2020-02-09 I Timothy 1:3-11 DOCTRINE MATTERS (2): GETTING IT RIGHT

DOCTRINE MATTERS (2): GETTING IT RIGHT (I Tim 1:3-11) February 9, 2020 Read I Tim 1:3-11 – Last week we saw Paul contrasting 2 kinds of doctrine – different (3) and sound (10). “Doctrine” simply means teaching; getting it right is of critical importance – especially with spiritual things where it has eternal consequences. The different, wrong teaching Paul references leads to confusion, uncertainty, wrong conclusions and death. So, what is sound doctrine? Sound teaching? Alistair Begg once preached at a conference in Ireland, hosted by a retired banker, T. S. Mooney. Funny man, but devout. Each evening before service Mooney prayed fervently God would help Alistair preach well. Then he joined the audience. On the first night, Alistair barely got his title out and he noticed Mooney “was in the third stages of anesthesia. He was gone!” And it happened on Mon and Tues as well. So, on Wed night, as they drove to the meeting, Begg said, “T. S., every night you pray these earnest prayers, and then you go out and fall asleep -- every night. What gives?” Begg says, “He knew he was caught. But he looked at me and said, ‘Ah, well, it’s like this, you see. I just stay awake until I know you’re sound.’” Well it’s good to know someone is sound, but you might want to stay awake in that case! But how do you know someone is sound? II. Sound Doctrine A. Its Basis – Right Use of the Law – Sound doctrine gets the law right. Whereas false teaching says we are saved by keeping the law, sound teaching says the opposite. It says the law is given to show we can’t keep the law, therefore, we’re condemned. Does this mean the law is bad? Paul answers, 8) “Now we know that the law is good, IF one uses it lawfully.” The problem isn’t with the law; it’s with how people use the law. If it can’t save, what is its purpose? There are 3: it restrains, condemns and sanctifies. As a restrainer, it sets boundaries for the good of society. Without that restraint, human life would be impossible. Every society has laws to restrain evil. Restraint is use of the law for the public good. The next two uses are personal and eternal, thus, critical. First its condemning job. Rom 7:12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. 13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might 1 be shown to be sin.” The law is good. It doesn’t kill. Sin kills. But I wouldn’t know that if not for the law. So it’s purpose is not to save but to inform me I need to be saved. The law shows I fall short of God’s standard. The law doesn’t kill me; my shortfall does. The law just shows my true condition. You go to the doc. He runs tests and comes with a diagnosis. It’s cancer. My whole life changes bc I see death is at my doorstep. Does the diagnosis kill me? No. The cancer kills me. The diagnosis is good. It prompts me to seek a solution. This is the law’s condemning purpose. It tells my danger so I’ll seek help. Sin kills; the law reveals. Sin is bad; the law is good. That’s why Paul goes on 9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just [i.e., those who think they are] but for the lawless and disobedient”. He then lists crimes against virtually all of the ten commandments. The law reveals that lawlessness and rebellion. Problem is, our 1st response is, “Great. But that’s not me. I’m a good person. These don’t apply to me.” But when we look closer, guess what? They apply to all of us by Jesus’ interpretation. Paul lists murder. Not me. But Jesus says in Mt 5: 21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.” Ever been angry? Guilty as charged. Paul lists sexual immorality. We think, “Not me.” But Jesus says, Mt 5:27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Listen, we’re all here and we’re all as guilty as sin. But we wouldn’t know it – except for the law. It levels the playing field dramatically. Good or bad from a human perspective, the law shows us all for the guilty, condemned sinners we are inside. Martyn Lloyd-Jones was one of the best men in England – a doc who by age 24 was assistant to the King’s doctor. And religious – a lifelong church-goer. But the death of his brother, Harold when Martyn was 18, and of his father when Martyn was 22 left him feeling lost. Life was fleeting and he saw his own façade of respectability as spiritual death. He later wrote: “For many years I thought it was a Christian when in fact I was not. It was only later that I came to see that I had never been a Christian …. What I needed was preaching that would convict me of sin . . . . But I never heard this. The preaching we had was always based on the assumption that we were all 2 Christians.” Are you sure your faith is genuine, Beloved? Don’t be fooled. The law can’t save you, but it can show you the need. Let it do its good work. The 3rd sanctifying purpose defines what life in Christ looks like. It can’t save, but defines life afterward. Puritan writer Samuel Bolton put it this way: The law sends us to the Gospel, that we may be justified, and the Gospel sends us to the law again to inquire what is our duty having been justified. It’s our true north for a life of freedom. Good teaching gets the law right. B. Its Content – Gospel -- So the law shows me my guilt and need of salvation. But it cannot save me. So now what? Like my cancer diagnosis, the tests show the problem, but they are powerless to cure. But I now know, I need a cure. So, I go off in search of a cure. Can I find one? Yes! But only one. What is it? 11b: “the gospel of the glory of the blessed God.” The gospel, the glorious news that by Jesus’ death, what God demands, God provides. God can’t be redefined to lessen the demands. The law teaches me the truth of Heb 12:29: “For our God is a consuming fire.” But how can God be both blessed and consuming? How does He both demand, and answer that demand? The answer is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Not more demands, but an answer to all demands. God sends His own Son to the rescue – to absorb His consuming wrath against sin so He can give me eternal life – bought and paid for by Jesus Christ. Sound teaching can never get around this – the substitutionary death of Christ to pay the penalty my penalty. The cure is not something I do, but something He’s already done. Substitutionary atonement – missing from different doctrine – but at the heart of sound doctrine. This alone allows God to “be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom 3:26). Detroit is a union city. So a new family moved in, but the movers would not install the dryer: “Get an electrician. We don’t install, only deliver – union rules!” So an electrician wired the dryer – but wouldn’t vent it: “Need a carpenter. We wire, but don’t vent – union rules!” A carpenter came, vented the dryer, then presented the bill. But the exasperated mother said: “You’ll have to talk to my husband. I only run up the bills; he pays them – union rules!” That’s the gospel in Detroit language, Beloved. The law shows we’ve run up an unpayable bill. But the gospel tells us; good news; it’s already paid. Have you bought into the good news? That’s what sound teaching shows you! C. Its Results – A Loving Heart 3 Sound teaching has a goal -- not more knowledge; changed behavior. Not smarter; wiser! Not vain speculation; but godly living. 