Don't rule her out

Maybe you are a loner. Maybe you are heartbroken.
Maybe you just don't care.
 Maybe you just want to have sex with any girl you see.
I would like you to listen to a story of mine,
 a story of how my life drastically changed.
I went from being a loner, heartbroken, uncaring, and a player
to a family man.

A few years ago, I thought I had it all together.
 I met this girl , and I thought I was in love.
I had it in my head, that God's will for me was to marry her.
I changed my whole life for her. Basically I changed who I was.
I left my hometown and moved up to where she lived.
 I started seeing, however, that it wasn't going to work out.
 We were two totally different people, and we split up.
 It broke my heart. I was so sure she was the one.
Depression starting kicking in, and I crawled up into my shell.
 I blocked out the world. I felt like a complete failure.
 I couldn't understand what went wrong! I kept saying
"God, what did I do wrong! Why did you bring her into my life??"

I grew up in a broken home. I wasn't  able to see my dad much,

only about every other weekend.
I never know what it was
like to be in a home where my mom and dad lived together, and
loved each other. That's all I ever wanted. I just wanted a family.
I wanted to be in love, and happy. I wanted children, and I wanted
them to know that their daddy loves them. I could care less about
riches, or fame. I just wanted love, real love.
 I had dreamed about it since I was born.

I thought I had found it, and I was wrong.
I was so devastated. Heartbroken to be exact.
 I couldn't see how any girl would ever want me again.
 I hated feeling this way, but I couldn't help it. I tried and tried.
 I remember friends telling me "cheer up man, you'll find the
right girl eventually". I thought to myself, "eventually? really?".

Well, I didn't stay heartbroken for long.
I basically stopped caring about everything except
one thing, sex. I decided to start sleeping around.
I felt that I was being a "man". That's the American way, right?
I went to bars, clubs, and parties. Drinking my life away,
and having sex with as many girls as possible.

One day I remember getting a text from one my ex-girlfriends
from high school, her name was Jessie.
We dated on and off since middle school, but we
always remained friends. I just remember she always
 used to be head over heals for me.My mom used to tell me
"She is the one for you, son". At this point, She was a single mom.
 She had a one year old son. The biological dad ran out. I thought,
"there's no way". I'm supposed to have the "perfect family".
I couldn't see myself being a dad yet, I had lost my dreams.
I was so blinded by my "new life".  Ever so often, however,
 a part of me screamed, "Stop, Caleb! You are ruining your life!"
That was soon forgotten by the next party, the next girl.

Eventually , I went out on a date with Jessie.
 It was like old times.
She was very reserved, and very beautiful.
I was amazed at how selfless she was.
 I met her son, Conner. He was so much fun.
I was still very cautious. I wasn't sure if I could do this.
We dated for a little while, and I was falling in love.
Not only with Jessie, but with Conner also.
It was awesome and beautiful. This love kept growing,
and I got scared. I remembered what happened the last time
 I thought I was in love. So I bolted.
I broke up with Jessie, and left Conner.
"What was I thinking!, I can't be a good man,
much less a good father. I guess
I'm just going to end up like my dad."
 I destroyed Jessie's heart, and walked out on Conner.
 I kept justifying it, "I'm not the dad, that's not my responsibility."
"I'm just not ready".

I tried to move on , and attempted
to get them out of my head.
 I tried to go back to the parties and bars.
I tried to go back to my "new life".
 One night, at a party, as I was drinking away,
I kept getting pictures in my head of Jessie and Conner.
 I kept feeling the pain I had as a child of having no Father.
I kept feeling Jessie's pain. I kept seeing them playing,
 seeing them laughing. It was like God himself said to me,
 "Caleb! All you have ever desired was a family!
All you have ever wanted was love!
 There is a woman who loves you deeply
 and a boy who wants a daddy, what are you doing??"
It was like a light went off in my head,
and this time,
 I bolted from the right place.

And the rest is history....

Jessie and I are married, and Conner is
legally my son. My dream came true.
I am madly in love with my beautiful wife, and
my son is my joy. Oh, my wife is pregnant too :-)
I actually have the "perfect" family,
and I feel like the richest man in the world.

You think you have it all figured out, single man?
 Do you enjoy ruining your life? Here is some advice,
don't rule out single moms.
 In fact, go for the single mom. It might just changed your life.
It might be the best Christmas ever.
Merry Christmas, from me to you.

The Pauline Pastor

"Give me a man of God - one man,
Whose faith is master of His mind,
And I will right all wrongs
And bless the name of mankind.

Give me a man of God - one man,
Whose tongue is touched with heaven's fire,
And I will flame the darkest hearts
With high resolve and clean desire.

Give me a man of God - one man,
One mighty prophet of the Lord,
And I will give peace on earth,
Bought with a prayer and not a sword.

Give me a man of God - one man,
True to the vision that he sees,
And I will build your broken shrines,
And bring the nations to their knees."

-George Liddell


Today, it seems, that a successful Christian pastor looks like this :
Going to Seminary, Growing a church in number and baptisms,
preaching motivational sermons, leading a  church like a CEO,
Having good Sunday School and VBS programs,
 going and visiting the sick, and being culturally driven.
No doubt some of these things are good,
but are they characteristics of a biblical pastor?
 Is this what God's messenger should look like?

Most of the Biblical teachings regarding pastors come
 from the God-inspired words of the Apostle Paul.
 Paul's teaching can be summed up as the pastors' :
Purpose, Call, and Character.

For the Pauline pastor, the purpose for everything
 is that Christ would be glorified.
 "For what we proclaim is not ourselves but
 Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as
your servants for Jesus' sake"(2 Cor. 4:5).
He will not be focusing on glorifying Himself,
but on proclaiming the glories of Christ.
"But we have this treasure in jars of clay,
to show that the surpassing power belongs
to God and not to us" (2 Cor. 4:7)
His purposes are to glorify God by building up the Church.
The is spelled out very clearly in Ephesians 4:11-14.
"And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists,
the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the
 work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ,
until we all attain to the unity of faith
 and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature
of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children ,
tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every
wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes."

So the Pauline pastor will watch over and nurture
God's Church for God's glory.
"By ruling and teaching, elders supervise the
spiritual lives of the church. They look after things
on God's behalf" (Philip Graham Ryken).
The ultimate responsibility of the pastor is to lead by preaching and teaching.
"But we will devote ourselves to prayer
and the ministry of the Word" (Acts 6:4).
"Until I come devote yourselves to the public reading
of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching" (1 Tim. 4:13)
This preaching and teaching will flow from the Gospel
of Jesus Christ. It will be the center of preaching for
the Pauline Pastor. "Now I would remind you brothers,
of the gospel I preached to you, which you received,
in which you stand, and by which you are being saved,
if you hold fast to the word that I preached to you, unless
you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance
what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in
accordance with the Scriptures" (1 Cor. 15:1-3, emphasis added).
In the context 1 Corinthians 15, Paul had already preached
the gospel to the Corinthians, but he chose to preach it again
as of "first importance"!
The gospel is everything to the Pauline pastor.

