First Timothy Lesson 7 cont.
1 Timothy · Courtney Hemenway · Jun 16, 2024
1 Timothy, No. 18
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/49261935337296

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

We are in Lesson 7 of the First Timothy class. So we've been in Chapter 1. We're now going through Chapter 1, Verses 15 through 17. And for context, I'd like to read a little bit more. So we'll read the verses from First Timothy 1, 12 through 17. So again, just to get the context, it's all one section, I think, that fits together.

Beginning in verse 12, I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy, because I acted ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. Now to the King Eternal, Immortal, Invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

So good section there. Again, kind of giving Paul's history first, that he was a violent aggressor. He persecuted, went after Christians, hauled them away, actually killed them. He was there when Stephen was stoned and was gladly cheering him on. He was heading to Damascus to round up more Christians, either put them in prison or kill them, when the Lord met him on the road. And that changed everything in Paul's life.

So as Betsy's saying, that was me before, and yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was more than abundant with the faith and love which are found in Jesus Christ. So he's thanking him for from what he was to what the Lord has blessed him with now in the ministry which he has.

So we get into it. It's a trustworthy statement. So question one. is what is meant by a trustworthy statement? And you know what I always do anyway. Trustworthy. What is a trustworthy statement? Nobody knows trustworthy. You don't trust anybody. Can be trusted. And you know what my rules are. Exactly. We have specific rules here.

When I ask for a definition, you can't use the word in the definition, which I'm kind of surprised sometimes in the dictionary they actually have it. So the common joke is when Mike puts these questions in, what is meant by? So the first thing I do is go to the ultimate authority, Merriam-Webster dictionary. and and see what trustworthy means so uh... everybody else have something without the word trust in it to uh... what is trustworthy the gospel yeah but what trustworthy what does that mean i know the gospel is trustworthy which is what he's saying what does trustworthy mean we say reliable good reliable faithful Good. Other words besides trust.

True. That's a little bit close. Call it a tight game today. So Miriam Webster has worthy of confidence, dependable, I thought that was pretty good actually. A lot of times the English definitions don't meet it, or there are several, but this was the main one for trustworthy. Worthy of confidence. I thought that was pretty good. And dependable. I think those were two great definitions for trustworthy.

Now looking at the Greek, which, when you look at the Greek, you can actually use trustworthy enemy, because that's the word. The Greek word here is a word we'll see in other verses, too. It's called pistos, P-I-S-T-O-S. It means true, sure, trustworthy, believable, worthy of credit. And then Zodiacally states for this verse, it means of things true, sure, such as the word. So kind of with what Mike was saying, gospel. Of things true, sure, believable, worthy of credit.

All those things, so saying this is very important. So do you think what he's saying we should listen to at this point? Because he only uses this in a few other spots in his epistles, that it's a trustworthy statement. So at this point, he's really saying, listen, this is very, very important, what I've said or what I... And he'll say sometimes, da-da-da, and this is trustworthy. So it's very important. It's dependable. It's believable, worthy of credit, all these things. So, not only is it important, but it's something that is foundational for the Church.

So, these are some foundational truths that he brings out in this verse, plus we'll see some other ones. Where he brings that, it's a trustworthy statement, and I think this is from Macaulay. By the end of Paul's life, the Church had developed certain brief, to the point, doctrinal statements There are five such statements in the pastoral epistles.

The first one is this one in 1 Timothy 15. So we have some other ones. Do you know of any other ones just offhand of these that you remember are trustworthy? You probably don't, but trustworthy statements. So this one is where he said it in 1 Timothy.

Also, we'll see later in 1 Timothy 3.1, it is a trustworthy statement. So again, very, very important, very true, dependable, believable, confident, If any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. Do you feel trustworthy or is this a trustworthy? As a man aspires, it's a fine work? Did you aspire and it's a fine work, Mike? I thought of this when I was reading this, that as an elder, it's a fine work that you aspired to. So that is an accolade for you aspiring to be an elder, you and Roger.

The second, another one is later in Timothy, 1st Timothy also. 1st Timothy 4, 8, and 9. For bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. So godliness is profitable for all things. That's another foundational. being godly, following the word in your life, walking in the spirit, where being godly is profitable.

It's kind of interesting, which since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come, what do you think about that, for the life to come? What are your thoughts on that? So what, we're held accountable in the eternity for what we did now? Come on, chickens. Well, I think you need to find godliness first. Yeah.

