Category Archives: Church

Read 1 Timothy 1:12-17. When Paul wrote this marvelous book, he apparently recognized the importance of credibility before he offered his instructions to a community facing change. He pauses to give his own autobiography and express thanksgiving for what God had done in his life.

This paragraph is a synopsis of Paul’s entire career as we know it from Acts 9. He knew that only an extraordinary event could turn his life around…he knew the change that had taken place in his life!

The good news of the gospel is that God has the power to transform lives. History abounds with stories of dramatic conversions that testify to that fact.

The Bible records the conversions of the despised tax collector and traitor to his people Matthew, blind Bartimaeus, the adulterous Samaritan woman, Zacchaeus, the Roman centurion at the crucifixion, Cornelius, the Ethiopian eunuch, the Philippian jailer, and Lydia, among others.

But of all the conversions ever recorded none was more remarkable than that of Saul of Tarsus. This bitter enemy of the cause of Christ, in his own words the foremost of all sinners, became the greatest evangelist the world has ever seen.

Paul never lost the wonder that God could and did redeem someone like him. He viewed himself as the supreme example of God’s saving grace.

Paul shows that a proper use of the plan brings conviction of sin and the need of grace. It contrasts the glory of the true gospel with the emptiness of false doctrine.

When God wanted to use Paul, “he had to knock him off his horse.” Paul knew precisely what had changed his life, and he could sum it up in a single phrase: “Christ came into the world to save sinners.”

When do we begin talking to people about God, Christ, the Bible, salvation, church? Do we avoid sin and its consequences? Immorality, pornography, drunkenness, judgment, hell etc., are sensitive issues…downplay them for a long time and put my emphasis on the abundant life Christ offers here and now? This methodology… doesn’t square with a number of Scriptures. Also, it struck me as being a lot like good salesmanship, where you try not to say anything to turn off the potential customer. 2

And, some of the people who “bought the product” didn’t seem much concerned with holy living. They were more caught up with having a happy life. For them, Jesus was not so much essential as He was useful, in terms of helping them to enjoy a better life.

The more I read some of the great evangelists in scripture, the more I realized that this approach didn’t square with how they presented the gospel.

Their message wasn’t so much, “If you’d like a bit happier life, try Jesus.” It was rather, “Because of your great sin, you’re under God’s wrath. You must repent and trust in Christ through baptism for remission of sins. They pled with people to flee to Christ with a lot more urgency than the modern ‘salesman’ with his low-key approach: “Try Jesus for just 30 days and see if you aren’t totally satisfied.”

People who are not convicted of their sin and who do not realize their own utter inability to meet God’s holy standard by their own efforts are not desperate for what God offers through the gospel.

By not preaching God’s holy Plan, we’ve given self-righteous, contented people the false impression that they can be casual shoppers toward the gospel when, in fact, their condition is desperate.

Paul could never forget that he was a forgiven sinner; but neither could he ever forget that he was a sinner in need of a Savior. Why should he remember his sin with such vividness?

(1) The memory of his sin was the surest way to keep him from pride. There could be no such thing as spiritual pride for a man who had done the things that he had done.

(2) The memory of his sin was the surest way to keep his gratitude aflame. To remember what we have been forgiven is the surest way to keep awake our love to Jesus Christ. When we remember how we have hurt God and hurt those who love us and hurt our fellow-men and when we remember how God and men have forgiven us, that memory must awake the flame of gratitude within our hearts.

(3) The memory of his sin was the constant urge to greater effort. It is quite true that a man can never earn the blessings of God, or deserve His love; but it is also true that he can never stop trying to do something to show how much he appreciates the love and the mercy which have made him what he is.

(4) The memory of his sin was bound to be a constant encouragement to others. Paul uses a vivid picture. He says that what happened to him was a kind of outline-sketch of what was going to happen to those who would accept Christ in the days to 3

come. The word he uses is hupotuposis which means an outline, a sketch-plan, a first draft, a preliminary model.

