Category: Sermon

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/jinsin-the-roots-of-flase-teaching.mp3″]

3 If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound[b] words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, 4 he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and[c] we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

1. Identifying False Teaching (v3-5)
2. Identifying Godliness (v6-8)
3. Identifying the Desire to get rich (v9-10)

As a church we’ve been studying the book of 1 Timothy. It’s been a very meaningful journey as we’ve learnt what the gospel is and how it affects and shapes the life of the church. We’ve seen how the gospel applies to the roles of men and women in the church, we’ve seen how the gospel helps us select the right people to be elders and deacons of the church, we’ve seen how the gospel trains us up for godliness and over the last three weeks we’ve seen how the gospel empowers us to honor different groups of people: widows, elders and our masters.

Last week’s sermon was super helpful to me as it helped me understand how I could glorify God in my workplace using those 5 biblical principles. This week’s sermon is titled “Getting to the root” and I believe today’s passage speaks about identifying false teaching, identifying godliness and identifying the desire to get rich.

1. Identifying False Teaching (v3-5)

3 If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound[b] words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, 4 he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.

The first thing that catches my attention in verse 3 is that Paul is writing against those who teach a different doctrine that doesn’t agree with the sound (healthy) words of our Lord Jesus Christ. The sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ refer to his life, teachings and work. Now why would that be important?

So when Paul brought the gospel to Ephesus and spent that time teaching and training the disciples, he didn’t produce a new teaching. All he did was apply the sound words of Jesus. Even when you read all of the other letters, Paul isn’t trying to bring some new idea to the church. What he does is he elaborates and explains the life, death and resurrection of Jesus! And this is critical in our day and age where we are more concerned about what’s new rather than what’s true! In our Christian culture we are much more eager to listen to a new thought or idea rather than listen to the same gospel message that gives life to our souls!

In Luke 24 when Jesus meets the two disciples walking to Emmaus, he tells them how all of Scripture beginning from Moses and all the prophets concern about himself. Later on in the chapter when he meets his disciples, he tells them how he needed to fulfill all the prophecies that were written about him in the Law of Moses, Prophets and Psalms. (v27, 44-47)

That’s why anyone who strives to be faithful to the Scriptures needs to talk about Jesus all the time because all the Scriptures talk about him. No preacher can add anything to the Bible or the gospel. In fact adding anything would mean making the gospel powerless and ineffective.

When Paul came to the Corinthians the first time, And I, when I came to you, brothers,[a] did not come proclaiming to you the testimony[b] of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men[c] but in the power of God. (1 Cor 2:1-5)

It was a culture that adored and looked up to new philosophies and ideas. They would’ve really been impressed if he changed the gospel and made it look new and hip. However, even then he still didn’t play to the galleries but chose to preach Christ crucified so that people’s hearts be truly changed by the power of God!

In order to know if the teacher is true, the questions for the church to evaluate are:

Is Christ being made much of through the sermon? Does Christ look big to you as a result of the preaching of the Word? Who is the centre of the sermon? Is it the preacher or Christ?

This is a big one. Is the preacher making the message more about his jokes, quips, stories or is it about displaying Christ as he is. As we learnt a few weeks back, the job of the elder is to remove all kinds of barriers to ensure that the Word is handled and preached as it is supposed to be: the Word of God. That also involves removing themselves from becoming the object of worship. This I do understand also has to do with the heart of the listener but there are many today who intentionally use the pulpits to make themselves known rather than Jesus.

Is the message calling you to repent of the idols in your heart? We see that when Peter encounters Jesus in Luke 5. After the miracle, when Peter understands that he is in the presence of Holy God, he doesn’t just stand there and have small talk. He falls at Jesus’ knees and says “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord”.

Are you being encouraged to trust in Christ’s work or yourself?

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Eph 2:8,9)

Talk about counter-cultural. Today if someone came up to and told you “whatever you do, your going to fail on your own strength”. How would that make you feel? Yet that’s the story of the gospel, it tells us how weak and incapable we are to make ourselves right before God. The only way we can be rescued is by relying on the sacrifice made by someone else. Yes, you need to trust in Christ’s life, death and resurrection to rescue you from the wrath that comes upon you for your sins. It humbles us to the core because we know we are helpless.

Is it a teaching that accords with godliness?

In other words if your sin is being exposed through the message, if repentance and faith is being preached in the name of Jesus then it should lead you to greater reverence and love for God. There is always an urge for holiness that comes from true biblical preaching.

I remember once going to a Christian concert. There was wonderful excitement and joy as people worshipped God. In the middle of the worship set, the leader asked us all to be seated and asked us to think about our need for help, healing etc. He then asked us all to respond with a loud shout and call out to God which was then confirmed as assurance of salvation by the worship leader. There was no call for repentance and need to trust in Christ as Savior. Not only did it give the wrong picture of salvation but it also didn’t encourage the believers to grow in holiness. All they got was an emotional experience!

4 he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.

Now it goes into a description of the fruit of the false teacher: you will get to see it in his lifestyle, the way he conducts himself.
• You’ll see him be arrogantly prideful about matters that he doesn’t have accurate or full information of.
• He’ll have an unhealthy appetite to stir up controversial topics.
• You’ll find him frequently argue and debate about empty, unimportant and trifling matters.
• Those discussions and teachings always result in jealousy, quarrels, damaging each others reputation, suspicion and purposely behaving in a way that’s unreasonable and unacceptable.

Then he goes deeper into the root of the problem:

It’s caused due to a depraved mind (mind that is rotting and being corrupted by desire) and deprived of truth (lack of truth – he didn’t want to hold onto to truth). What is the desire? Imagining that godliness is a means of gain. The issue starts there! Because at the deepest level of his heart his desire is to please himself, that’s why his teaching reflects what he desires and not what God desires, and he arrogantly justifies his position with his pride. It’s hard for me to look at this passage and think that prosperity preachers have good intention especially when they arrogantly boast about it. However, if you have friends or family who are in a prosperity church please don’t write them off. Continue to pursue them lovingly and Scripturally showing them what the truth is. Show them how God desires that at the deepest level of their hearts He wants to see Christ and not themselves or money. But know that this is a very enticing theology and many have been hooked onto it.

2. Identifying Godliness (v6-8)

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and[c] we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.

This great gain is contrasted with the wrongful gain in the previous verse. Contentment is a conversation the urban church needs to have today. I’ve actually heard less sermons on contentment. In fact I may have heard more talks or lessons in my moral science class. Isn’t that strange? I think it’s because all of us struggle with finding contentment. Interestingly this verse says that godliness is complemented by contentment. It goes side by side. I believe there are few important things we need to learn about contentment from this passage:

a) We need to understand that our earthly lives are finite. There is a start to it and an end. It’s short-lived too. James 4:14 says our lives are like mist that appears for a little time and vanishes.
b) We weren’t created for money or possessions. That’s why we come into the world with empty hands and we leave the world with empty hands.
c) We need to understand the difference between our needs and our wants. Often our hearts get it all mixed up. Our needs are those things that are essential to us existing. Our wants are the add-ons that we often turn into our needs and then later turn into idols.
d) True contentment is found in God only. 5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Heb 13:5) We’ve usually only heard the later part which says “I will never leave nor forsake you”, however, we often miss the part before that which says “keep your life free from the love of money and be content with what you have”. What does that have to do with the promise in the next verse? I think what it means is: our hearts long for satisfaction and security which we often mistakenly look for in money. However, we weren’t created for money but we were created to find that security and satisfaction in the promise that God will be with us forever and never abandon us. As little children do you remember going to your parents and telling them about your fears and things that would trouble you. At those moments you didn’t want to hear the best and most sorted plan to deal with your issues but what calmed you and gave you so much of rest was when your parents put their arms around you and told you that they would be there with you. Now there was nothing more to be afraid of. Isn’t it weird how God tells us that in an even more serious way…by sealing these promises with his blood, but we still don’t believe?

