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READ 1 TIMOTHY 6:1-10 PASSAGE: v3-5 [SERIES 20]
The immediate context/words concern the instructions which were given re: the relationship between slaves/masters (v1)
Extended even/the potentially volatile matter of Christian slaves working under Christian masters in the same church (v2)
Modern day application/words relate to how Christians are to behave themselves in the potentially volatile matter/workplace
Importance/matter seen in words/Paul (v2)
These things teach and exhort
Everything written/Bible should be taught/exhorted
We inform when we teach
We insist when we exhort
Heightened/fact that such is underlined by the Apostle
If this teaching slipped away – untold damage could be done
In our passage, the Apostle seems/recognise that the biggest danger might not merely be neglect, but downright opposition
Human nature being what it is – Paul could foresee men rising in the church and teaching otherwise i.e. disrespect etc.,
Therefore he writes these words so to show that this rebellion has been identified, anticipated and rejected
But the words are wider: their immediate or adopted context
They establish general principles which ought to be adhered to
5 things we must note from these words:
1) THE ULTIMATE AUTHORITY ESTABLISHED:
..the words of our Lord Jesus Christ
A/ This phrase goes beyond those recorded sayings/Christ found (sometimes in red print) in our Bibles
Ultimately it refers to the whole canon/Scripture
In Colossians 3:16 we are exhorted:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you
richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms
and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the
Lord.
Here again; Word/Christ = whole of Scripture
B/ This is where Paul appealed for his doctrine/practice
So should we
Once you go down the “Christian Tradition” road, then you will end up here, there and yonder (as Rome/others have done)
Paul knew the great danger of ecclesiastical traditions
He himself had been a Pharisee and had made the word/God of none effect by his traditions as exposed by the Lord Jesus
It is this that drove him to be a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious (1:13)
C/ Perhaps appealing to tradition might have worked in this particular case – or in any one of a number of cases
But it was not Paul’s way nor that of any of the Apostles
When Peter went down the tradition route in Galatians 2:9, then Paul withstood him/face for effectively denying the gospel
That’s where man’s tradition will effectively lead us
True…there are harmless traditions out there
But by what Standard do we call them “harmless?”
We judge tradition by the word/God and therefore tradition cannot be equal to that by which it is judged
Trouble with Rome is that she judges Bible by tradition
Tradition has become the top dog and to it the Bible must bow
We repudiate hat position
We keep to the words/Christ for our faith/practice
The 6th/39 Articles of the Anglican Faith summarise well:
Holy Scripture containeth all things
necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may
be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be
believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or
necessary to salvation.
This is safe/solid ground – what mischief it avoids!
2) HOW THE WORD OF CHRIST IS DESCRIBED:
They are described in a two fold manner:
A/ Described as wholesome words
Same word is translated as sound (1:10)
Negatively: nothing harmful in them nor anything dangerous
Positively: These are healthy words that can only do you good
The Lord Jesus said of His own words:
They are spirit and they are life (John 6:63)
We are to feed upon the Bible
We can borrow the words/Paul on the shipwreck and apply/Bible:
Wherefore
I pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there
shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you.
Which is why the psalmist likened the Bible: necessary food
Fancy foods that may do you more harm than good
But not your necessary food – staple diet
Same vein: Bible is likened to the sincere milk/word fit for new born babes in Christ (1 Peter 2:2)
Consider how careful we must be when a new born babe is around
Hygiene is everything – we sterilise the bottles etc.,
So too the word/God is sound in all its parts
Sometimes the modernists want to purge the Bible
Say that certain parts of it are unhelpful in our day
This is to sit in judgement over the Bible
That is to lay an attack upon the very integrity of the Book
It is true that the truths/Bible must be carefully applied
True that men can wrest the Scriptures to their own destruction
But they cannot wrest/Scriptures to the destruction/scriptures
Word of God is given/inspiration of God
They are and must ever remain pure in each/every situation
The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. (Psalm 12:6)
B/ Cannot come/Book and assume an air of superiority over it
There is no higher moral ground than that which is written
Therefore Paul goes further in his description:
Not only wholesome words/Christ but also;
The doctrine which according/godliness
Godliness is much more than living a moral life
Heathen philosophers could point to that
Namaan/leper was an honourable man yet a total heathen who needed to wash and be clean (2 Kings 5)
Doctrine according/godliness is that which motivates a man to live his life to the glory/God
He not only does good- but he does good for the right reason
His motto: For me to live is Christ (Philippians 1:21)
Note where this all springs from: Belief of certain doctrines
IOW: The words of Christ which are sound and practical
If no godliness/life – then the doctrines have not been grasped
We may have got hold of the doctrine – has it got hold of us?
