Unity In Liberty
1 Timothy: Behavior In The Household Of God • Sermon • Submitted
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Transcript
Introduction
Good Morning Friendship Church. It so good to see you and you have so many of you joining us online. Because many of you have asked, let me just say that we did have a good vacation last week. We got to spend some quality time with my extended family, especially enjoying time with my Mom and Dad and so thank you to all of you who prayed for us that it would be able to happen. It had been far too long since I had been able to be with my parents and it was a great blessing to be able to do so.
It was also a great blessing to me to be able to sneak in and experience a Friendship Church service from the other side. We snuck in the back after the service had begun and I got to sit with my family and worship together in song and learn from the teaching of the Word along with you all.
It was a great reminder to me of something that I at times take for granted, and if I may be so bold, I imagine you often do as well. One the biggest reasons that so many Churches do not follow the Biblical model for Overseers in Church leadership is because so few Churches have men who are willing to step up and lead like we all experienced last week.
We have been studying this very thing here in the book of 1 Timothy, and for so many people the role of “Overseer” just seems too overwhelming for just the “Average Christian”, but we are blessed here to have men who have answered the call of God to leadership, even though they will tell you that they don’t think of themselves as anything special…just guys who are walking with Jesus in such a way that they are willing to do whatever He asks of them.
Is this not where every Christian is to be?
And as your Pastor I cannot emphasize enough, how encouraging it is to see the leadership of our Overseers in may absence. Remember how in the lists of qualifications for the two leadership roles of Overseer and Deacon, the most striking difference is that Overseers alone are charged with task of teaching the Word of God. We saw that demonstrated from our Overseers last week. Jesse in bringing us all an update on how we as a Church are Biblically responding to the ever changing virus circumstances and Nick in the message, reminding us all that even if the “end of all things is at hand” as it says in 1 Peter, we are not to shrink back, but to be even more vigilant in the ministry of prayer, hospitality, preaching, teaching the Word .. “...in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever, Amen.”
You know even on vacation, I was having many conversations on the policy changes from our governer, so much so that at one point told Rachel that I really felt like I was going to need to speak into the new mask mandate on Sunday, to which she wisely inquired…you mean next Sunday. And I was like, oh yeah that would be next Sunday…so it was very confirming to me to come to Church and hear that in my absence the Overseers had met together and decided that it would be a good thing to teach the the congregation Biblically on how we were going to approach the new mandate.
If you were not able to be here or watch online, Jesse read from our Statement of Faith in our Church Constitution the section entitled “Religious Liberty”. This is what we as a Church have agreed upon to be our best understanding of what God’s Word has to say on how we are to function in light of governing authorities. If you are a “Partner” here, then this is something that you agreed upon when coming on board.
So let me read it again for us, and I have it up for us on the Screen as well as in your bulletins:
Religious Liberty: We believe that every human being is directly accountable to God and is responsible to God alone in matters of faith. We believe that each church is autonomous and must be free from interference by an ecclesiastical or political authority; therefore Church and state must be kept separate, having different functions and each fulfilling it’s own duties. Romans 13:1-7
And then it gives the Biblical reference of Romans 13:1-7, so Jesse rightfully read from that and taught from that, emphasizing that that God has given the governing authorities in our lives the “authority” to rule for the good of those under their authority.
Think on that for just a moment, would you, it is a very important point. That God has established governing authorities to rule for the good of those under their authority.
Tension
If you are like me, after you think on such a statement, you start to engage your “habit of the yeah-but”.
“Yeah-but” not every governing authority is governing for the good of the people under their authority. We have seen that in our own lives and we have seen that throughout history, we can even see many places in Scripture where that is the case…so what do we do with that?
Do we have any sort of role in this process of recognizing when a governing authority is making calls for good or since God is sovereign do we just do whatever they say …even as if God himself had told us to do it? I mean these verse have some pretty strong language in them, right. Look at verse 3 of Romans 13 and it says
2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.
This comes with such strong language that we cannot take this lightly can we?, … “Yeah, but...” on the other hand could God be telling us that it is still good to obey governing authorities even when they are leading us to do something that He has already told us is “not good”?
Well that struggle is what we are going to go after this morning, so open your Bibles to 1 Timothy chapter 4, page 992 in the Bibles in the chairs. Remember that the same person who wrote Romans 13 also wrote 1 Timothy so I believe God has something for us through both these books today. Let me pray for us, and we will dive into these challenging things together.
Truth
So in the previous chapter we just finished with the qualifications for Overseers and Deacons and then two weeks ago we focused in hard core on the idea of Truth. That All Truth is God’s Truth
That is so important because our theme verse for our whole study in 1 Timothy is found in this chapter and it says that the “Church of the living God” is “a pillar and buttress of the truth”.
So we should be contending for truth, or as the dictionary defines it, for “that which is in accordance with fact or reality”. The truth of the Gospel…yes, there is no more significant fact than the Gospel for us…but as we saw two weeks ago that is not the only sense of the idea of Truth that Scripture affirms.
