1 TIMOTHY 1-6 TIMOTHYS CHARGE2014 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 1 Timothy 1-6 Timothys Charge

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2014.

And we are here this evening in 1 Timothy. We'll be looking at chapters 1 through 6, which are the chapters that we read this week as we're working our way through the Bible in three years. The book of 1 Timothy is written by the Apostle Paul. It's written to Timothy, who is a young man who was alongside of Paul, really a disciple of Paul's that he had alongside of him for many of his travels and the missionary journeys.

He writes this letter to Timothy around 63 AD, which is a little bit after he was released from prison in Rome. And so at the end of Acts chapter 28, where Paul is in prison waiting to appear before Caesar, soon after that, he's released...

And he goes around and visits a few more places. He leaves Timothy in Ephesus and then he goes on and then he writes this letter back to Timothy to help him through a couple things. Number one, to encourage him to oppose false doctrine. There was some...

doctrinal issues that were happening as people were spreading some things that were incorrect and that were false and Timothy had to address those things. Secondly, the purpose was to develop the charge that he had been given. Timothy had been given a charge. He'd been gifted and it was given to him by the Lord with confirmation of prophecy and so Paul develops him in that and encourages him to press forward in that.

And then the third thing he writes to him about is instruction on how to manage the church, how things are to be operated, how order is to be established there within the church at Ephesus. And so Timothy is there in Ephesus. Now, Ephesus has a little bit of a history at this point. Paul visited Ephesus.

Ephesus pretty quickly in Acts chapter 18 as part of his, I think it was his second missionary journey. He just kind of stayed a few moments there and then moved on heading back to Jerusalem. But then he came back in Acts chapter 19 around 54 AD and spent a good amount of time there. About three years he stayed in Ephesus establishing the church, preaching the gospel, and ministering there to the people. And

And then you might remember in Acts chapter 20, that emotional time where Paul met with the Ephesian elders as he was on his way to Jerusalem. And he knew that it was probably going to be the last time that he saw them because he was anticipating the arrest that was going to take place, which ended up, you know, leading him to Rome where he was in prison for a few years.

During that time in prison in Rome, he wrote a letter to the Ephesians. We know it as Ephesians, and so we have that recorded for us. And so he wrote that letter and encouraged the church, a really powerful letter. And we're going to be studying it in great depth at the men's retreat in a couple weeks. And so we'll become more familiar with that.

But then after that, around 63 AD, again, Paul left Timothy in Ephesus as he passed through. And then as he moved on to a couple other cities, he sent this letter back to Timothy to encourage him in what needed to happen.

We're going to be starting tomorrow as we go through the Bible in three years, the book of 2 Timothy, which happens a few years later while Paul is in prison in Rome for the second time. And this time he's expecting not to survive it. And so he writes 2 Timothy as he is awaiting his death in a Roman prison.

Well, then about 30 years after that, Jesus writes to the church of Ephesus in Revelation chapter 2 verses 1 through 7. You have his letter there. And then the apostle John really established himself in Ephesus later on as well. And so he dies in Ephesus at about 100 AD. So

kind of a lot of history there in Ephesus of what God was doing there. At this point, as Paul is writing this, he's just passed through. He noticed some problems that were there, so he left Timothy behind. And now he's sending this instruction to Timothy to kind of further him in his cause there in Ephesus.

Here's a quick look at the possible geography. We don't have this detailed for us in the scriptures like we do have Paul's other journeys in the book of Acts. But piecing together the different things that he mentions throughout his different letters, it seems that when Paul was released from Rome, he went over to

well, to Crete and then to Miletus, up to Ephesus, over to Colossae, and then over to Troas, up to Philippi, into Macedonia, and then down into Corinth. And he spent a little bit of time in Corinth, which is where he wrote this letter to Timothy from Corinth and sent that on to him. And then he went over to Nicopolis and spent the winter there.

And so that's a possible scenario. It seems to be that's the route that he took as he left the prison in Rome. Well, that brings us now to our chapters this evening. We're in 1 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 3 is the key verse. He says, "...as I urged you when I went into Macedonia, remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine."

In verses 1 and 2, Paul introduces himself in the usual way. He says, I'm Paul. And this is to Timothy, who he calls my son, in the faith. And so Paul and Timothy had this special father-son type relationship as they ministered alongside of each other.

In verses 3 through 11, Paul says, remain in Ephesus to charge some that they teach no other doctrine. And so again, as Paul went through, he observed, he saw that there was some doctrinal issues going on. There was some false doctrine being taught. There was some, you know, doctrine being promoted that was not biblical, that didn't line up with the truth. And

And so Paul said, Timothy, you have to handle this. You have to deal with those who are teaching false doctrine.

we kind of gather from this letter and the next letter that Paul sends to Timothy, that Timothy could tend to be a little bit timid. And so he doesn't seem to be one who, you know, desired confrontation or really got excited about it. And so Paul here is kind of encouraging him, you know, Timothy, I know you really don't want to deal with this situation. I know you don't really want to confront those people who are teaching false doctrine in the church, but Timothy, you

That's why you're there. I know you'd rather leave and come be with me or leave and go to an easier place to minister, but that's why you're here. Remain there and charge those who are teaching false doctrine to not do it any longer. Now Paul clarifies this a little bit in verse 5. He says, "...the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and from sincere faith."