Well, and I think the godliness is, when you hold my commandments, there are several verses about his commandments, and then I thought also the Spirit walking in the Spirit. When you're walking in the Spirit, you're godly. There's one other one that I thought about on the godliness, but the two mainly were walking in the spirit and then if you fulfill my commandments. I can look that up real quick, but godliness, I think, is following God's word and walking in the spirit. Those were the two that I really kind of think are the definition of godliness. Do you have another?

Well, the thought that I had was that When Paul and Romans begin in chapter 1, verse 18, he says, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness. So it isn't an issue of, you know, how many bad things I did or anything like that. It always has to do with am I godly or not? And so God can't have ungodly people in his presence, so that the whole gospel message is to take people who are ungodly and make them godly.

Right. Make them righteous. When we stand before him, we've shirked these fleshly shells, we only will be... Which is a positional truth. Right. But here, he's talking about, I think, more condition than he is position. And I don't know the commentaries, but Promise for present and also for the life to come. That's the one that I kind of have a sticking point on. What is that? So our godliness has an impact or some kind of effect or something in the life to come. And that one I was struggling with. What does that mean?

I'm kind of in a debate right now with a guy about rewards at the beam of judgment. What I've discovered is that we're going to show up at the beam of judgment perfect, and with no sin nature, a glorified body, prepared to live in this new life. And the rewards, as we've talked about before, I think have to do with we contain who Christ is, more or less. The loss, which is the issue that we're talking about, the loss is not the loss of position or anything.

It's the fact that you had finally realized, I lost in my lifetime the opportunity that I had to glorify God. Well, those are the works that are burned up that are not. That's right. But I didn't lose anything. Personally, I am who I am in Christ. I'm complete.

So I think that the life to come, and what he's saying here is that this godliness not only happens in this life or grows in this life, but in that life, that's how you're going to live that life, in a godly manner. Yeah, I think, to me, living a godly life in the eternity is fine. We don't have to see nature. And it just seemed odd to me in this one, that there's some kind of association between godliness and the life to come.

And maybe you're explaining it. It was hard for me to understand that. Like, how does our godliness here impact, other than less burned up? judgment to come, that we're standing there, we're perfect, and we're burning up all the unprofitable things. So maybe that's it, that we don't have as big a fire or something, I don't know. Can't you get into merit mentality with that thinking? You can. Well, that's why I'm kind of bringing it up.

It seemed like there was some, like, cause and effect of what we do here has an effect in the eternity to come. And that's why I didn't, I should have looked more at some commentaries. I didn't see as much, you know, stuff that really addressed this, but it was. And that's exactly why I kind of brought it up, is that it seems like positionally, as Mike says, we're going to be in eternity, perfect. without the flesh and the sin nature gone. So what is it that is brought through kind of from this? It just seems like something's brought through, and I don't know what that means.

And I probably should, by next week I'll research it more. But it was like, I tried to look at some commentaries. What reference are we looking at right now? This is 1 Timothy 4, 8 and 9. Yeah, I should look. I mean, in the Greek, I don't think it's going to give us a whole lot more. I'll research it more, but I kind of tried to look at some of it, but I didn't get a good answer that I felt was really a good answer, maybe. I didn't understand that. Since it holds, it has impact, promise for the present and also for the life to come. I'll research that more by next week.

I guess my first thought is that godliness is something that comes from outside of ourselves. It sounds like a funny way to say it. It's almost backwards. Of course it holds hope for the future or the life to come, because that will be our standing and our state in the life to come. But I think what we usually forget is that that also impacts right now, that we have a position of godliness. Which, I think, holds promise for the present, absolutely. It's the second half of that that I'll do more research on, but it's like, you know, and for the life to come.

I guess I don't connect the word godliness as much with behavior, maybe, as more of our position. Well, that kind of seems, in that same context, because it starts for bodily exercise from a little, so it's kind of like he's doing a comparison. Yeah, maybe between fleshly life and then our godliness. Maybe that's it, yeah.

The godliness even in our fleshly bodies and in eternity come. The New King James quotes that bodily exercise profits a little. But godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. So maybe it may be profitable in the sense that maybe we grow and learn of godly life while we're here and enter into a godly life to come.

Well, also, you know, think about that now, too. It's also profitable in life to come, being godly. If we're not, if we're ungodly, we stand before him in judgment. And he will be throwing us into the lake of fire. So maybe that is the godliness is also for us in the future. I don't think this has to do with sin. No. But it's godliness. And you reference Romans 1, the ungodly. So maybe kind of what I think Donna and some others, kind of how the godliness in the future in our eternity to come is important because we'll stand before him in Christ.

