A Good Servant of Christ (1 Timothy 4:6-11)

Intro:

Turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Timothy 4. Last week, we began our examination of the fourth chapter of this inspired letter written by the apostle Paul to Timothy and the church at Ephesus. In the opening verses of this section of sacred Scripture, the apostle warned his young protégé of the damning effects of false teaching. He boldly and rightly labeled all twisted theology the doctrine of demons that originate from deceitful spirits. Paul pleaded with the audience to understand that liberal theology, that which adds or takes away from the Word of God, even to the slightest degree, naturally derives from the gates of hell and by taught by lying men, who are unable to decern the truth. He warned us that such distorted doctrine will certainly do great damage to the church, causing some professing Christians to fall away from the true teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ. After making that strong proclamation, the apostle Paul now turns to Timothy and the church at Ephesus and gives them an inspired plan of attack. A thorough strategy to deal with this relentless and evil assault on the truth. Now it will surely take us several weeks to work through all that which the apostle prescribes. There is surely a lot here for us to consider. So today, we will focus our attention on verses 6-11. I hope that you will read along with me as I read from Scripture…. (READ TEXT).

The anchor of our passage today is the short phrase in verse one that contains the words, “you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus.”Those words hold this entire chapter together. In fact, each verse this in this passage, from verse 6 to verse 16, characterizes a good and faithful servant of the Lord. Now, some translations of scripture, translate this GK word “servant” as “minister.” That in my opinion is a poor translation of the original text. The GK is very clear, as Paul wrote the word Diakonos in this verse, that is the GK term in which gives us the English word “deacon.” Remember a few weeks ago, we learned that this word simply means “servant.” Deacons are to model a servant heart for our church, for all believers to follow. That alone makes this text highly applicable to every man and woman who proclaims Jesus as Lord, because the Messiah has undoubtedly called everyone his disciples to a lifestyle of service, which he also perfectly and consistently modeled for his followers. Next to his sacrificial death on the cross, the clearest example we have of Jesus’ servant heart occurred on the night in which he was betrayed. There in the upper room, Jesus girded himself with a towel and lowered himself before each disciple to wash their feet. Such a humble act was reserved for the lowliest of slaves, but Christ in his last moments before his death wanted to leave his disciples with that powerful visual. It was there in that he said these words recorded in John 13:14-15… “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.” Church family, if we are going to take an effective stand for truth in our culture, it must be done with the loving heart of a servant. We will never convince the world of their error with mere words, no matter how well thought out or our apologetics may be. Listen, all our sound theology and doctrine will be negated if you do not our-love those who oppose the truth. Oh, please understand, our words will only be validated when we embrace our primary calling to love our great God and others with the heart of a servant. Is it not interesting. that the apostle calls on us to model a self-forsaking spirit to a self-seeking, self-obsessed culture. Paul is essentially saying, you want to make a difference in your world, be radically different from the culture. Because false doctrine is always fixated on glorifying self, where the truth naturally exalts Another. It elevates both Christ and our neighbors, as we take up our cross and follow the Savior’s example. Brothers and sisters, today I want you to notice with me four marks of a good and faithful servant of our Lord Jesus Christ…

1) A good servant of Christ will faithfully proclaim the truth (v. 6 & 11).

With our passage anchored into our primary calling to be servants in God’s kingdom, we can now unpack the characteristics of a good or excellent servant. Minutes ago, as we read through these six verses, did you notice the bookends to our text? The apostle places a noticeable emphasis on the declaration of truth. He starts in verse 6, with the words, “in pointing out these things,”and we ended our reading in verse 11, where he wrote, “Prescribe and teach these things.” These phrases form somewhat of an inclusion around our passage, emphasizing the vital nature of using words to communicate truth. Saint Francis of Uh-see-see once famously wrote, “Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words.” That may make a great slogan for a t-shirt, but friends that is horrible theology. The apostle Paul would perhaps respond to St Francies with what he wrote in Romans 10:14… “How then are they to call on Him in whom they have not believed? How are they to believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher?” Listen, you can serve others until you have nothing left to give, you can serve yourself to death, but how are they to make the saving connection, between your self-forsaking acts and the redeeming message of the gospel of truth? They can’t! You see truth must be spoken in love. Notice the instruction Paul gives to the church… He says, in verse 1, “In pointing out these things to the brethren”….” This verb “pointing out,” is very mild in nature. It simply means “to remind,” or “to suggest.” It’s a gentle reminder, or a humble persuasion that the Greek text specifies is an unending work. This something we are to continually do.

