Solid Doctrine

Intro

In the last few weeks I have spoken to three different churches who are looking for pastors. As we well know, finding men with the right character, abilities and experience for Eldership is a hard job.

If I only had the men, I would deploy three of them to these forward bases tomorrow. Or to one of the many many other churches in need around our nation right now. Not to mention the overwhelming need to open up more battle fronts against the powers of darkness across every corner of this vast land - we need to plant and revitalise churches in everywhere!

We need men who will put their lives on the line.

We need men who will proclaim the gospel faithfully and unapologetically.

We need men and women who will don the armour of God and wade out into the fray with the sword of the spirit and take gospel ground, winning souls from Satan’s maws and suring up their fellow soldiers of Christ to stand in the evil day.

We need men like Timothy.

Timothy was a man deployed by Paul to the front-lines at Ephesus so that he could hold the position. He was to fend off the erroneous teaching and build up that church under Christ our King.

What is 1 Timothy about?

This letter that we have before us now is a letter from Paul to Timothy to encourage him in the midst of his deployment, and to help him organize church well.

I some sense it is a leadership book, a book of church order, talking about how we should behave together, how to do leadership, and what is it that binds us all together.

How do you normally think about how to run church? When you think of the ideal church what do you think of?

Is it,

A nice building with a parents room up the back?

A large staff running a wide array of programmes?

A front for a charity?

A slick Sunday morning production complete with light show and a pastor who cracks lots of jokes?

Well, if you have any of those preconceived ideas about what church should be like, lets put them to the test. If you’re not a Christian yet, and you’re just curious about this Christianity stuff you’re invited to look here through all the religious noise and see what church is really meant to be like.

As we read this letter over the coming months, we are expecting to hear from God on how we are to “do” church here. We should expect to hear things that sound weird to our ears, because we need to run church God’s way, not how the culture says.

The temptation here may be to say, “Look, I don’t really need to know how to run church, that’s for the leadership to worry about, and I’m not going to be a church leader.”

But that is a unhelpful way of thinking, there are three big reasons for you to pay close attention:

If you are a Christian, you are a member of Christ body, and you have a special part to play in seeing God’s church built up. On a job-site you need a foreman, and laborers, and carpenters and electricians, and plumbers, etc. Just because you’re not a foreman, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a good idea of what the whole thing is meant to look like, or how your part fits into the rest.

Many of us will find ourselves looking for a church in the future, and we need to know what we’re looking for. Although it is a nice dream to live in one place and go to one church your whole life, the cultural reality in our moment is that we tend to move around, especially for our RAAF families. We need to know what we’re looking for in a biblical church.

We need to appoint more elders here. I am the only elder we have, and I am limited in capacity. Over the last couple years we have been moving toward appointing more pastors from among us, and it is increasingly apparent that we need to act on this. So,

You need to know what you’re looking for in a pastor, so that when the candidates are presented you can examine their lives in accordance with the biblical picture and add your voice to either affirm their appointment, or reject it.

Those men among us who may be appointed as elders need to know what it looks like to pastor a church. They need to see how God says to do it! They need to know what they’re aiming for, and what they’re signing up for.

SO as we make our way through this book over the coming months, be thinking in these terms. And be thinking who you would happily see appointed as a pastor over you.

Grace, Mercy & Peace

First section v1-2

A greeting, like most NT letters, in the ancient style.

We won’t spend too much time here, but lets just have a look at the salutation.

They start with who the letter was from, and who it was addressed to, with a little flourish.

1 Timothy 1:1–2 ESV

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul’s position as an apostle is divinely appointed.

Apostles have seen the resurrected Jesus, and were sent out by him with special commission.

Paul was an apostle by the command of God.

Preached to the gentiles primarily, beginning the task that we are still undertaking today: bringing the nations into Jesus Christ.

He did that by preaching the life, death and resurrection of Jesus as the salvation of all. He preached “Christ Jesus our Hope”

Paul was imprisoned and persecuted for this. Yet he kept preaching because Jesus was his sure and steadfast hope.

This letter doesn’t have a handy date in the top corner, so we don’t know exactly when it was written, but this seems to be during a period when Paul was out of prison. We estimate in the 60’s. So possibly 30 years after Jesus’ death. Could be earlier or later.

Addressed to Timothy, “true child in the faith”

We’ll talk more about Timothy’s faith in coming weeks,

Here we are reminded of the relationship - Paul a spiritual father, Timothy the Child

The apostle instructs his “son” on how he is to conduct himself, and how the church he looks after should be organised.

A Benediction Blessing for Timothy

A blessing is a kind of proclaimed prayer, in expectation that God will hear and give this. It’s not a call to fate or the cosmos to hear and supply, it is a short prayer of blessing for Timothy

Grace Mercy & Peace from God the Father and God the Son.

Kids, hear this: You know the doctrine of the trinity can get very confusing at times, not least because of verses like above where it said “by command of God AND Jesus” as if these were two different sources, but like in that part, and this next part, we are reminded of the complete unity of the Godhead.

Father Son & Spirit are in complete accordance as the one God in three persons revealed to us in the Bible. God is one in purpose, and so when Jesus commanded Paul be an apostle, God commanded it. When Paul asks for Grace, Mercy & Peace, he expects it from both the Father & the Son.

A blessing that each of us need from Father & Son!

A Great way to pray for others!

