[0:00] We will be in 1 Timothy chapter 1 and we will confine ourselves to the first two verses. For anyone that is very familiar with the writings of Paul, you will think it a little bit odd because we are confining ourselves to the first two verses because Paul always just gives what we at times consider a very casual greeting in the very first of his writings.
[0:21] He just describes who he is and who he's writing to and he leaves it from there. And you say, well, we're not getting into the meat of the text. But we need to stop here because he very quickly transitions in verse 3 as to a major issue.
[0:34] And so that we do not belittle either the greeting or what is there or the thing which follows it. We want to confine ourselves to these first two verses. So if you are physically able and desire to do so, I'm going to ask if you'll stand together with me as we read the word of God found in 1 Timothy chapter 1, just verses 1 and 2.
[0:54] And then we will pray with one another. Let's pray.
[1:19] Father, we do thank you so much for this day. We're thankful for the opportunity we have of gathering together. We're thankful for each one that is present.
[1:30] And we're thankful for the grand opportunity it is to open up the word of God with one another. Lord, as we have heard it and seen it, we pray now, Lord, that you would speak to our hearts and minds.
[1:41] That the truth of it would captivate us and capture us. Lord, that it would draw us closer to you so that we may be used of you for your glory and your honor and your alone. And we ask it all in Jesus' name.
[1:53] Amen. You may be seated. 1 Timothy chapter 1, verses 1 and 2. As is always the case when we are making a transition into another book of the Bible, it is good to find out why that book is there and to whom it is written.
[2:12] We do not have to get very far into the book to find whom it is written because it is introduced to us here in these verses. It is introduced to Timothy. His name is the namesake of the book itself.
[2:24] We know a little bit about Timothy from Scripture. We know it primarily from the book of Acts. We find also that he is a traveling companion with Paul until he is left here at this locale, which if we were to read the third verse, we will find that he is at Ephesus.
[2:38] He is pastoring the church of the Ephesians in the city of Ephesus, a church which Paul had been used of the Lord to plant, and now Timothy is being left behind. So we know to whom it is written.
[2:50] We know to where it is written. It is written to Timothy as he is pastoring in Ephesus, but we need to know why it is written. When we come to any portion of Scripture, in particular when we open up a new book of Scripture, I always tell an individual that is just wanting to walk beside me, and we do Bible study, it says then read through the book in its entirety.
[3:11] Some of them are long, but read through the book in its entirety if possible at one sitting. Read through it a number of times and see if you can find out what the key verse is. In 1 Timothy, it is not very hard to find out what the key verse is, because as I often rejoice in when the Lord moves the man of God as he writes the Word of God to do so, it is very clear for us, and it is found in the third chapter.
[3:35] So if you look in 1 Timothy chapter 3, starting in verse 14, the key verse really is there in verse 15, but Paul tells us why he is writing this book, and this has application to what we have for us in the first two verses.
[3:49] Paul says, I am writing these things to you. Well, pay attention, right? He's telling us why he is writing. I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long.
[4:00] But in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.
[4:14] So why is Paul writing this letter? Verse 15 again, he says, But in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.
[4:33] So here we have the reason. Paul is writing this letter so that they will know how to conduct themselves in church.
[4:43] If 1st and 2nd Corinthians exists to remind us how the church should behave in society, and they do, then the book of 1st Timothy shows us how the church should conduct themselves with one another.
[4:59] It is how we ought to conduct ourselves in the household of God. So if I have to give a grand title to this book, it is simply being the church.
[5:09] What does it look like to be the church? What does it mean when we say we are a church? And what does it look like when we conduct ourselves within the church?
[5:21] How are we the church? We see very quickly here in these first two verses that to be the church, there first must be foundational matters laid.
[5:33] He says, Oh, pastor, you're stretching it a little bit. We only read verses 1 and 2. I don't see any foundational matters there. Well, hopefully we will. Because to be the church, the foundational matters must first be laid.
[5:45] That is, we need to know who we are. And we need to know why we are who we are. Because unless we have a sure foundation, we can never be, nor will we conduct ourselves as we should, the household of God.
[6:00] Paul tells us here some foundational matters. And the first foundational matter we see is the perception of God. There is, number one, the perception of God.
[6:14] Because it tells us there in the 15th verse of the third chapter that he is writing them so that they will know how they ought to conduct themselves in the household of God, which is the pillar and support of the truth.
