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Handle Scripture Rightly
69 Plays6 months ago
Series: Managing the Ministry of the Local Church
1 Tim. 1:1-11
Recommended
Transcript
The Christian Walk as a Race
00:00:01
Speaker
All throughout the Bible, the Christian walk is pictured as a race or as an athletic competition. Both require attention, both require effort. They require sacrifice and perseverance. Both have a clearly defined finish line.
Relay Races and Baton Handoffs
00:00:24
Speaker
Relay races are particularly interesting.
00:00:27
Speaker
like watching relay race especially when it comes to the olympics they have the best of the best relay race
00:00:35
Speaker
staggers the beginning for each race participant but they all start at the exact same time when the gun is fired and the first leg runs and before they hand it off right the second leg starts running in anticipation that the first guy will hand off the baton and you'll notice when they're running it's not like this they're always handing it off like this and they're trying to
00:01:05
Speaker
pacing just so right so that they hand it off. It's in this critical moment that a slight hesitation, a slight bobble, a slight miscalculation, when the dropping of the baton happens. Friends, it just happened a couple years ago in a major event.
00:01:28
Speaker
Chinese were in the lead, Chinese women. They made the very first handoff successfully, and the very next one, she missed it. And then she missed it again, and then she dropped it.
Passing Down Teachings of the Word
00:01:40
Speaker
And then they had to reset and go all the way back to where you started to run, and they lost the race horribly. When it comes to the relay race, friends, it's not necessarily the fastest team that wins. It's the team that hands off the baton well.
00:01:58
Speaker
My prayer, brothers and sisters, for us today is that we hand off that baton well. The baton of our teachers that have rightly taught us the Word of God, that have entrusted us with this precious resource, who have guarded this teaching and are now willing to pass it to the next Timothy.
00:02:30
Speaker
Are you that Timothy this morning? Because brothers and sisters, you're charged by the Bible to have your hand out and you're ready to grab that baton. We're going to see this morning, friends, from God's Word
00:02:52
Speaker
that the real problem is still prevalent
Managing the Ministry of the Local Church
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Speaker
today. It's a problem that was prevalent in Paul's time. It's a problem that we still see today. It is the mishandling of God's Word. It is the taking God's Word lightly. It is misjudgment on the part of the teacher or preacher.
00:03:19
Speaker
It is a miscalculation that has drastic results. So we're going to first see that the problem is still a problem indeed. The solution is right handling of Scripture. We're going to see how to do that. That's our application. Today, friends, I know many of you are excited because we're starting a brand new series. A brand new series. We're no longer in the Old Testament. We're going to be in the New Testament.
00:03:46
Speaker
This new series is called Managing the Ministry of the Local Church. We'll be walking through what are commonly referred to as the pastoral epistles, or the pastoral letters. It is 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus. These friends are in the New Testament, so if you're new to your Bible, open up your Bible about halfway, that's kind of your Gospels, and you just keep flipping to the right, you'll get back there eventually.
00:04:14
Speaker
What I love about these particular letters, and the reason I chose to go this route for us as a church, as a congregation, is that these are the very last words written by the Apostle Paul. These are the most paramount things on Paul's heart as he's getting ready to step out of ministry.
Understanding the Pastoral Epistles
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Speaker
Friends, he doesn't quite realize that death is right around the corner for him, but what he does is he says, these things are on my heart. These things at the end of my ministry are the most important things for you to know, and he passes the baton to Timothy. These are written
00:04:57
Speaker
interesting in order. So you would think that first Timothy comes, then second Timothy comes, then Titus comes. But what happens is Paul plants this church in Ephesus and he puts Timothy there. This is about anywhere between 63 and 66 AD. He then leaves Ephesus and he gets captured, Paul does, and imprisoned.
00:05:23
Speaker
And it's in prison that he writes 2 Timothy. So it kind of goes 1 Timothy, Titus, then 2 Timothy, in order. We won't be studying them that way, but just so you know, these letters are very personal from Paul. Many of them written in prison. They're very practical to you and I today. They deal with the exact same issues that the early church was dealing with, that you and I are dealing with today.
