The Good War - [1 Timothy 1:18-20]

Well this morning. I thought I might open up talking about World War two because This sermon let me just say this this message this passage of Scripture. We're gonna be in first Timothy chapter 1 this morning.

It is For a kid who started playing strategy games at like I don't know six. This is a great passage. I Mean this is it. This is this is I mean I I entitled the message the good war. This is it. This is all about warfare.

This is military talk. When I think about World War two You know I was thinking about it, and I think it might be known as really the last kind of good perfectly clear war in our history by that I mean It we had our ground troops engaged with a clearly defined objective and a clearly Identifiable enemy there was no question about who the good guys were and who the bad guys were.

They attacked us and we were going to Take care of that situation. The enemies were out to suppress freedom, and they were in a myriad of instances frankly barbaric. Even from a humanistic standpoint from a humanistic point of view this was good versus evil.

On One side you had the death march of Bhutan the rape of Nanking the Holocaust a bunch of other situations that were abominable horrible. On the other side the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of lives for the freedom of others complete strangers.

Now what it surprised you if I said that there is a better war a better war than World War two. It's being waged today, and it's not being fought in Iraq or Afghanistan. It's not in any one specific place.

It's worldwide it is an unseen war and It is fought from our perspective to protect the truth to protect the gospel to protect even the glory of God. Again, I would invite you to open up your Bibles to first Timothy chapter 1 we're going to be looking at verses 18 and 20 and as you do so let me just Kind of catch us up to where we've been because as we preach verse by verse through first Timothy I Might take six or seven years to get through this, but it's because I'm not up here all the time so Just to kind of catch you up to where we are.

The overarching theme the purpose of this book of this letter that Paul wrote to Young Timothy can be found at first Timothy 3 verses 14 and 15. Don't turn there. I'll just read it. I am Paul writing.

I am writing these things to you Timothy so that you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God. Which is the Church of the Living God? This is a manual as it were for Timothy. Not only in how he is to conduct himself as a pastor of the churches in Ephesus.

But also how the church is to be run what it should look like. Paul wanted Timothy to have this manual. Because he knew that issues were going to come up and in chapter one. He's dealing with one of those.

In fact quick review Paul had left Timothy Behind in Ephesus to stop certain persons from teaching errant doctrine. In effect Paul as an apostle had appointed Timothy to be the sheriff. You know, there's a mess in this town.

Go clean it up Sheriff Timothy. It's your job to straighten this mess out. These men these false teachers were wrongly misrepresenting the law of God and Timothy was to put a stop and end to their nonsense.

Paul goes on to explain that the law is good. That it serves a good purpose. It shows the sinful nature of man versus the perfection of God. He gives a virtual laundry list of sins. And it's kind of curious that he does that but then he says that the law is good.

Why. Because it shows how far how far we fall short of the glory of God. The law itself is perfect. It serves its purpose. Well and after Talking about all these sins and the law being good Paul bursts into praise about his own salvation.

I Would submit to you as I did several weeks or a few months ago. That as Paul's writing these things as he's even reflecting about these People who are distorting the law as he's thinking about this list of sins.

He was reminded of his own sinfulness before Christ his own zealousness for the heirs of Judaism. How he was a persecutor of the church how he set on the body of Christ trying to get them to conform to what? he believed.

That caused him to just practically weep thinking how good God had been to them. He had to rejoice and thinking of the great mercy of God toward him. And I would suggest to you this morning that that's how every Christian should think.

I can't believe that after all I've done God would save me me. Why me? I wouldn't save me. And so we come to first Timothy 1 18 this charge. I Entrust to you Timothy my child. In accordance with the prophecies previously made about you that by them you may wage the good warfare holding faith and a good conscience.

By rejecting this some have made shipwreck of their faith among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn. Not to blaspheme. Now this morning. I want to draw your attention to three elements of Paul's battle plan for Timothy first.

We're going to look at the orders Paul gave Timothy. Secondly we're going to look at the implements of war he tells Timothy to use and Thirdly we're going to look at the enemy that Paul identifies for Timothy.