3. Identifying the Desire to be rich (v9-10)

9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Another important lesson for the church today is identifying the desires of your heart. We live in a culture and generation where the one who chases after money, gets it and lives a lavish lifestyle is praised! We love listening and talking about rags to riches stories. Materialism is all around us or rather within our hearts…sometimes we get so desperate that we’ll do anything to be able to latch onto material things. These are verses that should give us a sober warning. The love of money is seriously dangerous. Just to clarify, you don’t need to be rich to have the love of money. It’s the desire of your heart. Here are few things we can understand from these verses:

1) By having a love for money we open ourselves to various temptations. The love for money is a huge breeding ground for sin and the attacks of Satan. Because you are constantly thinking of how you need more money to give you a life you always wanted or to buy you things that you always desired. You become open to compromising your faith to get what you want. This leads to destruction.
2) It is a root of all kinds of evil. We probably don’t expect this to be a root of evil. We may expect adultery or sexual immorality to be the root. However, this verse should really give a strong warning that “all kinds of evil” spring up from this desire. No wonder one of the qualifications of an elder and deacon is “should not be a lover of money”.
3) Through this desire, people have wandered away from the faith! I think this has to be the saddest consequence of harbouring the love of money. The worst thing that can happen to a person is not lose a job, lose money or anything else but is to go away from our loving Saviour. It’s like in the Garden of Eden where the saddest moment was when Adam and Eve hid from the presence of God. Moving away from our Creator and Sustainer – you won’t be living without Him! You wouldn’t have been born at all without Him. Not just that but he loved us so much that while we were still sinners, he died a painful death on a cross. He died to redeem us from the curse of being separated from God. He died so that we can be with Him forever. Why would you want to wander away from such a loving Saviour?

Ask yourself these questions to know if you are a lover of money?

Is money controlling your life? Is the presence or absence of money changing you and the way you behave with others?

Would you do anything you can do to get more money? Would you compromise your faith to get more money?

Is money always on your mind?

Maybe the love of money doesn’t quite apply to your current situation. Could it be possible that like the false teachers in Ephesus that in some way you are looking at godliness as a means to some gain? Money, popularity, fame, self righteousness, acceptance etc. Would you repent of that desire and turn to Christ to help and strengthen you? Or you’ve recognized how you’ve been discontent with life and what you have…would you repent and trust on the promise that Christ would never leave you nor forsake you?

As you all know that we are doing an expository preaching through the book of 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus, the name of the series is “God Alive Church”

Why “God Alive Church”?

The name “God Alive Church” is because these books educate and express God’s heart of what an ideal church should look like, a church that is Alive and nor dead, a church that is fulfilling the purpose of its existence, a Church that is living out an exemplary life in every way, setting an example to the world around by her actions and words and lifestyle.

A church that is truly in love with her to-be Groom, her lover, her saviour – Jesus Christ, who left his heavenly glory and stooped down to express his love by saving us from the clutches of our sin, arrogance & rebellion, paid the penalty of our sin by dying on the cross and promising us eternal life in the Kingdom of God.

The Church of Christ is meant to be much more than what we have thought of, heard of, imagined of. And I believe these letters give us the right perspective, an understanding and glimpses of Jesus’s heart from his bride.

And imagine, the church that Jesus loves, the church we are talking about is US, bunch of people who are still unsorted in life, people who still struggle with our indwelling sins, people who are still immature in so many ways, people who still have doubts in our head, people who’re yet to understand and acquire the full knowledge of God’s love in so many ways.

And dealing with people especially sinful people like us is the most difficult task. And I believe these letters written by Paul to the church of Ephesus lays down a list of practical and solid foundations of what it means to be the church of Jesus Christ especially in our actions, our words, our conduct, our behaviour, our lifestyle, the way we deal with false and corrupt teachers, the way we care for the poor and needy, the way we treat the elders God has placed over us.

It is amazing to see how Jesus cares about every single detail of our lives as he continues to refine and purify our hearts, sanctify us in every possible way to present us as a holy and spotless bride before God the Father.

The reason I’m emphasizing on this is because in times of struggle and despair it is so easy for us to entertain thoughts like God doesn’t care, he doesn’t love, he’s absent from my lives. In the light of what we’re learning from these letters I want to encourage you to see how much God cares about every single detail of your life. I want you to see how concerned he is for you, how committed he is to help us see him clearly and to live for him and for his glory.

Often times we look for answers in the wrong place. But God, in so many ways have already spoken and expressed himself in the scriptures that all we have to do is to dive into this precious book, learn the truths about God, his purpose for our lives and the glorious life he has promised for us in heaven.

Today’s passage which is 1 Timothy 6:1-2 is one of those verses that show us how deep God is involved in our everyday life.

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As you see here Paul is talking very specifically to a certain group of people and they are the ones who are under the yoke as bondservants.

Who are these bondservants that Paul is talking to?

A bondservant in bible times were slaves – “the ones who were prepared to obey to, and entirely at the disposal of their masters”. During the time of Jesus and the first-century church, it is said that as much as one third of the Roman population were slaves.

Historical records reveal that it was not unusual for Jews to own slaves during the New Testament period. Because slavery was a familiar part of the culture, Jesus sometimes referred to slaves and owners in His parables (e.g., Matthew 25:14-30 and Luke 12:41-48).

Since we’re talking about slavery, as a side note I was surprised to read an article on The wall street journal website posted last year that states India as one of the top countries with the most number of slaves, around 18 million of them in many forms, from domestic to sexual to bonded and child labor. Something we all need to pray about and take action as the Lord leads.

But I want to point you to another kind of subtle slavery in which we live, the one that we often don’t seem to notice and are barely concerned about, it’s called wage slavery.

Wikipedia defines Wage slavery as

“Wage slavery is usually used to refer to a situation where a person’s livelihood depends on wages or a salary, especially when the dependence is total and immediate.”

At thing point I am not going to comment whether it is good or bad, I do have my opinion on it but I will save it for another day and time. All I want to point here is that if we have to contextualize the people to whom Paul is addressing as bondservants in verse 1 then it applies to all of us who work in the corporate world. If bondservant hood was the culture in Jesus’s time then “Wage Slavery” is the culture of the present age.

What Paul goes on to say in the next verses is “regard your masters (which in our bosses and managers) as worthy of all honour.

Now, that may sound pretty scary to some of you’ll. But this is the word of the Lord says. And I especially like the reasoning Paul gives on why we need conduct in this manner with our bosses and managers.

He says “so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled”. The Amplified version of the bible puts it this way “so that the name of God and the teaching [about Him] will not be spoken against.”

In Ephesians 6:5-8 Paul gives another perspective on how salves need to serve their masters.
He says “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.”

What Paul is essentially saying is that the way in which we conduct ourselves towards our earthly masters (our employers) defines whether or not we are living for the glorify of God’s name and whether or not we are being a true witness of Jesus Christ and the Gospel.

In the light of Paul’s comments the question we need to ask is how are some ways in which we dishonour earthly boss’s and manager that makes them look down on us or speak against the God we worship and make our testimony ineffective at workplace.

So, I want to share 5 such areas where we fail in our workplace which leads our hearts to stop giving our best and makes us look down on our earthly masters, eventually failing to glorifying God and make the most of Jesus in our lives.

