Do you know any magic tricks?  I have never really been able to do any that actually fooled anyone.  I can sort of do one trick, which I performed for my wife with a plastic cup and a lemon.  I think I might have fooled her with that one.  But from what little I know about magic tricks, the trick is to distract the person with one hand, while doing something else with the other hand.  So you distract on the one hand and then deceive with the other.  Or at least that’s a simple explanation for a lot of tricks.  That’s why they call it a sleight of hand.

The devil is a master of deception.  He is a mastery of trickery. And he uses this method to deceive people, not only those who are unsaved, but even those who are in the church. He distracts people from the truth on the one hand, and then deceives them with what appears to be true by the other hand, when in fact, he has substituted a lie for the truth. And because you think you so obviously see it, you believe it.

Paul warned in 1Tim. 4:1 “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.”

The devil substitutes a lot of different things for the gospel.  He has a lot of different tricks up his sleeve. Some people are duped by false experiences.  Some are deceived by a false prophet who proclaims some new revelation or dream.  Some are deceived by some pseudo science that claims to provide the missing link to understand the Bible.  Some have come to believe that by being baptized they are insured a place in heaven.  Some are trusting in the observance of the Sabbath as the means of being right with God.  Satan has deceived many people by many different means. 

The Galatians had been tricked into thinking that by observing the law, especially the law of circumcision, they could be fully right with God.  It seemed innocuous enough.  After all, the law came from God, it was recorded in the scriptures. It had the appearance of righteousness. But Paul calls it another gospel.  A false hope.  And he even goes so far as to say that to observe the law was to make the gospel of no use to you.

He said in ch. 5:2-4 “Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you.  And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law.  You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.” 

Paul was talking about two different gospels, not two different interpretations of

the same gospel, but two different gospels. In one of them, man stands before God on the basis of human merit. In the other, he stands before God on the merits of Jesus Christ. In the one, he stands before God in the righteousness of his own human achievement. In the other, he stands before God recognizing he cannot do anything to satisfy God but Christ has done something that does satisfy God.

So he has finished his argument by the middle of chapter 6. He has shown that the flesh and the Spirit are opposites, and we must die to the flesh that we might live in the Spirit.  And now the apostle Paul writes the postscript to the letter with his own hand.  Vs. 11, “See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand.”

What he is talking about here is his usual method of writing a letter was to dictate it to a secretary, or what they call an amanuenses.  I believe the scriptures indicate that Paul had a severe eye impediment which made it difficult for him to write.  And so he used someone to write for him.  But at the end of his letters it was customary for him to write a postscript so that they might be assured that it was written by Paul.  For instance, he says at the end of 2Thess. 3:17 “I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, and this is a distinguishing mark in every letter; this is the way I write.”  His handwriting must have been very distinctive, using large letters because he could not read his own handwriting.

And he should have just signed off at this point, and say farewell to all his readers and to those whom he knew personally in Galatia.  But Paul can’t help himself. He feels so passionate about this subject, he feels that it is so dangerous, that he can’t help but throw a couple more punches as he hand writes this postscript.

And so he says in vs 12 “Those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.  For those who are circumcised do not even keep the Law themselves, but they desire to have you circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh.”

In other words, the Judaisers are trying to claim you as converts to their gospel so that they might avoid persecution.  It would appear that in Jerusalem there was a sect of people that claimed to believe in Christ to some extent, but they also said that you must adopt the Jewish laws and be circumcised. They were the ones who had traveled to Galatia to win those converts over to their gospel. So it was some mix of Judaism and Christianity.  

But Paul says that they do not even keep the law themselves, but they just wanted to secure the physical sign of circumcision in the Galatians that they might boast that they had so many converts.  Paul had said earlier, that if you kept one part of the law, you were obligated to keep all of it.  But they were really just focused on the law of circumcision and didn’t keep the laws that they felt were more egregious. 

So the Judaisers weren’t really concerned about the Galatians souls, but they were only concerned about boasting about a sign in the flesh of the Galatians that they had submitted to their gospel.  Paul on the other hand had the right motives for preaching the gospel.  He said in vs 14 “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

Paul cared nothing for the glory that came from fame as some sort of super apostle. He cared nothing for the glory that came from riches. He cared nothing for the glory that came from his status and power among men. He only cared about the glory of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.

For the people reading Paul’s letter who understood what crucifixion was all about, the words “cross” and “glory” just did not go together. They were diametrically opposed because there was not a more humiliating, shameful way to be executed than the cross. It was considered a great shame to be crucified. It would seem much more logical to boast in your good showing in the flesh, instead of the cross.

I titled this message  “The crux of the gospel.”  And I deliberately chose that word crux because it comes from the Latin word which meant cross. Today however in the English language crux has come to mean the most important point, or the central point. The cross is the central theme of the gospel.  The cross was the fullest expression of the justice and holiness of God.  And the cross was the fullest expression of the love of God.  The cross is the fullest expression of the sinfulness of man that deserved death.  And the cross is the fullest expression of the substitutionary atonement by God for man.

Paul gloried in the cross because he knew that there was no other way that a man could be made right with God.  Man could not be accepted by God because he had a mark on his flesh. He could only be made right with God because Jesus died on the cross in man’s place.  So the cross is the central theme of the gospel, whereas man’s efforts are the central doctrine of every false gospel. 

But there are two other crosses that are taught in vs 14 besides the cross of Christ.  The second cross is the cross on which the world died to Paul. He says, “But far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” Through which the world has been crucified to me.  The world died to Paul. The cross condemns the world.  Human reason, it’s condemned by the cross. Public opinion, it’s condemned by the cross. Popular belief,  is condemned by the cross. The assured claims of modern science which change rapidly and constantly, are condemned by the cross. The allurements of the world, are condemned by the cross.  Making money, being successful, living for pleasure, are condemned by the cross.

So Paul said “God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified to me.” Paul no longer is enslaved by the pursuits of the world, the mantras of the world, the approval of the world, the treasures of the world.

The third cross is the cross on which Paul died to the world.  He says, ”And I, to the world.” Now, I think that what he meant by that was that the world didn’t think much of Paul. In the eyes of the world, Paul was a loser.  He hadn’t accomplished anything that they valued.  He hadn’t accumulated any of the world’s treasures. Had he never been converted, he might have gone down in history as one of the greatest Jewish rabbis. He would have received every accolade from the Jewish religious elites. But when he converted, he became despised, an object of ridicule and persecution.

When you die to the world, then you are made alive in Christ. You are made new.  You become a new creation. Old things are passed away, all things become new.  Paul says in vs 15, “For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.”  Circumcision may be a bloody sacrifice of the flesh, but it accomplished nothing in regards to your salvation. It was merely a picture, a symbol of the need to be severed from the flesh that you might live in the Spirit. 

But there was a more perfect bloody sacrifice made by Jesus Christ on the cross, by which we are born again in the spirit.  And through His sacrifice we are made a new creation.  This is the crux of our salvation.  Through the crucifixion we  must be born again.  We must be changed.  We must receive the Spirit of Christ in us.  To be circumcised or not be circumcised is irrelevant.  What is important is that Christ died on the cross for you so that you might live through Him.  Through death we are made a new creation.

2Cor. 5:17 “Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”  We don’t make ourselves a new creation; God does it in us. At it’s root, Christianity is something God does in us, not something we do for God.

Then notice vs 16, “And those who will walk by this rule, peace and mercy [be] upon them, and upon the Israel of God.”  Those who will walk by this rule of becoming a new creation, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.  

The word rule there in the Greek is “kanōn” which was a line or a rod used in construction to make a straight line.  So Paul is referring to this new life by the Spirit by whom we should walk. When we walk in the Spirit and not according to the flesh, we will have the benefit of being true.

So as a new creation we are walking in the truth, and the first benefit is that we have peace, we have made peace with God through the cross of Jesus Christ.  Christ satisfied the wrath of God towards us by taking our punishment upon Himself.  And the second benefit, we receive mercy from God.  God struck Jesus so that He might give us mercy.  Mercy is not getting what we deserve.  And the third benefit, we that are the new creation are the Israel of God.  Not those that are circumcised are Israel, but those that have trusted in the sacrifice of Christ upon the cross.  We are the inheritors of the promise. This new creation, made from people of all nations, are the true Israel.  Gal 3:7 “Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.”

Romans 9:6-8 “But [it is] not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are [descended] from Israel;  nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: “THROUGH ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL BE NAMED.”  That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants.”  So it’s not circumcision of the flesh that is required, but circumcision of the heart.

But as far as having a mark in your flesh goes, Paul says he has plenty of them.  He has the scars in his flesh that testify to his being a son of God.  He says in vs 17 “From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body the brand-marks of Jesus.” These Judaisers, they bear a mark in their body. It’s the mark made by the scalpel. It’s the mark of circumcision. But I bear in my body the brand marks of the Lord Jesus.

When Paul said that, they knew exactly what was meant. He had been stoned. He bore the marks, the scars of his stonings, the scars of the whippings, the fighting with lions, the marks of deprivation which he had suffered for the cause of Christ.

The man who is the servant of Jesus Christ will have the scars. They may not be physical. But they will certainly be mental. They will be the scars that one cannot see, the scars of the scorn and the ridicule that true Christians must always bear. Jesus said if they hated Me, they will hate you.  And we that are Christ’s will bear the marks of suffering for His name.

And then Paul concludes by saying, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen.” Brethren, that’s a term used for fellow Christians.  The Galatians had their faith attacked by false teachers proclaiming a false gospel.  But some at least had stood firm and Paul calls them brethren.  They were saved by grace through faith, and that not of themselves, not of works, lest they should boast.

Salvation is a gift of God.  That’s what grace means.  Jesus did all the work.  Grace is we receive what we don’t deserve, which is forgiveness and new life.  And that grace of God is what sustains us, and keeps us, and supplies all that we need both in this life and the life to come.

Paul said in chapter 2 vs 20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the [life] which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

Have you become a new creation through faith in the cross of Christ? Jesus said, “you must be born again” to enter the kingdom of God. To become a child of God.  If you cannot truly say you have become a new creation by the grace of God, then I urge you to call upon the Lord today and ask that He forgive your sins, and give you a new heart, and put His Spirit within you, that you may become a new creation. Salvation is a gift of God.  Call upon Him now that He might give you new life through Jesus Christ. 

It should be evident from the first verse of chapter 4, that we are jumping into the middle of an argument. It’s probably not wise on the part of the ancient scribes to divide the chapter this way, but such it is. However, we must consider the context of the preceding chapter in order to understand what follows in chapter 4.

Paul ended chapter 3 by saying, “And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.” That mention of being an heir gives us context to understand why he is speaking of an heir in chapter 4, but really the crux of the argument is what constitutes being a descendant of Abraham.

And what elucidated that principle is found in chapter 3 vs 14 which says, “in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”

So what Paul has been driving at is that the Gentiles are made descendants of Abraham and thus heirs of the blessing, by faith in Christ Jesus. That’s the basic thesis of his argument. Now we should remember that the blessing of Abraham is the promise that he would have a seed, and through that seed, which was Jesus Christ, all the nations of the earth would be blessed.

The question should be asked, what does being blessed by God entail? I suggest that the blessing is salvation, being made the sons and daughters of God, and receiving eternal life and living forever with the Lord. Notice though in chapter 3 vs 14 that Paul seems to equate the blessing with receiving the promise of the Spirit. That’s key. The Spirit is the One who regenerates us, by whom we are born again, and who dwells in us. Receiving the the Spirit is key to receiving the blessing. You cannot be saved without the regeneration by the Holy Spirit and the indwelling of the Spirit.

Rom 8:9 says, “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.” You cannot be born again without receiving the Holy Spirit. The teaching that you can be saved and then seek a second baptism which is receiving the Holy Spirit is not taught in the scripture. Being born again is contingent upon receiving the Holy Spirit at regeneration. You can’t be born again without receiving the Spirit.

Now one more thing I want to emphasize about that process. Ephesians 1:13-14 says, “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation–having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of [God’s own] possession, to the praise of His glory.”

The key phrase that I want to emphasize there is “you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance.” Being a descendant of Abraham makes us an heir of the promise of blessing, which Ephesians tells us is the Holy Spirit, who is the down payment of our inheritance. So you see that when we are regenerated by the Holy Spirit, we receive the Holy Spirit, and He dwelling in us is the down payment of our inheritance as heirs, and that inheritance will be fully realized when we see Jesus at His second coming.

Now all of that is accomplished without reliance upon the law for our salvation. That’s the main argument that Paul has been contending with since he began this letter. The Judaisers claimed that salvation by faith in Christ plus keeping the law made you an heir of the blessing. They especially were concerned that professing Christians be circumcised and keep the ceremonial laws concerning diet and days and festivals and so forth.

And so Paul has argued that those who are of the faith of Abraham are the sons of Abraham. He showed that circumcision came after Abraham had been reckoned as righteous by faith. So the law did not contribute to Abraham’s salvation, and it doesn’t contribute to ours. Furthermore, in 3 vs 24 Paul says, “Therefore the Law has become our tutor [to lead us] to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.”

So the law was given to make us cognizant of our sin. It was given to make us realize that we needed a Savior. And when we are saved by faith in our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, we no longer need a tutor. We no longer need a tutor because the Holy Spirit is within us who rules over our hearts. So if you belong to Christ by faith, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.

That brings us to chapter four, where Paul uses a human illustration to help make that point. He uses the analogy of an heir being taught by a tutor, who in Roman times was often a slave. He says in vs 1, “Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father.”

The illustration given is of a child who is the heir of a very large estate. A child refers to an age between birth and before being considered an adult. And as I said, in a large estate the father would give tutors and guardians the charge to raise the child and teach him. Those tutors and guardians were usually slaves, very educated slaves who lived in the house, and had authority over the child. They were responsible for teaching and educating the child, dictating what he could and couldn’t do. They controlled how he was to live.

Both Roman and Jewish culture had customs concerning the coming of age of a child to being considered a man. But it seems that Paul had more in mind the Roman culture when he wrote this. In Roman culture, there was no specific age when the boy became recognized as a man, but it was determined by his father when he was ready.

So as a child he doesn’t differ from the slave even though he is to be an heir of everything. But he is under their authority, just as a slave was under the authority of the master of the house. Yet he is destined to one day be owner of everything.

Then in vs 3, Paul gives the spiritual correlation to this illustration. He says, “So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world.” The law was our guardian, our tutor when we were still children, which held us in bondage to the elementary principles of the world. That is speaking of the law, which teaches us do not do this, and do not do that. It was the authority that trained us in what not to do. In just the same way as the tutor taught the child what he could and couldn’t do, so the law taught us.