But what message are we to remind and suggest to one another? What do the two words, “these things,” mean in verse 6? Well, quite simply, they point us back to the message from last week regarding the danger of the demonic and twisted doctrine, embraced by those who do not follow the truth of scripture. You see, Timothy and the church are to warn one another, as loving brothers and sisters, of the real and great dangers associated with teaching that does align with scripture. That is what Paul is saying in the first part of verse 6.

But what about verse 11? There at the end of our passage, Paul says, “Prescribe and teach these things.” The word “Prescribe” in the GK means to “give orders,” “command,” or “direct.” It’s describing an authoritative transmission of a message. It implies giving a mandate and exhorting a call to obedience. In other words, in defending truth, Timothy was to not simply share his thoughts on a topic or make a suggestion. Instead, he was to speak with the authority of the Word of God. You see, we are all called to be preachers of the truth within our own families and circles of influence. We are called to herald the good news of Jesus authoritatively and call on people to respond to the truth in love.That is what our text in verse 11 is calling us to do in faith. G. Campbell Morganwho was Martyn Lloyd Jones predecessor at Westminster Chapel in London, once said it like this, “The preacher comes with good news; but he does not come with something to be trifled with. His message has an insistent demand, because he comes from a King.” Church family, we must remember the origin of message compared to the evil doctrines of this world. We speak for the King of kings, and Lord of Lords, and we must faithfully proclaim His saving message as He has called us to. Furthermore, in verse 11, Paul also calls on Timothy and the church to teach these things. The word teach implies the idea of passing on truth. It means taking the time to explain truth and the rich theological foundations on which they rest.

Listen, church family, a faithful and good servant of our Lord is bold and courageous. He is certainly a defender of the truth. He is to confront sin, unbelief, and disobedience without wavering, because he knows the dangers of such things. But, the good servant also knows the saving power of the truth, and he must share it with those in need. That is why, The good servant’s boldness and courageous spirit must be tempered with gentleness and grace. In Paul’s original letter to the church of Ephesus, he explained both the danger and calling at hand with these words recorded in Eph. 4:14-15… “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.”The evil doctrines of this chaotic world are drowning out those who are not anchored in the Word, and we must speak the truth in love to rescue them from themselves and their sin. This is how we are to serve them as we serve our great God who calls us to their rescue by proclaiming the truth.

2) A good servant of Christ will be well nourished by the truth (v. 6-7a).

As we continue in our consideration of verse 6, Paul calls on Timothy and the church to be “constantly nourished on the words of the faith and sound doctrine which you have been following.” A faithful servant of Jesus is not only teaching the Word of God; he is living it, by being constantly developed and sustained by the words of Scripture and biblical doctrine. Notice the need and emphasis of continual nourishment being expressed here. This is an essential need for the servant of God. They must be more than simply educated in the truth; they have to feast upon it regularly. This word nourishmentsimply implies receiving food and being nurtured. For the true follower of Christ, the Bible is like food. To their soul. In Matthew 4:4, Jesus quoted the book of Deuteronomy and said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” But notice how the apostle Paul focuses on two essential aspects of scripture that the servant must be well nourished in. First, they must constantly be established in the words of faith. By this, the apostle clearly means the content of the gospel message. We must remember that the gospel is the heart of the Bible. Everything in the Word of God is either preparation for the Gospel, presentation of the Gospel, or participation in the Gospel. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, He is the overall message of scripture. It is all about Him, it is about our great need for a great Savior, our need for redemption, mercy, and grace that can only be discovered in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Understand that a true servant of Christ, doesn’t just know the content of Scripture, but he growing in understanding how everything in the Bible is connected to the Messiah.