Paul gives Timothy Timothy three parts of a plan a strategy. To wage the war that he wants him to fight first. Let's look at Timothy's orders. We're gonna just two words verse 18 this charge. This charge charge is a directive an order from an authoritative source a command.

It's not Paul suggesting Timothy. This is something I'd like you to do if you get squeeze it in just if you would. It's Paul basically pulling ranks saying look like I used to do in the jail kind of look walk up to the inmates and go.

See deputy sheriff. You need to listen to me and he's saying look Apostle you need to listen to me. He's giving Timothy a specific order to follow and it's basically a restatement of what he said in verses three and four.

He said as I urged you when I was going to Macedonia remain at Ephesus so that you may charge or order or command. Certain persons not to teach any different doctrine nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies which promote speculations.

Rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith these false teachers were distorting the truth. They are creating all sorts of things as we'll see a little bit later. And Paul says you need to stop these guys.

They're gonna destroy this church. You Timothy you are the man stand firm take care of this don't let it go on. Paul gives Timothy this task. And it's a thankless task. I mean think about it Timothy. Nobody was going to run around applauding Timothy while he was kicking people out of the church while he was setting people straight.

There was only one place where he would ever hear. Thank you. Well done. That was in heaven. This is a war. Timothy couldn't say Paul. I'm not really sure if I'm the right guy Paul. Are you sure you want this done Paul?

Isn't there another way Paul? Can't we did? Can you call somebody else in? Timothy obeyed out of respect for Paul and out of a desire to please the Lord who had saved him. Who had called him to this? And notice that the charge is specifically entrusted to Timothy.

He goes on in verse 18. I entrust to you Timothy my child. Timothy as I said was the man for this critical work. He was Paul's choice. To keep up the military theme Timothy was in essence Paul's right-hand man his most trusted officer.

If you go through history if you study wars and battles as I like to do. You'll find that the greatest military leaders of history have always had one lieutenant one Right-hand guy one person that they trusted to get the key tasks done.

Just off the top of my head I thought about Napoleon and how he had Marshal Ney as the guy who he always turned to. Robert E Lee with Stonewall Jackson Eisenhower with Omar Bradley some of you might think George Patton.

Patton was a wild man. Bradley was the guy he trusted. What does it mean to be entrusted with something? Well, the Greek word just means this. It's a commercial technical term for giving something to someone for safekeeping.

In other words Paul had great confidence. That Timothy would be successful. He trusted him completely. Implicitly explicitly every plicitly he trusted him. The way Paul addresses him shows that he had not only trust in him.

But he had the greatest affection for him. He uses the Greek term tekton meaning beloved child. This is someone he had known for many years a couple of decades. He had seen him grow. He'd seen him fail.

He'd seen him struggle. But he knew that Timothy was capable of doing this task and he and he comes to him as a father. Basically handing over the reins of the family business Timothy. I am trusting you.

You to set things right in Ephesus notice also God's sovereign choosing of Timothy in verse 18 in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you. I Found this very interesting. I mean think about have you ever had a prophecy made about you, you know.

Unless you went to some wacky Friday night conference somewhere. I mean I I have in the Mormon Church. They do this thing called Patriarchal blessing where they lay their hands on you and tell you what tribe of Israel you come from and they make a bunch of other Things but generally speaking we don't have that kind of experience and because we don't have prophets today.

But it tells us something about the confidence that Paul had in him. Because these things had already been prophesied about Timothy. Let's get to know him a little bit and I think we'll see that Paul first took Timothy as a missionary companion because he had a good reputation within the church the church leaders trusted him.

Two decades before this they trust him in Acts 16 verses 1 to 3 we would read this. You don't have to turn there. Acts 16 verses 1 to 3. Luke writes. Paul also came to Derby and to Lystra a Disciple was there named Timothy the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was Greek.

Which made him a little bit unique in the ancient world. Verse 2 he was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him and he took him and circumcised him. Because of the Jews who were in those places for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

He was well spoken of to be well spoken of means that they affirmed him. They supported him. They tested testified favorably about him. His faithfulness had been noticed by the leaders in those churches.