The word that is translated elemental refers to things that were placed in a row, in a line. It eventually came to refer to the ABC’s of a language, the alphabet. And so the elemental things referred to the alphabet. If the elemental things of the world include the Gentiles as well as the Jews, he’s saying that when we were children we were in bondage to all of their human, basic principles by which men sought to justify themselves. In the case of Israel it was the misinformed use of the Ten Commandments as a means of salvation. For Gentiles it was the law of God written in their consciences by which they were seeking righteousness by the things that they do.

But having said that, he comes in the 4th verse to the main spiritual application of this illustration. He says in vs 4, “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

When the fullness of time means when the time was completed, when the time appointed had come. God the Father appointed a time when the children would come of age. God appointed a time when Jesus would come to earth, to offer Himself as a sacrifice, and a substitute. It was the time appointed from eternity. It was the right time in history. It was a time when the pax Romana, the peace of Rome, extended over most of the civilized earth and when travel and commerce were therefore possible in a way that had formerly been impossible, which greatly facilitated the spread of the gospel. Great roads linked the empire, and its diverse regions were held together even more significantly by the Greek language which was spoken throughout the empire. The same language in which the New Testament was written. And so many cultural and political entities came together at the right time ordained by God for Jesus to be manifested.

It’s also important to notice that Paul says that God sent forth His Son. That indicates that Jesus was preexistent with God before His incarnation. As John 1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. And the Word became Flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld HIs glory.” So Paul establishes Christ’s deity by saying God sent forth HIs Son.

Then Paul states Christ’s humanity. Paul says He was born of a woman. Jesus laid aside His glory He had with the Father since time immortal and became flesh. The eternal Son of God in heaven added humanity to His deity and became a man, by being born of a virgin. The Holy Spirt came upon her and she became with child.

If Jesus was to be the sacrifice for sinners, then He must be deity. He must be the spotless Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. If He is to be our substitute, then He must be our representative man. He must be fully God and fully man.

And Paul says He was born under the law. He fulfilled the law perfectly, as no man can ever do or has ever done. He kept every ceremony, every Sabbath, every jot and tittle of the law. Jesus said in Matt. 5:17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.” Only by being blameless could He be the sacrifice for sinners.

Paul says He came to redeem those who were under the law. To redeem is to purchase for the sake of setting free those who were held in captivity under the curse of the law. Jesus came to purchase us out of the slave market, from our bondage to sin and the elemental things of the world. As we read in chapter 3, vs10 “For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT ABIDE BY ALL THINGS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW, TO PERFORM THEM.” So then in vs 13 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us–for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE”– in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” The law condemned us. We were under it’s curse, but Christ became a curse for us so that we might become sons of God..

So He became a curse for us, redeemed us, so that we might receive the adoption as sons. It would be enough that we are purchased out of the slave market. But God’s work for us doesn’t end there; we are then elevated to the place of sons of God by adoption. And notice that according to his earlier illustration, the child becomes an heir when he is recognized as a man.

When we are adopted as sons, God becomes our Father, and we have all the benefits and privileges of a son. Adoption is a fitting metaphor for our regeneration. God chose us for salvation before the creation of the world. Eph 1:4-5 says “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will.”

In adoption, the parents choose to love a child, to make him a part of their family. The adopted one receives the family name, full privileges of the house, and full acceptance as a son or a daughter. Adoption really is a beautiful thing. It’s unfortunate that not all children who are adopted recognize it as such. Sometimes I have known adopted kids who end up despising their adoptive parents and tried to connect with their birth parents. I say it’s unfortunate because they don’t realize the full extent of the love their adoptive parents have for them.

Paul’s words here in describing our adoption is that we are declared as sons, fully heirs, no longer under the tutor, but receiving all the inheritance of God. We have all of the blessings that belong to the person who has been acknowledged as the son of God. Paul says in Eph. 1:3 “Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly [places] in Christ.”

Paul goes on to describe that blessing in vs 6 saying, “Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.”

Notice if you are a son, then an heir, and because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts. I want to remind you of what I said earlier, the Spirit is the blessing, He is the deposit of the inheritance that we receive as sons. I don’t know what sort of expectation you have when you think of heaven, or what’s sometimes called glory, or called our inheritance, or just called eternal life. Maybe you imagine a mansion in heaven that God has prepared for you. Maybe you imagine streets of gold and gates of the city being immense pearls. I don’t want to debate those kinds of things right now. But I will say this; the greatest thing about heaven will be being in the presence of the Lord. To live in the presence of God will be the greatest joy, the greatest satisfaction that a person can experience. I can’t describe it. I can’t comprehend it.

Theologians over the centuries attempted to describe it as the beatific vision. I would try to interpret that, but I don’t think words can do it justice. But as God is the source of light, the source of life, the source of every good gift, the source of goodness, the source of joy, the source of bliss, to be in His presence is to have all those things in super abundance. As Jesus said, I have come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly.

And as Paul says, the indwelling of the Spirit of Christ in our hearts is the down payment, the deposit of that fullness of blessing that we will one day receive. We receive the Spirit of Christ because we are sons. Because we have accepted and believed in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we are regenerated by the Holy Spirit. We receive everlasting life now in exchange for our sentence of death. We receive all the promises given to sons of God.

And as sons, we cry out “Abba, Father!” Abba is the Aramaic word for father, in the emphatic state. It simply means Father. It has connotations of intimacy. I think some people have tried to translate it as a more common intimate word for Father, such as Daddy, or Poppa. The studies that I have seen seem to say that though it may have had it’s origins from that sort of word, by the time it was used in the text, it had acquired the formal definition of father. So the point of Abba Father is the Aramaic is given, and then the Greek is given as in interpretation. So you’re not reading it as if to say Abba Father, but simply Abba! Which means Father.

Now I don’t want to spend time arguing semantics and lose sight of what Paul is saying here. The point to what he’s saying is that because we are sons, we are able to cry out to God as “Father.” That indicates a tremendous difference in our relationship to God. That the God of the universe, Elohim, Jehovah, Lord God Almighty, becomes our Father, to whom we can cry out for help, cry out to deliver, to save, to provide because of His great love by which He adopted us as his sons and now He is our Father – this is a tremendous thing. This is a blessing that is beyond our comprehension. I’m afraid we really take it for granted.

The world’s relationship with God is as the King of the world, the Judge of the world, the Creator of the world. Their knowledge of God is through fear. The Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. But for the unregenerate, that’s as far as their relationship goes. They are not sons of God, they are sons of their father the devil. To become sons of God, you must be born again of the Spirit. And only those born again of the Spirit can claim sonship and an heir to God. But because we that have been saved are sons of God, we can cry out to Him “Father!” And our heavenly Father, who never stops thinking of us, who never takes His eyes off of us, He comes to our rescue when He hears our cry.

We that are parents understand that relationship, don’t we? What parent hearing the sudden scream of their child who was playing in the backyard doesn’t drop everything and run as fast as they can to help their child? If we as imperfect parents act so with our kids, then how much more can we expect from our Heavenly Father?

Paul uses a little circular reasoning here in order to lay stress on this point of our sonship. He says in vs 6, because we are sons, we receive the Spirit, who makes us call out Father! And then in vs 7, he says, “Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.”

The distinctive is in vs 7 when he says you are no longer a slave. The slave is equated with the law. We are no longer under the tutelage of the law. We don’t need a tutor anymore because we have something better. And that is we have the Spirit of God in our hearts. The Holy Spirit tells us how to live, He leads us in the way we should go. He teaches us to love one another. He gives us the strength to live. He helps us to live in a way that is pleasing to God.

In Hebrews 8:10 we read about a new covenant, not like the old covenant which was the Law of Moses. It says, “FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MINDS, AND I WILL WRITE THEM ON THEIR HEARTS. AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.”

This is describing the work of the Spirit in our hearts when we are regenerated. We do not need tablets of stone which are decrees against us, but we have a new heart quickened by the Holy Spirit, that we might do the things of God.

Another passage which talks about that is Ezekiel 36:24, “For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. “You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God.”

To be the sons of God, is to receive the Spirit of God, by which we are made heirs of God, and to know God as our Father. We have received the Spirit of God in our hearts as a deposit of the fullness of our inheritance that is laid up for us.

Let me ask you in closing, have you been born again? Are you a son of God? Have you received the Spirit of God? If you don’t have any evidence that you have been regenerated by the Spirit of Christ into a son or daughter of God, then I urge you to call upon Jesus Christ today as your Savior and Lord. Believe in Him, and you will receive forgiveness of your sins, and receive the Spirt of Christ in your hearts, that you might receive the blessing of God.

I want to first review the overall theme of this first chapter before we consider the details of this last couple of paragraphs at the end. Sometimes, I think that in attempting to exposit the word, verse by verse, we fall victim to the old adage that we can’t see the forest for the trees. We have spent weeks now going verse by verse through this chapter, and it’s good if we remind ourselves of the main thought and purpose that Paul is trying to convey.

So to begin with, we need to remember that Paul is in prison as he writes this letter, and the Lord has revealed to him that he will not get out of there alive. The time of his death is imminent. He says in chapter 4 vs 6 “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.” There is no greater gravitas in a man’s life than realizing that your death is imminent. I don’t think that I would want to know my life was soon to be over. Perhaps it would be easier to go in your sleep.

But the Psalmist said there was a benefit in knowing that your days are numbered. Psalm 90:12 says, “So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.” We should live each day like it was to be our last. If we lived like that, then I am sure we would live life quite differently. I am sometimes amazed to see people that look as though they might not make it much past dinner, and yet they are involved in activities that seem to defy any sense of their mortality. And contrarily, it is almost just as disheartening to see young people waste so much of their invaluable time and resources, as if they thought that their youth would never end.

Irregardless, Paul recognizes his time is close, and so he writes this last letter to his son in the faith, to make sure that he passes on all that he possibly can in order to strengthen and encourage Timothy in his faith. It would seem that Timothy was feeling a little of what a lot of Christians must have been feeling at that time. They were fearing for their lives. Nero was emperor. He had burned Rome and blamed it on the Christians. And as a result, Christians were being rounded up and exterminated. It was said that Nero illuminated his garden by the burning bodies of Christians who were tied to poles placed around the palace grounds. Christians were public enemy number one, and Paul was personally suffering from that national purge, at this point rotting in a dungeon, which was probably not more than a hole in the ground with a metal grate over it. And furthermore, he knew by the Spirit that he was going to be executed.

So in light of this persecution against Christians, Paul writes to Timothy to be courageous, to not be fearful, but to continue his ministry by the power of the Holy Spirit and be bold in the proclamation of the gospel. He reminds him of the faith of their forefathers, and the faith of Timothy’s mother Eunice and grandmother Lois. All those saints, though dead, had persevered in the faith. He reminds him that he himself had persevered in the faith in spite of persecutions, imprisonments, and abandonment by associates. And so he tells Timothy to rekindle the fire of his faith, not let it grow cold or even be hidden, but to join with Paul in suffering for the gospel.

We must not skim over that exhortation of Paul. In effect, he is telling young Timothy that he needs to prepare to possibly lose his own life for the sake of the gospel. A lot of preachers and Bible commentators make much over the timidity of Timothy, as if he is some sort of sissy, or lightweight. But I wouldn’t be surprised to find out in heaven that Timothy was quite a man, in every sense of the word. I wouldn’t be surprised to find that he was bold and courageous, far beyond what we might be in similar circumstances. But he is facing possible torture and death and Paul is saying don’t shy away from it. Some ancient non biblical writings say that Timothy did eventually die around 80 years old as a martyr by stoning for preaching the gospel.

But here is the thing that is behind Paul’s exhortation. What’s behind this urgency is Paul’s assertion that the gospel is the antidote for death. The whole world is condemned to death and to eternal separation from God. The whole world lies in the power of darkness and are dead in their trespasses and sins. And only the gospel can save them. Only the power of the gospel can deliver men and women from eternal damnation and destruction. And Paul and Timothy were the men that God had chosen to bring the gospel to a dying world. They were on an urgent mission of mercy to save souls. Their mission was so important that it was well worth risking or even sacrificing their lives for it.

In our society today we see some people who are convinced that the world is being destroyed by climate change or some environmental concern. These people are called eco warriors, or environmental activists. These people are so concerned for the safety of the planet that they are willing to make great sacrifices in their own lives in order to do what they think will preserve the planet. I don’t necessarily agree with their agenda, but I must say I admire their zeal and passion for what they believe in. Some of them I’m sure really believe they are doing what is essential for the preservation of humanity.

But I wonder if Christians have an equal zeal and passion for the saving of humanity. If we really believed the gospel then we might have a different attitude towards reaching the lost with the truth. I said last week that there are two sides to the gospel. Paul said in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Paul goes on in the next verses of that passage that in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, and the wrath of God is revealed against unrighteousness. Both aspects need to be revealed, both God’s gift of righteousness and God’s wrath against unrighteousness. That is the full gospel that leads to salvation. It’s a matter of life or death. And we need to understand that we have in the gospel the only answer to death, the only way to life.

The English Puritan pastor Richard Baxter once famously wrote of preaching the gospel as a dying man to dying men. He was emphasizing the urgency of the gospel. But I think that it is more accurate to think of it as a living man preaching to dying men with the message of life.

The gospel is worth sacrificing for. It’s worth dying for. We need not fear dying, because we that have believed the gospel have been given immortality. Paul said as much in vs 10, “[the gospel] now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” So Timothy should not be ashamed of it, should not be fearful of the consequences of preaching it, because he is immortal, and the gospel is the only means by which the world can be saved from death.

Now as Paul concludes this section of his exhortation, he goes on to add another concern that he has for Timothy, and that is that Timothy guard the gospel. That he holds fast the sound doctrine which comprises the gospel. He says in vs 13, “Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.” I don’t think the NASB does the word rendered “retain” justice. The KJV says “hold fast.” Don’t let the gospel, or what he calls sound words, slip away. The ESV says “follow the pattern.” I kind of like that one; in other words, follow the blueprint I laid down for you. Follow the pattern of sound doctrine that was given to you and don’t deviate from it.

We speak a lot about doctrine in this church, especially sound doctrine as opposed to false doctrine. But what does doctrine mean? It simply means teaching. Principles and precepts laid out in the word of God. Soundness means you can trust it. We talk about a banking institution being sound. Sound doctrine then is principles that arise from the word of God, the pure milk of the word, the truth of God.

Listen, if the gospel is the antidote for death, then it’s important that the antidote is not watered down, it is not adulterated, it is not added to, it is not based on false premises or worldly knowledge or the world’s wisdom. If, as Paul says in Romans 1:16, the gospel is the power of God unto salvation for all the world, then it must retain the sound doctrine that God gave it. Christ gave the gospel to Paul. It wasn’t some concoction of Paul’s, or Peters, or anyone else. Paul said in 1 Corinthians, “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you…”. Paul was faithful to retain the sound words of Christ, and pass them on in his epistles to the church, and particularly to entrust their keeping to Timothy. Now Timothy was to be responsible for preserving the soundness of the gospel.