Could this have to do with capacity? Capacity, how so? Well, just how much the soul or the spirit or new spirit is capable of comprehending, pioneering, I have to think about that, yes. Yeah, I don't know if it's, I'm trying to think how capacity would be in there, but I think it's, I think it's kind of maybe we're now kind of winnowing a little bit more.

It's ungodly and godly, I think is the kind of the separator here and what godliness means. And it'll be important in the life to come as it will stand in Christ before God. Maybe spiritual growth. Spiritual growth now. Yeah. Yeah, growth now. And then at that point, we're fully conformed to the image. So all right, well, I'll maybe look at that a little bit more of it. That was one of those ones. I tried to look up some, and it was nah. So next one, where we're looking at the trustworthy statement.

And this is now 2 Timothy 2, 11 through 13. being in verse eleven it is a trustworthy statement again this is dependable reliable trustworthy uh... confident everything or if we died with him we will also live with him if we endure we will also reign with him if we deny him he will also deny us if we are faithless he remains faithful faithful for he cannot deny himself so again this is the uh... death, burial, and resurrection, that we have been placed into Him and we'll live with Him in a resurrected life. So, that's a very trustworthy statement and one that's pretty much a central theme of the identification truths in the Gospel, is that if we died with Him, We're co-crucified with him. We'll also live with him. We are death, burial, and resurrection, and now seated with him or placed in him. So that's a foundational trustworthy statement.

And the last one is Titus 3, 5 through 8. He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of the regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior. Why? So that, being justified by His grace, we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

This is a trustworthy statement. And concerning these things, I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good and profitable for men. So again, so that being justified by His grace, we'd be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. That is a trustworthy statement, that we are justified by His grace, and we're made heirs. again, placed into Christ as an heir of God. So again, a very trustworthy statement. Yeah.

You know, in looking at that, and I don't have the Greek in front of me, but if you were to say in 2 Timothy 2.11, if you use the word since, since we died with him, we shall also live with him, because that's true. We did. And since we endure, we will also reign with him. But then it changes to a third class conditional clause, if, which is an impossible to do. If we deny him, he'll also deny us. If we're faithless, he remains faithful. So it would help, and I'll do that myself. Yeah, I'm trying to look it up here.

Well, it's a full saying. If is a, E-I-A is the if and then. I think it's on all of them, the same. I can't recall where I, but in my margin I've written down that they're all first class conditions. I don't know who taught that, but I have all since then.

A primary participle of conditionality. So assume true for the sake of argument, right? Yeah. Okay. Yeah, I have, they're all, let me see. Yeah, they're all the same, I think, which is a primary first participle of conditionality. Okay, so what is a condition? Condition. Okay.

All right, so again, when Paul, in this verse 15, it's a trustworthy statement. So this is very important foundational material that he's saying. So get into question two. What are the three fundamental ideas expressed in verse 15? So, this is, I think, from Macaulay. He broke it down into three different fundamental ideas. So, reading verse 15.

It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. So, what was the first fundamental idea out of this, which we already went. This one's a little tougher. It's trustworthy. It's dependable. The dependability of the gospel is expressed by the word trustworthy. So the first fundamental is that it's trustworthy.

Again, foundational is what we read in those other verses in Timothy and Titus. These are foundational truths. So number one, it's foundational. So the second, what was the second fundamental idea from this verse? Read the verse. It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world. So what is the second foundational one?

All right, Donna, you can say it. Anybody? Just that Christ came into the world to save sinners. You want to put that together? Deserving full acceptance. Deserving full acceptance. So not only is it a trustworthy statement, It's reliable. It's your confidence. It's dependable. It's all this.

Now, we have a deserving full acceptance. So, the acceptance of the gospel is due to the inherent nature. The word acceptance in its verb form means to receive something offered to one from the outside. By usage, it means to receive into the mind with assent. You take it in, and it's before you. The adjective full is the Greek word meaning all. It points to the totality of the message.

Nothing needs to be filtered out, and it shows the absence of doubt as to its truthfulness. The word all full describes the reception of what is being said is worthy, as complete, and excluding all doubt. So again, there's no doubt in this trustworthy statement. It's dependable. You're confident it's deserving full acceptance.

So you don't need to parse out something. You don't have to think just part of this is good stuff, things that he wants you to know. He's actually saying this is full acceptance. Don't need to question it. Tied with the trustworthy, it's dependable. confident in it, all those things we said, which gives you full acceptance of what he's going to say, which is the next fundamental.

