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Here’s how we know whether we are listening and absorbing right biblical teaching – 1 Timothy 4:11-16

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/jinson-28-may-170528_1116.mp3″]

A new missionary recruit went to Venezuela for the first time. He was struggling with the language and didn’t understand a whole lot of what was going on. Intending to visit one of the local churches, he got lost, but eventually got back on track and found the place. Having arrived late, the church was already packed. The only pew left was the one on the front row.

So as not to make a fool of himself, he decided to pick someone out of the crowd to imitate. He chose to follow the man sitting next to him on the front pew. As they sang, the man clapped his hands, so the missionary recruit clapped too. When the man stood up to pray, the missionary recruit stood up too. When the man sat down, he sat down. When the man held the cup and bread for the Lord’s Supper, he held the cup and bread. During the preaching, the recruit didn’t understand a thing. He just sat there and tried to look just like that man in the front pew.

Then he perceived that the preacher was giving announcements. People clapped, so he looked to see if the man was clapping. He was, and so the recruit clapped too. Then the preacher said some words that he didn’t understand and he saw the man next to him stand up. So he stood up too. Suddenly a hush fell over the entire congregation. A few people gasped. He looked around and saw that nobody else was standing. So he sat down.

After the service ended, the preacher stood at the door shaking the hands of those who were leaving. When the missionary recruit stretched out his hand to greet the preacher, the preacher said, in English: “I take it you don’t speak Spanish.”

The missionary recruit replied: “No I don’t. It’s that obvious?”

“Well yes,” said the preacher, “I announced that the Acosta family had a new-born baby boy and would the proud father please stand up.”

In this case, this was just an embarrassing funny incident but when it comes to following the crowds, the question is how do you know that you’re not led into following some type of false doctrine? I liked the way Saju described false teaching: “False teaching always finds its way through the present cultural myths, ideas and thought patterns.” We are bombarded with so many different thought patterns from our culture, how do you know that you are not being swayed by some kind of false teaching? And sometimes it can be very subtle. Let me give an example, we can have accountability groups or sessions where we communicate that no one will be judged and it’s an open place for us to share anything and everything. But unless the sin is identified as sin and repented of, it’s doing no good for anyone in the group. Without talking about the promises of God to victoriously defeat sin, without coming to specific ways to fight sin, it’s going to be a useless exercise. So you’ll have week after week of accountability sessions where the members of the groups are super honest and super vulnerable but not repentant. And guess what, that is a thought pattern that agrees with our culture which tells us to not judge anyone but live as we want to live. The context of this entire letter has been revolving around confronting the false doctrine in the church at Ephesus. When we think about confronting false doctrine, we probably expect some sort of fierce argument and debate taking place between Timothy and the false teachers. Interestingly that’s not the advice Paul gives him. The instruction is quite the opposite. Let’s look at our passage for today.

[11] Command and teach these things. [12] Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. [13] Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. [14] Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. [15] Practice these things, immerse yourself in them,[c] so that all may see your progress. [16] Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

What Paul is essentially trying to say in these 6 verses is that our lives need to be shaped by the gospel if we need to confront false teaching. What does a gospel shaped life look like?
1. Right teaching
2. Right living
3. Right Community
4. Right Scrutiny

1. Right teaching

Right sound Scriptural teaching needs to be heard, meditated upon and shared.

11 Command and teach these things.

Timothy had been given specific instructions in this letter on what needs to be taught to the Ephesian church….the sound doctrine which needs to be declared to them. The whole letter is filled with these instructions from Paul who is writing with the authority and commendation from God. When Timothy reads this letter, he isn’t reading it thinking that it’s just Paul writing to him. He sees it as what it truly is “the Word of God”.

[16] All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, [17] that the man of God[a] may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16, 17)

And so should we also look at Scripture. This is the very Word of God…way more weightier than the letter from the President of the country, way more purer than pure gold, way more sharper than a double edged sword, way more powerful than an army of a billion soldiers.

Therefore, how do you know if you are listening and absorbing right teaching?

a) The Word would be exalted and treasured through that time of preaching.

It won’t be about quips or fun stories or the charisma of the speaker, but just how precious is each and every word from the Bible.

b) Christ would be made much of.

Christ would be the centre of attention, his life of holiness and purity, his sacrificial love to come to us and die on a horrific cross, his humility to serve us, how glorious he is and how dependent we need to be on him. That would be the focus.

c) It would bring you to repentance and faith.

When we are confronted by a Holy God as being revealed in Scripture, our response can’t be one of arrogance or self righteousness but of humility and repentance. Just like Isaiah says “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Is 6:5)

Or Peter in Luke 5, when he sees that impossible miracle take place where he catches a large number of fish, he realizes he’s in the presence of God. He says “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man O Lord”. Christ tells him, “Do not be afraid, from now on you will be catching men”.

2. Right living

2 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. [13] Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. [14] Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.

There are three aspects to this:
a) Setting an example
b) Devoting to Scripture
c) Actively using the gifts

a) Setting an example:

Scholars estimate that Timothy was in his late 20s or mid-30s when Paul wrote this letter. By this time he had been an experienced missionary and served with Paul for 15 years. (Acts 16:1-5)

Why would he be despised for his youth?

