Losing Sight of the Gospel Goal
Gospel Formed • Sermon • Submitted
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· 6 viewsSubject: Distracted from the Gospel CIT: Paul sent Timothy to Ephesus to correct teachers who have swerved from stewarding the gospel. Prop: Believers should not get side tracked from the church's responsibility of stewarding the gospel
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Transcript
There is a story involving Yogi Berra, the well-known catcher for the New York Yankees, and Hank Aaron, who at that time was the chief power hitter for the Milwaukee Braves. The teams were playing in the World Series, and as usual Yogi was keeping up his ceaseless chatter, intended to pep up his teammates on the one hand, and distract the Milwaukee batters on the other. As Aaron came to the plate, Yogi tried to distract him by saying, “Henry, you’re holding the bat wrong. You’re supposed to hold it so you can read the trademark.” Aaron didn’t say anything, but when the next pitch came he hit it into the left-field bleachers. After rounding the bases and tagging up at home plate, Aaron looked at Yogi Berra and said, “I didn’t come up here to read.”
As a church, we must be constantly reminding ourselves what exactly we are here for. Just like Yogi Berra trying to distract Hank Aaron from hitting, we have an enemy that wants to distract us as a church from what Christ has created us to accomplish.
The devil began starting to distract churches from their mission from the very beginning of the church. As I said last week, the early church was anything but a perfectly sanctified utopia. It was filled with saved people who still struggle with an old sin nature, just like we are.
That is what we see in Paul’s letter to Timothy. Even in Paul’s lifetime, he saw the very churches that he had influence in starting, begin to struggle and get sidetracked from the mission it was created for.
This is why Paul actually sent Timothy to Ephesus. To correct the the direction that the church had started going. Notice v.3-4.
The Problem of Distraction
3 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,
4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.
3 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,
I. Who is being distracted?
I. Who is being distracted?
A. Who is being distracted?
A. Who is being distracted?
I love Paul’s wording in v.3. He said there is a problem with “certain persons” in the church in Ephesus. Then in v.6, he refers to “certain persons” who have “swerved into vain discussions.” (v.6)
6 Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion,
6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.
This is the problem in all churches, people. I heard one preacher say one time, “We are just a few funerals away from having a fantastic church.”
I have been in some churches where I too have felt that way, but thankfully not Mount Gilead. Now I’m sure there have been church members over the years who thought we were just one funeral away from having a great church, mine. Thankfully, that hasn’t happened yet.
This is the problem in all churches, people. I heard one preacher say one time, “We are just a few funerals away from having a fantastic church.”
Here’s my point. The church doesn’t get its mission wrong unless people in the church get it wrong. And, unless leaders in the church lead it wrongly.
That message speaks to the members of the church and the leadership of the church. We want anyone that will to come and be a part of what we are about at Mount Gilead. But, when it comes to membership. Membership matters. It’s why we have a Discovery Class. So that with everyone that is becoming a member of Mount Gilead. They can understand first what is the gospel. So that they can understand our commitment to the authority and inerrancy of the Word of God. So that they understand what we believe and how we function. So our members on the forefront know our commitment to seek to be what God desires a New Testament church to be.
We can’t afford the members to be distracted so we must strive to make sure as members we are Bible Believing, Gospel committed believers.
If that is true of members, how much more is it true of leaders. That was really the problem in Ephesus, the leaders.
I want you to be really clear about something. The theology of your elders matter. And when I say elders, I’m talking about me, the church staff and the church elders.
As leadership goes, the church goes. It matters what the churches leaders think about who God it, how we are made right with God. It matters what we believer about the love of God and the justice of God.
It matters what your Sunday School teachers teach and how your Life Group leaders lead. We must lead consistent with God’s word.
And being that we are voting on our next Worship Pastor this morning. It matters what we sing and how we worship.
+There are a number of things that I love about Josh.
#1 I love his humble heart that reflects the humility of Christ.
#2 I love his servant heart. Fostering hope, people person.
#3 He loves the gospel. He loves the word. His philosophy of worship lines up perfectly with mine.
I’ve never given Bro. Danny any instructions about the music at Mount Gilead. I’m not really qualified. Outside of this one thing. I want what we sing to be God Glorifying, Christ-Centered, and Gospel Saturated.
We can not make decisions about worship first and foremost about style. That’s what a lot of churches do, but that is not what I believe God desires.
Worship styles come down to preferences. They change with people. Every person in here has a preferred style. We are a family oriented church, that is the style is going to reflect that with a beautiful blend of hymns and newer worship music.