The gospel was under attack then, and it is under attack today. The gospel is under attack from within the church and from without the church. Paul describes the attacks from within the church in chapter 4 vs 3, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but [wanting] to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”

Why would professing Christians do such a thing? Because they were ashamed of the gospel. The gospel is offensive. People think that if the message isn’t all about love, then it isn’t going to be accepted, and they aren’t going to be accepted or liked by the world. And so they water down the gospel. I will give you the acid test for you to take back to your church to see if they have watered down the gospel. I suggest that you to keep track of how often the pastor speaks about sin. How often does he call out certain things as sin, and how often does he call for repentance from sin? I would suggest to you that if the calling out of sin as sin is a rarity in your church, then they have already capitulated to the world.

So Timothy, and by extension, we here today, must follow the pattern of sound doctrine. Don’t deviate from it to try to conciliate or accommodate the world. Only in it’s purity is the gospel effectual. And then notice he adds, “in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.” In the faith means an unswerving belief, a deep seated belief. It’s assurance that these things are so. It’s not a type of thinking which says, “well, as long as you believe in something that is all that matters.” It’s a firm conviction that the truth of God is absolutely true, that it’s just as relevant today as it was 2000 years ago, and that the word of God endures forever and is unchanging.

Paul spoke earlier of the fatih of his forefathers. Did you know that some of our forefathers in the faith died for the word of God? For the privilege of reading the word of God? William Tyndale was such a man, a man to whom we owe most of our translation of the Bible. He was the first to translate the Bible into English from the original Greek and Hebrew languages and he was eventually executed for that crime. Wikipedia says “In 1535, Tyndale was arrested, and jailed in the castle of Vilvoorde outside Brussels for over a year. In 1536, he was convicted of heresy and executed by strangulation, after which his body was burnt at the stake. His dying prayer was that the King of England’s eyes would be opened; this seemed to find its fulfillment just one year later with Henry’s authorization of the Matthew Bible, which was largely Tyndale’s work.” That’s an example of not being ashamed of the gospel. That’s an example of the faith of a man that knew that the only hope for the world was the gospel, which is contained in the word of God, and that it was worth the greatest sacrifice in order to see that men had the opportunity to hear the gospel.

And that’s an illustration of the love that Paul speaks of at the end of vs 13. The love the Bible speaks of is not sentimentality. It’s not just an emotion. But it’s a sacrificial concern for the well being of others above your own needs. That is love. Jesus said, no greater love has any man than this, than a man lay down his life for his friends. William Tyndale had a love for others that caused him to give his life so that they might have the gospel in written form.

Paul goes on to give further instructions to Timothy in regards to the gospel in vs 14. “Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to [you.]”. Paul speaks of the gospel as a treasure, which Timothy must guard against attacks from the enemies from without and within. This is not an idle exhortation. Timothy is to keep watch over the gospel as a sentinel would keep watch over camp, or over a garrison. A watchman, a sentinel must call out when danger approaches. He must be on guard against subterfuge. He must be vigilant night or day.

Listen, the gospel is a treasure beyond our comprehension. When the crowds left Jesus because of the offensiveness of His gospel, Jesus asked the disciples, will you leave me now also? And Peter responded, “Where are we to go? For you have the words of life.” Peter got it. There is no greater treasure than the words of life, the sound words of Christ, the doctrine of salvation, the truth of God.

The apostle John wrote in 1John 1:1-3 “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life– and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us– what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.” What a treasure is this word of life, and we must guard it, that it’s power may not be diminished, and that souls might be saved.

And Paul adds that Timothy must guard it by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. That power of the Holy Spirit would be what would make Timothy triumph over the enemies attacks. The Spirit gave him discernment when the enemy tried to confuse, or to question. The Spirit gave him insight, when the false teachers tried to undermine the gospel. The number one tactic of the devil is to lie, and his second tactic is to deceive. But in the power of the Holy Spirit, we are given discernment and sound judgment so that we may disarm him.

In the last paragraph of this chapter, Paul gives two examples of other Christians as illustrations of either being ashamed of the gospel, or not being ashamed of the gospel. These two examples are likely people that Timothy knew well from his ministry in Ephesus. He first gives the negative example in vs 15 “You are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes.”

We don’t know who Phygelus and Hermogenes are, or their background. This is the only place in scripture they are mentioned. We have no record of their activities, but we do have their names engraved on the hall of shame. Certainly though Timothy knew these men. It is suggested by some scholars that they may have been neighboring pastors. And it would seem that somehow they had an opportunity to help Paul, either in his legal defense, or in some sort of assistance to him while he was in prison. And yet Paul says that they turned away from him. Others also had turned away from him in his hour of need, but these men perhaps were the leaders.

Undoubtedly, they thought that to be considered as associates of Paul was not a healthy thing in that political climate. Paul had captured a lot of attention, and was obviously a man who had spent a lot of time in prison, in beatings, had fought with the lions, had even been stoned and left for dead. Common sense would tell you that if you hung around Paul, or were an associate of Paul, then you could expect a similar fate. And so when the going got tough, they abandoned ship. They deserted Paul and tried to get as much distance from him and his gospel as possible.

The other example is a good example of a man who is not ashamed of the gospel. Paul speaks of him in vs 16, “The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains; but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me– the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day–and you know very well what services he rendered at Ephesus.”

Onesiphorus is another person of whom we know very little. He is mentioned only here in 2 Timothy. His name may give us some insight into his character though. It means “bringing profit.” It’s obvious from Paul’s statement that he brought profit to Paul, he often refreshed Paul and was not ashamed of his chains. Perhaps he brought food to Paul, or clothing. These things were not always prohibited when someone was in prison. In fact, Paul asks Timothy at the end of this letter to bring some things such as his cloak and the parchments.

But it’s likely that Onesiphorus went out of his way to serve Paul in his imprisonment. First, Paul says that he had to search all over the city of Rome for Paul. That in and of itself would have been a dangerous thing, especially since Paul was such a persona non grata to the Roman authorities. It seems that he had traveled there from Ephesus in order to look for Paul in Rome. That journey would also have not been without great danger and expense.

But what one commentator at least suggested that is really telling about the character of Onesiphorus, was he suggested that he might have ended up losing his life as a result of this desire to serve Paul. And that is indicated by the fact that Paul says he sends greetings to the house of Onesiphorus. And then in the last chapter, he says give his greetings to the household of Oneshiphorus. It’s possible that Paul wished them well, and asked for God’s mercies upon them because Onesiphorus had lost his life in the service of the gospel. Now that is conjecture, but the wording does make it seem as though Paul is blessing his family, but the man himself has passed away.

Whether that is true or not we will have to wait until we get to heaven to know for sure. But one thing we do know for sure is that the name of Onesiphorus is written on the hall of fame of the faithful. Paul says, he was not ashamed of my chains. He made a tremendous sacrifice for the sake of the gospel, and possibly even made the ultimate sacrifice. But either way, Paul wishes for Onesiphorus, that the the Lord would grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day. That day refers to the day of judgment, the judgement seat of the Lord which everyone will one day stand in front of.

Paul said of his own faith and the fate which he was to face in chapter 4 vs 7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

It is daunting to be sure to endure criticism and judgment from your peers or from your community. It would be frightening to be judged by a court of law here on earth because of your faith as a Christian, or to have to bear the punishment for such a crime as did William Tyndale. But there is one tribunal that everyman and woman on earth will one day be judged by. If needs be we suffer judgement here on earth by the world’s courts then so be it. But I can guarantee that the reward of the faithful at the judgment seat of the Lord will make all those trials here on earth seem insignificant in comparison.

I trust that you will follow the example of Paul and Timothy and Onesiphorus, and not be ashamed of the gospel, but because of your love for God and your love for your fellow man, sacrifice whatever you have to give in order to share the good news of salvation to a lost and dying world. There is no greater love than this. There is no more noble purpose in life.

Last time, as we introduced this letter of Paul to Timothy, his son in the faith, we noted that it was the faith of his fathers that Paul said he was passing on to Timothy. In that statement, Paul was referencing the faith of the patriarchs, the prophets and other saints of the Old Testament period, which he said was the same faith that he had. And I extrapolated from that passage the exhortation that we should endeavor to pass on our faith to our children, from our generation to the next. I also talked from a personal perspective as my father had been a pastor, and how he had passed on his faith to me.

My father has been dead about 33 years now, but I find that I am more aligned with his beliefs now than when he was living. But I must confess that when I was growing up, I was somewhat ashamed of my dad’s profession. I would dread those times at school when a teacher or some classmates would ask what our fathers did for a living. I would dread it because I thought that by extension his profession became intertwined with my identity. And in daily practice, I guess subconsciously I tried to do everything I could to oppose that identity.

Perhaps Paul senses a certain reluctance of his son in the faith, Timothy, to publicly and boldly identify with the ministry of Paul. That may seem incongruous to us as we think about Timothy in light of the scriptures. After all, Timothy was a pastor, the personal representative of the apostle Paul. He was someone who was greatly instrumental in the advance of the gospel in it’s infancy.

Yet if I had to guess, I would suspect that many of us here today find ourselves somewhat embarrassed of our faith. I would confess that even I find myself sometimes hesitant to let people know that I am a pastor. I guess I feel that people will treat me differently, or not be as friendly with me, or harbor certain expectations of me that I might not fill.

My wife and son and I went on a boat trip a couple of weeks ago in Chincoteague, Virginia. It was a small boat, and only one other couple was on board. The captain was an old local fisherman who loved to talk. And right off the bat, in a very loud voice, he yelled across the boat and asked what kind of work that I did. I told him I was a pastor, but I admit, I was somewhat worried about what his response might be. Turns out, my response led him on a very loud rant about religion and various churches he had been in, that lasted about 15 minutes. There was no harm in what he said, but I have to admit it was a bit uncomfortable at times, not knowing what he was going to say next, and somehow feeling responsible for everything he did say.

I think most people who are truly saved recognize that our beliefs are increasingly at odds with the culture we live in. Our faith attracts criticism like a lightening rod. Any expression of our faith is not really welcomed in public society, and as such we feel defensive, or even afraid to speak of it, for fear of being ostracized or criticized by the culture we live in.

Perhaps such a feeling of embarrassment, or uncomfortableness on Timothy’s part is what Paul has in mind in vs 8. He says “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with [me] in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God.” Now we that study the Bible know that when we see the word therefore, we need to find out what it is there for. And in this case, “therefore” refers back to the previous verse, in which Paul said, “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.”

Now that expression is a description of the Holy Spirit who has been given to Timothy and to all believers. 1Cor. 3:16 tells us, “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and [that] the Spirit of God dwells in you?” And in Rom 8:9 it says, “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”

So the Spirit that God had given to indwell Timothy was the Spirit of power, love and discipline. The Spirit then is not something that should make you socially self conscious, or afraid to reveal, or in some way ashamed of. The Spirit of God is the power of God in you. Remember Jesus said to the disciples when they were awaiting the giving of the Holy Spirit, He said “you shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit shall come upon you and you shall be My witnesses.”

The power of the Holy Spirit is something that as Christians we cannot operate without. But there is a misunderstanding of the power of the Holy Spirit in the church today. They want to have the power of the Spirit to do miraculous signs and wonders. But they don’t see much purpose in that power other than in miracles. They don’t see the power of the Holy Spirit is the means by which we are witnesses of the gospel, that we are able to do the works of righteousness, that we are able to have control over our bodies and minds, and the power over sin and over death. Those are tremendous aspects of the Holy Spirit’s power. We could have no power over sin except by the Holy Spirit. He is the only way we have the power to live the life of Christ. He is the only way we have power over death.

So Paul is telling Timothy in light of the power of the Holy Spirit in him, to not be ashamed of the gospel. Paul describes the gospel as the testimony of the Lord Jesus. What was the testimony of Jesus? It was that He was the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Word of God made flesh, the manifestation of God to man. His testimony was that He was the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no man comes to the Father except through Him. That is the gospel of Jesus Christ, and it was the same gospel of Paul, who was suffering imprisonment because of that gospel.

Paul is saying in that passage not to be ashamed of his gospel. Timothy perhaps had a reluctance or reticence about the gospel of Paul. Paul seemed to spend more time in prison than out of it. Paul was a controversial figure, to say the least. The socially acceptable society did not accept Paul, nor his gospel. Even many so called Christians of his day found Paul to be too far right, too controversial for their tastes. His doctrine wasn’t polictically correct, whether by the standards of the religious Jews or the philosophical Greeks. Remember what the philosophers said about Paul on Mars Hill? “What would this idle babbler wish to say?” And King Agrippa accused Paul of being mad. So the upper crust of society whether Jew or Greek ridiculed Paul’s gospel, and ridiculed Paul himself. Perhaps Timothy thought he should distance himself from Paul somewhat in order to be more effective in his ministry.

You know, the gospel literally means good news. And it is good news. But it’s good news to a condemned people. It is good news to a person on death row. In other words, for the gospel to be good news, you must first tell them the bad news, that they are dead in their trespasses and sin, and condemned to death. And the only escape from that condemnation of death is through believing in Jesus Christ, and in His death and resurrection. But that is sometimes an uncomfortable message to have to give to people. Some of you have unsaved brothers or sisters or mom’s and dads. And it can be very difficult to tell them that they are going to go to hell for their sins. That kind of news can completely wreck the family Christmas get together. They are not going to want to hear that sort of thing, and if you say anything remotely like it, it it’s going to make the family get together miserable for everyone.

So very likely you don’t say anything. You don’t proclaim the gospel in it’s fullness. At best, you speak lightly of God’s love, of God’s gift, but you don’t declare the full gospel. And if you examine yourself you might have to admit that though you believe the gospel, yet you are ashamed to proclaim it in it’s fullness. But a partial gospel does not save partially. Rather a partial gospel does not save at all. A partial gospel gives a false sense of security. And so you must not be ashamed of it, but you must proclaim it fully, since only in it’s fullness is the power of the gospel able to work and bring about salvation.

Paul said in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Paul goes on in the next verses of that passage to say that in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, and the wrath of God is revealed against unrighteousness. Both aspects need to be revealed, both God’s gift of righteousness and God’s wrath against unrighteousness. That is the full gospel that leads to salvation.

And that proclamation of the gospel is what prompts Paul to recount a synopsis of that message of salvation. Speaking in vs 9 of God “who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel…”

Let’s briefly break that down. God has saved us. To be saved, one must first be lost. To be delivered from the condemnation of death is to be saved. A lot of so called Christians don’t like the term saved today. That smacks of fundamentalism, of old fashioned hell fire and damnation preaching that doesn’t play well in our culture today. But as I said a moment ago, if you don’t first understand the premise that you are dead in your trespasses and sins, and condemned to death, and death means spending eternity in hell, then you can’t understand the gospel of salvation. Because you must first recognize that you are lost in order to be saved.

