The Seriousness of God’s Commission

Transcript

GR1778
10/12/2014
The Seriousness of God’s Commission
I Timothy 6:13-16
Gil Rugh

We are going to I Timothy chapter 6 in your Bibles, I Timothy and the 6th chapter. You remember Paul has Timothy at Ephesus acting on his behalf as his representative as an apostle to bring greater Biblical order to the church at Ephesus. The church at Ephesus is a great church and we have the letter to the Ephesians written by Paul and now you have Timothy also at this church but as we talked about with the church at Corinth as we will be seeing in our study on one of Paul’s letters to that church, every church established by God through the preaching of the Gospel being built on the truth that God has revealed will be involved in conflict and difficulty and one of the things the devil does is infiltrate that church with false teachers, unbelievers, false doctrine. Paul is writing to Timothy so that he “will know how to conduct himself in the household of God which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth,”I Timothy 3:15.

So he started out in chapter 1 by warning Timothy and commanding him to put a stop to the false teaching going on. You say, why would they allow that in the beginning? Well you know how it is. People who claim to be believers, they have good personalities, they are good teachers, it’s the content of what they are communicating that is corrupt and Timothy has to come in and be the heavy if you will and put a stop to it. For some reason the church at Ephesus was allowing this to go on.

In this context Paul is not hesitant about challenging Timothy and reminding him of his responsibility to stay faithful. In verses 11-16 of chapter 6 and we have looked at the first part of this, Paul has challenged Timothy already, given him commands. Paul doesn’t take anything for granted. He realizes how deceptive the devil is, how effective his tactics are and so he speaks firmly to Timothy.

You know when you consider the closeness of Paul’s relationship with Timothy and the hours they spent together in travels and so on in those days when they would walk or go by slow boat you would think this might be a little softer, more personal letter, have a more informal approach but it is serious business. The ministry is always serious business with the Apostle Paul. There is nothing more serious. So it is not that he doesn’t love Timothy, doesn’t have a compassionate heart, he just wants to be sure that Timothy understands that this is not a game, it is a war and you have to stand strong.

He gave four commands to Timothy in verses 11 and 12: flee from these things, the corruption of false teaching, the desire for material gain, prosperity, acceptance; all those things that go with false teachers. I will be listening to an advertisement or watching an advertisement for one of the leading false teachers of our day who closes with his program always saying, “I want to give you a chance to trust Christ” and runs through a presentation of the Gospel but his whole ministry is built on something totally different. Now you will be able to get, he has his own channel and all of this popularity, prosperity. “You flee from these things you man of God; and pursue (intensely go after) righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.”

It is interesting they are talking about those things including gentleness. The next command is “fight.” “You fight the good fight of faith.” Paul never ceases to see it as a battle. One of the traps of the devil is over time the church just begins to settle down and relax and think well you know we just are at the stage of our life where we can take it easy. The devil never goes away. He never stops. He knows what is at stake and we don’t want to be lured into a false security. So “fight the good fight of faith.”

And the last command, “Take hold of eternal life to which you were called.” This was your testimony when you declared your faith in Christ so you hold fast to that faith in Christ. You are not wavering. You cannot proclaim the truth and not hold onto it yourself.

So Timothy really has two responsibilities as we have come through this letter; to be faithful in proclaiming the truth and be faithful in opposing all error and distortion. It is not enough to say we are going to be faithful and have a positive ministry and just proclaim the truth. We are not going to be negative. You can’t be Biblical. What’s Timothy got to do? He’s got to “command certain men not to teach certain things.” He‘s got to deal with those things. It is a battle and this theme is going on. As he concludes this letter and you know, it will be for the benefit of the church. Obviously it was going to be read to the church and it has been preserved and preserved for the benefit of the church right down to our church today as we have studied it, but serious matter for Timothy.

Look at verse 13 where we are going to pick up and he reminds Timothy, you have to be “obedient to the truth.” You have to be obedient with the truth and God is sovereign in this and you carry out your ministry and service in light of the fact that you will see Him and give an account to Him. So verse 13 starts out: “I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Jesus Christ, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate;”
Those commands he’s given, those four commands in verse 11 and 12 – now he gives him a charge, a command: “I charge you,” I command you and his role as the apostle appointed by God, called by Christ. “I charge you in the presence of God.” Timothy has a great responsibility here.