He says, the purpose of this command for you to remain, for you to charge them to teach no other doctrine, the reason why I'm commanding you, the reason why you need to command them, it's love. Because this is what's best for people. False doctrine is destructive and it's harmful and it does great damage. He says in verse 6, he says that some have strayed from the faith.

He says in verse 7 that they desire to be teachers of the law, but they don't understand the things that they're talking about.

They don't understand what they affirm. And so they're using the things of the law incorrectly. Paul explains, look, the law is for the lawless. But the way that these people are using the law, it's incorrect. It's not what it's designed for. And so it's going to cause damage. And so out of love for the people, Timothy, you need to stay there and charge that they teach no other doctrine. You need to put a stop.

to that false doctrine that is going on. Well then in verses 12 through 17, Paul reminds Timothy of the grace of God. He says, "...the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant to me."

Paul says that God counted him faithful and put him into the ministry. That Paul wasn't an apostle because of his education or because of his great, you know, righteousness, but that it was about the abundant grace of God, the exceeding grace of God and mercy.

Paul says in verse 13, I am the chief of sinners. And so he recognizes I'm completely unworthy. I'm the most unworthy of the work of God. And yet God's grace has been abundant towards me. In verse 16, he explains why. He says, for this reason, I obtained mercy.

Paul said, God wanted to use me as a pattern.

To show that everybody who will believe can receive the grace and the mercy of God. And not only be saved, but also be used by God to accomplish God's purposes. And so there's this great example that we have in the Apostle Paul.

Because, of course, Paul was at one time Saul. He was the persecutor of the church. He caused people to blaspheme the name of Christ. And yet it's that guy that God got a hold of and put into ministry and used him mightily to establish churches all over Asia, the Middle East, and that area and did a great work. And then, of course, wrote...

just about half of the New Testament as well. And so God took this man who was so far against God and brought him, you know, to this point where he was incredibly used by God as an example so that we could recognize it's about God's grace. It's about God's mercy. And if God could save Paul, he could save anybody. And if God could use Paul, he could use anybody.

Well, then in verses 18 through 20, Paul says, I charge you to wage the good warfare. He says in verse 18, this charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare. Timothy, this is a fight. It's a battle. And so I charge you. He gives him, you know, these strong exhortations to

To finish the work that he has been put towards. To wage the good warfare. And he reminds them, remember Timothy, there was prophecies that were previously made concerning you.

that God spoke ahead of time and he gave some words of prophecy over you that you now can be reminded of those things, encouraged, and then fight the good fight. That you can engage in the battle recognizing that you are here because God has placed you here. That this wasn't man's design. It's not random chance that you were there in Ephesus.

But God has called you to be there. He told you to be there. He ordained this. And so you need to be there and to fight the good fight. Now this is important, he says in verse 19, because some have shipwrecked their faith.

He gives a couple examples in verse 20. Hymenaeus and Alexander have shipwrecked their faith. They've crashed. They've crashed and burned. Their faith started out. They were sailing along. They were going well. But then they crashed. They hit rock bottom. And they are no longer progressing in the faith. And so Timothy, you need to...

you know, take this charge seriously and fight the good fight so that more people don't shipwreck their faith. You need to engage in the battle so that the people of Ephesus are protected. Well, then as we head into chapter 2 of 1 Timothy, verse 1 is the key verse.

He says, therefore, I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men. And so here Paul begins to talk to Timothy about the things that should be going on in the church fellowship. Now, as Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he gave us some insight into some of the chaos that was going on in the Corinthian church.

Here as he writes to Timothy, we don't really know what was going on, but there was false doctrine happening. There was things that were out of order. And so Paul is telling Timothy, okay, here's the things that should be going on. And so one of the important things that should be happening in the church, Timothy, in verses 1 through 7, is prayer. He says, "...I exhort that prayers be made for all, for God desires all to be saved."

And so make sure, Timothy, that there is times of prayer that are taking place and be praying for kings.

Now this is important because, you know, this is during the Roman Empire. And so the kings were the Caesars of the empire, the emperors of the Roman Empire. They were not always good. Mostly they were bad. And so Paul is telling them, hey, you need to be praying for those kings, those emperors.

that are persecuting people, that are, you know, unfair and unjust, that it's not about, you know, pray for them if they're your favorite, you know, ruler that's ever ruled before. But pray for kings and pray for all who are in authority. It's not just the king, but all those who are under him. He says, I'm telling you, I'm exhorting you that prayers be made for all kinds of people.

whether in authority or out of authority, high in authority or lower in authority. He says in verse 3, this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior. Notice verse 4, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

You see, God desires for people to be saved. And so Timothy makes sure that the church is in prayer for those who are lost, whether they're in authority or not, but that the church would be praying for them because, well, you want to join with God in this endeavor to reach those who are lost.