He was probably young compared to the older men in the church. Usual perception is that men get wiser with age. Also, the same is expected spiritually, where one assumes that older men are more spiritual than younger because younger men are immature. Youthfulness has always been paralleled to rebellion and indulgence.

So how was Timothy to express his maturity?

Not by telling everyone and announcing that he was mature but by setting an example for them. In other words had to display his maturity by being someone who was worthy of imitation.

He had to show his maturity in his speech. We live in a culture where people are applauded for speaking their mind but what we speak reveals a lot of what is in our hearts. (Luke 6:45) Unfiltered conversations or unwholesome talk is a condition of the heart primarily which needs to be changed and repented of.

He had to show his maturity in his conduct. His behavior.

He had to show his maturity in his love. The way he would love his brothers and sisters. Show charity and forgiveness and patience.

He had to show his maturity by his faith. Showing confidence and reliance on Jesus. His convictions on the truths about Scripture isn’t frail or weak. Strong confidence in what he believes.

He had to show his maturity through his life of purity. Holiness is very important to him because it matters to God. It’s God who says “Be Holy for I am holy”. (1 Pet 1:16) His lifestyle of holiness points to God who is Holy.

Do we have a lifestyle worthy of imitation?

It’s something that even the unbelieving world understands to a degree. They know that respect belongs to those who have a lifestyle of high morals. Leaders by definition are to be pacesetters. All of us however are called to be leading someone. When we read Matt 28:19 -20

[19] Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[b] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

We know it applies to each and every believer across all ages. We are all called to be disciple-makers by baptizing people and teaching them to observe all that Jesus has commanded. Now the teaching them to observe part is not just a verbal teaching but actually disciplining people by modelling obedience for them. Showing people how to forgive when someone has wronged you. Showing people how to be patient when someone keeps frustrating you. Showing how to trust in God’s provision through prayer.

Unfortunately we live in a generation where people want others to imitate their doctrine but not their lifestyle. It doesn’t make sense.

b) Devoting to Scripture:

[13] Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.

This instruction is specific to Timothy’s calling of being an elder – therefore the call to exhort and teach. I think this can also broadly apply to our need to be devoted to Scripture. Being devoted to reading, applying and teaching others Scripture. I know I’ve been challenged this week with asking myself of how important Scripture means to me. Do I only read Scripture when life is okay and comfortable? Is Scripture reading driven by my circumstances or is it food for my soul? Brothers and sisters, I know it seems so basic but it’s something which we sometimes fail to see the value of. We feed our souls with all kinds of worldly stuff and go around hungry, we try different ways to self-medicate ourselves from the troubles and pressures of life, but we are never happy. We try to find our identity in our work, our righteous deeds, our church activities but are left purposeless. It’s only Scripture – true words of God that can fill us, heal us and change us. If we were created to know God and relate with Him, then the Bible is the medium God uses to communicate with us. Anything else and everything else just leaves us restless.

c) Actively using the gifts

[14] Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.

Looking at these two verses it does seem like Paul’s referring to Timothy’s gifting of preaching and teaching God’s word. And this call and ministry came from God himself. So the instruction is to not take it lightly. What if God told that to each and every one us “Don’t take your gift lightly”? As we’ve been learning over the past few weeks, God has graciously given the church gifts so that they can build up each other. Let’s realize that one of the key ways by which God wants you to live out your faith is by using your gifts to help and build up your brothers and sisters. One of the reasons why people feel lifeless in their faith is not just due to sin but also because they aren’t using the gifts that God has specifically given them to build up another person. Some of us may still be thinking “Oh…I don’t know what my gifting is. How can I use it?” And it’s often because we think about one or two gifts particularly and compare ourselves against them. That’s not how you should be thinking about it. Rather look at it in this way, find out what people in your church need and then look for ways to serve them. As you do that, you will discover what gifts God has given you. For example Barnabas in the Bible meant Son of Encouragement. Now I don’t think they called him that because he had a skill in giving compliments to people. I think it was because whenever he interacted with people, God gifted him with the ability to provide encouragement to those specific areas of need.

3. Right Community

[15] Practice these things, immerse yourself in them,[c] so that all may see your progress. [16] Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Twice in these two verses, Paul brings out the community angle. He tells Timothy to carefully pay attention and practice these things so that “all may see your progress”.

Piper has a famous quote where he says “Sanctification is a community project”. It’s not you who can attest and confirm your maturity but it’s your community that you live life with. When you aren’t able to see the chink in your amour, it’s your community of believers who will be able to show that to you. That’s why Christian growth cannot happen outside of Christian community. There are some moments in the Christian life when you wouldn’t be able to trust your own self because of sinful erroneous thinking, just know that in those times you can trust your brother or sister in Christ.

Second part in v16 says “Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.”