[6:31] So here we go. Stay with me. The church exists to be that which holds up the truth in a society that is constantly rejecting it.
[6:42] The church is the pillar and support of the truth. Which, friend, listen to me, which means if society is turning away from the truth, if the world is rejecting the truth, if people are denying the truth, it's nobody's fault but the ones who are supposed to be upholding the truth.
[7:03] Right? The church is the pillar and support of the truth. We are to hold it up in a world that is watching. We are to hold it up in a world that quite often is denying.
[7:15] We are to hold it up in a world quite often that is forsaking. But we cannot be those who let the world be unaware of the truth because the church exists to uphold the truth.
[7:27] That is the reason for the existence of the church. Paul says we ought to know how to conduct ourselves in that because it is our responsibility to uphold the truth.
[7:38] Well, all truth begins with the reality of who God is. Now, understand that. Truth begins with the reality of who God is.
[7:53] If we do not have a right perception of God, then we will have an askewed view of truth. Why? Because Jesus says, For I am the way and the truth and the life.
[8:08] That is, you cannot separate the reality of who God is apart from what truth is. So the first foundational matter that the church must address is who is God.
[8:22] Because if the church does not have a right perspective of God, then the church cannot uphold the truth in a society. What has happened is that truths have been lost because the church has lost its theology.
[8:35] Theology and doctrine matters. If someone tells you, Well, we don't want to get hung up on doctrine and we don't want to get hung up on theology, then, friend, don't hang out with those who aren't hung up because you need to know what your theology and what your doctrine is because until you have a right view of God, you will not know what you're holding up.
[9:00] And it tells us here in this verse, this verse that we quite so often read over very quickly. Do you understand that verse 1 is one of only two places in all of the New Testament that we find this name of God ascribed to him?
[9:16] Side note, it is here and it is in the book of Titus, chapter 1, verse 3, which is also an introduction. And it is this. He introduces, he says, I am Paul. He's an apostle of Christ Jesus.
[9:27] We'll get to that in a minute. According to the commandment of God. But look at this title, Of God, Our Savior. You know, there are only two times in the New Testament that God is referred to as the Savior.
[9:40] When we think of Savior, quite often we think of Jesus Christ. He is our Savior. It is Jesus who came to save us and to redeem us. But here, Paul ascribes the name Savior to God himself, to God who is our Savior.
[9:53] Again, in the book of Titus, chapter 1, verse 3, in his introduction, he says the same thing. To God, our Savior. Some of you are going to look a little further and say, Well, I'm going to find out if he's right.
[10:04] And you're going to find it in the book of 1 Peter. That Peter says to the God and Savior, but then follow the rest of the verse, who is Christ Jesus the Lord. So there, the God, the name of God, and Savior are both ascribed to the person of Jesus Christ.
[10:18] Some of you say, We're splitting hairs here. But we are, but stay with me, because some hairs are worth splitting. Because our perception of God is this. I love Jesus because he's my Savior.
[10:29] God, I don't know so much about him, because he seems to be so mean. He seems to be so unloving. He seems to be so unkind when I open up the Old Testament. But yet I'm thankful that in the New Testament, we are reminded that it is God our Savior.
[10:44] See, salvation's origin is in the fullness of the Godhead. All of the Godhead, both Father, or all three, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are involved in the redemption and salvation of man.
[10:59] And I am so thankful that Paul sees fit here to remind us that it is God himself who is our Savior, because here is a perception of God which we need to hold to.
[11:10] God is not the God who's sitting on the throne waiting to judge. God is the God who is the Savior of mankind that loves us while we were yet sinners, that cared enough for us to become flesh and dwell among us so that he could give of his only Son to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins.
[11:26] Salvation's origin begins and ends with God himself. He is God our Savior. See, a lot of people have an idea of God. He's the big man in the sky.
[11:38] He's the one who created it all and started it all and left it alone. He's the one before I'll have to give an account someday. But he is also God our Savior. And when the church understands that the God we will stand before in judgment is also the God who is the Savior of mankind, all of a sudden our perspective begins to be more conformed to Scripture.
