How the Gospel Shapes Our Worship (Part 2): 1 Timothy 2:8-15

Passages like 1 Timothy 2:8-15 cause me to appreciate the importance of expository preaching through books of the Bible.  This is one of the most controversial and potentially offensive passages in the New Testament, one that a pastor would not normally deal with if he were simply selecting random passages to preach from every week.  But preaching through books of the Bible builds up God’s people by dealing with passages like this in their context. 

In 1 Timothy 2:8-15, Paul instructed Timothy as to what the proper expressions of Biblical manhood and womanhood are in the corporate life of the church.  As I said, this is a controversial and offensive teaching in our culture.  But as God’s people, we are called to trust God and submit to the teaching of Scripture on any subject, no matter how controversial.  And this passage is a clear call for Biblical expressions of manhood and womanhood in the church for the sake of the gospel.  While manhood and womanhood find their most concentrated expression in the physical family, they are also to find expression in the family of God, the church.  

Now remember that the book of 1^st Timothy was written to charge Timothy to confront false teachers and teaching by allowing the truth of the gospel to shape the life of the church and her members.  That’s why this sermon series is called, “Molded by the Gospel.”  The gospel is supposed to mold us into a “pillar and buttress of the truth” (3:15), in order to uphold and support the truth of the gospel.  And this issue of expressing Biblical manhood and womanhood in the church is also part of what it means to be shaped, or molded, by the gospel into a pillar and buttress of the truth.  So the question that we want to answer today is how are God’s people to express Biblical manhood and womanhood in the church? 

[8] I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; [9] likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, [10] but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. [11] Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. [12] I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. [13] For Adam was formed first, then Eve; [14] and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. [15] Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.  (1 Timothy 2:8-15 ESV)

I.              Men Must Take the Lead (2:8)

The first thing to notice about this passage is that it is not just a passage about women.  It gives instructions on both men and women in the church.  And the word, “THEN,” once again connects this call upon men and women to the preceding context.  In other words, this is another way that the church is to be a pillar and buttress of the truth of the gospel against false teaching and for the salvation of all.  Right out of the pen, we need to see that men being men and women being women aid the mission of God and support the truth of the gospel. 

Men are called upon here to take the LEAD in prayer, pursuing holiness, and teaching in the church.  This is Paul’s desire “in every place” (8), meaning that men leading in this way is supposed to be THE NORM in God’s churches.  Men are to be the visible leaders of the church when it assembles. 

Men are to lead the charge to pray for all people’s salvation, and they are not only charged to pray but are also instructed on how to pray also.  They are to pray, “lifting up holy hands without anger or quarreling.”  The lifting up of hands is a common posture of prayer in the Bible, used much like we use the phrase, “getting on our knees” today.  But Paul doesn’t just tell them to lift up hands, but to lift up “holy hands.”  So he is addressing more than just the posture of a man’s hands here; he is also addressing the posture of a man’s heart. Holy hands represent a holy life.  Psalm 24:3-6: [3] Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? [4] He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. [5] He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation. [6] Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah.  See the connection?  So men are to lead the way not only in prayer but also in the pursuit of holiness in the church.  One practical example of pursuing holiness given here is avoiding sinful “anger” and “quarreling.”  Now God also calls men to lead the church in teaching, but that is addressed in the section on women, so we will deal with it there.

II.            Women Must Wear Godliness (2:9-15)

Paul now moves to the proper expression of Biblical womanhood in the church.  Notice right away the word, “likewise.”  This means that just as Paul’s instruction to men was what he desired “in every place,” so this instruction to women is His desire “in every place.”  This is an important point is because there are many people who come to this passage and conclude that Paul’s instruction only concerned a given situation at Ephesus at a the time and that it is no longer applicable today.  The words, “likewise” and “in every place” make clear that this instruction to men and women in the church applies in all places at all times. 

This passage calls upon women to “adorn themselves” with “respectable” and “proper” apparel (9). Now this is instruction on how women should dress, but it is not just instruction on how to dress, because some of the items that Paul tells women to wear are not clothing items.  He tells them to wear “modesty and self-control,” and “good works.”  He calls this apparel “proper for women who profess godliness” (10).  So in a nutshell, Paul is telling women to wear godliness.