1. When we fail to see our work as a gift from God & our workplace as an opportunity to serve

Many Christians hold a decidedly unbiblical view of work. Some view it as a curse, or at least as part of the curse of living in a fallen world. Others make a false distinction between what they perceive as the sacred—serving God—and the secular—everything else. And others make it into an idol, expecting it to provide them with their identity and purpose in life as well as being a source of joy and fulfilment that only God can provide.

Here’s an interesting verse from Ecclesiastes 5:18-19 that gives a good perspective on how we should view our toiling under the sun.

Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God.

Beloved, our jobs are a gift from God that enables us to provide for our families and to enjoy life. When I think of hundreds and thousands of people who struggle to find a decent job to give a good life to their family it makes me happy to know that God has always blessed me with the right job at the right time.

Think about it – It was because of a decent job at the beginning of my career that enabled me to get married and think of having a family. It was because of a decent job that paid me enough I am able to bring my children and provide for them. I can think of much better and talented people who could have done my job better than me but God chose to bless me with it.

Work allows us to exercise the gifts and abilities God gives each person, whether paid or unpaid. God expects adults to provide for themselves and for the family. Scripture says, “If one will not work, neither let him eat!”.

1 Timothy 5:8 – But if someone does not provide for his own, especially his own family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

Ephesians 6:8 says “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.”

This verse helps us to see and consider our jobs as an opportunity to serve the Lord and his people.
Beloved, if you’ve never seen it this way before I want to encourage your hearts to see your jobs as a gift from God and as an opportunity to serve.

You see, by doing so you will guard your heart from giving in to bitterness and anguish that often turns our hearts against our earthly masters.

The second reason we fail to glorify God in our workplace is ..

2. When we fail to empathize with the fallen state of our earthly bosses

Our human tendency is always to takes thing personally when we don’t get the appreciation that we think we deserve from our bosses. I hear people always complain that their bosses don’t appreciate their work, is such nasty guy, arrogant and selfish.

But here’s the thing we need to know about our earthly bosses and ourselves.

“The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it? – Jeremiah 17:9

“Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.” – Ephesians 2:3

The verse remind us of the fallen state of mankind on how deceitful and desperately sick people are because of their sins, and we can empathize with them because we too were once slaves to sins indulging in the desires of the flesh and of the mind.

I remember working for this company where we had this senior guy who took a team review meet at the end of every week where each one of us were asked to present the status of our work. At the beginning I always went back from these meeting discouraged because he would always criticize our work and never appreciated the ideas we would present before him, and the funny thing was instead he would take our ideas and present it back to us in another meeting as if it was his idea.

In my early days I tried my best to be better every time I met him until one day I decided to see him the way he is wired because of his fallen state and began to empathize with him and pray for him and never took his nasty comments seriously. You see, It helped me approach the situation in a different way and God showed his favour. When I left the organization he appreciated me for my talents and sent me with his blessings.

Beloved, there are people in this world who are so deep down in their sin that no matter how hard you wish they’d change they will never change unless we present our Saviour Jesus who changed our lives. And we can only do that if our lifestyle, attitude and hard work glorifies God and presents the teaching of Jesus as authentic and truly life changing.

The third reason we fail to glorify God in our workplace is ..

3. When we fail to respond in love and forgiveness

When things don’t go our way, when our boss start acting too bossy, when the culture at work become dominating and frustrating – Our natural response is always to become angry, throw tantrums and nurture hatred in our hearts. Instead the scripture encourages us to consider forgiving our masters and respond in love.

Mark 11:25 – And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

1 Cor 13:4-7 – Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

The scripture teaches us to be patient and kind, not to be arrogant and rude. It encourages us to bear all things, believe all things, hope all things and endure all things until God opens another door.

Have you heard of people who throw their jobs away, write hate mails to their bosses because they are angry and full of hatred? If you’ve not heard of such a story then I can tell you one.

Unfortunately and shamefully I have to admit that I once did that in one of my early days where I was so angry with my boss because of his arrogant behaviour that I ran away without even informing him and even sent a hate mail. I so regret my behaviour and wish someone had preached this sermon to me.

But instead of reacting in our anger if can respond to that situation in love and show a forgiving heart, by doing so we will protect our hearts from sinning against our bosses and will end up glorifying our

God and his teachings even more.

The fourth reason we fail to glorify God in our workplace is ..

4. When we fail to diligently & faithfully complete the tasks assigned to us

Proverbs 10:4 – Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.

Proverbs 12:24 – The hand of the diligent will rule, But the slack hand will be put to forced labor.

Please note that it not always the fault of our bosses and managers that puts us in a situation that’s frustrating and unproductive. Most often it is also our faults when we fail to diligently and faithfully complete the tasks assigned to us.

It could be because of our pride that we sometimes don’t work diligently and faithfully, or just shear laziness that prevents us from giving our best. And If that is true about us than we need to repent of our sins and ask God for forgiveness.

Proverbs 16:18 says “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall”

Proverbs 13:4 – “The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, But the soul of the diligent is made fat.”

Blaming our employer for the absence of growth in our lives because of our lazy and proud attitude is an absolute foolishness. It even projects us as a bad example to the unbelieving world bringing shame to our Christian family name. It allows people to criticize our faith and belief in Jesus and his teachings.

The fifth reason we fail to glorify God in our workplace is ..

5. When we fail to rely on God as our provider

One other common complaint we often hear from working professionals is their dissatisfaction with their monthly paycheck which I believe often leads our hearts to not giving our best at work and look down on our employer.

In a situation like this would you consider thinking of God as the one who provides your monthly income and not your employer?

1 Chronicles 29:12. “Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone.”

Even though it is our employer who signs out monthly paycheck I want to remember that ultimately it is God who is our provider. We need to settle down in our heart that what God has provisioned for you at this season of our life is the best.

In Proverbs 30:8-9 the author writes
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me,
9 lest I be full and deny you
and say, “Who is the LORD?”
or lest I be poor and steal
and profane the name of my God.

You see, God knows the right balance for his children. He won’t give us too much that will lead our hearts astray and wont give us too less that will make us steal and profane his name.

The right balance to enjoying prosperity is in conjunction with the prosperity of our soul. In 3 John 1:2

John makes a prayer and says “Beloved, I pray that in every way you may prosper and enjoy good health, as your soul also prospers.”

And therefore instead of worrying too much about our pay check I suggest that we should be more concerned about protecting our soul from getting corrupted and believe that as your soul prospers in God you may also prosper all other godly things.

And finally in 1 Timothy 6:2 Paul goes on to say

Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved.

First of all, It is blessing if you get to serve under an employer who is a believer. You need to be thankful to God. Paul’s encouragement to these people is that they must serve their masters even better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved.

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/jinson-nuew-edited.mp3″]

As a church we’ve been going through a series titled “God Alive Church” reading through the pastoral epistles of 1 & 2nd Timothy and Titus. It’s been a joy for me personally to read and discover God’s plan for the church and how He intends that the life of the church be shaped by the gospel. The gospel changes the way we relate with each other – the family of God. The gospel allows us to live out our God given roles within the church and the home. The gospel produces God glorifying lifestyle. A godly life is the product of the gospel! Last week we got into some more practical applications of the gospel life.

As we read through the first 16 verses of 1 Timothy 5, we learnt about the 5 signs of a healthy church life:
a) Being considerate and respectful of one another
b) Giving generously
c) Testing and validating believers
d) Seeking sexual purity
e) Avoiding slanderous talk.