[12:02] The most often repeated phrase that Paul uses in his introductions, and I did. I went back and read every one of them, right? Paul, quite often, the most repeated refrain that Paul gives is that God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
[12:17] God the Father and Christ Jesus the Lord. God the Father, Christ Jesus the Lord. The only time he ascribes the name Savior is when he speaks here of God. He is God our Savior.
[12:29] And it is an understanding that we need to comprehend that when we look to God, we are not saying, well, I love Jesus because he died for me. No, we love the fullness of the Godhead.
[12:43] It is God our Savior and of Christ Jesus. He is the Messiah. And then we go down a little bit further, and he also says, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
[12:56] See, the thing that is highlighted most often in the Pauline writings, and in particular the pastoral epistles, is that not only is God the Savior of mankind, God is also the Father of those who have accepted him.
[13:13] Brother Jamie reminded us of that this morning with the Lord's Prayer, Our Father, which art in heaven, how the spirit of adoption cries out in the people of God, and we can call out, Abba, Abba, Abba, Father.
[13:26] How we can cry out to him that he is the Father. But the Lordship of Jesus Christ is quite often repeated. It is the grand theme of Paul.
[13:37] He is Christ Jesus, our Lord. See, friend, he cannot be Savior if he is not Lord. So we understand here are some perspectives we have.
[13:48] It is God our Savior, God our Father, and Christ Jesus our Lord. Now, all of a sudden, we have come to the full understanding that salvation begins and ends with God.
[14:00] That once we accept that salvation, we are part of the family of God. And that when we are part of the family of God, we are not the head of that family. Rather, we are members of that family that has but one head, and that is Christ Jesus, who is the Lord of that family.
[14:13] It is the Lordship of Jesus. See how these things matter, because how can we uphold a truth that skews it any other way? If God is just the man that we will stand before someday, but he doesn't really care for us, then that truth is contorted.
[14:27] If God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God, if God it good you did good uh i'll try to tone it down a little bit now so it don't blow you out because i heard it cut out and i got louder so i tried to bring it back down paul does not say that he is god my savior and christ jesus my lord see when we read the other writings paul is quite often writing with another individual most of the time timothy so we could say that when paul is writing this letter to another church that he is referencing that god is the father of all those who is writing uh that is paul and timothy's father that is the lord of paul and timothy and now we have a letter which paul is writing probably by himself and he is writing to an individual who is timothy to a church that it would be read before the church and he is reminding the church that he is our savior and our lord now surely he has to be a personal savior and a personal lord because he can never be a corporate one if he is not a personal one that is he has to do a work in your individual life before he can ever unite you to a corporate body but there is this reminder that in the economy of god that god does not solely work on individuals that he moves in the individual to unite them with a body we made a reference to it this past wednesday night in the time of christ and the time that preceded that and the time immediately following that the greatest bond of any individual was not necessarily the bond of husband and wife rather the greatest bond of any individual in the jewish society was the familial bond of who your brothers and sisters were who your blood relatives were and that when a moment that an individual accepted christ jesus as the lord of their lives that bond was instantaneously broken among the jewish people that is the moment they accepted jesus as the messiah they were rejecting the faith of judaism in the eyes of their family and they were cast out of their family this is why we have this repetition in scripture that god did not just cast them out of their families by calling them to himself he called them out of their families to unite them with another another family that is why the believers are often referred to as brothers and sisters because now you have one bridegroom you are the bride but you are joined with another great body of believers called the church and it is the corporate aspect of salvation see you should hold the truth up in your life in your personal life but the reality is is you are not the pillar and support of the truth by yourself because we see here he is our savior and our lord too often in our western mindset we want to focus more on the individual than we do the corporate body and so we can just say it this way if i am not getting what i need then i will go somewhere else and that's dangerous ground because we are a church that is united together now if it's a matter of doctrine it's a matter of false practice that's one thing it's a matter of they burn the chicken a little too more than i like them to cook the chicken in the fellowship meal that's a totally different thing i can say that because we don't cook our chicken here okay we get our chicken order someone else cooks it so i can say that here