Paul is not trying to say that by works Timothy will save himself and his hearers. We know that we are saved by grace through faith alone in the finished work of Jesus. But what he is saying is that Timothy’s perseverance in the faith will impact the faith of his community too! That’s mind boggling. Have you ever considered the fact how your faith is affecting the person sitting next to you? It’s true in the positive and negative sense. In the positive sense, your faith can spur and lead others to love and trust God more consequently pointing to genuine saving faith. In the negative sense it means unrepentant persistent sin. It can move through the members like yeast.

4. Right Scrutiny

[16] Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching.

I find this a fascinating verse because this is an instruction Paul gives to his spiritual son Timothy. Timothy has faithfully been with him for 15 years. In Philippians 2 he says about Timothy, that there’s no one else like him who is genuinely concerned about the church’s welfare. Such a solid, dependable guy. But still Paul says “Keep a watch on yourself and on the teaching”.

It’s not because he didn’t trust Timothy. He trusted him completely but Paul understood the sinful desire of the heart and the schemes of Satan.

And this is consistent with Paul’s other letters when Paul says:

[5] Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! (2 Cor 13:5)

He is writing this to the Corinthian church! Paul actively discipled these guys and now he’s asking them to test their faith! Again I think that illustration helps: of how we know we are alive because we are breathing and not just because we were born on a certain day in the past.

Brothers,[a] if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. (Gal 6:1)

Spiritually mature brothers and sisters are supposed to restore people who are caught in sin with gentleness. However, they need to be careful and watchful or they themselves be tempted. Why would Paul mention that if they were mature already? That’s because he realizes that sin desires and the attacks of Satan won’t completely be eliminated until Christ comes back again. As believers we still experience the effects of that. God has given us the Spirit and also these warnings to help us.

It’s not a bad practice to evaluate your day…think about what was said, what was done in light of Scripture. However, this should lead you to repentance and greater dependence on Christ. If the end result of evaluating your life is either self-pity or judgmental…then it’s not right scrutiny! Right scrutiny is one that comes to Christ helplessly seeking forgiveness and grace to live out the Christian life. A person who constantly engages in this type of scrutiny and repentance will find that this experience draws him/her closer to God.

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Here’s how the Church builds itself in Christ – Ephesians 4:7-16

I was 14 years old when a family friend of ours looked at me and said, “You’ve got broad shoulders. All you need is some muscle around it and you’ll look great.” I still don’t know if he was joking or not but I took his advice seriously. Over the course of the next few years I worked hard on building some muscle. At that point I was really skinny and so it took me a while before I saw any impact of the workouts. But that made me think and wonder…how does the body of Christ get built up? What does that look like?

7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says,“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”[a] 9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?[b] 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds[c] and teachers,[d] 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,[e] to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

I think this passage tells us about three stages in that body building process:
– Christ gives gifts to the church graciously
– The church utilizes the gifts faithfully
– The church grows into Christ eventually

1) Christ gives gifts to the church graciously

7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. (Eph 4:7)

V7 says that grace which is the unmerited favour from God was given to us. This grace is the reason why we are saved. By grace we are saved through faith. (Eph 2:8) And this grace is also the reason why we’ve received different kinds of gifts. The whole definition of grace means that it’s not earned neither can someone claim to deserve it. Two observations on this:

a) God’s has graciously given us gifts for the church

Paul uses his own example in Eph 3:2 to tell the Ephesian church that the gifts that God gave him were meant for the church.  While addressing the Corinthian church that was divided over having certain kind of spiritual gifts, Paul says “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” Paul was telling them that they were missing the point by arguing over which gift is important or better than the other. Gifts were given for the common good. So that others may benefit out of it not for your own good. This is a very essential thing to remember…in the world people are hailed and exalted because of their talents. That’s not how it’s supposed to be in God’s church. You’re spiritual gift was not meant for yourself but for the “common good”.

b) God determines the gifts that are given to each of us.

V7 says grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gifts. Do note that God has given all his children gifts. He’s not partial and he decides which gifts for us are the best ways in which He can be glorified. That’s why it doesn’t help when we complain over not having certain gifts or are jealous over other people’s gifts. By doing that we undermine God’s wisdom in giving us those gifts and also become ungrateful and ineffective in using them. The point for giving gifts again was not to grow in prominence and become famous but to serve each other with these gifts.

Now let’s come to the uses and the goal of giving gifts:

2) The church utilizes the gifts faithfully

8 Therefore it says,“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”[a] 9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?[b] 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds[c] and teachers,[d] 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,[e] to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

V8 further is a quotation from an OT psalm. Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”

“he ascended” is a reference to Jesus which we see being explained in the next two verses. It says Christ gave gifts to men. Now when we come to v11, we see the details of these gifts.

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds[c] and teachers,

This is important thing to note. When Christ ascended into heaven, he gave some gifts to his church. They were apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers. Apostles were messengers or delegates sent forth by Christ. The church was founded on the apostles teachings (Acts 2:42). It wasn’t self created teachings by the apostles. They were echoing what Jesus taught and showed them during his earthly ministry and communicated what was being taught by the Holy Spirit. Now we have their written letters in the NT. All these NT scriptures are authoritative because they taught as delegates of Christ.

