The Pattern of Mercy
1 Timothy: Training For Godliness • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Transcript
Introduction:
Introduction:
In the 1700s, John Newton was a sailor and slave trader—profane, violent, and openly hostile to Christianity. He later wrote that he had “no fear of God before his eyes” and took pride in his cruelty.
Yet after a violent storm at sea, Newton cried out for mercy. Over time, Christ not only forgave him—He transformed him.
But here’s the remarkable part: Newton wasn’t merely forgiven. He was entrusted.
He became a pastor, a mentor to William Wilberforce, and the author of the hymn Amazing Grace—a hymn written by a man who never forgot what he had been saved from.
Newton once said, “I am a great sinner, but Christ is a great Savior.”
That single sentence could have been written by the apostle Paul.
Every once in a while you hear about a person whose life is so radically changed, just like John Newton, that everyone around them says, “There’s no explanation for that except the power of God.” The old life doesn’t match the new life. The direction is different. The loves are different. The fruit is different.
That’s exactly what Paul is doing here. He’s not writing a résumé—he’s giving a testimony. He’s not building his reputation—he’s magnifying Christ. Paul wants the church to see that the gospel is not a theory. It is the power of God to take the worst sinner and make him a faithful servant.
And if Christ can take Paul—the persecutor—and make him Paul—the preacher—then no one in this room is beyond hope, and no one in this room is disqualified from usefulness when they truly come to Christ.
Recap:
Recap:
Last week we looked at Paul’s warning to Timothy that false teachers:
drift into speculation and endless disputes,
twist the law and miss the gospel,
elevate themselves and corrupt the church.
Now Paul does something strategic: he doesn’t only refute false teachers—he puts the true gospel on display through his own life.
vv. 12–14) Christ appoints and empowers his servants:
vv. 12–14) Christ appoints and empowers his servants:
[12] Jesus Christ appointed Paul to serve. This is a critical fact. Paul says that he didn’t make himself a minister nor did other people choose him to be a minister.
There is something to be said about the great dignity of the apostleship, which Paul claimed to be given; and after all he could not, looking at his former life, be accounted at all worthy of such a high honor as being an apostle.
Paul didn’t choose the ministry because he thought it would be a good profession nor because people thought he would make a good minister. He was in minsitry for one reason only…Jesus Christ had chosen him and put him into ministry.
Note these four truths:
Christ Jesus enabled Paul. The word enabled (endunamoo) means to strengthen and give power to. The power of Paul’s ministry came from Christ. Christ have him the means and the strength to minister. Paul’s strength and power to minister did not come from his:
trying to stir up power within himself.
talking about the results and power in his ministry.
trying to strategically maneuver strength and power into his ministry.
Or trying to shout power into his preaching.
Christ Himself put Paul into ministry; meaning Christ Himself strengthened and empowered Paul for the ministry. No person has to power to do spiritual warfare; no person can pervade the spirits of others.
If a person is to minister effectively to others, they must be empowered by Christ, for only Christ can effect the spirits of people. Again meaning, anyone who wishes to minister effectively must posses the power of Christ.
So here is a thought we must carefully consider. It means a person cannot make themselves a minister nor can other persons choose them to be ministers either (I am not talking about pastoral minsitry, but the ministry call given to all Christians).
Sure you can try and minister and be effective in your own flesh, and God can use you in spite of of that. However, in the flesh you cannot be a minister who pleases Christ, the Savior of your soul.
No person can carry on a successful ministry in their own strength, at least not a minsitry which truly reaches people for Christ and delivers them from sin, death, and the judgement to come.
Family, only Christ can do this. Now this doubly applies to the pastoral minsitry of a church, to the elders (chapter 3) and pastors. This simply truth is the reason the pastor and elders of a church must be enabled by Christ; he must minister in the strength and power of Christ.
Now a person who is in the minsitry because he has chosen the ministry as a profession or because people thought he would make a good pastor is only serving a humanistic religion.
Of course, a humanistic preacher—a preacher who ministers only in his human strength—does some good through social and emotional development. However, there is much harm to be had by the hands of such a person too.
After all he is not able to spiritual save a person—not a single person—from sin, death, and the judgement to come. Only Christ Jesus can do this. Therefore, the only way a minister can be what he should be:
is to be put in the ministry by Christ Jesus.
is to be enabled (strengthened and empowered) by Christ Jesus.
[Example of C.H. Spurgeon]
Turn in your Bibles to:
16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.
18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, 10 but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
Christ Jesus considered Paul trustworthy. This is a wonderful thought, that Christ would consider us trustworthy. He trusts us to be faithful, and in the final analysis, He knows we will be faithful to Him. This is one of the reasons He chooses and puts us in the minsitry.
No matter how far down a minister falls, they should always remember Christ Jesus considers them faithful. Jesus knows the ministers of Christ will arise and begin to serve with renewed fervor.