Paul says in verse 5, there's one God and one mediator between God and man, and that is the man Jesus Christ. And so Jesus is the only way to God. And so be in prayer for all men, for those who are in authority, because, well, they need Jesus and God wants them to be saved. In verses 8 through 10, Paul says, I desire that men pray with holy hands and women with modest apparel.

So Timothy, in these times of prayer, as the church gathers together, there's a couple things that need to happen based on the gender of those involved. And so men, as they gather together, as the church gathers and they spend time in prayer, they need to have holy hands. They need to be set apart. That is, hands that are set apart to the things of God. And so that the guys are not involved in things that are sinful, you know,

Let's go just do what we want to do, live sinful lives, and then come to church and then lift up our hands in prayer. Paul says to Timothy, no, the men as they gather together, they need to have holy hands. Their hands need to be set apart for the things of God. Also, as they gather together, it needs to be without wrath. And this is the idea of this anger of wanting to get back

at those who have hurt or wronged you. And so there needs to be some, you know, checks of the heart. You know, where's your heart? Is it, is there this bitterness or this vengefulness that is going on within? But then also without doubting. And so as the men gather together to pray, they need to have holy hands. They need to be without wrath and they need to

To really trust God and not be wavering and wishy and washy in the faith and in their belief in God, but trusting in God and holding fast to him. And so as the men pray, he says, here's the things that are required. And now guys, I would encourage you to pray for me because now I have to talk about the ladies. So when the women pray, he says, there needs to be modest apparel.

And so they need to be addressed appropriately. And the way that Paul describes it here in verses 8, 9, and 10 is that it needs to be apparel that is fitting for godliness and good works. And so it's not so much about, you know,

Whether or not a woman can wear certain types of clothing. You know, can she wear pants? Or does she have to wear a dress? You know, there's that debate in some, you know, regions and some cultures of Christianity. But it's not so much that. It's the understanding that it needs to be fitting for godliness. Right?

And so does the way that she dresses match up and line up with godliness and good works? Or maybe another way to consider it is to dress in a way that people will not be surprised when they find out that you're a Christian. And so there's some ways that you could dress and people would be surprised.

oh, I didn't think you'd be a Christian because of the way that you dress. And that will vary from culture to culture and from, you know, community to community. And so I think we can, you know, kind of adjust it depending on where God has us. But dressing in a way that is fitting for godliness, that makes sense. Oh, it makes sense that you dress that way now that I understand and know that you believe in Jesus. And that's the idea. As the men and women gather together to pray,

They are to have these things going on. That they have holy hands without wrath, without doubting, and wearing what's appropriate for a godly person, for a person who believes in Jesus.

Well, then in verses 11 through 15, Paul says, I do not permit a woman to teach or have authority over a man. And so here is Paul is giving Timothy instruction about how things are to be ordered within the church. He continues to talk about the ladies and talk about their role within the church. And he says in verse 12, I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.

And this verse, of course, has caused many concerns and many, you know, angry conversations and things like that throughout the years. And so many have wrestled with what does Paul mean here? What is he talking about? And I think very clearly he says, I do not permit a woman to teach or have authority over a man. Now, he's not saying to be in silence as in,

Ladies, you should never open your mouth in the church. If you taught, as we were hanging out in fellowship right before the worship was starting,

you know, you are, you're out of line. No, no, no. That's not what Paul is saying here. The idea here is quietness or to be receptive as opposed to be the one in charge. And that's, that's the issue that Paul is addressing. Now, is this a cultural thing? And many people will try to, you know, talk about this as, well, this is a cultural thing. Now times have changed. And so this is, you know, we can just kind of throw this out and do what we want.

Well, I don't believe that this is a cultural thing because in the next two verses, Paul ties this principle back to the very beginning. He says, for Adam was formed first and then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived fell into transgression.

And so here he goes back to the beginning with Adam and Eve and he talks about the deception that took place and he used that as the principle upon which to establish this and say, I do not permit a woman to teach or have authority over a man but to be in silence. So what I did is I put together a little chart to kind of help illustrate what I think Paul is talking about here and what we see demonstrated throughout the New Testament.

There are the different roles of men and women in the church. That is that men are allowed, encouraged, and commanded to serve. And in the same way, the ladies are allowed, and encouraged, and commanded to serve. In Romans chapter 16 verses 1 and 2, you have a specific example of a woman named Phoebe that Paul calls a servant. And he gives instruction about her. He's

sending her on missions and instructing the church to receive her and help her with whatever she needs as she does the work that God has set before her. And so we see this example in Phoebe in Romans chapter 16.

We also see in the church that men are to pray. We just talked about that. But also that the ladies are to pray. In 1 Corinthians chapter 11, there's lots of issues in that chapter. But one of the things that's very clear is that as the church gathered together, the ladies were praying and prophesying.

And that is not the issue that Paul is addressing. It's just some of the other things surrounding that. But instead, no, it's to be expected that as we gather together as believers, that there are women who pray and prophesy within the church. And so that leads into the next one, and that is exercising spiritual gifts.

