First Timothy lesson 24 question 6

All right, we're on question number six. This might be a little bit of a review, but I think it's important. Question number six, what are the three things Timothy is to be on top of doctrinally? What are the three things? We're going to talk about these three things. We're going to talk about them in the sense of what it means, why it matters, and how it applies to you. We're going to go through all three of them.

But if you look at 1 Timothy 4.13, we're talking about these things, right?

We said in question number five, Timothy was to pay attention to himself and his doctrine, that what he teaches, plus he is to persevere in them. And we talked about the word persevere, to stay by the side of, right? And when you stay beside the word, what is the result?

Spiritually preserved and strengthened. So when you're thinking about the stuff on the news today and tomorrow and probably for a good little bit, how do you stay spiritually preserved? What are the things that Timothy in his day was charged with the church in order to keep The mind of the body preserving, persevering, I like the combination of those two terms.

Stay perseverant. Stay, see them through. Stick with these things. Do you think that applies to us today? Stick with them. Flip on the news, you get an alert, breaking this, breaking that. I don't know if you have those notifications turned on your phone, but there's all kinds of breaking news. And here, Paul's saying, persevere. And stay on top doctrinally with three things.

Number one, the public reading of scripture. Does that mean we just read scripture out loud? Is that all it means? No. Why? Because it means exhortation. Oh, what does that mean? That means the understanding. Ah. The knowledge of. So just saying it without explaining it and making it clear to those who are listening, that's a different thing than just reading it out loud. But you should read it out loud. I think you have to put it in the context of the time the Scripture was being created at this point. They didn't have any Bibles.

Here comes a letter from Paul. So, more than likely, a lot of the Scriptures that were being tested Yeah, probably. Timothy did, didn't he? Timothy did. But there were those that were probably pretty unsure about what they were hearing. a lot of verbal communication is really important.

It's like the arrow they have. One guy that goes down to the village and says here's what's You can imagine gathering your crew together, we drive 30 minutes just to get to church. I mean, now you're walking and you're waiting on revelation that is real time. And I think what public reading of scripture really means is, to your point, is not only the clear reading of God's word with the gathering, of any size, but it's also that exhortation. Well, they knew Greek. I mean, so they had a better understanding of the scripture and its meaning. You think they had a better understanding than you have today? Well, I have to study more than they do. Fair. Because I don't know Greek. Right.

And talking about Paul's equipping of Timothy to teach believers, probably very young in their faith, and to explain that, that would probably be a little bit intimidating, wouldn't you think? He's a young man. Paul's like, until I come, until I get there, I need you to give attention to this.

I need you to give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, and to teaching. So why does the public reading of Scripture matter? What does it keep in front of you? Because you had a lot of things in today, and they had the same thing. It wasn't on Fox News, it wasn't on CNN, it wasn't blasting your phone with notifications, but why did it matter to read the Scripture? Why? Well, because it goes forth, and it doesn't come back forth. So my personal opinion, is more important than what you're saying right now. I feel differently. Is that okay? No. It's not okay. Is it?

Reading the scripture Staying with the source of truth matters because it keeps the focus on God's word, what God says is true. Whatever man is saying out there right now, when you flip that TV on later today, and I flip it on, I wanna know what's going on, but ultimately, it is the scripture and God's truth that matters most to me. That's my source. And it is what feeds my new nature. God's word. And scripture ultimately is your foundation.

You can't flip on the, I know my kids are, they're growing. They're still, I know they're all teens, but they're still growing and they're understanding what's going on in the world. And certain times they'll be like, I don't wanna know that right now. I just don't wanna hear about that. I wanna focus on the things that don't scare me, to be quite honest. You got a thought?

I remember when John went to Boy Scouts and as his dad I had to read the stuff on Athelia to him. Oh, that's fun. And in the middle of it he said, Dad, we have to do this. I said, yeah, we did. He couldn't take care of class. I think the point here is we're establishing ourselves in the foundation of God's Word. That's where we have to operate from, whether you're 16 or you're 48 tomorrow. Yay! And that's a reality, too. This is not reality. I want this on record do explain.

