Transcript

Well, let’s go to the end of 1 Timothy. We will conclude our preaching through this book we’ve entitled the unpacking or exposition of this book of the Bible “Beautifying the Bride” as, again, Paul is instructing Timothy through this letter of how the church is to be fashioned and how the church is to function, and all of that is to the end that the church might show forth Christ. He’s the head, we’re the body, the local church, that is. He’s the groom, we’re the bride. He’s the builder, we’re the building. He’s the farmer, we’re the field. And in all of those expressions in Scripture it means that we are to manifest our Lord. Well, to manifest him we must do God’s work, God’s way, by God’s power, and then it will be for God’s glory. So we come to what I’m entitling in verses 17 through 21 of 1 Timothy 6, “The Final Word.” The final word. Actually it’s not because there’s 2 Timothy also, so there’s more to come but for this first letter this is the final word.

Verse 17, 1 Timothy 6,

17 Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. 18 Instruct them [that’s the rich] to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed. [Now he shifts gears] 20 O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”– 21 which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith. Grace be with you.

The final word. Two parts here in this exposition. First of all, the final word for those within the church with what I call present world riches because that’s the phrase Paul uses, rich in this present world. We’re all rich in Christ, we’re all rich eternally, but comparatively speaking there are some who are rich with this present world’s riches. Then we’ll turn to another aspect in verse 20 but let’s talk about that one first.

“Timothy, this is the final word for those within the church with present world riches.” Now concerning the ever-present danger of material riches in the Christian’s life, the Reformer John Calvin said, “Just as our shadow stays with out body, our depraved minds continually allow God’s good gifts to become an opportunity for sin.” So John Calvin believes what the Bible teaches about riches, the material riches of this present world, they’re not evil in themselves, they’re not wrong, they’re not sinful. It’s not a sin to be rich but it does bring a great temptation to sin the more riches you seem to have.

Now Ephesus was a city, that’s where this church is located that Timothy’s now pastoring, it’s a city that was known for wealth and indulgence and what is common in the ancient world is there’s no real middle class. There’s a few very wealthy people and a whole lot more very poor people. It was the tendency of the rich to look down on the poor so here he says, “Within the church this has got to be fixed. In the church we do not function that way.” So he tries to correct the faults that will often accompany those who have a lot of this present world’s riches. I may just refer to it to, as PWR, a lot of this present world’s riches.

In our outline under I., A. will be: don’t be cocky and foolish. That’s the first word Paul tells Timothy to tell the rich in the church. Don’t be cocky and foolish about your riches. Now one of the reasons why we don’t want to be cocky or foolish if God blesses him and let me pause here and say this: all of us, every single one of us arrived at church today in an automobile. Do you know that right now today I don’t think I’d be stretching it at all to say that most of our partners and church plants around the world, the individual members could never dream of affording an automobile to drive to church. They walk or take a cab or take a bus. So compared to our brethren around the world, we’re all rich but that’s not really the context here. The context is within one local church. There’s always some that in the providence of God and God using their hard work, industry, uh, abilities, he’s blessed them over and above the rest of us with present world riches, but one thing we have to remember, we’d be foolish and cocky to put much confidence in those riches because we can have present world riches and yet be impoverished in the next world, in the world that really matters, the world that lasts forever.

Also it would be foolish to be cocky and to be arrogant about this because these riches can also disappear very quickly. We have, a, a good bit of talk, well, more than talk, we have a good deal of protesting and a good tent, a good deal of ranting and, and, uh, uh, pronouncing that we need to move toward Marixst Socialism in our country. If we move in that direction, it’s a very real possibility that the government would say, “Okay, because we want equality, we are going to confiscate your business. It now becomes state property.” Brothers and sisters, that’s happened to millions and millions and millions of people around the world already under Marxist, Communist governments.