Yet, Paul doesn’t stop there in verse 6, he adds that a faithful servant will also be nourished in sound doctrine. This refers to teaching that is firmly rooted in and yielded from the proper interpretation of Scripture. We must remember that all Scripture, is literally God-breathed. Therefore, sound doctrine does not originate from the foolishness of demons nor the so-called wisdom of man. The doctrines that flow from God’s sacred book are sound, pure, complete, sufficient, inerrant, and inspired. We must not tamper with God’s message for it holy, holy, holy. Every time we approach this book, we are hearing the holy Words of God Almighty. A good servant of Jesus will cling, treasure, and delight in sound doctrine. Just as one cannot live without the intake of food, an excellent servant cannot fathom how he could live apart from the words of faith and biblical doctrine. They give him life, energy, and sustain him in life’s difficult moments.

Now notice verse 7. After dealing with the positive, he deals with the negative and says, “Have nothing to do with worldly fables fit one for old women.” Timothy was to have a strong rejection towards worldly myths and wives tales. The apostle Paul did not want this young pastor to even occupy his time answering such secular chatter. You see, some false teaching is best ignored rather than discussed, especially if it cannot be examined in a fruitful manner. Listen, some conversations are simply not worth our time, especially when we know nothing good can come from it. But notice precisely what Paul tells Timothy to shun. He is to have nothing to do with worldly fables or myths. Wordily fables are simply that which are spiritually bankrupt and untrue. They are completely godless in nature, and they do not reflect the character of God. Furthermore, they are not backed by the truth of God’s Word. According to Paul they are “fit only for old women.” Now if you are a more mature lady, please don’t be offended by this saying. The apostle is simply saying that such things have no basis in fact. We must remember that women were not allowed to be educated when this book was written, and Paul is suggesting that such myths derive from those uneducated in the truth and are not worthy of serious attention.

I think what the apostle is stressing in verse 7, is that we often get bogged down in the wrong things. We can focus way too much attention with all this is wrong in our woke world, with all the lies, and all the ridiculous statements being made experts and politicians. And when we focus our heart’s attention on such foolishness, we can easily stop advancing the kingdom. You see to advance God’s kingdom we need to keep our focus on His truth. Listen, you need to spend more time praying and studying the truth than we do the news, and scrolling your social media accounts, especially during election seasons. You see our love for the truth must completely overshadow our love for this nation and our interests in politics. Now, please hear me. We have an obligation to stay informed, to vote according to our Christian conscience, and hold our politicians accountable. Elections are quickly approaching I pray that each of you will cast your voice and your vote. As Christians we must do a better job at letting our voice and convictions be heard. We must be better in communicating with those who have been elected to office and hold them accountable. We must stand and defend the truth, write letters, and make phone calls to our politicians, and encourage each other to vote for candidates who will stand up for our Christian values, but we must not allow the latest buzz of that culture to distract us from the Word of God. Oh, can you imagine church family the influence in our world and in our circles if we spent as much time talking about God and Scripture as we do politics and the news. Sadly, when we become overly political, focus too much attention on worldly myths, get lost in conspiracy theories, or the countless doctrine of demons, sinners too often become the enemy instead of the mission field. Oh, may God have mercy on our distracted hearts! May He help us to keep our focus on the words of faith and sound doctrine and grant us a servants heart to love and serve those who do not know the truth.

3) A good servant of Christ will be disciplined in godliness (v.7b-9).