And so guys are definitely to exercise spiritual gifts and the ladies are definitely to exercise spiritual gifts. In Acts chapter 21, you have the case of Philip who had four daughters who were, who prophesied or prophetesses.

Prophets, anyway, they were prophets and they were his daughters. And so they were exercising the spiritual gift and God was using them to speak forth his word. Also in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 and 1 Peter chapter 4, it speaks in general to the church for us to use these spiritual gifts and that they're profitable for all, for the entire body of Christ. And so there's the exercising of spiritual gifts for both men and women.

We also are both called to make disciples. And you see a good example of that in Acts chapter 18 verse 26. Where you have a husband and wife, Priscilla and Aquila.

who notice Apollos who needs to be trained up some. And so they work together and both Priscilla and Aquila are involved in discipling Apollos and raising him up and equipping him in the faith that he would become more effective as a preacher of the gospel. And so there is, you know, definitely this opportunity for both men and women to make disciples in this way.

both men and women are able to teach their same gender. In 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 2, Paul tells Timothy to pass the things I've taught you on to other faithful men who will be able to teach others also. That's part of what we're called to do. What you've learned, pass it on to others. If you're a man, pass it on to other men. If you're a woman, Titus chapter 2 verses 3 through 5,

He talks about the older women teaching the younger women. And so ladies pass on and teach others what God has taught you. Now finally there's this position of the teaching and leading role in the church. And Paul's about to talk about that here in 1st Timothy chapter 3.

And I'd like to remind you, you know, as Paul wrote this letter to Timothy, he didn't break out chapters and say, okay, Timothy chapter 3. You know, he just, he wrote this as one continuous letter. And so you can kind of see as you look at the end of chapter 2 and then on into chapter 3, it's one flow of thought that Paul's talking about. And so what he's doing here is he's declaring, you

the ladies are not to have this role of this leading and teaching the church. But here's the qualifications for that role. It's, well, he must be a husband of one wife and goes on in chapter 3 to give those qualifications. And so,

And so this is the order that God has established. That it's not about value. It's not about ability. It's not about capability. It's about the order that God has established. That God has declared. Much like in the home, God has declared that the husband is to be the head of the home. In the church, he's declared that this role, this position of the teaching and leading of the church...

is to be a man who meets the qualities that we're about to look at in 1 Timothy chapter 3. And so the ladies are not to have that role. Now, again, we don't know exactly what was happening in Ephesus, but perhaps this is one of the issues that Timothy had to address, that there were things out of order, and so he had to bring things in line and establish, you know, the proper order for these roles within the church. Again, this is just God's order.

I like to use this example because I think it illustrates it well. If I were to line all of us up from shortest to tallest, we would all understand that that's not a statement of value.

That the shortest isn't the least valuable and the tallest isn't the most valuable. Or the tallest isn't the least valuable and the shortest is the most valuable. Also, if I would line this up, let's say from youngest to oldest. Again, it's not a statement of value. It's just an order. And this is the same here within the church as well. Within the home, God has established an order. It's not a statement of value or ability necessarily.

It's just the order that he has established. In the church, he's established an order and it's not a statement of value. It's just the order that he has established. And so there are lots of opportunities for both men and women to serve within the church and to do all kinds of great things for God. But there are certain things that God has established as far as the order. And really, it's just the one.

And it's that primary role of teaching and leading the church that God has reserved for men.

All right, chapter three now, as long as you don't hate me too much. Verse one is the key verse. This is a faithful saying. If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. And so again, you can see the flow of thought. He says this role is not to be filled by women, but if a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.

But there are some qualities that need to be in place in this person who desires to be a bishop. And so he says in verses 1 through 7, a bishop must be blameless.

Now the word bishop, we kind of attach a lot of history to this word that isn't there as Paul is talking about this. There's a lot of church, you know, history that goes along with it. You know, a bishop is this certain rank, you know, within the church and such. But Paul is just dealing with a word that he knows. It's a Greek word which basically means an overseer.

Or it could also be translated a supervisor. I like to kind of look at this term bishop as anyone who is responsible for other people.

And so this is the idea here. It's someone who oversees. It's someone who is responsible for other people. And so Paul says, look, if someone desires this role, this position, there is real spiritual authority and that does exist. And so if someone wants to fill that role, he says, it's a good work and it's okay to desire that. But again, there is these qualities that must be in place.

Now, it doesn't mean that the people have to be perfect, but that these things need to be generally true of their lives. And so here's the qualities that are required of overseers. He must be blameless. He must be the husband of one wife. He must be temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach or perhaps teachable,

not given to wine, not violent, not greedy, gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous. He rules his own house well. He's not a novice and he has a good testimony towards those who are outside. These, Paul says to Timothy, these are the qualities that you look for in a man who desires to be

a bishop. Now, if he desires to have this role to oversee, but he doesn't measure up, well, then don't give him that responsibility. Don't put him in that position because these are the qualities that need to be there. And there is a proper order in this. That is, the qualities need to be there and then you're given the responsibility.