The heart of being a godly woman has partly to do with how a woman dresses on the outside, but mostly to do with how a woman dresses on the inside.  We see the same description of a woman’s inner dress in Peter’s epistle.  [3:1] Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, [2] when they see your respectful and pure conduct. [3] Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—[4] but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. [5] For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, [6] as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. (1 Peter 3:1-6 ESV)

So part of what it means to express Biblical, godly womanhood in the church is to dress in a way that shows that your ultimate focus is not upon your outer beauty.  This means not being consumed with hairdo’s, jewelry, and expensive clothing (9), especially on Sunday.  Rather, a godly woman is to focus on wearing “modesty and self-control.”  This doesn’t mean that a woman can’t wear jewelry or dress nice.  It simply means that a godly woman doesn’t dress in a way that makes her the focus of attention.  And she also doesn’t dress in a way that makes here a stumbling block to others.  The more a woman dresses to draw attention to her outer beauty, whether that’s being flashy or provocative, the less she gets what it means to be a godly woman.   

1 Timothy 2:11-15 address another item in that all godly women should wear, and that is submission.  “Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness.  I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet” (11-12).  What does this mean?  Before I tell you what I think it does mean, let me first tell you what it doesn’t mean.   

First of all, Paul is not commanding women here to be absolutely silent at all times in the church here.  Why do I say that?  I say that because in I Corinthians 11:5, Paul gives instruction on how women are to prophesy in the church.  In Titus 2:4, Paul instructed older women to “teach” younger women in the church.   And if you compare 2 Timothy 1:5 with 2 Timothy 3:14-15, you see that Timothy learned what he did about God and the Bible as a child from his mother and his grandmother.  So this cannot be calling for absolute silence or be saying that there is no place for women teachers in the church.  Furthermore, this is not even prohibiting women from ever teaching anything to a man in any context.  Both Aquila and his wife Priscilla took Apollos aside and taught him “the way of God more accurately” (Acts 18:26). 

So what does this mean?  I believe these verses are calling women to affirm male headship in the church and express submission when the church gathers.  This is instruction given for when the church gathers corporately.  So when the church publically assembles, women are to affirm male headship in the church, and the way they are to do so is by not teaching men to men or to exercising authority over them.  Just as married women are to recognize male headship in the home, all women are to recognize male headship in the church.  This is part of the proper expression of Biblical womanhood in the church. 

Now at a bear minimum, this means that women are not permitted by Scripture to pastor or preach in the church.  But since this is corporate instruction, I also take this to mean that women are not to be in a teaching role or an authoritative role over men in any organized gathering of the church.  This would include Sunday school classes and community groups.  Please understand that this has absolutely nothing to do with a woman’s competence, intelligence, or spiritual aptitude.  It simply means that when the church gathers, women are to wear submission, affirming male headship in the church.  This is God’s good and wise design.  We can either be offended by it or by faith trust it as wisdom.  Interestingly enough, the radical idea in Paul’s day would not have been that women were not permitted to teach but that women were encouraged to learn at all.  So this passage in no way degrades women or implies inequality. 

In verses 13-15, Paul gives his reasoning behind calling women affirming male headship in the church.  Two reasons are given.  The first reason is that Adam was formed first (13).  This is another major indicator that this teaching applies to all churches at all times.  Male headship is not something that is rooted in a certain culture or even the fall.  Male headship is rooted in creation.  God could have created man and woman together at the same time, but He did not.  And Paul takes that to mean that God’s doing it that way was on purpose, in order to establish male headship.  So these roles are not consequences of sin, they are part of who we are.  The gospel, then, actually shapes us into who we were meant to be!

The second reason Paul gives here is that Adam was not deceived, but Eve was (14).  Think about what happened in Genesis 3:1-6.  There was a complete role reversal in God’s created order.  In God’s creative order, this couple was to live under the rule of God as His representative rulers and stewards of the earth.  The husband was to be the head of this partnership, lovingly leading, protecting, cherishing, nurturing, and providing for his wife as they exercised dominion over God’s creation.  What we see in Genesis 3:1-6, is a creature seducing the woman to lead her husband to rebel against the rule of God. Douglas Moo says that this statement “is intended to remind the women at Ephesus that Eve was deceived by the serpent in the Garden precisely in taking the initiative over the man whom God had given to be with her and to care for her.”[1]  Paul’s reasoning is that when God’s divine order is ignored, there will be devastating consequences.  One thing we do know from the Pastoral Epistles is that the false teachers that Paul was so concerned about were leading some women astray with their teaching (5:15, 2 Tim. 3:6-7).  Paul is seeking to protect women in the church from being deceived.

