2020-03-01 1 Timothy 1:18-20 WAGING NOBLE WARFARE

WAGING NOBLE WARFARE (I Tim 1:18-20) March 1, 2020 Read I Tim 1:18-20 – Jesus says in John 10:10b: “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” meaning a life of love, joy, peace and life with Him. Great promise. But too often we assign a worldly definition to it. We interpret it as affluence and ease – decidedly not what Jesus had in mind. The Xn life is a war, as we battle the evil world system, Satan, and our own sinful flesh. But many have heard only the gospel of easy believism and cheap grace. They’re oblivious to the big battle. So, they magnify petty annoyances of life until they seem like trials of epic proportions -- like a soldier in the midst of a raging fire-fight complaining about a spot of dirt on his uniform. We’re at war, Beloved. But many haven’t engaged. A W. Tozer said, “Xns treat this world as a playground, and not as a battleground.” We don’t realize when we’d rather sleep in than go to church, we gotta struggle to get up. When we feel too pressed for time to devotions, we have to struggle to make it happen. Jesus did. He fasted thru 40 days and nights of temptation. He put up a struggle. You may be careless about your soul, but Satan is not. The path to victory is not strewn with roses, but with blood, sweat and tears. We’re in a fight, not a parade. And that’s the subject of our text. How to fight the good fight of faith. We’re going to see I. The Direction II. The Defection and III. The Correction. I. The Direction 18 This charge I entrust to you, Timothy.” -- not a suggestion, an order. In confessing Jesus as Lord, we have reported for duty. We stress freedom in Christ so much we’ve lost the sense of duty. It’s a privileged duty, but a duty nonetheless to fulfill our unique mission. So, Paul urges Timothy forward. A. The Plan – 18c: “Wage the good warfare.” You weren’t saved to sit in your easy chair -- to enjoy Xn fellowship on Sunday and live the rest of the week like the rest of the world. Paul tells Tim, “You’re at war, Timothy. So engage! Lives depend on it.” Eph 6:10, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” Armor means war. It’s a spiritual war – “against the spiritual forces of evil”; an unseen war, but real! 1 No wonder the Xn life is tough. We’re at war. Internally, the Spirit which now indwells in me wars against the old me, the flesh. That’s a daily battle. Externally, forces of evil, both inside and outside the church, seek to disrupt and destroy the work of God through deceit and disunity. There is no place for apathy. David Wells says in No Place for Truth, “The world, as the New Testament authors speak of it, is an alternative to God. It offers itself as an alternative center of allegiance. It provides counterfeit meaning. It is the means used by Satan in his warfare with God . . . . Today, evangelicalism reverberates with worldliness… it is offering the church a counterfeit reality with the power to destroy what the church is.” In that environment we are called, just like Timothy, to “wage the good warfare”. We’re called to duty. B. The Preparation – No one would go to battle without weapons or bullets? And we have spiritual weapons as well. God urges Eph 6:13: “Therefore (since you’re at war), take up the whole armor of God.” It’s all there – the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, helmet of salvation, the shield of faith – all defensive elements. But there is one offensive weapon. Eph 6:17, “And take . . . the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” You will never be an effective soldier without that. You’re only fooling yourself if you think you can “wage the good warfare” without an ever increasing knowledge of the Word. That’s new ammo for every day. But there is more. In Timothy’s case, Paul says, 18This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you.” What prophecies will aid Timothy’s fight? I Tim 4:14: “Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.” Tim, like all believers, was gifted to fulfill his mission. I Cor 12:7: “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” Timothy’s giftedness had been noted by others. When Paul met him Acts 16:2: “He [Timothy] was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium.” That led Paul to invite Timothy to join him. This led to a kind of ordination service where the elders laid hands on him, commissioning him for leadership which he began to exercise under Paul’s direction. So God gifted Timothy, then placed people in his life to recognize and develop his gifts, and send him out to “wage the good warfare.” That’s a great pattern for all of us. We can’t all teach or preach or lead like Timothy. But all are gifted in some way for service – “for the common good” – whether it is the gift of help, administration, giving, exhortation, counsel, music, whatever. How do we know our gifts? Well, God places a desire in us to use them; by 2 experimentation we find affirmation from others – this works for you, this doesn’t – and we join the battle! Paul urges in Rom 12:6: “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.” Yes – let’s! Don’t neglect to serve bc you don’t have a showy gift. All gifts are equally important. I Cor 12:21: “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ 22On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.” You may not see that, but God does. To opt out as unimportant is rebellion. Yogi Berra was an all-star catcher for the Yankees for years. But for nine years, Charlie Silvera backed him. He was a talented player – batted .282, but got only 482 at-bats in nine years – less than equivalent of one full season. Regrets? No. He said, “How could I have regrets. Where else could I have gotten six WS rings?” Berra’s contribution loomed larger, but those WS rings wouldn’t have happened if Silvera hadn’t played his part as well. So, all are needed. I Cor 12:26: “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” Don’t cheat your fellow believers by sitting it out. We’ll all give account, and we want it to be a good one. C. The Process – How do we wage the good warfare? 