Back in chapter 1, just flip back there, verse 3. Timothy was to remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct and there is our word, charge certain men, you command them. These are serious matters. In chapter 4, verse 11, prescribe, command, charge these things and teach these things. Chapter 5, verse 7, prescribe these things, command these things. That is a charge. This is serious business Timothy. You are not just easy here, this is a serious, it is even a stronger statement than the imperatives we had, the four imperatives in verses 11 and 12. I charge you in the presence of God, before God, in the sight of God who is a witness here of what I am telling you, the seriousness of this matter. Again, Paul has full confidence in Timothy but that doesn’t mean he’s just going to be soft in this. I command you in the sight of God. God is the witness here to the responsibility that has been placed upon you; in the sight of God. One thing about Paul he carried on his life, he conducted himself, his ministry always in the sight of God with the awareness that God is the One watching. He is the One that must be pleased.

Come back to II Corinthians. We will get into this in our study of II Corinthians but II Corinthians chapter 2 and it is in the context, the contrast that Paul makes of his own ministry and that of the false teachers. I Timothy 2:17 “We are not like many, the hoia polus, we are not like the many pedaling the Word of God,” adulterating it, making adjustments and changes in the Word to make it more palatable, more saleable, more acceptable to people “but as from sincerity, as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God.” Every time I speak and give out the Word of God I am aware that the God who is the author of the Word I am speaking is the One evaluating my faithfulness. It is not what men think of what I am saying. It is what God says about what I am saying. Am I being faithful? We speak not altering, adulterating the Word of God, we speak in the sight of God. He must be pleased.

I share this passage and we will be talking about it in II Corinthians as it had a great impact on me as I began the ministry. I would think if Christ came and sat on the front row when I got up to preach, would I want to change anything? Would he find what I am saying faithful to what He has given? That is what Paul says, how I conduct myself in the ministry.

Come over to II Corinthians chapter 12, verse 19: “All this time you have been thinking that we are defending ourselves to you. Actually (now note this) it is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ and all for your upbuilding, beloved.” Again, I am speaking and what I have been teaching you, instructing you, I have been doing it in the sight of God.” It is not to protect myself, not to make myself no good, not to defend myself, it’s because I must say this because I am speaking in the sight of God.

So you come back to Timothy, I Timothy 6: “I charge you in the presence of God who gives life to all things.” It is interesting, He who gives life to all things. That is a present participle. You could say, “who is giving life to all things.” He not only has created all things, the author of life if you will but He continues to sustain that life and He is the One who enables it to continue on.

We talk about natural processes that take place in our lives but there would be no natural process if it wasn’t for God, the One who continues to enable and give life to all things. Paul told the men of Athens which we have touched on in his being in Athens earlier today, Acts chapter 17, verse 28: “In Him we live and move and have our being.” That is the reality of it. He is the living God and if withholds His life giving power all life would cease immediately. He is the One who lives life to all things; another way of stating something of God’s omnipotence.

We need to be reminded, Timothy is in an intimidating situation, in a difficult city and they are all difficult. We think of cities in the world today and the problems but nothing is new. The whole world lies in the evil one, I John says. I mean it has always been a difficult place for believers for the truth. God is omnipotent. He reminds, “I am charging you in the presence of the One who gives life.” Timothy doesn’t have to be intimidated by those who think they can take life. Remember Jesus said, “Don’t fear those can kill the body but aren’t able to kill the soul. You fear him who after he has killed the body is able to destroy both body and soul in hell.” The living God is the One to be feared.

So he is telling Timothy, “I charge you in the presence of God, the One giving life to all things. He is the one for you to be concerned about. He is the One who is evaluating you.” And joined with God the Father here is Jesus Christ; “The presence of God who is giving life to all things and of Christ Jesus.” And again you see something of the deity of Christ just in the connection that just permeates in a natural way through much of the New Testament letters. Would you charge someone in the presence of God who gives life and of and mention a human being’s name who is just a normal, no. I charge you in the presence of God who gives life and of Christ Jesus. And then note what he says about Christ. “Who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate.” Remember Pilate asked Him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus did not back down, did not alter anything, did not soften it, “you have said it correctly.” All four Gospels record that confrontation.

