FIRST TIMOTHY

Chapter 1

Introduction

The church at Ephesus was being led astray by its own elders! The Apostle Paul had warned them that this would happen, saying in Acts 20:28-30,

Acts 20:28 "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

Acts 20:29 "For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.

Acts 20:30 "Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves."

They were not taking heed to themselves. From among their own ranks certain men were teaching dangerous and distorted doctrines.

To resolve the problem, Paul had assigned Timothy the task of pastoring the church at Ephesus. Now he was writing Timothy to encourage and instruct him on how to proceed.

The erring elders are described as "straying" from the glorious gospel of God:

1 Timothy 1:6 from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk,

1 Timothy 6:20 O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge;

1Timothy 6:21 by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen.

2 Timothy 2:18 [they] have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some.

They had strayed. Timothy was to encourage the believers to stay on course.

It is all too possible for you or your church to stray from the gospel... But, likewise, you and your church can stay the course. As we open our studies in First Timothy, here in chapter one you will see the signs that you have strayed from the gospel, and, the signs that you have stayed with the gospel.

We just finished studying Paul's letter to the Philippians, which, you will remember, he wrote while under house arrest in Rome. Paul was released from Rome and shortly thereafter went to the Island of Crete with Titus and Timothy. They evangelized Crete and established a church. Paul and Timothy left Crete, with Titus staying behind to, "set in order the things that [were] lacking and appoint elders in every city." Paul and Timothy went on to Ephesus and discovered the straying elders leading the believers into false doctrines. He excommunicated two of them, Hymenaeus and Alexander, who we read about at the end of chapter one. Paul determined to leave Timothy behind and deal with the ongoing problems. Once he arrived in Macedonia, Paul wrote Titus and Timothy the letters we have in our Bibles.

1 Timothy 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope,

1 Timothy 1:2 To Timothy, a true son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

Notice the official tone of the greeting. Paul was writing as an "apostle of Jesus Christ," in his official capacity and with authority. The letter was addressed to Timothy, but it was intended for the whole church to hear and to heed.

Paul describes himself as being an apostle "by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ." He who was commanding others by his authority was himself under the command and authority of God and Jesus Christ.

Jesus is referred to as "our hope," and He is! He is our hope in this life as we look to Him for "grace, mercy, and peace" to sustain us moment by moment and day by day... He is our blessed hope of eternity as we expect Him to return anytime to take us home...

1 Timothy 1:3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia; remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine,

Timothy was given a "charge," or a command. It involved correcting the errors of some of the elders at Ephesus.

You see, the church at Ephesus didn't all meet together at the local YMCA! They met in smaller groups in homes as house churches all over the city. Each house church would have its own elder, and it was from among these that problems were arising.

The problems had to do with their "doctrine," or teaching. They had strayed from the true gospel into other areas: fables, genealogies, idle talk, and the law are the things mentioned here in chapter one. The signs that they had strayed are the same signs when folks stray today. They are: doctrinal differences, doctrinal disputes, doctrinal detours, and doctrinal distortions.

Doctrinal differences are a sign you have strayed from the gospel:

1 Timothy 1:3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia; remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine,

The word "other" means false or different. When we speak here of different doctrines, we're not talking about certain acceptable differences between orthodox Christians. We're talking about teaching things that are different than the orthodox doctrines of the Christian faith.

There are things that all believers must agree on. The virgin birth of Jesus Christ... The incarnation of Jesus as fully God and fully human... the bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead... Salvation by grace through faith alone, apart from works... The future resurrection from the dead of all human beings... These are some of the fundamental, foundational, nonnegotiable doctrines you must believe as a Christian.

These elders at Ephesus were teaching different doctrines. For example: In Second Timothy you learn that Hymenaeus and Philetus were teaching that "the resurrection is already past." They were undermining an essential, orthodox pillar of your Christian faith, teaching a completely false and different doctrine.

Leaders in the church teach different doctrines even today. We must be careful not to overreact to nonessential differences; but we cannot be too careful with the essentials of the faith. It does matter what you believe!

Doctrinal disputes are a sign you have strayed from the gospel:

1 Timothy 1:4 nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith.

The "fables" are called "Jewish fables" in Titus 1:14. These would include traditional stories added to the Bible and allegorical interpretations that were not suggested by the text or context. "Endless genealogies" probably refers to speculations about supposed eons of time before the creation of the world. The point here is the doctrinal disputes which were caused, rather than building up one another in the faith.

Some people only want to dispute with you about their interpretation of certain things...

Doctrinal detours are a sign you have strayed from the gospel:

1 Timothy 1:5 Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith,

1 Timothy 1:6 from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk,

When we come to "faith" in Christ, our "conscience" is trained by the Bible. A "good" conscience "purifies" our heart and the result is "love" for others.