But our salvation is not dependent upon our works, but it is dependent upon the call of God upon our lives. Romans 8:30 says, “and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” God is the one who saves us, and He initiates our salvation in eternity past, predestining us for salvation, and then effectively calling us to Himself, and those He calls, He justifies not on the basis of their works, but on the basis of their faith in Christ whose righteousness is credited to us who believe in Him. That is the gift of salvation, the grace of salvation, that we didn’t earn it, Christ purchased it for us by His death on the cross in our place.

Paul says this salvation which was planned and predetermined from all eternity past, was manifested, or brought to light by the appearing of Jesus Christ as our Savior. The purpose of God before creation was to bring about our salvation through Jesus Christ. But that purpose was revealed, manifested, made known by the appearing of Jesus Christ on earth. The Old Testament saints did not see clearly how God would bring about their salvation, but they were saved by faith in what was not seen. But when Christ came into the world, the salvation of God was manifested, made visible in Jesus Christ. And the apostles were witnesses of HIs resurrection, which was the capstone of the gospel.

Through His resurrection Jesus Christ abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. Through His resurrection from the dead, Jesus triumphed over death and sin and hell, and He holds the keys of death and hell, and those who believe in Him are given life, and that life that He gives is everlasting, it is eternal, it is immortality. That is salvation. What a tremendous gospel it is, that we who were condemned to death, to eternal death, are granted an immortal life through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on our behalf.

And the really great thing about this immortal life that we are given is that it is not given at some point in the future, but it is given now to those who believe in Him, so that Jesus can say, “He who believes in Me shall never die.” There is no greater riches, no greater treasure, than immortality. Down through the centuries of time, many men have searched the world for the fountain of youth, for the elixir of immortality, but we that believe in Jesus Christ have been delivered from death and received eternal life as a gift of God.

And Paul says in vs 11, of that gospel, that wonderful, tremendous good news, that for that reason he “was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher.” There could be no higher calling, no more noble endeavor, than to be the means by which God’s salvation is made known. But unfortunately, that is not the perception of the world. You know, there is nothing more foolish to the world than a preacher. A lot of pastors I know personally avoid referring to themselves as a preacher. It’s bad enough to tell people that you are a pastor, but if you were to say “I am a preacher” they immediately categorize you as some sort of right wing radical. And so a lot of pastors avoid that title.

But not Paul. Paul was a preacher. And guess what? John the Baptist was a preacher. Mark 1:4, says John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. … 7 And he was preaching, and saying, “After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals.” And then in vs14 we read that Jesus was a preacher. It says, “Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God.” And likewise Peter was a preacher, and so was Paul.

In fact, Paul said in 1Cor. 1:21 that preaching is the means by which God saves the lost. “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Vs. 18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” So let’s not be ashamed of preachers, nor of preaching, for it is the power of God.

Nor was Timothy to be ashamed of the fact that Paul was an apostle. To be an apostle was to be one who was a witness to the resurrected Christ. Paul referred to his apostleship as one who was untimely born. He recognized that his apostleship was different than the twelve. And yet he said in no way was he any less an apostle. His apostleship was different, but not less. He did witness the resurrected Christ. He was taught personally by Christ. He was taken up into heaven and heard and saw things which he was not permitted to speak of. He was possibly the greatest apostle, though he would not have claimed that for himself.

And I say that he was the greatest apostle on the basis of his teaching. He says he was a teacher of the gospel. No one wrote more, taught more doctrine, more explanation of the gospel, than Paul did through his writing. He was by far the most prolific teacher, who wrote more epistles than any other apostle which have been the basis for most of our Christian doctrine. Timothy should not be ashamed of Paul on the basis of his preaching, or apostleship, or teaching. In fact, he should be unapologetically proud of his adoptive father.

But because of this glorious gospel, because of the testimony of Jesus Christ, because of the fact that Paul was a preacher and teacher of this gospel and an apostle of Jesus Christ, he was suffering in prison, knowing full well that he was going to die for the gospel. He says in vs 12, “For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”

Though the Jews and the Romans had sentenced Paul to prison, though he would soon be executed as a criminal, he was not ashamed. He was not ashamed of the gospel. He was not ashamed to be identified with Christ who also suffered death as a criminal in the eyes of the world.

He is not ashamed because He knows whom he has believed, and is persuaded that He is able, to keep that which he committed to Christ, that is his very life, until that day when he is joined to Christ forever through the death of his body. Paul had committed his life to Christ, the very life that Christ had given him, Paul gave back to Christ, to live for Him, to live for the glory of Christ and the proclamation of His gospel. And he was convinced that this life he had entrusted to Christ, Christ was able to guard this treasure of an immortal life, until the day when it was fully realized by passing from this world to the next.

Peter spoke of that trust in 1Peter 4:19 “Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.” In that context Peter was speaking of the life of the believer, doing what is right, speaking the truth, sharing the gospel with the unsaved, so that he says if [anyone suffers] as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.” I think that the suffering we might experience for the gospel is pretty tame in comparison to what the apostles suffered. But I do recognize that we can suffer the loss of friendships, even the loss of family relationships due to our sharing of the gospel of Jesus Christ. But I can also promise that the glory that awaits us on that day when the Lord shall be revealed will far surpass any momentary light affliction we may experience here on earth.

Let us not be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. For it is the only power of God that will accomplish the salvation of our loved ones and friends. Let us be bold in our proclamation of the truth, and let the power of God loose to work out their salvation.

And if you’re here today, and you have not received the gift of life that Jesus has purchased for you through His death, I urge you to trust in Him today as your Savior, repenting of your sin and by faith in Christ receiving forgiveness of your sins and the righteousness of Christ applied to you account, that you may receive life, and that life which is eternal. Today that life is offered to you, look to Jesus and be saved.

Paul writes this second letter to his son in the faith, Timothy.  He says in vs2, “to Timothy my beloved son.” Paul was Timothy’s spiritual father.  Timothy’s natural father had died early in his life, from what we understand from scripture. His mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois raised him, presumably without a father figure in his life until the apostle Paul came on the scene. And at that point, Paul became his spiritual father, possibly leading Timothy to the Lord.

Paul went on to mentor Timothy as a disciple in the faith, and then later as a brother in arms so to speak, as he took Timothy into ministry with him on various missionary journeys, traveling together to all parts of the Roman Empire. Now as Paul is much older and Timothy is about 32 years of age or so, he writes to him as one who will be his successor, carrying on Paul’s ministry of overseeing the churches that they had planted together.

It must have been a bittersweet experience for Paul, recognizing the maturity of Timothy on the one hand, and being proud of his spiritual son, and on the other hand realizing the inevitableness of their separation, and soon his own execution, which meant that he probably would not see Timothy again on this side of heaven.  In the first letter to Timothy, Paul had been released from prison, and he was able to travel again and minister freely.  But when this letter is written, he is by all accounts in a Roman prison, not much more than a hole in the ground  with a metal grate above from which food and water is let down to him.  And it seems certain that he recognizes that this time he is not going to get out there alive.  This time his imprisonment will certainly conclude by execution from the court of the Emperor Nero.

So considering their relationship, it seems odd that Paul begins his letter by emphasizing his apostleship.  It would be like me writing a letter to my daughter in California and saying, Roy Harrell,  pastor of the Beach Fellowship, to my daughter Rachel, greetings!”  She would probably think that something was wrong with me if I used that kind of introduction.

The only explanation, of course, for Paul writing this way, was that it was going to be read as scripture in the churches, and also he wanted to emphasize his apostleship, so that it might be received in the context of his apostolic commission to establish the doctrine of the church. Notice that his apostleship was of Christ Jesus.  That means he is a witness to the resurrected Christ. He is sent as an apostle to the Genties by Christ, which is the will of God.

This apostleship is in accordance with the promise of life in Christ Jesus.  In other words, there could be no apostleship without the promise of life in Christ Jesus. This is the promise given by Jesus to those who believed in Him, that they would be given life.  Jesus said I came that they might have life, and have it more abundantly.  He said “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father except by Me.”  Jesus said “I give eternal life to them, and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.”  This life that Jesus speaks of is spiritual life, which is eternal, which is real life, which is life indeed.  It is life that transcends the physical existence.

This life is salvation.  This life in Christ is Christianity, the Christian life. It is a new way of living, a new way of thinking, a new perspective, a new heart, new desires, new outlook. This life requires a new birth.  Jesus said to Nicodemus, “you must be born again.”  John 3:3, 5-6  Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” … 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

And it’s fitting that Paul would mention the promise of this life, this indestructible life, when he is considering the certainty of his own death. Therefore 2 Timothy is not only the last letter we have from Paul, but there is a note of urgency and passion as we might expect from a man who knew he would soon be executed. And it’s a testament to Paul’s faith in his life in Christ, that in spite of his own impending death, he is able to bless Timothy and express thanksgiving for Timothy’s  life of faith. He says in vs 2, “Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

I think it was the great 19th century pastor Charles Haddon Spurgeon who noticed that when Paul wrote to the churches in general in all of his other epistles, he wrote the greeting “Grace and peace.”  But when he wrote what are called the pastoral epistles, the letters he wrote to pastors, such as 1 Tim. 2 Tim., and Titus,  Paul includes “Grace, mercy and peace.” He went on to say that pastors need more mercy than most people. ““Did you ever notice this one thing about Christian ministers, that they need even more mercy than other people? Although everybody needs mercy, ministers need it more than anybody else; and so we do, for if we are not faithful, we shall be greater sinners even than our hearers, and it needs much grace for us always to be faithful, and much mercy will be required to cover our shortcomings.”

I told the group that came out on Wednesday evening to our bonfire Bible study that I had recently found some old cassette tapes of my Dad’s preaching.  My dad died over 30 years ago now. These tapes were probably made back in the late 70’s and preached in country churches in eastern North Carolina.  I hadn’t heard them for over 30 years, and now that I’m a pastor, I listened to them a lot more critically than I had before. And I was struck by a few things as I listened to my dad.  First, I would have recognized his voice anywhere.  But unfortunately, he wasn’t speaking to me as his son, he was speaking as a preacher.  And in those days, in that culture, preaching had a particular style that was definitely of that era and of that region, and of that particular brand of church.

I must confess it was a little hard to listen to in some respects. I guess there is no greater critic than those of your own family.  But I will say this about my dad.  He was faithful to the Lord.  He was faithful to scripture.  He may not have understood every doctrine perfectly, he may not have been the greatest orator.  But I believe that the Lord counted him faithful.  I said last week that when my Dad died, he did not look like a winner from the world’s perspective.  He was living in subsidized housing.  He had no family nearby.  My mother had divorced him.  His health was ruined.  And he died at the same age I am now. But I believe that in the sight of the Lord, he kept the faith, he fought the good fight, he finished the course. And I believe the Lord will reward him on that day. And I will add this, the testimony of the faithfulness of his life is my faith today. I have the same faith as my father.  I may not preach the way he preached, I may not understand all doctrines the same way he understood them.  But the fundamental faith of my father is the same faith that I have.

Paul didn’t look like a winner to the world either.  His enemies were rejoicing that he was in prison.  They had followed him all over the Roman Empire trying to undermine his ministry, discredit his apostleship, and malign his character.  And now he was rotting in a Roman prison, cold, hungry, hurting, and he says later in this letter that everyone had deserted him except Luke. And he urged Timothy to come soon, and bring his winter coat and the parchments, that would have been the scriptures.  We don’t know that Timothy ever got there in time. It’s doubtful. But the triumph of Paul’s faith was the enduring faith of Timothy.  It was the faith that he passed on to Timothy, that he instilled in Timothy, the faith that would endure even after his departure.

And in turn Paul speaks about the faith of his forefathers that had been passed on to him in vs 3, “I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day…”   Paul had a clear conscience in regards to his ministry. Though he was convicted by the Roman courts as a criminal, he knew that he had served God faithfully and fully.  Though he would be sentenced to death by the world’s court, he would be granted life by God’s court.

But what’s interesting is that he references the faith of his forefathers.  That is a reference to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses,  Elijah, and other men of old, Israelites who believed in God, and it was counted to them as righteousness.  Not men who kept every commandment perfectly, but who were given righteousness by God as a gift of His grace, in exchange for their faith.  Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness.  The OT saints were saved the same way we are saved; they were saved by faith.

And so the examples of faith that we read about in scripture should be examples for us to follow, to emulate, that give us encouragement.  They were men with similar passions such as we have.  They were flesh and blood like us.  They were sometimes weak, sometimes timid, sometimes doubtful, but they persevered in faith, and they were counted as faithful, and as such they were granted the righteousness of Christ. The faith of our fathers should encourage us, it should strengthen us, and give us hope that we can also persevere in faith.

But notice that a key to Timothy persevering in faith is the fact that Paul prayed for him constantly night and day.  Do you think that is merely hyperbole on Paul’s part?  Do you think he really is praying constantly night and day for Timothy?  I can assume from my own experience in praying for my kids that perhaps Paul puts night before day because nighttime is a time when I really pray for my kids.  In the middle of the night I seem to wake up and lay there and the thoughts concerning my kids come unbidden in the darkness, and I have no other recourse but to pray.  At three in the morning here it’s midnight in California, and I start to wonder whether or not they are safe in their beds are running around somewhere in California and I really begin to pray in earnest.

I can’t over emphasize the importance of your prayers in the life of your children. I don’t know how it works, I don’t often see evidence of my prayers working, but I believe that our prayers can change the trajectory of our children’s lives.  I believe God protects them according to our prayers. I believe God hears our prayers, and answers our prayers,  especially the prayers of a parent in the middle of the night. I often think in that regard of Jesus, who in the middle of the night before he was arrested and crucified, asked the disciples to pray with Him for just one hour.  Do you think their prayers were necessary?  Do you think their prayers helped? It’s hard for us to understand how it works, or what purpose there was to their prayers, but nevertheless, Jesus wanted them to pray for an hour.  Have you ever prayed for your kids for one solid hour?  Maybe you should.

Paul said to Timothy that he was “longing to see you, even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy.”  Undoubtedly, Timothy had learned or was possibly even there when Paul was taken prisoner, or at the least, had wept when Paul had departed from him the last time, perhaps knowing that this might be the last time  they would be together.  Timothy had a genuine love for Paul that I think was like  the love a man has for his father.  I know in my life there was nothing that rocked me to the core like losing my father.  I had anticipated it for years because of his bad health, but when it happened it tore me up.  I would have done anything for just one more day with him.

And Paul as well longs to see Timothy one more time.  The memory of Timothy’s tears probably made it especially hard for him.  But ultimately, he knows and is assured of Timothy’s faith, and the fact that one day they will be reunited again in heaven.

