Guard the Gospel

1 Timothy 1:3-11

Intro: When a company has a singular focus and guards that focus. Have you ever been to a restaurant that just has everything under the sun, but is not particularly good with any of it? A jack of all trades, a master of none? You know what you are getting with Chick-Fil-A. Focused on chicken and good customer service. Go to Golden Corral, and you’re gonna get subpar food. Does anyone go there because of one singular thing they are good at? No, except maybe just to eat a lot of food.

The church is to guard one singular thing in which all ministry from it is based on and what it proclaims. The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The truth that every person in this world is in need of. We don’t need to Golden Corral the church into focusing on things that take us off our mission, offering a buffet of self-help, entertainment, making moral people, traditions, and speculations of what’s to come. We need a singular focused church that makes the Gospel central and from which all ministry is based. And we must guard that gospel from false teaching that we are warned about in the Scriptures that lead people astray.

CTS: The church must be diligent in guarding the truth of God’s gospel.

I. Warning Against False Teaching (3-7)

A. The clear prediction of false teaching (Acts 20:17, 28-32 / Matthew 7:15-20)

This is a clear reality that the NT emphasizes over and over again. Paul had to warn the Ephesians elders, that even after his own teaching, just mere months after an apostle clearly reveals the gospel to the Ephesians, that they will need to be on guard. (READ ACTS 20:17, 28-32, FROM THE BIBLE) The elders/pastors of the church are to pay careful attention. A major part of their shepherding and overseeing the church is to guard the gospel in the flock. Wolves will come in among them. Wolves in sheeps clothing if you will.

The prediction remains the same today. Jesus promised this in his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:15-20)

Matthew 7:15–20 ESV

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

Be on guard. People will gather for themselves teachers that will itch the ears (2 Tim 4:3-5).

2 Timothy 4:3–5 ESV

3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Antichrists will come (1 John 4:1-3).

1 John 4:1–3 ESV

1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.

The church must be diligent, and its leaders must be willing to do what is necessary to stop it. That’s where Timothy comes in.

B. The urgent reality of false teaching (3-4a)

The setting: Timothy was called here in this letter, but also, to the church as a whole. Was Timothy a pastor of this church? Possibly. But it seems more likely that Timothy was an apostolic delegate, called to help the church as Paul commanded him. He would no doubt spend extended time helping and shepherding God’s people, but along with Titus, they were to help churches get their feet on the ground, continually teaching the apostolic teaching to these churches. Timothy was told to remain here in Ephesus, even with the great difficulty of false teachers.

The urgency: Do you see the urgency of the command? Paul skips the greetings, and heads right to the issue. Is this because he is upset with Timothy? No. We must remember that this is not just for Timothy, but written to him to address the church as a whole. There were wolves in sheeps clothing that were preaching false doctrine.

The false teaching: What was the false teaching? We don’t have a super clear laid out doctrine from Paul. Timothy knew what it was in clarity. A couple of things we can gather: They were focusing on things that weren’t essential and making doctrine out of it. There was some extra-biblical material like the The Book of Jubilees and Biblical Antiquities of Philo that would focus on genealogies and recreating narratives of the OT. What this would do is bring myths and focuses outside what the OT was designed to do, to point to the great need of a Messiah, the seed of the woman who would crush the head of the serpent, the offspring of Abraham who would bless all nations, the son of David who would rule on the throne eternally, the Suffering Servant who would die for the sins of Israel and Gentiles alike. The second area of false teaching as we find out later in the text is that they were misusing the law. We will explain this further as we get to verse 7, but taking the Law like the scribes and Pharisees, whom Paul himself was once, they brought the law down on Christians, emphasizing that one must keep the Law on top of repenting and believing in Christ in order to earn His favor. Its grace plus works in essence.

One commentator makes this very enlightening point: The false teachers weren’t using the wrong text, but rather, that they were misusing the right text.

C. The dangerous results of false teaching (4b-7)

The danger of false teaching: It promotes speculations instead of stewarding the Gospel as leaders and teachers were supposed to do. The point is now lost. Paul gives great warning to the dangers of false teaching (READ GALATIANS 1:6-9)

Galatians 1:6–9 ESV

6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

The point of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, coming into the world and dying for us. This can come in outright denial of the Gospel, but it can also comes in more subtle ways. For example, when secondary or even third tier issues become the focus, it takes away from the stewardship of the church. (Eschatology, the way a church building should look, traditions, Bible translations, politics, etc.) Some of these are not unimportant, but when we divide and focus on speculating rather than on solid Gospel truth, we are in trouble.

Illustration: Have you ever been in meetings that just spent way too much time on rabbit trails and taking forever to get to the point. Or, you even walk out and go, what was the point of that? Meeting for the sake of meeting?

The aim of true teaching: The aim of true teaching is bound up in love (vs. 5) The gospel is meant lead to love. Love of God and love of others.

Pure heart (Matt 5:8)

Matthew 5:8 ESV

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Good conscience (inner awareness of the quality of one’s actions)

Sincere faith (faith without hypocrisy) (Mark 7:6-7)

Mark 7:6–7 ESV

6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 7 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’

“Love, regularly coupled with faith, is conceived as the practical outworking of faith in Christ. The preacher’s goal is not merely faith but faith’s expression in acts of love.” - Kostenberger (EBTC)

The gospel truly transforms the heart and life as we grow in Christ. Those that truly know him are made pure in heart, have a redeemed conscience, and faith that truly sincere and meaningful. The false teachers taught in such a way that did not lead and swerved from this.

The desires of false teachers: Their desires were to gain popularity, much like the Pharisees of the day were seen as the religious elite. They desired to be labed experts, their own pride. But ironically, what they thought they were doing by becoming experts was instead misunderstanding and leading people astray, away from Christ and the love of God. Confident, yet wrong. Timothy was called to stop these men, most likely elders currently in the church!