That picks up the end of verse 12. Timothy made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. He must be careful to maintain that open, clear, bold profession even as His Savior did in the presence of the one, humanly speaking, who had the power of life and death. Christ also reminded Pilate, “You would have no power unless it had been given you of God.” He is reminding Timothy, “your Savior testified the good confession in the most difficult and threatening of circumstances.” “You keep ahold on the eternal life, (verse 12) to which you were called. You made a good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” Then now he is charged in the presence of God, the giver of life and of Jesus Christ, the One who Himself witnessed a good confession in a very difficult situation. And we are followers of our Savior, are we not? Didn’t Jesus say, “If they have treated your master with disrespect and the way they have, would you expect better treatment?” A reminder, Your Lord and Master witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate and the pressure of that situation. So Timothy, you be encouraged. You think of it. Isn’t it interesting the connection’s made? Think about the time when you are under a pressure time to testify for Christ and you want to back off. Do we ever think of it – Christ stood firm and clear in His confession before Pilate. Now I have opportunity to stand and be clear and firm and bold in my confession and testimony for Christ as well.

“I charge you, (verse 13) that you keep the commandments.” That is the connection. It is before God the Father and Jesus Christ but the charge is connected, “I charge you that you keep the commandment.” And I take it the commandment is related to faithfulness to the truth that Timothy is called to proclaim and defend.

Back in chapter 1 again, verse 5: “The goal of our commandment is love from a pure heart, a good conscience, a sincere faith.” Down in verse 18: “This command I entrust to you, Timothy my son in accordance with the prophecies made concerning you that by them you fight the good fight” agonize the good agony, do the battle, this charge.
Over in chapter 5, verse 21: “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus.” So the same kind of situation, “To maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in the spirit of partiality.” You be faithful to the truth. You don’t bend the truth here and bend it there. You are faithful. You are like a rod of iron when it comes to the truth. There is no wavering, there is no altering the truth. Well, this situation is….. no, you are faithful.

Come over to II Timothy, chapter 4. Again you see the seriousness of these charges. “I charge you (verse 1) in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead and by His appearing in His Kingdom.” We are going to talk about it in a moment, appearing because again, these charges are as serious as you could get. “Preach the Word, be ready in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke with great patience and instruction for the time will come when they will not endure sound teaching.” They will want to have their ears tickled. This is talking about professing believers. The world never has been interested in the truth and they pile up teachers. They will turn away their ears from the truth. “You be sober and endure hardship. Do the work of an evangelist. Fulfill your ministry.”

So when you come back to Timothy here, I Timothy chapter 6 down in verse 20 where we will get in our future study, “O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called ‘knowledge’ – some have professed and thus gone astray from the truth.” The charge to Timothy is – be faithful to the truth. Be faithful with the truth. Be faithful in standing against error and opposing those who corrupt the truth.

You know in the decline of the church, I was reading a book this past week just working through some of the history of the decline of evangelicalism in certain places, how it just infiltrates and you know becomes acceptable and the church doesn’t want to fight over this and doesn’t want to be negative and pretty soon it gets mixed in and we end up with nothing. I mean think about it. You know, we referred to some of the great preaching going on in England in the 1800’s. That was a long time ago but it continued on into the early part of the 1900’s and now I read a statistic less than 5% of the people in England go to church of any kind and they believe in the next few years that will be down to 2%. What happened? What happened to the thousands upon thousands of people in evangelical churches hearing the truth? Somewhere along the line it just got watered down. Well we don’t have to be quite that narrow. We don’t have to be always pointing out the error and the decline sets in. We see it in our country not primarily in the unbelieving world. I am talking about the church.

So “Timothy, I charge you (in chapter 6, verse 14) that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach.” You be faithful to its purity, faithful to it. And you be faithful in your life. The purity of the truth and the faithfulness of the life go together and how long Paul? I am sorta getting tired. The second letter, remember, he had to tell Timothy, “Step up, God doesn’t give us the spirit of timidity but of power.” That reluctance to be bold with the truth doesn’t come from God. You do this what? “Until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The great incentive for this faithfulness is, Christ is coming again. Paul lived in light of the coming of Christ. He will tell the Romans as he got to the end of that book, “Now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed.” This is a reality to Paul. You know we live our lives as though we are on the edge of the return of Christ and we may be. He doesn’t say Timothy will be alive at the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ but that’s the goal that we have. I will give an account to Him; “The appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