He says in vs5 “For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that [it is] in you as well.” I don’t know if we can be sure that Paul led Timothy to the Lord, or his mother Eunice did, or perhaps his grandmother Lois. But one thing is for sure, his mother and grandmother played a major part in his coming to faith.

In chapter 3:14 Paul says to Timothy, “You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned [them,]  and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”  How could Timothy know the sacred writings, the scriptures from childhood unless his mother and grandmother had not read to him and taught him the word of God when he was a little boy.

Listen folks, as a parent or a grandparent you have no greater responsibility than to raise up your children in the nurture and admonition of the word.  You have no greater responsibility than to bring your children with you to church.  I am just flabbergasted when I hear  parents or grandparents say that they can’t come to church the next week because their grandchildren are visiting with them. That’s your opportunity to live out your faith before them as an example.  That’s your opportunity to share the scriptures with them which are able to give them the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 

Perhaps some of you think that because the church doesn’t have a children’s program they won’t be able to understand or relate to what’s going on.  Nothing could be further from the truth. Timothy learned the scriptures from childhood. And the scriptures gave him the wisdom that lead him to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  Jesus said in Mark 10:15  “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it [at all.]” So childlike faith is what is required for salvation.

We had a young family come to our bonfire Bible study the other night and they have two boys, one 7 and the other about 12.  And I was surprised when I talked to them the next day that they said they had really enjoyed the Bible study.  I was surprised because we didn’t have anything special for the kids.  And we were studying Malachi.  A few weeks earlier we had studied Jonah and I could maybe see how kids might enjoy the story of Jonah.  But not Malachi.  And the littlest one, Solomon was his name.   He was so smart, he was telling me all the things that I had said, or at least what he thought I had said.  But he was pretty much on track.  I doubt many adults had understood much more than he did.  But you know, it’s the Holy Spirit who teaches us from the word.  And so the Lord is able to give them enough understanding.  But what is probably the greatest lesson that children get from church is seeing the faith of their father and mother as they participate in church.  They may learn more from watching their parents than they do from hearing the pastor preach a sermon.

On the basis then of the faith that Timothy’s mother and grandmother had established in him, Paul says in vs 6, “For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.”  Now most commentators seem to agree that the gift which Paul refers to here is the gift of ministry as the apostle’s representative to the churches. And the reference to Paul laying on of hands on Timothy Is more than likely a reference to that.

But I think it could also be the gift of faith that Paul is referring to. He is saying, rekindle the gift of God which is in you.  That is very possibly the gift of faith. Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God.”  What is a gift?  Salvation or faith? I would say that both are a gift of God. Because faith is salvation. And God is the initiator of our faith.  1 Cor. 12 which lists the gifts of the Spirit includes in that list “faith.”  So faith is a gift.  And I can tell you from experience that faith needs to be stirred up from time to time.

Peter had this to say to the church in 2Pe 1:13-14 “I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder,  knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.”

I would suggest that all of us need our faith to be stirred up now and again. That’s one of the main reasons we need to be under sound preaching of the word.  We need to be refreshed once in a while.  It’s possible for our love to grow cold.  It’s possible for our spiritual fire to start to wane, to flicker and come close to going out.  I would suggest that some of you have left your first love and gone back to the things of the world and have allowed the things of the world to draw your focus off of the things of the Lord. Folks, I urge you to rekindle the gift which has been given to you.  Let us be able to say like Paul, I have kept the faith, I have finished the course, I have fought a good fight.  That we persevered to the end.  That we might leave a legacy of faith for our family to emulate as they carry on in our absence.

So to that need to be stirred up, to kindle afresh the gift of faith within you, Paul adds in vs 7, “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.”  Our faith is not something to be timid about, to be kept in a closet.  Our faith is not something we are to hide under a bushel basket.  Our faith is not some private, personal thing that we do not share with others. But our faith is the source of power.  This word power in the Greek is dynamis.  It’s the word we get our word dynamite from.

It’s the same word used in Romans 1:16 where Paul says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”  Faith is the means by which we tap into the power of God, by which we believe in the promises of God, so that we might even move mountains.  So that we might be able to do that which seems impossible.  Timothy needs to be rekindled in his faith so that he might be able to proclaim the gospel in the power of God.  The power of God is able to be brought to bear on our situation, because we pray in faith, we persevere in faith, and we act in faith.  The power of faith is a tremendous power.  Not faith in faith, but faith in God and in His word, His promises. By faith we receive the Spirit of God, by whom we have the power of Christ in us.

Then Paul says our faith produces love.  Love is not a feeling.  A lot of people think that faith is a feeling.  Faith may be joined to feelings, whether they be good feelings or not remains to be seen.  But faith in and of itself is not feeling, it’s believing in the truth, and then acting upon the truth.  And the truth of the gospel is God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  And then through faith we love Him because He first loved us.  And through faith we love one another because He loves us.  And through faith we love even our enemies.  But love is not a feeling, it’s obedience.  It’s obedience to the Lord’s commands.  If we love our neighbor, then we will certainly share the gospel with our neighbor that they might escape the condemnation of death and be saved. 

1 Cor. 13 says, “if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.”  So true faith produces love, and love is considering the needs of others as more important than your own.  The world is lost and dying and without hope, and we have the answer.  If you love as Christ loved us, then we must tell the world of the hope of life that comes through Jesus Christ. 

Last thing Paul says faith produces is discipline, or sound judgment, or a sound mind.  I have quoted this verse a thousand times to soothe a person or even my own mind in times of distress, emotional upheaval, and things like anxiety attacks or depression.  And the translation “a sound mind” certainly helps us to see that application.  But I must confess that I don’t think the definition of a sound mind means a peaceful mind. Though peace should be the result of a sound mind.  But the word in the Greek is “sōphronismos”. (so-fron-is-mos’)

“Sōphronismos” means discipline, or self control.  Faith then produces power, love and self control. In other words, through faith I have power over sinful impulses. Through faith I have power over temptation. Through faith I have power over the lusts of the flesh.  But my faith needs to be stirred up.  I need to be reminded of the faith of my fathers.  I need to remember their steadfastness, their devotion to the Lord regardless of their circumstances, regardless of their temptations.  I need to be reminded of the Lord’s love for me, and His sacrifice on my behalf that I might be considered righteous before God. 

Self control by the way is a fruit of the spirit that is listed in Galatians 5:23. We don’t hear a lot about it because it’s not as glamorous or exciting as some of the other gifts. But self control is something we achieve by faith, especially by a faith that is stirred up, because we know that God’s way is better than man’s ways.  We can trust God’s plan, and so we don’t have to feel like we need to give in to our lusts, or our sinful desires.  But it also means trusting in God’s word as being true, and recognizing the lies of the devil and the lies of the world.  That’s self control, that’s sound judgment, and that produces a sound mind.  A mind that is set on the right course by the word of God, that as a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;  but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all [aspects] into Him who is the head, [even] Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”

The bottom line is that the faith of our fathers is one which we pass on to others, which is a mature faith, which is not timid, but is a faith that produces power, faith and love.  I trust that you will rekindle the faith within yourselves, that you might be able to say with Paul, 2Tim. 4:7-8 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;  in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

Before we start our exposition of this sixth chapter of 1 Timothy this morning, I would like to turn to Paul’s second letter to Timothy, chapter 3 verse 16 which says, 2Tim. 3:16-17 “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” I quote that verse as a reminder that the text we are looking at today is indeed Scripture, and it is therefore profitable, even though at times we may question it’s relevancy today.

1 Timothy has several difficult passages, not the least of which are those found at the beginning of chapter 6. And because of the difficulty of this passage and others like it, I have sometimes doubted my own sanity in choosing to preach through 1 Timothy on Sunday mornings, and especially to preach through it on the beach. But as I have stressed every week, Paul is writing this letter, according to chapter 3 vs 15, “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.”

Now to that end, how we are to conduct ourselves in the household of God, Paul has talked about virtually every element of the household of Christ, from pastors/teachers, to women, old men, widows, deacons, and now he is going to speak to slaves. But the primary point of what Paul is speaking about here is not the rightness or wrongness of slavery per se, but the Christian’s life of godliness as opposed to worldliness. That’s really what Paul is addressing, godliness versus worldliness. And he is going to give instructions about that in reference slaves and indirectly to their masters in regards to this principle of godliness.

Now remember, this is scripture, it is the truth of God. But in rightly interpreting scripture, it is imperative that we begin by understanding the immediate historical context in which it was written. Only when it has first been understood who it was written to, at what time it was written, under what historical conditions and circumstances it was written, are we then able to extract principles which can then be applied to todays circumstances and conditions. But if you fail to take the historical context into consideration, and instead try to make application of what was written directly to today’s culture or the society that we live in, you are very likely to end up with a distorted, or incorrect interpretation of scripture.

I say all of that as an introduction to this section, because though Paul is addressing the broader theme of godliness as opposed to worldliness, he is going to work it through the historical context of slavery as he knew it living in the height of the Roman Empire. It’s estimated by scholars that there were about 60 million slaves at that time in the Roman Empire. Slavery was the status quo for about 1/3 of the population. Slavery was a grievous institution both then and now, but in Paul’s day, it was much more an accepted way of life for a large segment of the population. You were either slave or free. And in the church, there were both slaves and free people mixing together, as one body, which was the household of God.

In Roman society, there were many ways you could become a slave. One of the most common ways was that your native country had been conquered in war, and the survivors were offered either slavery or death. The majority of people faced with that choice chose slavery. And as a result, there was a broad range of the types of occupations that were occupied by slaves. Most of the artisans and tradesmen were slaves. Teachers were predominately slaves. Even physicians were sometimes slaves. Slavery affected all levels of life. And it was a fact of life in that society that was not something that could just be easily done away with.

So as Paul addresses this large group of people within the church, his concern is not to rouse them to rebel and to overthrow their masters so that they might be free. His concern is that they live lives that are godly, and as such, they become examples of godliness to others, that they might be drawn to the gospel and be saved. Paul doesn’t approve of slavery. But he doesn’t advocate abolishing slavery from external means such as through rebellion or legislation, but he advocates working from the inside out. He knows that if hearts are changed, then society will be changed, and slavery will be eventually abolished. God’s method of changing man is always from the inside, to the outside. Not vice a versa. We are not commissioned to change the world through political maneuvers, not even through legislating morality, but we are commissioned to go into the world with the gospel, that hearts might be changed, souls converted, so that men might become workers of righteousness, and not doers of evil.

So understanding that historical context, let’s consider Paul’s words in vs 1. “All who are under the yoke as slaves are to regard their own masters as worthy of all honor so that the name of God and [our] doctrine will not be spoken against.” You should remember that in chapter five the church was told to give honor to widows, then it was told to give double honor to pastors. And now Paul is saying that slaves are to give honor to their masters.

To give honor in this respect is not to give financial remuneration as with widows or pastors, but to give respect and honor to their masters as in giving them an honest day’s work. And they are to do that so that the name of God and the teachings of Christianity would not get a bad reputation. The goal of Paul’s instruction is that God would be glorified, Christian doctrine would be magnified, and souls would be saved. Having a rebellious attitude, sloughing off when you are supposed to be working, perhaps pilfering from their employer, all those things would only serve to give Christianity a bad name, and give an excuse to those who are looking for a reason not to become a believer.

Another possibility for misuse of their position might be that not only was the slave a Christian, but his master may have become a Christian. So how did that change the worker/owner dynamic? Paul says in vs 2, “Those who have believers as their masters must not be disrespectful to them because they are brethren, but must serve them all the more, because those who partake of the benefit are believers and beloved. Teach and preach these [principles.]”. So rather than seeing the fact that their master has become a believer as a possible benefit to themselves in regards to better work, or less work, or even their potential freedom, Paul says that they are to actually work even harder for their Christian masters.

Now that goes against the grain of our thinking. Our first inclination is to say that the first job of a Christian convert should be to free their slaves. Paul doesn’t say that. He does not advocate for slavery, but neither does he call for it’s abolition here. His immediate concern is that the one whom is a slave is to be without reproach in his responsibilities to his master. As the master’s heart is changed and conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, and he learns to love his neighbor as himself, his attitude towards owning slaves will be undoubtedly changed. But Paul is going to trust that change of heart to God, and not try to legislate it. And in the interim, the slave is to be diligent in his work and give honor to his master.

Paul doesn’t see fit here to spend any time writing about the evils of slavery. That’s not his point. His point is to exhort the church in all it’s facets to a life of godliness so that the cause of Christ will not be maligned and the gospel will not be hindered. In due time, the church and it’s doctrine will be the undoing of slavery. But it will come from God changing hearts, and not Christians changing culture.

Now that was the message in it’s historical context. And the principle that we ought to take from that and apply to our day is that as Christians in the workplace, we should give honor to our employers. The best worker at the job site should be the Christian. The most conscientious worker in the office should be the Christian. We should not be undermining the authority of the boss by backbiting or slacking off. Instead our testimony at work should be such that the name of Christ is glorified by our work and our attitude at work. And if we should work for a Christian employer, then rather than seeing that as an opportunity for taking advantage, but should render them even more diligent effort in our work. I will say from personal experience, that unfortunately that is not always the case with Christian workers. I built a house many years ago, and wanted to use Christians from my church as contractors. And I found that some of the Christian contractors were the worst in regards to the work that they did and the timeliness of it and so forth. I suspect that they thought they should expect a greater degree of laxity due to the fact that we were both Christians. Paul says that should not be. A Christian should exemplify godliness in his work, whether it be for believers or non believers.

That principle of godliness on the part of the church is the subject of the next paragraph. Vs3, “If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited [and] understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. But godliness [actually] is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.”

So what does Paul mean by a different doctrine? What was the original doctrine? Well, the true doctrine of the church is stated in vs 2 as that which conforms to godliness. What is godliness? Godliness is being holy, being Christ like, being like minded as God, and our actions following suit. It’s the life of sanctification. It’s following in the example of Jesus Christ. Godliness is God’s character lived out in our lives. Godliness then is the template that is given for our lives. And Paul compares that with worldliness. Worldliness is life that is according to man’s natural inclinations, what seems right to us, what the world’s wisdom advocates.

And what Paul has been teaching in this letter since the beginning, is that there was and is in the church a doctrine which purports to be of God, but in actuality is the doctrine of demons. It is the doctrine of the world. Man’s wisdom mixed with a little bit of scripture, verses cherry picked from here and there in order to substantiate man’s wisdom.

Notice how Paul describes what that worldly doctrine produces; “he is conceited [and] understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain.”