We come know the bulk of our passage, that speaks directly to the need of being disciplined in righteous living. Paul says to Timothy, “On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.” Of the things Paul wanted to stress to Timothy in this letter, this must have been the most important. The word “godliness” occurs fifteen times in the New Testament, but nine of those 15 appear in this short letter to Timothy. If someone had asked Timothy what Paul’s letter was about, he probably would have said, “No doubt, I suppose it was mostly about the way we conduct ourselves within the family of God, but the thing that impressed me the most was my great need for godliness.” I hope you will pay attention to what is being expressed here. For all the attention given towards correct doctrine, this letter has a deep and profound concern for the lifestyle of God’s servants. The GK word godliness implies a life of reverence. It speaks of the respect that a believer owes to God. Godliness is a unique combination of the fear and love of God. It’s a lifestyle that flows from an awareness that all of life is lived before the face of God. As Martin Luther used to say often, it is to live Coram Deo, meaning to live one’s entire life in the presence of God, under the authority of God, to the glory of God. That’s what godliness is, it is placing God at the center of every activity an endeavor. To say it simply, Above all else, God desires his servants to simply be godly. Now again, make note of that! God’s primary desire for your life is not that you are smarter than most, not that you are more gifted, or more passionate than others, He simply desires for you to be a worshiper of Him. To love God and to desire to be like Him. To be holy as He is holy! Romans 12:1-2 (describes godliness well)…“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Godliness is simply living out our worship, hour by hour, day by day. This is what God desires most from his servants. This is why Paul doesn’t give Timothy Ten steps to improve church attendance, or give him a lesson on hermeneutics, or teach him how to preach with great passion and urgency. He simply gives Timothy and the church the most practical instruction of all: a good servant is a godly servant.

But godliness never develops naturally. No one will ever drift towards godliness. We only naturally drift away from the Lord. You see godliness demands difficult and diligent effort. Notice verse 8, “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.” This word “discipline” is the Greek word gumnasia from which we get the word “gymnasium” from. It literally means to “train” or “to exercise.” The word speaks of the difficult, vigorous, and self-sacrificing training that an athlete endures. Paul notes that such physical training has some value, he doesn’t discredit it, but notice the value physical training brings to one’s life is little compared to godliness that is profitable for all things. You see, going to the gym may make you stronger, make you look slimer, make you temporarily feel better, and may extend your life, but it will never give you life. It will never make you more loving, give you peace, true joy. It will never make you more patient, kind, gentle, or help you master self-control. It will never satisfy your heart, make you a better spouse, parent, child, co-worker, student, or friend. But Godliness will grant all of that and more. In fact, it will not only make this life better, but the life to come. You see godliness, gives life, both abundant life in the here in now and eternal life that will never end.

To this thought, Paul adds the words of verse 9, “It’s a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance.” Most commentators agree that this phrase points to verse 8. The trustworthy statement is that discipline in godliness is profitable for all things. It’s as if Paul is adding a hearty amen to what he just wrote, saying that this statement is true, trustworthy, and should be accepted as such by all.

Last week, I finally got around to having an annual physical, like many of you I neglected to get one during the Covid pandemic. Now, I always thought my doctor was cool. He was one of the few doctors I have had over the years that wouldn’t give me a hard time over the combination of my height and weight. As you may have noticed the Lord give me a rather large frame. For years my doctor has simply looked at me and said, yes you are overweight, but you have big bones and your just a big guy. But this time, he didn’t say that. Instead, he started down that path and said, yes you are naturally a big guy, and you used to be able to get away with it, but now you’re getting older and you have to find a way to get your weight down because it is now a danger to you more than it once was. Listen, he’s no longer my favorite doctor, but he’s right. So, I must make some priority changes in my life to address my physical wellbeing. I have to prioritize working out and exercise and have watch my diet. And if such thorough attention and training is necessary for the body, why should the soul be any different?We must do our spiritual exercises. We must train ourselves to be godly. Just like going to the gym, we have to set apart time to spend in the word and prayer, and we have to do it even when we don’t feel like it. That’s a big point, cause so often we are only do that which we need to do, when we feel like or are extra motivated. No, we must be committed to do the hard things even when our feelings are not aligned with what must be done. We need to go to spiritual fitness classes called Bible studies and life groups. Sometimes, we may need even a spiritual trainer who can give us spiritual counsel. Listen, reading scripture, prayer, fasting, giving your tithes and offerings, Bible studies, evangelism, serving in the church, the ordinances of the church, are the exercises that God has appointed for our spiritual training, to make us godly. Listen church family, we must prioritize placing ourselves near God, to hear His voice so that we can respond in faith. Charles Spurgeon once said, “Nearness to God brings likeness to God. The more you see God the more of God will be seen in you.” If you are going to grow in godliness you must come near to God train yourself in His ways. You have to cast your eyes upon Him and His Word often.