For the sake of clarity the words used in the
New Testament for "Pastor", "Bishop", and "Elder"
are often used interchangeably.
The calling of the pastor is very important.
The pastorate is not a second-option to another career.
God specifically calls some to be pastors.
 "And He gave the apostles , the prophets,
the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers" (Eph. 4:11, emphasis added).
Notice here in Ephesians that this giving of the leaders of the church
is God's work! No man can make himself a pastor. According to Paul,
the pastors' calling is important because it is a work. "We request
of you brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you,
and have charge over you in the Lord and give instruction, and esteem
them very highly in love because of their work " (1 Thess. 5:12-13).

"The saying is trustworthy : If anyone aspires to the office of overseer,
he desires a noble task (or work)" (1 Tim. 3:1).
"Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all
may see your progress" (1 Timothy 4:15).
The pastorate is a sobering responsibility!
This responsibility involves an eternal list of things,
 but one huge one specifically applicable today is
protecting the flock against false doctrine.
"As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia,
 remain on at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons
not to teach any different doctrine" (1 Tim. 1:3, emphasis added).
"He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able
to give instruction in sound doctrine and also rebuke those who contradict it"
(Titus 1:9, emphasis added).
 God has chosen men to preach, teach , and lead by the gospel of Jesus Christ!
This is no small task! The office of the pastor should be held in high honor!
"It is no light matter to represent God's Son, in such a great task as erecting
and extending God's Kingdom, in caring for the salvation of souls whom the
Lord Himself has deigned to purchase with His own blood, and in ruling
the church which is God's inheritance" (John Calvin).

"The saying is vtrustworthy: If anyone aspires to wthe office of overseer,
 he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore xan overseer1 must be above reproach,
ythe husband of one wife,2 zsober-minded, self-controlled, respectable,
 ahospitable, bable to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but cgentle,
not quarrelsome, dnot a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well,
with all dignity ekeeping his children submissive,
5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household,
how will he care for wGod's church? 6 He must not be a recent convert,
or he may fbecome puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.
7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by goutsiders,
so that he may not fall into disgrace, into ha snare of the devil".
-1 Timothy 3:1-8

"if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife,1
and his children are believers2 and not open to the charge
of rdebauchery or insubordination. 7 For an overseer,3
sas God's steward, must be above reproach.
He must not tbe arrogant or quick-tempered
or a drunkard or violent uor greedy for gain,
 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy,
 vand disciplined. 9 He must whold firm to the trustworthy
word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction
 in xsound4 doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it".
- Titus 1:6-9

The man called by God to lead His church will have
the character to back up that call.
The Pauline pastor is a pursuer of Holiness.
First Timothy chapter three and Titus chapter one give a set
of qualifications of a pastor (or elder/overseer).

While it is true that all leaders that all leaders should be
upstanding individuals , pastors are God's representatives.
Nowhere in Scripture does it say that secular leaders will be
held to a higher standard, but it does say that about pastors.
"Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers , for you
know we who teach will be judged with greater strictness" (James 3:1)
These men will be "above reproach". The Greek term for
"above reproach" means "not to be held". The Pauline pastor
"cannot be arrested and held as he were a criminal: there is nothing to
accuse him of " (John MacArthur). David Dickson wrote, "The office and
work being spiritual, it is necessary that elders be spiritual men.
 It is not necessary that they be men of great gifts or worldly position, of wealth
or high education; but it is indispensability necessary that they be men of God,
at peace with Him, new creatures in Christ Jesus."

People's idea of Christ mostly based on pastors. "Pastors are special targets of Satan,
and he will assault them with more severe temptation than others" (John MacArthur).
This is no job for ordinary , upstanding men, but only for God's men.
These men will be exemplary husbands.
"The husband of one wife" (1 Tim. 3:2, Titus 1:6). It literally means a
"one-woman man". He will passionately love her and desire her. He will love
her as Christ loved the church. He will be a faithful father.
"Manages his household well, with all dignity keeping
 his children submissive" (1 Timothy 3:4). "And his children are believers
and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination" (Titus 1:6b).
He will be involved with his children (if he has them), and discipline them and
nurture them in the Lord. He will be well-disciplined in his mind and life.
"Sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable.."(1 Tim. 3:2a). "Self-controlled,
upright, holy, and disciplined" (Titus 1:8b). He will be a good teacher of God's truth.
"Able to teach" (1 Timothy 3:2b). He will proclaim the glories of Christ. He will
love the truth. "He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught,
so that he may be able to give instruction in sound
doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it" (Titus 1:9).
He will love people! "Respectable, hospitable" (1Tim. 3:2b).
He will not be in ministry for money, but, instead God will be his master.
"Not a lover of money" (1 Tim.3:3b).
Lastly, the Pauline pastor will be spiritually mature.
 This man will know God. "He must not be a recent convert,
 or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the
condemnation of the devil." (1 Tim. 3:6).

This man Paul paints in his epistles looks quits different than
today's understanding of what means to be a pastor.
 The fact is that is not popular
to follow God's word. They are , however, just as
sufficient today as when they were fist written.

According to Paul,
a successful pastor will live for the glory of God,
will be called of God, and will have the character
to back up that calling of God.

Be thankful for your pastor

Biblical love

1 Thessalonians 3:12-13

"and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in
love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you;
so that He may establish your hearts without blame in
holiness before our God and Father at the coming
 of our Lord Jesus with all His saints."

Context- Acts 17:1-14

• Paul and Silas traveled to Thessalonica
• Paul preached the Gospel for three straight Sabbaths at the local Jewish Synagogue
• Some Jews were saved, and a vast number of Greek men, and prominent women.
• Some Jews got jealous, and started an uproar in the city, and attacked Jason's house.
• The church sent Paul and Silas away at night to Berea.
• Paul preached at Berea as well (same results).
• Some Jews were saved, but a large number of Greek women and men.
• The Jews in Thessalonica heard about what was happening in Berea.
• They came and started and uproar there as well.
• The church sent Paul out to sea, while Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea.

-The book of 1 Thessalonians was written in Corinth around A.D. 53
-It was written by Paul, Silas and Timothy
-It was written to a local church (1:1-10) who knew what true love was (1:3,3:6,4:9-10).
-Possible temptation /struggle with sexual sin ,
or maybe in an environment where it was rampant (4:1-5).