This week we look at v17 through 25, Paul gives instructions to Timothy on how to care for the elders in the church. We probably are well versed with the care that needs to be given to the congregation but what kind of care would need to be given to the elders? If this were an organization, probably this question about caring for your leaders wouldn’t come up. We know however that the church is the family of God. In a family everyone takes care and responsibility of each other. So what does it look like?

17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.” 19 Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 20 As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. 21 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality. 22 Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure. 23 (No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.) 24 The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later. 25 So also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden.

Let me put it out there that it feels a little strange to preach on this topic being an elder myself. I wouldn’t want to lay it down as though these were my own thoughts. These are the words from Scripture – and so let’s remind ourselves that this carries the authority from God.

Coming back to this passage, I believe there are three ways by which we can care for our elders:
1. By supporting them (v17-18)
2. By being prudent in handling accusations against them (v19-21)
3. By being patient in selecting them. (v22-25)

1. By supporting them (v17-18)

17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”

The first verse starts by mentioning let the elders who rule well as a prerequisite for considering those worthy of double honor.
What does that mean? For this we’ll turn 1 Peter 5 which I think is a great measuring stick for an elder to assess himself:

2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight,[a] not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you;[b] not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

Elders are called to be shepherds of the flock. The imagery is of a shepherd tenderly and gently taking care of his sheep. How do they shepherd and oversee the flock of God?
a) By doing it willingly and not under compulsion
b) By doing it eagerly without desiring some shameful gain
c) Not abusing the flock but rather being examples to them.

And it says when the Chief Shepherd appears, elders that have “ruled well” will receive the unfading crown of glory. And that surpasses any other incentive or kickback in this lifetime – receiving honor from God!

Another thing we see here is “double honor”. What does that mean? I think it means a couple of things. Firstly, it means respecting and submitting to their leadership. And this is not an easy thing to do in our natural self. Our natural self runs away from submitting to any kind of authority. Be it parents, or spouse, or teachers, or boss, or government or God. In our sin, we are prewired to rebel against all authorities. But that changes when we come to know and believe in Jesus. We realize that though Jesus is God the Son, He submits to the Father and is fully obedient to Him. In God’s wisdom He created authorities in our lives to help us understand the intimate relationship between the members of the Trinity. So even in your church setting, when you submit to the leadership of your elders and other people who might be discipling you, know that you are becoming more like Christ in that process.

Secondly, I think honor also refers to financial support. How can we say that? Because of v18 which quotes two verses. The first verse says “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” which is an OT reference. Now I don’t any of us is familiar with farming analogies so this will need some explaining. What this means is when the ox is plowing the field, it deserves to partake in some of his own labor. The command is to not muzzle the ox when he is trying to eat the grain. Apparently in OT times other nations would actually muzzle the ox and not allow him to eat. The Israelites had to stand out in terms of its fairness and compassion towards animals. Similarly, Paul uses this verse to state how elders who “labor in the word” need to be treated fairly by receiving financial support for their ministry. He explains this in a little more detail in 1 Cor 9:9-14:

9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? 10 Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. 11 If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12 If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more?

Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. 13 Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? 14 In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.

Then the next quote that Paul uses in 1 Timothy 5:18 is “The laborer deserves his wages.”

This is a command from Jesus when Jesus sends out the Twelve in Matthew 10 and 72 disciples in Luke 10.

“And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house.” Luke 10:7

This kind of financial support is given to the elder so that it can free him up to focus on the work that God has appointed him to do for the church.

Also we notice in v17 is that it mentions “those who labor in preaching and teaching”. When you think about labor what pictures come to your mind? It’s wearisome, tiring hard work to be able to communicate God’s truth accurately!

It’s like a person holding precious jewels (Word of God) and sharing it with his friends with utmost care. That’s why this passage doesn’t agree with those preachers that expect a spontaneous revelation from God to preach God’s Word. Lack of preparation is justified by saying that they are led by the Spirit. That’s not how it is. There is labor that goes into preaching and teaching the Word of God. Why? Because it takes work to remove the pre-conceived notions and erroneous thoughts we may have about God and our own hearts. The hard work is not in creating a sermon. It’s easy to manufacture a man made message. The hard part is to remove the baggage to allow God to speak clearly and powerfully through Scripture. The preparation time is bathed in prayer asking God to help us apply this to the congregation.

An illustration would be of a mother that takes time to think and prepare a meal for her kids that would nourish them and also make it enjoyable for them. Just making a tasty meal is not enough; she makes something that’s healthy for them. After 3-4 hours when the meal is prepared the kids enjoy the meal.

This labor is not just in words but also in deeds. There is labor in discipling people with a lifestyle that’s consistent to the message.

7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. (Heb 13:7)

We are all called to be disciple-makers. (Matthew 28:19-20) Disciple-making happens not just verbally but as you show people how to love, obey and trust Christ. That’s why it becomes hard to teach someone forgiveness when you yourself harbour unforgiveness in your heart.

Having said that, let me also say that elders don’t perfectly obey their sermons. That’s why we need to preach the same message to ourselves. Elders are also sinners saved by grace. We are need of Christ’s grace each day as much as anyone else. So the question is what should the church imitate and absorb from the elders? Their pursuit of Christ.
1) Are they pursuing Christ through prayer and the Word? If yes, copy that
2) Are they frequently repenting of the idols in their lives? If yes, copy that
3) Are they humbling themselves before the gospel every day? If yes, copy that.

So one of the first ways by which we can care for our elders is by supporting them: showing them honor, submitting to their leadership, financial support and imitating their pursuit of Christ.

2. By being prudent in handling accusations against them. (v19-21)

19 Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 20 As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. 21 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality.

The lives of the elders are always on scrutiny because they lead the church. Therefore there are always going to people who would disagree with decisions they take or have some accusations against them. What biblically we see here is that the God honouring way of handling accusations against elders is by admitting a charge only when evidence is provided by two or three witnesses.

This is not absolving them nor overlooking the accusations made against them but being fair to the God called and appointed elders of the church.

V20 talks about the case where an elder is proven guilty of a disqualifying sin and continues to persist in it. In this case, the elder who is persisting in rebellion will need to be publicly rebuked and corrected. This is important because it highlights how seriously the church views sin matters. A public correction reassures the congregation that a disqualifying sin by an elder will not be covered up. As we know elders are pace-setters. Therefore, even in sin matters if they aren’t corrected, it will begin to affect the church negatively.

We know of a lot of churches which have been broken because disqualifying sins of elders were covered up or tolerated. Just imagine the brokenness among believers when they find out that their pastor is caught in adultery or homosexuality. Furthermore, they are even more discouraged when they see these things being covered up or tolerated. One of the other disqualifying sins according to 1 Timothy 3 is also “he shouldn’t be a lover of money”. Yet there are many churches in the world where the pastor is an outright lover of money and his lifestyle is being applauded. It’s damaging to church!

After telling this to Timothy, Paul presents a picture of a heavenly court with God the Father, Jesus and other angels looking on. In front of this heavenly court Paul testifies and commands

Timothy to be faithful in rebuking any elder publicly who has persisted in disqualifying sin. When it comes to this, there is no room for being biased or partial.

I really think a lot of the churches in world would look very different if disqualified leaders would be publicly rebuked as laid down in this passage. How much more purer and devoted would the church be as a result of this? Also, I think the church would look a lot more different if the church was more prudent in admitting charges against the elder. This is the second way how you can care for an elder.

3. By being patient in selecting them. (v22-25)

22 Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure. 23 (No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.) 24 The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later. 25 So also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden.