Challenges in Timothy's Mission
00:05:49
Speaker
They're very relevant. That's the word I just kept writing down all week for us. So as we start today, we're going to read God's word. I'm going to read just 11 verses. If you would be so kind and you're able, would you stand with me? 1 Timothy, if you have your Bibles, turn. If not, they'll be on the screen there. 1 Timothy chapter 1 starts this way. It says, this letter is from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus.
00:06:19
Speaker
appointed by the command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus, who gives us hope. I am writing to Timothy my true son in faith. May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace. When I left for Macedonia, I urge you to stay there in Ephesus and to stop those teaching and contrary to the truth. Don't let them waste their time at endless discussion on myths and spiritual pedigrees.
00:06:50
Speaker
These things only lead to meaningless speculation, which don't help people live a life of faith in God. The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith.
Dealing with False Teachers
00:07:08
Speaker
But some people have missed this whole point. They've turned away from these things and spend their time in meaningless discussions. They want to be known as teachers of the law of Moses, but they don't know what they're talking about, even though they speak so confidently.
00:07:24
Speaker
We know that the law is good when used correctly, for the law was not intended for people who do what is right. It is for people who are lawless and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who kill their father or mother or commit other murders. The law is for people who are sexually immoral or who practice homosexuality.
00:07:47
Speaker
or our slave traders, or liars, or promise breakers, or who do anything else that contradicts the wholesome teaching that comes from the glorious good news entrusted to me by our blessed God. You may be seated. Paul's letter to Timothy starts quite interestingly. He gives his introduction, if you will, by stating his authority
00:08:16
Speaker
He says, I am Paul, the apostle of Christ Jesus, and I have been appointed by the command of God. He's literally saying, I come with the authority that God has bestowed upon me. This letter, as it's being read to a congregation, comes with that same authority. It has nothing to do with the reader. It has nothing to do with Timothy.
00:08:44
Speaker
really has nothing to do with Paul, saying the teaching that was given by God comes with authority. And he says, Timothy, if you will stay the course, stay in Macedonia, verse three says, don't leave Ephesus. And you think to yourself as you're studying your Bible, why in the world would he want to leave Ephesus? Well, those of you who were kind enough to join us on Wednesday nights for our study in Ephesians, y'all remember exactly what was going on in Ephesus.
00:09:14
Speaker
This large temple to the pagan goddess Artemis was there. Idol worship, the occult, magic, sexual sacrifice in the temple. Friends, this is what's going on in Ephesus. Not an easy place to pastor a new church, dare I say. Satan and his workers were hard at work here in Ephesus.
00:09:45
Speaker
They were trying to take what Paul had planted and they were trying to uproot that by these false teachers that just so happened to creep in. Friends, this same practice is going on today. While I've taught this lesson many times before because I've looked at some past notes, at this point normally what I like to do is throw up on the screen false teachers today.
00:10:16
Speaker
And I'm not going to do that for you today. Because I've had other people go, you know, I liked that person. I've listened to that person. When I was growing up, I went into a really tough time and I followed that preacher. She was great or he was great. And they don't like to hear that person is a false teacher.
00:10:40
Speaker
Friends, these people in our culture today are doing the exact same thing that they're doing in Paul's time. They're waiting for the opportunity for a congregation who doesn't know God's Word, who isn't confident in God's Word. And what they do is they weasel their way in and they shake their hands and say, I'm a teacher of God's Word.
00:11:07
Speaker
and then they start propagating a false gospel. The problem is still the exact same today as it ever has been. Paul tells us the problem here in verse 4. He says they're wasting time on spiritual myths or spiritual pedigrees. They're meaningless speculations. They're taking people away from what was originally planted
00:11:38
Speaker
by Paul. Friends, we'll see this again come up when we get to Titus. We see this again almost in any new church plant. We have the Word of God confidently given by teachers and then often when that church is planted, those original teachers move on and they
00:12:01
Speaker
pass the baton to somebody else who doesn't quite do a fantastic job and these false teachers come in and they say doesn't necessarily matter what Paul said yes we agree yes Jesus is probably the way but friends that's how false teaching starts but yes yes we understand what Jesus did
00:12:31
Speaker
But what you need to do is fill in the blank. They'll go back to Old Testament law or genealogies. You're probably all right if you believe in Jesus, but if you have a Jewish lineage and you can trace your genealogy back, that's really gonna matter. Friends, that's not gonna matter.