There is so many applications for my life (and yours)
in this great book.
 This local church dealt with some very hateful Jews,
who wanted them either dead or imprisoned,
 and with the temptation to commit sexual sins.
This is very applicable in our day.
Although we don't necessarily deal with hateful Jews,
 but likely there are people in or around
 your life who have been very hateful to you.
This is very difficult to go through, so many times in my life
I have responded the wrong way to hatefulness,
and began being hateful myself.
This world is full of lust.
 All you have to do is turn on the television,
 open up a magazine, get on the internet,
or go to the mall and with one glance lust could destroy you.
Lust is everywhere and is a definite enemy for
those of us who are striving to live for Jesus.

So what are we supposed to do?
How can we combat these sins?

  The way we can combat this is to love everyone fiercely.

"and may the Lord cause"

Love is from God, and in fact, God is love. It can only come for Him.
It is a gift of God, and not man....

"you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people."

"Increase" and "abound" are Greek synonyms (they mean the same thing)
-To be in excess, in number or measure, to be or have more than enough.

"Increase and abound in love in such a way that this ocean of love,
being full, reaches to the top edge of its borders round about
 that it reaches not only Christians, but it also spills over to the lost."

But what kind of love?

 Are we just supposed to be nice to people and say "God bless you"?

NO

"'just as we also did for you:"

Show love the way Paul, Silas and Timothy showed toward the Thessalonians.

But how did they show love to the Thessalonians?

-They preached the Gospel constantly (1:7-8,2:1-6)
-They showed Godly affection (2:7)
-They gave up their lives for them (mortal life,money, time, hobbies, etc.) (2:8-9)
-They lived upright and blameless toward them (2:10)
-They exhorted and encouraged from God's Word (2:3-6,11-12, 5:14)
-They esteemed the preached word of God (2:13,5:12-13)

"so that He may establish your hearts without blame in
 holiness before our God and Father at the
 coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints."

This kind of love is not the cause of being blameless in holiness before God.
 In other words, doing good deeds will not put you in heaven.
It is not the cause, but it is the evidence that God has
established your heart without blame in holiness before God.
God put that love in you. You didn't somehow conjure it up.

"The Lord by means of love strengthens the inner purposes and desires.
Hearts that are strengthened by this love are less prone to
 crave the unseperated life, the life of the world.
 They will tend in the direction of wholly separated life,
 so that, trusting entirely in Christ and His redemption and
experiencing the transforming influences of His Spirit,
they will be blameless, in a state and condition of holiness
 (separated from sin, consecration to God)."

In short, preach the gospel, esteem the Word,
 love one another with a deep affection, follow Christ,
exhort and encourage from the Word,
 and lay down your whole life for everyone.

This is what it means to love fiercely.
Do it, and see what happens.

You might just start loving sin a little less
and Jesus a lot more.

Don't Swerve

1 Tim. 1:6-7
Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.

It is easy to judge people. It is not hard to look on another's sins and look down upon them. I used to do this as a sport. I desired to be a preacher, but I was much like the "certain persons" in this passage. I had no understanding regarding what I was saying or the things about which I made confident assertions. I was soiled with pride, and I would easily rebuke someone in their sin. Years later, having been through many sins, struggles, and failures, consequently, I am much more sympathetic and gracious knowing that I am not saved by good deeds, but am saved by God's grace. I sympathize with the "certain persons" in this passage and  a question arises in me while studying it. How can I keep from "swerving" from the gospel? I am not talking about losing my salvation, because I believe that to be an impossibility.I know first hand, however, a Christian can fall off of Christ path and stumble into a hole of sin where it seems there's no way to get out of it. In this case, these people, like myself, fell into a whole of legalism. How can I keep from letting this happening to me again? The answer seems simple, but very complex. I can keep from swerving away from the gospel by: Staying closing to the gospel, steering away from temptation, and satisfying myself with what God has sovereignly called me to do on this earth.


Certain persons,..

Anytime there is truth, there will be lies
Anytime there is happiness, there will be sadness
Anytime there is sanity, there will be madness
Anytime there is peace, there will be war
Anytime there is life, there will be death

God's truth is being proclaimed in Ephesus, and there are some straying from the gospel, and attempting to corrupt it with legalism.
Satan is always trying to distort the gospel.

 
 ...,by swerving from these,...

What were they swerving from?
The "these" is referring to verse 5 of this chapter, "Love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. As discussed in my last blog...

They swerved away from:
Love from a pure heart
Love from a good conscience
Love from a sincere faith

Simply put, they swerved away from the gospel of Jesus Christ

 ....,have wandered away....
It is a scary thing to wander. Most of the time, however, you don't realize you are wandering until after the fact. These people wandered away from the gospel, which much scarier. I have wander from the gospel as well. It is such a horrifying and miserable place to be wandering from Christ.

..into vain discussion..
They left the gospel for legalistic conversations and arguments. This is like choosing to no longer eat food and choosing rather to eat cardboard instead. It is beyond insane to leave Christ for anything.
Pride boils up and wants to voice its opinion on topics that are so stupid and meaningless compared to the gospel.
I used to live in an two bedroom apartment with one bathroom, and 6 roommates. I remember heated arguments, very heated arguments over pointless things: hair length, tattoos , holidays, what to eat or drink, what to wear, etc. They would go to the Bible and try to find a passage that would fit their argument. All the while, there was a world outside that needed Christ, but not a argument about food.


 ...,desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.

It is a wonderful thing to desire to be a preacher of God's word, however, consider James 3:1, Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

We are not all called to be pastors. Even if you are very good teacher, or public speaker, that doesn't qualify you. In the third chapter of 1st Timothy we a find a strict set of qualifications for pastors and deacons. God is very serious about who preaches and who does not.

These false teachers had good intentions, but good intentions do not make the actions good. They were not qualified by God to teach His word, yet they taught anyway. That is a very scary place to be.

I see many young men who have been saved and have a excitement about them. They want to share the gospel with everyone, and these young men believe because of that, consequently, they must be called to preach. NO. It might be that they are just Christians. As if that is not as awesome. They're are so many young men who are chasing after the wind. Have you considered that God might just have created you to be the teacher/leader of your household? He might have just called you to raise your children and to lovingly lead your wife in the ways of the Lord. Is that any less of a calling? No!! In fact, I believe there are too many men seeking to be preachers, and neglecting to teach their children and love their wife in truth.We are all called to be proclaimers of the gospel, but we are not all called to shepherd a flock of believers.

 Remember this, and also learn to respect, love, and pray for your pastor more. Realizing that he will "be judged with greater strictness".

Remain

1 Timothy 1:3-5

 As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine,  nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.  The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

 

It is unusual for Paul to have begun his message to Timothy with out any expression of gratitude. Romans, 1st and 2nd Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1st and 2nd Thessalonians, 2nd Timothy, and Philemon all include a salutation, expression of gratitude, and then the body of the letter begins. In Galatians, Titus, and here in 1st Timothy, strangely, Paul moves from the salutation to the body of the letter excluding any expression of gratitude.