Prophets in the NT were people who were moved by the Holy Spirit to speak, instruct, rebuke, comfort, encourage, convict and stimulate their hearers by spontaneous words of revelation.

Evangelists are people who would be gifted to preach the good news. Just let me add here, that all of us are called to evangelize and tell people about Jesus. However, for some people it comes very naturally and easily. I remember once when I went with Supreet for jail ministry and met a brother there who had the gift of evangelism. Could see how people didn’t even bat their eye lids as he presented the gospel to them with clarity.

Shepherds and teachers: I believe these are not referring to two different roles but a single role of an elder or overseer. As we remember studying in the qualifications of an elder…he needs to be an apt teacher. Why? So that he can lead people in their study and love for Scripture. A shepherd/pastor spends time trying to understand what Scripture says and apply it to his church.

And so you see 4 different types of giftings mentioned here. It’s not to make them more prominent than the others. The next verse states the purpose for giving these gifts to the church:

12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

The reason why these church leaders (apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherd-teachers) are given to the church is not to exalt them or make them popular but so that they may “equip the saints for the work of ministry”.

The Greek word used for equip means “to perfect or complete” the saints for the work of ministry. Hebrews 12:2 clearly says that Christ is the founder and perfecter of the faith. Christ does use church leaders to strengthen the faith of his people. And we’ve learnt a great deal over the past few weeks on why it’s important to be led by church leaders. Obeying leaders is important because they are the ones whom God has appointed to watch over your soul. (Heb 13:17)

Equip the “saints”. The word saint actually means “most holy thing” and someone who is “morally blameless”. I look at this definition and I realize how all of us don’t deserve that title of a saint. We are everything apart from being saints. We are so corrupted by sin that we cannot comprehend what it means to be holy and a saint. All our sins have been committed against God defying His Holy will and character. We loved sin and hated God. Every time we look at our sinful pleasures, our pride, things of this world, praises and acceptance from people and find more joy in them than God, we literally communicate how much we love sin and hate God. God being righteous has to punish and pour His wrath on sin but He also is full of grace and love. He sends His only Son (Jesus) to die as a pure, spotless sacrifice to pay the penalty for our disobedience and our hatred toward God. Three days after dying Jesus rises from the grave to make the “most unholy” people like you and me “most holy” before God if we trust Him as Lord and Deliverer. Christ’s death is the reason why we are saints. It’s a free gift from God.

Saints are equipped for what? Work of ministry. What does that mean?  It’s the labor put into serving people with your giftings, time and resources. You would be praying and serving people in such a way that they grow and are benefitted by your service. Did you ever see yourself as a minister of God? Did you ever think how God has given you spiritual gifts and leaders to help you labor more effectively as a minister? Church leaders exist to fuel and fan into flame your passion to serve people around you.

for building up the body of Christ,

This phrase means the act of promoting another person’s growth in Christian wisdom, piety, happiness and holiness.

It plays out in two contexts:

1) To the outside world: The desire to kill the selfishness within you to want to see the lost come to know and experience the love of Jesus.

2) In the church: Wanting to see your brothers and sisters in Christ exceed you and grow in the knowledge and wisdom of the Word. Wanting to see them have more better prayer times. Desiring that they experience great joy and happiness in Christ. Wanting to see them have a life of holiness that surpasses yours.
And this is crazy because it goes against what we see in the world around us. The world around us gives us models for self-growth to progress and succeed. In the body of Christ, success is desiring and working towards seeing the other person grow to be the people God calls them to be.

I think this is what Hebrews 10:24 says “24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,”

Till when is this building supposed to happen?

13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,[e] to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

The goal is attaining the full maturity: that is becoming completely and fully like Christ. That’s why it’s wrong to think we’ve arrived in our spiritual faith. If the thought process for you is to think that you are mature and look down on others & think you don’t need to be actively participating in the building up process, here are a few observations from this verse:

1) You will only truly reach full maturity when everyone reaches unanimity of the faith.

2) Are you trying to say that you have complete knowledge of the Son of God? And this knowledge isn’t theoretical or intellectual knowledge. It is experiential personal knowledge. Knowledge by understanding, applying and living out your faith.

3) Are you trying to say that you’ve already become like Christ with no more sin issues to be dealt with?

Biblically, knowledge of Christ is always related or connected with becoming like Him. In other words, knowing is becoming! So if you claim to know Christ because of your immense theoretical knowledge, then can you back it up with a lifestyle consistent to that knowledge? I’ve met many people who have been to seminary and yet not known Christ!

1 John 2:3-5 says “[3] And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. [4] Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, [5] but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected.”

Again it’s not referring to sinless perfection. However, if you’re life is described by your persistent sinful lifestyle you need to question if you are truly in the faith. Remember, knowing Christ is coming into an intimate knowledge of Him. You can’t know Him and not be changed by Him. That’s not how it works and it’s not true salvation either. What characterized your life? Is it sin or holiness unto God?

If the answer is no to these questions, then we should humbly assume a posture where we realize there’s so much more to grow spiritually and also actively use your gifts and resources to help others grow in their faith.