5) The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” Love is the goal. Αγαπη – not affectionate feelings, but humble, loving behavior. If teaching just sharpens arguments, you’re not getting it. The real thing produces love in action, prompted by 3 things. Pure heart – Pure hearts are required for heaven! Psa 24:3: “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? . . . 4) He who has clean hands and a pure heart.” Mt 5:8: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Is your heart pure? What’s that look like? Psa 86:11c: “Unite my heart to fear your name.” It’s an undivided heart that reveres God’s name and reputation. God says in Jer 32:39: “I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever.” A pure heart puts God first and has no divided interests. Kierkegaard says, “Purity of heart is to will one thing” – God’s will. Is that you? No one gets the perfect; but that’s the goal. A pure heart is focused on God. The more we are divided in our pursuits, the more we will be fractured and broken. Some comedian said, “I used to wonder where my wife was all the time. One day the TV set broke down during a ball game – and there she was.” He was too distracted to see what was right there – the way many of us are with Jesus. A pure heart seeks to frame even the trivialities of life in a way that counts for Him. It refuses the rabbit trails that diminish His glory. Good conscience – We all know conscience -- the inner voice that constantly tells us “this is right” and “this is wrong.” We have a clear conscience when we act in accordance with the “this is right” instruction. But while conscience is a wonderful gift from God, intended to move us in a godly direction, it has 2 problems. First, it’s not 100% accurate. It was broken in the Fall, and its default setting is to rationalize sin to accommodate personal desires. Default! Further, it can be “seared” – made even worse. What happens when something living is seared? It loses feeling. Same with the conscience. I Tim 4:1-2: “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings (different teaching, not sound teaching) of demons, 2) through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared.” In other words, sin enough and soon your inner antennae will fade out -- lose touch with right and wrong. steal a cookie – and your conscience antennae are thru the roof, right? Scared to death. But by the 100th time you don’t even feel it. By now it’s normal to steal cookies – maybe even a good thing in our mind. That’s a seared conscience. 4 Paul urges a “good conscience.” But what is it? Is it a clear conscience that follows its internal radar? No. That is not what he has in mind. Barack Obama said during the 2008 campaign that sin to him was anything that violated his conscience. Well, that’s convenient, but it’s not accurate. One could be faithfully following the dictates of a flawed or seared or defiled conscience and have a perfectly valid clear conscience – but it would not be a good one. A good conscience is one that is fine-tuned by God’s truth. The power of the Word, brought to bear on a fallen, seared conscience improves its ability to analyze -- undermining its ability to rationalize. A conscience that’s in submission to God gets better and better at determining right from wrong and thus better at loving God and others. A good conscience issues in love. Some comedian said, “I used to play sports. Then I realized you can buy trophies. Now – I’m good at everything.” That’s a defiled conscience. It can rationalize any behavior it wants. Conscience is like a sundial. It’s accurate as long as it reflects the sun. But replace the sun with moonlight or a candle, and you can’t trust it at all. A good conscience is increasingly exposed to the light of the Word and exercised in God’s truth. When that’s happening, love will be one natural outcome. But the light of the Word is a necessity. Sincere Faith – It’s the real deal. It doesn’t just say, “I trust God,” it acts on that trust. It takes a sincere faith to give up rights, forgive others, leave revenge to God, give up having to win every argument, and exercise humility. Faith believes God is big enough to take care of all those things and acts on that faith. With sincere faith, what you see is what you get. The prayers of this person at home sound the same as those in public. This is a person of integrity and character who truly believes in God and lives like it. A military maintenance man was remodeling an office when his chisel slipped into a 220 volt outlet, giving him an electric shock that knocked him out cold. He finally came around to find his CO over him. The relieved officer said, “I sure am glad to see you’re alive.” The guy responded, “Gee, thanks, Lt.” To which the officer replied, “Yeah. You wouldn’t believe the paperwork I’d have had to complete if you’d died.” Wasn’t very genuine, was it? We need to ask ourselves, are we loving others to get something out of them, to manipulate them to faith, because we find them attractive, or because we want to sell them something. Do we love God for the blessings we expect – or for His infinitely worthy person? Do we really believe? Or have we fooled 5 ourselves? The goal of sound doctrine – love for God and others, issuing from a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith. Something to work on. Conc – Doctrine matters. Listen to this testimony by Frances Shaeffer: “This is the way I became a Christian. I had gone to a “liberal” church for many years. I decided that the only answer, on the basis of what I was hearing, was agnosticism or atheism. On the basis of liberal theology [doctrine] I do not think I have ever made a more logical decision in my life. I became an agnostic, and then I began to read the Bible for the first time — in order to place it against some Greek philosophy I was reading. I did this as an act of honesty insofar as I had given up what I thought was Christianity but had never read the Bible through. Over a period of about six months I became a Christian because I was convinced that the full answer which the Bible presented was alone sufficient to the problems I then knew, and sufficient in a very exciting way.” When he went to the Word, got his teaching right, he got his life right and became, next to C. S. Lewis, the leading apologist of the 20th century – someone we’ll meet in heaven one day, because – doctrine matters. Let’s pray. 6