee. So I began to clean the windows. It wasn't long before I started seeing fingers pointed on the inside of the glass to some spot on the windshield declaring "You missed a spot." So I'd run over and get that one. Immediately a new spot would be located with a pointed finger and "You missed a spot," would be repeated. So I'd run and get that one too. It started out with one or two real spots that needed cleansed and then turned into a game that could have continued for a long time if I hadn't recognized the joke and gone on doing what I came in for.
Listen, Satan is a master at "You missed a spot" accusations. When we come to Christ our lives are cleansed - there are of course going to be legitimate spots which God will lovingly point to and cleanse in us. But Satan is a master at twisting the truth and using it - not to facilitate cleansing but to tie us up in knots over real or imagined imperfections; and the tool he often uses is the very church which is supposed to be confounding his work!
Too much teaching and leeway is given to the development of guilt. Despite the fact that guilt is a notoriously terrible motivator it's the easiest motivation to create. I think one of the reasons that guilt is so easy to generate is that we all too often walk around with the uneasy feeling that we somehow have to earn God's favor - and yet we're always mindful somehow that we're not quite perfect. It's a disturbing thought to us and we walk around with guilty consciences. The result is that we're too often hamstrung by our own falsely guilty conscience.
But there's a decidedly unchristian element to a guilty conscience. If I recall correctly Jesus died for our sin and eliminated it's consequence by paying the consequence on behalf of all who would believe in the Son-Of-God. So our consciences are supposed to be clear. Fostering guilt in the church is like bringing a case of booze to an A.A. meeting.
Of course the other element of that is that Christian instruction out of the Bible is intended to direct us towards right living so that our consciences are not soiled along the way. Past cleansing and good living are inseparable. John tells us "no one who is born of God sins" but then he also tells us that "when we do sin we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ." 1 John 3:6; 5:18/ 1 John 2:1
Finally a good conscience is best described in terms of a working conscience. Elsewhere Paul writes about false teachers who have had their consciences seared so that they don't tell the truth to their owners anymore. We've all known people who seemed to have no conscience or whose conscience was so warped that they saw no wrong in what they were doing even when what they were doing was a direct and obvious violation of scripture.
The goal of quality Christian learning and teaching is to train your conscience into being a good conscience; properly recognizing both sin and righteousness and pursuing that righteousness. A good conscience isn't going to jump on whatever bandwagon of the soul happens to be passing through but it will make right judgments about everything in your life including your wavering emotions. A good conscience, Like Pinocchio's Jiminy Cricket, has the capacity to guide you correctly.
That is the goal of Biblical teaching. That is what you should expect when you come to church.
A sincere faith is best described in James' terms as faith that works. A sincere faith is a faith that isn't disguised. The Greek word here for "sincere" is avnupokri,tou "unhypocritical". What's in mind here is authentic change-the-way-you-live-faith.
True Christian teaching doesn't focus on mere knowledge. Knowledge is the fuel of faith. The teaching of the church, my teaching - Sunday school teaching, personal Bible study and the teaching of children by their parents must bend itself towards establishing a sincere faith.
That's the goal of good Biblical instruction. Anything less is from the evil one. Anything less is unworthy of our attention. Love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere life-transforming faith.
1 Hendriksen, William, and Simon J. Kistemaker. Vol. 4, New Testament Commentary : Exposition of the Pastoral Epistles. Accompanying biblical text is author's translation. New Testament Commentary, Page 61. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953-2001.
2 Hendriksen ibid.
We live in a free country right? So what's with all the laws? It turns out our founding fathers understood that freedom is not the same as Anarchy. And the same is true in the Christian life. We've been set free of the law's condemnation but that does not mean we devolve into lawlessness.
It's usually not too long before Christians manage to slip into legalism. And it's easy to understand how it happens, at least in some cases. We want to make sure that we live a life pleasing to God so we create some personal guidelines that help keep us walking straight. Eventually the guidelines become the rule of law rather than the path of holiness. And not long after that the rules we set for ourselves become standards we begin to apply and even to teach to others. Voila! Another Pharisee is born.
But there's more than the self manufactured rules that tend to get us into trouble. The Old Testament law code if not correctly understood readily becomes a straight jacket of condemnation rather than a guide post to holiness. This is precisely the problem Paul deals with next in line in his first letter to Timothy. Take a look at chapter 1 verses eight to eleven with me as we ask the question: "What is the Function of the Law?"
<Read 1 Timothy 1:8-11>.
Point 2 of Church 101 Then is simply "The Role of Law".
So why does Paul bring up the issue of the Law here? Because he has just verbally "roasted" the false teachers who desire to teach the law but who themselves do not understand what they teach nor do they comprehend the subject matter they dare to teach on. In other words, they're teaching the law but they don't know what they're even saying about it, and they don't understand the relationship of the law and the gospel.
Based on what Paul has just said, one might be inclined to say, "Since the law is subject to such misinterpretation stop talking about it and focus on the gospel, that's all that really matters after all, isn't it?"
Paul would disagree, as would I. The law has a place in Christianity; in fact the law itself is holy ( Romans 7:12) and the law is Good; as long as it is used lawfully.
So what does it mean to use the law "lawfully"? First of all it means that there is a way to use the law "lawlessly"; that is, to use the law against its intent and meaning.
If you look into the following verse you discover that using it lawlessly means applying the law to righteous people. There we discover the all important distinction. The function and the purpose of the law is to convict sinners, not to constrain saints.
Constraining saints with the law is a constant marker of Paul's enemies throughout the New Testament era. Remember the Council in Jerusalem in Acts 15. The discussion at hand was whether or not Gentiles had to become subject to the Mosaic Law Code - exemplified by Circumcision in order to be saved. The answer of the council was a resounding no - adherence to the law code offered no "Salvation bonus" to the mix. At the same time a very short subset of the Mosaic Law code was passed on to the Gentile believers together with the acknowledgement or encouragement that the Mosaic Law code was taught in every synagogue in every city.
The understanding therefore is that the Law of Moses is not a component of salvation but as a statement of righteousness it makes the goal of post-salvation righteous living quantifiable. If being made holy means obeying the commands of Christ then knowing the commands of Christ becomes necessary.
At the same time the problem in Ephesus is that you had some teachers who were teaching the Law of Moses unlawfully. Using the law lawfully means applying it to the lawless - that is to those who are under its dominion, and who are by definition law breakers. It is unrepentant sinners for whom the law is written.
The Function of the law is to indict and convict and assign punishment for sinful people because of their sin. But not merely in order to crush - the function of the law is supposed to be a surgeon's scalpel cutting so that it can heal. Paul explains in the letter to the Galatian church that the law is supposed to lead people to the only cure for its being broken by them: Jesus the Christ! He is the cure, he is the fulfillment, he kept it all perfectly, and his perfect fulfillment becomes our own when we in humble faith fall at his feet and trusting in his mercy cry out for forgiveness!
If you look at verses nine and ten you see that Paul gives a list of a number of sins - every form of murder, sex outside of God ordained marriage, godlessness, and so forth. It is not intended to be exhaustive it's only meant to be representative.
There are dozens - hundreds or thousands of events that the scripture does not name as either virtue or vice. But it becomes necessary to understand the broader teaching of scripture in order to determine what is good and evil.
Please notice the final measuring line: "whatever else is contrary to ...the... gospel." It is impossible to list every vice in the pages of the scripture (After all scripture is supposed to be a testimony concerning our breaking of the image of God and the Lord's gracious restoration of the same. So rather than post a complete "avoid these things list" it is much more efficient to simply identify sound teaching and hold to it.
Sound teaching is defined in verse eleven as that which matches up with the gospel. If it doesn't agree with the gospel it is false doctrine and should be avoided. By extension this does impress ever more the necessity to get the gospel right because it is the foundational meaning of scripture.