3) The church grows into Christ eventually

14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Mature manhood in the previous verses are being compared out here to being a child. If mature manhood means reaching the fullness of Christ and unity of the faith with other believers then being a child would mean being easily influenced by different doctrines around you. I remember as a young believer I was fascinated by these televangelists. I would spend hours watching these programs and paying attention to their sermons. There was an elderly man meanwhile who would faithfully take bible studies for us at our church. Initially I would argue with him because I believed in prosperity theology with all my heart. I was convinced it was scriptural. Over a period of time by the grace of God I got introduced to proper bible teachers who helped me see the glory of God in Scripture and also see my utter sinfulness. But the more I thought about it, my growth took place not in the idleness of trying to discover right theology but as I tried to apply Scripture and immerse myself into serving other people. An idle mind and a selfish heart are good breeding grounds for wrong doctrine.

V15 is often misunderstood as telling hard truths to believers in gentleness. Recently I came across an interpretation of that verse that makes it clearer…speak the truths refer to speaking truths about Jesus and His acts to each other “in love”…with love and affection. We are constantly embedding the gospel into every conversation and life situation. Conversations about Jesus are woven into moments of doubt, conflict and temptations. As that’s happening, we are selflessly building up the faith of the other person because the most loving thing you can do for a person is not tell him 5 worldly solutions to solve his problem but to direct him to Christ who is His Lord, comforter, provider and Savior. And that’s how the church grows into the head- Christ!

V16 is another reminder how the body orginates from Christ by His victorious work on the cross. The body of Christ is also sustained by Christ. And the body grows into Christ as well. Let’s not forget that as we think about the call to action. Christ strengthens us to build the body. However, there is a participation required from our end.  when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Have you ever broken a foot or sprained an ankle? I’ve had several accidents in my lifetime and so I know the amount of extra effort that my other foot needs to put when one foot isn’t functioning properly. If that’s true of the physical body then isn’t that true also about the body of Christ? If I’m not actively using my gifts to serve my brothers and sisters, if I’m not speaking the truths about Jesus in love, if I’m selfishly only being concerned about my own problems and my own life…isn’t Christ’s body being affected by it? Isn’t my involvement essential and indispensable to the body growing up into Christ? How does that speak to the passivity of our hearts?

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The Call to True Servanthood – 1 Timothy 4:6-10

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/saju-nes-sermon-21052017.mp3″]

Our passage for today is 1 Timothy 4:6-10

[READ]

Our passage today can be dived into three segments

– The call for leaders to point out false teaching and the reward therein
– Importance of training in Godliness
– Reminding us the reason for our hard labor and striving i.e Christ himself

And all these 3 things are said and shared in the context of faithful servant hood, helping us understand what it means to be a true servant of Christ. It points out to us that a true servant of Christ is the one who refutes false teaching, trains himself in godliness and treasures Jesus above everything else.

Is Paul talking only to the leaders who serve in the church or is he talking to the whole congregation. Are these instructions applicable only to leaders or is it applicable to everyone.
In 1 Peter 2:9 Peter writes “But you all are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

Serving Christ and serving one another is a call of every believer. And therefore these instructions given in 1 Timothy 4:6-10 is applicable to every believer. Every believer is supposed to refute false teaching, train themselves for godliness and treasure Jesus above everything else.

The verse starts by Paul writing “If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters…”

Paul is obviously talking with respect to his earlier comments on refraining from false teaching and deceitful spirits that take your attention away from the true gospel of Jesus.

False teaching always finds its way through the present cultural myths, ideas and thought patterns. In the days of the apostles there were five such false doctrines.

1. False doctrine of Jewish Legalism

Where they were asked to add circumcision to their faith in Acts 15:1. In Galations 1:6-9 Paul strongly condemns these teaching. In Philippians 3:2 he calls the false teachers dogs and evil doers. We did speak about it in length in our previous sermons.

2. False teaching of Gnosticism

In Gnosticism people regarded their special knowledge and enlightenment as superior to the faith of others. In 1 Timothy 6:20-21 Paul warns Timothy saying “O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.”

In 2 Timothy 2:14-16 Pauls tells Timothy to warn others saying

[14] Remind them of these things, and charge them before God[a] not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. [15] Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,[b] a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. [16] But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness,

3. False doctrine was Asceticism

Which Jinson mentioned last Sunday. They believed and taught that sin is inherent in the material substance of the body, and therefore the body must be punished by practicing extreme self-denial and self-abuse. The one that is prevalent even in Hinduism and Buddhism.

Paul talks against this doctrine in Colossians 2:18-23.

[18] Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions,[a] puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, [19] and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

[20] If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— [21] “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” [22] (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? [23] These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

We also heard about it in the previous passages where people were asked to refrain from getting married and even abstaining from foods which God created for God.

4. False doctrine of Antinomianism

Where the false teachers instructed others that they could participate in all kinds of sinful pleasures and still be spotless in their souls before God.

Paul spoke to such people in 2 Timothy 3:2-9. He called them “lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; and avoid such men as these.”