The description of life in Ephesus (Acts19:1-40;20:17-38, Rev. 2:1-7) portray a Church tempted by the occult , enticed into error by savage heretics, and finally, abandoning its first love, that is, Christ.

 

What was happening in the church of Ephesus left Paul no basis of gratitude. He had previously warned the Ephesians that some of their own members would draw them away (Acts 20:29-30). Later in this chapter he mentions two of them by name (1Tim. 1:20). The heresy in the church had arisen from within, and Paul is urging Timothy to act on Paul's behalf to thwart the advance of this false teaching.

 

As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus....

 

Remain

Calvin said that Timothy must have been excited about this task, but consider the term "urge"(parakaleo), which means "to beg", "beseech", "entreat", or "implore". Why did Paul have to beg Timothy to stay? This is likely because Timothy was reluctant to remain, and possibly considered leaving, even though he was Paul's "true child in the faith". Paul pleads with Timothy to stay at Ephesus. Timothy was vulnerable to timidity (2 Tim.1:7), and intimidation by those who looked down upon him because of his youth (1 Tim. 4:12). He may have felt inadequate to handle the arguments of the false teachers. 

 

I sympathize with Timothy, and understand why he was reluctant. He is a young man at this point and there are a lot of issues he has to address at this church. It is no easy task, and a huge burden for young Timothy. Throughout my life, consequently, I have had situations like this. I was ready to give up, and quit. It was too much of burden for me. At the opportune time, however, someone who I greatly respect would come beside me and encourage me, and help carry my burden. God the Father will always come to our aid, and sovereignly place mentors in our path to help us along the way. He did so here in Timothy's life by placing the apostle Paul as his mentor. Isn't that awesome?!!

 

Herein I urge older men and women to help the younger generation. We need more mentors in our day. We need men and women who have been through the fires and struggles of this life to help us get through it as well. We have never been through it before, but you have, and fought through it. We need your wisdom, encouragement, and experience.  I am urging you to urge us to remain on Christ's path.

 

Refute:

 

 - Different Doctrines

....so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine....

 

Timothy here is given apostolic authority, and definite commission to hold the false teachers at Ephesus in check. Paul wants Timothy to come down hard, and take a strong line with these false teachers.
The term "charge" (parangello) is a military term which means to pass commands from one to another. It demands obedience from an inferior to an order from a superior.
The term "certain" implies that these teachers were few in number. But they had a wide influence , not only in Ephesus, but also in the surrounding region. They were not outsiders, as in Corinth and Galatia, but probably elders in the Ephesian church and surrounding churches.

 

Paul pleads with Timothy to remain in Ephesus in order to refute different doctrines. Paul calls it "heterodidaskleo" , a verb Paul might have created. It means to teach that which is "heteros" , which means different from the teachings of our Lord and His apostles.

Paul complained to the Galatians that they had deserted the grace of Christ for a "different gospel" (Gal. 6:1). He said that the Corinthians were led astray by a "different Jesus", "different Spirit", and a "different gospel" from what they had first received (1 Cor.11:4).

 

Paul's preoccupation in this chapter is with sound doctrine being maintained and strange doctrine being refuted. This contrast strikes a clashing note today. Not only are most societies pluralistic (holding to more than one religion), but pluralism as an ideology ( a set of theories and beliefs held by an individual or group) is advocated and viewed as being politically correct. This affirms that religions today, except Christianity, are an independent-conditioned phenomenon that frown on any attempt to convert people.

 

One of the main principles of "post-modernism" is that there is no objective truth, let alone eternal truth. "You have yours, and I have mine. Even if our views diverge widely from each other and contradict each other". The outcome of this, consequently, is the most prized virtue being tolerance. Tolerating everything and everyone except those of us who insist that certain ideas are true while others are false, and certain practices evil and others good.

I cannot embrace this, because I believe Jesus Christ is the only truth. He said that He was the truth, and that He came to bear witness to the truth , that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, and that the truth would set us free. The truth matters. Truth which God revealed through Christ and by The Spirit.

 

Jesus told us to beware of false teachers, and Paul had already warned this congregation. Now, Paul is begging Timothy to take a stand, and refute their "strange doctrines". He warns Timothy ton not allow any new form of teaching to be introduced that does not line up with the pure and true doctrine of Christ and His apostles.

The truth of God is one, therefore there is one plain manner of teaching it, free from adding to it. Seeking to be filled with majesty of Spirit, rather than human eloquence. Whoever departs from that, disfigures and corrupts the Gospel. We should openly refute and fight everything that is belittles the pure and majestic Gospel of Christ, and everything that corrupts it by new and borrowed inventions, or obscures it by ungodly speculations.

The doctrine of the Ephesian false teachers, therefore, is entirely opposed to the Word of God, and to that purity of doctrine which Paul commands the Ephesian church to continue in.

 

Fruitless discussion

 

   nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies......

What specific myths were being taught here, or how exactly these false teachers were using genealogies is not clear. Whatever form it took, this teaching was contrary to the truth. The exact heresy at Ephesus is unknown, but some of its general features can be pieced together from this letter.

The term "myths' is used in  a very unfavorable way to contrast the legendary character of many of these stories to historical truth. Many commentators agree that these "myths" go back to an apocryphal work from second century B.C., The book of Jubilees, and it has a number of additions to the O.T. , which might be what Paul is writing about. These stories are patriotic legends that are similar to such American traditions as the story of George Washington and the cherry tree. This term "myths" also appears in 1 Tim. 4:7, where Paul calls them "old wives tales". They were godless legends that were a waste of time and breathe. In 2 Tim.4:4, Paul pictures them as enticing and attractive because they snared the attention of the listeners away from the truth and toward these fables.
The damage of these "myths" came from their empty content, their attractiveness, and their general uselessness. It seemed to have reflected Jewish interests, in legends with a hint of Hellenistic influence but not full-blown Gnosticism. There was also some small hints of Judaism, because these teachers "wanted to be teachers of the Law" (1:7), but not the same Judaizers from Galatia, who taught salvation by Law-obedience.
In 1 Tim. 4:3 we read that the heresy involved a false asceticism. They "forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods" in hopes to obtain divine acceptance through legalistic attention to self-deprivation. They were allegorizers and speculators. They treated the O.T. as a happy hunting ground for their opinions. To Paul, their whole approach was worthless. God had given the O.T. to His people for a much more serious purpose.