00:12:56
Speaker
And as soon as you veer from the true gospel of Jesus Christ, I had a preacher tell me this a long time ago, he said, as soon as you deviate from the true gospel, all you are left with is the false gospel.
00:13:09
Speaker
Plain and simple. And it's the same tricks that these false teachers were doing back then. It says that they were up to no good and they were giving no good news for law centers. They were simply trying to capture them. I love this picture here. Trying to capture their minds and fill them with doubt. Hey, I know what Paul said, but you might want to start thinking about this.
00:13:36
Speaker
They're famous for starting questions and stirring things up, but not really ever providing any answers. They like to sow seeds of doubt, which cause division. False teachers do. They're out looking out for their own interests, not the interest of the church. We must be grounded in this right here.
00:14:03
Speaker
This is why we teach the manner in which we teach. Why we don't teach topically. Why I don't get up and just say, I'm going to read one verse from Timothy and I'm going to kind of make it say whatever I want it to say. Because there's a very real danger for teachers to do that. That's why we walk systematically straight through each chapter.
00:14:25
Speaker
so that we read it in context, so that it has nothing to do with me or my interest, but God's word and his interest. I just put as a personal note, if we don't know it, we're prone to be deceived by it. If we don't know it well, it's very easy for a false teacher to come in.
00:14:55
Speaker
My sweet mother, and I won't go into all the details because she wouldn't want me to do that, but she was scammed through an email scam, right? And when she told me about this, she said, oh, this happened, and I can't believe I fell for it. And I thought to myself, coming from an IT background, I said, I can't believe you fell for it either. That was my response, a very loving son response. Mom, how could you fall for something like that?
00:15:25
Speaker
It's right there. It's so obvious. Friends, you know why it's obvious to me? Because I come from an IT background. And I know don't click that link that comes into email because that link, while they may disguise it, is not really what it's meant to do. But I only know that because I know IT. The only way you cannot be deceived by false teachers is by knowing the real teaching, by knowing God's word.
00:15:55
Speaker
That's why friends memorizing Scripture is so important. Because this is what a false teacher loves to do. They like to take something that sounds similar and just tweak it a little bit. Just a little bit.
00:16:10
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And when you hear it, you go, if you don't know your Bible well, you go, yeah, that sounds kind of accurate. And you keep listening, and you keep learning under that false teacher. And friends, that small change over time starts drifting you further and further away from God's truth.
00:16:31
Speaker
But he sees here in verse 6 and 7, look with me, he says, some people, they've missed this whole point. They have turned away from these things and they spend their time in meaningless discussions.
00:16:45
Speaker
These people, these false teachers, they want to be known. This word known here is really the Greek here is they desire. Thello is this word. They have a strong need, a desire to be known as the teacher of God's word. Brothers and sisters, let me warn you right now. If you ever run into a teacher who is so excited to be the teacher,
00:17:13
Speaker
be real cautious because there comes a great weight that comes with teaching. And if you just rush in and you find somebody who is just so eager to be a teacher, not saying they're not going to be a great teacher, I'm just saying be weary. These false teachers are counting on you not knowing your Bible so that they may come in and, and I just put in quotes here, teach you.
00:17:44
Speaker
Right? Because what they really want to do is lead you astray. They're not teaching you God's Word because if they taught you God's Word, love and unity would come from that. Instead, they're sowing seeds of distrust and disunity. They want a following. It's all about them. It's all about their desire. But I like this verse 7, it says,
00:18:14
Speaker
but they don't know what they're talking about. This word no here really is, I think Paul's kind of playing a trick, a word play if you will. In the Greek this is no way no, that's how you pronounce that. No way no, no way they know what they're talking about. When I read this and I get to that part, that's in my mind, that's how I'm reading that.