So what is the third one? Go ahead, somebody. It's pretty easy. Such a quiet class today. Do I need to read it again? Party said last time. What's that? You came into the world. To what? Save sinners. Yes. There you go. So, the third fundamental idea is, so it's a trustworthy, it's deserving full acceptance, don't doubt any part of it, it's trustworthy, you can trust it, don't doubt it, and what is it? That Christ came into the world to save sinners. A trustworthy, dependable statement. There's nothing you can take out of that, because it's full acceptance, that Christ came into the world to save sinners. So again, this is a primary or fundamental truth that deserves full acceptance. Yeah. The other thing I noticed about this was that the first two were statements of trustworthiness. The last one is the person.

That Christ is trustworthy. He came into the world to save sinners, and you can trust him about that. And for what he did. I mean, not only Christ, but what he came in to do. So I think it's both. It's both the person and what he was here to do. You can trust both of those facts. both Christ Himself, the Son of God, but He came in to save sinners. So it's kind of a two-phase trustworthy. But the two basic, the two first foundational ones are just saying, don't ever doubt this statement here. Full acceptance.

It wasn't He came in to save some of the sinners. He came in to save all sinners. It's the person and work of Christ put into the most basic. This is Christianity 101, a foundational statement. And remember, this is a pastoral epistle to Timothy. So he's saying, above all that you're going to teach here, and you're going to drive into these people. It's a trustworthy statement.

Christ came into the world to save sinners, first and foremost. Then we get into those other trustworthy statements in the other latter Timothy chapters. But first and foremost, Christ himself came into the world to save sinners. Yeah, it's verses like this, like when he puts that kind of an introduction to this phrase here. it should, in our minds, I think, be kind of an anchor point. When theological wranglings begin to happen, we talk about, well, who did Christ come to save?

Was it the elect or a subset of all mankind? We say, no, Christ Jesus came to the world to save sinners, period. No qualifiers on the sinners. Yeah. It wasn't some, wasn't part, wasn't this or that. He came in to save all sinners. And again, this is one of the foundational, in very clear terms, what Christ came to do. And again, like you said, you can get away from all the doctrinal things if you just focus on what this foundational command is from Paul to Timothy. Sir, did you have something to add? I think it's important because so many denominations won't give you that much. No. He came into the world to save sinners if.

Yeah, if you do this, if you do that, if you, yeah. And there's no if here. Right. Well, this is something I'll probably at some point chat with you about too. It's like, you know, and this is probably offline stuff, but about being selected. Christ came in to save everyone. And if there's an election or a selection, this doesn't make sense.

Nor does John 3, 16, where he came in that none should perish. Well, he has the power to make none perish. And we've been saved by grace. What? Through faith. So it's not a selection or election. He came in to save everyone. And those who, by faith, believed in his Son, receive life in Christ.

And so... Yeah, the term elect, or choice, or whatever, is never applied to an unbeliever anywhere in Scripture. Right. So, the word does appear, but only in cases where it's talking about those who are already saved. Right. So, whereas when we have verses like this that talk about the price of death, it's always for the ungodly, for the sinner. You know, never a select group.

But he can do it. He has time. You know, he knows from eternity past, because he knows time to eternity future. And I, you know, I think when I was first coming here, I think one of the things you said, and it really made sense, it's like, you know, he draws you, the spirit, you know, tries to convict and convince all sinners.

And then when you finally accept by faith, you walk through the door and you look back and what do you see? I'm in Christ. All my history is Christ now. I'm now. one of the elect, because I, by faith, walked through the door and accepted Christ. And so then, like I said, the election and all that makes sense for a believer. So anyway, I've got a couple minutes here. This one's kind of interesting.

The dealings of Christ with Paul, of course, are not unique. Why? So was Paul the only guy? who was a bad guy, let's put it that way, and then God used him, or made a mistake and God used him. Is he the only guy who did that? Can you think of anybody else? Me. Well, yeah, yeah. Besides yourself, that's an easy shot. Biblically, I'm thinking, biblically, others that you can think of where he did that. I can think of two that I had right off, but then possibly a third. Peter. Think about Peter.

When the Lord is going the night before his crucifixion, and Christ tells him, you're going to deny me three times. Remember, he just jumped up and sliced the slave's ear off. Peter's all gung-ho, and then the Lord says, you're going to deny me three times before the cock crows. I always love this verse, and I get choked up about it.

When we were in Israel, when we were with Vern, I tried to find the location, because I thought this was just an amazing thing when Peter did that. He denied the Lord three times, even after the Lord told him he would do it. So did the Lord condemn Peter for that and never use him again? No, but he had to restore him.

Oh, yeah. But what is the restoring? And that's the verses that I look at. And I really, like I said, we're in Israel. I really wanted to find this spot, because I just think it was an incredible moment in Peter's life. And I think of it in our life.

When we make a mistake, does he just condemn us? No. Does he throw you out and say, you made a mistake, you're out of here, you're not going to be used for anything? No. He doesn't do that. He uses that, and that's why I say he allows things. He allows you to sin. He allows you to do stupid things. He allows you to do this, but always for a purpose. It's always for an ultimate purpose for him.

I always get kind of choked up at this one, because he didn't look at it in Luke 22, 60, and 62. But Peter said, man, I don't know what you're talking about, immediately. So he just denied him. I mean, he's emphatic about this. I don't know who you're talking about. Man, I don't know Christ. I don't know him. Whoa, you've got the wrong dude here.

Immediately, while he was speaking, a rooster crowed. And then the last thing, which is what I just get choked up. Remember what the Lord is going through at this time. He's being scourged, he's being, you know, the thorns on his head, all the different things that are going on with him at that time. The rooster crowed a third time, and then it says, the Lord turned and looked at Peter. All that's going on, he hears the cock crow, And he looks at Peter in the midst of that. After Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had told him before, rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.

And he went out and wept bitterly. But you think that was a condemning look? You think he was like, I told you so, you useless person. It was nothing like that. It was, now do you understand, Peter? Do you know I love you? Do you know I know you? I think it was the most loving look that could be had. And what happened after that? Was Peter meek and useless after that? No. He changed completely after that look. And it was used mightily by the Lord after that.

So what about some other ones? Are you thinking of anybody else? I would think that when you're called to salvation, especially if you're a little older, that you realize that you come with a lot of baggage, sin. And yet God is willing to accept you on the basis of what Christ did.

And so it stops being about whether you're worthy or not and whether he is. That's the whole point of Paul's life in explaining this, I think. And that's why he uses people like this in a mighty way. I mean, what better person to be now an ambassador for Christ than somebody who is taking people away and killing them? And that's why he wasn't accepted for quite a while.

They were like, dude, he's sneaking in so he can kill me. But there's others. I mean, I think of Abraham. Abraham was used. He had so many faults, it was incredible. What about David? A David, a man after his own heart. What's he doing out on the porch looking at Uzziah's wife? Did he stop using David after that?

No. He faltered, and God uses in those examples that people will have faults, but God will use them. You basically hit on this. I said, do you have to worry about your past and that God will not use you now? Do you have to worry about your past and what you did? He can use anybody in any situation. And he's using all things. Remember in the verses in Romans, he uses all things. Does he use failure?

Well, and I also think that in covering the first couple of questions, that God uses the life he gives us in Christ. He doesn't use the old life. No. You know, so you start to learn about what new life is and that it functions a certain way. And I don't have to go back to my old life and clean it up. I have the freedom just to abide in this new life.

But I think also the important thing is if I fail, even as a believer, even if I fail as a believer, He let me do that for His purpose, which is ultimately to glorify Him and to conform me to the image of Christ. He allowed me to fail. that the to show us our own weakness, our own inability to carry out any kind of a life pleasing to Him. And no matter how far you're along, you can fail. But He still uses you. And He allows it, and I think it's to show our dependency upon Him and to conform us to the image by some of the failures we have. So, just, I know they're out there.

So, what is your history now? What is your history right now, as a believer? It's Christ. So, and then what sin that you've committed or will commit has not been taken care of at the cross? So when you fail or you sin, he's using it. He allowed you to do that for his purposes to ultimately glorify him and to conform you to the image. And Paul is the greatest example of that. All right, let's close. Heavenly Father, we thank you.

We thank you again just for these verses where we can see how your use of Paul, who was a violent aggressor against believers, one who was cheering as Stephen was stoned to death. and aggressively went after believers in the early church to go after them, imprison them, and kill them, and yet you sought worthy to use him, and he's used in a mighty way. We would not know anything about who we are in Christ. the life we have in Christ without Paul's epistles. So again, the use of somebody who was so detrimental to believers, to somebody who basically laid out the foundation of who we are in Christ. So we thank you that that gives us hope when we fail, and that you're a loving God, and that even in our failures, you'll use that for your purposes and your glory.

We give you thanks for your plan and that it's all about you and not about us. We just rest in that fact. We just pray for Mike as he gives the message in the next meeting, just to be clear and accurate and prepare our hearts to receive it. We thank you in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.