Yeah, what you're pointing to to the scripture itself It's our foundation Yeah, if you're not looking at the things around you, and it could be personal, it could be very personal. It could also be at the nature of our entire existence in our country. But if your perspective is not looking at those things through the Word of God as the foundation, you're going to get worried.

Right, and Timothy was facing these same kinds of situations. There was all kinds of false teaching that were going on, and it was just as real to him in his day as the false teaching that is going on in our environment today. Les? Oh, it also promotes fellowship. You're reading the Word together, you're getting that foundation. I think that's the second thing, and it's good that you said that, because he's told to publicly read the scripture and to give attention to exhortation. Mike mentioned that, and I think it plays off of exactly what you're saying there.

What does exhortation mean? It means what you said, but define the word, exhortation. Encouragement. Urging one another. And that's a fellowship. That's exactly what that means. It's a calling to believers to respond to the truth. See, I can tell you a quote, but unless I can explain it, there's no exhortation. That's right. I can't urge you to believe a thing to see the truth in that. Yep.

I think it's even simpler than that. or whatever, and an example of contemporary Christianity, a lot of people think that what they think about Scripture is more important than what it really says. And Satan's greatest tool is the question, did God really say it? And if God really said it, it means that, well, he didn't quite give it all. Or, you know, he didn't mean this. So if you don't rely on Scripture, then you're going to rely on the after...

Your Harvard degree. ...experience. Here's a good quote I found. Remember, so I wanted, it said remember. The testimony of the Spirit in us is the contrary of the testimony of the Spirit to us. I'm going to have to keep unraveling that one. There's a heart attack. I'm still trying to figure out if I got shot. In me, as I judge myself, I see that the Spirit helps me in that. But contrary to that, The Spirit is salvation. It's perfect. It's a perfect gift.

Yeah, we do everything we can to muddle or muddy the waters, right? That goes with the mind and how the mind can be strayed off to other subjects. Well, is doctrine just for knowledge? Let me ask you that. No, it's for life. It changes lives, doesn't it? And Paul's really saying, Timothy, urge, encourage, call men and women in the body to be foundationally grounded in the truth. I'll just read this section here.

It's 618, 11th object. For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit creates within us a hatred of the old nature and a hunger for the new nature. Without a rejection of the old, there cannot be a projection of the new. I want a testimony that delivers me from the things I am occupied about in myself when I am suffering from you. I get it from God's gift that is perfect. I am accepted in the beloved. You say there is something about myself I cannot get over.

And then that's the quote, remember the testimony of the Spirit in us is the contrary to the testimony of the Spirit to us. In me, He takes notice of every fault. that is not righteousness. But the testimony to us is their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

If you were to exhort that, as Timothy is called to do by Paul. You would have to explain that to me. I need you to break down that complex truth. That's a real truth. And everything that you read there is absolutely true of us. Given our new nature, given the life of the Spirit, His role is to His person is literally to point to the Lord Jesus about the things that are true of you and your union with Him.

And without exhortation, and then that third one, so public reading of Scripture, exhortation, and now teaching, it really, it kind of, I wrote this sentence down, Timothy is to focus on Scripture, the content. He's to exhort, meaning explain to the heart So you've got the content and the heart, and then you've got the understanding part, the teaching side of it. And this is doctrinal leadership. This is a 101 on how to lead those that are in the body, and in Timothy's time, in my time, in our time here at Holly Hills, we're to read the scripture publicly, we're to exhort it, we're to encourage you in it, just like you were talking about, and we're to teach it.

Why does that matter? Clear explanation and instruction of biblical truth is absolutely necessary, and Timothy was charged with that. And it matters because sound doctrine matters. And it can be complex because we're unaware of what is true about us unless we're taught it. You have to be taught these things.

They don't come natural to you. What's natural? The old man, right? The old man. But when you know that you're accepted in the beloved, that's in the glory. But you have to be taught that, don't you? Right. Well, you learn it. the old man is put off and the new man is put on. I'll read from the next day. Yeah, we're just going to read through The Hungry Heart for those of you that are listening at some future point in time. There are two things that have to be taken into account in communicating truth. Not comparatively should it be certain that it is the truth from God, but it also must be suited truth to those whom you address.