Something to ask for ourselves.

What does this greeting tell us about the Trinity?

Defending Doctrine

Next section, v3-7 - One of Timothy’s key jobs was to defend sound doctrine.

1 Timothy 1:3 ESV

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,

Timothy was comissioned to Ephesus, while Paul was off to Macedonia. Multiplying Gospel work through raising up more workers and sending them to key areas of need.

Urge! to remain - This was an important job!

Charge “certain” persons not to teach any different doctrine. Defend the faith. Declare, order, command these teachers on what they are to say.

Specifically...

1 Timothy 1:4 ESV

nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.

The teachers are to stay away from unprofitable speculation.

That’s why, although I’m happy to talk about any number of things with you in casual conversation, there are somethings that are not suited for the pulpit, because they are speculative, unknowable and thus unhelpful.

Instead of being devoted to myths and other curiosities, you must be devoted to Jesus and his Gospel.

The truth promotes stewardship from God.

This not how we think of pastors often these days. The office of elder or pastor has been stripped of it’s offensiveness and it is often seen as a position of management, or as a position for soft men to say nice things to give you a “pick-me-up” on Sunday mornings.

Pastor means “Shepherd” and David is held up as one of the Bible’s best pictures of this. He defended his sheep from attackers.

Christ is our great pastor, our great shepherd, and he defends his flock from the wolves. One of his weapons against the wolves is pastors who will wield the sword of the Spirit agaist the evil forces who wish to destroy God’s Church. They destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete. (2 Co 10:5–6).

Sometimes you Pastors will be stern and unmoving, and that is good! It means that they’re not push-overs. It means they have some backbone. It means they’re going to protect you, even from yoursellf!

But they must not attack the sheep! The sheep will need stern warnings at times, but the sheep should not bear the brunt of the attack.

What should be happening instead of bad doctrine and speculation? Pastors push toward

1 Timothy 1:5 ESV

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

This is the result of good teaching, as opposed to the others!

Love over all

Pure Heart

Good Conscience

Sincere Faith

1 Timothy 1:6–7 ESV

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.

They have wandered from love, pure hearts, good consciences and sincere faith.

what is the result

Vain discussion

lack of understanding

bad teaching

Jesus tells us to look out for bad teachers!

Matthew 7:15 ESV

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

What is one important job of a Pastor?

Law for the Lawless

Last section v8-11.

The fear of being pulled over by a policeman. We have no fear if we’ve done nothing wrong, but most of us know that we have, and we expect to be caught.

The Law of God, like policemen, is a not a fearful thing, but only if we’re on the right side of it!

1 Timothy 1:8–9 (ESV)

Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient...

Presumably Paul is responding to bad teaching on the role of the Law for Christians.

This Law is either the Torah, or the Moral Law, and we need to look at the context to understand which.

The misuse of the law is a problem even today, many Christians have an antinomian spirit, or, some are becoming modern-day judaisers, trying to get Christians to submit to the law from which they are freed.

We are no longer under law, but under grace. We relate to the law in a different way, it is no longer condemnation to us.

Paul says there is a proper use for the law, but if we are living the way we should be the law has nothing to say about us,

It is when we’re going against the law (being unjust) then the law thunders in our ears.

The law still has work to do! It teaches us right and wrong. It convicts those who are in sin, sins like:

1 Timothy 1:9–10 (ESV)

understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers ....

impious, irreverent, not fearing God - that's a sin

not set-apart from evil and wickedness.

destructive chaos, striking your authorities. They represent God to you, and if you hit them, it is as though you are raising your hand to strike God himself. There are ways to deal with bad authorities that are not representing God well, but assaulting them is not the way.

Murderers - pretty self explanatory. Remember infanticide is a type of murder - killing your child before it is born does not absolve you of murder.

Sexual immorality - catch all term for ungodly sexual behaviour - anything outside a man-woman covenant of marriage

But in case you were tempted to think homosexuality was excluded from that, it is specifically named. Homosexuality was a bit different back in ancient Rome, it was often perpetrated by an older man on a younger male under his power. This reference is probably referring to the perpetrator, rather than a victim. However, this does not validate the modern conception of homosexuality as a “loving union,” as Romans 1 and other passages make clear, it is all sin and evidence of rebellion against God.

Enslavers - as in kidnappers

Liar - all of us

Perjurer - lies under oath, e.g. in court, official procedings.

1 Timothy 1:10–11 (ESV)

... and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.

“whatever else” - indicates that this list is just a survey of what lawlessness looks like, it includes other things contrary to good teaching.

What does that good teaching look like? The Gospel!

Gospel of Glory - best news ever! Reveals God!

In order to have healthy churches we need teachers like Timothy who will proclaim sound doctrine, centered on the Gospel, and with the proper use of the law.

Preachers need to preach the Law! and you’ll know that they’re doing a good job when one person charges them with being legalistic, and another says that they preach too much grace.

How is God’s Law Helpful to us?

So What?

Letter to Timothy on how to run Church

Paul says, Central to his job is defending the faith from false teaching. Defending Doctrine is not just the purview of scholars with PHDs coming out their ears, it is the job of every local pastor to be able to clearly teach the faith and respond to those who try to slip in destructive lies.

The Law of God is still to be used. It is not a slave master to the Christian, but it is still the abiding truth by which we judge right and wrong. And it is still the standard.