If the golden rule of interpretation is that "Scripture interprets scripture" then we need to comprehend the gospel as the foundation of scripture interpretation. For everything else must be measured against it.
These "wannabe" teachers of the law were preaching legalism to the Christians in Corinth. The problem is the law isn't given simply to provide us with a compressive list of do's and don'ts. The law's primary intent is to point out our sinfulness and God's righteous judgment. The law is supposed to point the sinner to it's fulfillment in Christ, and ultimately towards salvation.
In Matthew 5:17 Jesus said, "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill."
The fulfillment of the law in Jesus Christ means far more than just that he did everything that the law required. It also means that he paid the penalty of the broken law - even though he didn't break it. It is only in fulfilling the law in these two ways that Jesus was able to save us. He took our punishment when we broke the law and he transfers to us His intrinsic righteousness and his external righteousness in the keeping of all the law.
So what role does law play in your life?
The role of law for those who do not have saving faith in Jesus is to convict of sin. In Galatians Paul uses the analogy of a nanny. A nanny has jurisdiction over the children in her care until they are no longer children. The law has jurisdiction over the unsaved until they become Christians.
If the role of law in your life is primarily conviction than your greatest need isn't to become more law abiding - your greatest need is to recognize that the law is holy, righteous and good - and it is true in it's declaration that you are a sinner.
Armed with that knowledge the law then points you to the savior - who alone of all men perfectly kept every nuance of the law on your behalf. If you believe in Jesus - that he was crucified for you and that God raised him from the dead, and if you will name Jesus as your forever Lord and master than you will be saved.
The debt wiped clean, and the law code rendered powerless as Jesus' perfection is counted towards you. That is the testimony of God's love for you.
Having come to know Christ as Lord the law takes on new meaning. No longer is the law code of God a relentless set of rules which you must keep or die. Instead of a nanny the law becomes your friend. It describes the righteous character of God. It illustrates all that Christ has done for you. It stands as a permanent testimony of your forgiveness and a permanent reason to praise him.
If you know Christ, don't let the law be your straight jacket. All of the law is summed up in the command to love. Love God. Love people. That's all there is to it.
Amen.
I had a gentleman come into my office this week and we talked for awhile. And as we talked he shared with me his testimony. Now your testimony can be long or short, involved or to the point. But always your testimony is simply the story of your life. Evangelistically your testimony probably details life before you knew Jesus then moves on to that time when you became a believing follower of Jesus Christ and then moves on again to a short summary of what has changed because of your knowing Jesus. But if you're talking to Christians your testimony may skip the former life and you'll just focus on what God's been doing in your life lately.
Either way you look at it your testimony is more than a segment of your life's story. Your testimony is a tool; an opportunity if you wish to not only correct and encourage someone else but by design your testimony is a springboard for worshiping God with greater passion and authenticity.
I'm willing to bet that you can't tell me the story of what God has done for you without spontaneously erupting in praise and adoration towards him.
And that is exactly what happens with Paul in our text today in 1 Timothy 1:12-17.
<Read 1 Timothy 1:12-17>
If Point number one of Church 101 is having the proper goal in your teaching (Love from a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith)
Point number two is proper use of the Law, then
Point Three is Worship Springing from the Grace of God.
Remembering the definition of grace: Getting what you don't deserve. From Paul's perspective, and rightly so, he has received something that he indeed did not deserve: in the words of John Bunyan "Grace abounding to the chief of sinners"!
I am occasionally surprised at the number of people who simply don't "get" grace. They don't understand it or comprehend it. You know the folks of whom I speak. There are the obvious ones that make jokes about the church walls collapsing on them if they came to church. And then there are their more subtle cousins. They just avoid God and the Bible altogether. Belief or unbelief isn't so much the issue as just an uneasy silence whenever the subject of God is brought up.
And then there's another group. Struggling Christians who for whatever reason have a hard time coming to grips with the grace God has granted them.
For all of these, God's grace is unimaginable. But it is that elusive but wonderful grace which leads us to greater and more authentic worship of a God who so richly deserves it.
Paul's comments beginning in the twelfth verse are certainly not disjointed from the prior verse. He closes the prior section by stating that true doctrine is that doctrine which is in keeping with the glorious gospel with which he has been entrusted. Now he continues that thought acknowledging his own unworthiness to be a servant of this glorious gospel and effectively spotlighting the incredible mercy and grace of our God as a testimony and example given in Paul's own life.
For Paul, as it should be for us the transformation that God has performed in us is more than an academic knowledge. The transformation from Sinner to saint is real and significant and it capitalized Paul's doctrine and life.
The transformation in Paul was so dramatic you should recall, that right after his conversion the people in town all thought that he was baiting them with a trap. It took Barnabas to accept him with open arms before even the 12 apostles would trust him.
But in the transformation that the Lord had made in Paul's life he who before would have been unworthy of being trusted with the gospel was made worthy!
Note that it is God and not Paul who has enabled Paul to carry the gospel to the nations. The prior verse is a bit startling when you first read that Paul has been "Entrusted" with the gospel. That is a significant amount of trust placed in Paul. But it is not Paul's capacity to bear that trust it is God who has "strengthened" Paul to bear it. There again is grace unimaginable .
God's mercy is coupled with His grace in Paul as it is in your own testimony. Paul says here that he is the ultimate example of whom he was talking about previously in verses nine and ten.
Look at how Paul describes himself. He wasn't merely deluded. He wasn't merely "mistaken" he was a blasphemer! He spoke vigorously against God. He called Jesus a fraud and his followers he named as traitors. He was a violent aggressor. He didn't merely disagree with followers of Jesus, he chased after them - he imprisoned or murdered them. He wasn't always Paul the apostle he started out as Saul the Pharisee who persecuted believers everywhere.
But God looked at him and gave mercy!
The reason for God's mercy is that Paul acted the way he did as a sinful, ignorant unbeliever, rather than with intentional malice towards God. Mind you that ignorance is never an excuse before God. Paul mentions his ignorance because of "a special Jewish law ( Lev. 5:15-9 ; Num. 15:22-1 ). If a person sinned knowingly "with a high hand" in Israel, he was cut off from the people. But if he sinned in ignorance, he was permitted to bring the proper sacrifices to atone for his sins. Jesus recognized this principle when He prayed on the cross, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" ( Luke 23:34 ). Their ignorance did not save them, nor did Christ' prayer save them; but the combination of the two postponed God' judgment, giving them an opportunity to be saved." 1
It is the utter sinfulness of Paul that highlights the mighty mercy of God. This too is grace unimaginable. The reason for God's mercy is never that God saw something good in Paul. The reason for God's mercy is that he didn't. The reason for God's mercy is that God saw Paul was an ignorant unbeliever. It's hardly flattering but the only reason God has had mercy on us is strictly because we don't deserve it.
You don't show mercy to someone who doesn't need it, or who can do without it. Mercy by definition is not getting what you deserve. So there can be no deserving it.
There is not one of us that have drawn near to God of our own accord, Jesus said, " No one comes to me unless the father draws him. " ( John 6:65 ) If we know God it is because of His mercy - to the praise of his glorious grace. This too is Mercy unimaginable.
With unimaginable Grace and unimaginable Mercy comes an abundant torrent of Faith and Love flowing into our hearts. Our faith is not our own, it is a gift of God given by his grace to us. And the Spirit of God dwelling in us trains us to love.
With unimaginable Grace and unimaginable Mercy comes Unimaginable change.
Unimaginable Change
Paul moves from his enormous sins to God's great mercy and grace now he recounts the transformation - Paul underwent incredible change because of the grace and mercy of the Lord.
He makes reference to it in Galatians 1:22-24 I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ; but only, they kept hearing, "He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy." And they were glorifying God because of me.
