1 Timothy 1:12-20 - Order in the Church: Discipleship and Discipline
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction:
We live in the information age. There is an overwhelming amount of information available to us in the 21st Century. Obviously much of this information available is tainted by humanism and sin, but there is also some great information out there for us to discover. There have never been such widely available resources for Christian believers than today. In the United States, anyone with a smartphone or a computer can have has access to the Bible at any time. There are tons of free commentaries and Bible study resources online. There is even Bible software such as Logos which allows people with no seminary education to study God’s Word with great depth.
Also, Gospel presentations in seemingly unlimited ways are available on millions of websites for anyone to see.
Yet, sadly we see that the number of Christians in the US continues to plummet.
Why in an era where there is so much access to the Gospel is there such a falling away?
There are many reasons for this but two main reasons are seen in our Scripture today.
The first is…
1. We see a lack of true discipleship in today’s church.
Many Christians today do not take evangelism and discipleship seriously. Those who have made professions of faith in churches or crusades have been herded like cattle to pray one prayer and then left on their own. Many of these individuals have become statistics of false converts. They made an emotional decision but did not make a true heart-felt decision, and no one followed up to see if their commitment was true or not.
Then there are those who have made true professions. Some of these persons are left to themselves to study God’s Word without any true discipleship. They aren’t plugged into a local church, and they do not have someone to teach them the Word of God. These people stay on spiritual milk and never grow into mature believers. The local church is the place that we are to grow and sharpen one another.
Secondly…
2. We see a lack of discipline in today’s church.
The church has not been protected against false teaching and false teachers and has become watered down. We live in an era of anything goes. We live in an era of subjective morality and relative truth. And these heretical doctrines have found their way into many churches.
God cares much about the doctrinal purity of the church. We cannot disciple well if we do not have Biblical doctrine.
I have looked at many church websites over the years and have been astounded at how few of them actually have any detailed doctrine available for anyone to view. With this watered down, anything goes approach to the church, the church inevitably becomes nothing more than a pseudo-moral country club.
Paul is going to speak on these two things as he addresses Timothy and the Church as a whole in the following verses. Let’s get started:
Read Full Scripture:
I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service,
though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief,
and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
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.
To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare,
holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith,
among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.
Prayer
Today we will see two charges that God gives the church. The first is:
I. God Calls for Discipleship for the Dependent (12-17)
I. God Calls for Discipleship for the Dependent (12-17)
I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service,
Paul starts with talking about the service that he has been appointed to. He has been given the incredible role as a foundational Apostle of Christ’s Church as we discussed last week. But he has also been called to make disciples of all nations . He has been given the Great Commission like every other believer in the history of the church (Matthew 28:16-20).
Those who are repentant and ready to be dependent upon God need to be discipled.
We are all charged to do this.
And we do this by the strength that God provides.
Like Paul asserts here, he thanks Jesus for the strength he has been given to minister to the lost by sharing the Gospel as well as ministering to the saved by discipling them.
Paul did some pretty amazing things. He planted churches throughout much of the known world during his lifetime. He faced many hardships yet was continually strengthened by Christ. Philippians 4:13 was his battle cry.
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
It is very important that we understand where our strength comes from. Paul understood where his strength came from. He understood that strength from the Lord comes to those who are faithful. Paul says that he has been given strength because he was judged faithful. Those who are faithful are appointed to service for God and empowered to perform this service.
After a very positive first verse Paul gets into some difficult reflections about his past. Paul wants to remind his readers that God saves sinners. Listen to verses 13-14:
though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
He refers to himself in three negative ways:
1. Paul was a Blasphemer
This first claim was especially hard for Paul to bring forth. As a very religious Pharisee before coming to Christ, he would have never thought of taking the name of Yahweh carelessly or disrespectfully. Yet, he remembers his hatred and blasphemy against Jesus Christ and refers to himself as a blasphemer.
Our world today throws around the name of Jesus and God like they are common words without meaning. Listen to God’s warning to blasphemers:
“ ‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
Using the names of God such as Jesus Christ, God, among others as a four-letter filth word is one of the worst things you can do.
Todd Friel, in his evangelistic outings, often asks people if they would take their mother’s name and use it a filth word. Most are appalled at the idea. He lets them know that their disgust is because they would not want to dishonor their mothers. Yet, they dishonor the God who made them instead!