They said Paul, can we commend this young man Timothy to you? He is faithful. He's zealous. This is a man who is fit for ministry. I Think that's a good model for today. You want to be in the ministry get the elders of the church to say this is a man that God has blessed.

This is a man that God has gifted. We recognize his gift and we commend him to the ministry. Now chapter 1 of 1st Timothy isn't the only time Paul wrote of this gift. He also talked about it in chapter 4.

He said to Timothy again urging him. He said do not neglect the gift you have. Which was given you by prophecy when the Council of Elders laid their hands on you. And this term gift is the one that is used for spiritual gifts.

In other words Timothy was gifted for the work of the ministry and this was recognized by the elders by the leaders of the church and he was Ordained to the work of the ministry by the laying on of hands.

Paul also wrote of Timothy's giftedness in 2nd Timothy Chapter 1 verse 6 for this reason. I remind you to fan the flame fan into flame the gift of God. Which is in you through the laying on of my hand.

Again, this idea of a of a spiritual gift being within him being given to him by God. And it's interesting that he says fan the flame. It's almost like at that point maybe Timothy just had a little ember of that spiritual gift left.

Maybe he was struggling. Paul says fan it into a flame. Rekindle it. Now knowing the source of his gift that it was from God. From God recognized by Paul and even by these other leaders. Was going to be key for Timothy it was going to encourage him.

I mean when things got difficult Timothy was gonna be able to think to himself. I mean the question always comes why me? Why am I here? Can't somebody else do this? And Paul saying when those times come here's what I want you to do.

I want you to think about the fact that God has gifted you. That we as your leaders have recognized that and we've said you are God's man. That's gonna keep you going now. Another order here for him that he should war the good war.

Notice I said war the good war because that's what it means literally in the Greek. It's not fight the good fight. It's war the good war. Look at verse 18 again that by them you may wage the good warfare.

Well wage the good warfare is a nicer English translation, but the the two Greek words are Almost identical. It's just a verb and a noun from the same root and it means war the good war. The reason he had to Remember the source of his gift the reason he had to be focused on that was so that he would stay in the fight.

No matter how discouraged he got he would keep on struggling in this war. Pastors get discouraged. It is a reality of ministry. Do you know what the average life expectancy? I don't mean life expectancy we don't die any sooner than anyone else, but the average amount of time that a man spends in the ministry is Five years five years and I'm not talking about at one church and then they move on to another.

I'm talking about total Five years, it's hard. There are articles written about pastoral burnouts. This has become a Phenomenon in the church as a matter of fact, why? Because the work is relentless. The pressure is constant.

It's not a job in the sense that you know, like some other vocations were. Maybe you you leave your work you punch out and you're done. That's not the way it is 5 p .m. The bell doesn't ring. It's not like Fred Flintstone sliding down the dinosaur and going out to his car.

It's not over. There's pressure on your family. It's pressure on you all the time demands on your time in many contacts with the flock. Are not always positive. People come to you when things are desperate when there are crisis points when their marriage has fallen apart.

When their children are out of control. When their finances are in ruin, it's never like hey, can you give me a little guidance with this out of the other thing? It's like my life is a disaster meanwhile.

He's got his own life to live. He's got his own struggles to fight. It's hard. So what are encouragements. There are some definitely benefits to the ministry. You get to see the growth of the Saints as they are equipped for the work of the ministry.

You get words of encouragement from the flock you get to see salvations baptisms marriages all great things babies. It was great to go see Josh and Natalie right after the baby was born. That's fun. But more than anything what Timothy needed to hang in there to keep going to persevere.

To remain at his battle station and not leave. Was the conviction that he was exactly where the Lord wanted him to be without that he wouldn't last ten minutes. And again as I said Paul doesn't write fight the good fight, I don't care what your translation says.

I mean, that's a nice way of saying it or battle the good battle. Why not if you think about war the good war? It tells us something about about it. What's the difference between a war and a battle. A battle is one little Afternoon or three days.

Gettysburg waged on for three days. It definitely has a beginning and an end. No one knows when a war is going to end it can go on. For years, you know think about history the hundred years war the thirty years war.