40% of the time, the Bible talks about “Truth as a quality”
37% of the time, the Bible talks about “Truth as a statement”
and only 23% of the time is it directly speaking of the highest of all Truths - the Truth of the Gospel.
In every sense, we are to be people who seek, embrace, fight for and love all that is True, because All truth is God’s truth. And this is what Paul is insisting that Timothy do.
Chapter 4 begins with how false teachers have been listening to “deceitful spirits” and they themselves have become “liars who consciences are seared”. They opened themselves up to these demons who deceived them, so that now their consciences are so hardened that they cannot even recognize the truth when it is right before them. This is what our enemy, the devil does.
Jesus said very similar to this about the religious leaders in His day, and we can see why they didn’t like Jesus very much. In John 8:44 we hear Him saying to them...
44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
The devil doesn’t play by any rules. He cheats. He lies. He manipulates. He doesn’t knock on the front door the sell his mayhem, He works out the back doors and down the dark alleys of our minds. This is why we so desperately need to be people who “know the truth”.
How do we become these people? Paul tells Timothy in verse 4 and 5:
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.
How are we going to be able to recognize those things that are good? Those things that God created to be good? He tells us…by spending time with Him. As we spend time in the Word of God and in prayer, God will lead us to all His good things. It really isn’t complicated, but that does not mean that it is easy.
And that is the part of the chapter that we are walking into today. Being able to discern what is true and what is good is not something that passively is given to you when you become a Christian. It is something that is developed in you over time. You have to train yourself in it.
This is what Paul tells Timothy, starting in verse 6, ...
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.
No one is taking their bulging biceps to heaven…but our godliness will matter there.
Sometimes I have heard people joke that when it comes to heaven, I am just going to be glad there, right? I mean, give me the dumpiest shack in the place as long as I am in that place....and while I understand that sentiment if it is aimed at humility, there are ways that this attitude will not serve us well.
“Well done, good and faithful servant” - that is what we are after isn’t it? That one day our master will say to us...
23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
Those words will not come without some effort. That declaration will not come without some investment. That day will not come without some training. Not effort to earn our salvation, but in thanksgiving for the hope that we have been given in Christ.
Verse 9...
“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. 10 For to this end we [REST] and [RELAX], because we have our hope set on the living God...”
Is that what it says? No.
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.
Now maybe you are wanting to throw in another “Yeah, but...” here. “Yeah, but...” didn’t Jesus said...
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
He did, and oh how I love that verse…but Jesus’ next words are just as dependable...
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
When our souls rest in in the truth of the Gospel, it makes our burden seem light, but there is still a burden. There is still effort required for the servant to learn from Jesus and to toil, strive and train in godliness.
And then Paul gives Timothy some instructions aimed at him individually, but it is fitting that so many of us have found instruction for ourselves in these words:
11 Command and teach these things. 12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. 14 Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. 16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
Do you hear the overwhelming language of effort that Paul is using here to instruct young Timothy, and to instruct us. Our souls have rest in our hope in Jesus our Savior, but we can and should expect our Christian walk to be full of toiling, striving, practicing, persisting, progressing and training ourselves in godliness.
It’s a battle. It’s a burden. But it’s also a blessing.
Gospel Application
And that might be what has felt so foreign to us over the past several months. There are so many new things that are happening in our world in such a way that it effects everyone of us and the answers are just not easy. There is a lot of confusion. A lot of information and misinformation to have to sort through. And all of this is exasperated by the fact that we live in a culture that for many years has fought very hard to dissolve even the idea of there being a standard in which to evaluate something as “True”.
That leaves us in a difficult place, doesn’t it. We don’t really know what information to trust, to what degree we should trust it or for how long, because it all keeps changing and it is so hard to find the truth - even though we know that the Truth is there!
And in the midst of all this, as follows of Jesus we genuinely want to do that what is good. AMEN? And we know that everything that our God created is good, and even in a world tainted by sin - our relationship with God that is grown through our time with Him in prayer and in reading His Word - it will guide us to what is good.
“Yeah-but...” ...what happens when I have sought the Lord in prayer and in His Word and I strongly believe that He is leading me to make one decision, and my brother or sister in Christ has done the same and they feel just as strongly that God is leading them to make the opposite decision? Can we both still be after the good, and yet not agree on what brings about that “good”?
And of course there is a specific issue that is bringing us into the topic of Religious Liberty, but this is not just about a mask mandate. This is about how we as a local expression of the body of Christ are going to deal with different opinions on what leads to the good that God expects of us. Can we display as children of God “Unity in our Liberty” when it comes to the governing authorities.
And the question becomes, knowing that God has said that it is good to obey our governing authorities, can it ever be good to disobey them?
Of course we could find many stories of Christians choosing civil disobedience through out history, but the the first place we should look for is in Scripture. Remember how we always use Scripture to interpret Scripture and there are many examples in Scripture where God both blessed and even led His people to disobey the governing authorities.