Now all of this meandering has a point and it is this:
The purpose of Christ's visit was salvation - not discussion! And certainly not to enslave men to the law!
The primary focus of Jesus' coming was the saving of sinners. He didn't come just to teach or heal, or to turn water in to wine. He came to save, and Paul's point is clear. "If Jesus can save me, he can save anybody" He came here to save!
What an incredible lesson and what an incredible hope for anyone who is haunted by their former sins. The saying is trustworthy. It deserves full acceptance: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners..."
Isn't that a beautiful statement?
There is an olive branch of sorts here; a saving grace is offered to the unnamed false teachers in Ephesus. Up in verse seven we see that they don't know what they're talking about. These are not the men who come later with consciences seared as with a hot iron. They are ignorant, but Jesus came for their salvation.
Paul found mercy because it was in him that God could demonstrate just how great his patience and mercy and grace were in Paul. Saul the murderer, Saul the blasphemer, Saul the violent aggressor who himself persecuted the flesh of Jesus as he pursued his followers. That man, the sinful brutish man of self righteousness found mercy because God could use him as an example.
Your life is also an example.
Your testimony is one of the most beautiful tools the Lord has created in order for you to minister with it.
It is the retelling of your salvation that floods your heart with a renewed vigor when it lags. Your testimony is exhibit A when talking to people about God's grace. "Always be prepared to give an answer...." ( 1 Peter 3:15
When faced with so great a grace the only natural response to God's salvation is praise of his glorious grace!
If you haven't thought through or worked through your testimony lately, let me encourage you to get out a sheet of paper this afternoon and write it out. Write out what God has done for you, and then… share it with someone.
The end result may be the salvation of another soul and the writing of a new testimony. And that would be to the praise of His grace, a grace that is unimaginable in its magnitude.
1 Wiersbe, BE Commentary on the same verse.
I'm sure most of you remember Rodney King's infamous question "Can we get along here? Can we all get along?"1 In an ideal world we could. But this world is no longer ideal; it's broken. It's scarred by sin as a matter of fact it is scarred by our sin thus we ourselves are also broken and scarred. The effects of the scar are deep and painful. In terms of human relationships - selfishness, greed, idolatry, pride and a hundred other sins sneak in to destroy what we have.
The result in the church is that sometimes false teachers will come in, and they must be corrected. And the damage they cause has to be repaired. Paul's exhortation to Timothy is that he "fights the good fight".
Open your Bibles if you will to first Timothy 1:18-20 and read that with me:
Normally we tend to envision the church's responsibility as keeping the peace at whatever cost. Indeed a great many church's today are losing their distinction altogether because they choose to elevate getting along way above truth. Truth - immutable truth is an unpopular subject. But truth by its very nature has to be unchangeable. As soon as you allow for truth with wiggle room you open the doorway to situational truth that can contradict itself at another time. In that kind of environment - where truth is what you want it to be - salvation which relies upon truth becomes not only elusive but untrustworthy.
Paul recognizes that and he knows that there are some men in Ephesus who have been teaching just that kind of false teaching. The solution is not to flex and bend with the times so that truth fits what the culture demands. Neither is the solution to ignore the consequences as long as peace is maintained. Sometimes a soldier has fight and Paul's mandate to Timothy Is simply that: Fight the good fight!
Paul gives Timothy a charge to Oppose and correct false teaching. In order to get a grasp on what the good fight is you have to look back over the whole chapter. The "Command" that Paul gives him refers back to the earlier command to stay put in Ephesus in order to instruct certain men not to teach junk. Fighting the good fight is embodied in the corrective instruction of the erring teachers and the discipline of those like Hymenaeus and Alexander who have made a shipwreck of the faith.
Timothy then is required to fight the good fight while keeping faith and a good conscience. Timothy is called to instruct certain men not to corrupt the church while simultaneously repairing the damage caused and - if need continues - administering church discipline on the heretics, in short: Fight for the purity of the gospel! Fight the good fight!
Paul offers three ways for Timothy to go about fighting this good fight. The phrase is literally "war a good warfare". We're not talking about a boxing match; we're talking about open warfare. And Timothy is going to need a little help. He has to fight this fight over the long haul and that means staying motivated"¦
Look there at verse 18 "This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight" (1 Timothy 1:18)
I can't help but believe that in a battle, every soldier wonders for a split second why he's there. Every once in awhile you'll hear a report on the news of a soldier writing home and somewhere in the letter he says something like, "I'm fighting this battle to keep you safe and free." It's in those moments of difficulty that he finds solace in the reason he's there.
Timothy's fight shouldn't come as a surprise to him, When God called him to this task there was apparently a prophecy (or several) given to him that revealed his task would be fighting against heretics. When the going gets tough on Timothy he has to remember that it is God that has called him for the job, and not Timothy's ego or heartburn.
Can you say that you know you are doing what God wants you to do? I can guarantee you that there are going to be difficulties which we all must face and the strength to face the battle comes from knowing that this is what God has called you to.
When you are in the midst of a struggle, or when God has called you to a task that is bigger than yourself; reflecting on prior words of God are sometimes just the ticket to making you strong enough to make it through. Remember the word of God, and then you have something to keep you going.
Not only does Timothy need to fight the fight, but he has to protect himself"¦
There is something in human nature that causes us to slip towards the lowest common denominator which is why in the nineteenth verse Paul counsels Timothy to guard himself from the errors of his enemies who themselves have wrecked the faith.
I want you to note that I use the words "THE FAITH" not "THEIR FAITH" as so many translations do. Most translators use the possessive "their" to describe faith as if it were a faith which the offenders possessed, but that word is merely the word "the". They have made a shipwreck of "the faith". That is that they don't have it, and because they've rejected faith and a good conscience they have rendered faith worthless as a vessel to carry them too often this text is used to bolster the error of lost salvation; when indeed this is about salvation never achieved by men who intentionally reject what they otherwise know to be true.
They have chosen intentionally to ignore their conscience when it told them that what they were teaching was wrong. The result of doing so is that faith is also lost. 2
This is how the good fight is fought: With faith and a good conscience. Faith as the primary ingredient of salvation is the core of the good fight; and a good conscience is the result of living in accordance with the truth which is the basis of that faith.
The darker tone of the text now points out the seriousness of Timothy's call - some have rejected these foundations. They have rejected a clean conscience and this has had the result of rendering their faith unable to carry them.
You have to understand that the word here for "rejection" is intentional and flamboyant. This is not a mere accidental misunderstanding of Gospel truth - these are men who have -as it were- heard the voice of God in their conscience and have pridefully and stubbornly refused to heed it! It is an intentional rejection of what they know to be true! This is the very substance of the unforgivable sin in Matthew 12:31 where the Pharisees know that God is working there and yet still declare it the work of Satan.
In effect these men had walked up to the gates of heaven and rejected the freedom to enter by deliberate violation of their own conscience. Having known what God wanted they had adamantly demanded that they would not obey his prompting in their soul - they would rather have it their own way. Having pushed thus hard against their own conscience the capacity of saving faith to carry them over the ocean of judgment is ruined - faith cannot and will not carry the unwilling.
You stand on unsteady ground when you deny what you feel is truth. You stand on unsteady ground when your conscience demands some holy action, faith or obedience and you reject your conscience for the pleasure of the moment or the notoriety of the praise of men rather than the praise of God!
REPENT! Turn now from fighting against your conscience. If you have battled long and hard in your heart over whether or not you are sinning against God in a certain matter; you are already acting outside of faith - and whatever is not of faith is sin! (Romans 14:23)
In context we have to consider that Paul is speaking about false teachers - perhaps the very ones Timothy is called to correct. But they are shipwrecked and as a result Paul turns them over into Satan's kingdom. As an Apostle he removes God's protective hand and Satan now has free reign in their lives. And he does it for the best reason imaginable, not to destroy them, but to redeem them!