I mean those are long wars. There are gonna be victories and there are gonna be struggles. There are gonna be heroes and they're gonna be villains there are going to be Casualties and it's going to be hard.

Emotionally physically spiritually it is going to wear Timothy down. It's not a fight. It's a war. When everything seems like it's calm and quiet on the western front. Something's gonna be going on on the eastern front.

There is no time for resting. There is no letup. There is no end of this until death. Welcome to the ministry Timothy now go grab that shovel dig yourself a foxhole and get ready. Now what makes this a good war war the good war?

Why is it a good war? Because it is the very Gospel that Timothy is to fight for he's to stop the mouths of men who are distorting the truth who are telling lies. So often people say in so many words you guys.

You know, you know co guys Are too hung up on doctrine. I would challenge anybody who thinks that to read the pastoral epistles doesn't take that long. First second Timothy and Titus and look at how often Paul stresses to these young pastors.

Sound doctrine good teaching words to that effect. It is so key and Paul makes it plain that the essence of ministry is to proclaim truth and Expose error in Titus 1 9 speaking of the qualifications of an elder.

He wrote he must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught. So that he may be able to give instruction listen in sound doctrine good and also to rebuke those to correct those to confront those Who contradict it that is sound doctrine?

That's the good war. Why? Because the very glory of Christ is at stake. Doctrine is just another word for truths about God and his gospel. What could be more significant than that? Elders exist to promote the gospel the truth about God man sin scripture salvation and the finished work of Christ Paul wrote elsewhere will be unto us if we preach not the gospel of Christ.

We've got to get it, right. And We must warn of error for the good of those we shepherd. To do less than that would be to fall short of the charge that we've received. MacArthur wrote. What better thing to live and die for Than the great war between God and Satan a war for the souls of men and women and The glory of God and our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ.

What better effort is there to? Expend one's life upon. So this is Timothy's orders. These are his marching orders as it were. Secondly, let's look at the implements or the tools of warfare that Paul gives him.

He gives him to first. He gives him truth. Look at verse 19. He says holding faith. Kissed marker notes that in warring his warfare against errors and Errorists in other words, there are false doctrines and those who?

Propound them. He must keep clinging to the truth of the gospel. This is key for everyone here this morning. For everyone who is a Christian everyone who names the name of Christ to remind himself Of the truths of the gospel every day.

We must preach the gospel as it were to ourselves every single day to remind ourselves of how much we've been blessed. Are you struggling with humility? Think of how wretched you were before the creator of the universe.

Set his affection upon you for no other reason than to glorify himself. Are you struggling with contentment. Think about what God has promised you in light of the finished work of Christ. Do you struggle in preaching the gospel?

All I would ask you to do is think about where you would be right now. If those who shared the word with you who taught the truth to you were shy about the gospel. Can you be certain that you are not the person who will bring the gospel to someone else and save them by the grace of God.

Timothy needed to be in a constant state of trust in the Lord and reliance upon his grace. He needed to preach the gospel to himself. He needed to be convicted consistently by the truth so that he wouldn't swerve from it.

He didn't cling to it. It was in essence kind of a life raft to him in the midst of all the struggles and Difficulties he would be going through. Timothy was going to be challenged. You're too young. What do you know?

You don't even have a seminary degree. He was going to be threatened. He was going to be muttered about. He was going to be slandered. This is just the ministry. His second weapon Was living the truth.

Living the truth. Look again at verse 19 and a good conscience. This is tough. This is difficult. Every one of us as pastors and elders would acknowledge That we're not perfect and so in our minds we begin to kind of.

We look at ourselves and go who am I to preach because we know that we sin. We can easily despair and fall into that so we have to look back at the gospel and go. I Am forgiven for those things. I need to confess them.

I need to agree with God about them and I need to put them behind me. But even as we get up here and we preach we teach. I find myself thinking who is sufficient for these things. Who can get up and speak as it were the oracles of God?

It's really ultimately a matter of being above reproach first. Timothy 3 2 would say even with oneself our Conscience accuses us and we must be able to say my conscience is clear. I have repented of of my sins.