The term "genealogies" also appears in Titus 3:9, where the results of reflecting on these genealogies were "unprofitable and useless". We do not really know what these genealogies were, but they might have been expansions of biblical genealogies, Jewish novels, or false post-biblical contributions of ancestry. We do know however that  Paul's references suggest a teaching which combined Jewish and Gnostic elements. Commentator J.N.D. Kelly suggests that these myths and genealogies "must have to do with allegorical or legendary interpretations of the O.T. catering on the pedigrees of the patriarchs. Much of the rabbinical Haggadah consisted of just such a fanciful rewriting of Scripture; the Book of Jubilees and Pseudo-Philo's  antiquitatum biblicarum, with its mania for family trees, are apt examples. It also has been shown that in postexilic Judaism there was a keen interest in family trees, and that these played a part in controversies between Jews and Jewish Christians."
Worthless and irrelevant junk can quickly crowd the gospel. Religious speculation and theological arguments about small details may not seem harmful at first, but they have a way of sidetracking us from the person and work of Jesus Christ.

 

 Results

-of false teaching

..,which promote speculations...

Their preoccupation with myths and genealogies resulted not in edification , but speculation. Paul wrote in 1 Tim. 6:4-5 that the result was "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 truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain". Their teaching was nothing but "worldly and empty chatter" leading to "further ungodliness" (2 Tim. 2:16). This talk "will spread like gangrene" (2 Tim.2:17), leading people "astray from the truth" (2 Tim. 2:18). The teachers "foolish and ignorant speculations " would only "produce quarrels" (2 Tim. 2:23). It all came from failure to accurately handle the Word of truth (2 Tim.2:15), and to examine everything carefully (1 Thess. 5:21). This teaching promoted questions and controversies , and the false teachers paid close attention to what did not need to be a focus. It only led to fruitless discussion and strife.

The result of false teaching is speculations and controversies.


-of true teaching

...rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith...

True teaching furthers the administration of God, which is by faith. Some translations put it , "God's work, which is by faith". Paul here is referring to God's saving plan, which we are stewards of, and which we must respond by faith, by His grace. Paul feared the Ephesians might spend so much time in fruitless discussion of these doctrines that they would lose sight of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.
Getting involved in controversies might heighten someone's ego, but it quickly becomes a substitute for the work that matters, that is, work done by faith. The false teachers heresy attempted to strike a blow at the gospel. These teachers were not like the Galatian heretics who taught Law-obedience unto salvation. These guys, however, were teaching Law, a bunch of other stupid stuff, and obedience unto salvation.

All religions can be put into two categories: religions of works, and a religion of grace. Religions of works, where men attempt to gain salvation by their own efforts in good deeds, ceremonies, or rituals. Every religion to one extent or another fits into that category, except one, the great religion of grace. That God in Christ accomplished salvation on the cross. Our debt is paid.

True teaching furthers the gospel of Jesus Christ, which  saves souls from wrath and unto grace.


The Goal

- Love
..The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

The goal of the false teachers is controversies, but the goal of gospel teaching is love.
False teachers are motivated by mere curiosity and desire to gain prestige. True teachers are motivated by love.

Such love , coming from the inner springs of our heart, conscience and faith is uncontaminated by false or even mixed motives. The goal of Timothy's instruction to the false teachers is love which can only come from a real experience of the grace of God. The goal was that these false teachers would not just stop spreading lies, but that they would be saved by God's grace.
Instead of pointing to the divine origin of love, Paul gives three descriptions of the source of it.

-Love from a pure heart
In biblical thought, the heart is the seat of the mind, the emotions, and the will. It is the seat of spiritual experience from which moral conduct springs. Taken from the O.T., the word "heart" stands for the totality of man's moral affections, and without purity, nobility of character is impossible. Jesus gives a special promise for the pure in heart (Mt. 5:8), and spoke of the pruning of the vine as an illustration of the cleansing of believers through the Word (Jn. 15:3).

The psalmists asks, "who may ascend into the Hill of the Lord, and who may stand in His holy place?" He answers his question, "He who can clean hands and a pure heart" (Ps. 24:3-4). After his sin with Bathsheba, David cries in Psalm 51:10, "create in me a clean heart, O God". Psalm 73:1 exclaims , "Surely God is good to Israel , to those who are pure in heart!" A heart washed by the grace of regeneration (Titus 3:5), and an obedient heart (Rom. 6:17) make a pure heart.

-Love from a good conscience

The Greek word for "good" (agathos) means that which is perfect, producing pleasure, satisfaction, and a sense of well-being. The Greek word for "conscience" (syneidesis) indicates literally "joint knowledge" , and came to be used of the facility to distinguish between right and wrong. The conscience is the God-given self-judging facility of man. It either affirms or accuses a person (Rom.2:14-15). The mind knows the standard of right and wrong. When that standard is violated, the conscience reacts to accuse, producing guilt, shame, doubt, fear, remorse, or despair. Those who with pure hearts will not be condemned by their conscience. Paul's goal was to maintain a blameless conscience. Free of offense against either God or man (Acts 24:16). Peace, confidence, joy, hope, courage, and contentment are the results of a conscience that is non-accusing, and love will flow forth. In order for Christians to have this "good conscience" we must fill our minds with God's word and obey it (1 Cor. 8:7; 1 Peter 3:15-15).

-Love from a sincere faith

A sincere faith is one without any pretense. A un-hypocritical faith that does not wear a mask. It is a trust in God that Paul believed Timothy possessed (2 Tim.1:5). The hypocritical faith of these false teachers will not produce this sincerity. It is having simplicity of aim. Faith is "sincere" only when it is not mere talk, but genuine trust and confidence in Christ (2 Cor.5:7).

False teachers have dirty hearts, un-cleansed by the gospel, having guilty condemning consciences triggered by their dirty hearts. They have a hypocritical and false faith. False teachers could never produce these things which Paul lists.

 This is not surprising, for it is only the Gospel of Jesus Christ that produces pure hearts, good consciences, and sincere faith!!




 

Conner

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward." - Psalm 127:3

Joy fills my soul like never before.
Love pours from my heart like a river,
Fatherhood has become for me a reward.

I know of this little boy,
His name is Conner.
He calls me "Daddy",
My little bundle of joy.

You help me love the Lord.
When I feel my love for you,
 I know that Christ loves me too.

I constantly see that you depend on me.
It reminds me of how much I depend on Christ.
This leads me down onto my knees,
In praise and adoration of The God most High

I know of this little boy,
His name is Conner.
He calls me "Daddy",
My little bundle of Joy.



Fatherhood has become for me a reward.