There’s the great difference!
For
if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man
beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and
goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth
therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this
man shall be blessed in his deed. (James 1:23-25)
C/ I hope you/ordering your life in accordance/these principles
Let every decision made be in accordance with what is written
This will keep you out of many a snare which Satan has laid
Your foot will be sure even in the darkest night:
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. (119:105)
In this life, there is a deep ditch on one side and a mire/other
Neither are options for the professing Christian
But this Book will keep you from sin, unless… (according to John Bunyan) …sin keeps you from this Book
Not hard to see whether the loyalty/Christian should lie
3) HOW THESE WORDS/CHRIST ARE TO BE RECEIVED:
A/ By contrast from v3 we learn that they are to be consented
We avoid what we do not agree with – put it far from us
But we draw near to that which we find acceptable
Draw nigh unto God and He will draw nigh unto you (James 4:8)
There is a consenting here – a coming together (con-)
An agreement– in this case, we agree with what God has said
Let us ever consent to the word/God
Saw earlier: Job felt the word/God was his necessary food
Same verse (23:12) said that he esteemed it be so
He consented that the word/God was good and true
Consented that it was the word for Him
Even though he was in great affliction at the time, yet he consented to the same word
His wife wanted him to curse God and die
Job consented to the word/God and refused
Earlier, he heard that his children had all been killed
Old Job was a good Calvinist!
He said that the Lord had given and had taken away
All these things had happened at the command/God
Then he consented again to what the Lord had done:
Blessed be the name of the Lord (1:21)
Consenting is much more than acknowledging
We might acknowledge the reality of something and yet be kicking against it and arguing against it
Consenting is acknowledging t to be good
Likewise did old Eli when he heard that his wicked sons would die at the hand of an angry God:
It is the LORD – let him do what seemeth Him good (1:3:18)
He consented to the word/God
B/ Not only to be consented unto – but to be taught
Also seen by way of reverse (v3)
The false teacher is not slow to propagate his views
Yet we are more often hiding our light under a bushel
If
we consent to wholesome words i.e. that they are wholesome – then it
would naturally follow that we will do all that we can to spread the
word to others so that they might likewise benefit
C/ Let us see that we consent/teach with the whole heart
Never rest content with the outward appearance
If the word/God is not impacting us inwardly, then we are merely going through a hypercritical show and losing out/blessing
4) THE FOLLY OF THE ALTERNATIVE POSITION:
A/ Paul recognises that not every one sees things as we do
Not that he recognises that all views are equal on this matter
He would not have made a very good ecumenist!
But he sees what any man must see when he reads his Bible
Not only when he reads his Bible – but when he ministered
That not everyone agrees and not merely passively but actively
B/ It is no mere character attack that he engages on
Sometimes that tactic is employed when there is no answer
Paul constantly engages/opponents with solid Scripture reasoning
But here he does not afford them the luxury of disagreeing/God
What is it that makes a man fight against His Creator’s words?
What spirit animates them to brazenly do so?
I remind you of what Gamaliel feared in Acts 5:38-39
And
now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if
this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it
be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight
against God.
O the hopelessness of fighting against a sovereign God!
So what it is that drives such people to such a foolish act?
