1 Timothy 1:18-2:7
Timothy, my son, here are my instructions for you, based on the prophetic words spoken about you earlier. May they help you fight well in the Lord’s battles. 19 Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked. 20 Hymenaeus and Alexander are two examples. I threw them out and handed them over to Satan so they might learn not to blaspheme God.
Fight! Battle! Cling! Violated! Shipwrecked! Thrown to Satan! This is normal, everyday Christian life, Christian ministry. There wasn’t something weird or super spiritual going on down in Ephesus. Some guys were going around twisting the gospel for selfish gain. For money, basically. And Paul is urging Timothy not to fall into the same trap, but stay the true course. Fight the good fight! Stay the course. Don’t be swayed. Because this is a spiritual battle. This is life and death. This is heaven and hell.
This is what we’re going to look at this morning. First, we’ll see how false teachers twist the gospel into a false gospel by corrupting the law. Then we’ll look at what the law is really there for (it’s for showing us our sin). And then we’ll see what we should be doing then, if what the false teachers are telling (follow the law to earn your salvation) is wrong.
1. False teachers twist the gospel
Why would these teachers become false? Why would they, as v19 says “deliberately violate their conscience”?
Well, we find the answer a bit later on in the letter to Timothy. 6:5 These people always cause trouble. Their minds are corrupt, and they have turned their backs on the truth. To them, a show of godliness is just a way to become wealthy.
Money and power. Nothing new under the sun, is there. The same old temptations that can cause anyone to stumble. And men are particularly prone to the temptations of money and power. And those in leadership – oh even more so. It is not surprising, therefore, that 2:1 urges us to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.
Day after day we read or hear stories of corruption, nepotism, favouritism – people using their power, their leadership positions, not for the good of the people but for their own selfish gain, and their family members’. And the church is not immune! We are a club for sinners, not a holy huddle.... J
We need to be wary of greed, particularly as ministers – and we need to be careful in listening to ministers whose lives seem to be dominated by money and love of money.
Because love of money leads to violating your conscience and corrupting the gospel.
Why? Because, annoyingly, the gospel is free! Christ came to save sinners, and he bore the cost. There is no way to earn money from the gospel, the true gospel. No-one ever got rich by following Christ! So you need to change the gospel, you need to corrupt the gospel so that people are not forgiven unless they come to you and pay you to dispense a blessing. You need a gospel of works, not a gospel of grace. So the first thing you need to do is bring back the law as a way of salvation. Follow the Law, and you will be saved. That has the extra advantage of putting you above everyone else, because, of course, you’re really good at keeping the law. And then, if you’re really smart, you’ll tell people that you can pray for them or bless them, for a small tax-deductible “donation” of course.
The irony is, that using the law like this, is using the law incorrectly! v8 For we know the law is good when used correctly (word there is lawfully). There is a lawful way of using the law. But these false teachers, trying so hard to keep the law to earn their salvation, well they are using the law unlawfully – using the law in a way that breaks the law! So ironic! Trying to keep the law to earn your salvation means that you automatically break the law – whoops!
So beware of the law-preachers. Beware of anyone who offers you blessing linked to money. Beware of anyone who says you need to do this or else you are cursed. Or you need to come through me or this organisation or do this ritual.
What does 2:5 say? 5 For, There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. 6 He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time.
A mediator is someone who stands between us and God. He is the one who represents us – the one who can call on God to declare us righteous. Why would you want anyone or anything other than Christ to be your mediator? Don’t fall into the trap!
The Law is not our mediator. False teachers always want to turn you off Christ, and on to anything else, particularly the law.
So, if that understanding of the law is wrong, what is the Law for?
2. The Law shows us our sin
You see, the law shows us that we are sinners. 9 For the law was not intended for people who do what is right. It is for people who are lawless and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who kill their father or mother or commit other murders. 10 The law is for people who are sexually immoral, or who practice homosexuality, or are slave traders, liars, promise breakers, or who do anything else that contradicts the wholesome teaching 11 that comes from the glorious Good News entrusted to me by our blessed God.
These false teachers were using the law wrongly – corrupting the gospel by corrupting the law. They were saying the law is for righteous people.
