WWUTT 591 Men Should Lift Holy Hands?

The Transition from Sound Doctrine to Godly Living

In 1st Timothy 2, Paul has been giving instructions related to godly living, and he starts to get more specific. Men should behave this way, and women this way. And to both men and women, his instruction is to be submissive to the Lord when we understand the text.

Merry Christmas from your friends at When We Understand The Text. Find all our videos, including videos addressing various Christmas myths, at our website www .wutt .com. Now here's your host, Pastor Gabe.

Thank you, Becky, and Merry Christmas, everyone. We continue with our study of the book of 1st Timothy. Chapter 2, verse 8 is where we are today, where the Apostle Paul writes to his servant Timothy, I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands, without anger or quarreling.

Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness, with good works.

Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man. Rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.

Yet she will be saved through childbearing, if they continue in faith and love and holiness with self-control. Remember the instructions that Paul is giving here pertain to godly living. In the first chapter, he gave a defense for the teaching of the sound gospel of Christ and told Timothy not to let anyone teach any different doctrine, but that which flows from the gospel.

There are those who devote themselves to myths that promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. But Paul says we who deliver the sound words of the gospel do so in love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

Teaching Sound Doctrine in Love and with a Good Conscience

The reason why we teach sound doctrine is because we love. And so we need to do that from a heart that loves. We're not combative with people that we don't agree with, which is an instruction that Paul gives again to Timothy in his next letter.

In second Timothy chapter two, he says that the Lord's servant, speaking in particular about teachers, must not be quarrelsome, but they must be kind to everyone, able to teach and patiently enduring evil, correcting opponents with gentleness.

God may perhaps grant repentance, leading to a knowledge of the truth. So our ability to convince somebody is not in our ability to be the quippiest person or to come up with the wittiest answer or be the most insulting or put down a person with the best comeback that we can come up with.

That is not our effort or our motivation when it comes to teaching sound doctrine. This must be done in love. It must flow from a heart that loves, that patiently endures evil and corrects with gentleness.

The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart. Our motivations are totally for the glory of God, not to advance ourselves, but to put forth Christ and his gospel. Also, a good conscience.

Our conscience has not been violated by sharing anything that is not true, but rather adhering to the teaching that comes from the Holy Spirit of God is revealed through the prophets and the apostles in the Bible.

When we teach what is according to scripture, we don't violate our conscience by teaching anything that is false or that is apart from what is written. As Paul instructed the Corinthians, do not go beyond what is written.

I remember in my early years of experience in pastoring. Well, I take that back. My early years of experience in preaching, we'll put it that way. I didn't become a pastor until 2010. But in my early to mid -20s, so back in 2003 to 2007, somewhere in that time frame, when I was getting out and preaching on a regular basis, there were things that I preached that did not come from the Bible.

Now, I did have a love for the word of God. And any time I went to a church and preached, I had my Bible with me. I opened it right there on the pulpit. I would read from the scriptures and then explain them.

But some of the things that I was explaining did not come from the word of God. And so to this day, to this very day, I will think back on stuff that I said when I was 23, 24, 25 years old and not following in sound teaching, but was being led astray by a few false teachers.

Unfortunately, Rob Bell was one of them. I hate to admit that. But yeah, I was persuaded by Rob Bell at one point in my life. At a time when I was teaching things that were not in sound keeping with the gospel of Christ, I can remember some of the stuff that I said.

And I struggle with it. To this day, I wish I could go back to that church and say, hey, guys, remember I was here 15 years ago or whatever it was. And I said this thing that was wrong. That's not even in the Bible.

That does not flow from the sound teaching of the gospel. I'm sorry that I ever said that I was inexperienced. You should not have even had me here. You know, anyway, that's just kind of the stuff that pops into my head related to the stuff that I used to teach back when I was in my mid to early 20s.

So my conscience was violated when I now understand what the truth is. And there was a point when I was not walking in the truth. I had swerved from it and had wandered away into vain discussion. I desired to be a teacher of the law, but didn't understand what I was saying or the things about which I made my confident assertions.

And I knew the scriptures very well. I've known the scriptures well for a long time. I could quote you chapter and verse from Genesis to Revelation, but I did not use them in the right way. I did not have a proper understanding, right teaching when it came to interpreting those passages.

And so that is that has been something that has been on my conscience. When we hold firm to sound, sound teaching, teaching, I don't know what teaching is. Anyway, sound teaching that comes from the Holy Spirit of God, according to what is written for us in the Bible.

Then there's no reason to second guess what it is that we have said or be unconfident, lacking confidence in what it is that we are preaching, for it comes from God. As Paul would also say to Timothy, second Timothy three, 16, all scripture is God breathed.