Let me remind you of just a few:
In Exodus, the governing authority Pharoah ordered midwives to murder any male Hebrew babies for population control, but the Midwives feared the Lord and disobeyed him. (Exodus 1)
Also in Exodus, the same governing authority, Pharoah, then ordered all male Hebrew babies to be drowned in the Nile, but Moses’ parents disobeyed the command and hid their little boy.
In 1 Kings, the governing authority Queen Jezebel ordered the murder of every prophet of the Lord, but Obadiah feared the Lord and hid hundreds of prophets in caves bringing them food (1 Kings 18)
In Esther, the law said to approach the King in his court without being summoned would bring death, but to save her people, Esther disobeyed the law, saying “I will go to the King, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish”
In Daniel chapter 3, the governing authority demanded everyone bow before his golden image, three Jewish exiles disobeyed the decree, saying “We have no need to answer to you in this matter O King…our God whom we serve is able to deliver us...”
In Daniel chapter 6, the governing authority commanded that no one pray to anyone but the King, just for a short period of time...but Daniel disobeyed and prayed as he always had before.
In Matthew chapter 2, the governing authority Herod ordered the wise men to tell him where “The one born King of Jews” was, saying he wanted to know so that he could worship Him too. The wise men disobeyed the King, having been warned in a dream they went home by another way, and the lying King had every young boy in Bethlehem murdered.
And in Acts 5, the governing authority ordered Peter and apostles to stop teaching in the name of Jesus. But they disobeyed the order, saying “judge for yourself, whether it is right to obey God or to obey men.”
And that is really where it all rests isn’t it? We all want to do what God has said is good. We want to hear “Well done, good and faithful servant”. So when it comes to “obeying God or obeying men” we are going to obey God…
“yeah, but...” what if it isn’t as black and white as a command to worship an idol or murder children? What if we see that the commands of our governing authority are not aimed at good, but instead are rooted in lies, deception and manipulation that is bent on harm to our communities and not good? Maybe there is nothing on the surface that we can quickly condemn with chapter and verse, but what do we do when we see that the command is aimed at something that is clearly not good.
This is where Religious Liberty comes into play. Where “We believe that every human being is directly accountable to God and is responsible to God alone in matters of faith...”
But for this Liberty to be the healthy thing that it can be, I think it will help us to identify the three basic positions on this topic. They are not three completely distinct positions, but basically there are two extremes and either end and then a huge middle ground.
One extreme we will call the “The Christian Anarchist”. This is someone who says that because Jesus is now my King I answer to no earthly authority and I can disobey governing authorities whenever I feel personally justified in doing so. There is no Biblical support for this position, and passages like Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2 are clear that submission to governing authorities is in general the God honoring thing to do - but exceptions can be made.
The second extreme, let’s call “The Extreme Patriot”. This person says that because the Bible says “submit to authorities” no matter what the command, a person should always obey their governing authorities. This also has no Biblical support either, as I just gave you 8 examples of times when God blessed and even instructed people to make an exception and disobey a specific command of a governing authority.
So this leaves the third position, which is the only one that we can find Biblical support for. We will call this one the “Religious Liberty” Position. This position says that Christians should obey the governing authorities up until they command or compel evil and especially when they can be shown to violate God’s laws and commands. My hope is that you have seen that there is a great deal of Biblical support for this last position...
“Yeah, but...” what happens when one person sees something as “commanding or compelling evil” and another one doesn’t? Well we probably will, if not in this mask mandate thing, then something else down the road. So three things we need to practice when it comes to Religious Liberty:
1. We will not assume the best of our decision and the worst of our Brother or Sister in Christ.
When we disagree we are going to make sure that we avoid the assumption that any decision other than ours, automatically puts a Brother or Sister in Christ into one of these extreme un-Biblical positions. We are going to believe better about each other. We are going to believe that our Brothers and Sisters in Christ are also after the good, just like we are.
2. We will make our decision being convinced in our own minds, through prayer and Scripture, that we are making our choice for the glory of God. Because in the end, He is the one that we will answer to.
Lastly, when these first two steps are taken...
3. We will lovingly engage in conversations about the choice that each of us has made for our mutual growth and good.
This will serve to be a great training ground where we can strive and toil together to become more like the godliness that we see so wonderfully displayed in Jesus.
Landing
Specifically, what this means is that we firmly believe that there is a way to walk into this Church each Sunday honoring the Lord while wearing a mask, and you are at Liberty to do so.
And we firmly believe that there is a way to walk into this Church each Sunday honoring the Lord without wearing a mask, and you are Liberty to do that as well.
The question is not the mask, the question is why or why not are you wearing it, and that you are fully convinced that you are honoring the LORD in your choice.
As I close, lets not forget the commands given earlier in this letter when Paul said...
1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,
The uncertainty of our times right now will not be fixed with more mandates, but with powerful prayer. So let’s pray.