The Salutation

1 Timothy 1:1-3
Paul, aan apostle of Christ Jesus bby command of cGod our Savior and of Christ Jesus dour hope,

2 To Timothy, emy true child in the faith:

fGrace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Have you received a letter recently? If you , then you probably wondered some things before opening the letter.
-Who is this from?
-Where is this from?
-Return address?
-Familiar handwriting?
-What is this about?
If it is a certain time of the year and recognize the handwriting, you might conclude it was from a friend sending a birthday card.
If it was a certain time of the month and typewritten, consequently you would conclude it was someone sending you a bill.

Well, here is a letter
-Who is this from? -Paul the Apostle
-Where is this from? -Written shortly after his release from Roman imprisonment (about A.D. 62-64)
-Who is sent to? - Timothy, The Ephesian congregation and us.
-What is this all about? - The local church of Christian believers and the pastor/elder in charge.
Better said - gospel living in the local church.
It's about Grace, Mercy and Peace

The Context
Acts 20:29-32
I rknow that after my departure tfierce wolves will come in among you, unot sparing the flock; 30 and vfrom among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore wbe alert, remembering that xfor three years I did not cease night or day yto admonish every one zwith tears. 32 And now aI commend you to God and to bthe word of his grace, which is able to cbuild you up and to give you dthe inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

The Local Church was struggling
-Some were teaching man-made ideas and not the Scriptures
-Some unqualified men wanted to be teachers and elders
-The poor spiritual lives of some people had greatly stunted prayers
-Some women were more concerned with their appearance than developing a godly character
-Some women were trying to usurp man's God-given authority
-False teachers had infiltrated the ranks of believers
-Not all of the older believers respected the younger pastor/elder
-There were some women who were living for sensual pleasure
-Idle women went from house to house, sharing gossip and spreading dissension
-Some elders were living in sin
-Materialism had lured some people away from their faith.

A young pastor was struggling
-The church at Ephesus faced a number of difficulties which disheartened Timothy.
-Not only was this a huge burden for him, but He might have been having tough struggles in his spiritual walk.
1 Timothy 1:18-20
This charge mI entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with nthe prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may owage the good warfare, 19 pholding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have qmade shipwreck of their faith, 20 among whom are rHymenaeus and sAlexander, whom I thave handed over to Satan that they may learn not to ublaspheme.
1 Timothy 4:12
Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers tan example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.
1Timothy 4:16
Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save zboth yourself and ayour hearers.
1Timothy 6:11-14
But as for you, jO man of God, kflee these things. lPursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. 12 mFight the good fight of the faith. nTake hold of the eternal life oto which you were called and about which you made pthe good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 qI charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, rwho in his testimony before1 Pontius Pilate made pthe good confession, 14 to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until sthe appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ
1 Timothy 6:12
O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. kAvoid the lirreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,”

-Do you see any similarities with our struggles?

The Author
"Paul,..."
The Total Depravity of Saul

Saul, in the New Testament
Acts 8:1-3
"And bSaul capproved of his execution.

And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and dthey were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 3 But eSaul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he fdragged off men and women and committed them to prison."

-Born in Tarsus into a Jewish family in the first years of the Christian era
-Roman citizen
-Hebrew name was Saul, named after King Saul
-Had a traditional orthodox upbringing
-Fanatically committed, zealous devotee of Judaism
-A Pharisee
-Education based almost entirely on the Old Testament
-His letters include some 200 O.T. quotations
-Studied under Gamaliel -member of the Sanhedrin

Gal. 1:13-14 -
For you have heard of ymy former life in Judaism, how zI persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely azealous was I for bthe traditions of my fathers.

Philippians 3:4b-6 -
If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 tcircumcised on the eighth day, uof the people of Israel, vof the tribe of Benjamin, ua Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, wa Pharisee; 6 xas to zeal, ya persecutor of the church; zas to righteousness under the law,1 blameless.

-His fiery zeal is seen in his willing participation in Stephen's murder.
Acts 22:20-
And when the blood of Stephen jyour witness was being shed, kI myself was standing by and lapproving and kwatching over the garments of those who killed him.

-He faithfully believed in a works-based religion
-Hated Christ
-Hated Christians
-Hated the Church

The Transformation from Saul to Paul

John 1:12-13 -
But to all who did receive him, swho believed in his name, the gave the right uto become vchildren of God, 13 who wwere born, xnot of blood ynor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

-Christ met Saul on the road to Damascus as he was going to persecute more Christians
-It was Christ who came to him
-Saul was not seeking Him, nor did he want anything to do with Him.

-Saul's named changed to Paul on the island of Cyprus
-The name "Saul" denoted prominence, while the meaning of the name "Paul" meant "small" or "little"
-He was made a new creature
-He loved Christ, Christians, and the Church when he once hated them.
-He would later die for Christ
-Paul began to repent and trust Christ for salvation instead of the works of the law.
-He could now say, "For by grace you are saved" -Eph. 2:8, and "He saved us, enot because of works done by us in righteousness, but faccording to his own mercy, by gthe washing of regeneration and hrenewal of the Holy Spirit" - Titus 3:5
-The way of Salvation has not changed.
-The Gospel that saved Paul still saves today!!
-We don't need all the "new ways", self-help or church growth methods.
-Lets stick with the old stuff!!!

Romans 1:16 -
"For dI am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is ethe power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew ffirst and also to gthe Greek."

-Warren Wiersbe said this about Paul's conversion -
"The Hebrew of Hebrews would become the apostle to the Gentiles ; the persecutor would become the preacher ; and the legalistic Pharisee would become the great proclaimer of the grace of God."

1 Timothy 1:16 -
"But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life."


"An apostle of Christ Jesus....."

What can be learned about Paul in this verse?

-When he was writing to the Galatians, trying to persuade them that the gospel he preached to them is God's gospel and not man's gospel, and that he received it from the revelation of the Holy Spirit, he wrote, "Paul, an apostle"
-When he was writing to the Corinthians, in which members of that church were disputing his apostleship, he wrote, "Paul, an apostle"
-When he was writing to the Philippians, in which that church was divided by selfish leaders pursuing their own agenda, and the people were divided due to their own views and interests, he wrote, "Paul, a servant"
-When he is writing to Philemon, trying to persuade him to receive back Onesimus after he stole from Philemon, he wrote, "Paul, a prisoner"

-Here Paul is dealing with almost the same troubles he had in Corinth
-People were questioning his apostleship
-So he wrote, "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus"
-"Apostle" means "one who is sent with orders"

-Paul was once a Pharisee, but now was an apostle of Christ
-Being sent out to preach Christ


The Authority of Paul

"...by command of God our Savior...."