It is as if Paul were saying, “Look what Christ has done for me! If someone like me can be saved, there is hope for everyone.”

What Paul became 1 Timothy 1:12 (NIV) I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service.

1 Timothy 1:16 (NIV) But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.

The grace of God turned the persecutor into a preacher, and the murderer into a minister and a missionary! So dramatic was the change in Paul’s life that the Jerusalem church suspected that it was a trick, and they had a hard time accepting him (Acts 9:26-31).

What makes a church survive? One may argue that the church survives from one generation to another by being relevant and by discussing the topics that are of most interest to others. This argument has some merit.

One of Karl Barth’s most memorable comments is that one needs to preach “with the newspaper in one hand and the Bible in the other.” His comment is a reminder that communication involves addressing people in the context of their own questions.

When we recognize the importance of this central truth to Paul’s life, we may wonder why today’s church becomes preoccupied with issuesthat seem trivial by contrast with the fact that “Christ came into the world to save sinners.”

1 Timothy 1:18-20 (NIV) “Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, {19} holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. {20} Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.”

A spiritual warfare is being fought for the minds and souls of people. The people of God are to be right in the middle of the conflict. He is God’s instrument to teach men—to teach them the way to God and righteousness. If God’s people do not fight and struggle to lead others to God, then literally millions of souls will perish without ever knowing the way to God—without ever knowing that a person can actually live forever in the presence of God.

Where is the church going? Most of us will agree that extraordinary changes are taking place in the church. Traditions which have lasted for decades have been cast aside in favor of changes that are likely to become new traditions. Questions are being raised on many of the issues that had seemed to be settled long ago.

The incredible uniformity of a fellowship that was held together by no ecclesiastical body is disappearing as congregations experiment with new understandings of their mission.

All change is difficult, especially when our religious convictions are involved. The transition that is taking place in the church is likely to be difficult – even painful – because we will be forced to deal with questions that will divide us.

Some greet current changes as harbingers of hope, while others greet them with dismay and alarm. Some changes are appropriate to our own times, while others undermine the very nature of the Christian faith. Our task is to know the difference!

James Thompson wrote, regarding ‘fault lines emerging in congregation after congregation, that “I see little evidence that we even know how to discuss the issues. It is as if we were engaged in a game in which the participants had vastly different understandings of the rules or even a disagreement about the purpose of the game. As long as we have no shared understanding of the nature of the game, we can neither face the challenge of changing times nor work harmoniously in God’s service.”

These epistles are written to prepare the believers to act when the apostle is no longer there to guide them; to equip them to remain faithful when Paul is taken from them. Thus they are a word to churches throughout history which must act and make decisions in the physical absence of the apostles!

1 Timothy 3:14-15 (NIV) Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, 15 if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

(1 Tim 1:3)”As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer”

The Ephesian church was on Paul’s mind. According to Acts 19, he had founded the church himself and had spent more time in Ephesus than in any other community (Acts 19:10; 20:31). During his last missionary journey, he called the Ephesian elders together for a farewell visit and sermon (Acts 20:17-25), in which he warned them about the false teachers who would threaten the church.

This is the first charge to the young minister—to be a defender of the faith. The young minister must guard against and correct false teachers:

1. False teachers teach a different doctrine (v.3).

2. False teachers give heed to speculations and myths (4:7; 2 Tim. 4:4; Titus 1:4), genealogies (Titus 3:9) and questions rather than godly edification (v.4).

3. False teachers put empty discussion above love (v.5-6).

4. False teachers put ambition and personal ideas above the truth (v.7).

5. False teachers put self-righteousness above God’s gospel (v.8-11).

6. They forbid marriage and the eating of meat (1 Tim. 4:1-5).

The situation is so dangerous that Paul describes the false teaching as a disease that is infecting the church (1 Tim. 6:4). Their talk will “spread like gangrene” (2 Tim. 2:17).