It's not that, okay, Timothy, give them the job and then tell them to work on these things. No, they need to be in place. The work of God needs to be going on and it needs to be evident in their lives in these ways. And then you can recognize those that God is raising up to be put in that position to oversee and to lead within the church.

Well, then in verses 8 through 13, he talks about deacons and he says, deacons must be reverent.

Now again, deacon is another word that carries a lot of history and we might have a lot of variety of ideas about what a deacon is because of that. But the word deacon, it means an attendant, a waiter, or a servant. And so I kind of summarize it as this is anyone who is responsible for tasks. That there's things that you're responsible for, things that you're responsible to do,

but you're not in charge of people. You're not responsible for people. And so for those who serve in this capacity, that you have a responsibility to get things done or to take care of things, there's some qualities that exist and that need to be met. Again, not in perfection, not that, you know, we're perfect, but that are generally true in the life of a servant. And so here's the qualities of servants. They are to be

That's funny. I didn't update it. I just copied it. Okay. So, verse 8. Verse 8.

Deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. But let these also first be tested, then let them serve as deacons being found blameless. Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses also.

And he says, those who do it well have good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

And so these are the qualities that need to be in place for those who serve. And so again, a bishop is an overseer. It's anyone who has responsibility for people. And a deacon is a servant. It's anyone who is responsible for tasks or for getting things done. And these are the qualities that need to be there within, you know, each of those roles or each of those people serving in those roles.

And so we would encourage you, you know, Paul gives these qualities because they are qualities of mature believers. None of these are like, you know, you have to be super Christian, you know. These are, you know, hey, you need to recognize, Timothy, that they are strong believers, that they're growing in the Lord, that God's doing a work in their lives.

And then give them things to do. Give them, you know, things to take care of. Let them serve within the church. And let them oversee, you know, the church altogether. And to minister to the people of the church. If you see those qualities there. If you see that maturity happening. If you see that work that God is doing.

Well, then in verses 14 through 16 here in 1 Timothy 3, he says, I write these things that you may know how to conduct yourself in the church.

And so I'm writing these things so you know how to put these things in order. He says in verse 14, I hope to come to you shortly, but if I'm delayed, if I can't get back there quick, Timothy, you can't wait for me. You need to put these things in order. You need to stop the false doctrine that's going on. You need to, you know, put an end to these roles that are not being fulfilled properly. You need to establish, you know, the right kind of leadership, the right kind of servants. And

And get these things going in the proper order before I get there because you can't wait. Because again, it's dangerous and many have shipwrecked their faith. And so you need to set these things in order as soon as possible. Now chapter 4 verse 12 is the key verse. He says, "...let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity."

In verses 1 through 5, Paul tells Timothy that some will depart from the faith in the latter times. He says in verse 1 that the Holy Spirit has clearly revealed this.

that there will be those who depart from the faith. And he gives some examples. There are going to be those who are forbidding people to get married. There are going to be those who are requiring that people abstain from certain foods and hold on to these things and follow these traditions. And so he says people are going to abandon or depart from the faith to hold on to these other systems, to follow these other rituals. And he's warning him against that.

In verses 6 through 11, he says, reject fables and exercise yourself towards godliness. I like verse 7. He says, but reject profane and old wives' fables and exercise yourself towards godliness.

Listen, there's a lot of nonsense that people will share. There's a lot of nonsense that you can find online. There's a lot of nonsense that you can engage in in conversation. There's a lot of nonsense that is out there. Paul refers to them as profane and old wives fables. There's just a lot of things that really have nothing to do with the things of God.

And he says, reject those things. Don't get caught up in those things and don't get all consumed with, you know, well, we have to eat this way and abstain from these foods and then we're going to be really holy and then God's really going to work. And Paul says, that has nothing to do with spiritual things. Reject those things. Well, if we forbid to marry, you know...

reject those things. They might have some persuasive arguments, but if they're not according to the Word of God, then reject those things. They're not things that you need to pay attention to. Instead, he says, exercise yourself towards godliness. You can get consumed with and caught up with and spend a lot of time talking about and debating and discussing all kinds of nonsense and neglect the whole issue of godliness. But he says, instead,

Focus on godliness. Focus on working to become more like God. Focus on drawing near to God. Focus on that. And then everything else comes in line, comes in order. But you need to keep your focus there.

on being godly and exercising yourself towards godliness. And then notice verse 8. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.

So you can get all caught up into bodybuilding and weightlifting and exercising and having, you know, 3% body fat or whatever you want to do. And maybe that profits a little, but he says godliness profits.

all things, for this life and the life which is to come. And so that's the priority. That's the major focus. Now, not to say, you know, just let yourself fall apart and you don't have to care about anything, but it's about being consumed. It's about priority. And first things first, godliness must be our objective. And so reject fables, reject

those things that are nonsense and exercise yourself towards godliness. That's what is really important. That is what really has value in this life and in the life to come. Well, then in verses 12 through 16, he tells Timothy to be an example to the believers. He says, don't let anybody despise your youth.