And now we come to verse 15! Paul says that even though woman was deceived and became a transgressor, they “will be saved through childbearing” IF they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control.  What does this mean?  The Greek word for “saved” here is the word used for salvation in the New Testament. 

The first thing that we need to understand it that when the New Testament describes our salvation, it has a larger concept of salvation than most of us are used to thinking about.  Salvation is not just described a one-time event in the life of a believer.  That is normally the only sense in which we think about salvation, that we have been “saved.”  But the New Testament also says that though we have been saved, we are also in the process of being saved and will ultimately be saved in the end.  We normally call these three different senses justification, sanctification, and glorification.  This is why you read passages like Philippians 2:12-13, which tells believers who have been saved to “work out their salvation,” and Hebrews 12:14, which tells believers to strive for the “holiness without which no one will see the Lord.”

Obviously, a woman being “saved through childbearing” cannot mean that a woman is justified by having children.  That would contradict the entire teaching of the New Testament on justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.  What this means then is that Paul is speaking of salvation in the sense of our sanctification, or our being in the process of being saved.  This is confirmed by the fact that he goes on to say that a woman is saved “if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.”  Again, we normally don’t think about our salvation in this way.  We normally don’t give our testimony and say, “I’m a Christian, if I continue in faith, love, holiness, and self-control.”  But that is one way the New Testament speaks of our salvation.  It doesn’t contradict salvation by grace alone through faith alone, because we are sanctified by grace through faith as well and God has promised to sanctify and glorify all those whom He has justified (Romans 8:30). 

“Childbearing,” then, is part of how a woman “works out her salvation” (Philippians 2:12-13).  This doesn’t mean that all women have to have children.  The word for “childbearing” means both childbearing and child rearing.  It is speaking of motherhood.  And the reason Paul mentions it is because motherhood is normally, but not always, a big part of womanhood.  So in a nutshell, part of the way a Christian woman works out her salvation is by embracing Biblical womanhood.  A woman who is truly a Christian will embrace this description of womanhood as good wisdom from God and reject a liberal, feminist distortion of what womanhood is.  In my experience, I have seen this to be true.  Most godly women welcome Biblical instruction on womanhood and are not offended by it.  And I have never seen a godly woman offended by humble, sacrificial, loving, Christ-like, servant leadership from men.

Please heed the warning that is implied in this passage as well.  Men who refuse to be men (who refuse to lead in prayer, teaching, and the pursuit of holiness) and women who refuse to be women (who refuse to wear godliness and embrace the Bible’s description of womanhood) give evidence that they are not being saved, which means they are also giving evidence that they have not been saved.  Embracing Biblical manhood and womanhood are not minor issues.  They are part of how God desires the gospel to shape the life of the church. 

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[1] Moo, Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, 190

How the Gospel Shapes Our Worship (Part 1): 1 Timothy 2:1-7

     The book of 1^st 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.  In 1 Timothy 3:15, Paul calls the church “a pillar and buttress of the truth,” meaning that God desires for the church to uphold and support the truth of the gospel.  I’m calling this series Molded by the Gospel: How the Gospel is to Shape the Life of the Church.  What I mean is that there is a certain shape, or mold, that the truth of the gospel is supposed to give to the life of the church.  It is supposed to mold us into a “pillar and buttress of the truth.”  It is to affect and shape how we live in such a way that it’s very own truth is supported and upheld.  

Last week we saw how the gospel calls us to be a warring people; this week we are going to see how the gospel calls us to be a praying people.  In 1 Timothy 2:1-7, Paul urges Timothy to keep the priority of prayer for the sake of the gospel’s progress among all people.  This passage reminds us that God calls His people to be a praying people for the sake of God’s fame among all people. This passage gives us three ways in which the church is supposed to be a gospel-shaped, praying people. 

