Proclaim & Protect Priority #4: The Pursuit of Godliness. 1 Timothy 4:1-10

Proclaim and Protect Priority #4: The Pursuit of Godliness.

1 Timothy 4:1-10

1 Timothy 4:1-10

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, 3 who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. 6 If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. 7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. 10 For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.“

As we have mentioned many times over the last few months, the end of 1 Timothy 3 provides the central theme and purpose of Pauls letter to Timothy.

The church is called to proclaim and protect the gospel of Jesus Christ.

1 Timothy 3:14-16

14 I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, 15 if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. 16 Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

Paul aims to provide instruction and clarity to what it means to be the church.

The church is the household of God.

The church is called to proclaim & protect the truth- the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The mystery of godliness is that Jesus is at the center of the church, its teaching, and its practices.

And Jesus is at the center of the church in its teaching and its practices.

What was once a mystery is now known… and it is the mission and responsibility of the church and each Christian to proclaim the truth of Christ and to live according to Jesus.

When you consider the passage that leads up to the central part of the letter… Where Paul writes to Timothy about the roles of elders/overseers and deacons… you can begin to see here in verses 14-16 that the goal of their ministries is directly related to the church and her relationship with Jesus.

The pastors (elders) and deacons of the church are both called to serve the church in such a way that the mystery of Christ is made known to the church and through the church.

Because the mystery of Christ is central to the mission, message, and life of the church… the church and her leaders must know how to tell the difference between false and true teaching of the gospel.

How do you know the difference between false and true teaching? The difference between false teaching and true teaching is the goal.

And the goal is the result of the source of the teaching…

4:1-

“The Spirit says”

1 Timothy 3:16 Paul writes that Jesus appeared in the flesh and was vindicated by the Spirit”

The same Spirit that testifies to the truth of Jesus has also said that in later times some will depart from the faith.

The context of the NT is the later times of false teaching, persecution, and testing. So, Paul is not writing about some time in the future to Timothy, he is reminding Timothy of what they were told would happen.

Most of us don’t come to the teaching of the Word assuming we will hear false teaching… but, the Spirit has warned us that it will happen, and as Paul has pointed out in this letter, it is happening here in the church at Ephesus.

But how does it happen and Where does false teaching come from?

False teaching comes through teachers who are insincere

False teaching comes through teachers whose consciences are seared.

What is the aim of false teaching?

False teachers preach messages and provide applications that don’t depend on Jesus and don’t lead people to live faithful to Jesus.

False teaching denies the creator and exalts the created.

In Ephesus they are teaching against things that God has created and designed for good.

marriage

Food

Both of these are issues that are addressed in Christ, in fact these are both corrected and placed in their right places through Christ.

What was lost has been restored and redeemed in Christ.

False teaching denies the creator and his designs. False teaching takes what God has said is good and twists it, and takes what God has called sin and presents it as good.

If you are only looking for one or two major sin issues when you listen for false teaching you will miss the point that Paul is bringing to us here. False teachers present a gospel that doesn’t depend on Jesus, instead it’s a message that depends on your work rather than the work of Christ.

False teaching will lead people to a life of earning and dealing.

Even going so far as to tell that God will do something for you if you do something for him… but, that is contrary to the gospel. The gospel is that God has done for us when we could not do anything because of our sin.

John Stott writes about this passage as a sort of test that God gives us to be able to discern the difference between false and true teaching.

Where does truthful teaching come from?

1 Timothy 4:6-7

“If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.”

Truthful teaching comes through teachers who are faithful servants of Jesus Christ.

Truthful teaching comes through teachers who know the Word and live with good consciences.

If the goal of false teaching is earning and dealing by relying upon yourself, then truthful teaching will be the opposite.

The goal of truthful teaching is godliness.

1 Timothy 4:8-10

“Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. 10 For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.”

Godliness is not about earning God’s favor.

Godliness is not about making deals with God.

A godly life is one that has moved from self-centeredness to Christ-centeredness.

When Paul writes and says that bodily training is of some value… it’s true. there is some general value to self control in this life. Self control can produce many good benefits for you and for others. but, self-control or bodily training does not necessarily exalt God.

But, living for God does involve self-control. There is a direct correlation between the spiritual and the physical, but there i snot a guaranteed correlation between the physical to the spiritual.

So, while there is a benefit to physical training… it is a temporary benefit, but there is an eternal benefit to the pursuit of godliness.

Training in godliness is central to the life of a born again Christian.

This is a trustworthy statement… that refers to the truth about the value of godliness in contrast to the value of bodily training. And, because it is such a central part of the Christian life Paul says that it is to that end we toil and we strive.

The contrast between toiling and striving for godliness, versus toiling and striving for God to pay attention to us are present in this passage. false teachers present the pursuit of physical denial and self-control as the means of receiving grace. But, the gospel is that grace is given through Jesus, and godliness is the means by which we demonstrate our love and gratitude to Him.

Jesus is the Savior of all people… but that doesn’t mean that everyone will be saved.

Jesus is the Savior of all people because there is only one Savior for all people.

What this means is back in 1 Timothy 2:3-6, “This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all…”

As it says in verse 10, Jesus is the savior for all, especially to those who believe… because it is those who believe who are saved and who have been born-again by the power of the Holy Spirit.

As it says in 1 Timothy 3:16, a brief hymn or poem of the early church- He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. (1 Timothy 3:16, ESV)

Those who believe in Jesus are the church, the household of God, the church of the living God… and those who are His pursue godliness because of what He has done for them, not in hopes that he will do something for them.

Christians train in godliness by knowing and practicing the Word.

We need faithful preachers preaching to faithful hearers.

We learn the Word…

We learn to practice the Word…

We encourage others to know and practice the Word

We are encouraged by others to know and practice the Word.

False teachers present silly myths, but the Word is true… there is nothing more true in the world than the Word of God. To practice godliness requires the Word… and godliness is the word associated with perseverance.

2 Peter 1:5-11

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Christians persevere in godliness by fixing our hope on Jesus Christ.

Godliness is the description of a life that is consistent and that has preserved in faithfulness to the Lord.

The source of our consistency is the source of our hope and motivation. if it is self, it will wither and fall away. But, Scripture says that if we fix our hope on Jesus… then he will see us through!

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:13, ESV)

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. (Romans 15:13, ESV)

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. (Philippians 3:13–15, ESV)

The goal of our teaching is godliness because the goal of our lives and the church is Jesus!