A. He got his authority from God our Savior

1. God sends Paul by a commandment in His name
-Paul is saying to the young, troubled Timothy and to the Ephesian church, "I get my authority from the God who saves. He gave me a commandment to the preach the gospel of Christ to the gentiles. I do not come on my own will, as some of the false teachers have said, but I come by the will of the most high God."
-Nothing could give a man more courage than belief in such a divine call.
It strengthened General Gordon, who while facing difficulties and perils which made his life an epic poem "General Gordon, the Hero of Khartoum".
In all ages the men who have had that belief have dared and did the mightiest deeds. Look through history and you will find the invincible Ironsides, the dauntless pilgrim founders of the New World, and the greatest evangelists and early church fathers. They were all victorious because each one said to himself, "I am here by the commandment of God our Savior".
Going back farther still in church history, we see Jeremiah standing in the midst of his persecutors like a stone wall and defensed city; Daniel defying the wrath of the king without a sign of bragging; Elijah opposing the court, the hierarchy, and the fanatical people, and did so without a tremor because he looked beyond the opposition and spoke of  "The Lord God of Israel, before whom I stand".


-What about us?
-Can we say,
 life can never be so dull again
when once we've thrown our windows wide
and seen the mighty world that lies outside,
and whispered to ourselves this wonderful thing
"We're wanted for the business of the King!!

-We, as Christians, are sent out by Christ, by command

"Go therefore and kmake disciples of lall nations, jbaptizing them min1 nthe name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them oto observe all that pI have commanded you. And behold, qI am with you always, to rthe end of the age.” - Matthew 28:19-20

-Where is our courage?
-Where is our confidence?

2. God sits on the throne and stands alone as King
-The term "Savior" was a Jewish term of worship from the Old Testament.
Luke 1:46-47- And Mary said, “ My zsoul amagnifies the Lord,

47 band my zspirit rejoices in cGod my Savior

 

-The term "Savior" was also used in the cult of emperor worship, and thus being applied at that time to the infamous Nero.

 

-Kings, Popes, Presidents, Politicians, Emperors, Prime Ministers, Dictators, Preachers, and Religious Leaders die and cannot save themselves, but the God of Scripture lives on and is the only one who can save.

 

-They are often corrupt and evil, but God is perfect, pure and righteous and is to holy to look on evil.

 

-They often change, but God is immutable.

 

-Their knowledge is limited, but God is omniscient.

 

-Their power is limited, but God is omnipotent.

 

-They can only help so many people at one time, but God is omnipresent and our ever present help in time of need.

 

-The often judge with partiality, But God being the good, perfect and only Judge, judges with impartiality.

 

-No one can compare with our Savior GOD.

 

B. Paul gets his authority from "Christ our hope"

 

"...of Christ Jesus dour hope,..."

 

-This phrase reveals Paul's view of the deity of Christ, putting Christ on the same level as God.

-The Greek term "hope" in this passage, conveys an element of absolute certainty, absolute assurance, not just a flimsy "well, I hope so" type of hope.

 

 

1. Our present hope

-We can have absolute hope of victory over sin, satan, and the world.

Hebrews 4:14-16

-"Since then we have da great high priest ewho has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, flet us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest gwho is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been dtempted as we are, hyet without sin. 16 iLet us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

 

- Christ earned our sanctification for us, therefore Paul could say the God made Christ to be "our wisdom, our righteousness, and sanctification and redemption." (1 Cor. 1:30)

 

-Christ will perfect us , He will give us the strength to overcome sin that we battle. He will protect us and help us stay away from sin.

 

-There is no doubt about it, He will

 

2. Our future hope

 

-We can have absolute hope and assurance that our salvation is secure in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

 

John 10:27-30

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 oI give them eternal life, and pthey will never perish, and qno one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, rwho has given them to me,1 sis greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of tthe Father's hand. 30 uI and the Father are one.”

 

-If you believe you can lose your salvation, not only do you not understand Scripture, but you must be a miserable person, because you would lose your salvation everyday!

 

Paul is reassuring his apostleship and encouraging young Timothy by showing him what a high calling he has by command from The Triune God.

 

We can find much rest here. Even in the midst of our struggles, burdens, and our daily fight against sin and satan. We can put our trust in the Savior God, and Christ our hope.

 

If you trust and hope in something other than the triune God , you will fall.

 

If you trust in your own strength and hope you will overcome , you will fall.

 

Our trust and hope must come only and completely from our Father!!

 

If Timothy trusts in his own strength and hopes he can rightly lead this Ephesian congregation, and live a life that's pleasing to the Lord, he will fall!!

 

The greatest harm done in your Christian walk is when you take your eyes off the God-head.

 

The Affirmation

 

"To Timothy...."

 

1. His upbringing

-Born in Lystra

-Was in his late teens or early twenties when he first showed up in the New Testament (Acts17)

-Name means "One who honors God"

-His mother was a Jewish Christian

-His father was a Greek

-His mother and grandmother taught him the Scriptures from his childhood which lead to his salvation (2 Tim. 3:15).

 

a. Teach you children the Scriptures

 

-Today, more often than not, in Christian homes, children know more about what's going on in Hollywood than they do in God's Word!

-Children do not need friends as parents.

-They need godly parents who lovingly teach them the principles, commands and the gospel from God's Word.

-But not to only teach them, but to live it out in front of them by example.

-The Scriptures do not permit any type of parenting which uses the sinful "do as I say, not as I do"

type of parenting.

-We need more parents like Timothy's mother and grandmother!

 

b. There is hope and rest for the believer who comes from a broken home

 

-There is not much said in the Bible regarding Timothy's father, other than the fact that he was a Greek (Acts 6:1).

 

-There are three logical conclusions about Timothy's father

a.He was dead

b.He was an uninvolved pagan

c. He and his mother were divorced

 

-Anyway you slice it, Timothy came from a broken home.

 

-look at this contrast, Paul came a prominent life, and Timothy came from a lowly beginning.

-But Both were used mightily of God.

 

-God saves the Prominent, and God saves the Lowly!

 

-There is no distinction, God saves and uses for His glory

 

-So therein is rest, do not think for one second that God will not use you because of your upbringing.

-God is not partial, for He says "But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word." - Isaiah 66:2b

 

2. His Conversion

 

e"...my true child in the faith..."

 

-Timothy's conversion is not recorded in Scripture, but His conversion is probably connected to the ministry of Paul and Barnabas in Lystra, which  was Timothy's hometown (Acts 14:6-23).

 

a. Inward conversion of the soul > Outward emotional experience

 

-The Spirit causing repentance and belief in the perfect work of Christ, is what saves

-Having a very emotional experience, is not what saves

-Knowing the date, time, and place, is not what saves, and does not matter.

 

"Whether sincere conversion began now, or before, or after, I was never able to this day to know....God breaketh not all men's hearts alike." -Richard Baxter

 

Timothy's conversion is not recorded in Scripture like Paul's.

-Does this mean Timothy is inferior to Paul? By no means!

-Both were used of God!

-If you are saved today, it is because you are saved by Christ atoning work on the cross.