Laying on of hands is a biblical symbol of appointing ministers to service either elders or deacons. What Paul was telling Timothy is that he shouldn’t be quick in appointing elders. Not before he assesses their theology, lifestyle, maturity and witness. And these things take time. That’s why v24 says “the sins of others appear later”. This is contrary to what we see in the world. For eg: if you’ve gone to seminary and got a degree – people say “you are fit to be an elder automatically”! Or if you’re involved in church activities, “well you should try ministry”. In fact v22 says that if you appoint someone hastily to be an elder, you also share in the responsibility of the elder’s future sin. That’s what it means when it says “nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure”. Time and time again we see examples of people being pushed too early to lead a church without having their lives analysed. It wrecks havoc.

Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out. (Proverbs 10:9)

Your sin will find you.

That’s why I added this point of being patient in selecting elders because the best way you can also love your brother who has potential and is passionate about Jesus is to also wait until he matures in his speech and lifestyle before he is given that role. In Acts 19:10, it is reported that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks! That is astounding! Now just imagine the requirement for elders in each of those churches. Must’ve been huge. More than anyone else they would’ve wanted to have elders in place merely to organize themselves. Yet Paul says “do not be hasty in the laying on of hands”. How does that speak to our culture where we want everything to happen instantly? Yes, we should disciple people…give them opportunities to serve the church…train them to be more effective in evangelism but be slow when it comes to appointing them as deacons or elders. “Let them be tested first…let them not be a recent convert”…those are the instructions for deacons and elders.

The encouragement is in v25 where it says that “So also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden.”

The good works (lifestyle) of people will also be evident, so if you are living life in your community, your community will be in the best place to identify you as someone who can be qualified as an elder.

This passage gives us a good guideline on how can we care for our elders : by supporting them, being prudent in handling accusations and being patient in selecting them. What are some places where you feel God has been speaking to you today? Is it something God wants to change in your beliefs? In your attitudes? In your actions?

Last Sunday we learned how to discern whether we are listening to right biblical teaching by applying the 4 principles i.e right teaching, right living, right community & right scrutiny.

Right biblical teaching will always lead our hearts to sound teaching of the scripture pointing our hearts to Christ and the Gospel, help us live godly lives, join us with godly community and convict our hearts of sin.

In our passage today which is 1 Timothy 5:1-16 I believe Paul is getting into the practical aspects of church life. After addressing false doctrine and rebuking false teachers, pruning the church from anything or anyone that was taking the focus away from Christ and the Gospel. Paul goes on to speak specific things about church life that needed attention.

In these passages Paul lays down a number of instructions and I want all of us to keep in mind that since the context of the church life in Ephesus is quite different to ours we wont be able to literally take the instructions as if it relates to us today. Like for example, Paul giving specific and elaborate instruction regarding widows. The reason being there were many widows in the community at that time and the church had taken responsibility to care for them.

And how come there were so many widows in the church? Well, historians say there may well have been two classes of women here. There were certainly widows who had become widows in the normal way by the death of their husbands. But it was not uncommon in the pagan world, in certain places, for a man to have more than one wife. When a man became a Christian, he could not go on being a polygamist, and therefore had to choose which wife he was going to live with. That meant that some wives had to be sent away and they were clearly in a very unfortunate position. It may be that such women as these were also reckoned as widows and given the support of the Church.

So, instead of taking each of those instruction literally we will try to understand God’s heart behind these instructions and try and apply them in our context.

These instructions were given as practical applications to consider in a normal and a healthy church life.

And there are five such application that I can see in these passages.

1. Being considerate & respectful of one another

The first sign of a healthy church is where people are considerate & respectful of each other.

In verse 1 & 2 Paul writes “Do not rebuke an older man harshly but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.”

Even though this instruction may specially apply to Timothy and others leaders where Paul is saying do not rebuke an older man harshly, while rebuking is clearly an elders role. But we see God heart wherein he wants them to be considerate of the old age and deal with an old man as they would with their own father.

In the later verses Paul goes on to say “Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity”

In a generation where all these respectable attributes are fading away even from Christian families and churches, God’s heart still remains the same and calls every child to continue to show love and respect to strangers just as they would do to their own family members.

A few months back I happen to see a video from one of my previous churches, its the church where I was mentored and discipled by an elderly pastor, the church where I met Jane and served God as a young man.

It was a clip where the some leaders and members of the church broke out in a fight with the Pastor concerning some church issues. It was not the issue regarding which they were having a fight that disturbed but the manner in which they were talking and shouting at each other. In the chaos there was this young girl in her twenties got up from the crowd and snatch the microphone from the pastor hand to stop him from speaking.

A clear act of disrespect to the elders and other members of the church and it is happening in our generation, in our churches today.

Philippians 2:3-4
“Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

Titus 3:2
To speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.

Brothers & Sisters, being considerate and respectful of one another is a sign of a healthy and flourishing church. One that God desires from his children.

2. Giving generously

The second sign of a healthy church life is where people give generously.

Verse 3-8 Paul writes
“Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives. Give the people these instructions, so that no one may be open to blame. Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

[16] If any woman who is a believer has widows in her care, she should continue to help them and not let the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who are really in need.

Even though Paul in talking about giving in context to the situation with widows his general observation is that people within the church are giving importance to their religious practices but completely ignore to care for their families. He goes on to say in the last verse that “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

If we look at the early church we will notice that giving was an essential part of church life.

Acts 4:32-35 says
“All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.”

Matthew 12:41-44 records an event where “Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. 43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Our society values how much a person has; God values how much a person gives. When Jesus watched the widow, He praised her who cast in just two mites—a fraction of a penny—because it represented such a sacrifice. Though money itself is not evil, loving money leads to all kinds of evil.

The best protection we have against the sorrows that come from loving money is to cultivate generous hearts. And therefore we need to look for opportunities to use the resources God has given to us (even if they do not seem to be great) for the benefit of others. Rather than waiting until you have enough to give, we need to be generous and give as the Lord leads.

Giving generously is the sign of a healthy and flourishing church.

3. Testing and validating spirits

The third sign of a healthy church is to be able to discern, test and validate true and devoted believers from the flock.

Verse 9-10
9 No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband, 10 and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the Lord’s people, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.

Often churches are assumed to be a place where human spirits are celebrated regardless of the heart motives of people. Where correcting and being bias is looked down on.
But unlike what people assume the church should look like, the scripture clearly demands church authorities to discern, test and validate true and devoted believers, the people under our care and supervision.

Paul is telling Timothy not to include widows who are under sixty, has been unfaithful to her husband, known for bad deeds, not bringing up their children well, not showing hospitality, not washing the feet of the Lord’s people and not helping others in times of trouble.

Can you imagine Timothy and other leaders standing at the door and telling some of widows to go back home for the reasons mentioned above? Would you be part of a church where you see this happening in front of your eyes? What will be your reaction? Will you look down on the church or will you honor Gods word and his governance displayed through the elders of the church.

Beloved, discerning, testing and validating true and devoted believers from the flock is the sign of a healthy church life.

4. Seeking sexual purity

The fourth sign of a healthy church life as described in the passage is seeking sexual purity above everything else.

Verse 11-15
11 As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list. For when their sensual desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they want to marry. 12 Thus they bring judgment on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge.

14 So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes

God’s heart for the church is to seek sexual purity above everything else. Please note Paul is asking Timothy not to consider younger widows on such list because there is a possibility that their sensual desires cam overcome their dedication to Christ.

It is a proactive step Paul is asking Timothy to take just in case an event like that may occur.