These erring elders had strayed from that path, taking a detour into "idle talk." Their ministry was not producing the kind of love that ought to characterize believers. There was a hypocritical discrepancy between their walk and their talk!

Doctrinal distortions are a sign you have strayed from the gospel:

1 Timothy 1:7 desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.

These guys were legalists, teaching Christians that they must obey the ten commandments. They took a part of the Bible out of its context and thereby distorted it.

What about the ten commandments? Shouldn't we follow them? Here is what Paul says:

1 Timothy 1:8 But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully,

1 Timothy 1:9 knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

1 Timothy 1:10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine,

1 Timothy 1:11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.

The ten commandments are especially in view here. We know that because Paul's list of sins and sinners parallels several of the ten commandments:

#5 - Honor thy father and thy mother... "Murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers..."

#6 - Thou shalt not kill... "Manslayers..."

#7 - Thou shalt not commit adultery... "Fornicators, sodomites..."

#8 - Thou shalt not steal... "Kidnappers..."

#9 - Thou shalt not bear false witness... "Liars, perjurers..."

The law is not for a "righteous" person at all; it's not for those who are saved. The purpose of the ten commandments is to convict you of your natural sinfulness and convince you of your need for a Savior! Once saved, you live according to love, not law! Those who teach you to obey the law as the means of growing in Christ are distorting the purpose of the law.

Things were bad at Ephesus! Sound, or healthy, doctrine that leads you to love was not being taught. It was so serious that Paul, while he was there, had excluded two elders from the fellowship, bringing them under public discipline:

1 Timothy 1:18 This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare,

1 Timothy 1:19 having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck,

1 Timothy 1:20 of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.

When you "deliver [someone] to Satan," you exclude them from the privileges and protection of the fellowship of believers. Their sin is publicly exposed so that the Christians can, as a group, urge them to repent. Having been excluded from the privileges and protection of the fellowship, they are, spiritually speaking, back in the realm of Satan.

Are any of these signs in your life? Differences, disputes, detours, and distortions mark those who have strayed from the glorious gospel!

As we looked at those who strayed, we saw signs of those who didn't stray, who stayed true to the gospel:

Verse 4 said that they were involved in "godly edification which is in faith"; they were being built up, and building others up, in their faith...

Verse 5 said that their walk was characterized by "love..."

Edifying faith and the excellence of love are signs that you have stayed true. As Paul breaks into praise for the work of the gospel in his own life, he gives four additional signs: The enabling of the Spirit, exceeding grace, evangelism, and exalting Jesus.

The enabling of the Spirit is a sign you have stayed with the gospel:

1 Timothy 1:12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry,

1 Timothy 1:13 although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

Paul was a blasphemer because he had denied the deity of Jesus Christ. He was a persecutor who had used his power to try to destroy the church. He was insolent - a bully who threw his weight around.

God in His mercy did not give Paul what he deserved; instead, in His grace, God gave Paul what he did not deserve! When Paul says "I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief," he doesn't mean to say that he deserved mercy; no one does. He was noting a distinction in the Old Testament between willful sin and ignorant sin. Those who sinned willfully were cut off from the people; those who sinned ignorantly could bring a sacrifice for their sin.

People sin ignorantly, unaware of the gospel. But once made aware they become responsible for their decision to reject Jesus Christ!

Paul's point here is that, not only did Jesus save him, He put him into the ministry and "enabled" him. He enabled him by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Exceeding grace is a sign you have stayed with the gospel:

1 Timothy 1:14 And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.

The gospel has been rightly called the gospel of grace. You are saved by grace through faith. When your walk and talk are seasoned with grace, it's a sure bet that you haven't strayed from the truth!

Evangelism is a sign you have stayed with the gospel:

1 Timothy 1:15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.

1 Timothy 1:16 However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.

If you stay true to the gospel, you can never lose sight of the essential truth that people need to be saved. [Compare the guys who boycott Harvest Crusades]. When the eternal destiny of people is on your heart, you don't have any desire to enter into doctrinal differences, disputes, detours, and distortions.

Exalting Jesus is a sign you have stayed with the gospel:

1 Timothy 1:17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Thoughts of the Lord were never far from Paul's mind and heart. Often those who stray from the gospel talk little about the Lord Himself, only about issues. Those who stay true to the gospel can't help but exalt the Lord.

Do you edify others? Do you prefer the more excellent way of love? Do you depend upon God's enabling? Do you understand God's exceeding grace? Do you have a heart for evangelism? Do you find yourself exalting the Lord? These are good signs!

Conclusion

If you wanted to summarize chapter one, you might say, "The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing!" Don't stray from of the purpose of the gospel: "love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith."