1 Timothy 4:6-16 Sunday Morning Study

Introduction

Good morning, good to see everyone, pull out Bibles, if anyone needs one, we gotchu

We’ll be in 1 timothy 4:6-16

Background while they flip to the text: We’ve been in 1 Timothy for a few weeks talking about how people in the church should act, what they should believe, what leadership in the church should look like, the difference in men and women’s roles in the church, and this week, we’re looking at some personal notes from the author of this book, Paul, to Timothy on his ministry and how that correlates with our lives.

The Training of the Faith v. 6-8

Recap from last week:

Remember last week, Joe led us through verses 1-5 of chapter 4, and we talked about false teachings about marriage and false doctrines that were arising in the Ephesian church where Timothy was essentially pastoring.

But as we see in today’s verses, Paul begins to encourages Timothy, by urging him to cling to godly and correct doctrine in verses 6-8. Last week we saw the bad doctrine, and now we cling to the good doctrine

(Have someone read verses 6-8).

The importance of Timothy’s leadership in keeping sound doctrine

Paul’s teaching Timothy the importance of continual growth in wisdom and understanding of godly doctrine.

Now I know we’ve said the word ‘doctrine’ a bunch, but can someone define that word for everyone, so we’re all on the same page?

Doctrine is essentially a set of beliefs, and there are different kinds a doctrine some more important than others, but here Paul is talking about core doctrines to the faith

Paul wants to make sure that the Church is clinging to the important things in the faith, not the random, goofy myths as he mentions in verse 7.

In verse 7, he talks about having nothing to do with irreverent and silly myths is how the ESV puts it. In the original language of Greek, Paul essentially calls them wives’ tales. These would be odd teachings that have been passed down through Jewish tradition.

So the myths Paul and Timothy are dealing with in Ephesus are like us saying hey you cannot baptize somebody until 30 minutes after they’ve eaten. They’ll cramp up and it’ll be bad. Like, we don’t know if that old wives tale is true or not, I’m gonna baptize this person now!

We don’t need to listen to these old goofy teachings! Some of them would have been much more serious than that though. It would have been old wives’ tales about angels.

But Paul says to disregard those things and cling to the real teachings, more specifically the ones about Jesus, the one’s about God.

Why? Because it is better to grow in eternal things than in temporary things.

Paul uses a concept that was popular during his time and is still popular today. He talks about training your physical body.

Is it good to train your body? Yes. Is it good to play sports? Yes. Is it ok to work out and eat right? Yes! But it is even better to grow in your understanding and wisdom of the things of God. It is better to grow in your relationship with God, your love for Him, your trust in Him because it’s eternal.

(transition to app.) Our bodies will wither away, but God’s Word never perishes. This is why we need to train ourselves for godliness. This is why we need to learn holy doctrine.

Application:

How do we cling to holy doctrine? By looking to what God has said in His Word.

We develop sound doctrine by reading the Bible, and not just by reading the Bible once a week when we go to church but everyday!

We need to open His Word daily and learn what Jesus taught the disciples, learn what Paul has to say about sin, salvation, and forgiveness, learn what promises God gave to His people all throughout time. Through studying these things, we study God and who He is. We learn what kind of relationship He wants with us.

There’s a reason, Paul uses the word ‘train,’ and it’s because it’s like working out a muscle, and it’s a muscle you must keep working on. If you stop working on it, it becomes flab. It takes discipline and doing it when you don’t feel like it.

Paul tells Timothy he will be a good servant of Christ Jesus when he puts holy doctrine before the Ephesians. Why? Because Paul knows that sound doctrine helps God’s people act more like they’re God’s people. It’s something he must train for EVERY DAY, and it’s something the Ephesians need to train for EVERY DAY. It’s something we must train for EVERY DAY.

(Have someone read verses 8-10)

(segway into next point) This is the mission of the Faith, this is why we, like Timothy, train ourselves for godliness.

The Mission of the Faith v. 8-10

It is because we have our hope set on the living God, set on Jesus.

Question 1: Can anyone tell me what hope is? Hope is a desire and longing for something. It is a trust that something is going to happen.

Question 2: What does it mean to have our hope in God? I think we use that phrasing a lot in Christian circles, but if you are new to the faith, that phrase may not make a lot of sense to you.

To have your hope in God, is to say that you believe that Jesus is who He says He is, and that His promise that if you put your faith in Him, you will live forever in eternity with Him.

That Hope you have or that desire you have is for eternity with God, right?

Paul says that it is to this end that we toil and strive.

