1 Timothy 1:18-20 Wage the Good Warfare
1 Tim 1:18-20
“This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.”
Many are fighting today for their rights, freedom, their land and their country. Wars are bad because they are driven by selfish motives and goals.
• But Paul uses a unique phrase here when he tells Timothy to “wage the good warfare”.
• There is a GOOD warfare. He said it again in 6:12, “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”
• This is the FIGHT Timothy was called to fight - the fight of faith. Holding on to the TRUTH God has revealed in Jesus Christ.
Paul said in his second letter - 2 Tim 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” - laying for Timothy a living example to follow.
It’s a charge Paul needs to give Timothy because false teachers are telling a different message and promoting “myths and endless genealogies” (1:4).
• Such unsound or unhealthy doctrine is leading people astray, away from the truth of the Gospel that truly saves.
• God reveals salvation through Jesus Christ, and true life-change can only come through the Gospel.
It’s the truth crystallised over time by the testimonies of believers.
• 1:15 “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.”
• “I’ve experienced it and it has been authenticated by believers all over.”
This is the true Gospel. “What the Law cannot do, the Gospel did in changing a sinner like me.” And that’s what we are proclaiming.
• We contend for the truth because it has been proven to be true in doctrine and life.
• That’s Paul’s fight, and now Timothy’s fight, being his “true child in the faith”1:2.
• And that’s our fight today! It’s a spiritual fight of faith, proclaiming what is true so that people will not be confused by speculations and falsehoods.
SPEAK OUT FOR THE TRUTH
Paul reminded Timothy of his call to this ministry as pastor of the church.
• He said, “This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you…” (1:18)
• We do not know the specifics of these prophecies, but God led the church to ordain Timothy to lead the church.
• 4:14 “Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.”
• The body of elders affirmed God’s calling by laying their hands on Timothy and ordained him for ministry.
Since he was set apart for this, Paul reminded Timothy to honour that call and “wage the good warfare” 1:18 NASB: “Fight the good fight.”
• He did not explain what this “warfare” means. We can read it from the context - about false teachings, sound doctrine, and the life-changing message of the Gospel.
• Timothy would know. It is a call to defend the Gospel against all the false teachings; to defend what God has revealed against those who deny or distort it.
This was a needed and timely encouragement for the young and newly ordained Timothy (written AD 62-67).
• It is also a reminder to all of us as believers entrusted with the Gospel – to contend for what God has revealed.
• Both Jude and Peter issued the same call to believers, written around the same time.
• Jude 1:3-4 “3Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.
• 4For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” (AD 65-75)
• 2 Peter 2:1-3 “1But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.
2And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them, the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3And in their greed, they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”
(AD 62-68)
Distorted beliefs lead to sinful lives. Wrong beliefs lead to unrighteousness.
• Jude says they “pervert the grace of God into sensuality”, into immoral living.1:4
• Peter says they “follow their sensuality and because of them, the way of truth is blasphemed”; it is being maligned.
• When believers live in ways that contradict God’s Word, they not only harm their own witness but also give the world reason to reject or mock God’s truth.
Right believing leads to right living. HOW to wage a good warfare? Paul adds…
…wage the good warfare, 19holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith.
It’s a repeat of what he said in 1:5 “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”
LIVE OUT THE TRUTH
A ship doesn’t sink because of the water around it, but because the water gets inside.
• In the same way, don’t allow falsehoods or deceptions to erode our faith from within.
• Constant exposure to wrong teachings weakens our faith. Once that trust in God’s truth is compromised, we will begin to sink or stray.
The TWO things Timothy was called to hold on to: FAITH and a GOOD CONSCIENCE:
• (1) To hold fast to FAITH is to resist false doctrines and stay anchored in Christ.
• (2) To hold a GOOD CONSCIENCE is to do what is right, in obedience to God.
FAITH will keep Timothy anchored to God’s truth, and good CONSCIENCE will keep him walking in God’s ways.
• Paul rephrased it differently in 1 Tim 4:16 “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.”
• NIV puts it, “Watch your life and doctrine closely.”