[i] Paul attributes it first of all to pride:
First ever opposer of God was the Devil and in 3:6 we see that pride was the cause of His condemnation
If
we were all smitten with a little humility and saw ourselves as
unworthy of arguing with God, then we would avoid this problem
But these people who turn up and argue/Bible are driven/pride
Be careful! Pride goes before destruction (Proverbs 16:18)
[ii] Secondly, Paul attributes it to ignorance: knowing nothing
There is an ignorance that is excusable: e.g. child
We all start of ignorant, but there is a voice that says:
“Take my yoke upon you and learn of me” (Matthew 11:28)
When we are ignorant, it ill becomes us to argue/those who know
Especially with Christ – in whom is hid all the treasures/wisdom
This man who consents not has made a conscious decision
I don’t think Paul here is hammering the sincere/humble enquirer
(Must stress: Not that man can judge God…but neither are we commanded to rush into something without honest thought)
Paul here is hammering the proud opposer who, despite all his high sounding phrases/arguments knows nothing)
A man who knows nothing has nothing to offer you
[iii] Such a one is doting:
This is a medical term – a morbid fondness for something:
In this case: Questions and strife of words leading to envy –
strife – railings – evil surmisings or suspicions
Why do we come to the Bible?
We come to learn about God so that we can worship Him –
know and do His will – and bring glory/His name and advance
his cause
Why do these men come to the Bible?
So that they can find ammunition for a fight/words
That isn’t healthy – it leads to envy/strife etc., which
are all works of the flesh – wherein dwelleth no good thing
The words/Christ are wholesome words
Words of these men are most unsound and sick
[iv] Their disputings (v5) are perverse because their minds are corrupt
– the corrupt tree can only bring forth corrupt fruit
When a man opposes Chris t- Then he opposes Incarnate Truth
Therefore the opposer is said to be destitute of truth
That makes him a liar – no matter how you look at it
C/ Why would we listen to such men?
Where are they to be found today?
These are the modernists within the Christian Church
These too may be the Neo Evangelicals who qualify
These are the traditional enemies of RC Priets
These are the JW’s and the Mormons etc.,
Any man who consents not to the wholesome words qualify
5) WHAT IS OUR RESPONSE TO BE TO SUCH MEN?
A glorious one liner: From such withdraw thyself…
A/ Paul was a Separatist! No sharing/platforms here
None of this love-dovey ecumenical stuff so beloved/many today
Paul practiced what he preached: Acts 19:8-9
And he went into the synagogue, and
spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading
the things concerning the kingdom of God. But when divers were
hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the
multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples,
disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus.
Not only did he get out himself – but got others out
Not only that – but he exhorts another Pastor to do so
This is the consistent position/word of God:
2 Corinthians 6:14-18/Ephesians 5:11/Obediah 1:11
B/ This is the only wise road left for us to travel
It secures ourselves and the flock/God around us
Suppose that we did fraternise with the enemy
(Going beyond what human civility demands us to gladly give)
Suppose we start getting mealy mouthed
Be sure – the enemies/Christ’s wholesome words will take advantage of our weakness
The thieves will break in and steal
Not steal our money (which may be replaced) but steal the souls of men – sometimes irrecoverably and for eternity
C/ We made reference earlier to the Devil and his fall
He dared to disagree with God and sought to set up his own throne over the Sovereign throne of the Most High God
What happened?
An eyewitness (Jesus Christ) tells us what happened:
I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. (Luke 10:18)
God did not negotiate with the Devil
There
was no wordy little ecumencial formula which both sides could sign up
to because they put different interpretations on the same set of words
God took him by the scruff of the neck and threw him out
He fell as lightning from heaven!
If
we can’t get rid of the modernists – then it is time for us to be like
Lot – get out quick before the wrath/God falls upon them
And I heard
another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye
be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
(Revelation 18:4)
D/ See how precious the word/Christ really is that such steps are deemed necessary to preserve it and its influence upon us
Cherish it– study/meditate upon it – do all to have it spread
THE END