As Paul instructs Timothy in fighting the good fight - motivated by God's call and carefully guarding his own soul, he gives the final instruction in Church discipline: It is never the goal to kill the human adversary but rather to strive for their redemption.
Look at verse twenty
"Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme."
The closest parallel to this passage is found in 1 Corinthians 5:5 where Paul prescribes church discipline on a man who has brought a terrible sin into the church. He says, "I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." (1 Corinthians 5:5)
Likewise the goal for these two men is not punitive but remedial. Paul's hope is that the lesson these men gain will be not to blaspheme. That is: Not to teach false doctrine. The redemption of the shipwrecked is possible; but difficult. Paul is clearly hopping that their misery will drive them to repentance and thus restoration.
The Pastor's task - indeed the church's task is to keep the gospel pure and unspoiled. Too many these days are willing to sacrifice a pure gospel on the altar of political correctness. They water the gospel down or fail to speak it because it's offensive to tell people they are sinners condemned without Christ.
There are people who would claim that it doesn't matter how you live as long as you believe the right things. But they fail to realize that if you don't keep a good conscience if you outright ignore God's word - faith has no power. Remember the letter of James. True faith- real faith will be life changing faith.
- live in pursuit of holy living. We've got to keep the faith firmly grasped in hand, ready for any purpose.
And when enemies come; Or when false teachers arise. We are not called to obliterate them but to
That's what Jesus did. And this is the proof of God's love. While we were still sinners and enemies God the father sent his beloved son to die for us.
1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney_King#fn_1
2 Jamieson, Robert, A. R. Fausset, A. R. Fausset et al. A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments. On spine: Critical and explanatory commentary., 1 Ti 1:19. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997.
The letter of 1 Timothy is really a very practical letter addressing for us what life in the local church should look like. I've titled my study of 1 Timothy "Church 101" because it's so practical and so basic. You might be tempted to look at the pastoral Epistles as letters that the pastor might find pertinent to himself but not so the rest of us. Nothing could be further from the truth.
In writing a series of instructions and commands in a personal letter to Timothy - Paul reveals many basics of what the church should look like, what it should do, and how it's people should act towards leadership and towards one another. And the final closing of the letter "Grace be with you" is plural indicating clearly enough that Paul intended for this personal letter to Timothy to be publicly read in the entire church.
So when we come to the second verse and discover the greeting to Timothy, don't skip past it and miss the blessing. The simple introduction is significant in that it introduces to us the knowledge that God never demands that we meet him half way- he comes running towards us. He doesn't require us to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, He lifts us out of the pit. When Paul writes this letter to Timothy under the guidance of God's Spirit, he offers to Timothy exactly what he needs. Just as God does for Timothy, God meets you and I right where we are, right at our point of need - for He is a loving Father.
Paul writes then in the second Verse:
"To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord." (1 Timothy 1:2 NASB95)
The introduction brings to mind the special relationship between a Spiritual father and Son. Some of which is understood by looking quickly through what the scriptures say elsewhere about Timothy.
Paul and Timothy had been through thick and thin. Apparently on Paul's first missionary journey (Acts 13-14) Timothy was one of the converts in the region. On the Second missionary journey Paul (re)encounters Timothy in either Derbe or Lystra. All of the other believers spoke very highly of Timothy and that was enough for Paul, he asked Timothy to join him. However, in a move that appears odd for Paul, Timothy undergoes circumcision "Because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek." Apparently the Jews would have held great offense at a "half-breed" and Paul and Timothy both sought to smooth the way for the gospel's transmission. (Because it was well-known that Timothy's father was a Greek, so that the young man's influence among the Jews would be reduced to almost zero unless something were done to bring out clearly his own devotion to the sacred writings of the covenant people, he was, accordingly, circumcised (Acts 16:3).1
The Character of Timothy therefore comes out as a man who was willing to do anything to keep the gospel palatable to the people around him. Note that palatable does not mean watered down - it means tearing down even the opportunity to build a fence, even at great personal cost.
From This point forward Paul and Timothy are virtually inseperable. Anytime there was a dangerous or sensitive job - if Paul couldn't go himself, he sent Timothy. Paul sent him To Corinth, Berea, Thessalonica and Ephesus. Each time Timothy returned to Paul they would together sit down and write letters to the churches. Many of Paul's letter include Timothy in the Salutation.2
Timothy's history shows that he was a capable teacher and guide well suited to the unique problems that arise in Ephesus. The problems in Ephesus are symptomatic of an established church unlike so many of the problems in other NT churches which are problems of immaturity - the Ephesian problems seem to center around issues like power struggles and an over developed sense of independence. Timothy's faith was not only sincere but strong and sure and his worth in ministry was inestimable.
Being young -- yet by no means inexperienced -- and serving not as a pastor but as an apostolic delegate3 Timothy had been called to do what he did so often, stand in the gap - to repair and build up a church seemingly overshadowed by Satan's grip in the city of Ephesus. Because Paul knew him, and because God knows Him - Paul issues a blessing that helps to brace Timothy what he needs the most for the task ahead.
Grace, Mercy and Peace...
The threefold greeting is particular in that it describes for us what Timothy's needs were. These are the very same needs we all have need of as we attempt to be servants of Christ. In fact the more you serve God, and the closer you grow to Him the more you will realize how you must continually lean on these three gifts from God. So let's look at them briefly.
GRACE
Grace is Paul's clarion call throughout the new testament, he mentions grace far more often than the rest of the New Testament writers. Simply defined grace is getting what we don't deserve. In Paul's thought that always amounted to a one word summary of God's redemptive work in us through Christ Jesus, namely: salvation.4 For, as it says in Ephesians 2:8 "we are saved by Grace Through Faith..." Oftimes I have heard Christians repeat that verse sideways as if we were saved by Faith through Grace. But the distinction is important. And let me tell you, as one who has been tried in Satan's fire - there is nothing so dear to me as God's gracious offering to me of free salvation.
I don't deserve it, you don't deserve it, but in the heat of serving God - the devil likes to come in and whisper the most vile lies imaginable in an attempt to derail your ministry. But God is gracious. And I want to encourage you this morning, if you are struggling with being accepted by God, or if you are struggling with feelings of inferiority or guilt or shame that holds you down to a past you wish you had never experienced - let me tell you, God is gracious and he extends his grace to you.
You don't have to struggle underneath a load of Guilt or shame. You don't have to continually struggle underneath a load of rules and regulations that you feel you have to keep in order to get saved or stay saved. Jesus said, "Come to me all who are heavy laden and I will give you rest."5
This morning I invite you to rest in the grace of God. And I invite you to revel in the absence of struggling with God as well - that is, I invite you into his peace.
PEACE
Peace is more than the product of endless navel gazing from the lotus position, or the absence of noise and distraction. That's the world's sense of peace - the quieting of external turmoil or the self-quieting of the souls internal struggles. But search for the stories of men kept in solitary confinement for even markedly brief periods with nothing to hear but their own breath and nothing to see but the dim light under their cell door in the midst of otherwise pitch darkness and you'll soon discern that the absence of external turmoil is not all that comforting.
No, the peace of the Bible, the peace that Christ leaves with us, the peace that Paul here offers to Timothy as a blessing is of a greater more incomparable sort: peace with God. The gospel of Peace in all of Paul's letters is centered around the concept that we were once at war with God as law-breakers; and being at war with God we were under His condemnation. But in Christ we move from antagonistic warriors to sons both loving and being loved -- fully accepted by the grace of Jesus Christ.
It is this new relationship of loving acceptance rather than strained animosity that ultimately yields the subjective feeling of peace - not the other way around. Peace starts with God and then filters into our souls.