[2:1] First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, [2] for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. [3] This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, [4] who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. [5] For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, [6] who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. [7] For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. (1 Timothy 2:1-7 ESV)

I.              A People Shaped by the Gospel Know the Priority of Prayer (2:1a)

This first phrase here in chapter two shows us the priority of prayer in the church.  It is to be done “FIRST of ALL” (2:1).  Prayer is one of the highest priorities for the people of God both corporately and individually, meaning that we as a church should be a praying church and that you, as an individual should be a praying person.  God, in His wisdom has chosen to make the prayers of His people vital to the success of His mission.  Why?  I believe it is because prayer glorifies God in a unique way.  It expresses both dependence upon God and faith in God like nothing else does.  It says to God, “We need you” and, “You are able.”  It is an expression of the truth that only God can and that God can!  A lack of prayer, then, would express the opposite.  A lack of prayer would express a lack of dependence upon God and a lack of faith in Him.

There is another word here that points us to the priority of prayer.  The word “then” ties what is about to be said to what has just been said.  Paul has just charged Timothy to wage good warfare against false teaching and teachers with the truth of the gospel.  How is Timothy to wage this war?  First of all, he is to pray!  He is to wage this war on his knees.  We see this same pattern of a call to warfare and prayer in Ephesians 6:10-20.  After calling believers to put on the whole armor of God, Paul then instructs them to pray: [18] praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, [19] and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, [20] for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. (Ephesians 6:18-20 ESV)

Are we a praying people?  Are you a praying person?  When we survey the church today, it seems that in most places God’s people are more prayer wimps than prayer warriors.  One pastor said, “If I announce a banquet, people will come out of the woodwork to attend.  But if I announce a prayer meeting, I’m lucky if the ushers attend!”[1]  God’s people have forgotten the priority of prayer in the church.  Let me encourage you to take advantage of our church’s corporate opportunities to pray.  Also, set a time to spend some quality time in prayer everyday and seize opportunities throughout the day as well (commute, shower, etc.).  Model the priority of prayer before your children.  The gospel calls us to be a praying people. 

II.            A People Shaped by the Gospel Know the Particulars of Prayer (2:1b-2a)

Paul mentions four types of prayer here.  “Supplications” are specific requests that we make in response to needs.  “Prayers” are a more general term for praying in general.  “Intercessions” refer to drawing close in order to converse confidently and intimately with someone.  “Thanksgivings” are just that: the giving of thanks to God.  This type of prayer recognizes God’s answers to our prayers and that every good and perfect gift is coming from above and also that every bad thing is being used for God’s glory and my good. 

Paul then mentions the objects of our prayers.  He says that prayers are to be made “for all people.”  He is not saying that you need to take a census of the world and mention every person by name.  That would be impossible.  The phrase “all people” in this passage does not mean all people without exception, but all people without distinction.[2] The examples that Paul gives are “kings and all who are in high positions.”  This means that we are to pray for those in authority.  We will say more about this in a minute, but for now consider what this would have meant for first century believers.  Paul just told them to pray for Nero and other pagan, Gentile officials.  Paul is telling this church pray for more than just the people who are in their circle or the people whom they enjoy praying for.  He is calling them to pray for all kinds of people. 

To summarize this point, God here is calling the church to all kinds of prayer for all kinds of people.  The listing of different types of prayer isn’t intended to be conclusive or to be a formula.  It is meant call us to pray in different ways.  One thing that I notice among Christians is that we often fail to pray because we don’t know what to say or how.  What we learn here is that there isn’t only one way to do it.  We are simply called here to come to God on behalf of all people’s eternal good. 

 [8] For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. [9] Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? [10] Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? [11] If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! (Matthew 7:7-11 ESV) My children don’t always know how to properly communicate with me, but that doesn’t stop them from trying and that’s because of the relationship that we enjoy.  It invites them to come to me with anything as best they know how in confidence.  We enjoy the same privilege as God’s children!  So pray already!!!

