1 Timothy 6:20-21a   Message 35  Final message on 1 Timothy

      e.  Be committed to the truth.   1 Timothy 6:20-21

1 Timothy 6:20-21  O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen.

        1).  The Treasure committed to Timothy.    “…keep that which is committed to thy trust…”

We will review that which Timothy was to minister to others, defending the truth from any that would change it from that which he had been given.

We learn of this letter in the –       

A.     Introduction of the Epistle                  1:1-2

This introduction reveals the truth that we all make choices in life and these  choices influence others.  We may never even know how we have helped others in living a life that honours God.  As we begin this letter, we note the identification of the writer and the recipient. –

  1.  Identification.

1 Timothy 1:1  Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope; 

      a.  The writer – Paul identified himself as an Apostle by appointment by God.

      b.  The recipient is Timothy    1 Timothy 1:2a “Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith…”

        1).  The partner in ministry – “…my own son in the faith…”   Timothy was now –

        2).  The pastor at Ephesus

This is difficult work – the strength for which is only found in the Lord.  Paul encouraged Timothy in this truth by the next statement of that which is found only in God.  Paul explained that which he had declared of God’s –

    2.  Intercession: “…our hope…”  Our expected end – what to look forward to along the way:

1 Timothy 1:2b  “…Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.”

      a.  Grace,  Living grace needed for each day

      b.  Mercy, protecting us from evil    – and –

      c.  Peace, that which only can come from God.  

We then began to see the –

  B.   Charges to Timothy           1 Timothy 1:3 – 6:21a

Now that he knew the presence of God providing him with grace, mercy, and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ, Timothy was to make a –

    1.  Commitment to right Doctrine  1 Timothy 1:3-20

It would be good to remember that Paul had given Timothy, as pastor of the church in Ephesus, the responsibility to correct the wrongdoing in the church and instruct them in knowing and doing God’s work God’s way.  Timothy had to commit himself to right doctrine in order to set in order the right –

    2.  Conduct of the church                1 Timothy 2:1 – 3:16

We, the members of the church, are a living body – more than just an organization.

We have been placed into this body, the church, by the Lord –

1 Corinthians 12:18  But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

– and we are to help one another to accomplish God’s will, and to tell all those in the world that God has sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world that they may be saved.  We must have God’s help, which led us to –

      a.  Prayer    1 Timothy 2:1-7

Paul wrote of –

        1).  Supplication – seeking, realizing one’s insufficiency.  1 Timothy 2:1a

        2).  Prayers – conversation

        3).  Intercessions.

        4).  Thanksgiving     And that we are to pray for –

      b.         The People    Who are we to pray for?  1 Timothy 2:1b, 2a

The first thing is –  “…that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life…”

     c.  The Purpose  Why should we pray? – to carry out the commandments of God.        In –

        1).  Peace

        2).  Pleasing unto God  –  1 Timothy 2:3,4

        3).  Profitable to reason in atmosphere of peace –  1 Timothy 2:5,6

        4).  Proclaimed unto all the world –  1 Timothy 2:7

        5).  Practical actions of the believers    which takes daily prayer and determination to submit to God –

           a).  The Responsibility of the men in submission to the Lord –

            (1).  We are to be public, not ashamed of our relationship with the Lord  “…that men pray everywhere…”

            (2).  We are to be pure  “…lifting up holy hands…”

            (3).  We are to be peaceable  “…without wrath…”

            (4).  We are to be positive   “…without doubting.”

          b).  The Role of women in submission to the Lord –

            (1).  Their Dedication

            (2).   Their decency   (The dictionary definition of ‘decent’ is –   marked by moral integrity, kindness, and goodwill)

            (3).  Their determination

            (4).  Their desire

            (5).  Their deference

The conclusion drawn from the responsibilities and roles is –

 Do you see this morning that we are not saved by public prayer and praise, having children, or any other thing we do?  We are saved by faith, trusting in God through His Son Jesus Christ – the death, burial, and resurrection that all men might be saved.

That which Paul stated here is how believers, praying that we might lead quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty, live in submission and obedience, willingly and happily unto the Lord.

A man or woman who say that they will trust God for salvation, but nothing else, they will choose how they will live their lives, is not a saved person.

A man that says that he does not have to live a holy life, a public testimony for the Lord, does not need to pray, does not need to be kind to others, had better examine his salvation!