So that’s just one of many ways it can just disappear on us. Proverbs 23:4-5 reminds us, ” Do not weary yourself to gain wealth.” That doesn’t mean you don’t work hard to gain more wealth but the idea here is, is that you’ve turned it into an idol, it’s become the driving force of your life. “Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, Cease from your consideration of it. When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings Like an eagle and flies toward the heavens.” In other words, it’s just very common that a lot of guys who have it later on don’t have it. So don’t be cocky and foolish and put a lot of confidence in this thing of present world riches. Psalm 39:6, the Psalmist says, “Surely every man walks around as a phantom,” he’s just [whoosh] here and then gone, “Surely they make an uproar for nothing; He amasses riches and does not know who will gather them.” Is that not true? Now these are statements about the ungodly rich, not the godly rich, and I’ll talk about those people a little bit more in a moment.

So you can be rich in present world riches and yet be impoverished in the next world, the eternal state, the one that matters. You can be rich and find out, man, it makes itself like wings and flies away and I don’t have anything anymore. And also you’d be cocky and foolish to put a lot of confidence in present world riches because it’s a false security. Psalm 62:10 warns us, “If riches increase, do not set your heart upon them.” It didn’t say that it was sin if you worked hard and gained riches, even great riches, but you must not set your heart upon them. That’s the key. Ecclesiastes 5:10, “He who loves money,” not he who has money. All of us, as I’ve said before, have a lot of money compared to most Christians around the world. “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity.”

So Paul tells Timothy, “Warn those who are wealthy not to fall prey to the lure, the seductions of having a lot of present world riches.” Now there’s some balance in here I want to bring out in just a moment. Psalm 112:1-3, I think gives us a balance. The Psalm says here, “Praise the LORD! How blessed is the man who fears the LORD, Who greatly delights in His commandments.” Don’t forget that, he, he’s, he’s blessed of the Lord. He fears the Lord. He delights in the word, the commandments of the Lord. Verse 2, “His descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, And his righteousness endures forever.” He fears the Lord, he loves the Lord’s truth, and he has wealth and riches, then it can work out and not be a curse but you need that balance.

He literally says in verse 17, “Don’t be conceited. If you have a lot of present world riches, be careful and don’t be conceited.” That’s why I used the word “cocky.” Literally in verse 17 when he says conceited, it means don’t be high-minded, that somehow this wealth makes you superior, that somehow this wealth, this present world riches you have makes you an elitist or somehow better than anyone else, and remind yourself that the Bible says Jesus came to preach the Gospel to the poor. It doesn’t mean he’s only after the poor for salvation and to build his church, but what it does mean that on the average more poor people look to Christ than rich people look to Christ. I mean, somehow when we get a lot of present world riches in our possession, we begin to think we’re bullet-proof, we begin to think we have immunity from other problems and difficulties other people may have. We’ve got the money to fix it if we need to. That’s being cocky and foolish because that’s just not the truth.

I’m blessed to know a lot of people who love the Lord and have been blessed with a lot of present world riches, but what I do notice is they’re humbled by it. They know where it came from. They realize they don’t deserve anything anymore than anyone else. They realize it’s also a sovereign gift given from God and it is a sovereign stewardship assigned to them to use those present world riches wisely. God sovereignly is behind everything we amass in this physical human life.

Job 34:19, Job writes God is the one “Who shows no partiality to princes Nor regards the rich above the poor, For they all are the work of His hands?” Those who would like to tell us that it’s somehow Christian for all the world and all the peoples of the world to have equal outcomes in life, everybody have the same amount of stuff, everybody have the same amount of wealth, but I’m telling you the Bible clearly does not teach that. In fact, Job said God makes the rich and he makes the poor. God has a purpose. You know why? Because sometimes poor people can have a better life than rich people. Sometimes poor people know God better than rich people and they have the peace and the contentment and the abundant life Christ talks about because Christianity – listen to me – is far more than material stuff. And I’m telling you, it’s a lie that’s being perpetrated upon the church today under this notion of social justice that we gotta have these equal outcomes for everybody or it’s not true Christianity. That’s just not true. It’s just not biblical. The Bible thoroughly teaches the concept of personal property. But for those who know Christ, those who are within the church and have present world riches, he gives instructions of how you’re to use, view them and how to use them.