[18:29] um you say somebody overcooks a chicken at war trace and you can blame those who do it for us not not us okay we don't do it uh but if we we make it about us then we forget that it's a body about him that has been put together so we see a perception of god number two the second foundational matter is the priority of man we need to know who god is we also need to understand how important man is paul says elsewhere no other foundation we lay than the foundation which has already been laid which is jesus christ our lord surely there is no other foundational element to the church other than christ jesus but upon that foundation which is laid there is being built a spiritual household paul has this great reference that he speaks of quite often the household of god he says it here in chapter 3 verse 15 the household of god that household is not a building because most often the churches that paul was writing to did not even own buildings they would meet in homes or public squares or wherever they could buildings were not the issue we are reminded in first peter that the church that is being built are the spiritual stones that are united to one another those spiritual stones are people they are born again believers who have accepted christ jesus as lord and savior of their lives and they are united one to another and god builds his house through people in these two verses we meet two people paul and timothy timothy is referred to as his true child in the faith we don't think that paul personally led timothy to salvation as a matter of fact timothy was probably a product of paul's first missionary travels in a particular region because why else we would read later on when we get to first timothy and if we make it into second timothy that timothy was directly impacted by his mother and his grandmother and these were in a region which paul went through in his first missionary travels we understand that by the time paul caused timothy to travel with him timothy was already a believer well spoken of by the church in that region but what we see here are here are two individuals paul is the one used of the lord as we've already said to plant the church at ephesus timothy is the individual left behind by the lord to pastor the church at ephesus and the church ought to know how to conduct themselves with one another that conduct was dependent upon these individuals what we find is we need to know who god is but we also need to be reminded of how important man is because it is the church that upholds the truth and that is it's you and i god calls us as individuals to be united as a corporate body to hold up the truth to be the pillar and support of the truth the reason we see such little holding up of the truth is because we have so uninvolved the average believer in that labor man is important god redeems us he calls us he saves us and he forgives us why because it is the priority no church is a church without people you say well sure when you go by here during the week and this building is empty there is a wonderful building here but there's no church here if you drive by 105 vine street in war trace and you see a tan truck in the parking lot most often my truck is here and i'm here by myself there is a beautiful building here there is a believer in jesus christ here but there's still no church here now if you are a brother or sister in christ and you decide to stop by and say hi to that individual who drives that truck all of a sudden the church has shown up because where two or more are gathered together i am there as well
[22:32] see we understand that the church that holds up the truth is not the building the church that holds up the truth are the people which occupy the building when it gathers together so therefore the charge that has been given and how we ought to conduct ourselves listen this is not a rule book or a regulation book how we ought to behave in the sanctuary while i think there are some rhymes and reasons behind that this morning i made from one side to the other side why well because there were two young men to the right of me that i decided i needed to set beside when i sang my songs why because i think there's a proper way to behave yourself in the sanctuary and i believe especially if you're going to be on the front pew there's a proper way to behave yourself in the sanctuary and i wanted to make my presence known and it was because as soon as i said hey dad hey son and we just continue going on right there's nothing wrong with that there's an expectation this past wednesday night i had a discussion with some of our young boys outside in the parking lot had a quiet discussion with them i had to break up some stuff not that they were doing don't get bent out of shape don't even come ask me about it because it's something that we handled man to young man we took care of it and i reminded them that you are a representative of the church therefore your behavior is a display of this place so the way you respond to those who are outside of here are a billboard to what people should expect when they come in here right this is something that i am fully aware of this is something that i talk about quite often and i hold people up to that standard but what we find here is not how we ought to behave inside the walls of 105 vine street what we find is how we ought to conduct ourselves in the church that is with one another it doesn't matter if we're gathered together over there off of ck troxler road and we're having a fellowship at the simmons house and the church is there there is a way we ought to conduct ourselves right we ought to conduct ourselves because we are upholding the truth there is a manner that we ought to live out see we have this segregation in our life you say oh we're not segregated anymore we have well maybe separation would be a better way we think there's holy living inside the building and loose living outside the building that's not the way it is my friend because the church goes with you you are the church because you are important and how we behave it is the priority of man praise god we have sanctified places but also praise god he's not confined to a place we're not looking for the shekinah glory of god to fall in the sanctuary of war trace baptists i'm not looking for the presence of god to be manifested here because i expect the presence of god to manifest itself here every time we show up because that is the presence of god we don't want to confine god behind a closed curtain but we are the presence of god because two times in this book two times paul breaks into a doxology of praise we sang a doxology just a moment ago some people say why we always sing a doxology doxologies are important by the way they remind us of who god is they remind us of what we're praising we need to be mindful of them even in their repetition at times paul breaks into two doxologies of praise in this book he does one at the end of the first chapter he does another one in the middle of the sixth chapter or it could be at the end of the fifth i have to go back and look but both times that paul breaks and he says praise be to god he breaks into this doxology of praise and he's writing to a pastor about the church but do you know that both times he breaks into praise he praises the god who is invisible he praises the god who cannot be seen praise be to god who is unseen or invisible invisible why