You know that word ‘appearing’ you get an idea of what Timothy was dealing with at Ephesus. I just clipped this out of the book that I was reading. This word ‘appearing’ we think of the word epiphany from this, the appearing and manifestation. For anyone in Asia Minor at this time the tern epiphany which we have again here in verse 14 “Until the appearing” the word translated appearing the Greek word we get the word epiphany from it. For anyone in Asia Minor, Ephesus is in Asia Minor, at this time the term epiphany would have called to mind first and foremost the victories of Augustus that brought an end to the civil wars and introduced the pox romana with its benefits to the imperial provinces and Augustus would have been the Caesar when Christ was born. He was Caesar from like 27 B.C. to 14 A. D. Note the language used by the assembly of the province of Asia to honor Augustus. You see how the devil works. Here is the language they used to honor Augustus in the province of Asia. Whereas the providence which divinely ordered our lives created with zeal and munificence the most perfect good for our lives by producing Augustus and filling him with virtue for the benefaction of mankind sending us and those after us a Savior who put an end to war and established all things and whereas Caesar when he appeared and there is our word ‘epiphany,’ exceeded the hopes of all who had anticipated good things.” Remember our word ‘Gospel,’ good tidings, not only by surpassing the benefactors born before Him but not leaving those to come any hope of surpassing Him and whereas the birthday of the god marked for the world the beginning of good tidings through His coming. Isn’t it interesting how the devil even in the anticipation of the coming of Christ has created his own false savior who would be manifest and he is the one who would bring hope to coming generations.

It’s the good news concerning him, an apox romana and the peace that would be brought by him. This imperial cult, this commentator writes along with other civic cults, the Artemaeus in Ephesus whose manifestation was described with the term epiphany became the vehicle for communicating the political, social, religious ideals of Rome. It’s presence in Ephesus at this time is certain and its influence reached to all levels of society.

You see here Paul takes it on, head on. There is a Savior but it is not Augustus. There is a peace but it’s not the peace that Augustus could bring and we have good news but it’s not the good news of Augustus and you are taking head on what is at the center of the religious and political life of this city and Paul is reminding Timothy, “You stand firm in the face of the opposition, in the face of the paganism. You declare the one true and living God; the one Savior, the one message of good news. You live in light of the ultimate manifestation of the One who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. So you live beyond reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ which He will bring about at the proper time referring to God the Father and reminder to Timothy, God is sovereign in all that is going on. He will bring it about at the proper time. We must not grow weary in well-doing. Peter had to encourage the people. I know people say, “All things continue as they have been from the beginning and we hear all the church has been talking about, the coming of Christ from New Testament times and He still hasn’t come and He probably won’t come in our life time and who knows if He will come in our kids or our grandkids lifetime and pretty soon we just get on with life and you can’t honor the Lord that way and he is reminding Timothy, “The appearing of Lord Jesus Christ, God the Father will bring that about at the proper time, at the proper time.”

Back up to chapter 2, verse 6. Verse 5 says: “There is one God, one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus who gave Himself as a ransom for all,” the testimony given at the proper time; exactly in God’s time and just as Christ came at His first coming, provided the salvation necessary to be a ransom to pay the penalty for sin for all it was done at the proper time. You remember, God the Father will bring His appearing, come back again at the proper time. And then he has this great benediction if you will for God the Father. He will bring it about at the proper time; “He who is blessed and only sovereign.” He’s blessed. He’s the only sovereign.

The world has their rulers. We were watching a little bit of the program on World War II yesterday about Hitler and Stalin. They come and go. What are they? They are just dead men whose bodies turn to dust and await resurrection to judgment. Where’s Augustus? Where’s the great Roman Empire that brought the Roman peace to the world? They come and go but there is only One who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

We don’t have time to look at these different expressions used of Christ in Revelation chapter 17, verse 14; chapter 19, verse 16. You can use it of God the Father as well as God the Son, the blessed and only sovereign King of Kings and Lord of Lords. There is only One who is sovereign over all. He’s the One who sets up the basest of men to rule and reign as Daniel puts it. He is sovereign. He is the Lord over all lords, the King over all kings. He is the One who alone possesses immortality. You know He alone is the eternal God. He alone is eternal. Remember Micah the prophet said concerning Christ, the One who would be born in Bethlehem is the One who has dwelt in eternity? So here, the triune God, one God eternally existing in three persons, immortality and life are found only in them and He alone possesses immortality and He is the life giver and we will have everlasting life because the One who dwells in eternity, the One who alone possesses immortality provides life for us, unending life but He alone possesses immortality. He has always been and He always will be and everything outside of Him has been created by Him, brought into existence by Him for His glory, for His purposes. He alone possesses immortality. God has life in Himself. We have life from Him.