How young was Timothy that Paul says, don't let anybody despise your youth? Well, we don't know how old he was exactly. But at this point, as Paul is writing this letter to him, he's been with Paul for about 12 years. So just kind of, you know, making some basic assumptions, we can guess that Timothy's probably in his 30s.

and he's, you know, a young man or a youth in that respect or in that culture in his 30s. So he's not like a child. He's not a teenager. He's been with Paul for 12 years. He's been trained up well. He's been, you know, seen a lot and been involved in the ministry. But, you know, he was a young person in his 30s. And Paul says, don't let that, you know, hinder the work that you've been called to do. Instead, be an example.

So don't let them despise your youth, but be an example to them. And he gives them, you know, a variety of things in word and conduct and love, in spirit and faith and in purity. You know, focus on these things, Timothy, and be an example. Show people how to live this life that God is calling them to live. In verse 13, he tells them to give attention to a few things.

So while I'm gone, until I get there, Timothy, give attention to reading. Make sure you spend time reading. And the idea here is within the church.

One of the reasons why we on Sunday mornings have the habit and the practice of standing together and reading through our portion is because of what Paul says here. It's important that we read the scriptures and read the word of God. And so we like to make sure that that's a part of our services. And so he says, give attention to that. Don't neglect that.

But then he also says, give attention to exhortation. And there are times that we, you know, are giving some strong exhortation, some application, and God is giving us instruction, and we're giving some specific things that God has called us to do. But then he also says, and to doctrine.

And so there is a balance of these things that we need to be involved with as far as ministering to the church. That there needs to be the time of reading. And that's why we spend a lot of time in the Word of God because it's an essential part of why we gather together.

There also needs to be the doctrine and we need to have sound doctrine and to know what the Bible teaches and why we believe what we believe. There needs to be that deep roots into the word of God and that we have good doctrine and understanding of it.

but there also needs to be the exhortation or the application that now that we know, you know, what the Bible says and what it means, now let's put it into practice and let's do what it says. And so there needs to be that encouragement, that exhortation to go forward in that as well. And so Timothy, give attention to these things. Make sure that these things are happening as the church gathers together.

And then in verse 14, he tells Timothy to not neglect the gift that is in him. Don't neglect the gift. Again, there seems to be this

the timidity that Timothy had, where he was kind of like holding back and perhaps neglecting, you know, the things that God had called him to and the things that God had gifted him in. I think it's something that we can relate to, that we hold back and that we kind of are more reserved many times. Now there are others who kind of like charge and take on more than what God has called them to. And so there has to be that balance. But

But for those who are timid like Timothy and are kind of holding back. And maybe that is even you this evening. There are some things that God has gifted you in. But you've been holding back. You've been reserved. And he says, don't neglect that gift. Stir it up.

In the next letter he writes to Timothy, he's going to say, fan it into flame. Like, don't let those things die, but stir them up and grow in those things. Become more effective for God in those gifts that he has given to you. Well, then in verse 16, he says, take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. And so here's what you need to focus on, Timothy. Yourself

and the doctrine. Take heed to yourself. Pay attention. Make sure that you're right with God. Make sure that you're on track with what God has called you to do. And make sure that what you're bringing forth is the Word of God. And if you do this, you'll save yourself and those who hear you.

Chapter 5 now, verse 21 is the key verse. He says, He tells Timothy in verses 1 and 2 how to treat the members of the church. He says,

relate to them, Timothy, as if they are family. And so if they're older than you, don't disrespect them. You wouldn't do that to your father. And so treat them well or treat them with respect. It doesn't mean you can't correct them, but it's to have a certain attitude as you approach them that you would, you know, deal with them as fathers or if it's a woman as mothers or if they're younger, you know, as your brothers and sisters.

In verses 3 through 16, Paul says to honor real widows. He kind of makes a distinction between those who are really widows and those who are not really widows. Now that's not a distinction between those who really did have their husband die and those who didn't have their husband die. It's a distinction between those who are deserving and should be supported by the church and those who should not be supported by the church.

widows in those days were in a difficult spot because there wasn't much opportunity for a woman to have an income. That was very difficult for a woman to have any kind of income. And so if her husband died,

then she was really just left up for whatever charity, whatever people wanted to support her or give to her or help her, you know, or make sure that she's fed and so on and so forth. And so it was often a dangerous position to be in as a widow because, you know, you had to rely upon people's generosity for your support.

Now, God had established in the law in the Old Testament there was to be provision for those types of scenarios.

And here within the church, it seems that they had established that there was a list of widows that the church as a whole would support and they would take care of them for those widows who were in need. And Paul here gives some insight into who to include on that list and who not to include on that list. In verse 4, he says, if any widow has children or grandchildren, let

let them first learn to show piety at home and to repay their parents, for this is good and acceptable before God. So he says if there's a widow who has children and grandchildren, then the children and grandchildren need to support the widow, not the church. They need to learn what it is to honor God in their own home first and support God.

their mom or their grandmother. And he says, this is good and acceptable before God. He says it's a repayment of their parents. And so, you know, there was a time that your parents took care of you. And so it's right and it's appropriate for you to take care of your parents whenever they're in that position. And so Paul says, this is the order. And so those who have family to take care of them, they should not be supported by the church, Timothy.