[26:33] because what the world knows about god is what they see in us it is the priority of man the truth that the world comes to know of the god and savior we represent is what they see in us the priority of man number three and finally not only do we see the perception of god the priority of man number three we see the promises we proclaim because if we're upholding the truth we need to be careful we do not hold up the truth to beat down individuals we do not hold up the truth to cast judgment upon them paul says what do i have to do with judging those who are in the world right so if we're holding up the truth in a world that denies it it is not for us brothers and sisters to judge the world it is up for us to look to one another and say are you still holding it up are you still holding it up yes i'm holding it up okay we are to hold up the truth why so that we can make the proclamation of the promises look at what it says paul an apostle of christ jesus according to the commandment of god our savior and of christ jesus who is our hope here's the first thing that we get to proclaim there is hope there is hope well i i know some of you have heard it more times than you would like to but i love the old pastor that's done gone to glory sm lockridge i love listening to sm lockridge's sermons and you can go back and listen to them and the greatest sermon ever preached sm lockridge preaching you can hear the congregation around him he has one clip and you have to listen to the like hour and 50 minute sermon to get it he says oh i know where a dying man can find hope i know where a sick man can find healing i know where a hungry man can find food i know where a lame man can be made to walk see he said i know some things and and we see here that the first promise we get to proclaim is there is a person of hope all you have to do is walk through the bookstores oh they don't exist too much anymore or you can do a google search and see how much the world is looking for hope the world has this longing and this anticipation everyone's looking for hope because in this world the things that we have hoped in and hoped upon are rapidly falling away but the church knows where hope can be found it is here that we hold the truth up because if the truth is not lifted up then the hope is not present who is our hope but then he goes a little bit further to timothy my true child in the faith look at this grace mercy and peace from god the father in christ jesus our lord see here are four words that the world is constantly looking for but it can never find hope grace mercy and peace do you know how many dollars of humanities humanitarian aid and mankind have been spent after the pursuit of these things hope grace mercy and peace and yet none of them can be found apart from jesus christ not any less lasting value but it is here this is the message why do we hold up the truth because we know where these can be found we know where an individual can find hope we know where someone can find grace oh we need grace father forgive us as we have forgiven those who have trespassed and sinned against us how can we forgive those who've done us wrong because we know what grace is friend don't ever get over grace don't ever get over the reality that while you were yet a sinner christ jesus died for you he died for the ungodly he called you when you were unlovable he called you when you were unpleasant he didn't let you clean yourself up it was the grace of god through jesus christ who redeemed you
[30:37] don't ever get over grace because the moment you get over it will be the moment you quit upholding it mercy you did not get what you deserve neither did i i always say lord i want to give them what they deserve that's not for us to do hold up mercy and peace live peaceably with all men the bible says as much as depends upon you sure there'll be some people you will not be at peace with but it better not be because you can't try you haven't tried as much as depends upon you hold up the truth if the truth offends then let it offend if the truth causes a division then let it cause a division but let it be the truth that divides and not the person upholding the truth see these are the promises we proclaim we know where you can find hope we know where an individual can find grace we know where mercy abounds and we know that there's a peace that passes understanding these are the promises we hold on to these are foundational matters of the church before we find out how we ought to conduct ourselves among one another we need to know who god is we need to know how important one another is and we need to know what it is we tell the world that's watching us because if we're going to hold up the truth we're not holding it up to push them down we're holding it up so that they can see something they've been looking for all along there's hope there's grace there's mercy and it's peace these are foundational matters that exist for the church and may they be existent in our life as well let's pray father we thank you so much for this day so thankful for the opportunity so thankful for the grand privilege we have of gathering together with brothers and sisters in christ we are reminded just how important each one is we are reminded lord that we cannot hold the truth up alone but we need those around us so fathers we take time and we consider again who you are may it be to worship and adore you like you are so deserving may you be honored through all that we do and may it be for your glory we ask it all in christ jesus name amen you you you you you you
[35:30] you you you you you you you