Josh’s style is going to somewhat different than Danny’s style because he’s a different leader than Bro. Danny. Bro. Danny directs the congregation from behind the pulpit. Josh often leads from an instrument. Both are fine. We don’t make worship decisions based on style. We make them based on the core values of the gospel.
We must be a gospel centered people lead by Spirit filled, gospel centered leaders.
II. How are they being distracted?
II. How are they being distracted?
I’m not going to talk as long about this because I just touched on it. But, let’s look at it.
3 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,
4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.
The bottom line is that they were being distracted from the gospel to other things.
They began to chase after different doctrine or teaching different than the gospel. These verses point to “different doctrine, myths and endless genealogies which promote speculations.”
My best understanding is that the Jewish leaders started to get caught up and focus on interpreting OT genealogies in a mythical fashion.
In , Paul spoke of this problem again calling it “Jewish myths.”
Here’s why that is important. Some of you are thinking, well we are not making that mistake we are good. Hold on.
Notice what Paul says the problem with these things are. “Which promote speculations.” (v.4)
Notice what Paul says the problem with these things are. “Which promote speculations.” (v.4)
I did a word study on that and here’s what it basically means. It caused them to fight over dumb stuff that doesn’t matter.
He repeats the same thought in v.6
6 Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion,
1 Tim.
+We may not be creating myths of the OT, but Southern Baptists have a long history of fighting over dumb stuff that doesn’t matter.
+I’ve seen churches split because individuals were so selfish that they fought over styles of worship. I’ve seen churches that fought tooth and nail over whether they should move locations. Over whether they buy or sell land.
I’ve seen churches struggle deeply because certain people wanted to be in control of everything and it caused constant conflict rendered the church completely ineffective.
I love the way v.7 talks about these “certain people.”
7 desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.
v.7
The only thing worse than the fact that often these certain people in church don’t know what they are talking about is the fact that they are often very confident in their ignorance.
Churches get caught up in things that sidetrack us from the gospel like social justice that doesn’t include the gospel or now the big thing is critical race theory.
What is the problem with all of this? It distracts the church completely by “promoting speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.” (v.4)
We are here to steward the gospel of grace that we have received by faith in a lost and dying world.
The church was created by the gospel of grace of Jesus Christ to promote the gospel of grace.
III. What should characterize our mission?
III. What should characterize our mission?
A. Love (v.5)
A. Love (v.5)
5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
When Jesus was here he said the whole goal of the gospel is so that we might love God and love others.
37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
38 This is the great and first commandment.
39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
38 This is the great and first commandment.
Matt. 22:
As one theologian said, “The highest goal of true religion is the unselfish love of full loyalty to God and boundless goodwill to our fellow men.
A church that is not characterized by sincere love is not driven by faith in the gospel.
Paul says that our love must first issue forth from a:
Pure heart- our hearts must be cleansed from self centeredness if we are going to obey Jesus’ command to love. Others must take a front seat in our lives.
Good conscience- We must maintain a good conscience if love is to function properly in a church. According to scripture, we either have “good” or “clear” conscience, which is what believer are to have. Or we have a “seared” or “corrupted” conscience, which is what characterizes unbelievers.
Here’s how I think that plays out in the church.
1. We have good consciences by keeping short accounts with God. We don’t let unconfessed sin just pile up with out bringing them before the Father in repentance. I’m not saying that believers can lose their salvation. What I am saying that we can get distant in our fellowship with God. A church characterize real Christlike love with cold fellowship with God.
2. We have to be quick to ask for forgiveness from others that we have wronged. And, we have to be quick to give forgiveness to others who have wronged us. We can’t display the love of God if we can’t show the forgiveness of God to each other.
B. Our need for the gospel (vv.7-11)
B. Our need for the gospel (vv.7-11)
7 desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.
They desired to be teachers of the law but they didn’t understand the purpose of the law.
8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully,
The law is a good thing, but you have to use it properly.
Who is the law for? Not for believers.
9 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 law not longer has authority over believers. Because we are led not by the law, but by the Spirit.
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
The law is not there to police “righteous” people, but bad people. And Paul would say in Galatians to show people our need for a Savior.
The law is not there to police “righteous” people, but bad people.
24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.
Then he goes forward and lists the litney of types of evil and specific evil people in the world.
This world needs the gospel and if we, the church, the stewards of the gospel lose sight of it, the world is hopeless.
It’s been often said that we are only one generation away from losing the gospel.
So we must stay focused on what we are really here for. Show people the love of God as God has shown it to us. The gospel that has changed each of us has the power to change the world. To God be the Glory.