Timothy had to know that he was harboring no sin that he was confessing it that he was forsaking them and that there was no disqualifying sin in his life. In effect the conscience the warning system that we all have we know that by virtue of Romans chapter 2 is more keen.

We would hope by the grace of God in those who spend their lives studying and reading the Word of God. Than just about anybody else. Why. Because the more you know about the Bible the more you know about God the more you are convicted about your own sin.

Romans 2 would tell us that God has written the law his law inside of us. Why? So that when we go to break that law our conscience sounds and. And listening to our conscience is vital. Failing to to listen to our conscience is like having a fire alarm in your house and when it goes off.

Pulling an extra pillow over your head and and just thinking you know what they make those things too loud. Can they make a quiet fire alarm. Wouldn't that be nice? You have to listen to your conscience.

A Good conscience is the rudder for navigating the difficult waters of life. When we listen to our conscience a conscience is very valuable it is. Not as valuable obviously as the Holy Spirit, but it's one of the most valuable things we have at our disposal.

It tells us when we are going astray. And it keeps you from going too far before. Repenting Prevents you from committing many sins. So we've seen the war or the orders for Timothy. The implements or tools of war.

Paul urges upon Timothy and now thirdly the human enemy the human enemy. No decent general. Since Sun Tzu wrote the art of war whatever dream of entering combat without knowing his enemy. To defeat him you must know his strengths his weaknesses and his tenancy.

This is a spiritual war so Paul focuses on their spiritual weaknesses and even names them. Look at their weaknesses first their error. They are absolutely rudderless. Look at verse 19. By rejecting this by rejecting a clear conscience.

That's what the enemies of Timothy were doing now the text doesn't say that they were ignorant. That they were dumb that they were somehow victims of some unjust system. Now it says that they had intentionally rejected in fact the verb would say thrust aside pushed forcefully out of the way any kind of idea of conscience.

Robertson says that they even did willful violence against their consciences. The picture would be that they mugged their consciences. What happened? Did they wake up one morning and decide they didn't want to be restricted by rules any longer I?

Suspect that whatever sin attracted them was something that they just grew weary of trying to fight that they just think they. They were just tired of saying no no no no and They gave in to the allure of sin.

And then having sinned and sinned and sinned their consciences became seared. Burned so that they no longer function properly. No conscience and no Holy Spirit is a recipe for spiritual disaster. For spiritual shipwreck they know they are in sin and They're beyond caring.

They're done with worrying about things like the truth. Sound doctrine that's so yesterday. Look at their status. They are in fact shipwrecked verse 19 again. Some have made shipwreck of their faith. Well.

What happens to a ship without a rudder? What happens to an individual without a conscience? Has no ability to direct itself. It is carried by the wind and by the ocean tides and guess what? It doesn't take much to figure it out shipwreck.

You don't need you know to Race for America's Cup to figure that out. It is a done deal. You're going to drift and eventually hit the rocks and that verb make shipwreck means to be spiritually ruined.

Give up believing. Now these were not backsliders again. They had an outward appearance at one point of being Christians, but they weren't and Now their true condition is exposed as much like first John 2 19 they went out from us.

But they were not of us for if they had been of us They would have continued with us, but they went out that it might become plain that they all are not of us. They did not lose their salvation. They never were saved and their ability to kill their consciences is proof of that.

How important is the conscience. John Calvin said this a bad conscience is the mother of all heresies. A bad conscience is the mother of all heresies. In other words when you have So defeated your conscience that it no longer rings.

Bad doctrine is bound to issue forth. Note also that they haven't stopped teaching. That's what this whole thing is about. Timothy's to stop these men Who have completely abandoned any facsimile of the faith who've seared their consciences who are off the reservation?

He's to stop these men from spreading their false doctrines. Next Paul gives Timothy a a couple of his most wanted Individuals. He identifies them among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander. You know some folks hate it when preachers name names.

Paul didn't seem to mind. So people say why do you have to do that. Isn't God their judge? Who are you shouldn't you just focus on what you're in favor of and not who or what you're against. Beloved these are not trifling issues.