This was what Hymenaeus and Alexander failed to do, which led to the shipwreck of their faith.
• They did not slip—they abandoned their faith and rejected what their conscience tells them. Their wrong beliefs destroyed them.
It’s like the police’s efforts in warning us against scams.
There is this SCAM ALERT ad on TV and the radio. Someone called to ask a lady for her account password. She was about to answer, and suddenly, a big “STOP!” sign appeared.
“Slow down now. Might be scam. Jangan now. Man Man Lai. Call to check!
CHECK IF IT’S A SCAM. Call 1799.”
The campaign calls us to pause and think. Why? We are the weak link!
We believe too easily, too naively. We take in what is said without caution, from text messages, phone calls, to whatever we read on social media or the internet.
We fail to guard our hearts and minds. And the consequence is in our hands!
Paul says, “Hold on to faith and a good conscience”.
• Don’t let go of what you’ve come to know so easily and fall for what the false teachers say. Check them out and expose their lies.
• Hold on to the sound doctrine, to the truth God has revealed and the Gospel that countless believers have authenticated.
• Stick to the “healthy” doctrine that has made us whole! Follow the voice of good conscience and obey what God has said.
To Paul, it’s not that the two men have NO truth, but they have SUPPRESSED the truth.
• Paul explains in 4:1-3 “1Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, 3who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.”
• Rom 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.”
When we stray from God, it will not be for a lack of truth, but a suppression of it.
• We suppress it when we disregard the voice of conscience, allowing sin to remain unconfessed and unforsaken.
• We reject the truth because we want to do things our way.
• We think we are better off, but we have unknowingly dumped the truth that can set us free and returned to the lie that brings us back into bondage.
So if people keep disregarding what the Spirit of God says, ignoring truth and conscience, they will come to a point where these no longer affect them.
• John Stott: “Anybody whose conscience has been so manipulated as to be rendered insensitive is in a very dangerous condition, wide open to the deceptions of the devil.”
• They’ve lost their compass. That’s what happened to Hymenaeus and Alexander.
Those who GUARD their FAITH and GOOD CONSCIENCE will stay the course and grow from strength to strength.
• They respond to the prompting of God’s Spirit; they confess their sins and forsake them, they heed His call and walk in His ways.
• Despite the harsh circumstances and the many deceitful and false teachings, they remained faithful, holding on to FAITH (anchored in sound doctrine) and GOOD CONSCIENCE - a determination to do things right and righteous, in obedience to God.
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With regards to their apostasy, Paul said: “I have handed over to Satan”.1:20
• At first, this sounds like a condemnation, but it’s not. He added, “that they may learn not to blaspheme.” 1:20
• Paul uses a similar phrase, “handing over to Satan”, in 1 Corinthians:
o 1 Cor 5:5 “…you are to deliver this man [sexually immoral person] to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.”
o 1 Cor 5:13 “God judges those outside. Purge the evil person from among you.”
• He is calling for the church to excommunicate persistent sinners and cut them off from the fellowship because of their wickedness. Put them outside, to the arena of Satan.
Yet with the HOPE that they will come to their senses, and realise it is better to be living under God than under Satan, to be in the community of faith, than outside.
• It’s a punishment and discipline, with the hope that they will learn their lesson, return to God and “not to blaspheme” Him again.
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So let us stand by what is true and live it. May our lives be anchored in Christ.
• We will fight the good fight of faith, always remembering that we are fighting from a place of victory that Christ has already won for us.
• To God be the glory.
Prayer:
Lord, give us the strength to stay faithful in the fight for the faith. Let us not be complacent or gullible, but discerning and wise. Fill us with the knowledge of the truth and give us the courage to speak the truth, always in love.
Watch over us so that we can keep our faith strong and our conscience clear. Help us not to stray or drift, but to hold fast to what is true and walk always in Your ways.
Use us as instruments of light in a world full of confusion and compromise, guiding people back to the truth and to Jesus Christ. May our lives reveal the truth of the Gospel, faithfully and clearly. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
