PASSING CHRISTIANITY DOWN
AN EXPOSITION OF FIRST TIMOTHY
Copyright 2004 by Bob Marcaurelle
freesermons@homeorchurchbiblestudy.com
Web Yahoo to homeorchurchbiblestudy.com bob marcaurelle
MESSAGE 5
PREACHING ABOUT NOTHING
C. The Faith Prioritized 1:3-7; 18-19
“Command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer and not to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than the work of God- which is by faith.” (1: 3-4)
“The goal of this command is love which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (V5)
Some people have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk. V.6
“They want to be teachers of the Law but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm”. (v7)
“Timothy – fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience.” (1:18, 19)
The devil is so wise. He gets get evil men to distort the fundamentals and he gets good men to demote the fundamentals and get sidetracked, talking about nothing. Paul called it “Meaningless talk” (v 6) and “godless chatter” (2Tim. 2:16), that led to “speculations rather than the work of God.” (v4). We don’t know what they were teaching; it is enough to know that Satan had caused these pastors to get away from God’s priorities.
THE EXALTED WORK (V.5)
When a preacher asks a layman what he should preach about, he often gets the answer, “About twenty minutes”. God says preach about, “Love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith.” (v5). How do we do this?
1. By Preaching Conversion (How to be saved).
True love, heart purity, a healthy conscience and a genuine faith are the work of God in the new birth (Jn. 3) The “heart” is Scripture is the control room of our life; it is our inner person where we trust (Prov. 3:5); learn (2 Cor. 4:6);obey (Dt.10:12); love (Matt. 22:37); etc. And until we become Christians, our inner man, our heart is impure. The Bible says it is: - full of evil (Gen. 6:5); wayward (2 Ch. 12:14); -deceitful (Jer. 17:9); proud (Psalm 101:5),etc. Our business to tell people they must be changed by God from the inside out
2. By Preaching Christ-like Living.
The best preaching, I have always would be a combination of Baptist and Methodist. Methodists do a fine job telling Christians how to live but they do not stress the new birth. Baptists do the opposite. We are so afraid of preaching “works” we neglect the preaching of the Christian life except in things like gambling, drunkenness and abortion. We make much of the great commission, and we should, but we often forget the second half of it, “Teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you.” (Matt. 28:18-20).
THE EMPTY WORDS (V.4 -6)
1. The Priority Changed.
These trivial teachings could refer to Jewish believers and the genealogies of the OT or to the Gnostics talking about all the levels between a good God and evil creation; or both. Either way, it was meaningless.
2. The Pride Exposed
In verse 7 Scripture exposes the pride behind this emphasis. Paul says they deal in “speculations” because, “They want to be teachers of the Law but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.” (v7).
Our denominational Bible Study one year was Isaiah and a very good Bible teacher came to a church in our town my secretary attended. She was less than impressed and considered it a waste of time, since her mother was sick, her husbands health was breaking, and she had too much on her plate. When I asked why, she said, “He spent two hours every night for four nights proving that the earthly blessings predicted by Jeremiah, pertained to the earthy millennium and not to heaven.
Well, that might be a good topic for one night, but if that’s all he fed good people, who made great efforts to come, he was not faithful to his heavenly assignment.
R. W. Dale, a fine preacher in the 1800’s said it is impossible to preach ourselves and preach Christ at the same time. The “old, old story” is old and everyone knows it and the temptation is to teach things that are new and things that create discussions.
There is a place for this in Christian learning, but there is a danger. We will be looked up to for our “study” or “learning” or “Bible knowledge” and the good news of Jesus and the ethics of Christianity will become second place.
Dale was criticized for not preaching “to the times”. His answer was, “With so many pulpits filled with views of the times, can’t one poor preacher of Christ keep on preaching to eternity?” Spurgeon hit the nail on the head when he said,
“Far too many of our brothers would rather explain the complexities of the Book of Revelation, than go to an orphanage and tell little children about Jesus.”
Note: People in our churches would much rather discuss Christianity than do it. Talk about the end of the world and you have to bring out chairs. Talk about loving ministry to the neighborhood and those who come can lie down in the pews and never touch each other. Schedule one on how to evangelize your neighborhood and everyone who comes can have their own pew.
Just today, in the Book Store, a fellow Pastor asked me if I had Arthur Pink’s book on covenants. A man he had led to Christ was all confused about the different covenants, and threatened to leave his church and find one that correctly distinguished the different Bible covenants. What a waste.
THE EXALTED WALK (V. 5, 19)
1. Love.
Preaching and living the Christ-like life, the first thing on the list is love. To us love is a warm affectionate feeling, or those things that being us pleasure like chocolate pudding. Bible love is:
- putting others above self,
- seeking their highest good,
- paying the price to help do that, and
-doing it unconditionally
God put us above His comforts and gave up His Son for us (Jn. 3:16). Jesus paid the price to set us free and this freedom is unconditionally offered to all.
2. A Pure Heart.
Pure means unmixed. How can we claim purity when everything we do has an element of self and sin in it? Our new heart is pure because it wants to love and exalt and obey God, and the part of us that doesn’t is not the “real” us. That’s why Paul in Romans 7, discussing his battles with himself says, ”I am not the one doing these evil things. The sin that lives in me is what does them.” (Rom. 7:17, CEV) Love comes from:
3. A Healthy Conscience.
The word “good” means healthy (Wuest). Our new born inner nature fights our old person (flesh) inside (Gal.5:16-17)). Paul says “Timothy – fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience.” (1:18, 19) Our delight is in the Word of God (Ps.1) which is our light upon the path of life (Ps. 119: 105).
Our response to sin is repentance.(1 Jn. 1:7-10). A sick conscience wallows in guilt and defeat, but a good conscience claims forgiveness and believes in soul healing. Love comes from:
4. A Sincere Faith.
Sincerity is truth, the opposite of hypocrisy and pretense. Those who make God’s Word their guide and Jesus their example, honestly admit their shortcomings. They don’t have to pretend a piety they don’t possess. They “sin less and less, but confess more and more.”
Conclusion:
This world desperately needs people of love and sincerity, who are not “holier than thou” saints who look down on others. As the old cliché says, “If you talk the talk you need to walk the walk.” Our lives are the best sermons we will ever preach and the best lessons we will ever teach.
Jesus says, “Let your light so shine before men that they will see your good words and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”(Mt.5) In our cosmopolitan world where many cultures and religions inter-mingle, its hard to convince people of the truth of Christianity. When our lifestyles are worse than theirs it is almost impossible.
That’s why Timothy was told not only to hold to the faith, but to have a clear conscience when it comes to heart purity, love and sincerity. The best argument for Christianity is a loving, honest Christian.
In the middle of the 20th Century, Ghandi, the spiritual leader of India, thought about becoming a Christian. He was impressed with Jesus’ life and with His teachings, especially in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). But Ghandi was less than impressed with Christians- both English and American. As Christians sought to convert him he would answer, “Show me you’re truly redeemed and I might believe in your Redeemer.” The world still feels that way.