So it is God, Job said in Job 34:19, he makes the rich and he makes the poor. They’re all the work of his hands. But now there’s a balancing principle. It’s one of those things where from the divine sovereign perspective God’s behind it, but then God turns around and says, “Yes, but He uses the human responsibility and work and diligence of a man or a woman.” For example, we see that balancing truth in Proverbs 10:4, “Poor is he who works with a negligent hand.” If I might add, there’s a lot of people ranting and raging and protesting and rioting who need to go get a job and work with their own hands and provide for themselves and fear God. That’d be the solution for a lot of this. If we’d quit writing them checks and sending them in the mail, they might quit doing some of this stuff. A whole lot of stuff that sounds righteous and of God is not. It’s irresponsibility and selfishness and scapegoating.

“Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.” Now that’s not an absolute promise but generally speaking the Bible teaches if you’re a diligent and hard working person, typically as time goes by and mark that word “time,” you don’t get it all, young people, at year five or year 15, it may take year 25 or 35 or 55 before you get to that place where you say, “God’s really blessed me materially.” But you’ve got to be willing to work with a diligent hand.

So don’t be cocky and foolish. Don’t think this makes you special. Don’t think you can hang onto it. God can take it away tomorrow. Don’t think it’s the most important thing because it’s not. But it is a gift from God and it is blessed of God, and he does give some blessings like this but it all comes from him.

B. As we’re talking about a final word to those in the church who’ve been blessed with present world riches, he says do trust in God. Don’t be cocky and foolish by focusing on your wealth and thinking it’s somehow your savior, but do put your trust in God. Notice what he says there in verse 17, “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches,” we talked about that, “but on God, who supplies us with all things to enjoy, or richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.” Isn’t it interesting that God says God gives us these common grace gifts to enjoy. Enjoy. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying the good stuff God gives us in life.

Common grace gifts are ours to enjoy. Two thoughts here on that. First of all, God wants us to enjoy that steak dinner or that new car or that suit of clothes or whatever these material things he allows us to have, he wants you to enjoy that, first of all – listen to me – because it’s a token of his great goodness to all men. It’s just a token of God’s goodness. You say, “I, but I know, pastor, I know some people that are vile and wicked and scheme and cheat and lie and take advantage and they’re doing good.” Because God has great goodness to all mankind. His goodness is bigger than your goodness. His bigness, his goodness rather is bigger than my goodness. He’s just good and so many of us who don’t deserve it.

Matthew 5:45 reminds us of this, “so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun,” his sun, “to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” When God gives us good stuff, when our retirement account’s looking pretty good, yours’ looking pretty good these days, well, think back a few months ago, it wasn’t looking too good, was it? It just reminds us that we’re not trusting it ultimately. Then we look at those things and we just praise God that he likes to do good things for people.

Secondly, not only is it a token and expression of God’s goodness to all mankind, it should point Christians in the church to the greater riches of redeeming grace. Common grace is one thing, sunshine and food and cars and clothing, houses to live in, jobs to work at, that’s all common grace, God’s goodness to all men, but redeeming grace is much much much greater and more to be sought than common grace, and every time a child of God is blessed in common graces, it should cause us to say, “Yes, and that reminds me I have something far better than these common graces, I have through Christ Jesus what I could never deserve, I have redeeming grace.” So make, make sure that in this lifestyle as we’re blessed and God gives us good stuff, that immediately our hearts go, “And yes, He’s given me something even better than all this, His Son Jesus Christ and redeeming grace.”