They might need it all, but they may not be in a condition to receive it. And the more precious the truth, the greater the injury, in a certain sense, if it is presented to those who are not in a state to profit by it. So part of exhortation is to understand where they are. And it takes, as the spiritual growth takes a while for that, but when you become, let me say this right, one of the big advantages of spiritual growth is that my focus goes off at me and not at Christ. So I begin to be more concerned about Him and my involvement with Him than I am with how I'm doing. Which means that I can look at another human being and I can refer to them correctly, I can understand things, and I can understand I don't, they certainly could use this truth, but they're not ready to receive it.

Well, sometimes you think, wow, that's judgmental. I think it's proper because God's Word, it's like how many, the uniqueness of the identification truth, so many Christians are not ready for. Some heroes are really ready for it, others aren't. They just don't get it. They get the lingo, but they don't get to take their wife and their walk. Does that make sense? Yeah, but that's where the exhortation comes in, because it's all the Lord Jesus Christ. Question seven, I think this kind of rolls right into it.

What does Paul tell Timothy will save him and those under his care? What does Paul tell him about that? It's the same verse, right? The things that are gonna, we think about how we're gonna help folks, right? I've got a friend, you've got a friend, an acquaintance, a coworker, a family member. It's no different than what Paul was encouraging Timothy about here.

Stick to the Scriptures. Explain them. And if their heart isn't hungry, you know what grace looks like. You know how to pace yourself with regards to your friend or your family member or whomever. Yeah, and it's usually, Lord, get them one way or another. Well yeah, Timothy, Paul says, will save himself and those under his spiritual care by giving diligent attention to the public reading in the local assembly, just like we're here today, by exhortation based upon the word of God.

That has, it's read. Interesting, it's not, it's read out loud. And then explaining it to them. Are they ready for it? You don't always know. The word of God, it divides, right? It pierces, joint, marrow. So question number eight, what does salvation mean here?

So we're going back to, First Timothy 4.16, pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching, Timothy. Persevere in these things. For as you do this, you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you. What does this mean, salvation? Question number eight. What does salvation mean here? Does it mean Fire insurance. It means a full sanctification. I didn't put that word together with salvation, but explain.

The more we see how growth works in our lives and the word working in our lives. We progress, we grow. Putting on the new Okay, I'm gonna take that that phrase and sorry to interrupt, but I'm gonna take grow That's what this verse is all these verses 12 through 16 are really all about they're about Timothy these are the things that will enable believers to grow. And salvation, it can't be deliverance from the sin nature, as in the salvation that we experience in terms of believing the gospel. What is this salvation that he's talking about here? Saved from what? Well, I think in the context, what is Timothy dealing with? Or what is Paul teaching Timothy how to deal with?

I mean, there was false teaching. We know that this was demon-influenced ideas about who you are and They were personal to those believers. They were being taught something contrary, completely contrary to the Word of God. So I think that in this particular case, salvation means being saved from the teachings that were false. and being introduced to the teachings that are true. And that's where you get your growth that you're talking about. They couldn't grow based on the false teachings that were constantly being told around them. Timothy had to divide and jump right in to the middle of all this noise and say, this is what God says. And it's totally different from what you're hearing out there. Is that different from you today? No, it's really not.

Rodeatus says salvation in regard to material and temporal deliverance from danger, suffering, and so forth. Well, that certainly applies. Question number nine says explain this salvation further, so we're going to keep going. Enlighten us, brother. Yvette, well here's how it works. Timothy, by reading the Word, exhorting, urging, bringing them along, teaching it with a clear explanation, and getting to the meaning of what God has by way of what's true of you. This is what's true. You're not going to feel it. You won't know it unless God tells you it's so. So I need you to learn it. And I'm gonna explain how the new nature works.