But if they don't have that, he gives the requirements for support in verses 9 and 10. He says, okay, if the woman, if the widow is over 60 years old, if she was the wife of one man, if she has a good reputation for good works, if she raised children, if she lodged strangers, if she served the saints or the people of the church, and if she relieved the afflicted.

And so if she was a faithful member of the church, essentially is what he is saying, then she should be supported by the church. And the church should take care of her if these things are true. And one of the big things he says, if she's over 60. And then he goes on in the next couple verses to say, refuse younger widows. Because, well, if they're going to be part of this...

You know, they're going to be maybe a couple years into it and then they're going to be like, you know, I'd really like to get married and have some kids. And he says, you know, there's some problems that develop with the younger widows where they learn to be idle and it turns into gossip and it just causes more problems.

And so don't put the younger widows on the list. Let them get married. Encourage them to get married and, you know, start a new family and go that route. And God will provide for them and take care of them that way. But the church, you know, should not be supporting them in that situation. And so he says in verse 14, "...therefore I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children, manage the house..."

Then in verse 16, he says, And so again, he kind of ends the same way he started.

If you, you know, have these kinds of people in your life, then, well, make sure that you take care of them and don't let them be a burden to the church or to someone else. But you take the responsibility and care for your parents, your grandparents when they're in that position of need. That's honoring to the Lord and it's well-pleasing to the Lord. Verses 17 through 22, Paul says, "...let elders be counted worthy of double honor."

And so the elders who rule well, the elders who specifically labor in the word, he says, you're to make sure that they are honored, that they're provided for. You're also to make sure, he says, that they're protected. In verse 19, he says, accusations against an elder must have two or three witnesses. So don't pay attention if, you know, someone comes and has an accusation against an elder, but it's just them, it's just their word against the other's.

the position or the role of the overseer, the elder, you're to protect that position. And so there needs to be witnesses so that they're not falsely accused, that their witness, you know, is defiled and their opportunity to minister is limited. And so there needs to be, you know, solid evidence for the accusation that is being brought forth. But if there is an issue going on, in verse 20, he says, "...rebuke the elders."

And so, the elders, those who have responsibility for people, what we talked about in chapter 3, they have, you know, a special position. It's to be honored. It's to be protected. But then also, it's, well, it's to be rebuked, he says, before everybody. And so, there's this real responsibility here.

that those who are elders are really to be examples. Like Paul told Timothy to be an example. And so you're to be an example of living a godly life. And when you don't live a godly life, you're going to be an example of, well, the rebuke and the penalty of not living a godly life. And so you're an example either way, whether you do live a godly life or whether you don't. And so those who have responsibility for people are to be rebuked publicly. Right?

And I share that because, well, we have people in this room right now who have responsibility for other people. Your ministry leaders, you know, you've called by God, you've been given this charge, and it's an exhortation to you that, yes, there needs to be honor given to you. There needs to be that protection that is afforded you. But also, we need to be reminded that if there are things out of line in our lives that are

often God is going to address that publicly and everybody will know about your sin. And that will be taking place. That's the way that God has called us to do it. And he says it's to be dealt with publicly so that all may fear. And so that everybody would remember. And so like recently we heard about, you know, the situation with Pastor Bob Coy.

And it was very public because, well, he was an elder and he was involved in sin and he's rebuked publicly so that we may remember and fear what sin does and to avoid it. He says in verse 21, I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality. And so we don't say, you know...

We don't got to be so strict about this. You know, Harvey's a pretty good guy. We love him a lot. And so we're not going to address this the way that we should. There's nothing to address with Harvey, okay? There's nothing I don't know about. You want to confess, Harvey? Okay. But don't be like prejudiced. Like, oh, we really like him or oh, you know, whatever. But hey, the role is the role and it is to be afforded honor and protection. But also when things are out of line, there needs to be the public rebuke as it or with it.

And so he says in verse 22, don't lay hands quickly on people. Don't put them in this position quickly because you're going to share in their sins if they're not ready. And again, it gives the emphasis back on chapter 3 of the qualities that are there. You want to make sure these qualities are in place because these roles are important and established by God in this way. In verses 23 through 25, Paul says that there are sins and good works...

which are evident or they will be revealed later. And so there are those who are, you know, serving again, continuing on with the elders counted worthy of double honor. Some of them, you know, it's evident, you know, that the things in their life are out of order. And so, you know, deal with it. And then there are things that are not evident, whether good or bad, and those will be revealed. And so you don't have to worry about that, Timothy. It's going to come out sooner or later.

All right, final chapter. Chapter 6 of 1 Timothy, verse 12 is the key verse. He tells Timothy, fight the good fight of faith. Lay hold on eternal life to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In verses 1 and 2, he says, let bond servants honor their masters. And the idea here is that they would be a good witness so that the name of God and his doctrine may not be blasphemed.

