Sermon Notes
Lessons for a Healthy Church:
Guarding the Church’s Reputation
1 Timothy 3:14-4:16
Introduction: A long running ad campaign for a particular brand of soap declares that it is “99 44/100% Pure.” Pure what? How did it get that way? Did it just happen by chance? Does nature produce bars of soap that are 99 44/100% pure? Or did an entire corporation have to work to make that soap pure?
Proposition: We’ve got our work cut out for us! To draw others to Christ, God needs a pure church.
1. In lifestyle (3:14-16)
THERE ARE APPROPRIATE STANDARDS OF CONDUCT FOR "THE CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD"
A. Urgency of Communicating the Appropriate Standards for Conduct
1. "These things" must be communicated
2. Personal Visit is Preferred but may be Delayed
3. Written Letter is Necessary in light of the Urgency (email would be even better!)
B. Significance of the Appropriate Standards for Conduct
"you may know how one ought to conduct himself"
C. Importance of the Church
1. "Household of God"--this is a family affair; relationships are important
2. "Church of the Living God"--related to the living God; represents the living Christ in the world -- can’t be a dead church
D. Priority of the Truth -- "pillar and support of the truth"
E. We have A COMMON CONFESSION
Churches tend to emphasize their distinctiveness: what makes them different. Here we look at the fundamentals; what we have in common as the true Church of Jesus Christ.
Verse 16 was likely sung or recited as an early hymn
We are dealing with a "Mystery"
We all love a good mystery. Our concept of a mystery = a whodonit? Where we have to use all of our reasoning powers to piece together the different clues and figure out the answer.
Here we are talking about a Great Mystery --
Great = "Mega" like megabucks; like megachurch / like huge.
When God says something is Mega, it’s really huge.
Called a Mega Mystery -- but not the type of mystery that we could ever figure out on our own.
The New Testament views a mystery in a completely different light: It is a truth previously hidden and then revealed by God. It is only understood by the believer through the Holy Spirit.
What a privilege: God is going to clue us in on one of His Mega Mysteries!
An entire series of lessons can be taught about the truths revealed in verse 16. But today let’s just let these words sink in.
2. In doctrine (4:1-11)
This morning on Headline News it was reported that a group of college students tested people’s attitude about obeying traffic laws. They drove four abreast on all 4 lanes of a busy freeway. You could imagine what happened. Some passed on the shoulders, and one person in a van was willing to lose a rear view mirror to get by.
Reminds me of the story of a stressed out woman on a busy street tailgating the local postmaster as he made his way home from work. Suddenly the light turned yellow and the man did the right thing and stopped. At this the tailgating woman hit the roof and then her horn screaming in frustration. As her tirade went on she heard a tap on her window and there stood a police officer. The officer ordered her out of the car, arrested her took her downtown to booking, fingerprinted her and placed her in a holding cell. After a couple of hours the officer returned and apologized for the ordeal. Explaining “I’m very sorry for this but when I came up behind you while you where laying on the horn and cussing a blue streak at the guy in front of you I noticed your WWJD licenses plate frame, your follow me to Sunday school bumper sticker, and your Chrome plated Christian fish emblem. Seeing these and your actions I simply assumed that you had stolen the car.” What would make a person who you would least expect to act like that behave in such a way? Influence from outside sources took up residence. These things can be called spiritual infections.
A. SOME INFECTIONS WILL KILL US (1-5)
1. These are the religious lies that tear us from the truth of God
- Satan is the author and propagator of these lies
- But it comes to us through charismatic leaders who appear to know the truth
- Through their hypocrisy these men teach their lies as if they were the truth of God
- What these men taught could hardly be considered truth
- Their attractive but diseased doctrines lead to nowhere but spiritual death
- Satan lies to us, that is why he is called the “father of lies”
- His promises lead to only empty returns
- The first of these lies that Paul speaks about deals with the institution of marriage
- These lies don’t end here Satan even lies about something as common as the food that we eat
To combat these spiritual killers Paul takes us back to creation to show us the truth
- God created man to be married and propagate the earth
- He created the plants and animals for food
- Because they were created by God they are “good”
- Nothing that God has made for the purpose He intended is to be treated as “taboo” by the people of God
Beyond the diseases that can completely destroy our spiritual lives, Paul shows us some that simply make us spiritually sick:
B. INFECTIONS THAT MAKE US ANEMIC (6-10)
1. These are nothing more than fantasies dressed up as true religion
- These fables treat Christianity with great contempt
2. Self-worship is another fantasy that was relevant in Paul’s day. It is probably more evident today than it was in Paul’s time
- We live in a society that is obsessed with remaining young at all cost
- Diet, exercise, plastic surgery, and cosmetics are multi billion dollar industries (Remember: there is a soap that is 99 44/100% pure out there!)
- In some ways we are treating ourselves as if we are God!
3. How doe we respond as Christians? We choose truth over fantasy
- Paul balances the negative with the positive
- There are two principles Paul gives to Timothy: First, have nothing to do with the teachers of these fantasies; and Second, discipline yourself
- We need to do so because we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are obligated to treat our bodies right
- Spiritual discipline and heavenly citizenship are better than the distorted world any false teacher can ever hope to offer. They bless us both in this life and the life to come
- When we see Jesus for who He is and His truth for what it is, great things come our way (Matthew 6:33)
3. In example (4:12-16)
THERE ARE SOME INFECTIONS THAT MAKE US LETHARGIC (11-16)
A. Religious putdowns keep us from doing our best service for Christ
- In their opinion, some may feel we are too young or too old to serve
- Paul is telling Timothy (and us as well) that to be successful in ministry, he must remain faithful to Christ regardless of the condescending remarks
- Looks can be deceiving!
- David was small, but became a great King
- Most of the Apostles were simple men with little education
Years ago a tall truck approached a low railroad overpass. The driver paid no attention to the warning signs and found himself wedged under the bridge. No one on the scene could come up with a solution to free the truck, so they brought in the engineer who built the bridge. Again no possible ideas came forth, that was until the engineers 4 year old little boy looked up at his dad and said “why don’t you just let the air out of the tires?”
- We must keep on keeping on, no matter what is said against us
- This is Paul’s advice to Timothy and to us as well
B. Sometimes these putdowns don’t come from others but from ourselves
- Sometimes we are our own worst critic
- We concentrate on what we can’t do instead of what we can do
- We need to encourage each other in service just as Paul did with Timothy
C. There are two responses to this spiritual lethargy: Good Christian conduct and faithfulness to our ministry
- Keep serving faithfully; if you need a place to serve, the opportunities here at Liberty are endless
- We can grow and be a healthy Church when we watch our lives and keep the infections out by closely guarding our faith and our lifestyles
Conclusion: God wants us to be pure so that others will be drawn to the truth of His love and grace embodied in our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. So take infection seriously. Get your nourishment, do the exercise that God prescribes, and rest in the Lord. It just might save your life- eternally! Are you dirty? Do you need cleansed? Come to be Jesus and be washed whiter than snow.
Invitation: Whiter Than Snow