Now, you may be thinking, this sounds kinda legalistic. Didn’t you, Pastor Kevin, just preach against that last week? Listen, legalism is not the same as discipline. Legalism is self-centered, while discipline is always God-centered. A disciplined heart spends time reading, praying, and obeying because they love the Lord, they love His Word and out of worship they submit to His will. Are you becoming more godly? If so how?

4) A good servant of Christ will tirelessly strive to advance the gospel (v. 10)

Verse 10 is crystal clear that both growing in godliness and gospel-centered servanthood are hard work. Paul begins verse 10 with these words, “For it is for this we labor and strive.” You see the goal of laboring and striving is godliness, with all its eternal and kingdom implications. These two words labor and strive demand our consideration. The GK word labormeans “to work to the point of exhaustion, it carries the notion of extreme weariness.” Strive carries a similar yet different concept. The GK word strive means “to engage in a struggle,” It stresses the agonizing effort behind the physical and mental effort that godliness and gospel ministry demand. Listen, kingdom work is never easy. It’s physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding by divine design, so that we will not rely upon our own strength or abilities, but on our great God who will give graciously give us everything needed to advance His kingdom.

Notice the reason Paul ascribes to our hard work, he wrote, “because we have fixed our hope on the living God.”I’ll remind you that the word “hope” in Scripture means confident expectation. It implies certainty, void of all shades of doubt and hesitancy. Notice this hope is fixed in a living God. A God radically different from the dead gods of the world. Instead, He the living God who created all things and lovingly sent His Son to live and die to redeem man from His sin. In Romans 8:24, the apostle Paul wrote, “For in hope we have been saved.” Now what a minute, you may be thinking, isn’t it by faith we are saved? Yes, it is by faith that we are saved, but our faith and salvation are certainly characterized by hope. You see saving hope is an unshakable belief that is secured in the work of Jesus on the cross. Where He laid his perfect, sinless, spotless life down as a sacrificial payment for the sins of man. The Bible tells us that because of Adam’s sin, we are all born into sin. Because the first man disobeyed the simple command of the Lord, every person born after him inherited a sinful heart. Scripture repeatedly reminds us that our hearts are depraved and spiritually dead apart from the grace of God. Now this is horrible news, the worst news of all, because we are completely incapable of living the life God desires and demands that we live. Everything we do, apart from Christ, is stained by sin and selfishness. Therefore, according to scripture, every one of us must die. For we have all sinned against a holy God who has holy standards for all His children. He says be holy as I am holy, and each one of us know in our hearts that we can’t even come close to that. Again, this is horrifying news, but God is also rich in love and mercy, and so He chose to send His one and only Son to die our death in our place. Romans 5:18-19 explains the gospel like this… “So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.” Through Adam’s sinful act we all deserve death, but through Christ’s sacrificial act we all may live. You see here is the glorious and great news of the gospel, though you deserve to die for every single sinful desire, thought, word, and action; Jesus’ death and resurrection made a way so that you can truly live, so that you may enjoy God’s forgiveness, peace, love, joy, and hope. You see, Jesus embraced the cross, He took the just penalty for every one of your sins. He was beaten, striped in shame, whipped, spat upon, cursed, mocked, tortured, nailed to a cross, and pierced with a spear. His blood was brutally poured out, His body crushed beyond recognition by the fury of our holy God who hates sin. The physical and emotional torture of God’s wrath that Jesus experienced on the cross was unimaginable. That what our sin deserves, but He endured it for us so that we can completely forgiven and accredited Jesus’ perfect righteousness. But in order to embrace that precious gift of abundant and eternal life from God, you must be born again. God must awaken your dead, wayward heart, and draw you to Him through faith and repentance. He does this by giving you a desire to live for Him, to turn from your sin, and to respond to the message of the cross by living a life of obedience to Scripture. You simply must respond to that desire in faith and repentance.