Next we see that…
2. Paul was a Persecutor
Paul made it his ambition to destroy Christ’s Church. He tried to force believers to deny Christ. His persecution of the church was actually a persecution of Christ. He not only was blaspheming the name of God by railing against Jesus, but He was fighting against the work of Christ as well.
And finally, Paul…
3. Paul was an Insolent Opponent
This is not a typical phrase we use in English. The word insolent means arrogant, but the phrase as a whole originates from one Greek word, hybristēs (oo-bree-stase). And this Greek word stems from the Greek root word, hubris, which means pride. Paul was a proud and arrogant man who violently opposed Jesus Christ.
Yet, astonishingly, Paul received mercy.
Look back at our two verses:
though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
We discussed what mercy was last week. We discussed that it is not getting the judgment that you deserve. Paul deserved hell and yet he was shown mercy.
Paul asserts that God showed mercy because he had acted ignorantly and in unbelief. Paul is not saying that those who are unbelievers are not guilty and do not face the coming judgment. What he is saying is that his blasphemy and railing against Christ came before his conversion. Compare this to the false teachers who claim to know Christ and yet blaspheme His Word.
After Paul’s repentance and after God’s mercy was poured out upon him, he was given three replacement qualities for his former ways.
Paul Became Full of Grace, Faith, and Love.
Here again we see the beauty of faith and love together with grace added in as well. These three wonderful qualities replaced the trifecta of evil qualities.
Paul did not forget who he was without Christ however.
The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 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.
Paul then displays the Gospel in one beautiful sentence. He starts off by describing the assuredness of the Gospel. It is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. He is stating that there is no room for argument here. There is nothing more trustworthy than Jesus Christ and His Gospel.
The phrase, “the saying is trustworthy” comes up five different times in the Pastoral Epistles (1 Timothy 1:15, 3:1, 4:9; 2 Timothy 2:11; Titus 3:8).
To illustrate the trustworthiness of Paul’s message here, he brings himself into the picture. He has already said that he was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. And now he calls himself the worst or foremost of sinners.
In verse 16 he answers the question, why would God save a sinner like Paul? Why would God save someone who is bent on rebellion against Him and is killing those who are following Him?
Paul asserts that he received mercy so that God might be glorified. Jesus Christ was able to show His perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in Him for eternal life in the future. In other words, those who came after Paul, would see the grace of God and the mercy of God displayed in a man that was the foremost of sinners. As we consider the grace and mercy of God through Jesus Christ shining on Paul, we can have hope that we may be saved as well. And God is glorified by His amazing and unending love and mercy and grace.
In response to this amazing truth - that God saves sinners - even the worst of us - Paul concludes his thought by giving us a beautiful doxology in verse 17.
To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
A doxology is a brief expression of praise directed toward God. The root word for this comes from the Greek:
1. dóxa which means praise, honor, and glory
and from
2. logos which means word or utterance
To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
As we look further into verse 17, we see that Paul refers to Jesus Christ in the following names:
1. The King of Ages - This refers to his eternal nature. He is King forever.
2. Immortal - He is imperishable which means He will never experience death or destruction.
3. Invisible - This is to be contrasted with the pagan idols of Paul’s day. God is everywhere at once. He is Spirit and transcends time and space.
4. The Only God - No other God exists. This echoes Exodus 20:3 - the First Commandment.
As we saw in the definition of doxology, he even ends with the definition in this verse. Jesus is to have honor and glory forever and ever.
He then ends with Amen. This is a transliteration of the Hebrew word which means truth. It means “so be it” - or “this is true.”
We have seen the importance of discipleship for those who are dependent on God - namely those who have repented of their sins and placed their faith and trust in Christ as their Savior. The first step for order in the church is that the church is filled with born-again believers. I pray that everyone here has been saved by Jesus. I pray that you placed your faith and trust in Jesus Christ who lived a sinless life, died on the cross for our sins, and rose three days later. He is the only way to God. By His wounds you may be healed.
Our first step in having a church that glorifies Christ is being a body of believers that are utterly dependent upon Him.
Next we see that in order to have an ordered church…
Scripture References: Matthew 28:16-20, Philippians 4:13, Deuteronomy 5:11, [The Trustworthy Saying: 1 Timothy 1:15, 3:1, 4:9; 2 Timothy 2:11; Titus 3:8], Exodus 20:3
II. God Calls for Discipline for the Disobedient (18-20)
II. God Calls for Discipline for the Disobedient (18-20)
1 Timothy 1:18–19a (ESV)
This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience.