This morning I offer you peace. Salvation in Jesus Christ is a free gift and I'm here to pass it on to you. If you're at all uncertain that you have peace with God - the complete remission of your sins, than this morning I offer you peace in the name of Jesus Christ the Son-Of-God. His death is your pathway to peace. If you will accept his death as the payment for your sin - and if you will humble yourself in front of God and seek his face and his forgiveness, you will receive it - and you will be at peace with God.
Finally, Paul offers to Timothy something new: Mercy.
MERCY
If you walk through Paul's letters in the New Testament you get a whirlwind of very similar opening "blessings" In fact all except for these two Timothy letters merely grant "grace and Peace".
I have to believe that Paul's departure from the normal by adding Mercy to the mix has much to do with his very special relationship with Timothy and his personal knowledge of Timothy's struggles. Timothy, like all of us needed grace and peace - I can't think of one believer I know (self included) that doesn't need to be particularly aware of grace directed towards us, and certainly in the midst of the daily struggles we face we can use the reminder of our peace with God. but there is something significant in the fact that Paul offers him "mercy" in addition to the blessing of grace and peace.
Timothy may have been fighting feelings of condemnation. Later in book two Paul will mention Timothy's tears (1:4) in the context of fear.
I wonder if Timothy was fighting off the feeling of God's rejection - particularly as he was battling in Ephesus a town fraught throughout with Spiritual warfare. One of Satan's schemes has often been to attempt to paralyze a believer by getting him to question his relationship with God. Maybe this is why Paul in his love for Timothy and his intimate knowledge of Timothy's heart - offers him mercy in addition to Grace and peace.
Or more likely he was facing external condemnation from those who opposed him - the very men Paul sent Timothy to Oppose. Either reason serves to explain Paul's sudden addition of this third "blessing". God gives what we we truly need. Whatever the real reason was, we can be assured that Timothy needed Mercy. If your heart towards God is faithful and you need grace - You shall receive it. If your heart towards God is faithful and you need mercy -- you shall receive it.
Mercy in its simplest definition is "not getting what we deserve." It is an undeserved kindness extended to someone in need. Perhaps Timothy was aware of his own failures. Most godly people give thought to their lack of perfection and it drives them closer to the cross of Christ and its redemption in Christ's blood.
This is not just for Timothy. Remember this letter is written to Timothy, but is intended to be read in the church, so the divine offer of Grace, Mercy and Peace extends past Timothy to the entire body of believers in the region of Ephesus, including -- might I add -- the very people with whom Timothy was having trouble.
That's what the gospel of Jesus Christ does. The good news of salvation doesn't condemn people who might be sinners - it offers them a shot at starting over with redemption. Paul didn't write this letter to smack the transgressors in a verbal tirade, he wrote for their redemption. Redemption is always the desire of a Christian when he's at odds with others.
We see that in Philippians 3:15b "...if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you;" He doesn't want to kill his opponents, he wants to redeem them. No, the blessing of the gospel offers forgiveness, restoration and redemption to everyone who will repent and believe in Christ Jesus. The character of someone who themselves is a true child of God ought also therefore to be one of forgiveness (peace) , mercy, and grace.
Moreover, just as in the prior verse the issue was not so much that Paul had been commanded to be an apostle but rather the issue was centered there upon the fact that none less than God himself had commanded Paul to be an apostle -- so too here the blessing may be important but the origin of the blessing takes on greater import.
The blessing itself is not from Paul, but through Paul as God's spokesman the blessing comes directly from "God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord."
As in the prior verse Paul's Christology bubbles to the surface. The greeting comes conjointly from God and Christ thus in Paul's mind clearly demonstrating his belief in the full deity of Christ; the only Son-of-God the Father.
To you who are loved by God and called according to His Purpose; To you who hear my voice or see my words written on the page; to you who are willing to let these blessings impact and change your lives; to all of you - grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
1William, and Simon J. Kistemaker. Vol. 4, New Testament Commentary : Exposition of the Pastoral Epistles. Accompanying biblical text is author's translation. New Testament Commentary, Page 35. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953-2001.
2Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians and Philemon (Phi 1:1; Col 1:1, 1 Thess 1:1; 2 Thess 1:1; Phm 1:1
3WBC46 Page lvii
4CREF Mounce, William D. Vol. 46, Word Biblical Commentary : Pastoral Epistles. Word Biblical Commentary, Page 10. Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2002.
5 Matthew 11:28
If you were a counselor in the following situation - what would you're advice be? Say a man comes into your office and says, "I've been married for two years to a woman who has nine children. Her kids do not respect me or my children, and neither does she even seem to trust me. Every move I make she second guesses and every decision - she reverses. Doc I'm this close to leaving, what should I do?"
Now in the current climate the typical advice from Ann Landers types would be "clear out of there" but you happen to hold a biblical view of marriage. After a bit of digging you would discover that she's been married 5 times in the last fifteen years, her husbands have all left her for better looking women and her children are divided in parentage from each of those husbands. In your investigation it becomes clear that not only she but the children as well have all learned that "dad" is expendable - they can and will continue without him; and furthermore - dad is not worthy of trust and incapable of providing the solid guidance and direction needed.
Now, what would your advice be? Undoubtedly you would tell that man to buckle his seat belt and strap on his knee pads - because it's going to be a bumpy ride. He's going to have to earn their trust before he can ever be the father and husband he desires most to be.
The situation I've described is very similar to the church. Pastor's come and go with a ferocious speed, using smaller churches as stepping stones to larger congregations. The average pastoral stay in a given church is up to just over three years1. Some might be converted to Christ during his brief tenure and then he moves on leaving spiritual orphans in his wake. Over a series of pastor's the message is eventually assumed, "We don't need the pastor, he's going to leave soon anyway - so don't trust him when it comes to change. After all, he's only temporary." What's going on?
I suppose you could attribute it to anything from an actual or even an over realized sense of God's leading, or to greed, or to a hunt for prestige, or a cure for frustration all the way to God's judgment on a church which blatantly refuses to listen to her leadership. Sometimes the move is legitimate, and sometimes it may not be. It's not for us to judge mind you, it is to God that every man will stand or fall. And no gathering of believers is outside of God's loving - gracious care.
It's impossible in a paragraph to try and clarify all the reasons that pastor's move but Timothy was doubtless up against a number of those reasons. In fact if you take the concept of ministry where it belongs - where every member of a church is supposed to be a minister to others thus serving the kingdom of God - then the same pattern develops where people sometimes inexplicably just quit serving the kingdom. Somehow we have forgotten that ministry is certainly difficult work but it is also worthy work.
Take a look with me at 1 Timothy 1:3-4, where we discover that Timothy's desire to move was not the right move for the moment.
NAU 1 Timothy 1:3 As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, 4 nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith.
As I have already stated, the necessary foundation for the church being the church has already been laid in Christ Jesus. The church needs (1)Pastoral authority grounded in (2)good Christology. The church is established of people who dwell in the grace, mercy and peace that comes from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. In the third verse we return to the pastor and establish that the next major necessity for a functioning church is a (3)dedicated pastor who will stay the course to teach and instruct in the truth, fighting against falsehood as he will frequently have to. It is these three ingredients that I would suggest make up the proper introduction to the overall concept of church 101.
Either to your disappointment or relative glee I remain dedicated to the principle of Pastoral Longevity. I believe you need a dedicated pastor who will stay the course to teach, fight and instruct in the truth as long as he is able.
When you look at the text, I think perhaps Timothy was considering moving on - which is why Paul reminds him of his task to stay and fix the ills in the church at Ephesus. The false teachers need correction and Timothy is the man for the job. In fact the command, "remain in Ephesus" is emphasized in the Greek text by being split away from the rest of the command and placed before Paul's departure for Macedonia. So that it reads, "Just as I urged you, "Remain in Ephesus," as I was going to Macedonia, "so that you may give strict orders to certain people not to teach different {false} doctrine."