In fact John makes it clear in 1 John 3:4-10 that a Christian cannot be one who continually abides in sin. A Christian must turn away from sin and continually strive to overcome it (see 1 John 1:7 about walking in the light). He said, “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God”

5. False Doctrine of Docetism (Do-see-tism)

Where these false teachers denied the true incarnation of Christ, they denied the fact that Jesus was truly a divine being and that he came to earth in flesh.

In 1 John 2:18 & v22-23 apostle John addresses it saying, “Even now many Antichrists have arisen.” He describes this false teaching in v22-23: “Who is a liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.”

Even today in our generation we see glimpses of these doctrines but the one that is most prevalent is the health, wealthy and prosperity gospel. “Prosperity gospel” teaches that God wants every believer to be always physically healthy, materially wealthy, and personally happy. Teachers of the prosperity gospel encourage their followers to pray for and even demand material flourishing from God.

The one biggest folly of this kind of teaching is that it takes away our focus from the GIVER to the GIFT. Our cravings for wealth and worldly pleasures are an unending saga. Jesus said in Matt 19:24 “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

If we are talking about personal happiness Jesus said Matt 10:22 “You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

The disciples of Jesus did not live a prosperous life. In fact they were tortured, falsely accused, beaten and murdered.

Brothers and sisters, we are called to glorify God by treasuring Christ more than anything else in this life. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

God is glorified when we are fully satisfied in him regardless of our circumstances and pain. Even in times of pain and distress our hearts cry should be “Jesus you are still good” … awesome … wonderful … there is no one like you.

Here’s how we know we have fallen victim to the prosperity gospel. If our lifestyle is become such where we seek God only when we are in need, need for physical healing, need for material blessings. When we want God to heal us from a certain illness or when we need a job or want him to crack a business deal for us, when we completely fail to acknowledge him when everything is well with us, when we fail to treasure Christ and the gospel daily in our lives. When we stop looking to God and stop worshipping him when our prayers are left unanswered for many days.

We should know that we have become victim to such teachings.

False teaching always finds its way through the present cultural myths, ideas and thought patterns and therefore it is important that every Christian should be able to identify them, stay alert and should be able to protect their hearts and the hearts of their loved one from these teachings.

I believe in the following verses in 1 Timothy 4 Paul tells us how we can protect our hearts from these teachings.

Number one – 1 Timothy 4:6 (second half) By “being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed, Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths”

Number two – by “Training yourself for godliness”

You will only be able to protect your heart by consistently soaking yourself in God’s word having nothing to do with worldly wisdom and by training yourself for godliness by being obedience to His words.

Let me also warn you at this point that if you fail to guard your heart it is possible that you can be led away from your faith. In verse 1 Paul prophecies that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared.

How does soaking in God’s word help us protect our heart?

God’s word gives us the right understanding and the right perspective on life. It teaches us that only Jesus is the true God, and that the answer to all our questions can only be found in the gospel, in the finished work of Christ on the cross. Every scripture presents Christ to us and consistently reminds us the truth of the gospel.

The darkness of false teaching around us can only be driven out when we switch on the light of right doctrinal truth of the scriptures.

It is not enough to just read the scripture and feel good about it. I remember when I was young I was asked to read the bible before leaving home. I did it every day but it meant nothing to me until one day I completely stopped reading.

But, Paul goes on to say that you need to train yourself for godliness. He says “for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”

How do we train ourselves for godliness?

We train ourselves for godliness by obeying God’s word.

Consistently obeying God’s word is the sign of a true believer. It doesn’t mean that we won’t make mistakes, it also doesn’t mean that we won’t sin again. Yes we will make mistakes, we will fall into sin. But we won’t be enslaved by them. We will always go back to God with a repentant heart, ask for his forgiveness and allow the Holy Spirit to help us in our weakness.

We will treasure the truth that Jesus has forgiven all our sins and that we are not slaves to sin by slaves to righteousness.

Training for godliness means that our lives should be marked by a lifestyle of obedience to his commandments.

At this point you may ask why do we have to work so hard and labor and strive, instead why can’t we just enjoy life and the pleasure of the world?

Paul answers that question in 1 Timothy 4 verse 9-10

[9] The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. [10] For to this end we labor and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

Brothers and sister we ought to labor and strive and work out our salvation hoping for the reward in heaven which is Christ himself. Our life on earth is momentary but life in heaven is eternal and unending.

That is why Paul encourages all believers in Colossians 3:2 to “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

How do we know that you are heading in the right direction and are not been misled? We will know it by our present action and lifestyle.

Do we love Gods word and find delight in it daily?

Do we labor and stirve by training ourself in godliness by obeying his words?

Do we treasure Christ and have set your hope in the heavenly things?

If not then I want to urge you today to repent before God and make a turn-around from your sinful ways and learn to delight in God’s word, train yourself for godliness and set your hearts on the things above.

Lets Pray.

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Sermon

This is what Gospel centered Church Discipline looks like – 1 Tim 3:14-16

Good Morning

We’re doing a series called “God Alive Church – a journey through 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus” and last Sunday Jinson preached on the topic “The call to serve faithfully” from 1 Timothy 3:8-13 (Read and Listen)  and helped us understand the role and qualifications of a Deacon.