00:18:38
Speaker
They want to be the teacher, but friends, they don't know what they're teaching. They might be very confident as he goes on and says here, but the truth is not in them. It's a false bravado. Because see what happens when you teach God's word and you exposit God's word, the confidence isn't found in the teacher. The confidence is found in God's word. That's how you know the difference.
00:19:08
Speaker
I love coming from an IT background. If somebody has an IT problem, I feel very confident because I've been doing it so long, I can sit down. Matter of fact, I did it with Darrell today. We were having some problems getting one of the computers up there connected. I wasn't nervous that I couldn't figure it out because I have a strong background in IT. If we have a strong background in the Bible, we don't mind sitting down with somebody and talking through it.
00:19:38
Speaker
troubleshooting a problem. Oh, you have an issue? Let's sit down and see what God's Word says about that. You see, friends, false teachers, they don't want to do that. It's all the confidence and the delivery because they have no confidence in the source because they're not teaching God's Word. I put here that they like to promote a false agenda.
00:20:07
Speaker
What do I mean by that? What he's saying here in, if you look with me here, verse, end of verse four, beginning verse five, he says, don't follow these people because they're just, they're wasting their time in proxy, they're wasting your time because you're sitting under their teaching. He's saying don't waste your time because they're simply wasting their time discussing myths and spiritual degrees. These things are meaningless speculations
00:20:37
Speaker
and they don't do what they're meant to do. If you read the end of verse 4, they don't help people live a life of faith in God.
Importance of Sticking to Scripture
00:20:50
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A tell-tale marker of a false teacher
00:20:54
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is division within whoever they're teaching, and they're not promoting God's agenda. They're not promoting salvation. They're promoting something else. You ever know people like this that you've ever sat under? They may sound quite godly, but it's almost like there's a hidden agenda to what they're teaching. The best compliment I've ever gotten was many years ago when I was teaching a class. This lady had sent me an email and she just said, while I appreciate what you were teaching,
00:21:24
Speaker
I can't find that in the Bible. Do you mind showing me where you got that? And I said, well sure, here's my sources. This is where I went back. It was a message about why back in Jesus' time people paid for mourners to come and wail and cry at people's, she didn't know that part and so on. But it was the best. While I first took it, I thought, I can't believe she has the gall
00:21:53
Speaker
to question me. But then I thought to myself, oh my goodness, what a compliment. A, somebody's really listening, right? And somebody really wants to know, and if I'm really a teacher of God's word, I should be able to go back exactly where we were having this conversation and go, oh yeah, here's where I got there. I got it this way. And so friends, you'll notice, if you've been around me enough, I really don't like
00:22:22
Speaker
to sprinkle my own opinion in my sermons. And if I do, I fully let you know ahead of time. This is a ransom translation or something like that, right? Some offhanded compliment or comment on the scripture, but the reason I don't do that is, friends, I can just be completely humble and honest with you this morning. I really have nothing in of myself that's important to tell you. God's word, however,
00:22:48
Speaker
saves lives, changes lives. That's the only reason I get up and do what I do. It's not to hear my own voice. Matter of fact, I think I sound kind of nasally. False teachers have a different agenda. They don't promote God's economy.
00:23:06
Speaker
And they like to tell you often what they are doing and not what God has already done. It's another mark of a false teacher. They like to tell you how they're kind of doing God's work right now, instead of pointing to the already completed work of Jesus Christ. So what do we do with wrong handling of Scripture, with teachers?
Responsibility of Handling Scripture
00:23:30
Speaker
And I will just say very carefully, handle this very carefully. When you find somebody that you think is a false teacher, do a lot of research first, and then take that person aside privately and say, here's kind of why I think you might be off. Give that person a chance to correct themselves, because they very well just may have misspoken. But if they stick to their guns, even after you show them what God's word says,
00:24:01
Speaker
Maybe you need to distance yourself from them. I often tell people if I get to a part in a sermon that you don't agree with, come see me privately. I would love to share with you and if we can't come to agreement and you don't wanna sit under this teaching at this church, then this might not be the place for you. But I really hope it is because I really make an effort each and every week to stick very, very close to God's word.