If what we are teaching is coming from the word of God, and it is what God means for the passage to say, not what we wanted to say, but what the Holy Spirit of God means for it to say. Then there's no reason for us to have a guilty conscience when it comes to teaching this to others.

And so anyway, again, that verse, this is first Timothy one, five, the aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. That's the third part, a sincere faith.

This isn't something that we do in vain. It's not something because it's just the religion that we've decided to hedge our bets on or give us morality or, you know, fluffy, comfortable living. But rather this is because we know that the faith that we have comes from Christ and we do all things to his glory and honor.

Our sincere faith, not to benefit ourselves, but for the blessing of others and to give glory to God. And Paul says certain persons have swerved from these and wandered into vain discussion. And this is exactly what he is instructing Timothy to avoid.

Don't wander in that direction yourself and don't let anyone else teach any different doctrine except that which flows from the gospel of Christ. And then Paul uses himself as an example in the second half of that chapter, beginning in verse 12.

I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus, our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.

To the king of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. And then once again, reiterating a point that he gave at the beginning of the letter, he says, this charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with what has been said about you, the prophecies that have been made about you concerning what you would do with the message of the gospel in the places where you are sent.

And for at the time of this particular letter, Timothy has been sent to Ephesus to be a pastor there. So this is Paul's appeal for sound teaching in the first chapter. And then when we get to chapter two, he gives instructions related to godliness.

Prayer for All People and Rulers

So what does godly living look like in light of the sound teaching of the gospel? Well, the first thing he says is that I urge supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people.

So his first instruction is prayer. First of all, then I urge, pray, even for kings and all who are in high positions that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way, for these are instructions pertaining to godliness.

And the first instructions that he gives are about prayer. So then as we continue these instructions about godliness, once we get to verse eight, Paul starts to get very particular concerning gender. So for the men, he says, I desire that in every place the men should pray.

So we're still continuing an instruction about prayer. That whole first half of chapter two, verses one through seven were instructions related to prayer and having a mindfulness that is directed toward Christ, that we would have the mind of Christ.

Philippians 2 .5, let this mind be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus, have the mind of Christ. So then as he continues this instruction related to prayer, then he starts to get a little bit more specific.

Men need to be this way and women need to be this way. And I've heard it argued that these instructions from verse eight through verse 15 are only pertaining to corporate worship. But I don't agree. I mean, there are instructions related to corporate worship.

I just don't think they're exclusive to corporate worship because the first thing he says in verse eight is, I desire then that in every place the men should pray. So it's not just limited to the corporate setting.

However, the ways that we conduct ourselves in the corporate setting also affect the ways that we conduct ourselves in the world. So there's both applications. I just don't think it's limited exclusively to this is the way that you're supposed to conduct yourself in church, but not necessarily the way that you need to conduct yourself in the world.

It's both. For you have the instruction, I desire that in every place the men should pray. I desire that in every place the women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel with modesty and self-control, because Paul says in verse nine, likewise.

So in every place, the men should pray in every way. Likewise, in every place, the women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel. And that goes for the church setting corporate worship as much as the way that we should behave even in this world.

And both of these instructions are related to self-control, both for the men and for the women. For the men lift holy hands without anger or quarreling. Do not use your hands to cause fights with one another, to brawl with each other.

Do not try to demonstrate your power or your strength over those who are weaker. And that's not just men fighting with men. But in the context of the instruction here, since it includes both men and women, that would mean men do not abuse women.

They are the weaker vessel. Peter mentions this first Peter three, seven, when he says, husbands live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life so that your prayers may not be hindered.

And here we have an instruction related to prayer also, that we would not try to demonstrate power, strength, authority over someone else in an abusive way, but rather we lift holy hands without anger or quarreling.

Now, this is a common posture for prayer in the Bible, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. In Psalm 28, verse one to you, O Lord, I call my rock. Be not deaf to me, lest if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit.

Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands towards your most holy sanctuary. Jesus prayed this way when he fed the 5000, he lifted up his hands to heaven.

And the last thing that we see Jesus do before he ascends into heaven, Luke chapter 24, is he lifts his hands and he blesses his disciples. By contrast, those who lift unholy hands. We read the following in Isaiah 115.

When you spread out your hands, the Lord says, I will hide my eyes from you. Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood. So again, the importance of lifting holy hands unto the Lord in prayer that we don't have hands that have shed violence or done mischief or have done something unholy.

But we are lifting hands that are pure. We are submitting all of our members unto the Lord as instruments for righteousness, as it says in Romans chapter six. And remember what we read in Romans 12, one present your bodies as living sacrifices unto the Lord.