We are talking about spiritual life and death. Eternal destinies are at stake. This is not mere. You know he says amen, and I say amen these are serious issues. Both of these men are Greek which is natural since they're at Ephesus, but it's difficult to know much about Alexander.

Could he be the Alexander mentioned in Acts? Yes, could he be the Alexander of the coppersmith. Yes, and there are a number of Alexander's mentioned, and that's part of the problem. Alexander was one of the most.

I mean it's a bit like naming your child John and why would that be. I don't know. If You're Greek Alexander the great you you might want to name your kid Alexander very common name on. The other hand Hymenaeus not such a popular name named after the Greek God of marriage.

I don't know why that wasn't popular, but it wasn't. But he is identified for us in 2nd Timothy 2 Versus 1618 if you'd turn there for just a moment. 2nd Timothy 2 1618. After he's encouraged Timothy to be a workman who does not need to be ashamed.

Listen to this. He says but avoid irreverent babble. For it will lead people in a more and more ungodliness and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus a good friend from 1st Timothy and Philetus.

Who have swerved from the truth saying that the resurrection has already happened. They're upsetting the faith of some Hymenaeus is called out here in 2nd Timothy by Paul as someone who does not handle the word rightly and Instead engages in godless profane empty Talk.

And it's not harmless, how do we know it's not harmless this isn't some small thing because he compares it to gangrene a disease that causes Decay of tissue in a body part where the blood supply is obstructed.

What do you do with an arm or a leg or? Some body part that develops gangrene you cut it off. Cut it out. Why? In order to save that person's life. And in the same way as gangrene is crippling to the physical body gangrene this mindless babble this godless profane talk this false doctrine is gangrene within the local church it Cripples it and even threatens the life of the local church.

Hymenaeus also claimed the resurrection had already occurred. That's kind of an obscure Thing and there are a lot of theories about it. But here's what we know we know it was dead wrong. Some say that he spiritualized the resurrection meaning that he equated resurrection to salvation.

Well think about that for a moment. You've become a Christian, and he says salvation is the same as resurrection. You've already experienced the resurrection. There's nothing else to look forward to. That could be pretty tough to accept.

Maybe it's he was gonna say that there was only one resurrection a physical resurrection. You've already missed it. Well, then you're gonna be. Without a body for all eternity in any event that would be a problem.

Christianity would lose a lot of its meaning. Hymenaeus was a false teacher who is spewing wacky unbiblical theories and causing all manner of trouble. We can only presume that Alexander was a similar caliber of preacher.

Maybe he was Hymenaeus his opening act a lot of these guys. If you watch them on TV, they kind of travel in twos, you know, one guy gets the open the crowd ready. Whips him up into some kind of fervor and then the other guy comes out and does his saying.

Maybe it was like that. But in any event, he did not ignore. Paul did not ignore either of them. He called them both out. Let's go back to first Timothy and we see their discipline the discipline for Hymenaeus and Alexander Verse 20 whom I have handed over to Satan.

Now one writer suggested that this could even have meant that there was some kind of physical infliction of suffering that Paul was or had pronounced upon him and they reasoned that if Paul had the Capacity to heal that maybe he had the ability to afflict someone with an illness or condition.

I don't know about that. MacArthur writes though and the word learned talking about Padua is to train through punishment to train Through adversity. It is used in Luke 23 verses 16 and 22 and it's translated chastise and it speaks about the scourgings that were given to Christ.

It is to train or to punish someone with the afflicting of physical blows. Now Whether they suffered physically or spiritually Paul had the authority to put Hymenaeus and Alexander out of the church and he did it for the good of the church.

To cut the gangrene out. But he also did it for their own good. Anyone in unrepentant sin is to be put out of the church. And we don't know we can't tell it here. Certainly. This could have been a four-step church discipline process of Matthew 18 situation.

But Paul uses the active voice and first person to indicate that he himself did it. These two false teachers have been put out of the fellowship of the church not as Merely punishment to them. Although there appears to be that I mean you're given over to Satan but for the purity of The church and for their own good.

They're turned over to Satan they are put outside the church outside the church's influence and protection. To suffer all the buffeting of a world system, which is controlled by Satan himself. But he's not done look at verse 20 their possible restoration.