Sermon Tone Analysis

Last week, we Paul shared Spiritual Truths and how the assembly of believers, the church, are very much the torch bearers of truth...we are the pillar and ground of the truth..the truth found in Christ Jesus.

And, in contrast we live in the latter times where apostate Christians depart from the faith being seduced by deceiving spirits and teaching the doctrines of demons.

Paul warned Timothy of these apostates, as they would be people he would encounter in Ephesus, and they will be people we encounter on our ministry ground as well.

Paul now, beginning in 1 Tim 4:6, shifts, in this epistle to Timothy, giving him additional instructions, very practical thoughts about conduct in ministry.

Let's Pray!

Read 1 Tim 4:6-13

Verse 6 "If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed."

1. Timothy is told he will be a good minister of Jesus Chris if he instructs the brethren in these things...

1.

These things refers back to what we looked at last week...

2. Timothy is to be that pillar and ground of the truth, to share sound doctrine to others (like the 6 lines we read at the end of Chapter 3) and to warn against apostasy and false doctrines of demons...and to confront those teaching these twisted teachings.

3.

If Timothy points these things out to the brethren he will be a good minister.

1.

The brethren are the fellow believers in a figurative sense, but the word adelphos in Greek lit.

means "from the same womb" and while we may not have the same physical parents, we have the same spiritual Father God...and many people find their spiritual family to be as close as, if not closer, than the family they were physically born into.

4. The word minister is not the same as the title "minister" today, which is often an alternative for Pastor.

Minister in Greek is diakonos which is translated "servant" and is where the word "deacon" comes from.

1.

Part of being a good servant is instructing other believers.

Instruction suggests "to put into one's mind" or to "put into remembrance."

2. I will never profess to you to be the best at all things, but I will promise to you that I will serve well in instruction of his word by the simple teaching of the truths we find in His word.

2. And, Paul tells Timothy that to be a good minister, he himself had to be "nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed."

1.

In order to feed, he had to be fed.

He would be a conduit of God's truths if he was taking in those truths.

The words, "nourished up" are a present participle indicating a continuous action.

2. I like the NASB rendering of verse 1, "In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following."

3.

If you are not taking time to constantly nourish yourself in the words of faith and good teachings, you will struggle in being a good minister or a good servant of Jesus Christ.

1.

The "words of faith" are the Christian truths found in the Word of God and "Good doctrine" is good teaching, as opposed to the Doctrines of Demons we spoke of last week.

2. So, what does this look like?

How do you get into a routine of spiritual nourishment?

3. How do you physically nourish yourself?

On a daily basis you eat food and drink water.

4. So, do the same spiritually.

Partake in the word of God, eat it, consume it, take it in and let it nourish your soul.

Be disciplined to read God's word, to listen to sermons or read a good commentary...this may vary from person to person, but somehow read and get good explanation...however you can take it in, do it.

5. It's interesting how the Bible uses physical words we easily relate to, like nourish, eat, and drink to represent spiritual sustenance.

6.

A good example is in John 4, when Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well...

He spoke to her about living water, and by drinking of that living water she would never thirst again.

She would be nourished spiritually by the Holy Spirit.

His disciples came to Him after she left and said, "Rabbi, eat."

He responded, "I have food to eat of which you do not know."

In ministry, Jesus was nourished spiritually.

He felt fed and fulfilled by the spiritual success He just encountered with the Samaritan woman.

7. Have you ever experienced such a God moment, a divine and life-giving spiritual appointment with someone?

You have a God ordained conversation that just leaves you amazed.

Physical hunger is gone in that moment...you feel so connected to the source that you are sustained both physically and spiritually.

8. So, if you are in ministry, make sure you are feeding yourself in order to be an effective minister to others.

Nourish yourself spiritually.

3. And, at the end of this verse, notice Paul say that Timothy "carefully followed" nourishing himself spiritually.

These words are in the Perfect tense indicating the action is complete, but has an ongoing state of being.