This is your spiritual act of worship. And that begins with your hands. Well, if you're going to get really technical, it begins with your mind. But when it comes to parts of your body that you are submitting unto the Lord, lifting holy hands in prayer and that being a proper posture for worship.

Typically, when we think of lifting hands, I think we have a very charismatic mindset. You see charismatic churches lifting their hands. But I think it is a perfectly acceptable practice for worship that someone lift their hands in prayer.

In fact, I think that it gets you out of your comfort zone a little bit. We tend to like to sit in our pew and be confined to our space and don't want to do anything that looks out of the ordinary or extraordinary or puts us out of our comfort zone.

Try lifting your hands in prayer on Sunday. I could give you a little bit of a nudge, a push in that direction. This is coming from somebody who does not typically lift his hands in prayer. I gesture a lot when I'm preaching.

I definitely do that. I lift my hands when I'm at the pulpit. But when I am a congregational member, when I am sitting in the pew and I am listening to somebody else preach, or I am standing in corporate prayer, I'm not really one that often lifts my hand.

So that's definitely something for me that would step out of my comfort zone a little bit. A common posture for prayer that we see demonstrated even in the Bible, Old Testament and New, those lifting their hands to heaven in prayer.

And so Paul even gives this instruction related to prayer. In every place, the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling. Men are setting the example. Lift holy hands in prayer. Do not use your hands for any kind of mischief or violence or unholy behavior, any sinful act, but submit yourself fully unto the Lord.

And what better demonstration of that than lifting your hands in prayer? Men should be leading the prayers. Men should be setting the example. Now, I don't necessarily think that this instruction here in 1 Timothy 2 .8 means that only men should be leading prayer, but they should be setting the example.

A man should definitely be the one who would be most willing to pray or to open up in prayer or to give that demonstration of prayer or to lead others in right prayer. Because when it comes to prayer, we are submitting our minds to Christ.

And what better way to pray than by praying the very word of God? But again, I don't think this is limited to meaning that only men should be praying, whether you're talking about a corporate setting or in the world.

I've been to churches before where the belief of that church was that only men should be filling the role as pastor. And yet there was a woman that would lead music or would do the special music. And then when she got done, she would pray and that would be fine.

There isn't anything that is stepping outside the instructions that are given here, especially when we get to later on in this particular section where it talks about that only men are supposed to be filling those roles of elder or overseer in the church.

And that is not permitted for a woman to have that role. And we'll be talking about that more as we go on in this section this week. But this first instruction is related to the men that they need to submit their whole bodies unto the Lord as an act of worship.

And that begins with lifting holy hands in prayer, not using hands in fighting or anger or brawls or quarreling, submitting all of their members unto the Lord. That's setting a tone. It's setting an example for corporate worship, for everybody who is there as the instruction has been given to everyone to submit ourselves fully unto the Lord.

Women are likewise given an instruction for submission. And the rest of what we have there in this paragraph from verses 19. I'm sorry, verse 9 through verse 15 is related to how women are to conduct themselves in godly living, both in the corporate worship setting and even in the world.

And that's where we will pick up tomorrow. Let's do a little bit of prayer here as we conclude this lesson today on 1 Timothy chapter 2. Our Lord God, we thank you for giving us your son, Jesus Christ, who is the ultimate demonstration of right living unto the Lord, how we are to conduct ourselves in Christ likeness, submitting ourselves to God and doing everything for his glory.

For Christ even left his throne in heaven and came to this earth and lived a perfect life, died the death that we deserved and rose again from the grave and did these things all to the glory of God, as it says in Philippians 2 .11.

So he was the ultimate example of what it means to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. For even Jesus did all these things to the glory of God. But more than that, he was our substitute in his life and in his death.

And so because we have been bought with a great price, let us submit ourselves unto the Lord, knowing that our bodies are not our own, but they belong to you. And so we would do all things to your honor and to your glory, convict our hearts of this and help our minds be submitted fully unto Christ Jesus, having the mind of Christ in all that we do.

Help us to know how to use our hands in a right and holy way, lifting them up to you and also using our hands in service to you and to one another, showing love to each other out of reverence for Christ.

Give us hearts that desire to obey him, Christ Jesus, who said, you will show me you love me when you obey what I have commanded you. No matter how difficult these instructions, no matter how much our flesh wants to disagree with them, let us have a heart that desires to honor you and do all that you have required of us, not based on how we think you should be worshipped, but how you have said you are to be worshipped.

We ask these things in the name of Christ who saves us. Amen.