Welcome to the For the Gospel podcast, where we provide sound doctrine for everyday people. I'm your host, Cosby Hinn, and it is week five of the five-week series titled Another Five Forya Five Life-Changing Sermons. I've been selecting messages and sharing messages with you that are loaded with truth. Each one has had some sort of special impact on my own life, and so it's been a joy to pass those along to you. And I hope you've been so encouraged. Each week has been a surprise, and I'll announce our preacher in just a moment. Want to remind you again if you're listening on Apple or Spotify, make sure you are subscribed on the For the Gospel YouTube channel. So you can get the video version of all of these. If you're just picking this up and you're listening to this as maybe your first or second episode you've ever heard, go back to some episodes prior and make sure you listen to those other messages as well. So today, the final sermon, I was sitting in about the tenth row or so, give or take, for this particular message. I was there in person, pierced to the heart, minute after minute. The message was delivered with conviction, with biblical clarity, and it left me and I'm sure many others quietly humbled under the weight of God. I just remember not wanting to say after this particular message. I just wanted to hear the Lord and seek him all the more. Our preacher, Paul Washer. The message is from G3, the G3 conference in 2021. The session is titled Christ Became a Curse. Nothing more needs to be said. I'll pick it up with you after you listen to the message. Let's jump in. Paul Washer, Christ Became a Curse.
SPEAKER_02It was announced that I would be teaching on Christ and the curse. And um I have made that subject a greater part of my life study. Um the cross, the work that was accomplished there on behalf of God's people. But as these few days have passed, an earnestness for another text just was growing in my heart. And uh I felt like this morning I would be in disobedience if I didn't preach from that text. So I set out with pen and paper and to preach what I'm going to preach to you tonight. I do appreciate the kindness, uh Josh's kindness toward me. But but I want you all to know that as there are no great men of God. Never has been, never will be. There are only small, tiny, weak, faithless men of a great and merciful God. And to whatever degree God uses you, you must understand that He always chooses the runt of the litter. Always, so that glory might go to him. We're going to be studying 1 Timothy chapter 4. And I'm going to read the text if all of you would stand for the reading of God's Word. But the Spirit explicitly says that in latter times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience, as with a branding iron. Men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth, for everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude. For it is sanctified by means of the word of God in prayer. In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following. But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness. For bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers. Prescribe and teach these things. Let no one look down on your usefulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance, with the laying on of hands by the Presbytery. Take pains with these things, be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching. Persevere in these things, for as you do this, you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you. Let's pray. Father, I come before you in the name of your Son. And I pray that you will help us. That you will give us hearts. One thing we ask: Hearts that are devoted to your Son. Increase our fear of thee. Teach us to walk in your ways. In Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. I want to begin with something of a with some history. We are moving into a time in which the gospel and those who preach it are an ever-increasing scandal, not only to the world, but also to many who associate themselves with Christ and the church. But what I want you to see is this is not a strange thing that has come upon us. It is commonplace throughout church history. We need to recognize that. And we need to live accordingly. Paul writes, for the word of the cross is moria, foolishness, to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. There we see the great divide between two peoples. Those who follow Christ and those who do not. Again, Paul says, For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom, but we priest preach Christ crucified. To Jews a scandalon, a stumbling block. But to Gentiles, again moria, foolishness. But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God. In the Annals of Tacitus in the first century, the Gospel of the Cross is described as a pernicious and harmful superstition. In the letters of Pliny the Younger in the first century, it is referred to as Superstitionum Pravum emoticam, a perverse and extravagant superstition. In Suetonius, in the second century, in the life of Nero, Superstitio Nova et Malifica, a new and evil superstition. In the third century, in Minutius Felix, in his dialogue of Octavius, Figmenta male sano opiniones, a sick invention, a sick delusion. Also, vana et demen superstitio, a vain and demented superstition. And finally, in his writings, omnis religio destratur, the destruction of all true religion. That is the way the world saw the cross and saw those who proclaimed it. In an oracle of Apollo, preserved in the writings of Augustine, a man asked the question: what can he do to dissuade his wife from the Christian faith? And this was the counsel that was given to her. Let her continue as she pleases, persisting in her vain delusions, and lamenting in song a God who died in delusions, who was condemned by judges, whose verdict was just, and executed in the prime of life by the worst of deaths, a death bound with iron. In Origins contra Celsus, Celsus declares, what drunken old woman telling stories to lull a small child asleep would not be ashamed of muttering such preposterous things. And again, and you, do you not believe that the Son of God sent to the Jews is the most ridiculous makeshift of all? In his parody, De Morte Peregrini, Lucien mocks Christians as poor devils who deny the Greek gods and instead honor that crucified sophist and live according to his laws. If you're amazed at some of these quotes, I would direct you to a wonderful book by Martin Hengel called Crucifixion. It is a small summary of the first few centuries' view of