19holding faith and a good conscience.” In simple words – Know truth; obey truth! Jude urged his readers “to contend for the faith that was once delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). Delivered how? Thru the Word of God. The act of believing is called faith. But what we believe is also called the faith. So, Paul is saying, “cling to truth and obey to have a clear conscience.” The truth of the Word tells the ship of life where to go, the rudder of conscience keeps us on course. Know and do. Faith and conscience – inseparable to Paul. He links them often. I Tim 1:5: “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” We’ll see it again in I Tim 3:9: “They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.” Faith and conscience. One without the other is useless. Together – truth to live by. How do we know the Word? Reading, study, teaching and preaching. No shortcuts. Jer 29:13: “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” How badly do you want Him? Jesus often said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” We have to work at hearing! Jesus says in Lu 8:10: “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’” His truth is for those who will seek it out. C. S. Lewis 3 said, “The real problem of the Xn life comes . . . the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other, larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in.” We must first dismiss distractions to hear His voice. Then -- obey. A good conscience is trained by the Word and then obeys it. A notoriously ruthless business man once said to Mark Twain, “Before I die I mean to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I will climb Mount Sinai and read the Ten Commandments aloud at the top.” Twain replied, “I have a better idea. Rather than going to the Holy Land to read the commandments, you could stay home in Boston and keep them.” That would be waging the good warfare. It’s a duty, yes. But far more than that – it’s a privilege because it shows the world a little bit of who God is. So, let’s get into the battle. II. The Defection But what happens when we don’t hold “faith and a good conscience”? Paul gives an example. 19b: “By rejecting this, some have made a shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander.” Shipwreck? Why? Bc they failed to obey the rudder of their conscience. They were in the church, learned truth, ignored it, and made a shipwreck of their lives. So, who are these 2 guys? Probably leaders of the church, given that Paul names them. They fulfilled Paul’s prophecy to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20: 29) “I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30) and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.” So, Hymenaeus and Alexander show that it can happen even in the best of churches. Exactly how they made a shipwreck of their faith is not clear. Paul mentions an “Alexander the coppersmith who did me great harm” in II Tim 4:14, but he appears to have been outside the church. Alex was a common name. Hymenaeus was not so common, and Paul warns in II Tim 2:16) But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, 17) and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18) who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some.” If this is the same man, his defection was claiming the “resurrection already happened.” 4 That could not refer to Christ whose resurrection had already happened and was a core gospel truth. Neither could it be a reference to a resurrection of saints, as their undisturbed gravesites would give the lie to that. Most likely Hymenaeus was borrowing from Greek dualism (spirit is all good; body is all bad) to teach that the resurrection of saints was just a spiritual resurrection with Christ. So, as a believer, you’ve already got all the resurrection you will get! Furthermore, since the body is evil anyway, orgies of food, drink, sex and pleasure are acceptable. Expected even. That’s how bad theology “leads people into more and more ungodliness”? Always has, always will. Stuart Briscoe started out in banking. One day his boss said, “Mrs. Jones may come in. If so, please tell her I’m out.” Stuart said, “But I can’t tell her that if you’re really in.” Boss replied, “You can if you know what’s good for you.” Stuart was tempted to change theology to accommodate the request. Is morality different in business than in religion? But he finally said, “Sir, you’re asking me to lie. I know this will upset you, but if I lie for you, you’ll know I’m a liar -- untrustworthy. But if I won’t lie for you, you’ll know I won’t lie to you.” The boss stormed out, but when he returned an hour later he said, “Young man, you’re right. And if I have any say, you’ll go to the top in this bank.” Stuart chose not to defect. So must we. III. The Correction But what if someone has disengaged? Paul says of Hymenaeus and Alex, 20b: “I have handed [them] over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.” Years before, Paul said concerning a man sleeping with his step mother: I Cor 5:5: “you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.” To deliver to Satan is to remove from the church. I Cor 5:2c: “Let him who has done this be removed from among you.” Paul clarifies in I Cor 5:11: “But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler— not even to eat with such a one.” Pretty strong! But you can’t tolerate gross sin among you without misrepresenting Christ. And for the good of the person, you must cut them off. Let them experience the consequences of their actions. A disobedient Xn blasphemes the very Lord they claim as Savior! So, is Paul just a mean-spirited guy saying, “My way or the highway”? Of course not. He is doing it for the sake of the body, but also for the sake of the individual. He desires “that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.” 5 The principle is established in zx “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.” Discipline must be done, but done humbly, gently, and with the intention of restoration. If done vindictively, it is worse than ignoring it. Conc – Let’s wage a good warfare! A college kid working the post office one summer came to Tim Keller and said, “How can I be a Xn there?” Hard to differentiate! A Xn puts on a stamp the same way an unbeliever does. But they determined the best way was to give 8 hours of honest, smart, hard work. Trouble was, that polarized the place. One group of people said, “I like your style. I like your hard work, your attitude.” Others said, “You’re making us look bad. You’re putting the heat on us. Cut it out.” He polarized the place. But that’s what warriors do. Paul said in II Cor 2:15) For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16) to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.” Listen, not everyone will embrace someone who is learning and living the truth. But Christ will – the only audience that counts. So, let’s do it – together – “wage the good warfare.” Let’s pray. 6