So Paul tells Timothy, isn’t it interesting, he gets to the last thing he’s gonna say and he beats the rich up again, right there at the end of the chapter. Now I say that shouldn’t, that’s not a good figure of speech. He’s not beating them up, he wants them to walk in the truth, God’s truth, for those who are God’s children and have a lot of present world riches. God, it is he who supplies all that we have. If we trust in riches instead of God, we trust in a mirage. The substance is just not there. The substance of life is not the stuff, the substance of life is God himself who allows us to have some stuff. But God is the God who loves us all more than we can know. Matter of fact, let’s turn over to a familiar passage. Will you turn to the Gospel of Matthew for just a moment? Matthew 6 and we’ll begin in verse 25. Matthew 6, beginning in verse 25. You’ll remember these exhortations from our Lord. “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single cubit or single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they neither toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?'” Now here’s the contrast, he says in verse 32, “For the Gentiles,” those who don’t know God, that’s the way they live, they “eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these material things, all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

So those who are within the church who have been blessed without a, with a lot of present world riches at this point, now let me remind you of this, first of all, acknowledge the source. It all came from God. Secondly, be grateful for it. Be grateful for the God who gave it to you. And thirdly, realize your stewardship of it. I’ve heard people say, “Man, I wish I had that brother’s money.” Are you sure? Do you want to answer to God for that much wealth as to how you used it? You sure? “Man, pastor, I wish I had a church as large as your church.” Are you sure? You realize I’ll give an account for all of the souls represented in this church? You sure? Acknowledge the source, be grateful, realize your stewardship.

Well, C., in our outline, we go to verse 18 now: do use your present world riches for God. Here’s the way he termed it, use them for God. Look at verse 18, “Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share.” Now the word “good” there, “Instruct them to, to do good,” is the same word used for God over in Acts when it speaks of God’s benevolent good deeds he does for men. So he says, “Be like God and be generous and be good in giving to others.” So the rich should be like God and do good with what’s been entrusted to them.

Now this certainly means that as you live your life, if you have a lot of this present world’s riches, be generous to those around you with genuine need, and we need to be contextual here. When it comes to those in need or those who are impoverished, what we call need and poverty in America is not what they called need and poverty in the ancient world. Literally there were people every day in this world who did not eat all day long because they had nothing to eat. When I hear today people talking about how many people don’t have food in America, I want to ask the question, “Where are all the skinny people?” And I don’t mean to be ugly but some of the folks who say, “Well, these people are impoverished, they don’t have things to eat,” they’re quite large people because in the ancient world literally poverty meant you were thin. You literally didn’t have enough to eat. Today it means you outta have three flat screen televisions instead of two like your neighbor. That’s what they’re really meaning. That’s not what the Bible is talking about. You just not, you just simply… I don’t know of truly impoverished peoples in America. I’m not saying it doesn’t exist but I don’t see it out there in comparison to the context of this day and what they called poverty. Nevertheless, though, the truth still remains for those of us blessed with a lot of present world riches, we ought to be willing to do good as we see needs and bless and care for others.

Let me lay a contrast out for you. I, I love reading about these men, I just think it’s wonderful and powerful. A man like J. C. Penney, have you ever heard of J. C. Penney? Do you know when he first started his stores, you know what his stores were called? The Golden Rule. J. C. Penney was raised by godly parents and from the moment he went into business he committed his life and his work and his business to God and J. C. Penney gave enormous amounts of money to the church and to Gospel ministries around the world.

Henry J. Heinz of Heinz ketchup, a godly Lutheran man who committed amazing amounts of his fortune to the church of Jesus Christ and to Gospel ministries all over the world.

Henry Parsons Crowell, the founder of the Quaker Oat Company. Loved the Scriptures. Started the Moody Bible Institute. Wrote the checks that started a school training these guys. And on and on we could go with the works this man did with his wealth for the glory of God.

R. G. LeTourneau, if I’m pronouncing his name right. He’s the man that invented these massive earth moving machines. You know those dump trucks that have tires on them bigger than our house? He came up with all of that. He had companies on four continents and he literally had lawyers to guide his ministry so that 90% of his income went to Gospel ministries.

David Green today, the owner and starter of Hobby Lobby worth two billion dollars and gives generously, generously of his wealth to spread the Gospel and support the Lord’s work.

Tuett Cathy of Chick-fil-A. Lord only knows how much this dear man and his family give to Gospel ministry causes around the world.

Stanley Tam, the founder of United States Plastic Corporation and that’s back when plastic first came on the scene. Reckon he made a lot of money. He legally had lawyers draw up the papers so he could give 100% of his business to the Lord’s work.

Now compare that to what we’re seeing today. Now these are men of many decades ago. Today we have George Soros. George Soros has given 32 billion dollars to the Open Society Foundation. But you’ve gotta understand George Soros’ background. As a little boy, he grew up in Nazi Germany. He was a Hungarian Jew. His people, his own family was brutally oppressed and persecuted and so now he’s dedicated his life to help the oppressed and to combat what he calls inequality. Now I don’t agree with most of what he does but to say that he’s done no good for anybody would not be fair or right. I understand there’s a lot of questionable things about the man. I’m not commending him, I’m just saying that’s where he is. But George Soros is no Christian. His wealth and his giving does not center on Christ. He doesn’t give to support and advance the cause of Christ, the church. His whole ministry is built on man saving himself. Very different than the other men I just mentioned to you.

And then I did a little reading on Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft. Bill and Melinda Gates have the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and they’re primarily committed to climate change and global health. Bill Gates says that he’s kinda religious because sorta his mantra is to try and reduce the inequity in the world.

But the thing that’s consistent about Soros and Gates and these new modern secularists who try to do good compared to those old business owners and industrialists who were Christ-centered and tried to do good, is that everything these men do is this-world- centered. Did you hear that? It’s this-world-centered. It’s like this world is all there is, and by the way, if you’re not a Christian, this world is all there is to you. It’s not all there is. You’re blinded to the fact that there’s a judgment and eternity awaiting you. But that’s where, where they are. It’s totally this-world-centered. As a Christian asks and says, “Can it be of any lasting good if we help the oppressed, if we cure so-called inequality and yet do not give them the Gospel?” Hallelujah, you’re equal, now go to hell. That’s what their doctrine does. That’s not doing good. That’s not good in a godly understanding of good. While we do always – listen – we always applaud helping hurting and oppressed and starving peoples, we’re all a part of that, but as the church of Jesus Christ our definition of good comes from the wisdom of God. It must have Christ in it and the Gospel in it to be of ultimate and true goodness.

So these men, these secularists do good according to their own fallen, finite and flawed understanding and Proverbs says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight.” For them there is no thought to eternity, there is no thought to eternal riches, there’s no thought to the wrath of God in bringing men and women, boys and girls, to find peace before this holy God because they’re sinners and they’re at enmity without Christ. There’s no thought of any of that. There’s no thought of spiritual contentment. There’s no thought of riches in Christ.

So when Paul writes here do good, he means do good the way God defines good. That includes buying a sack of groceries. That includes paying an electric bill. That includes helping a widow lady or whatever it may be. But in back of it all for the man of God, the child of God who’s blessed with present world riches, it must be centered in Christ and the Gospels, or in the Gospel I should say.

Well, do trust in God and B., in our outline: do store up treasure in heaven. Do store up treasure. He gives them a motive. He gives them a real motivation in verse 19, ” storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.” Storing up a good foundation for the future. That just means build treasure in heaven. The word “foundation” here is a word that means “sound and solid and lasting.” He says there’s a lot of things you can do with your wealth but is it sound? Is it solid? Is it lasting, that is, for eternity? He said do those kind of things. Build this treasure in heaven because heavenly treasure is better than earthly treasure.

Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” When you do good in God’s idea of good with your present world riches, then you deposit your money in God’s bank of heaven and it’s preserved there by him from all decay or loss, and it’s earning good and eternal dividends. In contrast, nothing down here is safe. Everything continues to change down here.

I remember Dr. Vance Havner talking about a young man that came to him and the young man said, “I’m gonna build this company and I’m gonna build that company, and I’m gonna have this much money and this much money and this much money.” And Dr. Havner said, “You remind me of a man that the Bible calls a fool.” Remember the man in the Bible who’s gonna build barns and bigger barns and bigger barns? The Bible says, “You fool, today your soul’s required of you.” You trust not that you had it, you trusted in it and it doesn’t count anything for eternity.