Worldly doctrine produces conceitedness, pride in oneself, in one’s achievements. Pride in one’s rights and what they have deemed to be blessings given to them. Worldliness produces controversy about words, arguments about scripture, which they try to twist to serve their own interests, and use to validate their rebellion. They are not interested in the truth of God, but only in how to use God’s word for their benefit or to substantiate their position or agenda. Did you know that you can find some text in the Bible to seemingly validate almost anything you want to do? That was done in regards to slavery in this country for a long time by quoting from this very passage. And it’s done today to validate homosexuality or women in ministry or host of other errant doctrines. They twist scripture and use verses out of context and argue about what something really means in order to try to validate their agenda.

And what is the world’s agenda? Generally speaking, their agenda is to accumulate more of the world’s riches, to get rich. And to that end, Paul says, they suppose that godliness is a means of gain. There is a prevailing false doctrine today that we are constantly being exposed to by a large number of preachers out there which is what we call the prosperity gospel. And it is a very good sounding doctrine, very appealing. It promises health and wealth and prosperity to those who believe in Christ. And the bottom line of that doctrine is that God wants the best for you, and for you to have your best life NOW. Not the best life in eternity in heaven, but right now in this life. And you can have YOUR best life now, whatever you want that to be, if you will just believe it. If you have enough faith, God will give you all that you can imagine and ask for, in order for you to have your best life now. And they have a lot of Bible verses that they can quote which to the naive seem to support that doctrine.

But that is not God’s truth. They have twisted God’s truth and made their own doctrine. And Paul says that doctrine may have a form of religion, but it is worldly and it produces worldly results, which are envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction by men of a depraved mind and deprived of the truth. A depraved mind is a mind set on the things of this world, what this world can offer. But that which the world offers can never satisfy the soul. Sin begets sin, and lust begets more lust, and that life which the world offers can never satisfy, and the riches of this world you can’t take with you when you die, so they won’t be of any help in the next life either. The currency of this world is of no use in the next. It won’t spend.

Paul says in vs6 “But godliness [actually] is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.” Contentment in the way Paul is using it here means something like being satisfied. The idea is that you are content with your lot, content with the life you have in Christ. It’s not trying to find satisfaction by material things, because we know they will never satisfy. But it’s being satisfied in what God has done in your heart. Knowing that you are God’s child, knowing that He cares for you. Knowing that your sins have been forgiven, that you have an inheritance in heaven that is far greater than anything you could ever imagine.

Paul speaks of having that contentment irregardless of his circumstances in Phl. 4:11-13 “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

So godliness with contentment is a great gain. It’s something we should aspire to. Not in the accumulation of the world’s goods, but in conformity to the example of Jesus Christ. Being willing to suffer temporary hardship now in order to experience eternal glorification later. Contentment is satisfaction deferred now, for the satisfaction that will endure forever when we are with the Lord.

The Psalmist said in Psalm 131:2 “Surely I have composed and quieted my soul; Like a weaned child [rests] against his mother, My soul is like a weaned child within me.” A nursing child cannot rest against the mother’s breast without wanting more milk. But a weaned child can rest against his mother’s breast and find even greater comfort than simply warm milk. That is a picture of contentment with godliness. Not always wanting more and more, but simply being satisfied with what God has already provided, knowing that He will take care of our needs.

So the opposite of godliness with contentment is worldliness and a craving for more. Paul addresses that craving for more as a desire for riches in vs 9 “But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 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.”

Notice the downward progression of the product of worldly doctrine. First there is the desire, the craving for riches. Then the fall into temptation, the sin that allures us with the promise of riches, and then the plunge into ruin and destruction.

And notice that riches itself are not identified as a sin. But the love of money is a root of sin. It’s not the only root, there are other causes of sin. But the love of money is A root of sin which leads men into sin, in order to try to satisfy their desires. We excuse a lot of sinful practices in the name of making money. Money is the world’s god. And the world promises that money will make you happy, that it will provide satisfaction. But of course, when you die, your money goes to someone else. You can’t take it with you.

On the other hand, you can use money for good. Money in and of itself is not evil. But the desire for money, to accumulate money, to hoard money, is a root of all sorts of evil. And many people have been ruined by it. If that’s what you’re living for, then what you have ruined is your hope of heaven. Jesus said in Matt. 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

So serving God produces godliness and contentment. Serving worldly wealth produces ruin and destruction. , Paul says “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.” Wandering away from the faith does not mean they are no longer saved, but they have wandered away from the truths of the faith, the doctrines of the faith. Those are the doctrines which produce godliness. But instead they have turned aside to other doctrines, and those doctrines are false, offering false hope in worldly wisdom, and they end up suffering the consequences of that sin. And those consequences are often painful.

So Paul ends this section with an exhortation to be godly. Vs 11, “But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance [and] gentleness.” If you are a man or woman of God, then your life will be characterized with the attributes of God. Those attributes are things we should pursue, and not the allure of this world. The attributes of God is righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. I don’t want to belabor those attributes, for the most part they are self explanatory. But we will look at them in more depth next week.

For now let’s just close with that exhortation to pursue godliness. To follow in the footsteps of Christ. To fix your mind on things of heaven and not on things of earth. I think a good example of godliness with contentment is seen in Abraham, about whom Hebrews 11 says, “By faith [Abraham] lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign [land,] dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. … All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. … But as it is, they desire a better [country,] that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.”

Let us keep our gaze fixed on things above, and our purpose fixed on the mission here on earth. Then after we have suffered a little while, and kept the faith, and proclaimed the gospel, we will find that in the future there is laid up for us the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to us on that day; and not only to us, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

According to what Paul said in chapter 3 vs 15, he is writing this letter to Timothy “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.” Now that should be of importance to all of us, and I assume by your presence here today that you too are interested in how you should conduct yourself in the household of God.

And that the church is likened to the household of God I think is the key to understanding these verses. He is speaking of the church body as being the family of God. A family should be known by it’s love for one another. That’s the hallmark of a good family, they love one another. They respect one another. They submit to one another. They help one another out. They are concerned for one another. And according to the Biblical standard, one doesn’t grow out of that family. The commandment to honor your father and your mother doesn’t have an expiration date on it. I’m sure those of you that are parents continue to love and be concerned for your children even though they are grown and may have children of their own. And I’m sure that all of us that have living parents continue to love them and care for them.

That model of the natural family is the illustration of the spiritual family that we belong to if we are Christians and a part of a godly church. In many cases, our church family has even replaced our human family, perhaps due to the rejection that we have suffered from our family as a result of our coming to the Lord. I think that was often the case in Paul’s day, especially among Jewish converts who found themselves ostracized by their unconverted Jewish families.

So our conduct in the church towards each other is that all is to be done in love, as if those in the church are our fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters. And to that effect, Paul gives some practical advice how that love for one another should look. He says in vs 1 and 2, “Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but [rather] appeal to [him] as a father, [to] the younger men as brothers, the older women as mothers, [and] the younger women as sisters, in all purity.”

Paul is speaking primarily to Timothy, but indirectly he is speaking to everyone in the church. And we are all to have this familial type of love for one another. There is a bond that you have with your natural family, I’m sure. No matter how your paths in life may separate you, there is still nothing like being able to pick up the phone and talk to your mother or one of your siblings. There is an acceptance and freedom and love in those relationships that is essential to our well being. My mother has been dead for about 5 years now, and I still find myself sometimes wanting to pick up the phone and call her. She may not have always been the perfect mom -though I don’t think that anyone can be the perfect mom or dad – but nevertheless she was always interested in what I had to say and willing to listen. That kind of love should be characteristic of God’s family as well.

In regards to rebuking older men, upon further study we find that the ancient Greek verb for rebuke is not the normal word for “rebuke” in the New Testament. This is the only place this word is used, and it means literally “to strike at.” So basically what Timothy was being told was not to lash out at older men, but to treat them with respect as he would his own father. In fact, the idea behind “appeal to him” means to take him aside. The issue is not whether or not the pastor should rebuke an older man. We are told elsewhere, such as in Titus 2:15, “Rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.” Now that is the more common word for rebuke, but the idea is clearly stated that there are times when people are to be rebuked. But in the case of older men, don’t lash out at them but treat them with respect and honor.

And just for reference, Timothy was probably around 32 years of age. So an older man would be someone perhaps 60 years old or older. If you’re younger than 60, it’s ok to lash out, I suppose. I’m kidding, of course. But I must admit I have always had a certain degree of jealousy for some of our Old Testament models of leadership who didn’t seem to have a problem administering corporal punishment.

For instance, I’ve always admired Nehemiah when he found out that the sons of Israel were marrying the pagan women from around the region near Jerusalem. And he said “So I contended with them and cursed them and struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor take of their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.” I’ve always been a little jealous of the fact that Nehemiah was able to slap and pull the hair of people that were disobedient. I wonder if that would be effective today. I kind of doubt it.

In fact, Paul warns us not to lash out against those men that are older, but treat them like you would treat your father, and younger men as brothers. I’m going to take exception to the brother part and try to treat younger men better than my brother and I treated one another. We fought constantly our entire childhood. And even today, if we get together for more than 10 minutes we will be arguing so heatedly my wife is afraid that we will come to blows. But ideally, treat younger men as brothers. Maybe the idea there is to treat younger man in the church like an older brother who takes his younger brother under his wing and teach them the essentials of life.

And then Paul adds in regards to older women, treat them like you would treat your mother. Or at least, like you are supposed to treat your mother. You show them respect, honor them. Listen to them. You know, the fact is, a lot of us probably had parents or family relationships that were far from perfect. A lot of us wish that we had a godly mother that could have set the right example, that had a sacrificial love for her children, that gave wise advice. The hope is that in the church, you might find such a person who could be the godly mother, or godly father, or big brother or sister that you never had.

I think this is what is missing today in the church. We all know that we are told the characteristic of the church is that we are to love one another. But we don’t know how that is supposed to look. To be a godly mentor, a godly big brother, or a godly mother to a young woman who may not have had a good mother in her life, that’s the practical way that you love one another. It doesn’t mean that you have to have a one on one Bible study with someone in order to love them. It may mean that you take a young man fishing, or take a kid surfing, or take some young woman in the church out to lunch, or to a farmer’s market, or any other of number of ways you can practically love someone.

You know, in your family growing up you just kind of accepted what the hand you were dealt and things happened because you lived in close proximity to one another. But in the church, you have to be a little more intentional than that. You might have to plan for it and create an opportunity. But what I think Paul is going to show here in the remaining verses, is that loving one another is a little more practical and concerned with daily needs and activities than what you might think.

The final relationship he mentions is that of young women, whom he says should be treated as sisters, with all purity. In other words, there should not be any concern about a young woman, particularly an unmarried young woman in the church. The same attitude that men would have towards their sister is the type of approach that you should have in the church. Now saying that, I do recognize that young people should ideally be able to find a mate in the church. We are to marry “in the Lord”, that is, we are to marry another Christian, and only Christians. And the pastor has the right to slap and pull the hair out of those who break that cardinal rule. But seriously, I think it’s appropriate for a young man and young woman to meet and marry within the church.

But I think Paul is speaking of impropriety, where a married man, or a pastor, or someone in leadership, is to avoid at all costs any improper conduct towards a young woman. But rather guard such women, as a young man might guard the honor of his sister. And if we look upon those women as our sisters then there should be no impure thoughts, or impure actions. Unfortunately, that has not always been the practice in the church at large. Pastors and other men have sometimes given into temptation and took advantage of these young women and in the process ruined both parties lives as well as the church’s reputation in the world. So above all, a pastor must be above reproach in that area. I said I think last week that for my part, I refuse to counsel a woman without my wife present. That’s just being prudent against gossip, or temptation or just bad appearances.

And then Paul begins to illustrate this principle of love within the household of God by dealing with a subsection of the family that we may not think much about today, but which was very much a part of the family dynamic in his day. But even though we may not have as much of this sort of thing in our churches today, we can still apply the principles to the church family in our age. Paul says in vs3 “Honor widows who are widows indeed; but if any widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to practice piety in regard to their own family and to make some return to their parents; for this is acceptable in the sight of God.”

I think it is helpful to understand the historical context in which he presents this principle. In Paul’s day, there wasn’t life insurance, or term insurance in the case of the unexpected death of a husband. There wasn’t public assistance or welfare, or government programs to help the needy. And so as a result, there were two classes of people that were left very vulnerable in that society. One was widows and the other was orphans. Both stood to become financially destitute by the loss of the husband, who was by and large the primary breadwinner of the family. Today that is not as much of a concern. We have programs and insurance and all kinds of government plans to take care of at least most of the financial needs of people that fall victim to the loss of a husband or parents. But there are still great emotional and spiritual needs that such people have that we should be concerned about.

But what Paul is addressing primarily here is the financial needs, which he says should be taken up by any surviving members of the widow’s family. If they have children or grandchildren, then the responsibility to take care of them should fall on them. The principle is that the parents took care of their needs as they were growing up, and now that they are unable to care for themselves, the children should care for the parents. And I think that we are seeing that to a great degree in our society, as people are living longer, but many times require assistance in living in their old age.

So there is a spiritual as well as a physical obligation to care for the elderly. And I would hope that doesn’t mean just handing them over to an old folks home and then forgetting about them. A person needs a lot more than just food and water to live. And additionally, the elderly have a lot more to give that we sometimes give them credit for. I don’t believe that God designed the family to be as split apart and separated as it is today. But unfortunately, economic and social concerns have taken precedence over family unity, and so a lot of young people think that growing up automatically means moving as far away from home as they can get. I don’t think that is God’s intention for the family. But nevertheless, God’s design is for the family members to take care of the elderly or widowed parent.

If you notice in Paul’s original injunction regarding widows, he says “Honor widows who are widows indeed.” Now he wants to define who are “widows indeed.” In other words, in the eyes of the church, who are really dependent widows. He says in vs 5 “Now she who is a widow indeed and who has been left alone, has fixed her hope on God and continues in entreaties and prayers night and day. But she who gives herself to wanton pleasure is dead even while she lives.”

A widow indeed is one who has been left alone, her husband has died, and there are no children or family that can help her. But even in that situation, it’s apparent that she is a godly woman, continuing in prayers night and day, and has fixed her hope on God. The contrast to a widow indeed is a woman who lost her husband, but she is living for pleasure. She obviously has the means to do so and she is not necessarily living for the Lord either. She is living for the pleasures of this world. Paul indicates that she is wanton; that means sexually unrestrained. Such women are not the kind of widows that the church should be concerned with supporting.

Vs7 “Prescribe these things as well, so that they may be above reproach. But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” So these aren’t suggestions, they are commands. And the commands are given so that we might be above reproach in our conduct.