Timothy had constantly nourished himself on the word of God, and sound teachings in the word and good doctrine, but it's assumed he also had to continue this action in the present to uphold his status as a good minister.

continue to verse 7

1 Tim 4:7 "But reject profane and old wives' fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness."

1. Reject Profane and old wives' fables...

1.

What's Paul talking about here?

1.

If you pull out a grey hair, two more will appear in it's place.

2. Cracking your knuckles will give you arthritis.

3.

If your ears are ringing, somebody is talking about you.

4. Are these the kinds of old wives' fables Paul is talking about?

5. Actually, kind of yes...perhaps not these specifically...well except for maybe the one about ears ringing since that may have dated back to the Roman philosopher Pliny the Elder.

6.

More likely, Paul is warning about tall tales of religious superstition.

1. Randomly open your Bible and the first verse you read is God's will.

2. If you bury a statue of St.

Joseph upside-down in your yard you will sell your house.

3. Hanging a rosary from your rearview mirror will ward off accidents.

2. Paul instructs to reject, or have nothing to do with, profane (or godless) mythos/fables/tales...a superstition or an uneducated opinion.

3. Paul instructed Titus to not give heed to "Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth."

Tit 1:14 So, ladies see...Paul is being fair and balanced...it was not just old wives' tales, but also men who turned from the truth that these Pastors had to be weary of.

1. Truly though, "old wives tales" really has nothing to do with gender, it's just an idiom for superstitions.

4. I don't think Paul is instructing Timothy from simply rejecting silly sayings, but moreso reject speculations about spiritual matters that are profane or ungodly.

In Chapter 1 Paul instructed Timothy to "charge some that they teach no other doctrine, nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes..." and he continues "...some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk..."

1.

Not necessarily anti-Jesus theology, but more an emphasis on things that distracted them from Jesus...fruitless discussions...the vain words of man.

1.

I'm not a big book guy, except for the book, the Bible, and books that help me understand the Bible.

There are a lot of great books out there from Christian authors, but I would caution you to choose wisely, because there is a lot of trash out there as well.

And, there are a lot of people spending all there reading time on the next Christian fad book, versus the word of God.

2. So, Timothy, avoid such things, and in contrast...

2. "...exercise yourself toward godliness."

1.

In verses 6-8, Paul uses athletic illustrations.

In the previous verse Paul spoke about being nourished, important for an athlete and in the next two verses, Paul references exercise.

2. In Ephesus, and the Roman culture at large, athletics and the Olympic Games were very prominent.

1. Paul borrows from various events and incorporates them as illustrations.

One of my favorites...

2. 2 Tim 4:7-8 "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness..."

1.

The fight, the race, and the crown/the stephanos or Victor's Wreath...were all athletic illustrations.

3. Exercise gumnazō (gymnazo) is where we get our english word "gymnastics" (how appropriate since we are meeting in a gymnastics gym).

And, many expositors feel that Paul's illustration here is specifically referencing gymnastic exercise which does indeed trace back to ancient Greece.

1.

This word lit.

means "to exercise or train naked," which I don't recommend, but it was common practice for young men in Greek and Roman cultures to exercise and compete in the buff.

I'm very much appreciate and prefer watching the Olympics and Football with clothed athletes.

Anyhow, for our purposes, the idea behind this word is vigorous exercise or being disciplined.

2. So, how does one exercise themselves toward godliness?

1.

Well, similar to the previous verse, you consistently nourish yourself in the word of God and good teachings.

2. Exercise, even spiritual exercise, requires training and discipline.

Timothy was not going to achieve godliness by sitting on his butt and watching television, he had to train.

3. Paul is not just suggesting for Timothy to "exercise"...this word is an imperative or a command.

Paul is telling Timothy to exercise toward godliness.

4.

And I like how Paul write, "toward godliness."

There is direction...the training has an end goal... Timothy is to train heading towards the goal of godliness or piety/reverence towards God.

5. Solid advice for us all.

continue to verse 8-9

1 Tim 4:8-9 "For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.

9 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance."