The message was brought by Rev. Eddie Foster on 4/21/24.
I Timothy 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope; 2 Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. 3 As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, 4 Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. 5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: 6 From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; 7 Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm. 8 But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; 9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; 11 According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.
Paul was writing to Timothy, younger than him by 30 years. He considered Timothy his son in the faith. The books of Timothy and Titus are considered pastoral epistles. Timothy was Paul’s representative at the Ephesian church. They were having problems. There will always be problems. Our adversary doesn’t want us to do good and does all he can to tear down the work of God. Paul wrote instruction and encouragement to young Timothy.
Good spiritual condition: Paul calls Timothy’s faith “unfeigned” in verse 5. This was pure faith, the kind we need. After the storms Jesus asked the disciples why they had no faith. Jesus tells us not to worry. We know it accomplishes nothing. If you can change something, do it but if not worry won’t help. Matthew tells us that God provides, yet we worry. This is little faith. Heaven isn’t bankrupt. God can still meet our needs. Have faith like the centurion who told Jesus he didn’t have to come to his house to heal his daughter; he could speak the words and heal her. We all place our faith in many different things in life, but the greatest place to place faith is in God!
Disturbed faith: John the Baptist knew Jesus was the Messiah. This is evidenced on the day he appeared and John baptized Jesus. Yet here is prison for his faith and knowing he would be killed he John sent disciples to Jesus to ask if he was the Messiah or should we seek someone else. Jesus told them to go tell John again the things you have seen–all the miracles–and assure him it is me. John’s faith was disturbed because of his circumstances. Has your faith been disturbed because of your circumstances? It has happened to me before. Loss of health, a job, any number of things can do it if we let it.
Good conscience: Joseph’s brothers had a guilty conscience when he revealed to them who he was. In the book of Daniel, King Belshazzar felt guilty when he saw the handwriting on the wall. In the book of John the Scribes and Pharisees felt guilty before the woman caught in adultery when Jesus said for the one without sin to cast the first stone. Three things are essential to have a good conscience. Philippians 3 says to forget the past. We can’t change it. If we’ve been forgiven, press on. In Acts 24 we have a good conscience when there is nothing between us and God OR us and our fellowman. Bitterness toward others? You are wasting your time praying. It must be taken care if to open the prayer communication between you and God. Paul says in Second Corinthians a person can have a defiled conscience. We find some people don’t have a conscience. When we say an unkind word to someone, it should bother us.
Pure heart: The Bible tells us that what comes out of a person is from an evil heart. All sins prevalent in the world are from issues with the heart. David said “create in me a clean heart.” A scriptural heart refers to the real you. When the Lord doesn’t have a person’s heart, who does? It can only be Him or the devil. The devil influences what we believe and who we love. That’s why we need to let God in our heart. The highest evidence of a good spiritual health is love. What we do for God must be done in love. He knows our motives. Without love we are again wasting our time.
Poor spiritual health: look back at verses 8-10. People were believing the wrong doctrine. Verse 6 calls it “vain jangling.” Error, not corrected, becomes a problem; it needs to be corrected. There was also the wrongful use of the law. Law is not for law-abiding persons but for the lawless. Verses 9-10 have a long list of wrong things. If you notice, many of them parallel the Ten Commandments. What’s the remedy? The gospel. The good news of Jesus Christ is what people need. The maniac in Mark 5 became a new creation inside and out. He was no longer feared by others. He was clothed and in his right mind. The disciples sacrificed a lot to follow Jesus; they left everything behind. Zacchaeus was changed. The woman at the well was changed. Look around at the changed lives here today. It is our responsibility to make the remedy known to others. Fishermen fish. Nurses nurse. Soldiers fight. We’re sent to throw out the lifeline of the gospel; yet many don’t. If we sing songs like “Rescue the Perishing” then let’s rescue them. It doesn’t hurt to ask someone if they are saved. We’re entrusted with the cure of the gospel and we need to share it with a dying world.
A person’s greatest ability is availability. Are you available to God? He can use us for his glory if we are available.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 