00:24:29
Speaker
Mani might disagree, but I'm so thankful that he does, because when Mani says something, I listen. That tells me Mani's listening, and I don't want to be misheard. I want God's Word to be heard. R.C. Sproul says this, he said, the right handling of Scripture is serious business. We need to take it seriously.
00:24:59
Speaker
And we can tell Paul takes it serious. And he understands the urgency as he passes on the baton to Timothy, because he starts the letter saying, I, Paul, the apostle of Christ, I come appointed. God, if you will, handed me the baton, Paul's saying. Now, Timothy, I'm handing you the baton. You're a true son of faith. You're a genuine son of faith.
00:25:29
Speaker
He's a genuine son of faith because he's following Paul's teaching. He's following Paul's conduct, his purpose, his faith, his patience, love, endurance, suffering. This is who Timothy is. This is why Paul has passed the baton to him and said, Ephesus is yours.
00:25:52
Speaker
You're charged with it. This word here is a strong word, charged here. Peronegello, it's a military term. This is the, as they're in the battlefield, you know, the lead guys gets right and he says, charge, this is what you're gonna do, you're gonna go attack the enemy, charge. That's his picture. See, my illustration of passing baton is quite passive. Passing it to the next guy, right? This one is saying,
00:26:22
Speaker
Michael, you're in charge. John, you're in charge. Kim Mitchell, you're in charge. I charge you with passing the baton. I've given it to you rightly. I've handled the scripture rightly. You too now are charged to do the same.
00:26:46
Speaker
What does this mean for you and I today as I look at the time?
Interpreting Scripture Correctly
00:26:53
Speaker
I just want to touch on just a few things. If handling the Word of God incorrectly has disastrous results, it divides churches, y'all. It splits churches.
00:27:09
Speaker
If it has such disastrous results and we've been tasked or charged to handle it rightly, how do we handle it rightly? Three quick things. If you're taking notes, this is your take home today. Context is key. What do I mean by that? There may be no greater problem in 21st century when we handle God's word is that we take it out of context.
00:27:41
Speaker
So I tell Kim, when we would visit another church, sometimes not before we got here, you know, sometime many years ago, we visited a church and this guy got up and he was fantastic. I mean, he was a fantastic orator. I mean, captivating and had some great illustrations and stories. He had 90s music playing in the background, which I just love because that was, you know, my era. I was like, oh, he's got a little Van Halen. He's got some Nirvana in there.
00:28:09
Speaker
Afterwards, she goes, what do you think about that? I go, where was the scripture? What was he teaching? He talked about love, sorta. He talked about commitment, sorta. But I kept flipping like, well, eventually, did I miss the, was he in Corinthians? Friends, context is key, meaning you have to know that particular passage.
00:28:37
Speaker
in that particular book, in that chapter. What's Paul saying? Why is he writing in Ephesus? What's going on in Ephesus? All those details, all those little investigative tools, I like to say, are important to the understanding of what's going on so that when you read a scripture, you go, oh, that's what he's meaning there. That's why it's written that way.
00:29:06
Speaker
I put down the same reason we don't do this is the same reason why we can't sit through a 30-minute sermon. Because we get fidgety. We don't like to spend the time. John Piper wrapped it up this way. He said, raking is easy. You're going to get leaves every time. But he said, digging is hard. But when you dig, you get diamonds.
00:29:32
Speaker
When you sit and handle rightly God's Word and you study it and you take the time to understand what the author is saying at that particular time in history, in the Bible, then God's Word can speak to you in such a way you won't misquote something. How many times have I heard when there's two or more together, what?
00:30:01
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Who's with you? Right. You know what that verse really means? In church discipline, when two or three are together,
00:30:11
Speaker
So anytime somebody says that, I go, oh, are you needing some church discipline? Because that's really what that scripture means. But what happens, for instance, is we take that out of context, and we like it because it sounds kind of biblical, and it sounds great on a little quotation for the day. And I go, oh, I'm just too tired to read my Bible today. I'm too tired to spend the time digging. I'd rather just rake a little bit. Oh, here's my daily quote for the day. Oh, that makes sense. I'll just read that.