What really stands out from that passage is for all of us to remember that we all are called to serve the church, serve one another, the bride of Christ. Whether you are an ordained elder/deacon or not, you are called to serve. And you don’t have to be the most gifted person, all God desires is a willing heart and a humble attitude.

The call to become a deacon/elder will come as you faithfully serve him in the small things God has gifted you with. It doesn’t happen overnight, it didn’t happen overnight for Jinson and me. God took us through a time of testing and mending of our hearts before calling us to ministry.

And our ministry is not separate from our daily routine life, we both have full time jobs just like everyone of you. It is not easy for us to take out the extra time from our schedule to prepare sermons and serve you in the measure in which God has called us to. There are sacrifices we have to make to serve Christ and do his work.

The reason I mention that is to let you know that if we both can do it, even you can do it. All you need to be is faithful to the call of God in your lives. I can testify and tell you that your greatest fulfilment will not come from serving your self, family, company, business your money. Your greatest fulfilment will come when you identity the purpose of your life which God gave you, trust in him, serve him and live for his Glory.

So, our passage for today is 1 Timothy 3:14-16. If you have your bibles let’s turn to our passage read it together.

As we know that Paul’s intention to write this letter to the church was to address specific issues that were ungodly and leading people astray.

The flow of Paul’s letter so far in chapters 1, 2 & 3 looks like this

.. he starts his letter by opposing false teachers and false preaching of the Gospel (1:3-11)

.. explains the true gospel of Christ and gives right understanding of the Law (1:12-17)

.. In 1:18-20 he encourages Timothy to hold on to his faith and fight the good fight of faith as he continues to lead the church along with other elders

.. In 2:1-7 he ask the church to pray and gives them specific instructions on prayer

.. 2:8-15 gives instructions on how men and women needs to conduct themselves in the church

.. 3:1-13 lays down the qualifications of Elders and deacons

And in the later part of the letter from chapter 4 onwards Paul then goes on to give specific instructions for ministry, supporting widows, honouring masters, how to encourage one another, how to fight the good fight, instructions to the rich, guarding the truth .. so on and so forth.

Looking at this overview of the letter we understand that the context of this letter is mainly Church discipline. And I believe today’s passage i.e 1 Timothy 3:14-16 Paul is talking about a very important piece that needs to be understood and treasured for us to get a clearer picture of the need for Church discipline.

v.14 – I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God (how one to conduct yourself in the household of God) which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth.

Paul is urging the people to be disciplined, well behaved and conduct themselves in godliness pointing to the fact that it is the Church of the living God – The pillar and foundation of TRUTH that is at stake.

Then in verse 15 he goes on to say

“Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness
He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angles,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory”

Paul points us back to Christ and the Gospel. And I believe that this is that important piece in Paul’s letter that we need to understand and treasure even as he gives various instructions and disciplinary actions to the church.

This piece or passage is like the cornerstone that forms the base of a corner of a building which holds the whole building together, if the cornerstone is moved or taken out the whole building can collapse. In the same way what holds the church together is Christ and his finished work on the cross.

It is not traditions, good ideas, organizational structures, etc. It is Christ and the Gospel truth which if taken away can destroy the church and make it even worse to the point that the world around us start hating us.

Mahatma Gandhi, the great freedom fighter once said “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.

Imagine the impact we would have had on this nation if this one man had the right perspective of church.

Taking about church discipline Jonathan Leeman in his book “Church Discipline” makes an interesting comment. He says.

Church discipline can be explained in two ways. One can describe it as the act of correcting sin, like blowing a whistle against a foul in a Christian life. Or, better, one can try to understand the act of blowing the whistle within the larger framework of the Gospel, the church and the purposes of Christian life. Placing the act of discipline into this larger theological framework – what I’m calling a gospel framework – will help us exercise the discernment that is inevitably required amidst the many circumstances of sin in a church.

With that in mind I will be answering 3 important questions today.. and that is

1. What is the Gospel?
2. What is Church?
3. What is Gospel Centered Church Discipline?

What is the Gospel?

Going back to our passage in verse 16 where Paul writes

Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness

He was manifested in the flesh,

Christ manifested in the flesh” is the doctrine about Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came down to earth and put on flesh and blood like us.

When God made Adam and Eve he expected them to fully trust HIS word and HIS work, but instead they trusted in the word and the work of the devil. As flesh and blood they failed to obey God because of which the entire human race is suffering from sin and death.

Jesus came in flesh and blood and lived a perfect and holy life just as it was expected of Adam and Eve. He became as vulnerable as we are and yet chose not to sin.

Hebrews 4:15 says “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Vindicated by the Spirit,

vindicate means to clear someone of blame or suspicion

Paul is pointing to the incident when Jesus was baptised by John. In Matthew 3:16-17 it says

“And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Jesus was publicly vindicated by the spirit to be blameless and holy. He was publicly declared blameless by God himself.

seen by angles,

Unlike other passages that talk about Jesus and his life on earth which only gives an earthly account of what was seen and experienced with naked eyes like ‘Jesus born of a virgin’, ‘Died on the cross’ & ‘Rose up from the dead’. Paul in this passage gives us a supernatural perspective of what happened when Jesus was crucified for our sins and transgressions.