You see, As long as we are in our flesh we are and will always be prone to fall for our sensual desires. And that is why it is important to constantly guard our hearts and avoid any such circumstances to damage our devotion to Christ.

It happens when we daily remind ourselves the Gospel. Remembering what Jesus did for us on the cross of cavalry, that he died on our place for our sins, broke the bond of slavery to sin and made our bodies slaves to righteousness.

Unlike what most people think when they fall in to sin that the power of sin is greater than their willpower. But it is the lack devotion to Christ and his finished work on the cross that often leads our hearts astray.

Beloved, sexual purity within the body of Christ is a serious matter for Jesus.

1 Corinthians 6:18
Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;

Hebrews 13:4
Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

In the case of young widows Paul says I rather prefer that these widows would get married, have children & manage their homes.

Seeking for sexual purity within us and among the church members is a sign of a healthy church.

5. Avoid Slandering. Talking nonsense and say things they ought not to.

The fifth and the final sign of a healthy church is that it is careful not to slander, get into senseless discussions and avoid say things to each other that are not true.

13 Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also busybodies who talk nonsense, saying things they ought not to.

14 So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander. 15 Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan.

Another reason why Paul is saying not to include young widows in the list is also because of their habit of being idle and becoming idlers, busybodies who talk nonsense and say things they ought not to. And by doing so Paul says some have even turned away to follow Satan.

Here Paul is out rightly against young widows making pretty judgmental statement against those who slander, give themselves to idleness and speak nonsense in the church.

I think the churches today have become quite tolerant of these behaviors in the church which is leading the hearts of people especially new believers away from the Lord. This passage suggest that we need to be quite intolerant to these behavioral patterns so that the church sets itself as an example to the world outside.

Matthew 12:36
I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,

Psalm 101:5
Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly I will destroy. Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart I will not endure.

Luke 6:45
The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Avoiding slander, withdrawing ourselves from either speaking or listening to senseless talks is s sign of a healthy church.

[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.

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?

[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.

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!

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/jinson-23-04-2017-new.mp3″]

Good morning church! It’s been just a wonderful process to know what the will of God is for the church (the family of God). Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen biblically how men and women have complementary roles within the home and the church. We also looked at the qualifications and the roles of an elder…how God desires faithful men to lead, care and protect His church.

Always remember elders are under-shepherds to the Chief Shepherd Jesus Christ. I hope this series on 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and Titus doesn’t feel like an academic study on the structure of a church. Rather let’s remind ourselves that as people live out their roles within the church, God’s church is being built up into the maturity and fullness of the head, Jesus Christ! (Ephesians 4) And we are collectively called “the body of Christ”. Not a few individuals, not just the elders but all of us together form the body of Christ. That is the goal that we are working towards. So let’s look at the passage carefully to understand what it says.

8 Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued,[c] not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. 9 They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. 11 Their wives likewise[d] must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. 13 For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

Today’s passage in focus deals with the topic of Deacons. So I would like to split it into three parts:

1. Who is a Deacon?
2. What are the qualifications for deacons?
3. What does this mean for each of us today?

Firstly, let’s try and understand who or what is a deacon. The word “Deacon” is derived from the Greek word “Dee-ak-on-os” which means “one who serves”. Deacons are Christians who are appointed to serve with the elders of the church in a variety of ways. Just to add, this is not a derogatory responsibility. In John 13, Jesus washes the feet of the disciples which was something that a slave/servant would do to symbolically show his disciples how they were to serve one another. So every believer in the church needs to be a “servant”.

In Acts 6:1-7, we see deacons being mentioned for the first time. Due to the increasing number of Christians, at one time the Greek speaking Jews complained about the Hebrew speaking Jews.

They said that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. So the 12 apostles gathered together all the believers and told them that it wouldn’t be right for them to give up the preaching of the word of God to wait on tables. So they asked the believers to select seven men among them of good reputation, full of Spirit and wisdom who will be appointed for this duty. Seven men were selected among whom were Stephen and Philip the evangelist so that the apostles could devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word. They prayed and laid their hands on these deacons and the very next verse (v7) says that the number of disciples multiplied greatly. There you see the impact of deacons in the building of the body. This work was different from what the apostles and the elders did, but it in no way was inferior or lesser in value.

When we learnt about the roles of the elders, we saw how the elders are to feed the flock with the preaching of the word, elders are to care for the flock by leading them eagerly and being examples for them and they are to protect the flock from false teachings and false teachers. Teaching and exercising oversight are the responsibilities of an elder. Apart from that, there are a variety of roles that deacons can serve in. They can include administration, handling finances of the church, music ministry, helping the poor and widows, children’s ministry etc.

Secondly, let’s come to the question: what are the qualifications for a deacon? So let’s turn to 1 Tim 3:8-13.

8 Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued,[c] not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain.

Why does it say “likewise”? In the same manner? It’s obviously telling us that there’s a link between the qualifications of elders and qualifications for deacons. As we go ahead, you’ll see similarities and the differences. One thing we can notice right off this verse is that just like elders, deacons also need to exhibit strong character qualities.

It says deacons “must be”. These are not optional qualifications for good deacons. There’s no second cut off list for the second grade of deacons. These are compulsory requirements for a person to be qualified as a deacon.

Deacons must be “dignified”. The word dignified means a person having honorable and respectable character. In other words, he needs to have a character which is being respected and looked up to. Now why would that be necessary? You might think…ok I get why an elder needs to have this requirement, why does a deacon also need that?

The reason is because deacons serve the church with elders. It’s the same people that both the deacons and the elders are ministering to…the family of God.

When Paul writes to the Philippians in 1:1 he says, “Paul and Timothy, servants[a] of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers[b] and deacons”

They are together in this. It’s the same church that Christ loved so much that He gave Himself up for. (Ephesians 5:25)

It’s the same church of God that “Christ obtained and purchased with His blood.” (Acts 20:28)

This is a serious call and responsibility!

A deacon must be “not double-tongued”. What does that mean?

It means double speech. Saying one thing with one person and another thing with another person. Now why would that be important? The book of James has a lot to say about this.

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. (James 1:26)

4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life,[a] and set on fire by hell.[b] 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue.

It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. (James 3:4-8)

For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; (1 Pet 3:10)

The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. (Luke 6:45)

I’m sure all of us at some point or the other have had friends who have been double-talkers. Isn’t it dangerous? Double-talk is poisonous and destructive and hence that becomes an important quality to examine in a person who wants to be a deacon.

A deacon must be “not addicted to much wine” which means not being attached to wine or be controlled by wine.

I think this is a point that is easier to accept by Indian culture because culturally it is viewed as something wrong. But at the same time, the stereotype for a Christian in the world today is someone who’s drunk and parties all the time. Every time I tell people how I don’t drink, it just puzzles people. They mostly think I’m crazy for taking this stance but I have to say it does identify me as someone different. As believers, we have the unique privilege of responding to any kind of excess with “we know someone better. We experience something better with Christ. There’s no need to get a high with alcohol when we experience immense pleasure in the presence of God!” So that’s the key here, is being defined not by a substance mastering over you but by being defined by Christ who lives in and through you.

Then it says that a deacon “must not be greedy for dishonest gain.”

The Greek actually means “must not be greedy for money”. And this is a big thing for churches. Churches have been divided and broken over money. Leaders and deacons who people thought were spiritual were in fact harbouring a love for money in their hearts. When it reaches its tipping point, this plays out in a very divisive, evil manner. That’s exactly what 1 Tim 6:10 says “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (Matt 6:24)

What these two passages tell us is how evil and idolatrous the love for money can be. Money is literally the other god we make in our lives. And Jesus says “you will love one and hate the other”.

