In 1
Timothy 3:15, Paul calls the church “a
pillar and buttress of the truth.” I
take this to mean that one thing God desires to do with the church is to uphold
and support the truth of the gospel. To
say it another way, there is a certain shape, or mold, that the truth of the
gospel gives to the life of the church.
The truth of the gospel affects and shapes how we live in such a way
that it’s very own truth is supported and upheld.
Satan’s desires would then naturally be the exact
opposite. He is the father of lies and
is himself a liar from the beginning (John
8:44). He has been attacking the
truth of God and deceiving God’s people since Genesis 3. One primary way
that he did this in Paul’s day and in ours as well is through false teachers
and false teaching.
The book of 1st Timothy was written to
instruct Timothy to confront false teachers and teaching by allowing the truth
of the gospel to shape the life of the church and her members. Specifically in 1 Timothy 1:1-20, Paul
charged Timothy to confront false teachers with the truth of the gospel. Paul called this confrontation “warfare” in 1:18. From this chapter we
are reminded that Believers are to
confront false teachers with the truth of the gospel. The question we want to answer today is this:
How do God’s people wage good warfare?
[1:1] Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus
by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, [2] To Timothy,
my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and
Christ Jesus our Lord.
[3] As I urged you when I was going
to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to
teach any different doctrine, [4] nor to devote themselves to myths and
endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship
from God that is by faith. [5] The aim of our charge is love that issues
from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. [6] Certain
persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion,
[7] desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what
they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.
[8] Now we know that the law is good,
if one uses it lawfully, [9] understanding this, that the law is not laid
down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and
sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and
mothers, for murderers, [10] the sexually immoral, men who practice
homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to
sound doctrine, [11] in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the
blessed God with which I have been entrusted.
[12] I thank him who has given me
strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me
to his service, [13] though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and
insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in
unbelief, [14] and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith
and love that are in Christ Jesus. [15] The saying is trustworthy and
deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners, of whom I am the foremost. [16] But I received mercy for this
reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect
patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. [17] To
the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory
forever and ever. Amen.
[18] This charge I entrust to you,
Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you,
that by them you may wage the good warfare, [19] holding faith and a good
conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith,
[20] among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to
Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. (1 Timothy 1:1-20 ESV)
I.
We Must Understand Our Warfare (1:18)
a.
We Are AT WAR (with the world, the flesh, and the Devil)
This is a point that most Christians are oblivious
to. We do not approach church, missions,
or our lives like we are at war. But
make no mistake, the Bible teaches that as the people of God, we are at war, and
the stakes are higher than in any war
that has ever been fought.
Ephesians
6:10-12: [10] Finally, be strong in the Lord and in
the strength of his might. [11] Put on the whole armor of God, that you
may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. [12] For we do not
wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
b.
The NATURE of Our Warfare
There are at least two types of warfare that every
believer is engaged in. We’ll call the
first type the inner war. Scripture calls our battle with sin, the
flesh, unbelief, etc. a war that we are engaged in. 1
Peter 2:11: “Beloved, I urge you as
sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war
against your soul.”
The second type of warfare that a Christian is
involved in is an outer war. This
is the type of warfare described in Ephesians
6:10-12. In this type of warfare,
Satan attacks the church on two fronts.
One front is the persecution of
the church. Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war
on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and
hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea. (Revelation 12:17) On this front, Satan
approaches the church like a roaring lion (1
Peter 5:8). The other front on which the outer war is
waged is much more subtle. It is the infiltration of the church by false teaching and teachers. In 1:18,
Paul calls Timothy’s confrontation with false teachers “waging good warfare.” Here
there is not an open attack but an infiltration of wolves in sheep’s clothing
among the flock of God (Acts 20:29-30). Here Satan does not approach the church as a
lion but as “an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).
There is great need for the church today to
recognize that we are at war. Imagine
that in the middle of a gruesome battle, some soldier shows up late, in beach
shorts, with headphones blaring and walks out onto the middle of the battlefield,
lays out his lawn chair and starts sun tanning.
Something is wrong with that picture isn’t it? Something is also very wrong with the scores
of Christians who are completely oblivious to the war that we are in as well. How are we ever going to wage good warfare if
we are oblivious to the fact that we are even at war? We must understand our warfare.
II.
We Must Understand Our Orders (1:3-20)
a.
Contend with False Teaching & Teachers with
the Truth of the Gospel (3-11,18-20)
There are at least three orders, explicit and
implicit, in 1 Timothy 1:1-20. The first order is that God’s people are
charged to contend with false teaching and teachers with the truth of the
gospel. Now this may not be a popular
idea, especially in our day of tolerance, but Paul’s charge is clear: God’s people
have a responsibility to FIGHT for
the purity and preservation of the gospel (1:3-4). And part of the job of a pastor in particular
is to confront and charge false teachers.
What is so good about Paul’s charge to Timothy
here is how he focuses the aim of the charge in 1:5. Paul says the aim of
this charge to confront false teachers is “love
that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” When confronting false teaching and
teachers, our desire should always be to do so in love and see them come to
repentance. Even in 1:20, where Paul names two of these false teachers and says that
has handed them over to Satan (excommunicated them), he states that the reason
for doing so is to teach them “not to
blaspheme.” His desires that by
Satan chewing them up and spitting them out, they would see where their error
and repent.