A woman that says she will be married, but will not submit to her husband’s leadership, does not have to help him accomplish God’s will for his life, will go to church but does not have to listen to the men because she knows more than they do, had better examine her salvation.

Anyone that states “I will accept your salvation, but I will do what I want when I want”, is not saved!

We also learned of the –

      e.   Positions or what are commonly called ‘offices’ in the church.  1 Timothy 3:1-13

Qualifications for the two offices in the church are set forth in this chapter, the first being that of the

        1).  Bishops                           1 Timothy 3:1-7

        2).  Deacons

The qualifications are set forth clearly and are to be followed exactly!

Next we were encouraged with Timothy in the –

      f. Performance of our duties                    1 Timothy 3:14-16

Paul took a brief intermission in the letter to exhort and encourage Timothy to consider the things he had read and to exalt the Lord, reminding us that He is Worthy of all of our love, all of our attention, and all of our obedience. 

We must stand for the truth of God’s Word as we, as well as was Timothy – are warned along with him of the –

    3.  Calamity in the church                   1 Timothy 4:1-5

      a.  The message of warning.  “…Now the Spirit speaketh expressly…”

Timothy, and every pastor since his time, was told of what to look for in their churches –

      b. The movement away from truth    “…that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith…”

These are all basic truths, easy to understand which should be trusted and obeyed.  But there is a continuing lie being proclaimed by the world –

      c.  The method of deception  “…giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils…”

These take the truth, question it, twist it, add lies to it and present it as the answer to your needs in life, the things that you deserve which leads to –

      d.  The magnification of the cult of self

    4.  Correction of the church.                  1 Timothy 4:6-16

Correction is necessary to remain on the course that is set before us by God through His Word.  We should examine our position daily to insure we are remaining true to God’s will and close to Him in our walk.

Paul also provided Timothy with a practical guide to the pastor’s relationship with the church in giving –

    5.  Counsel to the Church       1 Timothy 5:1 – 6:2                                     

      a.  Pastoral Ministry   To Regard them as family

        1).  Ministry to the members

             2).  Ministry to widows.                1 Timothy 5:3-16

               3).  Ministry to pastors.               1 Timothy 5:17-22

                 a).  The pastor’s remuneration. (Simply put, the pastor’s salary)

          b).  The pastor’s reputation.

        4). Ministry to slaves and to masters.    1 Timothy 6:1-2

          1).  Freedom in Christ should not promote rebellion

          2).  Equality in Christ should not promote disrespect 

       b.  Personal lives.  1 Timothy 6:3-21

        1).  Be careful in fellowship.

        2).  Be content in material pursuits.

        3).  Be contending for the faith.  “fight the good fight of faith…”

        4).  Be constantly exhorting the brethren.

Which concludes this morning with –

        2).  The Trust required.  1 Timothy 6:20b-21

… avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen.

Conclusion 

1 Timothy 6:20-21  O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee.

We have an example of treasure entrusted to others in the account known as ‘the feeding of the five thousand’.

John 6:9-13  There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.

We should notice that which Jesus took and gave thanks for were barley loaves.  Jesus gave of the barley loaves to His disciples to give unto the people.  The disciples took of the barley loaves from the hands of Jesus and they went throughout the crowd of people distributing to all.  The people received barley loaves from the disciples who had received them from the Lord.  Following the meal, the disciples were instructed by Jesus to collect all that remained of the barley loaves and twelve baskets were filled.

It is important to notice that the bread that was blessed and given by Jesus was the same that was distributed, eaten, and then the excess collected and stored in baskets.  The disciples nor the people changed the bread that was given.  That which was given was more than sufficient to meet their needs.

The disciples were ministers (waiters on of tables) not taking orders from the people, but providing food from the Master. 

Timothy was a minister and was not to take orders from the people, changing that which he had been given to suit the taste of the people, but was to simply distribute the Word of God to the people as it was given.  We are held accountable to this same command – “…keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called…

Human nature has not changed from the first time man disobeyed God.  People are always seeking the easy way.  Jesus dealt with this in His ministry on earth –

John 6:60-64  Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not….

Does what you hear from God’s Word seem too hard for you?  Are you committed to the truth?  I sincerely recommend to you that you trust God, taking one step at a time in accordance with His direction in His Word. God will not make it easy, but He will make you able to do the things that seem hard to you.

Do not change His Word or His will to suit your weakness.  Trust His Word and do His will to increase your strength.

Trust the Lord for your salvation today.