He is saying that the angels were watching Him.

Imagine the angels and whole of creation standing still and watching their creator die a horrible death, the one which he never deserved. Matthew 27:51 says “At that moment (when Jesus died on the cross) the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split

The pain of watching creator God die was unimaginable, more so in the heavenly realms because as humans we were and we are still hard hearted, arrogant and self centered creatures who still even till date fail to understand what it means for God himself to die for sake of his creation.

To say Jesus died on the cross can’t be said in a casual way but has be said and remembered with true conviction in our heart, with trembling and reverence in our hearts.

He paid the penalty of sin and declared us righteous before God, so God can now embrace us and accept us into his kingdom.

Let me give you an example though a wired one to explain what that means

Imagine a young boy from a rich family falling in love with a girl from the slums, a girl whose family lived on the streets, ate food from the garbage cans, wore torn clothes, spoke indecent language.

His father been a rich business tycoon can never ever accept or even imagine this kind of a girl to be part of his family, not just because of the financial status but also because of the ugliness around her.

Now, The boy loves the girl so much that he decides to leave his father wealth and lifestyle to now come and live with her in the slums, go hungry with her, wear the same old clothes for months, become vulnerable as the girl and her family.

But now even with all those vulnerabilities around him.. instead of giving in to those vulnerabilities and stay that way .. the boy pursues a good life, works hard, and accumulates wealth on behalf of that girl and her family, teaches them good mannerisms and lifts them up to the point where he is now able to present her before his Father and say here she is .. this is the girl I want to marry.”

Jesus is our price who left all his glory in heaven and came down for us to present us holy and blameless before the Father, one without spot or even a wrinkle. (Ephesians 5:27)

proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world,

We’re not talking about a human figure who’s name faded away in history but we are talking about a name that has gained popularity even to this day. He is not like one of those celebrities whose life people celebrated while they were alive and forgotten after they died.

In fact Jesus gained more popularity after his death. Not ONLY because of the event of his death and resurrection but because of his transforming work in the lives of people like us even to this day.

taken up in glory”

Jesus defeated sin and death, he defeated the power of sin over lives, he broke every stronghold that held us captive and on the third day he rose again from the dead.

He is now sitting at the right hand of the Father interceding for us, praying for us that we all come to the knowledge of who he is and a live that glorifies him.

In the light of this Gospel (next question) What is the Church?

The church is the to-be bride of Jesus Christ for whom he died and gave his life as a ransom. Just as the whole creation and the angels watched him die for his bride they are anticipating the day of our marriage as well.

Revelation 19:7-9“Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

Church is the body of Christ who are called to look after one another so we are prepared for the big day just like the wise virgins mentioned in Matthew 25 who were awake, ready and prepared to respond to the call of the bridegroom.

And it is for this purpose that God has placed Elders in authority within the church body to correct, rebuke, counsel and discipline the body of Christ. Not that the elders are superior in any way but we are under shepherds serving Christ.

And therefore Gospel centered Church discipline is one that

i. aims to help the body of Christ enjoy and experience the transforming work for which Christ died and sent His Spirit as a helpmate.

The new covenant promises that Christ’s people will live a transformed lives through the power of the Spirit. Even if change comes slowly, churches should expect change – the visible fruit of God’s grace and Spirit. Discipline is the right response to a lack of visible fruit, or, even more, the presence of bad fruit.

ii. aims to help the church represent Christ to the world.

Christians are to be little Christs, representing Jesus on earth.

And in a world where we are constantly bombarded with distraction in the form of visuals, ideas, desire for wealth, desire for comfort, etc which makes it even more difficult for us to represent Christ. Discipline is the right response when Christians fail to represent Jesus and show no desire for doing so.

iii. aims to establish God given authority within the local church.

Like I said the Elders are not appointed to bully and show superiority over people. We are not what some people say we are that Church exists to manipulate people and make their leaders rich, though there are churches that exists for that purpose.

In fact Jinson and I have made a deliberate choice not to take financial benefits for the ministry work we do as long as our job and business can supply our needs, except for the some additional expenses like our travelling and eating while doing ministry all the offering money is utilized to cover the church expenses and used reach the lost in the city.

We have all rights to take a salary for our labor but here’s what I want you to know. We are here and doing what we are doing is because God has placed us as Elders as authorities over you to look after your soul and your spiritual well-being.

Which means if you receive a call from one of us or even from our wives asking questions about life – I want you to remember that we are not doing this to gossip about you or even try to interfere in your personal lives. We are doing it because we genuinely love you and want to understand from you the areas of your struggle so we can speak the gospel truth into your situation, help you experience the transforming work of Christ and represent Christ to the dying world around us.

In the light of what we heard today what should be our response, what does a practical application looks like?

The practical application is

Hebrews 13:17

“Have confidence, obey your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.”

I don’t think I need to elaborate on this verse, its plain and simple.

“Have confidence, obey your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.”

Lets pray!