Paul brings this word ‘charge’ again. This word charge is a military word as we discussed last week which means to order someone. This charge has been entrusted to Timothy according to the prophecies previously made about him. It had become apparent that Timothy was called to serve the Lord. He was to serve the Lord in a mighty way and was already doing this as he ministered to the Church of Ephesus.
We see another mention of this calling later in 1 Timothy 4:14:
Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.
Timothy had been set apart and commissioned as a leader in the church. He was to be a preacher, pastor, shepherd, and elder. Paul reminds him of his calling after giving him this charge to combat false teachers and discipline the disobedient. He also summarizes his charge to Timothy in three ways:
Timothy is to:
1. Wage the Good Warfare
2. While Holding Faith
3. And Holding a Good Conscience
Paul is reminding Timothy that there is a spiritual battle all around him. Listen to Paul speak on this in his letter to the church in Ephesus:
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
The only way to fight against the enemy of our souls - namely Satan along with his demons - is to hold fast to faith and maintain a good conscience.
Our faith must be in Christ alone. We must not trust in ourselves or our own abilities. So many church leaders have done this and fallen hard. Our perseverance is only possible by the power of Christ in us.
And we must hold fast to a good conscience. Paul charges Timothy to do this, but we must maintain this as believers as well. So many unbelievers have been turned off by the lives of so-called Christians that don’t measure up to what they profess. How many times do we see people who talk about Jesus but live just like the world? Sometimes they live even more ungodly than the world!
My friends, what we believe - namely our faith - must match up with our actions. A good conscience is only possible in the life of a believer who is practicing what he is preaching.
In order to maintain purity and order in the church, we must be disciplined in the faith. We must be walking the walk.
Paul urges Timothy to be following Christ well and he urges us today to follow Christ with integrity.
We as believers are called to have integrity - which amounts to a good conscience.
Integrity can be defined in many ways but is often defined as a consistent and unwavering commitment to a strict moral and ethical code. It is practically defined as doing the right thing even when no one is watching.
Integrity is an issue in today’s world. A study by Rutgers University of a large cohort of high school students showed that 64% had cheated on a test, 58% had plagiarized, and 95% had cheated in one form or another. (1)
Another study from the American Psychological Association showed that stores lose around 8 billion dollars per year from inventory shortages. 10% of this loss is due to clerical error and around 30% is due to shoplifting. The remaining 60% - which amounts to around 16 million dollars per day - is due to theft by employees! (2)
This cultural lack of integrity threatens the church as well. May we be reminded by Paul here to hold fast to a good conscience. Only then can we have a pure church.
As John MacArthur asserts:
“There is an inseparable link between truth and morality, between right belief and right behavior.”
John MacArthur
His charge and reminder to Timothy was based on a big issue in the church in Ephesus that he had just dealt with. Let’s see this in the last verse and a half for today:
1 Timothy 1:19b–20 (ESV)
By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.
Last week we spent a lot of time talking about false teachers. Paul had used the word swerving to describe those who deviated from sound doctrine. Now we see the result of this swerving. They have made shipwreck of their faith.
A shipwreck is an awful sight. To watch a wooden boat break into thousands of pieces would be terrifying. These shipwrecks would oftentimes occur during a horrible storm. Boats would be tossed to and fro and eventually be broken either by the wind and the waves or by being thrown upon rocks on the shore. This is the illustration that we are given by Paul. Paul understood shipwrecks up close and personal.
2 Corinthians 11:25 tells us that Paul had experienced 3 shipwrecks. Most scholars believe that this passage in 2 Corinthians was written before the shipwreck mentioned in Acts 27 - so there was likely at least one other shipwreck Paul experienced!
As a side note, most scholars also believe that the Pastoral Epistles (1,2 Timothy and Titus) are among the last of Paul’s letters written late in his ministry before his death in Rome.
But moving back to his illustration, Paul certainly understood the vivid detail of this illustration and compares it to what happens when one swerves from the faith.
Paul then mentions two different men - Hymenaeus and Alexander who have been excommunicated from the church. We discussed last week that these men are thought to have been elders/pastors in the Church of Ephesus who were false teachers. We are told that they have been handed over to Satan so that they may learn not to blaspheme.
This concept and practice of church discipline is almost nonexistent in the American Church today. The lack of church discipline has led to disorder, false teaching, and weak churches.
Although this is not the most popular topic to discuss in our churches, it is a necessary one. I want to finish today’s message with a quick and practical lesson on church discipline as carried out by Paul here. Interestingly, the most clear teaching for church discipline was given to us by Christ while He was teaching His disciples during His earthly ministry! His clear teaching tells us how to deal with sinful situations in our own lives, and He ends His lesson with how to handle an unrepentant sinner in the church.
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
The Steps of Church Discipline and Conflict Resolution in the Church:
1. You are commanded to approach the brother or sister who sinned against you. (Matthew 18:15)
Interestingly, we are commanded to approach the offender and not the opposite. Most people feel that the person who sinned should be the one to approach the one who was offended. Jesus teaches the exact opposite! (Although there is most certainly not a problem with humbly approaching someone you have sinned against as well!)
However, approaching someone who has sinned against you should be done humbly and lovingly. Remember our teaching in Luke 6:41-42:
Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.
If you want to be able to address the sin within your brother or sister in Christ - be sure that you have repented of your own sin.
Hopefully this is a peaceful encounter and the relationship is restored and reconciled. If not, move on to number 2.
2. If no repentance is found, you should take one or two along with you to approach the person who sinned against you. (Matthew 18:16)
It is important that these one or two persons are godly individuals who desire restoration and reconciliation. One might consider taking a deacon or pastor or elder to a difficult situation like this. This is not the time to take your best friend or someone who will be biased in the situation.
Note that all of this has been done confidentially so far. We do not want gossip in the Church. Only those who need to know have been brought into this situation. But after a time of prayer and follow up with the situation there must be a conclusion to the matter.
Hopefully, repentance has at least been reached by this level. However, if the one who has sinned continues to remain unrepentant, this is where church-wide discipline comes in:
3. If even after church leaders and the offended person are not able to draw the sinful person to repentance, church discipline in the form of excommunication must be established. (Matthew 18:17)
Here is where most in the church bow out. They like the first two options. But this last option seems harsh. Isn’t it unloving to excommunicate someone? Wouldn’t it be better if we just let them stay in the fellowship so that they were able to be around God’s people and hopefully feel conviction?
Well, God’s Word says no to this. Jesus, Himself says no to this. They are to be treated as a Gentile or tax collector. In other words they are to be treated like an unbeliever. Listen to Paul give some further instruction:
you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.
Excommunicating an unrepentant sinner from the church is actually an attempt to see them saved or to see if their salvation is confirmed.
Those who are in the church are blessed with some spiritual protection from the church. By allowing an unrepentant sinner to maintain good standing in the church, they are given a false sense of security.
This damages the church and the unrepentant sinner. It damages the church by destroying its purity.
Remember the account of Achan in the Old Testament book of Joshua chapter 7? He had stolen things after the battle of Jericho. His theft led to Israel being defeated by the small town of Ai. God cares about the purity of His people.
And it damages the unrepentant sinner by not exposing them to the weight of their sin. It gives them a false sense of security. They are able to be around the light of Christ by being around the body of believers in the Church. Yet, they may not actually have the light inside of them. They may be deceived and not truly be believers and by allowing them to remain in fellowship, we inadvertently may condemn them to Hell.
May we never be guilty of this. May we order our church by the Word of God and not by man’s ideas.
And may we maintain a pure and orderly church for the glory of God.
We gather first and foremost for His glory and pleasure and not our own. Our love for people must never dim our love for Christ and His Word.
Scripture References: 1 Timothy 4:14, Ephesians 6:11-12, 2 Corinthians 11:25, Acts 27, Luke 6:41-42, Matthew 18:15-17, 1 Corinthians 5:5, Joshua 7
Conclusion:
As we come to a close we have seen further teachings on how we should order the church. We must be sure to disciple believers. We need to be continuously learning by studying the Word of God and sitting under solid Bible teaching in the local church.
And we have learned that we must exercise appropriate church discipline in the church to maintain the order and purity of Christ’s church.
Sadly, in our consumeristic culture, we have brought into our thinking a mindset that the church needs us and that we are doing the church a favor by attending, giving, or serving. Many pastors have fed this way of thinking through seeking to provide entertainment instead of Biblical preaching. They have appeared as beggars peddling something so that they can maintain their job instead of preaching and evangelizing knowing that we as believers have the best thing in the world - we have Jesus Christ. He needs no salesman or peddler. He only commands us to be obedient and true to His Word.
The Biblical view of the church is that it is a privilege and a blessing to be a part of a local fellowship. It is a place of protection and encouragement.
Praise God for His Church and may we at CrossPointe be fully obedient to Christ in every way.