And the principle which is given has a much broader application than simply to widows. I think it applies to everyone. And that is, that a person should provide for those of their household. To not do so, is to deny the faith. That’s a pretty serious condemnation. That condemnation covers dead beat dads who leave their family and don’t take responsibility for their kids. But it also covers any member of the family that has the responsibility to provide for the needy ones in their family and yet doesn’t do so. Paul even goes so far as to say in 2 Cor. 12:14, that “children are not responsible to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.” So even saving up money for their children is a way that we are to provide for our household.

And of course, spiritually speaking, the church should provide for the needs of those of it’s household. That means spiritually providing for them, and if necessary, physically providing for one another’s needs as well. Those needs may be financial, but other needs that people have are just as important, such as companionship, mentorship, and so forth.

Now in the church of Paul’s day, there was such a widespread need for assistance for widows that there was a list in the church that those women were added to, that needed basic food and necessities for living. These women had no other resources for their living expenses other than the benevolence of the church. I can’t say that I have ever heard of that sort of list in churches today. We do sometimes have other type of lists in the church, especially for people that are shut ins. They may not have a shortage of food, but they are unable to get out and do things that they need to have done. So as we look at this, we’re going to look at it but briefly, not because we have the same situation occurring in our churches, but because the principle of caring for one another’s needs is applicable to many possible scenarios.

Paul says in vs9 “A widow is to be put on the list only if she is not less than sixty years old, [having been] the wife of one man, having a reputation for good works; [and] if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality to strangers, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has assisted those in distress, [and] if she has devoted herself to every good work.” So this is a description of a godly woman, a “widow indeed” which Paul referred to earlier. She was a loyal wife, she has served the church, she has helped others and shown hospitality, and she has generally been known for her good deeds. And, she is at least 60 years old. I think as a general rule people didn’t live as long in those days, and so 60 was considered old. I used to think 60 was old. But now I don’t think it’s quite as old as I used to. But that was their standard of old age in their day. Bottom line, she was an older woman, without any real opportunity for remarriage, with no children, with no relatives, but a godly woman who lived a life for the Lord and depended upon the Lord for her survival.

In contrast to that, Paul speaks of younger widows. Vs11 “But refuse [to put] younger widows [on the list,] for when they feel sensual desires in disregard of Christ, they want to get married, [thus] incurring condemnation, because they have set aside their previous pledge. At the same time they also learn [to be] idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also gossips and busybodies, talking about things not proper [to mention.] Therefore, I want younger [widows] to get married, bear children, keep house, [and] give the enemy no occasion for reproach; for some have already turned aside to follow Satan.”

As a general rule, these younger widows were not to be added to the support roll of the church, because they generally could provide for themselves and could remarry. Paul isn’t condemning young widows for wanting to get married, only observing that some unmarried women are so desperate for marriage and companionship that they don’t conduct themselves in a godly way in regard to relationships.

But a woman doesn’t have to be a young widow or even a widow at all to fulfill the description of “they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not.” Those who spend much time talking about other people’s lives need to mind their own business get a life of their own. We all need to guard against gossip and being a busybody. I’m afraid a lot of times gossiping masquerades as prayerful concern for others, when in fact some people find it exciting to speak of things that they shouldn’t be concerned about.

Paul was saying though that a young widow who might go on support assistance from the church could end up with too much time on her hands, which leads to being a busy body. If she were to get remarried, that problem would take care of itself. Paul is not condemning any young widow’s desire for romantic companionship; but he insists that it be pursued and expressed in the purity that is becoming to all believers.

Then finally, Paul restates the same principle he has already given twice before. So for the third time he confirms this principle in vs 16 “If any woman (some versions add man) who is a believer has [dependent] widows, she must assist them and the church must not be burdened, so that it may assist those who are widows indeed.” In other words, the first responsibility for support is at the level of the family; then the church is to support the truly destitute who are godly and dependent upon the Lord.

But let me close by reiterating the undergirding principle that I started with this morning. And that is that Christian love is practical. It’s not all about feeling something for someone, or having an attraction for someone. It’s about recognizing various needs of different members of the church and then acting to supply or fill those needs. I would suggest that most of the needs we have today in the church are not financial. Though there may be some financial needs amongst the various church members. But there are also many emotional and physical and spiritual needs that people have that can be fulfilled through Christian love. I would encourage you to pray that God will identify those needs to you as you consider and pray for one another.

Jesus gave us the command to love one another. It’s restated numerous times by the apostles. Three times in John’s gospel we read Jesus’ words. John 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”
John 15:12, “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. … And John 15:17 “This I command you, that you love one another.”

“Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging [one another;] and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24,25

The first letter to Timothy that we are studying is a personal letter to Timothy on the one hand, but it is also scripture, and as such it was meant to be read publicly in the church. And the purpose of that was two fold as well; to give instruction in regards to the qualifications of pastors and teachers in the church, but also to inform the church as to what to expect from a pastor/teacher.

And I think that is very necessary today. I believe that many pastors and teachers are obviously wrongly informed as to what their job is supposed to be, and many people in the church have a wrong view as to what to expect from the pastor. Pastors seem to have the impression that their primary job is to be kind of like the general manager of the church, orchestrating all the various parts so that they work together and present a comprehensive service. And then in addition to that they think that they are to be an entertainer of sorts. They must be witty, be able to get a good laugh now and then from the audience, and able to speak fluently and articulately in such a way as to leave the audience with the vague impression that he said something meaningful, comforting and encouraging, without being insulting or offensive in any way. That’s the pastor’s perspective.

The church people’s expectation is somewhat of a mystery. I think there are as many different expectations as there are individuals in the church. So the pastor in some respects has failed before he starts, because there is no way he can meet the expectations of everyone there. Some wish to be merely entertained. Some wish to hear things which validate their own beliefs. Some wish to be comforted and encouraged in regards to some personal crisis that they are going through. And a few, albeit I believe a very few, desire to hear the word of God, irrespective of whether or not it seems relative to their own particular interests. But above all, most people’s desire is that the pastor be as brief as possible.

I think it is necessary and helpful for today’s audience to hear what the apostle Paul says is to be the primary function of the pastor. Because after all, it is the Lord’s church, and the pastor has been called by God to that role, and God has established certain qualifications for the pastor, and so it’s God’s prerogative to determine what the pastor should do and say. Since God hires the pastor, He is justified in determining the job description for the pastor. And that will serve to inform the congregation as to what they should expect and desire from the pastor.

So Paul has been warning Timothy in the beginning of this fourth chapter about the deceiving nature of false prophets who will arise in the church, and draw away many after them by teaching fables and false doctrine such as asceticism and Gnosticism. Paul’s response to that false teaching was to say that bodily discipline profits but a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, for it offers a promise for this life and the life to come.

So now as Paul instructs Timothy in what a godly pastor is to teach, he begins by saying, “Prescribe and teach these things.” Prescribe is from the NASB, but the KJV and others say “command and teach these things.” Prescribe sounds a little more politically correct. But the emphasis in the original language is a bit more strenuous than that. Paul says in effect that Timothy, or the pastor, is to command certain things to the church. In other words, there is to be no equivocation in preaching these truths. There is to be no watering down of the truth to make it more palatable. These truths are non negotiable. They are not to be emasculated by the current culture. If God says it, then that is enough and it’s to be accepted as the word of God. There is no alternate truth.

And we all know what it means to teach. That means to explain, to expound. The great thing about God’s commands, God’s word is that He doesn’t just give us absolute imperatives without also giving reasons for His commands. Sometimes they aren’t explicitly stated directly afterwards, but when you compare scripture with scripture, and interpret scripture with scripture, then you can usually see the reason for God’s injunctions. And it’s the pastor’s job to teach, to answer the questions why, what, how. To show from correlating scriptures what God is saying in it’s fullness and completeness.

That’s really what I think my job is as a pastor/teacher. Its to be an expositor of the word. To expound the word. To use the common vernacular of the day, to unpack it. There is a lot that can be contained in a single sentence of scripture. And so the pastor is to prescribe the word as a remedy for a certain malady, to command the word as the will of God, and teach the word by explaining it and applying it.

What things is Paul referring he should prescribe and teach? Well, everything that came before verse 11, and even those things which come after. Specifically though I think he is referring to teaching sound doctrine, the principles for godly living, in contrast to the worldly fables and old wives tales that the false prophets were relying upon to keep their audiences attention on themselves. He has emphasized the importance of godly living, which is another way of referring to sanctification, which means to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.

There is a church in the area that on it’s advertising says, “nobody’s perfect.” As in don’t worry, we’re not going to hold you to any standard of perfection. Nobody’s perfect, and we don’t plan on trying to be either. Well, actually, Jesus is perfect. And according to Romans 8:29 we are supposed to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. Peter said in 1 Peter 1:14-16 “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts [which were yours] in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all [your] behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.” So I guess that means we are to be perfect. We may fall short of that perfection, but that is what we are to be striving for, modeling ourselves after. Being holy is not a feeling, but a life style that follows in the footsteps of Jesus. And the path to holiness is through the gate of repentance, not by insolently taking offense at the standard of holiness.

Then there is a seemingly odd statement here by Paul concerning Timothy’s age. He says in vs 12, “Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but [rather] in speech, conduct, love, faith [and] purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.” Now some think that this is an reference to the age of a pastor, as if Paul is concerned about how old or how young a pastor should be. And there may be some merit to one’s age if it is measured by one’s spiritual maturity. But I’ve met some spiritually adolescent 70 year old pastors as well. So their biological age is not necessarily the issue here, but their spiritual maturity is very much the issue.

The word that is translated as “youthfulness” is according to Greek scholars comes from a word that denoted the age of a military male. And you were considered to be of military age up to 40 years in those days. And so he is not talking about a teenager. Actually, it’s believed by most scholars that Timothy was about 30-32 years of age. About the same age as Jesus when He began His ministry. But what he is referencing here is don’t let your relatively young age keep you from being an example to the church. Make sure that your conduct is something that people can look up to.

I just finished saying a moment ago about how we are to be following the example of Jesus in regards to holiness and perfection. And now Paul says that Timothy is also to be a similar example to his church. His life should be one that his people can emulate. Paul says about himself in 1Cor. 11:1 “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.” So as the leadership in the church, Paul says they are to imitate Christ, and in so doing give an example to be imitated by the church.

Now how does the pastor do that? Or how are you to be an example to your children, to your coworkers, to your family and friends? I think we are all called to live godly lives as an example to others, regardless of the role which you are given. So first of all, we follow the example of Christ’s life and conduct. Peter says in 1Peter 2:21 “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.”

I think we have all heard the adage, “do as I say, and not as I do.” Well, that may be the world’s way of teaching, but it’s not God’s way. God’s way is that we teach by example. And the pastor should be a good example of a godly life. But so should a housewife, or a school teacher, or a construction worker, or a father. And the example we should follow is Christ.

Specifically, Paul says there are five areas of your life that should be exemplary. Speech comes first. So much damage is done by speech. James writes a lot about controlling the tongue, which he calls a restless evil, full of poison. Godly speech doesn’t mean that we are mealy mouthed, that we can’t speak the truth, or that we have to say thee and thou and intone some pantomime of piousness. But it means we speak peace and not hurt. We speak love and not hate. Our speech is not a fountain from which flows both bitter water and sweet. You want to be godly? Then start with your speech. Knock off the vulgar, foul language. Stop the angry, bitter language. Take control over your speech.

The second is conduct. Your behavior. Behave as a Christian should behave. Jesus, on two separate occasions, took a bullwhip to the temple and drove out the money changers and sellers of merchandise that were taking advantage of the people. So behavior doesn’t mean you always have to be lovey dovey and limp-wrists. If you want to know how a Christian is to behave, ask a non-Christian. They know how Christians are supposed to act. I can tell you that it’s not in drunkeness, sexual immorality, crude speech, lying, stealing, etc. Model your behavior after Christ.

Third is love. Love is agape love. There are many Greek words for love. Eros is one that means sexual love. Phileo is another which means brotherly love. Agape is the third that means sacrificial love, and that is the word that is used here. Someone explained it this way; eros is take, phileo is give and take, and agape is give. We are called to love with a sacrificial love. That is by the way, the ultimate love in marriage as well. That’s the sacrificial type of love we are to have for our spouse.

Faith is the fourth. Faith here is not a reference to believing in something very, very fervently and then presto, it comes to pass. Some think that is what faith means. And I guess they think that a pastor should be really good at faith, and because of that faith in whatever he says or prays, it will come about. That’s a perversion of faith. Faith in this context is belief in Jesus Christ, in who He is, and what He accomplished, and what He will yet accomplish. So really Paul means the pastor is to be an example of being firm in the faith. All the tenets of our faith are held by him without wavering.

And the final example we are to have is by our purity. This is the perfection we were talking about earlier. I guess we do need to be perfect if we are going to be an example of purity to the church. But purity, while it does indicate the idea of perfection, also speaks of the lack of perversion or corruption. His actions are to be above board, beyond reproach, transparent.

Not to read too much into this, but purity may also speak to motive. A pastor may be in that position for the wrong reasons. Some have obviously used their position to try to gain wealth or fame or for other possible reasons. So being pure in his motives for ministry is important.

Having addressed the pastor’s conduct, Paul now speaks to his ministry. He says in vs13 “Until I come, give attention to the [public] reading [of Scripture,] to exhortation and teaching. Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery.”

The primary job of the pastor is the preaching of the word of God. That is done by public reading of scripture, exhortation from scripture and teaching of scripture. A man who lived during the days of Spurgeon and all the great preachers of the late 19th early 20th century, and had listened to them all, said that the most powerful sermon he ever heard was from the Scottish pastor Alexander Whyte, who simply read through the book of Philippians with only a few words of explanation here and there.

I don’t know that I would necessarily go that far, but I certainly want to avoid the other extreme as well. I visited a multi campus, mega church central office in San Diego a few years ago, and I toured their facility. At one point I was shown a conference table in a room that I was told was for the sermon committee. A large group of creative writers met there to write the message that would be preached the following Sunday. The pastor wasn’t even a part of the committee. He just showed up a day or two before and practiced delivering his lines.

That to me is obviously so far from what God has called the pastor to do as to be ludicrous. But people seem to like it. A more common practice among a lot of pastors is to buy a “canned sermon” or a series of messages from some online source which arrives all prepackaged with power point presentation and witty, whimsical stories and so forth. That’s really popular.

Paul says read the Bible, expound the Bible, give exhortation from the scripture, and teach the scripture. In his second letter to Timothy Paul says, (2Tim. 4:2) “preach the word; be ready in season [and] out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but [wanting] to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

Preach the word, in season and out of season. That’s the verse that God used to confirm my call to the ministry, by the way. Preaching the word is hard enough, but the in season and out of season part is really the most difficult part.