The translation here of v9 is a bit poor because “people who do what is right” can sound like following the law, being good – which is exactly what Paul is arguing against. He writes the law is not for the “dikaio” (righteous or just) but for the lawless, etc. It’s the same word in Romans 3:21 diakosune (the righteousness of God has been given). So v9 says the law is not for the righteous (we who have been made right by Jesus) but it is for the unrighteous.
In what way? Well, the law reveals our unrighteousness. It’s like a thermometer which measures if we have a fever. It diagnoses the problem. But the thermometer is not the cure. Imagine if the doctor said, oh yes, you have a fever – now go home and every day take your temperature with the thermometer. You’d think what an idiot! That can’t help me. I need medicine!
That is what we do when we turn to the law – the diagnostic instrument – and try to turn it into a cure.
The diagnosis is quite frighteningly broad, did you notice that? Our eyes probably fell on the sexual immorality bit – probably on the homosexuality since that’s so politically incorrect. Now it’s quite clear that homosexuality (that is, members of the same sex having sexual intercourse – a man pleasuring a man sexually or a woman pleasuring a woman sexually) that is a sin, is breaking the law, according to God, and since he made us, and He is the standard of moral goodness, we can have no argument against him. So if you disagree with that, then take it up with God, not with me – I’m just the messenger.
But notice, please, what the Word of God says. It does not say “homosexuality is wrong” and only that. It says homosexuality, slavery, lying, sexual immorality, and even breaking your promise is wrong! Oh, and anything else that is contrary to the gospel. Wow. That covers a lot.
So, let’s take sexual immorality – that covers things like watching pornography, one-night stands, bestiality, adultery, even cohabitation “samboer” – basically, God’s standard is this “Am I married to this person?” If yes, have sex with them, and have it often. If no, then don’t have sex with them – and that includes any kind of sexual intercourse!
If you’re living together, move out, propose, get married, and move back in – and while you’re living separately don’t have sex out of honour to God.
Then there are things that we need to be wary of, things like romance novels and films or sexually explicit novels or films – like 50 shades of grey, like Game of Thrones and True blood and other such programs, or even the English Patient or You’ve got mail. You need to decide what will keep your conscience clear, and where we draw the line will be different, since things affect us differently. But you must think about it, and ask God to show you.
What does it say about us and about our society that sex sells. We are sick. Actually, we’re literally sick. I read that 20 000 Norwegians each year are infected with Chlamydia (a sexually transmitted disease that if untreated can render a woman sterile!) – and of those 10 000 have a strain that is resistant to antibiotics. Sexual freedom? Sounds like sexual entrapment to me.
But sex is the big one Paul uses to get our attention. But there’s also lying. And promise-breaking. How many of us are guilty of that! The point is, we are all guilty! The liar, the practising homosexual, the adulterer, the promise-breaker. There we all stand, diagnosis: sick. Prognosis (result): fatal. We are all sinners and the sin will kill us. And guess who else stands with us? Oh yes, all those who have been KEEPING the law - those who have not lied, or broken a promise, or ever sinned sexually. If they exist, they are also condemned! Why? Because their trust is in their performance, in keeping the law – and that is to use the law wrongly, which in itself is breaking the law.
Praise God for the gospel! Praise God that the gospel isn’t “be good, really, really good” but “admit that you are bad, really, really, bad - and cry out to God for mercy”.
19 Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear.
And as we saw last week, God is able to take the worst of sinners – Paul – and turn him completely around! 15 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”... 17 All honour and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen.
The Law shows us our sin, but is not the way to salvation. The way to salvation is Christ. 2:6 He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. Freedom. Not enslavement to the law – and certainly not to make us dependent on some false teacher.
3. How should we then respond?
How do we avoid the big, easy error of earning our salvation and so shipwrecking our faith? How do we stop trying to manipulate God? How do we avoid twisting the gospel to give us power over people?
First, we must accept the fact that we are forgiven! 19 Cling to your faith in Christ. We cannot earn our salvation and we do not need to. Christ came to save sinners. At the right time Christ dies. And that wasn’t reluctant, something he didn’t want to do. 2:3 This is good and pleases God our Saviour, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.