I'm gonna explain that you can be saved from all of the lies that are being told to you by staying in the word, and I'm here to explain that to you. That was what was going on. Timothy and his hearers will be saved from becoming entangled in the heresies of the day. Pay close attention to your self-interior teaching. Persevere in these things. And then he says, as for you, you will ensure salvation. walk away from things. Spirit of God, He's the one, He's the Perseverer.

And you know, every one of us as believers, as we go along, there are things in our old man and in the world that we want to get free from, but we don't want to. And we begin to recognize, well, it's not a matter of my making a decision to be free, because it controls me. And so I study the Word of God and the Word of God comes along and says to me, you're free. And I think that free from a gospel perspective, you've been set free. You've been redeemed. Now what? you need to continually be freed.

And the only way that I can do that as a teacher, much like Timothy, you know, Hal Malloy, Roger, Mike, whomever is up here, teaching has to explain what you're free from. You have to be taught these things, right? You don't know that without being told.

And I'm going to read Ephesians 6, 18 and 19. So if you want to flip over there with me, otherwise I'll just... Ephesians 6, 18 and 19. I've got a couple minutes so we'll get through this one last question here. Ephesians it reads verse chapter 6 verse 18 with all prayer and petition pray at all times in the spirit why is it in the spirit because the spirit knows what needs to be prayed for and With this in view. This is your perspective be on alert with all perseverance and petition for all the Saints 19 and pray on my behalf that utterance may given to me in the opening of my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. So you have two things from Ephesians 6, 18 and 19.

Perseverance in the face of spiritual battle. Be on alert with all perseverance. It says pay close attention, persevere in these things. What are these things? We've talked about that in the last lesson. These things are all that precedes verse 16 of 1 Timothy. But in here in Ephesians, it's echoing the same truths, persevering these things. Paul sees ministry as a spiritual battle, and he's passing along the game plan to Timothy. especially the game plan of protecting the church from error.

Don't fall into this. This is not only not who you are, but the Spirit will not... You can't confide in the truth against the Spirit that is that you've been baptized within. You've been identified in these things. So anything that you think outside of this is contrary to who the Lord says that you are and how the Spirit works that truth into your life over time. And the second thing is teaching is a spiritual responsibility.

In 1 Timothy 4.16, which is the verse for today, Paul tells Timothy that faithful teaching protects against doctrinal error and leads to a saving, a salvation. It could mean salvation from hell, but more contextually, it means doctrinal error. It'll save you. Truth's gotta be spoken courageously. It's gotta be spoken clearly. And that was what Paul was saying. 1 Timothy 5, one and two, so kind of progressing into the next chapter, do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father to the younger men as brothers.

So now he's talking about how this application of sound doctrine is to be taught to the different age groups within the body. So next week we'll get to, Question 10, 11, 12, 13. How many questions did you give me? So we've got a little bit more to go. so that you can withstand the fire of darkness, and the sword of the Lord, and that kind of stuff. And so he lays all that out, and then he says, with all prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit. Wouldn't that endure?

The belt of truth. I've got to get you the truth so you can be geared and ready for what you're going to hear. Well, we were studying that Wednesday night, Yeah, we talked about on Monday, right? It's our job to ground you in solid doctrine so that you are aware and you are capable of defending spiritual battles. And that was very real for Timothy and Paul in their time, and it's just as real today.

Let's pray. Father, how we thank you that you have equipped us with everything necessary to... To go into a very difficult and dark world who would have us believe many things that are not true, but yet the foundation of Your Word and the conviction and convincing of Your Spirit makes it personal. It makes it intimate.

And Lord, I pray that as a body we would continue to be drawn to Your Word and that That as we continue to look in 1 Timothy and study, we're just thankful for the nature of how we are to teach these things. And ultimately know that it's your responsibility, and we're thankful for that, to apply it in our minds, for us to believe that. And it's our responsibility to reckon on it. And so we just do reckon on the truth of your love for us, for your grace, and we thank you for this morning. Pray for next hour, just that the clarity of God's, your word would be made known to those that are listening and learning this morning. It's your name we pray, amen.