“You will be devoted to one and despise the other”. I wouldn’t want to be the one who hates and despises God but that’s what our love for money does. So not only are you dividing the church with your love for money but you’re also telling people that “money is more secure, dependable, satisfying and valuable than God”. And that’s a lie! Money doesn’t give anything. And that’s why a deacon should first be a worshiper and lover of God who doesn’t hold on to his pocket tightly.

9 They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.

Deacons must cling on to and be closely joined to the “mystery of the faith”.

Now when we think about mystery we usually think about something secret, something unknowable but when the Bible uses this phrase “mystery of the faith”, it refers to the hidden purposes of God which God fully reveals in Jesus: “The gospel”. The gospel for many generations before Christ was hidden. People weren’t fully aware nor understood how God was planning all along to redeem them through the sacrifice of His only Son.

Deacons need to cling onto the gospel with a clear conscience – a pure conscience! And we learnt some time back that the phrase “keeping faith and pure conscience” means holding onto the gospel and having a life consistent with it. Now why is that required?

a) Because the gospel helps us see God for who He is.

He is a Righteous God who punishes sin! He doesn’t overlook or ignore sin but deals with it because He is Just and Holy. At the same time, he is a loving God who doesn’t want to destroy His creation so He sends His Son to take on the whole punishment for sin. Through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, we can now see, love and fellowship with God as He is.

b) Because the gospel gives us our true identity.

We are chosen before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before God. We were predestined to be adopted as God’s sons and daughters through Jesus, we have redemption through Christ’s blood, and in Christ we have full forgiveness of sins. (Eph 1:3-10)

Family, apart from the gospel we will relate with God either in fear or arrogance. But through the good news, we see Him as the loving God who makes us His children through His Son’s sacrifice!
We saw earlier in chapter 1 how some people by rejecting faith and a good conscience ended up shipwrecking their faith! Hence, it is a critical thing for a deacon but it is also an essential thing for a believer.

10 And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless.

As we can see in v10, there is an examination and a scrutiny that is taking place. They are not blindly appointing these deacons due to their giftings or leadership skills or serving skills but by watching their lives. And that can only be done in the context of Christian community. So your community plays a very important role in affirming your level of maturity. That’s why it doesn’t make sense when people say they are mature in the faith apart from being around and involved in Christian community. We can acquire a lot of knowledge by reading books, listening to sermons by the best of preachers but your maturity level can only be confirmed if you’re serving and living life with other believers.

Blamelessness is another requirement. Let’s remind ourselves that it doesn’t mean sinless perfection. If that were the case, then no one would qualify to be a shepherd or a deacon. So what does blamelessness mean? It means having a lifestyle free of scandal. And again here, we’ve seen how scandals have wrecked people’s faith and divided the church. Both elders and deacons need to be pace-setters not injuring people’s faith.

11 Their wives likewise[d] must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things.

Now he comes to the wives, telling how they should be respectable, not falsely accusing others but being calm and composed in their conversations. The wives are to be fully reliable in all things. At this point, you’re probably like “Wait a minute. I get why deacons should have qualifications, why should their wives also be scrutinized?” 

I think that’s why it’s essential to look at the church as the family of God. It’s not an event, not a club or an organization…it’s family! Family, as God designed it requires women to play an essential part. We see that at our homes, right? So crucial the role of a woman. The church is God’s family and so the actions of the wives of the deacons can positively or negatively impact the family.Secondly, wives can influence their husbands. If you have any doubts, talk to our forefather Adam. Therefore, it’s important to also look at their lives to qualify the man as a deacon.

12 Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well.

Similar to requirement for elders, a deacon should be loyal and faithful to his wife and also manage his children well. And again, these are not things that we usually look for in people to serve the church. Family leadership is vital to being able to serve in this capacity. This is not something that happens automatically. There is hard work that goes into staying faithful to your spouse and also leading the family well. This kind of commitment and hard work will play out even within the church if it is being practiced at home. We again see the close relationship between our family and our church family. It was never intended to be separated. And that’s why if we think about it biblically, Sunday event Christianity doesn’t make sense. It ends up being Sunday Christianity for some of us because we aren’t willing to live life with our brothers and sisters every day. Just think about the freedom you’ll have from pretending before others if you realized how we are all family in Christ. And the truth is real life together is messy but we have Christ and each other! Why do we still then live like orphans?

13 For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

It ends with an encouraging note for the hard work put in by the deacons. “They will gain a good standing for themselves” which means they will be respected and appreciated in the church for their ministry. Just to clarify, deacons shouldn’t serve because they want to be appreciated and respected by the church but instead as they eagerly and willingly serve the church, people will recognize their efforts and appreciate their work. But that kind of public acknowledgement is just one side. There’s something more than that which we will receive for a lifetime of faithful ministry:

People who serve well, will receive great boldness and confidence in the power of the gospel as they see it being proven time and time again in their own ministry. Your effectiveness in ministry will also increase as a result of this.

Sometimes, as believers we get into this self-centered space where we are only caught up in our own world and issues and insecurities…it leads us to be unsure of our faith. We end up doubting God’s purposes for us. If that’s what you are going through, let me encourage you to start serving in some capacity or the other.

It’s Christ himself who said “It’s more blessed to give than to receive”. (Acts 20:35) There is a supernatural blessing we can experience when we give our time, our money and our talents to serve someone else. We would’ve experienced this when we’ve gone to orphanages or mission trips. We go with an intention to give and not expecting anything back. More often than not we return back learning something new and feeling more satisfied than we were before.

So if you’re there today, thinking that you’ve reached a rut in your spiritual walk. You need to definitely ask yourself where’s your heart in relation to God. Repentance is necessary but that would also involve you removing your focus from yourself and placing it in people whom God has placed in your life. If you’re still figuring what that looks like, in what capacity can you serve the church, you can get in touch with either Saju or me and we’ll be happy to suggest some ways.

We did talk a great deal about the qualifications for deacons today. But I don’t want us to look at the list and think it’s not required for us. If there’s something both these qualifications teach us, it is that God desires holiness in the character of His children. We’ve cheapened the meaning of grace as believers today. Standard for purity and integrity in churches are very low. But as we see in 1 Tim 3, God has set a high standard for the church and the leaders need to set the pace. Let the requirement for holiness make us more and more dependent on Christ’s life, death and resurrection. Let it result in cries for strength and grace from heaven to be the kind of people God calls us to be.

Secondly, let’s also remind ourselves that God calls us to serve the church. Whether you are an ordained deacon or not, you are called to serve! You don’t need to be the most gifted individual leader to serve, all God desires is willingness. And as you serve people, you will begin to understand God and His attributes in many newer ways because He Himself came not to be served, but to serve (Mark 10:45). You emulate and imitate your Lord and Savior when you serve the church. What is God calling you to do today?

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

My goal today as we go through Galatians 5 is to re-instate, re-emphasize & remind you the truth of the gospel message pointing our hearts to Christ and the Freedom he achieved for us through his death burial and resurrection.

Read Galations 5

The Epistle of Galations is a letter written by Paul to the church in Galatia to address a very crucial concern and we see his concern for the church of Galatia in Galatians 1:6

1:6 – “I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel – not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to distort the gospel of Christ”

As you all know that Jesus was born in Jerusalem, in a Jewish culture. Jews are known to be the descendants of Abraham & David, people rescued from slavery in Egypt. They were the keepers of the law that was passed on by Moses on the mount of Sinai.