Because we know that eternity is coming, we work and we push and we do things we may not feel like doing. We train ourselves for eternity.

Some of you guys may remember that a few weeks ago when I took us through 1 Timothy 3 we talked about how that passage about pastors and deacons pointed towards spiritual maturity.

Application:

If you want to work on your spiritual maturity, start thinking about how you view your time with the Lord. Are you paying too much attention to what’s going on before you or what’s in your heart that you just cannot get to your quiet time? Are you making excuses? Are you prioritizing video games or sport activities or outings with your friends?

Remember the mission

If you’re too wrapped up in these things, remember the mission: eternity with Jesus. That will put everything in perspective.

Sometimes putting things into perspective hurts. Trust me, I know, and it took me a long time to condition myself, more specifically my wicked heart to let go of the things I thought were most important and to press on towards eternity.

I know it’s hard, but I promise it gets easier, especially as you fall more in love with your Savior.

(Have someone read verses 11-16)

The Responsibilities of the Faith v. 11-16

Transition: Now let’s talk about some of the responsibilities of the faith that everyone has.

In these last few verses Paul gives Timothy some wisdom that’s specific to him and his leadership in the church, but it’s things that we all need to be thinking about.

Cultural Norms, Study the Word, Spiritual Gifts, OH MY!

He begins the section talking about Timothy’s age. He says don’t let anyone despise you for your age, which in reality went against the culture norm at that time. Timothy was 30 years old, was new to leading people spiritually, the culture and society taught that children weren’t worth anything and the older you are the wiser you are.

Timothy was up against a lot of cultural norms in his leadership.

But Paul encouraged him to set an example for them. He was to set a godly example that would compel them to follow him whether they like it or not.

He also instructed him to lead the Ephesians in continual study of scripture.

Paul says in verse 13, “Until I come devote yourself to the public reading of scripture, exhortation, to teaching.”

This is what we call sermons. This is studying God’s Word, reading it out loud, and allowing it to change us.

Timothy must of had a special gift in this because Paul reminds him of his gift of teaching and he tells him not to neglect this gift but practice it. He says immerse yourself in it so that you may grow in this talent.

He says, persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. It sounds like he’s saying that stewarding your spiritual gift will save you and others, but what it means is that Timothy’s gift of teaching helps keep God’s people on the right track spiritually. The study of God’s Word keeps people from veering off from the faith so they might endure to the end.

Transition: As we see in this text, Timothy has a lot that he is responsible for as both a leader and a regular follower of Jesus.

Application

Question: Can someone tell me what a responsibility is?

It’s something you will be held accountability for handling well.

And in this passage, we see some things we all will be held responsible for, and I want to ask you all about them, and as I ask them I want you to silently and honestly answer these questions to yourself.

What kind of example are you setting?

Remember Paul tells Timothy not to let anyone despise him for his age, and while this is directed towards a 30 year old man leading a church, it could be said to someone who is 12 years old.

I think this is one of the most convicting verses in the Bible for a young Christian because you care so much about what the older students think of you which is funny because the odds are they care so much what others think about them they’re not thinking about you at all.

But sometimes that fear of others, especially those older than you, shoves you down from living out your faith the way you know you should be.

But you don’t need to wait to get older or win the respect of others before you live out your faith. Paul told Timothy to set an example for the others. A 6th grader could lead a 12th grader if they would just grow in their faith, love others, control their speech, and walk in purity. Set so good of an example that the others cannot help but follow after it!

Are you devoting yourself to studying scripture?

The second responsibility we have to think about is how you are devoting yourself to studying scripture.

We talked earlier about the importance of having sound doctrine and Paul implores Timothy to devote himself to the study of it.

This isn’t something you do alone too, so I ask you my next question

Are you devoted to a community?

Do you have fellow Christians around you that will walk with you through your faith

Do you have people around you who know your struggles and are willing to pray for you?

Are you stewarding your gift well?

Like Timothy, all Christians have one or multiple spiritual gifts God gives us to use for His Kingdom.

As we see from the text, Paul encouraged Timothy to grow in his gift of teaching, and he tells him to devote himself to practice it.

What are you gifts if you know and how are you developing that skill and using it for the Kingdom?

This leads me to my last question for you guys to think about

Are you impacting the Kingdom?

How are you guys sharing the Gospel? How are you taking the incredible faith you have been given through the love of Jesus and sharing that with others?

(Give them 5-ish minutes to think about this)

Tie everything together and close with prayer.

I hope you guys are continuously training in your faith, keeping the mission of it all in view, and stewarding everything the Lord’s given you well.