This is one of the reasons Christ called you and I to minister; because in the end you and I will be faithful. But how do we know this? Because of the forgiveness and power and faithfulness of Christ.
Therefore, any true minister, a true Christian, who has fallen (backslidden or in blatant open rebellion) will arise and seek the forgiveness of Christ and begin to walk anew in the strength and power of Christ.
William Barclay has an excellent message for us as we deal with our dear brothers and sisters who have fallen:
“It was to Paul an amazing thing, that he, the arch-persecutor, had been chosen as the missionary and the pioneer of Christ. It was not only that Jesus Christ had forgiven him; it was that Christ had trusted him. Sometimes in human affairs we forgive a man who has committed some mistake or who has been guilty of some sin, but we make it very clear that his past makes it impossible for us to trust him again with any responsibility. But Christ had not only forgiven Paul, He had entrusted him with His work to do. The man who had been the persecutor of Christ had been made the ambassador of Christ.”–Barclay
2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.
4 But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. 5 For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak for covetousness—God is witness.
2 in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, 3 but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior;
[13] Christ Jesus forgave his terrible sins. Paul mentions three terrible sin of which he had been guilty of.
Blasphemy: he had insulted, reviled, cursed, and protested strongly against the name of Christ.
Persecutor: he had been so angry at Christ he had set out to wipe the Lord’s name off the face of the earth. Meaning, he had been set against all believers—dead set on destroying them.
Violently arrogant (insolent man): insolent means to treat and use other despitefully; to be brutal and violent and to enjoy it; to be in a fiery rage and to inflict it upon others.
William Barclay states the word,
indicates a kind of arrogant sadism; it describes the man who is out to inflict pain and injury for the sheer joy of inflicting it…that is what Paul was once like in regard to the Christian Church. Not content with words of insult, he went to the limit of legal persecution. Not content with legal persecution, he went to the limit of sadistic brutality in his attempt to stamp out the Christian faith.”–Barclay
[might be some here struggling with this sin, know that if Paul was able to overcome through the power of Christ…there is hope for you too.]
However despite all this evil, God had mercy upon Paul. Paul had not known Christ was really the true Messiah. He thought he knew God and his religion was the true religion. He was wrong, Judaism is not the true religion Christianity is.
Paul felt any religion which stood against his was to be stamped out. Therefore, when Paul attacked Christ and His followers, he did it ignorantly in unbelief. He just did not believe Jesus Christ could possibly be the Messiah. He was wrong.
The point is this: God had mercy upon Paul. He took pity upon Paul despite his terrible sins.
16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.
[Turn in your Bibles to:]
4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
22 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
18 Who is a God like You,
Pardoning iniquity
And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?
He does not retain His anger forever,
Because He delights in mercy.
[14] Christ Jesus poured out His grace upon Paul. Remember: grace means the underserved favor and blessings of God. God’s unmerited favor.
Christ favored Paul even when he didn’t deserve it.
Christ blessed Paul even when he didn’t deserve it.
And note, Christ favored and blessed him exceedingly and abundantly, that is, superabundantly and beyond measure.
Christ did two things for Paul:
Christ stirred faith in Paul: the faith to believe and trust and to serve and to keep on serving no matter the trial, problem, or fatigue.
Christ stirred love in Paul: the love to still reach out and do all he could for people even when they rejected, ridiculed, abused, and persecuted him.
4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
[Look at this passage with me]
11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
Application:
Application:
Application (Church):
If you’re serving in any capacity—kids ministry, worship, greeting, teaching, counseling—you need Christ’s strength, not mere human energy.
Don’t asking only, “Am I capable?” and begin asking, “Am I dependent?”
Pray before you serve. Ask for filling, wisdom, humility, boldness. (John 15:5 is implied all over this passage.)
Application (Pastoral/Elder leadership):
The church does not primarily need gifted men; it needs God-enabled men.
A “human-strength ministry” may impress people, but it cannot rescue souls.
Paul’s confidence isn’t in Paul—his confidence is in Christ’s power and Christ’s mercy.
vv. 15–16) The Gospel message is for everyone:
vv. 15–16) The Gospel message is for everyone:
[15] This is the first of five “faithful sayings” in the Pastoral Epistles. And the reason Paul is able to say, “this is a faithful saying” is because it is the Word of God, who can neither lie nor be mistaken. What this means for us, is that we can afford to believe this statement with complete trust. In fact, to disbelieve is to be unreasonable and unwise.
It is also “worthy of all acceptance because it applies to all, tells what God has done for all, and extends the gift of salvation to all.
Christ came into the world to save sinners. There isn’t a single person on earth who should reject or ignore the message. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” Christ actually left the heavenly to come into the physical world in order to save the human race. He alone saves from sin, death, and the judgment to come. No matter how sinful a person is—no matter how great a sin or sins they have committed—Christ came to save them…you.