Then he says in verse 19, “so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.” They need to, those who have a lot of present world riches need to grasp what is true life and what true life is all about. The idea here is that life which is really life or life in the full. Riches more than most things can easily smother the true life that God has for his children. You might call it the abundant life. You might call it the Spirit-filled life. You might call it having a life that has that peace which surpasses comprehension. That’s a biblical phrase. He says, “Rich people, don’t, don’t, don’t trust in your riches. Don’t make them idol. Don’t love them. Do good with them for the glory of God, then you can have really a life worth living, one where you have the peace of God and peace with God in your life.” Some of these godless secularists congratulate themselves for the billions they give to “help mankind” around the world and they stay up at night worrying about their balance sheet. No peace. Paul says, “Timothy, tell those wealthy men who know God, don’t be like that. Be godly in your view of your riches.”

Did I say this was the last message in Timothy? My goodness, you’re gonna have to listen quickly and this last two points are relatively brief. Those outside the church teaching false doctrine. “Timothy, I’ve got a final word about those outside the church teaching false doctrine.” Now he’s hit on this a lot. In verse 20 he says, “Timothy, O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you.” That’s as simple as saying, “Guard the Gospel from the false teaching out there, outside the church, that’s try, constantly trying to get in the church.” This is a repeated command to Timothy by Paul. It’s Paul’s recap. He says, “Now Timothy, I want to recap things for you. Guard the Gospel.” Like Jude said in Jude 1:3, it’s the, we’re to “earnestly contend for the faith,” definite article, the faith, the Gospel, the doctrines that which make up Christianity, “which was once and for all handed down to the saints.” When Paul tells Timothy, “Guard it, Timothy, it’s been entrusted to you,” it literally means, “deposited in you, Timothy.” What a magnamimous stewardship we have. You see, he’s saying, “Timothy, it’s not your religion, it’s God’s religion. It’s not your Gospel, it’s God’s Gospel. He just gave you the understanding of it. Don’t you let anybody tamper with it. Don’t let anybody change it. It’s perfect. It came from God. Timothy, once again I charge you.” Pastor, pastor, listen to me once again, I charge you let no one change that Gospel that’s been entrusted to you. Don’t let it happen. Don’t let it happen. It’s pure heavenly gold. Leave it just like it is. Allow no tarnish or stain to come upon it.

He says, “Avoid and turn away from,” in verse 20. It means keep on turning away from “the empty chatter.” That’s what he’s calling the false teachers’ words. It’s just empty chatter they’re trying to bring in. Every generation but we don’t even have to wait generations anymore, every five or seven years there’s a new wave that comes over the church that we’re supposed to change our message and our methods, you know, to tweak the to make us effective or relevant for the new day. Paul commends Timothy, “Don’t do that. That’s empty chatter. It has no substance. It has no weight. It’s just words with no true meaning, words that sound sophisticated and educated and wise to the naive but they’re not sophisticated, educated or wise.”

Then in verse 20 he says it’s “the opposing argument.” Literally that word means the antithesis. It’s against our Gospel. It’s the anti-Gospel. In Galatians, Paul’s writing to the Galatian church and he says, “Why are you letting these people trouble you with another gospel,” then he says, “which really is not another gospel?” Once they change the Gospel and toy with the Gospel and tweak the Gospel – listen to me – they’ve lost the Gospel. We don’t need to adjust it, we need to preach it. That’s what he’s saying to Timothy.

Then he uses that phrase in verse 20 that’s “false called knowledge.” It has to be referring to the Gnostic heresies of the day because they held themselves as the elitists, “We have elite insight that the common Christian doesn’t have, so you have to sit at our feet if you really want to know God and the way to God. We’ve been given a unique revelation that you must have.” He said, “They have this, they call themselves having this new knowledge, this new twist to the person of Christ, this new twist to the Gospel and Christian doctrine. It looks wise but it’s not true knowledge.”