APPLICATION: The reality is clear, and the church must be urgently watching out for false teaching: How does the church do this?

First, we must know how to read our Bibles well. That requires first that we read it. It also means we learn how to interpret it well. This means that we have to read it as was intended. Let me encourage you today to go beyond the one verse mentality of the Bible, beyond the one verse devotional. When we read the Bible as one narrative and with the intention that it will point us to Jesus Christ as the Messiah, it will change the way we read and hear the preaching of God’s Word. Start with the task of reading whole books of the Bible. If you’ve never read like this, start small. Read one chapter at a time. Myself, Lonnie, and Adam and putting together plans each week for you to read in preparation for sermons that will help you get the truths communicated from Scripture. Learning how one part of the Bible points to another.

Second, we must make sure our leaders preach and teach the Bible well. This will come out later in the qualifications of elders, but one of the major tasks of the elders as they pastor the church is to teach well and guard against false teaching. The church should be putting forth men who know their Bibles well and trust to teach the Gospel as elders. They should also hold those elders/pastors accountable, that if they stray from the true Gospel, that they are confronted to repent and removed if they refuse.

Lastly, the church should be dedicated toward the task of discipleship, encouraging and exhorting one another toward the truth of the Gospel. We should take seriously the Bible, Jesus as Lord and Savior, and being missional in reaching people with this Gospel message. Healthy growth of discipleship is not flashy, and it is often not quick. Its slow, yet lasting. The next generation goes into the world ready to face its challenges and its false teachings. We disciple and multiply, raising up servants of Christ, missionaries and planting new churches here, throughout the states, and throughout the world.

II. Correcting False Teaching (8-11)

Now Paul will bring an aside in light of this warning. The warning inspires him to give instruction about the Gospel, and I will focus on the first part of that aside with the problem of misinterpretation of the law.

A. The law is good

First, we must understand that the Law here can be viewed in one of a few ways. Ways that interpreters have looked at this and Paul’s use of the law in his writings is (a) he is referring only to the actual law itself given in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy, or (b) the first 5 books of the OT, the Pentateuch, or writings of Moses, or (c) the entirety of the OT. I believe that Paul is referring to the whole of the OT, because of his description of the false teaching dealing with genealogies and speculations. It certainly includes the law, morally and ceremonially, but also includes how the OT is interpreted.

The main point to make here is that God’s law is good. It’s not something to be ashamed of or something that God has abolished. It is still needed today. It reflects God’s holiness and intention of His creation. But it is only good is used in the God intends for it to be used.

B. The lawful use of the Law

So, what is the law meant for. I’m going to use what many Bible preachers and teachers throughout church history call the “Three Uses of the Law.”

1. The law is meant to restrain the world (Romans 7:7)

Romans 7:7 ESV

7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”

2. The law is meant to condemn the unbeliever (Romans 3:20, 8:8)

Romans 3:20 ESV

20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

Romans 8:8 ESV

8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

3. The law is meant to guide the saved (Ezek 36:27)

Ezekiel 36:27 ESV

27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

The false teachers were taking the law and using it for their own ends and improperly. It is highly likely they were using the law outside of these three uses. They were bringing the burden of the law on the believer, saying that in order to be saved and to be continued to be saved, one must obey the law. Earning righteousness by keeping the law. That is never meant to be the work of the law.

Listing the law, summarizing whom its for: Paul lists these things out. Who is it for? Not for the righteous, but the unrighteous. The reminder is that Jesus said that He came to save not those in no need of a physician, but those that are sick. He came to save not the righteous, but sinners. And the realization of all these, (rooted in the 10 Commandments), is that we are all sinners. We all were once these things, and this law was laid down to show us our sin and our need for Christ!

We also need to realize that God calls out sin. There are things here that are unpopular to call out in culture, but this is very necessary in our proclamation of the gospel, but with all humility. People are deceived in thinking that these things are acceptable and even good. People must realize their sin and need for Christ.

C. The law points us to the Gospel of the glory of God

Ultimately, the law is meant to point us to Christ. Anything else, as Paul said in Galatians, is anethema, accursed. The sound doctrine of the church must be held, and the church must be on guard to make sure that what we preach is the gospel of God’s incredible mercy, grace, and love, found in the giving of His only Son to pay our sin debt.

We have been entrusted with it, just as Paul was, just as Timothy was. The entrusting of the teachings of the Scriptures, we must be diligent to guard the true gospel. Some may say that doctrine is unimportant, 1 Timothy tells us otherwise, and for us as a church plant,

Application: One of our guiding principles must be this truth. The true gospel of Jesus Christ will be preached, taught, and passed down from us, undiluted and kept from false teachers. We will hold it firm, guard it, and make sure our leaders and our teachers teach this gospel to us, hold us accountable to it, and that we will proclaim this true gospel to the world. We must not speculate and distract ourselves with petty distractions and doctrines that cause us to forget our mission and our purpose. We do this in love for one another, but also, out of love for the lost world. Does our love for Christ spill out into our love for His creation, the people who are lost in Edenton and this world? We must guard the purity of the gospel. The world doesn’t need more politics, more division, and speculation. The world needs Jesus. They need the way, the truth, and the life. They need the bread of life. They need the light of the world. They need the resurrection and the life. They don’t need a set of rules to earn heaven and the load of trying to earn God’s favor by keeping the Law. They need the Law-keeper who unloaded that burden upon himself, died for that sin debt we could not pay, and gave us his yoke, which is easy and light. His righteousness in place of our wickedness, paid for at the cross, received by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

Guard this gospel!