00:30:42
Speaker
I'm guilty of it too, friends, that's why I'm saying it. Context is key. Second, we need to know what the author's intent was. If you want to handle the scripture rightly, you have to know what the author was saying and why he was saying it to that particular group of people at that particular time. It's only when we understand that that we can then find the biblical truth, which is still applicable to us today.
00:31:12
Speaker
Prime example, Paul writing to the early church when husbands are dying off and they're leaving widows says to the rest of the deacons, if you will, at that time, hey, we really should do something about those widows. We really should take care of those widows. Also in that same line of thought, all those widows really should have their head covered when they're in church.
00:31:42
Speaker
Is that prescriptive or descriptive? Meaning when I see you ladies here today without your head coverings, but that's what God's word says. God's word says, ladies, you should have your head covered. Prescriptive or descriptive?
00:32:01
Speaker
What was the author's real intent when he's writing that? Is that the biblical message that we should be taking out of that? All women should have their head covered? No. That was for that time at that place for those particular people. Context is a key. Authorial intent is a must. And last but not least, scripture interprets scripture.
00:32:25
Speaker
I like little notes to myself because this kind of helps me as I'm preaching, as a mental note. I put bumper guards. You know, you ever bowled? My wife's a great bowler, by the way. Don't ever let her trick you into go bowling. She'll hustle you for some money. She's a really good bowler. And she's left-handed, and she'll mess up the first couple, but then she'll really get it to go. I, on the other hand, like the bumper guards, where you put them in
00:32:55
Speaker
Is that what they're called? It's a bumper guard, right? Something like that? It keeps you in the alley. Friends, scripture, interpreting scripture keeps us in the alley. One of the best remarks I ever heard from a student when I was in seminary, we were studying Romans in Greek, and he said, oh, teacher, I think I learned something new over the weekend. And my teacher, no joke, without a beat said this, well, you're probably wrong.
00:33:26
Speaker
There's nothing new. Would you think you have a new idea? You don't. It's been around 2,000 years. People much smarter than you have already studied the Scriptures. That's why if you're a great teacher, I recommend commentaries. I don't recommend just the commentaries. You need to learn to read the word yourself, to exegete the word yourself, to exposit it, to find the truths, to understand what's going on.
00:33:54
Speaker
but a good commentary keeps you in the center alley. And scripture by itself referencing other scripture keeps you from going in the gutters. For example, I put real quick, the book of James does not contradict the book of Romans. Romans focuses on the free gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. James focuses on what that faith will look like after you've been saved.
00:34:26
Speaker
Both Paul and James talk about salvation, just two different facets of it. One doesn't contradict the other. And if you find a teacher that says that, that's a big one, right?
00:34:43
Speaker
I like when you get to Scripture and it's very clear and you read something and it's like a command. And you go, okay, I may not like to follow that, but I know it's a command. And then you hear somebody, another teacher, and they go, yeah, you know, that's optional. I've heard preachers say this before.
00:35:00
Speaker
Yes, God's Word, He's saying that, but friends, for you and I today, that's really optional. I'm gonna tell you, when you get to a command in the Bible, and if your Bible's like mine, and Jesus' words are in the red color, friends, you better follow those. Period. It's not optional. Let Scripture interpret other Scripture. I'll close with this. False teachers,
00:35:29
Speaker
False teachers friends are popular. And they're popular for a reason because they speak a popular message. They speak a message that sounds good to your ears. And when you come into church, sometimes I get it because I was sitting there in the pews for many years. Sometimes you just don't want to hear the conviction of the Holy Spirit that comes from God's Word. Sometimes you just want to hear a friendly message.
00:35:56
Speaker
I would be doing you a big disservice if I just got up here and preached a happy-go-lucky message every single Sunday. God's Word is life-changing in that it convicts and it changes and it makes us want to be closer to the image of God. Anything else is just fluff.
00:36:18
Speaker
And anything that says, Jesus is the only way to get saved, and you're only saved by faith in Him, anything else than that is a false gospel. Plain and simple. You have been charged. I have been charged to handle the scripture rightly. May we be found a people who teaches truly and who passes on the baton well. Amen.