The word "urged" here is the verb form of the same root word used to describe the Holy Spirit as the Comforter: pa?a?a?e´? (Paraclete). Throughout the New testament it is used more than 100 times in a few different ways but very often the concept of comfort has to be somewhere in the mix.2 Paul was not merely ordering Timothy to stay put, he was urging him as a friend would passionately urge you to do what you knew was right.
"Timothy, you know you should stay there to finish the work, please be faithful to that post until you have completed it."
A pastor must stay with his church in order to grow it and command it - so that he might protect it. Not leaving when the going gets tough but staying and fighting the good fight of instilling faithfulness. A Good pastor who teaches and corrects is the backbone of a church. I believe strongly that the perceived weaknesses in the American church today can often be traced back to the lack of pastoral longevity. I know there are times when God moves a pastor on, but I think there are also plenty of times when the pastor just believes he sees greener grass somewhere else. Sometimes God moves his ministers to a place where they can be more useful, sometimes for other reasons, but I have a sneaking suspicion that what you - the church- need is not a new pastor but the same one you have known and hopefully grown to trust.
I have been in church with pastors who were hard to get along with. But I have also experienced churches that metaphorically destroyed pastors. The sooner we get it through our minds that imperfections are there, and that we're here to work together rather than against each other we'll be able to get on about the business of building God's kingdom - and quit trying to defend our own!
I believe Paul had to encourage Timothy because he was serving in a very difficult place and culture.
By looking through the scriptures we can begin to understand the situation that Timothy was in. He had been left in Ephesus as a representative of Paul the Apostle in order to pastor the Ephesian church. A quick read through the Ephesian sections of scriptures would give us a better understanding of this letter. (Acts 16; Acts 18, 20, 21; 1 Co. 15:32; 16:8; Eph. 1:1; 1 Tim. 1:3; 2 Tim. 1:18; 4:12; Rev. 1:11; 2:1)
Paul visits Ephesus at least three times (Acts 18:19; 19:19; 20:28) It was during his second visit that some of the Jews became "hardened and disobedient"; which propmted Paul to stay there for two years or more teaching them. During this time some of the most amazing miracles and conversion stories occur in Ephesus; followed by a city wide riot over the deprecation of their temple due to the massive increase in Christian believers.
Later on his way to Jerusalem Paul would warn the Ephesian believers "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock... after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them..." (Acts 20:28-38)
This is the hotbed of Ephesus in which Paul left Timothy with the mandate to teach them and it serves even more to illustrate the importance of a committed pastor; or for that matter you - committed to continuing to serve God where he has put you, even under hostile conditions.
Your service to God's people in the church and to the unsaved around you is always going to be met with resistance - but it is a ministry required by God; and you must not abandon your post until God has sounded the retreat; and primarily the reason to quit a ministry is because you have completed that ministry.
Take a look now at the purpose statement of Timothy's Ephesian ministry in verses three and four. <read>
SO THAT YOU MAY INSTRUCT CERTAIN MEN NOT TO TEACH STRANGE DOCTRINES...
In most every church there are going to be people who teach error. Some from ignorance and others intentionally because they want people to follow them. The false teaching will come in many flavors, and some of it will simply spring from mindless discussion, arrogant people, or just plain ignorance of the scriptures. While some will come from evil minds and hearts. The danger is the same between them as you see in the fourth verse: God's people cease to produce fruit - because in this case all they ever do is talk - rather than work to expand the kingdom.
It is in this sense that false doctrine, however apparently minor is never innocuous but always detrimental to the life of the church of the Living God. Today, ignorance of the scriptures or a refusal to believe what they say is largely responsible for the fracturing of major denominations on clearly answered topics like homosexuality, marriage, abortion, and even the way to salvation.
Timothy was called to counter and stop the false teachers in Ephesus because they were already stopping the church in it's tracks. He was called to run interference in a place which was typically difficult. To accomplish that task he needed pastoral authority. He needed authority to guide, direct, teach, rebuke and correct the church. Without that authority both stated and recognized the capacity of the church to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Jesus Christ is greatly hampered.
In today's climate especially obtaining that authority is frequently a function of earning trust through longevity. Ministers must endure the ministry, Ministry must Endure the Trials, and Ministry must be continued until it's complete.
Stepping away from Timothy - how do these concepts carry over to each one of you? I believe it passes over in the gentle reminder to continue in your own ministry. You are to remain actively laboring in the master's field. If it is the pastor's Job to train you for ministry (Eph. 4:11-ff) then let me also be the one to urge you either to continue the ministry God has called you to; or else to call you into service.
It is never enough to listen to the word and sing a few songs. God is calling you - to be involved in some ministry that feeds and strengthens the church. As a matter of fact, God has uniquely gifted you to do what otherwise cannot be accomplished among his people. The plain truth is that we need you. God has brought us together in order to strengthen each other, but if only part of us are laboring, then we are lacking in all that God wanted to give us. Are you working to spread the grace of God? We must labor - through many difficulties until we enter the rest which Christ called us to.
Are you ready to take on a ministry to which God has called you? This morning let me close with this call to service - an altar call to service if you will. If you are prepared to serve God in some ministry - be it a specific task you want to do or if you know you should serve but you don't know what you can do - this is the day to publically declare yourself available to the church and to God. I will then ask you about your interests and abilities. We will search out a task that matches your passions and gifts.
But this morning as we close, won't you come?
1The actual time is difficult to judge with numbers ranging now from 2.5 to 4 years.
2So EDNTentry: "The concentration of vb. and noun in Acts, 2 Corinthians, 1 Thessalonians, Philemon, and Hebrews leads us to emphasize the root meaning "comfort," and to interpret its further occurrences in prominent passages ... on that basis. ... The word overwhelmingly expresses a personal and often emphatic concern. ... "
If we take 1 Timothy 3:15, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God as the statement of purpose for first Timothy than we have at the outset a planned destination of study; namely searching through First Timothy to determine what our "church experience" should look like.
In the first chapter we discovered the foundation of Pastoral Authority Grounded in Good Christology as well as the necessity of pastoral Longevity to the health of the church. Moving from that point we established the goal of church teaching balanced against the proper use of the Old Testament Law. And the chapter ends with the application of that church teaching resulting in the centrality of the gospel and worship for what God has done in saving those who trust in Christ Jesus as their Sacrifice, Savior and Lord.
Having established all of that as the foundation we move into the second chapter of first Timothy and we immediately come up to what Paul considers the first directive in the terms of the most important activities of the church; and it should come as no surprise to anyone that his directive is prayer.
Now, Somehow I know what happens whenever the topic of prayer is mentioned. Almost everyone in here starts to think the way I do "I don't pray enough, and I don't know if I can change" becomes the predominant thought pattern in here.
But I want us to step away from that for a moment and to recognize that Prayer is not a requirement, it's a privilege as we who are small and powerless open our mouths to speak and immediately find ourselves ushered into the presence of the Almighty God who is not only eager to hear our conversation with him but is ever more eager to actually do something about our conversation with him.
I want you to notice that I have intentionally refrained from using the word Prayer just then because as a word "Prayer" has been relegated to strictly religious conversation and by and large hasn't got much meaning associated with it today.
There was a time when Prayer meant "conversing with or requesting something of someone who had the power to grant your needs" But it has long since fallen out of common use for anyone but people of religion.
There was a time - probably flavored by religion - but a time when the phrase, "Mother I pray that you will give me a cookie"¦" might have been understood as something of a common phrase. Nowadays kids just say, "Can I have a cookie Mom?"
So this morning when I talk about a Call to prayer, let's change that to A Call to Conversation. Of course in doing that we can't get away from the religious language of prayer completely and I'm not certain we have to but I want us to stop thinking about "prayer" as something we have to do, and to start looking at conversing with God as a privilege and joy that we get to do.