 

-Paul here affirms his confidence in Timothy's conversion by calling him his "true child in the faith"

 

Out of Paul's many companions and friends, He calls Timothy and Titus his true children in the faith.

 

-But he goes further with Timothy

 

"I hope in the Lord Jesus wto send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20 For I have no one xlike him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all yseek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy's1 zproven worth, how aas a son2 with a father bhe has served with me in the gospel." - Philippians 2:19-22

 

"That is why oI sent1 you Timothy, pmy beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ,2 qas I teach them everywhere in every church." -1 Corinthians 4:17

 

-Timothy was Paul's disciple and dear friend.

-By this time, Timothy had been with Paul for about 15 years as Paul's close companion.

-He was probably around the age of 30

-He stayed behind in Berea with Silas after Paul had to leave due to persecution, He then joined back up with Paul there.

-He was with Paul in Corinth, was sent by Paul to Macedonia, and accompanied him on his return trip to Jerusalem.

- He was with Paul when he wrote Romans, 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, 1st and 2nd Thessalonians and Philemon.

 

-He was Paul's trouble shooter, being sent by him to the churches at Corinth, Thessalonica, and Philippi, and now here in Ephesus.

 

-His conversion is evidenced even more by his martyrdom in Ephesus about thirty years later for opposing the worship of the goddess Diana.

 

b. We need modern-day Timothy's in the pulpit.

 

-Today, the average southern Baptist pastor stays at one church for about two years and then leaves

 

That is usually due to:

1. Money issues- "I'm under paid"

2. Church issues- "I'm being treated badly

3. Congregational issues - "It's just not growing"

 

-We have cowards in the pulpit, who, when any kind of problem arises, their foot is already out the door.

 

-Oh, but Timothy , stayed amidst many problems with this congregation, and stood on the Word of God.

 

-We need pastors who will stay the long haul and lovingly lead, teach, rebuke, exhort, and cherish the congregation God has given him. To the end that they might grow in the knowledge of the Lord, and not just in number.

 

-We need pastors who will stand up for righteousness and truth, even if it means their life.

 

3. His encouragement

 

"..Grace, mercy, and peace..."

 

a. Grace to the guilty

 

-Grace is God's unmerited favor, love and forgiveness to wicked sinners

-Freeing them from the consequence of sin

 

"For zby grace you have been saved athrough faith. And this is bnot your own doing; cit is the gift of God, 9 dnot a result of works, eso that no one may boast."- Ephesians 2:8-9

 

"You1 will say uin that day:

“I will give thanks to you, O Lord,

for though you were angry with me,

vyour anger turned away,

that you might comfort me.

Behold, God is my salvation;

I will trust, and will not be afraid;

for wthe Lord God2 is my strength and my song,

and he has become my salvation.”

3 xWith joy you3 will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4 yAnd you will say in that day:

z“Give thanks to the Lord,

call upon his name,

amake known his deeds among the peoples,

proclaim bthat his name is exalted. "

“Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;

let this be made known1 in all the earth.

6 Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,

for great din your2 midst is ethe Holy One of Israel.”

-Isaiah 12

 

"We who feel ourselves alienated from the fellowship of God can now raise our discouraged heads and look up. Through the virtues of Christ atoning death, the cause of our banishment has been removed. We may return as the Prodigal returned, and be welcome. As we approach the Garden, our home before the Fall, the flaming sword withdrawn. The keepers of the tree of life stand aside when they see a son of grace approaching." - A.W. Tozer

 

 

 

Grace, Grace

God's Grace

Grace that will pardon and cleanse within

Grace, Grace

God's Grace

Grace that is greater than all our sin.

 

b. Mercy to the miserable

 

-Mercy is God's compassionate, tender, pardoning, relieving, and supporting love to the weak and helpless.

 

-Freeing them from the misery of sin

 

"he saved us, enot because of works done by us in righteousness, but faccording to his own mercy, by gthe washing of regeneration and hrenewal of the Holy Spirit" -Titus 3:5

 

-Grace will not give peace to man, unless mercy accompanies it; man needs pardon for the past no less than strength for the future.

 

-Most of Paul's salutations leave out "mercy", but when directed to Timothy, he adds it here.

-He warmly encourages Timothy as a father would a son.

 

-If pastors know what they really are, and what they should be, they would ever be throwing themselves on God's mercy.

 

Matthew Henry said "Ministers need more grace than others, to discharge their duty faithfully, and they need more mercy than others, to pardon what is amiss in them ; and if Timothy, so eminent a minister, must be indebted to the mercy of God, and needed the increase and continuance of it, how much more do we as ministers, in these times, who have so little of his excellent spirit."

 

Thomas Hooker said "Thy sorrows outbid thy heart, thy fears outbid thy sorrows, and thy thoughts go beyond thy fears; and yet here is the comfort of a poor soul: in all his misery and wretchedness, the mercy of the Lord outbids all these, whatsoever may, can, or shall befall thee." 

 

-Paul is reminding Timothy of the sustaining mercy of God he needs in the face of intense opposition and difficulty.

 

"It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning : great is thy faithfulness" - Lam. 3:22-23

 

c. Peace to the privileged

 

-Peace is the result of Grace and Mercy.

- Peace is harmony with God, calm of the conscience, the tranquility of the soul, which results from the assurance that God has saved us through the Son, and our freedom from sin by the sanctification of the Spirit.

 

"And uthe peace of God, vwhich surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Phil. 4:7

 

-God is called the "God of peace" (Heb. 13:20). God the Son, the "Prince of peace" (Isaiah 9:6). God the Holy Spirit, the "The Spirit....of peace" (Eph. 4:3).

 

-How encouraging this is!!!

- when, in my struggles, God gives grace, but not just grace, mercy, but not just mercy, peace!!!!!!

-Amen!!!!

 

4. His "Bestower"

 

".....from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord."

 

"God is not waisted by bestowing" - Thomas Manton

 

-The Father and Son are bracketed in verse 1 as the single author of divine commands but here the Father and the Son are bracketed as the single author of divine blessings.

 

-God is our Father in that He adopted us in Christ, and through Christ, He bestows grace, mercy, and peace. (Rom. 8:15-39)

 

-Christ is our Lord in that He has supreme power over us, not just by creation, but ion regard to salvation. (Phil. 2:13-14)

 

 

 

Paul encourages Timothy by telling him that the triune God will provide grace, mercy and peace in these hard times. He will also provide grace, mercy and peace to you in your fight against sin, satan, and the world. Run to Him!!!! Humble yourselves before the God of Glory!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Footnotes

[1] 12:1 The Hebrew for you is singular in verse 1
[2] 12:2 Hebrew for Yah, the Lord
[3] 12:3 The Hebrew for you is plural in verses 3, 4