And, here is the real kicker, they can be saved. The point is this—every true minister has been saved by Christ or else they are not a true minister. It is just as necessary for a minister to be saved as it is for anyone else. Every human being needs salvation, and once they are saved—no matter how terrible their sin—Christ can put them into the minsitry.
10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
47 And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.
25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
Christ has saved the worst sinner (at least according to Paul).
Someone who has:
Blasphemed: being filled with anger and malice against Christ; cursing and blaspheming His name with a bitter hostility.
Persecuted believers (true Christians) and tried to annihilate them off the face of the earth.
Injuring these Christians; Paul was brutal and violent against then and to some degree enjoyed it.
Family, Christ will save anyone who confesses he is a sinner and in need of salvation. Again, no matter how terrible the sin, if the person will confess and turn from their sin, Christ will save them.
Why?
The truth is simple, Christ came to save sinners. This was His very purpose for coming into the world. To bring redemption to a race, dead and lost in their sin. And what Paul is getting at is this, every true minister is to know how terrible a sinner they are. The simple fact is we are just as much a sinner as Paul was. And as such, any minister and especially a pastor, should be conscious of being a sinner as much as anyone else. They are to be aware to some degree to be “the chief” of sinners or else he lacks a true sense of God’s holiness and of man’s depravity.
12 When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,
Christ saved Paul as an example of His great mercy. Family, it is simple, Paul is the prime example:
That any sinner, no matter how terrible their sin, can be saved— if they will only receive Christ and begin to follow Him.
That any believer can be delivered from sin and from the power of sin, no matter how strong the enslavement is—if they will only receive the power of Christ and actually follow Him with a renewed commitment.
It is hard not to be discouraged when we glimpse how wicked we truly are at times, especially when we are not walking rightly with the Lord.
Our mind is alway impelled to look at our worthiness; and as soon as our unworthiness is seen, our confidence sinks. Accordingly, the more any one is oppressed by his sins, let him the more courageously betake himself to Christ, relying on this doctrine, that he came to bring salvation not to the righteous, but to “sinners.”—Calvin
Again, Paul’s point is this: A true pastor is an example of the Lord’s great longsuffering. The Lord has saved the pastor from sin, the Lord has save the person in ministry from sin, and truly saved them. Therefore, a minister of the gospel should stand as a dynamic example of God’s eternal mercy and eternal grace.
24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
[Assistant Pastor//Jeffery Domer]
Christ died not for the righteous but for the guilty is the great through that is on his [Paul] mind, and he has no hesitancy in declaring it and in speaking most boldly concerning the exceedingly abundant grace of God in forgiving sin. The union of these two feelings in Paul is by no means an unusual occurence among human minds, for you will generally find that the people who are most clear in their witness that salvation is by grace are also the people for whom sin is exceedingly sinful. Indeed, all those who prize grace most are those who also feel most sorrow concerning their transgressions.–Spurgeon
Application:
Application:
This passage should give you boldness to share the gospel with the difficult.
The coworker you think will never listen, the family member you’ve thought about giving up on, the addict, the angry skeptic—Paul is proof: Christ saves sinners.
v. 17) Doxology—a word ascribing glory to God:
v. 17) Doxology—a word ascribing glory to God:
Family, Christ is to be praised. Thinking of the glorious salvation which Christ had given to him led Paul to break forth into praise. This is truly a great doxology (a word ascribing glory to God):
God is the King eternal: the word eternal is literally ages. God is the King, the sovereign majesty of the ages, both past ages, this age, and the age to come.
God is immortal: meaning, incorruptible. He has no seed of corruption, no seed of aging, deterioration, or decay within His being. God cannot die. He alone has immortality (a divine attribute):
16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.
God is invisible: He cannot be seen by people.
God is the only wise God: He is the only living and true God, the only God who actually possesses intelligence and wisdom, who can truthfully interact with the world and save men.
6 that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
Application:
Application:
Application (Church):
If the gospel has become ordinary to you, ask God to restore wonder.
Worship isn’t a mood; it’s a response to truth.
The more you remember what you were saved from, the more you’ll love the Savior who saved you.
Closing Exhortation:
Closing Exhortation:
Church family, this is the message:
Don’t try to do God’s work in your own strength. Christ enables those He calls.
Don’t believing your past disqualifies you. Mercy meets the guilty.
Don’t treating grace like a small thing. Grace overflows into faith and love.
Don’t thinking the gospel is only for “good people.” Christ came to save sinners.
Begin to worship like someone rescued. Because you were.
And if you’re here today and you know you’re not right with God—don’t clean yourself up and then come. Come now.
The faithful saying still stands:
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. So run to Him. Trust Him. Follow Him. And then live as what you truly are: a trophy of grace.
Benediction:
Benediction:
24 The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:
25 The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26 The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