If the church is going to receive a general list of duties it has to begin as it does here in 1 Timothy 2:1 with a broad instruction to pray. Never are we deeper in relationship with God than when we are talking with Him. Just as there are lots of ways for couples and friends to converse in their relationship there are lots of ways for us to talk to God.
Paul acknowledges this in Ephesians 6:18 "With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints"¦." Notice that Paul says "With all prayer"¦" that is, using every method of talking to God.
1 Timothy 2:1 introduces four types of conversation with God But take a look first at the WHO before We Get to the HOW
Look at who we're supposed to pray for as we talk to God. "I urge that (all types of prayers) be made on behalf of all men, For kings and all who are in authority"¦"
I'm fairly certain Paul doesn't mean that we are required to get out the phone book and start praying. The world's population is something around 6.5 Billion people. That would make your prayer list significantly long and frankly impossible. The point isn't necessarily praying for each person but rather that no-one is to be excluded. When we get down to the why in a few moments it becomes clear that if the offer of salvation should be to all, than so also the conversations we have with God shouldn't be limited to anyone either.
In short we're supposed to pray for everyone. No body is to be left behind. If you ever sit down to pray for a few moments and you can't think of what to pray for we'll deal with that in a minute but try thinking about world leaders, local leaders and your next door neighbor. You'll have more than enough to talk about, and chances are pretty good every name that comes to mind will come with some ready made prayer requests.
But prayer requests aren't all. Take a look at the four words Paul uses to describe prayer here and determine "How to talk to God"
Paul uses four terms here to describe conversation with God. It's not so much that Paul is saying "These are the four ways you can talk to God" but rather he's trying to cover the entire spectrum. We don't limit ourselves to four kinds of dialog among friends but we do sometimes tend to limit ourselves to just one kind of dialog with God.
First he says Entreaties in the NASB or Requests in the NIV the Greek word is (DE-AYSIS). And we might think of this as the "Grocery lists prayers" The original meaning of the word stems from the idea of need or lack and out of that evolved into a general term for prayer in the sense of "an urgent request based upon need<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[1]<!--[endif]-->. This is where real and specific requests are made to God.
We kind of major on this from time to time but it's perfectly legitimate way to talk with God. He has told us in James 4 "We have not because we ask not." So don't ever feel ashamed to share a need with God. Tell him what's needed in your life or in the lives of others and ask for his supply to fulfill those genuine needs.
Second he mentions simply prayers. Where as the first one is always associated with "real asking" this second word (PROS-EUKAY), is used merely to indicate prayer without referring to it's content.<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[2]<!--[endif]--> Think of this kind of prayer simply as a conversation. When's the last time you just sighed and started out saying, "God I need to talk to you about something"¦" Sometimes you know what you need and other times you don't even understand the need.
This is the kind of praying you do when you just need to talk to someone who will listen.
The third method of talking with God is called intercessions, it comes from another word (ENTEUXAIS). It literally means "To encounter" or "To meet with" The idea being that You and God are going to meet in order to discuss someone. This is a stand in the gap conversation. You know someone living outside of God's will? You know someone who needs a touch from God? You know someone too weak to come to God on their own? Or someone who just needs help? Then it's time to play the intercessor, get between God and them and be their advocate before the Lord. Intercession is definitely hard work; but necessary.
The Fourth and final word is (EUCHARISTIAS) Thanksgiving! Probably the most underused style of talking with God is just telling him thanks. We even established a holiday in November for just that purpose and we've turned it into a glut-fest instead.
Don't forget however, what God has done, and don't forget to give him thanks for it.
So now you've heard again how to talk to God, and you know who to talk to Him about, but what are we supposed to be seeking in all these prayers for other people?
Look at what Paul says at the end of verse two is supposed to be the content of all this conversation. Pray that we'll lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. What's at issue isn't the selfish desire for a comfortable life of ease; but rather - if you look at the following context, a life free of both external and internal problems which would get in the way of spreading the gospel.
Our conversation with God should be bent in such a way so that the spread of the gospel is not hindered by the activities of men around us (be they kings or grocery clerks) and neither must the gospel be hindered by that secret life inside of each one of us which more than any other has the capacity to short-circuit the spread of the gospel. So that neither we nor the government nor anyone else will get in the way of the gospel's spread.
<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[2]<!--[endif]--> Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Vols. 5-9 edited by Gerhard Friedrich. Vol. 10 compiled by Ronald Pitkin. Edited by Kittel, Gerhard, Geoffrey William Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich. electronic ed., Vol. 2, Page 807. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964-c1976.
When it comes time for public prayer, I have two questions. The First is Q: Why Should we pray? I suppose we could come up with lots of reasons of our own accord, but as it pertains to God's view in 1 Timothy of what the church should do it really comes down to the fact that A: prayer pleases God. So last week we looked at prayer, and we saw four types of prayer representing the entire spectrum of prayer, and we came away with the injunction:
"Pray for All Kinds of People, With All Kinds of Prayer, So that nothing hinders the gospel."
In the context of the second chapter of 1 Timothy, Prayer as the first duty of the church is wrapped around a cause and effect of Salvation. Prayer is the effect of salvation meaning that saved people in the church are called upon to pray. And Prayer is the cause of salvation meaning that the content of our prayers ought at times to be bent towards the salvation of others; praying that we don't get in the way of the gospel, and praying also that God would draw a specific person to himself in order to save that one.
The Second Question is Q: Why Is God Pleased When We Pray? And the answer is A: Because He wants Everyone To Be Saved and prayer is a vital component to salvation.
Everything we read in 1 Timothy 2:1-8 is given squarely in the context of prayer so that prayer is the function behind Paul's statements here. So let's take a look at prayer as the Pleasure Of God. And Let's read 1 Timothy 2:1-8 for context, knowing that our study text is verses 3-7.
Paul says that this prayer for a tranquil and quiet life is good and acceptable in the sight of God. He then begins to unpack the character of God - again in the context of prayer and it becomes evident that God is pleased with prayer because He wants everyone to be saved. Thus a component of our prayers (intercession) is for the salvation of everyone from the kid that pushes the carts in the store parking lot to world leaders.
The fact that God desires all men to be saved neither limits salvation to men excluding women, nor does it limit his sovereignty. The same scriptures that declare "No one comes to the father but by me..." (John 14:6) and "No one comes to me unless the father draws him" (John 6:44) also declares "whosoever will, come unto me..." (Matthew 11:28) The scripture clearly teaches that we have a free will but it also clearly teaches the absolute sovereignty of God apart from which our free will, will not bring us to faith in Christ - for even faith is a gift of God.
Augustine argued that no one "is saved apart from His will; and that, therefore, we should pray Him to will our salvation, because if He will it, it must necessarily be accomplished."1
The next four verses are offered as three proofs that God desires salvation for everyone.
(1st proof) There is only one God for all men.
(2nd proof) Our Mediator came at the appropriate time, and
(3rd proof) God's chose Paul as the Apostle to bring the gospel to the gentile nations.
The first thing any Jew learned was the Shema in Deuteronomy 6:4 "Hear O Israel God is one"¦" By Jesus' day they had turned that into something exclusionary. God was their God and if anyone else wanted to worship God they had to become Jewish. But Paul uses the doctrine of monotheism in order to show that since there is only one God - it follows that he is supposed to be everyone's God. So then the very identity of God being one God is proof that he wants all men to be saved.
Monotheism: Which means "There is only one God" is no longer a given in our society, but remember that it wasn't the main pattern of thinking in Paul's day either.
The second proof that God wants people saved is that he has provided a mediator. Too many would imply that they cannot approach God for they are too sinful, and that would remain true if there were no-one to take us to God. The fact that God has established a mediator to bring the sinful to Him is proof again that God wants all people to be saved.