[23] Have
nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed
quarrels. [24] And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to
everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, [25] correcting his
opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a
knowledge of the truth, [26] and they may come to their senses and escape
from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. (2
Timothy 2:23-26 ESV)
1st
Timothy 1:3-11 is also most helpful
in describing false teaching and teachers for us. First, this passage we see that false teaching
is teaching which promotes speculations rather than “the stewardship from God that is by faith.”
(3-4) Paul calls these things “myths”
and “endless genealogies.” He will go on to call this wandering away
into “vain discussion.” So one question we want to ask of any
teaching is does this teaching promote speculation and vain discussion or does
it promote the progress of God’s kingdom by faith?
Second, false teaching is also teaching that produces bondage. Paul accuses these
false teachers of an improper use of the law (8-11). There is a proper use of the law and an
improper use of the law. The reformers
pointed out at least three proper uses of the law: punitive/redemptive (it condemns us as sinners and points us to our
need of a Savior), deterrent (it
keeps lawlessness somewhat in check), and instructive
(it reveals actions that please or displease God). The New Testament is clear that Christians do
not live under the law (Romans 10:4),
but are profited by the law so long as it is used in “accordance with the gospel” (1:11). The improper use of the law here seems to be
that these false teachers were using the law to keep “the just” in check. This is
probably a reference to some type of legalism and legalism is never “in accordance with the gospel.” Any teaching that makes us out to be a
contributor to our salvation rather than a trophy of God’s grace is not a
Christian teaching.
Thirdly, this passage also teaches us that false
teachers are people who have swerved
from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith. (6,19). Normally, false teaching and immorality go
hand in hand. Please heed the warning
here: people who reject these things are setting themselves up for spiritual
shipwreck. The stakes are high! This is why repentance is so important:
un-repentance sears our conscience and is a breeding ground for heresy.
Finally, this passage also teaches us that false
teachers have a certain degree of arrogance
about them. Notice that they do not
desire to be learners of God or the law, but “teachers” rather (7). They
make confident assertions about the law but don’t understand what they are
talking about. They have an unhealthy desire
without understanding or humility (6-7).
Pride and arrogance is also a breeding ground for heresy.
b.
Know the Gospel Well (12-16)
The next order that is more implicit in this
passage is that in order to contend with false teaching and teachers, we must
know the gospel well. Paul and his
gospel here are the contrast against
the false teachers and their teaching. He
gives us a clear, concise statement of the gospel in 1:15: that “Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners,” and then uses his own testimony as an
illustration of how Jesus saves sinners.
What caused Paul to go from being a blasphemer, a
persecutor, and an insolent opponent to someone whom the Lord would judge
faithful and appoint to His service? What
takes the foremost of sinners and makes them the most faithful of saints is the
saving gospel of Jesus Christ. Notice
how Paul describes being saved: in his opposition to God, he “received mercy” and “grace…overflowed” to him. The imagery is of a river in flood stage,
completely overflowing. And this
overflow of mercy and grace brought “strength”
(12), “faith” and “love” (14) to Paul, and made him
faithful to be God’s servant. God did
all of this in so that Paul would be an example of God’s perfect patience in
order to lead others to faith in Christ.
Friend, this is the gospel! This is what is means to be saved! This is how and why Jesus saves sinners. He came into the world, lived a sinless life,
bore a sinner’s cross in payment for sinners’ rebellion and rose again from the
dead. Now even the foremost of sinners
who will repent and put their faith in Him will receive mercy and grace
overflowing with strength, faith, and love.
And God intends to use all of this in order to bring others to faith in
Him as well.
Is this your testimony, that you were the foremost
of sinners and one day God opened the floodgates of grace and mercy upon your
life? Is your testimony that the
overflow mercy and grace brought radical change (faith and love) in your
life? Do you desire now to be an example
of God’s perfect patience in order to lead others to faith in Jesus? By way of
application, let me encourage you to make it a point to learn the gospel well
and to learn how to share your testimony in such a way that you are sharing the
gospel at the same time. In this war, we
must know the gospel well and our lives must be “exhibit A” of the truth we
claim to know so well.
c.
Never Get Over the Gospel (12,17)
Simply put, the gospel that saved Paul made Paul thankful (12) and worshipful (17). He never
got over the gospel. It never became
secondary to him. Far too often we think
we need to move on to other matters once we have been saved for a while. The truths of Christianity are no like an
unexplored territory, where we are continually exploring new places. The truths of Christianity are more like a
gold mine that gets richer the deeper we dig.
Maturity is not necessarily learning new things as much as it is
learning the gospel more. We will never
get further than the gospel and nothing will produce more passion in us than a
deep meditation upon how we who are the foremost of sinners have been consumed
in the flood of God’s grace and mercy, a flood that doesn’t just take us
downstream to heaven, but also makes us radically different people. What can we say to such wonderful news? We must give honor and glory to the King of
ages, immortal, invisible, the only God forever and ever!
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