III.         A People Shaped by the Gospel Know the Purpose of Prayer (2:2b-7)

What I want to do here is first give you the purpose that this passage gives us for the type of praying that Paul is calling for here and then show you how that works out in the life of God’s people.  The purpose of prayer is to see all people come to a saving knowledge of the truth of the gospel for the glory of God.  The initial purpose that Paul gives for this kind of praying is “that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (2:2).  But that is not the ultimate purpose, because he further says in 2:3-4 that “this” (us praying for all people so that we may lead a peaceful, quiet, godly, and dignified life) is good and pleasing to God because He “desires all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”  So at the heart of all of our praying should be a desire for God’s name to be made great among all people for their eternal good. 

Now how does this work and what does us living a peaceful, quiet, godly, and dignified life have to do with the salvation of all peoples?  Three truths here put together the answer for us.  First, God desires all people to be saved (4).  Again, this means all people without distinction, not all people without exception.  That is not to say that God doesn’t desire the salvation of all people without exception, it just means that it is not the sense that the phrase “all people” is used with in this passage.  It didn’t mean that we are to pray for all people without exception in verse 1 and it doesn’t mean all people without exception are ransomed by Jesus’ death in verse 6.  That would teach universalism (that everyone is going to heaven regardless of how the respond to God’s offer of salvation).  The Bible is clear that only those who respond to God’s offer of the gospel in repentance and faith will be saved.  This bring us to our second truth. 

The next truth is that only those who come to a saving knowledge of the truth of the gospel will be saved (4-6).  There is one and only one Mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.  A mediator is a person who makes peace between two parties.  Jesus became our Mediator with God by becoming a man who would become our ransom (the price required to set someone free from something).  Jesus offered Himself as a substitute payment for our sins that place us in debt to the just wrath of God.   And this is the one truth that a person must know and respond to in order to be saved.  A person must come to the understanding that there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, and that Jesus became our one Mediator by becoming a man who would become our ransom and respond to that truth in repentance and faith.  That is what it means to come to a saving knowledge of the truth.  So the while the offer of salvation is inclusive, the application of salvation is exclusive.  Only those who come to a saving knowledge of the truth will be saved (Acts 4:12). 

The third truth that put how this all works together is that God will convince people of the truth of the gospel with the lives of His people.  This is where we connect our living a peaceful, quiet, godly and dignified life with God’s desire to see all people saved.  “Peaceful” means tranquil, and has to do with a person’s inner circumstances.  “Quiet” has to do with a person’s outer circumstances.  “Godly” simply means character that is like God.  And “dignified” has to do with earning the respect of others with how we live. 

So think through the progression of this passage once more.  We are to pray for all people so that we can live this way and “this” pleases God because He desires that all be saved. In other words, the reason that leading a quiet, peaceful, godly, and dignified life so pleases God is that it must aide the mission to see all people come to a saving knowledge of the truth.  To come full circle, this type of life commends the truth of the gospel, serving as a “pillar and buttress” to the truth.  To say it another way, we are praying for all people to the end that we would be “salt” and “light” in the earth, so that others to see our good works and to give glory to our Father who is in heaven (Matt. 5:13-16). 

Think through what this means in praying for those in authority.  It certainly means that we should pray for their salvation.  But it ultimately means that we should pray that God would use them in ways that will provide for maximum progress of the gospel.  Sometimes that will mean freedom from anarchy, persecution, and economic hardship, because that will be most beneficial to God’s kingdom.  But sometimes that may mean the opposite.  Sometimes persecution may be the catalyst that causes the church to flourish as a watching world watches a suffering people live with inner peace and godliness and in so doing earn the respect of some of those persecutors to the point where they too become believers.  We are to pray for all people, especially those in authority, so that events will unfold in order to put God’s people in a position to maximize the display of the transforming power of the gospel. 

The bottom line is that we should so desire the fame of God’s name among the nations that we are moved to fervent prayer and consecration to God.  Are we a house of prayer for the nations or a den of robbers (Mark 11:15-19), more concerned with our own gain than with the fame of God’s name among the nations for their eternal good?  May the heart of the Lord’s Prayer become the heart of our prayers, that God’s name would be hallowed and that His will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. 

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[1] Wiersbe, Be Faithful, 34

[2] Wiersbe, Be Faithful, 37

How the Gospel Shapes Our Warfare: 1 Timothy 1:1-20

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 1^st 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)

1^st 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!