What Is Our Aim?

This is a letter to Timothy from Paul, instructing Him to deal with false teachers, establish proper church government, and to establish proper worship.

Today we are going to begin looking at things that were happening with false teachers.

Stewardship

v.4b

There were teachings going on that promoted speculations.

The context being that it wasn’t speculations to spur people to the scripture, but to drive them away from scripture.

Speculations that bring about disorder.

Speculation that caused them to question their faith.

This is why Paul is telling Timothy that a leader is to be a steward.

One that sets things into proper order.

One who spurs people to grow in the Lord, to grow in their faith.

To do this, Paul tells Timothy that he must keep focused on what his aim is.

Aim=Telos

v.5

Aim = Telos

What is the target that is focused on?

What is the completion of all the work we are doing?

If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.

Goals are a good idea becasue they let the noise of the world drift away.

In all the arguing and dissension that might take place, it allows us to be focused on where we are going.

When I was a young boy, we used to go boating. My dad would show a spot on the horizon and would say, “keep the bow fixed on that point.”

No matter the currents or the waves, you had a position to pursue, and no matter what else happened you would steer towards it.

The WSC #1 asks us what’s the chief end of man.

What is the end goal, everything we work for?

It also tells us what our bow should be pointed at, to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.

This means that when we are orienting our lives the question that we should ask ourselves is: (1) Is this glorifying to God and (2) Is this enjoying and glorifying Him in a way that is glorifying to Him.

That is what we were created for.

Paul here is telling Timothy, this is the point of ministry. This is the job that you were called to.

The whole point is to love, that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

What does that mean?

Love

This is not what you think is best for the, not what they think is best for themselves, but what does God say is best for them. Then we move forward that direction.

Our inclination can be to appease them rather than love them. Because by appeasing them, it eases our pain, it’s easier on us to agree with them and go with the flow.

If your dealing with a child who is a glutton, it’s easier to give them another piece of cake than it is to hear them cry and scream while you teach them about self control.

Loving them is doing the hard thing that will guide them to the feet of Jesus.

We are told to do this with a pure heart.

Pure Heart

God commands us to love, but that love must be pure.

Where does pure love come from?

Psalm 51:10

Psalm 51:10 ESV

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

It comes as a supernatural creation by God himself.

He is the one who purifies us and establishes our feet on the straight path.

What does love, undefiled by sin look like?

1 Peter 1:22

It looks like obedience to the truth.

We see the words of God in sacred scripture as commands, that must be followed.

It means we do not insist of our own way, but we carefully examine scripture and learn to do it God’s way.

We must understand, if God says something. That is the command, not a suggestion.

We must orient our lives that way.

When Paul says to love from a pure heart. We are loving them with the commands of God in the forefront; and a desire of glorifying God as the telos.

Good Conscience

To love with a good conscience.

This is being able to distinguish between right and wrong.

The problem is, sometimes the reason we love, isn’t out of good conscience.

This means that our bent conscience can be motivating us out of guilt. The feeling of guilt can be a huge motivator, and sometimes when swayed by our sinful desires, it sways us in wrong directions.

Example: Father and Mother divorce leaving a child stuck between two homes.

Because of the guilt that they feel, they will then begin to allow the child to get away with things, maybe spoil the child all becasue of their guilt.

That’s not loving out of a good conscience, it’s appeasing out of guilt.

Paul is saying, when you love. It must not be tainted by guilt, but must be motivated rightly, or else it isn’t love and it will not end well.

Sincere Faith

What is faith but our faith is our trust in God.

The absence of faith would be to trust in ourselves.

If we shy away from telling someone the truth, becasue we are afraid of their reaction.

We have failed to love them and we have failed to put our trust in God, and we have put it in our own intellect.

If we decide not to rebuke a brother or sister for sin becasue we are afraid of how they will react.

You are no longer loving from a sincere faith, you have a false love that is based on presumptions, and you are failing to take God at His word and act the way He commands you.

You must love the affections of God more than the admiration of man.

What He thinks about you, that is most important, let the rest of the chips fall where they will, YOU FOLLOW GOD!

Paul is telling Timothy, you must love the people. That is done by the love you have for God directing the affections of the people towards Him.

Teaching this, is to be the telos of Timothy’s teaching. The main goal that He is trying to accomplish.

False Teachers

The problem in Ephesus, they have now had false teachers, arise from within the church.

False teachers who’s love’s and affections are bent.

They are no longer directed towards the one whom all honor and glory is due. They are now directed at other things.

This is sin.

What have their desires re-directed them towards?

Different Doctrine

v.4

They aren’t teaching the same thing that Paul taught.

They have left their first love is the rebuke to this church in Revelation.

Becasue of this, they are diverting to wrong doctrines that are being taught.

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Myths

Myths are described as useless fabrications.

They were popular teaching methods with the Greeks.

They were telling stories that might have some moral significance, but they were missing the heart of the gospel.

That God had organized a plan from eternity past, where His Son would pay the price to redeem us from our sin, and that the Holy Spirit would make dead men live!

For that is the gospel, we have been brought from dead to life.

Then, we are to see what a sanctified life looks like, so we can fulfill our purpose in this life in glorifying God, and properly enjoying His creation.

The myths were stories, that missed the heart of that gospel.

They were stories that made the people feel better about their sin, and how they live.

Sound familiar? You can heart that from false teachers on the television today.

Endless Genealogies

Popular teaching methods with the Jews.

They were biblical genealogies or Jewish stories that were trying to retrieve theological or moral claims from biblical genealogies.

They were trying to use these genealogies to authorize doctrine or practices that conflict with the church’s rule of faith, mainly that salvation is through Christ alone, by faith alone.

Our Aim

What is our aim as a church?

Do we as a church exist to make people feel good?

Do we want to look at a friend, who’s life is a train wreck and say tell them,

The scripture says, “all of God’s promises are yes and amen.” We should get up every morning and say, “Father, thank you for yesses today. Yes, I’m surrounded by your favor.”

A nice little saying, that takes a verse out of scripture and fills us with empty hope.

Or do we want to be the type that looks at our friend who’s life is a train wreck and tell them.

“Your life is a train wreck. Jesus Christ died so that we might be forgiven from our sins. If you say He is your Lord, you must die to your sin. You need to turn and flee from the sin that is plaguing your life. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, there is hope for your life to be restored. Let’s look to the scripture, and see where to start.”

I know that I want to have genuine love, love from a pure heart, love that is from a pure conscience, love that is from a sincere faith.

I pray that you church, desire the same things. And desire to glorify God, and make Christ known.