Now we often refer to this or kind of translate this, bond servants are employees and masters are employers. That was a similar type of relationship that was going on back then. And so we can learn from this to be a good witness, to obey your boss, to honor your boss, whether they're a believer or not, to be a testimony of Jesus and to not allow his name to be blasphemed.

In verses 3 through 5, he gives Timothy the instruction to withdraw from anyone who does not consent to wholesome words.

Now there's a lot of things and a lot of times in the scriptures where we're encouraged to be united and to come together. But there's also some instructions like this one here where we are to break fellowship as well. And so I wanted to just give you a couple examples of that. Here's some instruction. Here's some times when we are not to have fellowship with others. And the point here is that unity that God calls us to is not unity at all cost.

And there is legitimate reasons to not be united and to not fellowship with others in certain cases. And so if there's a believer who is continuing in sin and will not repent, Jesus says in Matthew 18, that you are to treat that person as a heathen and a tax collector. Now that doesn't mean you hate them and you say bad things at them, but you love them, but you separate, that you deal differently with them. And that is to break the fellowship.

In Romans 16, Paul says, if anyone's causing division, avoid them. Stay away from them. Break that fellowship. If there are those who are causing division within the church and causing people to take sides against each other, stay away from that. Avoid them.

If there are believers who are continuing to live in sin, in 1 Corinthians chapter 5, Paul deals with that situation. And he says, do not keep company with anyone in that condition. So they claim to be Christians, but they live in sin. Don't keep company with them. Break fellowship.

If there are those who are not obeying the word, Paul tells the Thessalonians to note that person and do not keep company with them, with him, that he may be ashamed. And again, breaking of fellowship with those who will not obey the word.

Anyone who's not consenting to the words of Jesus or to wholesome words or to the doctrine which accords with godliness, Paul tells Timothy, break fellowship or withdraw from that person. If anyone has a form of godliness but denies the power, he says in 2 Timothy, turn away from those people. If there's anybody who's divisive, he tells Titus in Titus 3, turn

He says, warn them once, warn them twice. If they still don't listen, then reject a divisive man after those admonitions. So anyone divisive, we are to break fellowship with. And then finally, anyone who's deceiving with another doctrine. John talks about in 2 John, if anyone comes not bringing the doctrine of Jesus Christ, you know, they preach a different Jesus, they preach a different gospel, we are to not have fellowship with them.

In verses 6 through 10, he tells us that godliness and contentment is great gain. And so he deals with this idea of greed and godliness. He says in verse 9, those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare. And so instead, we're to be content with food and clothing. That's what we need to learn to be content with and let God provide those things for us. But if we're pursuing...

riches. We will hurt ourselves and cause destruction to ourselves. In verses 11 through 16, he tells Timothy to fight the good fight of faith. He says, flee those things, pursue righteousness and godliness and faith. There's this fleeing and this pursuing that needs to happen as you fight the good fight and you hold, lay hold of eternal life to which you were called.

In verses 17 through 19, he says, command the rich to be rich in good works. And so those who are not pursuing wealth, but they already have wealth, he says, here's what they need to do.

Don't be haughty. Don't trust in your riches. But instead, do good works and be ready to give. And so this is the attitude that you need to have. In verse 19, he says that you store up treasures. I'm sorry, store up for yourself a good foundation for the time to come and to lay hold of eternal life.

And then finally, he says in verse 20 and 21, guard what was committed to you. Oh, Timothy, he says in verse 20, guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge. Guard what was committed to your trust, Timothy. And that's a great exhortation for all of us. You know, God has entrusted you with something. He's entrusted you with spiritual gifts and

He's entrusted you with knowledge. He's entrusted you with ministry. He's entrusted you with people. He has entrusted you and your responsibility like Timothy is to guard what was committed to your trust. Don't fall asleep at the watch. Don't just kind of like, well, I don't know what's happening with all those things that God has entrusted to me.

There's lots of things to get distracted by. There's lots of idle babblings and contradictions that you can run around with and try to track down. There's lots of things that you can pursue.

But don't get sidetracked from what God has called you to. Guard what was committed to your trust. Parents, you're entrusted with your children. Guard what was committed to your trust. You're responsible. Raise them up in the ways of the Lord. If you have authority and responsibility within the church, guard what was committed to your trust. Whatever God has given to you, he's entrusted to you. Guard it.

Nourish it. Protect it. And make sure that you do the best that you can with what God has given to you. Let's pray.

Lord, I pray that you would help us to guard what you've committed to us. That we would not be slack. Lord, that we would not be wondering or completely unaware of what's happening with those things that you've entrusted to us. But Lord, help us to pay attention, to be faithful and diligent. Lord, to be an example to the people around us and to live the life that you've called us to live. And

And so God, help us to not be sidetracked and distracted, but Lord, help us to be focused. There's a lot of things that we can distract ourselves with, a lot of things that can take us in wrong directions, but Lord, help us to exercise ourselves towards godliness, knowing that as we draw near to you and become more like you, that that's profitable in this life and the life to come. And so help us to draw near to you, Lord, that we might be faithful to all that you've called us to. In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.