As decades passed this same people who knew God became a mere Law abiding citizens but their hearts were far away from God. Everything they did and performed were just external rituals mixed with traditions and influenced by the culture around them.

It is in this context that Jesus was born – The true messiah in whom all the requirement of the Law was fulfilled.

In Matthew 5:17 Jesus said “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.”

Jesus was the answer to the Law and the fulfillment of God’s promise made through his prophets and it is now by faith in Christ that we are saved and not by keeping the requirement of the law

(Ephesians 2:4-10) “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

This message of the cross is not just for the Jews but also for the gentiles (people outside Israel)… for people like us.

We see at the end of his life Jesus sent out his disciples to make disciples of all nations. Th apostle Paul was chosen to preach to the gentiles this simple gospel of Christ because of which the church of Galatians – a gentile church – who believed in this simple gospel and were living in freedom.

In this letter to Galatia Paul was upset because some Jews (the trouble makers) were infiltrating the gospel and leading people’s heart away from Christ.

1:6 – “I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel – not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to distort the gospel of Christ”

2:4 – “This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus in order to enslave us”

These Jews started teaching them that it was not enough to just put our faith in Jesus but we also need to be circumcised (it was a practice of the law) to be accepted and loved by God.

Paul was angry because this teaching was diminishing the truth of the gospel and leading people astray.

The issue was not about circumcision . – 1 Cor 7:17-24

“Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches. Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God. Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. Were you a bondservant when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.) For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ. You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men. So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God.”

Paul also complaints in 4:10-11 that the people were now observing special days, months and seasons.

4:10-11 – “You are observing special days, months, seasons, and years. I am fearful for you, that perhaps my labor for you has been wasted”

We see this kind of infiltration even in our present culture where the church is led astray by making them believe in a different gospel rather than the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

In Galations 5 Paul is re-instated, re-emphasizing and remind the people the truth of the gospel message pointing their hearts to Christ and the Freedom he achieved for them through his death burial and resurrection – Not by keeping the law but by simply putting their faith in Christ Jesus

Here are 5 Things Paul reminds them about the Freedom in Christ

1. EMBRACE YOUR FREEDOM (5:1)

“For freedom Christ has set us free”

• It is one thing to say we are free and another thing to truly believe and live it out
• We have to enjoy the fact that we are free … free in Christ .. and cherish it to the fullest
• Freedom is the goal of the gospel

o Roman 5:12,17 We are free from the curse of the Law, we are free from the curse of Adam
o Eph 2:5,6 free from spiritual death
o Free from the fear of death – Heb 2:14,15
o Free from condemnation Romans 8:1
o Free from the power of sin Romans 6:17,18
o Free from the authority of satan Colossains 1:13
o Free to inherit all that Christ has purchased for us Gal 4:5,7

• Breathe the fresh air of freedom
• It is sad to see Christians who continue to live in slavery
• Have not understood the meaning of freedom
• Freedom – Not dependent on our circumstances and situations – Depends on the truth
• We will have problems as long as we are on this earth
• The true meaning of “Freedom” is not what the world defines but it’s what Christ offers. Freedom from sin and slavery.
• We may perish on this earth – but we will flourish in heaven
• Embrace your freedom daily by reminding the gospel
• Share my heart

2. PROTECT YOUR FREEDOM (5:1)

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery”

• Paul demonstrated it in 2:4-5 saying “This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus in order to enslave us. But we did not give up and submit to these people for even a moment, so that the truth of the gospel would be preserved for you”

Wherein we also see another example in 2:11-12 where Cephas failed to protect his freedom

2:11-12 – “But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned. For he regularly ate with the gentiles before certain men came from James. However, when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, because he feared those from the circumcision party”

• Fear of man
• We don’t realize the harm it brings

Effect of Cephas hypocricy

2:13 – “Then rest of the Jews joined his hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy”

• If the freedom is lost the gospel is lost
• How do we protect our freedom?

o Don’t give in to the fear of man – Continue to do what is right
o Speak up against false teaching and defend your faith just as Paul did

3. EXPRESS YOUR FREEDOM (5:5-6)

“For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.”

• Express your freedom by waiting on the Lord for the hope of righteousness
o Which means not trying to be righteous on our own strength but by waiting and hoping in the Lord to gradually change our hearts.
• Express your freedom by putting your faith to work through love
o Which means to put your “Faith in Christ” at work through Love not your faith in your own abilities and wisdom.
• Our expression of our freedom is what talks volumes to an unbelieving heart
• When an unbeliever looks at our lives he/she notices that we have the same fleshly struggles they have but we are not enslaved by it – they see that our hope is in the Lord to rescue us and save from our treachery.
• And as time goes by they see the difference in our lives

4. EMPLOY YOUR FREEDOM (5:13-14) or USE YOUR FREEDOM

“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

• Our freedom is not something to keep to ourselves rather it is given as an opportunity to love and serve one another
• Our freedom in Christ should propel us to reach out to others .. the unloved ones in our family … in our neighbourhood … on the streets … in our offices … in our colleges.
• Sharing the good news of this gospel of Freedom to one and all.

5. IMPROVE YOUR FREEDOM (5:16-26)

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

• In this fight for Freedom we must choose sides in this war
o We are either led by the Spirit or led by the flesh
• It is living by the Spirit that keeps us in step with the Spirit
• We know whether we are in step with the Spirit by consistently evaluating the outcome of our lives.
• Verses 19-23 serves as a diagnostic tool to help understand whether are living by the Spirit or by the Flesh.
o The work of the flesh will lead us into sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these
o But the work of the Spirit will lead us into love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness & self-control.
• Let’s be careful not to choose a fleshly desire listed above and say it is from the Lord. For that will be wrong to say. God does not tempt us, God did not make us this way.

Quote by an unbeliever that gives us a wise understanding of our depravity and how to guard against it
I’ve been with my wife for almost 15 years. In those years I’ve been with anyone then the mother of my son, but that’s not because I’m a good person. Infact, I am wholly in possession of an unimaginably filthy mind. When it come to giving in to my filthy mind I’m not the one who believes in getting in the moment and then exercising will power. I believe in avoiding the moment. I belive in absolutely been clear with myself on why I’m having a second drink and why I’m not. Why I’m going to a party and why I’m not. I believe the battle is lost at the happy hour and not at the hotel. I am not a good man but I’m prepared to be an honorable one. This is not just true of infidelity, its true of virtually I’ve ever done in my life. I did not lose 70 pounds through strength of character, goodness of will power, my character and will anchors towards cheese cake, fried chicken and beer and in no particular order. I lost that fight by not fighting that battles on desires terms but fighting before desire can take effect. There are compacts I have made with myself and with my family just like other compacts we make with our country and society. I tend to think that those compacts work best when we don’t fool ourselves and are fully aware of our enemy in us.

• We cannot feed our flesh and at the same time please God. We must crucify along with its passions and desires
• The only way to fight this war is at the level of desire not external behaviour
• The good life God wants for us comes through the Spirit
• It is this life that protects the church from pride and division

Let’s ask ourselves – who’s side are we fighting against in this war. Are you siding with the Spirit of God through faith, using your freedom for the blessing of others, embracing it as precious.
And remember whenever you start living this life if freedom, people will come with wrong teaching infiltration your minds, adding stuffs that was never part of Gods plan for us.

2:4 – “This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus in order to enslave us”

• We must resist it
• Do not be deceived but continue to live your Freedom in Christ

For Christ died for our sins, giving us liberty from sin and slavery even when we were deep down in our sins, defeated sin and sin and rose again on the third and is now sitting at the right hand of the Father interceding for us.