He wants all of us to come to him. He wants us to depend on him. It pleases him when we come to Him for salvation. That should give us great confidence indeed.
(By the way, if you’re anything like me, you may at this point be going “Hey, if God wants everyone to be saved, then why isn’t everyone saved? Isn’t he sovereign? Or is everyone going to be saved?” That’s the idea of universalism – in the end, no matter what, everyone is saved.
Unfortunately it is wrong, because a whole lot of Scripture contradicts it. You need to let Scripture interpret Scripture.
Why doesn’t God do it that way?
We don’t know.
Why did God allow sin? Why does God not just whip us off to heaven when we believe? Why did he choose to come and die? Why?
Ha. He says “trust me”. Do we have faith in Him? Haven’t we seen enough of his character, his love, his mercy? We see him on the cross, and we see a God of love and mercy. A God of justice and righteousness. Yes there are things we do not understand, and solutions which seem obvious and simple to us (“just save everyone”) are probably not, and so let us let God handle that, and trust him.
I remember a fellow student in a speech at University railing against the government angrily berating them for not simply printing more money to solve the problems of poverty. A simple solution – and completely wrong… no understanding of the complex reality that if you print more money, then the money you have becomes worthless, and you’re back where you started.)
So, how should we respond? Cling to Christ, that is “I am forgiven. I am a beloved child of God, no matter what I have done. Christ is enough”. And then we need to 19 keep our consciences clear. And I think that means confession and repentance – and that’s enough.
When we sin (not if!) we need to confess our sin, repent of our sin, and then nothing more. We do not need to try to make right with God – in Christ we are already made right. That’s the whole point.
Confess our sin: that is say sorry to God for our sin – name your sin “I am sorry that I lied on my insurance form because I was greedy and didn’t trust you to provide for me” or
“I am sorry Lord that I didn’t trust your word about sex and I had sex with my girlfriend” or “had sex with another man” or “had an affair” or “watched pornography” or
“I am sorry Heavenly Father for breaking my promise to my mom that I would help her” or
“I am sorry for being proud and independent and not considering church important and thinking that I’ll be okay without hearing from your word or meeting with your people.” or
“I am sorry for not witnessing about you but keeping silent because I am afraid” or
“I am sorry for being lead by my emotions: doing what I feel is right instead of what I know is right
Confession. It’s something that we must do – but it’s not for God, to tell him something he doesn’t know (ha! He’s already seen you do it, or not do it) – it’s for us. I need to remind myself that I am a sinner. I need to remind myself that I need Christ. I need to remember that I cannot save myself. Confession is good for the soul not because it does anything spiritually but because it stops me from following the lie of “I can earn my salvation”. Paul says “I am the worst of sinners” – he will not listen to the lie.
That’s why unconfessed sin does not send you to hell. God knows it already. God’s forgiven you in Christ. Thinking that unconfessed sin sends you to hell is again thinking that you following the law (confess your sin) will earn your salvation. Our salvation is not dependant on what we do, but on what Christ has done. Praise God!
And then when we have confessed, we repent. Repent is to deliberately turn away from our sin, and turn towards God. Stop doing the evil thing and start doing what is right. Stop having sex with your girlfriend and make plans to marry her, or work out, or have a cold shower, or whatever you need to do. Stop being a coward and start witnessing about Jesus. Stop lying, and tell the truth. And so on.
Why? Because you belong to Christ.
Is this hard? Yes. That’s why we need to pray for each other.
Pray for those in authority – because the temptations are many to abuse power. Pray for Erna and Siv. Pray for those in leadership in the church – the worldwide church and our little church –that we would not corrupt the gospel with law-keeping instead of the free grace of God.
Pray for each other – we are part of the “all people” of v1 - Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Let’s get better at praying for each other, asking God to help us in our struggles against sin, and give thanks for each other. Pray for fellow Christians in the other churches. And pray for our non-Christian friends and neighbours – intercede for them – beg the Lord to save them, to rescue them. Remind him that he wants everyone to be saved and understand the truth. Oh Lord, we beg you here in Notodden and over in Bø, hear our prayer for the lost!
Let us spend some time now in prayer, and in holy confession. Before we celebrate the great grace of the gospel. 5 For, There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. 6 He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone.
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