And notice this preaching of the word is what Paul refers to as a spiritual gift that Timothy was given by God. “Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery.” Now that sounds all ecclesiastical, but I think we need to recognize that the presbytery is just another term for elders. So at some point, Paul and some of the other apostles laid hands on Timothy. But that doesn’t mean that the gift of preaching came from Paul or the elders. The gift came from God, and the elders just confirmed it. But it’s the same idea that we see in our ordination services today, where godly men confirm a pastor’s calling.

But much has been said about this gift of preaching, or gift of teaching. I don’t think we should think of that as some special gift of articulation or oratory. It’s not a gift of being a good story teller. A spiritual gift is just the ability or power to do something that God wants you to do. There are times when I don’t feel like physically I can preach. There were a couple of times when I was in extreme pain from needing a root canal and was unable to get it done before Sunday and had to preach when I could barely speak. There have been times when I was dehydrated or something and I felt like I was going to pass out and had to pray for God to keep me from falling out. I’ve had times when I lost my voice right before I was scheduled to speak. But in those times when physically I felt I could not do it, God gave me the strength or the voice or whatever it was I was lacking, to be able to preach the gospel. No one listening was aware of anything miraculous happening, but I knew that God provided the ability I needed to do what He wanted me to do in that hour.

There is a wonderful, godly couple who come to our church whenever they are visiting Bethany. They’ve been coming here for years. And they have an amazing British accent. Not the Cockney kind of accent, but the sophisticated type. And I’ve jokingly said that if I had their accent I could have been a mega church pastor. Instead, God decided to keep me humble and give me a Southern accent. But what that illustrates is that people can think someone has the spiritual gift of preaching just because of how they sound and how the articulate words. But the gift is simply being able to rightly divide the truth and proclaim “thus says the Lord.”

And sometimes, according to 1Cor. 1:26-29 God choses the opposite type of person that we might choose to give that gift to. Paul says, “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.” I think that speaks especially of God’s call to pastors. God doesn’t necessarily look for the ex rock star, or ex football star to be who He uses to preach His word. He uses the weak the foolish, to shame the wise.

But Paul indicates in the last verses of this passage, that our gift is not something that we are to become complacent with, but which we are to exercise, to strengthen, to build upon, to practice, so that we might increase it’s effectiveness in ministry. He says in vs15 “Take pains with these things; be [absorbed] in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”

So pastors are to work on their preaching. We are to study the word, diligently prepare the message from God’s word. In his second letter to Timothy, Paul said, “Study to show yourself approved unto God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” Persevere in preaching, take pains with it, be absorbed in it, so that you will preach the truth of the word of God, which has the power to save.

And that word of truth that we are preaching is the means of salvation for those who hear. Romans 10:14 says, “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?”

1Co 1:18, 21 says, “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. … 21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”

Saved means salvation, and salvation can refer to the full scope of salvation or any part of it, from justification, to sanctification, to glorification. All are essential parts of salvation. So back in vs 16, when Paul speaks of salvation for those who hear you, he is talking about any and all parts of salvation. For those who have been saved, it is a reference to deliverance from the power of sin. That’s the process of sanctification which we were talking about earlier. About godly living. Being under Bible preaching and teaching and exhortation is the means by which we mature, by which we live godly, holy lives, and the means by which we are perfected in our faith.

And that sanctification is the means by which all of us are able to preach a message that is seen by a watching world, that they may want what we have, which is a new life through Jesus Christ. I hope you will show yourselves as an example of godliness in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, as you follow in the footsteps of Christ.

I think almost every week as I preach, I somehow find a reason to quote the words spoken by Jesus found in John 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” That statement by Christ is closely correlated to another He made in prayer to the Father, which is, “Your word is truth.” And that statement finds it’s consummation in the words of Jesus found in John 8:32, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

Now when He says make you free, He is not speaking of political freedom, or freedom from tyranny, but freedom from the captivity and condemnation of sin. And we have been saying that in our church practice and worship it must be according to the truth of God’s word. Paul has written this letter to Timothy according to chapter 3 vs 15, so that we might know how we are to conduct ourselves in the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. So when Paul lays out qualifications for leadership, for pastors, for deacons, and so forth, it is a matter of being obedient to the truth revealed by God. There are not multiple ways of doing church depending on the culture you live in, nor multiple ways of interpreting scripture, nor multiple possibilities in regards to pastoral qualifications. There is the truth, period, which we are to adhere to without deviation. Some aspects of church conduct are not stated, but things that are stated are not negotiable.

But now in this manifesto for church conduct, Paul turns his attention to the enemy of the truth, which is apostasy. Apostasy simply means the abandonment of the truth. And that has been something which the church has had to deal with since the very beginning. Paul says it is in the latter days, but he is speaking as if he is in the latter days. The latter days, or latter times is a reference to the church age, which began at Pentecost and continues today, and will come to its conclusion at the second coming of Christ. So Paul was living in the latter days, and we are living in the latter days.

Notice what he says in vs 1, “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.” Now there are two primary ways that you can understand faith. There are maybe more than two ways, but these are the two major ways to understand faith. One is our faith which is believing unto salvation. Believing and trusting in who Christ is and what He has accomplished through His work on the cross. The second way is understanding faith is the faith, that is a reference to the body of truth which we hold and practice. And that is how Paul means it here.

So who is he speaking about here when he says some will fall away? I would suggest that it is people who are at least in some way physically attached to the church. They profess to be Christians. That doesn’t mean that they are truly Christians. I don’t believe that the Bible teaches that a true child of God can cease to be a child of God. So Paul isn’t saying that people who are truly saved have fallen away unto perdition. But they can fall away from the practice of the faith into spiritual and physical shipwreck. But more than likely what he is primarily speaking of here are people who have professed to be Christian but are not really Christians. And because they did not believe the truth so as to be saved, they were led astray further by believing false doctrine, which makes it almost impossible for them to be saved.

And that is the goal of the devil. His goal in purveying false doctrine is two fold; to cause those who are saved to suffer spiritual shipwreck and ruin their testimony, and secondly, to cause those who would possibly come to be saved, to become so deceived by false doctrine, or so confused by false doctrine, that they can not come to believe the truth so as to be saved. That’s why Paul attributes this apostasy to the doctrines of demons. Because the architect of apostasy is the devil and his angels.

Notice the end of verse one, these who have fallen away were “paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.” Jesus said concerning the devil in John 8:44 “You are of [your] father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own [nature,] for he is a liar and the father of lies.” So the architect of false doctrine is the devil. He is a liar and a murderer, and he twists the truth into a lie so as to deceive the world and lead them to destruction.

We should remember that John said in 1John 4:1 that we aren’t to believe every spirit, but we are to test the spirits to see if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. It amazes me how gullible people are. Anything that is said or done in church or in the name of Jesus is automatically assumed to be true and of the Holy Spirit. And yet we are warned again and again in scripture that from within the church false teachers will arise and deceive many. And yet some crazy thing happens in a church building that you can not find even suggested in scripture, like angel dust falling from the rafters, or being slain in the spirit, and automatically people attribute it to a great work of the Holy Spirit. It’s a spirit alright, just not the Holy Spirit. It’s evil spirits, doctrines of demons and deceitful spirits at work in the church.

Now these spirits make use of men who speak their lies. These men are false prophets, false teachers and preachers in the church. Look at verse two, “by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron.” Their consciences are cauterized so that they no longer feel the pangs of their guilt. They become hardened in their rebellion. Grieving the Holy Spirit has led to resisting Him, which has led to quenching Him. So their conscience no longer bothers them when they tell their lies. Do you know it’s possible to tell a lie so often that you start to believe it? I think that sort of thing happens a lot. Especially in politics, it would seem. But the thing about a lie is that there is usually a germ of truth in it but it has been perverted into something that no longer is the truth.

Now what I think is really interesting is what Paul gives as examples of this demonic deception that leads to apostasy. You would think that it would have to be some great evident heresy, like saying Jesus is Beelzebub or something to that effect. But that is not what Paul identifies. Instead he choses to illustrate this principle with two doctrinal errors that really don’t seem that big of a deal. Just a difference of opinion perhaps, not a matter of doctrine.

But notice what he identifies in vs 3 as examples of doctrines of demons. “[men] who forbid marriage [and advocate] abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.” Forbidding marriage and abstaining from certain foods. These are the two great illustrations of apostate doctrine. Now I don’t think for a minute that Paul is saying that these two are the only possible means of apostasy. I think there are numerous possible false doctrines that can lead to apostasy. But Paul chose these two probably because they were prevalent at that time in Ephesus, and because they were so subtle that Timothy might not have been aware of the danger.

These particular doctrines more than likely came from a philosophy known as asceticism. In many ways asceticism had a lot in common with Gnosticism which the Apostle John warns about at the end of the first century. But it was a belief that matter was bad, and spiritual was good. So they made a big deal out of restricting the physical in the belief that it would accentuate the spiritual. We see that in pagan cultures today, such as in Tibetan Buddhism. But certain aspects of asceticism has also been practiced in Christianity, for instance by monks, particularly in the Middle Ages. It’s the idea that refraining from certain physical comforts helps one attain a degree of spirituality or holiness.

The problem was that in practice asceticism did not keep one from sin. In fact, in Gnosticism they believed that you could participate in sin without any repercussions, because it was only the spirit that was important. And so they actually advocated that you could overcome the flesh by indulging in it. The flesh and the spirit could lead opposing lives and that was ok. And perhaps that spirit of Gnosticism is still working among the sons of disobedience today by saying we live in a age of grace and not law, and so therefore, we are not under condemnation but under grace, so there is no sin, no need to repent, and not to worry when they walk after the lusts of the flesh.

But my purpose here this morning is not to try to teach about asceticism or Gnosticism or Antinomianism, or any other ism. What I would like to show you though is that false doctrine may be something we might consider relatively minor, of not any real consequence. And yet the culmination of small deceptions can end up taking one far from the faith.

Now in regards to both marriage and food, Paul adds, “which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.” In other words, God created marriage for man and woman to be enjoyed, to be a mutual comfort and support for both, and something that we are to be grateful to God for. God said in creation that it was not good for man to be alone, and so He made woman to be a help mate for him. So we should thank God for that, and our gratefulness to God for marriage should make us honor marriage and the vows we made to God. But instead, these false teachers had said that by forbidding marriage they were accomplishing some spiritual achievement.

But as Paul said in Col 2:23 “These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, [but are] of no value against fleshly indulgence.” In fact, in one particular church denomination today where they forbid marriage, there is ample evidence that practice has not prohibited fleshly indulgence, but has probably induced gross fleshly indulgence. And yet they persist in teaching this false doctrine as a means of achieving holiness.

The other thing that was popular among the ascetics was abstaining from certain foods. We still see that in certain religious circles today. There are certain denominations that say that you need to practice vegetarianism, or that you need to follow the Jewish dietary laws.

But they clearly haven’t read what God revealed to Peter in Acts 10:9-16 “On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. But he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance; and he saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, and there were in it all [kinds of] four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air. A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!” But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.” Again a voice [came] to him a second time, “What God has cleansed, no [longer] consider unholy.” This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky.” So at that time God declared all foods clean.

So Paul says if food is received with thanksgiving, with gratitude towards God, then it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer. It is blessed by God, and given thanks for by us, and thus it is good, given by God to nourish us and strengthen us for our life. God has provided for us physically as well as spiritually, and we should receive such blessings with gratitude. Not believing the lies of demons that try to twist the truth into a false means of righteousness.

Instead, Paul indicates that a good pastor will teach the truth, and the truth will be spiritual food for the church that gives them spiritual life. Remember Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” So rather than give heed to the word of false teachers, Paul says in vs6 “In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, [constantly] nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following.” Some translations say you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus. Either way, he is talking to Timothy, who is a pastor in Ephesus. And he indicates that the truth of God’s word and sound doctrine is the spiritual food that nourishes the soul.

That verse also indicates that it is the faithful pastor’s job to point out false doctrine and expose those who teach it. Now I could spend a lot of time here this morning naming names and calling out apostate churches and televangelists and fake healers and so forth. But I don’t think that is necessarily profitable. However, when I do call them out by name, it doesn’t mean that I am being unloving or unnecessarily combative. It means that I take my job seriously. I take the truth seriously. I believe that the devil is real and he is working. And I value the spiritual and physical lives of those in our church enough to warn them when the wolves are in the hen house.

I was in the Post Office the other day and noticed that they have these bulletins on the board in the lobby showing the pictures and names and address of people that have been convicted of being sexual predators, who are now living in the community. Does that seem mean to you? No, if you have kids and you live next door to that person, it seems prudent that you would like to know if your neighbor is a convicted sexual predator. I’m sorry if some people find in offensive, but I think the same principle applies to spiritual predators, that cause children of God to suffer shipwreck in their faith. They need to be called out. And I would be happy to give you the names of some if you want to see me afterwards.

So the pastor is to contend for the faith. But as in his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul warns about these teachers who have concocted spiritual doctrines from vague Biblical references which they combined with asceticism. And so he says to Timothy in vs 7 “But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and [also] for the [life] to come.”

You know, we could make too much or too little out of his statement that bodily discipline is only of little profit. We could take that to mean that we all should practice bodily exercise in moderation. That it does have some profit. And certainly, that is practical advice which is backed up by science.

Or on the other hand we could emphasize the fact that there is only a little benefit to bodily exercise. And therefore use that as an excuse to say why bother – eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die. But what I think Paul is really saying here is physical exercise has only physical, temporal benefits, but spiritual discipline has eternal benefits.

The kind of discipline that Paul advocates is that which restricts the lusts of the flesh. He says in 1Cor. 9:25-27 “Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then [do it] to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.” So we do exercise discipline in regards to the lusts of the flesh, so that we may walk in the Spirit.

We discipline ourselves to walk in the Spirit, so that we might attain godliness, and godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. And to that he says, “It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance.” In other words, this is the truth of God, which is to be accepted and believed and practiced by the church. The false teaching that these men were teaching wasn’t the truth, and it did not produce godliness, just self righteousness.

And that truth of God, Paul says in vs 10, is that for which “we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.” We serve the living God, and we have our hope in Him. There is no hope in science, or philosophy, or physical fitness, or any degree of education or knowledge. We cannot save ourselves. Salvation is from the Lord, and there is salvation in none other than Jesus Christ. He is the Savior of all men, who believe in Him and in HIs word.

I don’t know what hope you have for life after death. I hope you are not trusting in anything other than in the atoning work of Jesus Christ through His death and resurrection. The Bible says it is appointed unto man once to die, and after that the judgment. The only way to escape the judgment of condemnation which has been passed to all men -for all have sinned – is to trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior, as the One who took the wrath of God upon Himself. It’s only by the transference of our sins upon Him, and His righteousness upon us, that we might be able to stand spotless and blameless before the throne of God.

If you’re here today and have not believed in Jesus Christ for salvation, then I urge you to make that commitment today, to confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and receive the gift of new life.