Cork Free Presbyterian Church, 10 Briarscourt
(Annex) Shanakiel, Cork, Ireland
Pastor: Colin Maxwell. Email: colin.maxwell@fpcmission.org
FREE PRESBYTERIAN ISSUES -- GOSPEL ISSUES -- PROTESTANT ISSUES -- EVANGELISM ISSUES -- CALVINISM
ISSUES -- C.H. SPURGEON INDEX -- SERMON NOTES -- MAIN
READ: ACTS 28:16-31/1 TIMOTHY 1:1-4 [SERIES 1]
It is assumed by many that the story of the Apostle Paul was more or less over when we come to the end of the Book/Acts
The narrative seems to tail off as if it were too painful for Luke to record the martyred death of his close friend Paul.
Yet this assumption is not based on fact
[i] One reason why the Book/Acts does not have a feeling of closure is because the closure has not yet come
Beginning of the Book/Acts makes that clear (1:1)
The Book/Acts is not merely about the Apostles in general nor Paul in
particular – it is about the whole Church/Jesus Christ and her
commission to preach/gospel to every creature under heaven until her
Lord comes again
That has not yet been accomplished – it is a work/progress
– and so we should not attribute anything other to the
style/ending
[ii] A piecing together of all pieces of the jigsaw will show to us
that Paul’s appeal to Caesar was successful and that he was
released from his bonds and went on to labour further/God
I think that is a wonderful thing
Many of us might steal away on release to lick/wounds
We might rest content that we had done our bit
Not so Paul – he picked up the pieces where they lay and rebuilt his ministry on the outside
Continued/evangelise and revisited the places where he had been
One of these places was Ephesus
Particularly dear to his heart for several reasons:
[i] Had been instrumental in founding the church there
[ii] It had been a good strong doctrinal church (proof: Epistle)
[iii] His young friend Timothy was pastor there (v3)
Apart from Titus, no one else received a personal letter from Paul (i.e. inspired letter)
Rest are either to churches or a general epistle (Hebrews)
It gives us an insight then in to how important these letters are
By way of introduction, we must observe some matters:
1) TIMOTHY WAS A FOND SON IN THE FAITH:
A/ Paul/instrumental in leading this young man to faith/Christ
What do we know about Timothy?
We are first introduced to him is in Acts 16:1 “certain disciple”
His mother was a Jewess and a Christian
We read further of this end/things: 2 Timothy 1:5
His father however was a Gentile and seems to have had an upper hand in the home: Acts 16:4 i.e. no circumcision
Timothy was well reported of by the brethren i.e. he was an outstanding young Christian and very keen
This is something which we ought to be aiming at
Let us rest content with being a mere run of the mill Christian
Don’t have it that the needle is scarcely moving on the register
Jesus said: Let your light so shine
before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father
which is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)
Words: well reported of mean much more than a mere opinion
Word is usually translated: Bore witness/testified i.e. truth
That is within reach of any of us if Timothy could attain it
Don’t think there are differing standards/expectations at work
One for the Bible people and the rest for us
We can be noted Christians as we so desire
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. (John 15:7)
B/ This phrase: my own son in the faith means being a true son
Paul was the means of Timothy’s conversion
This seems to have been during Paul’s first visit to Lystra where
Paul endured great trouble in his evangelisation (2:3:10-11)
It was here (it is thought) that Paul led Timothy to Christ
C/ Even though Paul firmly believes that salvation is entirely/God
i.e.
a supernatural act of the Holy Spirit upon the soul when he creates
faith in Christ and enables the sinner to exercise it and so bring the
sinner into the Kingdom/God – even so:
Paul quickly (inspiration) claims himself as the begetter/souls
For
though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many
fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. (1
Corinthians 4:15)
This is not Arminianism run mad – if properly understood
Regeneration is and will always be a supernatural matter
The authoritative passage on this subject is John 1:12-13
But there is encouraging recognition here of the human means which God employs esp. when that is one of His own children
It is to encourage us to seek to win souls to Jesus Christ:
Let
him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way
shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
(James 5:20)
So the soul winner then can freely speak/having begotten souls
D/ Therefore natural (one of the renderings of the word own) that Paul would take this bright young convert under his wing
John (another soul winner) thus expressed his love/converts:
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. (3:4)
Let’s look for converts and then let us take them under our wing and seek to see them nurtured up in the faith
No one desires to have a sickly child
Yet no one abandons a sickly child either
Let’s do all that we can to produce spiritual offspring
2) TIMOTHY WAS A FAVOURED SERVANT IN THE FIELD:
A/ Timothy was not only a good Christian, but a good pastor also
Along/Titus, these two epistles are known as “Pastoral epistles”
Doesn’t mean that there is nothing in here for Christians/pew
Plenty in here for everyone – these are most important epistles
[i] Spiritual advice is for Christians of whatever role/church
[ii] The Christian has a responsibility to be active in a NT church
A church that is not being run Along NT lines is not being run
according to God’s pattern and cannot expect fullness/blessing
(I say that because God has blessed faithful preachers from many different settings: Ryle/Calvin/Luther/Spurgeon etc.,)
This may be so…yet we still have a responsibility to be faithful as a church to what is written in the NT
If we do not take the church serious and desire to see it totally aligned/what is written/Bible, then we cannot expect blessing
[iii] We abominate the questionnaires that sometimes get circulated around churches by leaders who have no idea
“What kind of church do you want?”