Jesus is certainly not a mediator in the sense that he brings both parties to various compromises but that he is the only intercessor who is able to bring us to God. He himself became a man - and it is his humanity that enables him to take our place as our substitutionary sacrifice and as our faithful high priest he is able to represent us before the Father.
Note the issue of the Deity of Christ inferred here in verse 5. Elsewhere Christ is called our savior and here God is called our savior. There is no disagreement in the text, Christ is nothing (no-one) less than God in the Flesh. Jesus is the Son of the Father - they share the same nature as deity for there is only one God.
Jesus' death was sufficient to pay the price of sin for all men. Yes I am aware that many of my fellow Calvinists would love to clarify and say that he gave himself only for the elect but I would not see that in this text or in others like it. The death of Jesus was sufficient to save everyone, it is therefore the greater sadness that many will not be saved because they reject the provision made for their salvation.
Jesus, the mediator who gave himself for all men, Is God's testimony that he truly does desire for all men to be saved. That testimony was given at the proper time. The word translated for time refers not so much to chronology as to the appropriateness of the time in which he came.
The time was appropriate perhaps because it was a time conducive to the spread of God's good news. Much has been said about the timing of Christ's life which I only want to summarize.
Jesus was born in an age and a time where He would be certain to be crucified and buried according to the prophets2. He was born in an age in which a foreign tongue was commonly spoke in Israel, which was according to the prophets3. He was born in an age in which a common tongue of Greek was spoken by all people at least as a second language so that the spread of the gospel was made easier by it.
Neither early nor late, Jesus came at the appropriate time in order to prove that God wants all men to come to the saving - experiential - knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Why else would God take a man who was, by Paul's own testimony the chief of sinners, and transform him into a nonstop around the world evangelist? The only reason available is that God wants the gentiles to come to a saving knowledge of the faith. Therefore he picked the man who was tenacious enough to never quit.
God wants people to be saved.
My question to you this morning is this: What are you doing about it? People need the Lord, and yet no-body comes to Jesus unless the father draws them. Are you praying that God will draw them?
I want to urge you to take at least three names - three people who do not know God and I want you to write them down. I want you to start praying today for their salvation. Pray that God will draw them to himself. Pray that God will show them their sin and his righteousness. Pray that God will send workers to harvest those people, and pray that God will give you boldness to speak the truth of the gospel to them as you ought. And pray. Pray that God will open their hearts to his Son, and that they will be your crown of joy when you enter heaven knowing full well that they also will be there with you.
God is pleased when we pray because God wants all men to be saved. Therefore "¦ Pray!
1 Oden, Thomas C. First and Second Timothy and Titus. Interpretation, a Bible commentary for teaching and preaching, Page 48. Louisville: J. Knox Press, 1989.
2 Isaiah 53
3 Isaiah 28:11 "Indeed, He will speak to this people Through stammering lips and a foreign tongue"¦"
If there's one thing the church needs, it's more prayer. It's an obvious statement perhaps but it's also one that periodically needs repeated because we have quite a habit of forgetting that it is what God desires. Even more, it's what we NEED.
In First Timothy 2:1-7 we learned that God is pleased with prayer because it leads to men being saved which is his goal; the only fitting response then is that the men in every place will pray without "Posturing". God wants praying men in His church so that His purposes can be accomplished.
Look with me at the eighth verse of our chapter today as we learn how to pray in church.
<Read 1 Timothy 2:8>
I want to share with you today Four Principles of prayer in the church, the first of which is PEOPLE.
Paul begins with "therefore I want the men…"
There are two words to communicate desire, the first is emotional the second is well reasoned. This is the second word; Paul has determined that the church will reach its goals through praying men. Having decided this then Paul wants us to pray, not the mumbly effortless prayers of adolescence but the hard wrestling prayers that take all of our concentration and effort.1
And in this context, this isn't just for anyone - this is a man's job. Once again, in the New Testament language there are two words for men. One is able to be translated as mankind in general and the second refers to men as opposed to women. It is this second word which Paul uses.
Elsewhere in 1 Corinthians 11 Paul allows women to pray in church as long as they are clearly under the authority of their husbands, here He's calling for men to pray. So in the broader context of scripture Paul doesn't exclude women from praying in the church service, but what he does here is call on the men to take the role of leadership given to them and use it for the furthering of the gospel.
"Paul wished to encourage the male religious leadership to take a lead in public prayer. The point is not that men only should pray but rather that everywhere the church of Jesus Christ exists there should be men who pray." This is not to the exclusion of women praying, but it is a call focused upon the men leading the church."2
In the more direct context, Paul is careful to state that it is the men, and not merely everyone that he wants to pray in the service of the church - it is categorically the men.
Men, God is calling you to take on the hard challenge of praying like you mean it. Put down the remote and pray with your families. Step out of the pew and pray in public. As we saw in the last several verses - prayer comes in all forms and it includes all people. That is a tall order, and we need more than a five minute prayer life. We need to be like Jacob in the book of Genesis, wrestling with God through the night in order to obtain his blessings upon us, upon our families, upon our church, upon our country and on the world.
Are you ready to take the challenge men? In the next chapter we're going to get into the strict requirements of leadership in the church; so it's only natural that he would turn to prayer now, before he ever get's there because it is in the prayer closet that God's leaders are made.
When Moses would go out to the tent of meeting to meet with God face to face his servant Joshua would go out there with him, but even when Moses would leave, Joshua would remain in that tent and in God's presence (Exodus 33:11).
It's not just the people it's also the Place
Since Paul is talking specifically about our behavior in houses of worship (cref. 3:15) "in every place" must by necessity mean the church. Every church location is supposed to be a house of prayer. Here at fame, prayer should be the norm. And praying men should be the backbone of this church.
Every Sunday there is a time set apart at 8:45 for prayer in the room behind the baptistery. It's not limited to leadership in the church or anything of that sort, it is a pre-arranged time to fuel the Sunday ministry with prayer. Anyone that wants to pray during that time is welcome.
Wednesday nights we have prayer meeting in the fellowship hall. It's probably one of the spiritually most important and physically least attended events in the church, and not just our church but every church of which I'm aware.
Remember Jesus' words, "It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer…"3
He says "pray lifting Holy Hands" The early Christians adopted their methods of praying from the Synagogues. Today we pray with heads bowed and eyes closed and hands folded - but the early Christians would stand and lift their hands to heaven palms turned upward.4
It's not that our hands act like a satellite dish, kind of sending and receiving signals from God somewhere out there in outer space. Raise them high and you get good reception, cup them together and you get static. No, it's not like that. The particular posture mentioned is certainly not mandatory in the sense that this is the only style of praying available to us because throughout scripture we see everything from
Standing: Gen. 18:22; I Sam. 1:26; Matt. 6:5; Mark 11:25; Luke 18:11; Luke 18:13.
Hands Spread Out or/and Lifted Heavenward: Ex. 9:29; Ex. 17:11, 12; I Kings 8:22; Neh. 8:6; Psalm 63:4; Psalm 134:2; Psalm 141:2; Is. 1:15; Lam. 2:19; Lam. 3:41; Hab. 3:10; Luke 24:50; I Tim. 2:8; James 4:8.
Bowing the Head: Gen. 24:48 (cf. verse 13); Ex. 12:27; II Chron. 29:30; Luke 24:5.
The Lifting Heavenward of the Eyes: Psalm 25:15; Psalm 121:1; Psalm 123:1, 2; Psalm 141:8; Psalm 145:15; John 11:41; John 17:1; cf. Dan. 9:3; Acts 8:55.
Kneeling: II Chron. 6:13; Psalm 95:6; Is. 45:23; Dan. 6:10; Matt. 17:14; Mark 1:40; Luke 22:41; Acts 7:60; Acts 9:40; Acts