Listen to this statement, church, perk up, listen carefully: true knowledge is the gift of God to those who’ve placed their faith in Jesus Christ. Did you hear that? If you want the true knowledge of God’s truth, God’s Gospel, it’s the gift that was given to you when you placed your faith in Jesus Christ. Those with no saving faith have no true knowledge. You see, true knowledge is not written with paper and ink, it is engraved on the tablets of hearts by the Holy Spirit of God. A 12 year old boy who knows a little of the Bible, grasps enough of the Gospel to repent of his sins and believe in Jesus Christ has more true knowledge than a professor at the theological school with four PhD’s but has not been born again. That’s what Paul’s saying. That’s, that’s when you know the truth is when you’ve been saved and changed by the Gospel through the power of the Spirit.

“It’s the new birth that makes the difference, so, Timothy, don’t listen to that outside chatter, that antithesis nonsense that opposes the simple Gospel I’ve taught you to preach. Don’t listen to it.” 1 Timothy 2:12-16, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God,” notice that “given to us by God.” It has to be given to you. “Which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.” Let me pause right there. Dr. Seale gets this, our staff gets this, I get this, a classroom with tons of instruction doesn’t give you true knowledge. It can build on the knowledge you got when you were born again, but it cannot depart it. It cannot depart it.

Verse 14, “But the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that He will instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” Those of you who are born again all of a sudden have the mind of Christ, not in the perfection and the level of Christ but like Christ. In other words, you know the truth. You have true knowledge.

So he says, “Timothy, I, I have a final word for those in the church who have a lot of present world riches. Timothy, I’ve got a final word directly to you and pastors,” and by the way, heads of households, are you guarding your household from false doctrines? You better be. I’ll bear witness to you at the judgment bar of God because I’ve taught you the truth. I’ve taught you the truth. Now you guard your family from these false doctrines, false gospels that are really not gospels.

Now he says, “Timothy, one final word,” this will be brief, “a final word about sustaining grace.” About sustaining grace. First of all, in verse 21 he talks about those who did not receive sustaining grace, “which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith.” We know they were not really saved or they’d never gone astray. They went astray from the faith, the doctrines we hold and embrace and treasure and believe in, the Christ of those doctrines. So they didn’t have sustaining grace.

Last part of verse 21, then he says, “Grace be with you.” So he’s talking about, “Timothy, may you continue to walk in that sustaining persevering grace of God.” And by the way, the real way to know if you had justifying grace when you initially believed is that you have sustaining grace that gets you all the way to the end, what the old Baptists used to call perseverance of the saints and we still believe that, by the way. Then it became once saved, always saved, or whatever you want to call it but it’s persevering or sustaining grace.

Romans 8:29-30, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called,” that’s when you’re saved, “and those whom He called, He also justified,” you stand out, past tense verb, you stand justified before God, “and those whom He justified, He also glorified,” past tense, in God’s eyes you’re already glorified. So he will give you also the grace to sustain you through this life and never depart from the faith.

Paul said in the book of Philippians, “I’m confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” He began it and he’ll keep on doing it until the day of Christ Jesus. How is that, how does that work? “Pastor, what hoops do I have to jump through? Do I have to take the Lord’s Supper so many times?” And by the way, we need to take it. We haven’t done that in a while in this pandemic going on. I don’t find a verse in the Bible that says during the pandemic don’t take the Lord’s Supper. “Pastor, if I’m baptized, if I take the sacraments of the church, if I morally clean up some things, then will I make it to the end?” That’s not what he’s saying. He’s saying, “He who began the good work in you. He will perfect it, perform it, until the day of Christ Jesus.” It was grace that got you in the family, it’s grace that keeps you in the family, and it’s grace that takes you to the family’s eternal home. It’s all grace. It’s all grace.

Look at chapter 1 real quick, verse 2, 1 Timothy 1:2, “To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.” Paul begins this letter to Timothy with grace and he ends it with grace because at the end of it all, brothers and sisters in Christ, it is grace that’s brought us safely thus far, and grace will lead us home. God’s unmerited favor toward us. Praise God for grace.

That’s Paul’s final words to Timothy and his word to all of us.