It is as if they were running a youth club or a community centre
Church is not a democracy – the rule of the people
Without being authoritarian – the church has an authority
It is to be run by church elders who are answerable to one another and answerable to God and directed by the Bible
[iv] A church is only as good as its members/adherents
While
there is an element of the man/pulpit or the session being responsible
for their own spirituality and being faithful, no matter what happens
elsewhere (Whether they hear or forbear)
Yet there is also an account to be given for the people/pew
Obey
them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch
for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it
with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you
(Hebrews 13:17)
B/ We are a fellowship of Christians
Let us seek as such to encourage/exhort one another in spiritual matters so that this church will make an impact for good
Certainly Paul took things seriously in this regard
Although fond/Timothy, he was prepared to leave him/Ephesus
Paul aimed at far more than seeing people saved
This very word “saved” must be enlarged upon
Much more than escaping the damnation/hell
Being saved means to be sanctified as well as justified
It means to live a life of holiness to the glory of God
This is the evidence of justification
Such is attained through the means of grace
And the means/grace i.e. preaching etc., are administered best through a well run church according to the principles/NT
C/ When Paul left Timothy/Ephesus, he himself went/Macedonia
To do what? Ultimately win souls and establish a NT church
Paul described his ministry in these terms:
Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. (2 Corinthians 11:28)
Part of this care was ensuring that they were doing God’s things
in God’s way – Paul never wavered in this matter
And he wanted Timothy (and us) to follow in his footsteps
3) TIMOTHY WAS A FAITHFUL SOLDIER IN THE FIGHT:
A/ A cursory glance/NT (and so these 2
epistles) will show that neither Christianity/general or
pastorate/particular: easy ride
Church/Jesus Christ has many enemies
NT abounds with military imagery to denote our battles
Every Christian is to put on the whole armour/God (Ephesians 6)
The Devil is portrayed as a foe – a strong man needing disarmed
Here in 1 Timothy 6:10 Timothy is urged to fight/good fight
This thought is incumbent on every last Christian
Yet it is recognised that pastors must take a front line position
What a responsibility this brings upon the pulpit
Where the pulpit is rotten…the pew will soon be also
B/ So even at the very beginning/epistle, we have Paul instructing Timothy on the dangers of false teaching
The seriousness of it all is seen on a number of fronts:
[i] Timothy was instructed to charge - not merely advised etc.,
There is a fair bit of charging goes on in this epistle
Word denotes a military command from greater – lesser
Paul had more authority than Timothy etc., because an Apostle
Something which he is very careful to make known (v1)
He is not pulling rank in the popular sense/word
But he is exercising his rank under God – speaks by inspiration
[ii] Paul himself is subject to a Higher Being i.e. God Himself
He is subject to the word/God hence “no other doctrine”
These are matters/divinity and that makes it deadly serious
Word for “other” is “hetros” – another kind of
Hetrodoxy is a “bad” word in theology – as in Galatians 1:6
It was creeping into the church – not merely without
C/ Sometimes it could be very subtle indeed
Not necessarily challenging to the fundamentals/faith
Some of these things that were grabbing attention were fables and endless genealogies – imports from Judaism (v4)
At best they were time wasters
A word here about genealogies
Why are they in the Bible?
Hard/boring to read etc., seemingly of little worth
Reality: They are important to a certain point
They help establish the credentials of the Bible
Seen most of all in the two different genealogical lines that are given in the NT re: Jesus Christ
It must be proved to be the Son/David to be the Messiah
However, they are to kept in their place as secondary to the main message i.e. the fundamentals
They are not to be pored over as if they were the be all/end all
Obviously too, the Jewish (or whatever) fables also had a
fascination for some – suggested by the questions they gendered
There are questions which are good and aid the study/Bible
They are asked in faith and lead to godly edifying
(Godly edifying is why we read the Bible – not curiosity etc.,)
Then there are questions which are seeded in doubt
To such – we are not to give any heed
I think we can carry the same idea expressed here into other things with which Christians can be misled:
I suggest that there can be an unhealthy fascination with the finer
details of prophecy – entire sub industry in books here
Or (lesser degree)in Bible numerics where a calculator becomes more useful than a concordance
[iii] Seriousness again: Timothy had to charge others
When we think
of the Book/Acts, we think of the gospel being spread as Christian
evangelists/teachers went abroad spreading the truths/God’s word and
setting up churches to maintain it all
Well and good when they are all preaching truth
But what damage is done when error takes over
Gathered churches etc., people repeating what they hear
Others getting interested and they reaching others again
Natural man’s propensity to believe the lie rather than truth
Of
course, while Satan helps the lie to spread, God is helping the truth
to go abroad also, but God uses means to achieve his end
This means involves the church maintaining its standards and faithfulness to that which is written
These things just don’t fall into place
Haphazard churches are doomed to failure
Nothing/taken for granted except apostasy following neglect
This is why then Paul uses those strong words:
By the commandment/God - besought thee/abide – charge etc.,
D/
If we wonder how on earth we can maintain our gospel purity not only
day in/day our but year in/year out…then see how Paul commences his
whole epistle: (as he does many of his epistles)
He wishes upon them grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
This is (v1) where our hope lies
It is a spiritual battle that is raging
Mere human resources cannot hope to succeed
Not running a business or a mere organisation but a church
That must drive us to the unending resources of God
Paul prays that they will be vouchsafed to us- let us use them
THE END