PASSING CHRISTIANITY DOWN
AN EXPOSITION OF FIRST TIMOTHY
by Bob Marcaurelle
D. The Faith Proclaimed 2:1-8
MESSAGE 7
LOVE AND GRACE FOR ALL
1 Timothy 2:1-8
v1) “I urge, then, first of all that requests, prayers, intercessions (conversations) and thanksgivings be made for everyone-
2) for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
3) This is good, and pleases God our Savior,
4) Who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
5) For there is one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus ,
6) who gave himself as a ransom for all men- the testimony given in its proper time.
7) And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle- I am telling the truth, I am not lying- and a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles.
8) I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.
GOD’S PASSION
The little word “all” shows us that evangelism, telling the world about Jesus is God’s passion. Someone has said that Christianity is the greatest story never told. Conservative believers who would die before denying the faith, often live and die without ever sharing it.
This passage is often used to teach that the first priority of the church is prayer. But a closer reading shows that prayer is the means of accomplishing the main thing, evangelism and missions.
The text says we are to pray for the governing authorities, so the church can have peace and quiet. And this peace and quiet is not the selfish “peace of mind” most Americans come to church for. It is peace that affords the opportunity to share our faith with others. The key word here is ALL:
1) We are to pray for “all men” (v1), because
2) God wants “all men to be saved” (v5);
3) Jesus paid the “ransom for all men” (v7); and
4) Paul was sent to all men-Jews and Gentile (v7)
GOD’S PREDESTINATION (1:2-4)
1. A Heresy Confronted (Calvinism)
. The verses just quoted, especially verse five, that says God wants all people to be saved is under attack in our Convention, by five point Calvinism. It is an example of meaningless talk and controversy. Some followers of the teachings of John Calvin, and Augustine teach:
1. God does not want all people saved.
2. Before creation God chose those He saves.
3. Jesus died only for them and not for all people.
4. Those chosen cannot reject Jesus Christ.
5. Once they are saved they cannot loose salvation. This is described
as TULIP.
“TULIP”
T- Total depravity
We are spiritually dead and cannot choose salvation
U- Unconditional Election
God’s choice is not based on any goodness He sees in us. It is the “Sovereign” choice of the King of Heaven.
L- Limited Atonement
Jesus dies only for those who were Chosen.
P- Perseverance- Once saved, always saved.
In one foul system they deny the truths of Scripture which teach God loves all people (Jn. 3:16): wants all people saved (1 Tim. 2:4;2 Pet. 3:9); and sent Jesus to offer a sacrifice for all people (1 Tim. 2:6; I Jn. 2:1-2).
1) Calvinism makes us puppets with no will and no choice.
In heaven there is not one person who chose to love and serve God
2) Calvinism makes God a monster.
David said God created him in his mother’s womb and he came out in iniquity (51:5: 139:13). He creates sinful human being and then sends them to hell for being sinful. That’s like sending a dog to hell for barking, when it was created to bark. Wesley once said to a Calvinist, “The Person you call God I call the devil.”
Illustration: If a fireman places two children in a building he know is going to be set on fire and goes back into the blaze and saves only one, when he could save both, no one would call that love.
If a fireman goes into a building and brings out one of my children but leaves the other to die because that’s what he “chose” to do, how could I love Him and be grateful to him?
3) Calvinism is the Opposite of Love and God is Love
First John 4:8 says, “God is love”. This is not an attribute of God, it is his essence. It is who He is as a person. And what that fireman did, and what Calvinists say God did does not come within a billion miles of what the term “love” means. His love makes Him want all people to be saved and made Him send His Son to be crucified for us.
2. A Mystery Admitted.
We must admit there is truth on both sides. There are verses that support predestination and others that support our ability to choose. This last view is associated with James Arminius and is called “Arminianism”.
3. A Haughtiness Often Detected.
Not all Calvinists are haughty intellectually and feel they are a cut above the rest of us. An example is Charles Spurgeon. But many today are.. They are perfect examples of the “meaningless talk” (1:6), of those who, “do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm”. (1:7).
4. A Middle Position Taken
The vast majority of ministers I know are not Calvinists but they humbly admit there are verses that seem to teach predestination. They admit they do not have the final answer. They believe the truth is somewhere in between.
We see our task is to choose salvation when it is offered to us and to share this good news with everyone. We work as though everything depends on us, which it does; and as though everything depends on God, which it does.
We do not believe the inexhaustible Word of God has to make sense to our puny little minds. In Romans 9-11 Paul wrestled with this very problem when it came to the Jews. Finally, in intellectual exhaustion he concluded:
“Oh, the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How un-searchable are his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord.” (Romans 11: 33,34)
Rev. Charles Simeon, a great Evangelical preacher in the Church of England in the early 1800’s. Wrestling with this issue like the rest of us, he said:
“It would be well, if, instead of contending for human systems, and especially those of Calvin and Arminius, if we would be content to receive the Scriptures with the simplicity of little children.
After all has been written in support of these two prominent systems, it is impossible to reduce the Scriptures to either one. In both views there are difficulties which can never be surmounted and contradictions which man can never reconcile.
It is by attempting to be wise above what is written that we involve ourselves in these difficulties. If we would be content to take the Scriptures as they are, and leave the reconciling of them to God, by whose inspiration they were written, we would find they were designed to produce the results God intends.” (Expository Outlines on the Whole Bible, Volume18, Zondervan Publishing House,1955, pg.493-494, (Some English changed for clarity.)
GOD’S PURPOSE ON CALVARY (5-6)
5) For there is one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus
“6) Who gave himself as a ransom for all men-the testimony given in the proper time
1. The Mission of Jesus
.Jesus gave his life as a ransom for all men. The mission of Jesus was evangelism. The word “ransom” was used of paying price to release someone like a slave or a captured leader. Some have said Jesus paid the devil, but that is absurd. He defeated the devil (Col. 2:15) and paid the soldier’s price to set us free with His sacrifice on Calvary.
2. The Mediation of Christ (v5).
Jesus is the one and only mediator between a holy God and sinful man. All these Gnostic mediators are non-existent. As man Jesus takes the hand of God representing man with his human blood. As God he takes the hand of man representing God with his divine blood (Acts 20:28).
3. The Mission of Christianity (2:7).
v6) who gave himself as a ransom for all men- the testimony given in its proper time.
v7) And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle- I am telling the truth, I am not lying- and a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles. I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.”
1) The Preparations God Made.
The sacrifice of Jesus for all men and women (v6) involved: “the testimony given at the proper time” (NIV, 2:6 See Gal.4:4) God sent Jesus into the world at just the right time for the Church to proclaim a world wide message.
Roman roads, laws and peace in the First Century enabled to the Church to take the Gospel to the whole Roman world from the Middle East to England.
Jewish synagogues gave them places to preach and the Greek language gave them a language almost all in the Roman World could understand.
God prepared His world, to receive His Son and sent Him at just the right time and in just the right place-Palestine. It is narrow land bridge with the desert on one side and the sea on the other. It connects Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. All this was to help the Church witness!
2) The Preachers God Sends (v7)
Paul now throws himself into his argument and says the reason he has been in jail, the reason he is covered with scars, the reason he has never had a home since he met Jesus, is that God called him to be a herald of the good news, an Apostle with God’s own authority, and a teacher to Jews and Gentiles.
Conclusion: Our task is not to solve the deep mysteries of freedom versus predestination. It is to preach the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit; to leave the results to God; and pray with Dwight L. Moody, “Lord, save the elect and elect some more.”