He dwells in unapproachable light. What he means here when he says this unapproachable light Paul writing this to Timothy both believers but there is an unbridgeable chasm and gulf. He will always be God. We will always be created beings. We are not becoming gods as false religion like Mormonism teaches. There is only one eternal God. “Hear O, Israel, the Lord our God is One Lord.” (Deuteronomy chapter 6.) There is only One God. He dwells in unapproachable light and light is often used of God. Look in the letter to the Ephesians that Paul wrote. Ephesians, back Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians chapter 5 and you will just see how the connection of the light here; Ephesians chapter 5 drawing a contrast between believers and unbelievers. Unbelievers live in darkness. Believers live in light. Verse 8 of Ephesians 5: “For you were formerly darkness. Now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.” What does that mean? “For the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth.” Learning to do what is pleasing to the Lord. So it is referenced to the fullness of God’s character, His goodness, His righteousness, His truth, His holiness. That is light. That is the very essence and character of God. We become partakers of the divine nature not by becoming deity. You can’t become deity. God is eternal. He is immortal and He alone is but we partake of His character when we experience His salvation. So He dwells in unapproachable light. The fullness of His glory, His holiness all that He is as God is under unapproachable. Now He has made provision for us to come to Him as He has chosen to reveal Himself and manifest Himself to His creation particularly to believers but even in eternity there will be the clear distinction He is God, we are not. We will enjoy the glory of His presence.

You know we will never encompass all that God is but we will never become bored and in our finite minds, limited as they are, you know can you conceive of what you are going to be doing in one hundred, trillion, billion, quadrillion, however many years, I mean how do you measure eternity? We get bored in a short period of time but in eternity, the presence of the eternal God and eternity as created beings we will still not have exhausted all there is to know and understand and grasp of God. My finite mind believes it but I don’t comprehend it. He is the unapproachable God and when He dwells in light this making clear you recognize He is God, we are not. No man has seen Him or can see Him. We only know Him and will see Him as He has chosen to reveal Himself and manifest Himself to us but how would we see the eternal God? He will manifest Himself, He did in Christ. In the book of Revelation you see manifestations of the Father on the throne also but you are not seeing all there is to God. This is just how He manifests Himself to His creation; angelic, human but how would we take in God? I mean we are finite, we are limited. Even in eternity I will only be able to be in one place at a time. I won’t be able to be omnipresent. The angels aren’t omnipresent. They are created beings. God is omnipresent. He is fully and completely here but He is also fully and completely in China in fact there is no place to escape from His presence. So no man has seen Him in His fullness and all that He is at any time only as He has revealed and we will enjoy His presence in eternity but we will not see the fullness of all that God is. We cannot take that in. We cannot as created beings. “To Him be honor, eternal dominion, amen.” Paul lived his life with that sense of the awesome majesty of the living God. I serve in His sight. I mean that keeps your feet planted. Men can be intimidating, threatening, can cause fear but there is something that caused Paul greater fear – “that I would displease the One who is observing all that I do, evaluating our faithfulness.”

Timothy, you hold fast. Christ is coming again. He’s the One you must please. That is an awesome motivation for all of us. We serve that same God. We have been entrusted with His truth. We represent Him wherever we are, whatever we are going. Remember we do our work, even when we call our secular work as unto the Lord. It didn’t matter if you were a slave. You are a believer. You are doing your slavery, your service to your master unto the Lord. You never lose sight. I want to please Him. I must please Him. I must be faithful to Him. He is the One observing what I do. He’s the One evaluating. He’s the One I am privileged to please and that must be our goal individually and as a church.

Let’s pray together. Thank You Lord for the greatness of our salvation. Lord we are in awe of You, the wonder of Your person. You are the One in whom is life. You are the One who gives and sustains life. You are the only One who has immortality. Apart from You there is no life. You have given all life. You sustain all life. You are the awesome God. We belong to You. we are Your children. We are Your slaves. We are here to do Your will. What men may think is not of importance but Your evaluation matters for eternity. Use us this week to give forth the message of life and light to those who are lost in darkness. May we walk faithfully before You we pray in Christ’s name, amen.