That’s the gospel, it is a message of good news to believed and treasured, and our lives are to be fixed to it, anchored in it, and shaped by it. The perfect verb tense of this verb “fixed”in 1 Timothy 4:10 indicates something done in the past with continuing results in the present. Listen, a faithful and good servant is one who has fixed His hope in the God who lives and loves. He constantly believes and labors in light of eternity. He is one who lives to advance the reign of God, and kingdom of God ,in his own life and the life of others.

Notice in verse 10, the apostle Paul doesn’t simply call God the living God, but he calls God “the Savior of all men, especially of believers.” Now it’s easy in this verse to get caught up on the word “especially.” Is Paul here arguing that all people are saved and that maybe some are blessed to have a better salvation than others? No, there is no universalism expressed in this verse at all. Paul’s not saying that all people are saved, that would clearly contradict the rest of scripture. You see, the word “especially” in the GK can mean “to be precise,” or “in other words.” Thus, this verse could read as “God is the Savior of all men- that is to say, He is the Savior of all who believe.” Now we can also argue, that God has saved every person in that he is allowing them to live and breathe at this very moment. You see it is completely by God’s mercy that you are awake and alert to hear this message this morning, for God’s justice would demand you instant death. But God is allowing you to breathe his air this very second, so that you may hear His gospel and escape death al together. Listen church family, that is why we are to share the gospel passionately and habitually. Evangelism must lie at the heart of every servant of our holy God, who lovingly desires all men to be saved through faith in His Son. The gospel message of the One who declared Himself way, the truth, and the life must be the heartbeat of everything we do as a church. Understand, that we must not allow our Sunday gatherings to be so inward focused that we lose sight of our mission. No, we gather together not to socialize but to huddle together in worship of our great God, where we build each other up and encourage one another so that we can more effectively be on mission throughout the week, so that we can advance His kingdom and His gospel to all men.

Yet sadly, we so often miss that point. We often come here on Sunday to be entertained, see our friends, and to feel good about ourselves. And rarely do we even consider speaking the saving truth to those in our life who desperately need it. We are so worried about what others might think of us if we speak a radically different message than the lies of the culture. I would argue that is mainly because we love ourselves way more than we love others. Puritan Richard Baxter once wrote, “A foolish physician he is, and a most unfaithful friend, that will let a sick man die for fear of troubling him; and cruel wretches are we to our friends, that will rather suffer them to go quietly to hell, then we will anger them, or hazard our reputation with them.” Oh that God would give us such a puritan heart. A heart that will risk much for genuine love and the advancement of His kingdom.

As we come to close this morning, I simply want to ask you to look in the mirror of this text. Can you look at these inspired words and declare yourself to be a good servant of our Lord? Surely, none of us are perfect, but does this passage describe you in any way? Can you see yourself growing in these areas of the faith. If not, I would encourage to follow the prompting of the holy Spirit. Make God-glorying decisions and act on the Word of God. This morning, if you feel the need to talk to someone, to receive counsel, or pray with someone, know your elders are available!!!