They are proud, arrogant, and abusive (1 Tim. 6:4), disobedient to their parents (Titus 1:16), slanderers, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit. They are insubordinate and factious (Titus 1:10; 3:10). Clearly, Timothy is confronted by a formidable task.

In the definitive words of John 8:44, Jesus informs us that Satan is a liar. Wherever God sows truth, His arch-enemy endeavors to sow falsehood and error. It is no surprise, then, that one of his most persistent attacks on the church has been through false doctrine.

Our Lord reminded us often of the danger of false teachers. He warned in Matthew 7:15, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”

Timothy was to charge the ministers, teachers, and leaders to preach no other doctrine than the doctrine of God’s Word.

• They were not to add or take away from the doctrine of God’s Word.
• They were not to formulate new doctrines for the church.
• They were not to make what they thought were improvements nor to correct what they thought were defects in the Word of God.

His task was to teach “sound doctrine.” In fact, there is an emphasis on “sound teaching” (2 Tim. 4:3; Titus 1:9; 2:1), sound words (1 Tim. 6:3; 2 Tim. 1:13; Titus 2:8), and being “sound in the faith” (Titus 1:13; 2:2).

That familiar phrase, so well known to many of us, is actually a medical metaphor. “Sound” teaching is literally “healthy” or “wholesome” teaching. This phrase reflects the view that the church, in selecting its teachers, chooses between health and disease.

Sound doctrine involves our central convictions about the saving significance and his cross! Whenever the church departs from the saving significance of the cross of Christ, it rejects that sound teaching which produces healthy lives.

Our need to reach out to non-Christians, to maintain interest among church members, and to maintain the interest of our youth places before us special challenges, for we are all shaped by a media culture that has increased our appetite for entertainment and diminished our attention span.

In this situation, the understandable temptation for the church is to find the subjects that will maintain the interest of the people and, in effect, let them set the agenda for the church’s teaching ministry.

In a religious climate driven by consumer demand, “customers” dictate the substance of their instruction and teachers occupy themselves with meeting the demands of the clientele.

Richard Osmer: “a staggering 76% of all church members (all religious groups) now agree that an individual should arrive at his/her own religious beliefs independent of a church or synagogue.”

Paul is not suggesting a mean-spirited attitude. Paul’s goal: producing the life distinguished by love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience.

“…the aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith.” 1 Timothy 1:15.

No teaching is true which does not produce faith and love. The end of God’s commandment—of all that God has ever said to man—is love. But to do this he must be totally committed…

• to having a pure heart before God.

• to having a good (clear) conscience before God.

• to following the faith, that is, the teachings and doctrine of God’s Word.

Paul used the word “conscience(s)” 21 times in his letters, and 6 of these references are in the Ministerial Epistles (1 Tim. 1:5, 19; 3:9; 4:2; 2 Tim. 1:3; Titus 1:15).

The word “conscience” means “to know with.” Conscience is the inner judge that accuses us when we have done wrong and approves when we have done right (Rom. 2:14-15).

Conclusion

From the earliest days Christians have faced the formidable challenge of maintaining an unaltered faith while they changed customs to meet the demands of different cultures.

A healthy church will recognize that changes reflect ideas and are seldom merely matters of style. Whether our assemblies undergo major or minor changes, we do well to ask rigorous questions about what it means to come together in the presence of God.

The major issues of our public assemblies – how we sing, what we sing, how we participate in the Lord’s Supper – involve theological questions about what we have been called to do as a people. These questions are not solved by the preferences of consumer demands.

Healthy churches can have vigorous discussion – even debate – as it meets the challenge of change.

Vigorous debate, if it is conducted without rancor and within the context of a search for truth, may help us clarify the important issues of our time.

Does doctrine really matter? Sound (healthy) teaching matters!

It matters not only for pragmatic reasons, but because it is true.

(2 Tim 1:12)”That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.”

(2 Tim 1:14)”Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you–guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.”