the cross of Christ. The contemporary stain for the gospel is not progressive. It is not progressive. It is regressive. It is not a new form of Christianity. It is simply an ancient heresy. And what must we do as preachers? What should we do? What should we do? Not just merely what should we think, what should we be? What should we do? Should we build a bridge? Should we hold out an olive leaf to our godless culture? What should we do? How can we avoid the scandal of the gospel today? For the true Christian to avoid the scandal of the gospel, well, it would be easier for them to go around the Red Sea or to climb the walls of Jericho. We cannot avoid the scandal. We must embrace it and we must not compromise. We must not compromise. Not one doctrine dealing with the blood of Christ must be compromised. I'll use an illustration from Churchill that I have somewhat sanctified. In his wranglings with other politicians regarding the whether or not to engage Nazi Germany in war, he said to someone, and again, this has changed a bit, said to someone, would you betray our nation for a million pounds? And the person said, Well, I would have to think about that. Then he said, Would you betray our nation for two pence? And the person said, No. What kind of person do you think I am? He said, We've already determined what kind of person you are. We're just haggling over the price. We have no choice today. Not anymore. Times have changed. We have no choice but to bear the scandal, bear the opposition, and go through it. You say, yes, we must go through it with our heads down. No, we must go through it with our heads up. Drawing upon the strength of heaven. And though no one else smiles, when we look horizontally, when we look in front of us or behind us or beside us, we see no smile. We look to heaven because that's the only smile we desire. The smile of Christ. We have no choice but to bear it and go through it, preaching the gospel and believing that the gospel is the power of God for salvation to all who believe, the Jew first and also the Greek, the ancient man and the modern one, the gospel of Jesus Christ. And that's the title of this sermon. It's directed towards Christ's ministers. We are the king's men. We are the king's men. We've now moved into a time in the West, my brethren, when it is very possible that we are going to experience the solemn and terrible privilege of first century persecution. But if we hold our course, if we refuse to compromise, we may also experience the first century power of the cross and the power of the Holy Spirit. You say, Well, I don't know. I don't know if I'll be able to bear it. I know you will be able to bear it if you belong to him. I was a farm boy cast into the middle of a war for ten years in Peru, saw atrocities, experienced fears and dangers that I never could have imagined. And yet I discovered something. When the violent take you by force, there is something that happens in the inner man. Christ does not depart. And he makes you strong. He is faithful. No matter what we have to endure in the coming decades, we should not fear. If we stay with him, if we honor him, if we do not break. So here's my admonition before we take the text. Let's go forward. Let's go forward. And not primarily to defend the gospel. But to do what some of us have done now for decades. Proclaim the gospel. And then stand to one side and admire as the gospel of Jesus Christ defends itself and proves its power.
SPEAKER_03But the gospel we preach must not be adorned with eloquence. It must not be adorned with your intellect. The raw gospel, the real gospel, the gospel of the cross, the gospel of blood, the gospel of vicarious suffering. If we will proclaim it, we will see the glory of God.
SPEAKER_02We will see the glory of God. But remember this. To the degree that you trust in the arm of the flesh, you will see less of this power of which I speak. And the more you abandoned all these carnal trappings of modern evangelicalism, the more you will behold the power of God. A preacher standing alone, defying the world with a message of love. Christ came to save sinners, among whom I am chief. Before we begin, I want to say this. It's very, very important. I'm speaking primarily to ministers, but it applies to all of us. I am sure that you are all familiar with Ephesians chapter 4, verses 11 and 12. There's something very important about that text that is often overlooked. It is one of the few places, if not the only place, in the New Testament that tells us directly how the church is built up, how it is strengthened, how it is edified. It is through evangelists, pastors, and teachers. So if we apply reason properly, we come to this conclusion. If the church is weak, it's not the fault of politicians. The church is weak, where Christ's ministers are weak. And I say that to you as a man looking in the mirror. I do not have to run to politicians to find the problem. I do not have to run to universities, to academia to find the problem. The problem are the ministers of Christ that have dressed themselves in the armor of Saul and laid aside the smooth stones of the gospel, and because of that they can slay no giants. Conniving, pragmatic, always looking for strategy and a method and a new way. No. No. No. Verse 1, but the Spirit explicitly says that in latter times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. Paul does not have to say this. He does not have to say the Spirit is explicitly saying. Why? He's an apostle. He's writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. What he writes is infallible and errant. But he speaks this way to give emphasis. The Spirit is saying, present tense, over and over and over, that in the latter times some will fall away from the faith. Some will fall away. Some will fall away. Well, then, Brother Paul, we must be in the latter times. Here's what you need to understand we've been in the latter times for the last 2,000 years. So do not tremble when there's even a mention of a possibility of persecution. Know this. The true church has always been in a battle. It has always been under attack. Always, always, always. And he says here, but the Spirit explicitly says that in the latter times some will fall away from the faith. Some will altogether remove themselves from Christianity. But there's a more dangerous group. In our day of irrationality, the dethronement of logic and the law of non-contradiction. People can declare themselves to be Christian, even evangelical, even reformed, while denying some of the very fundamental doctrines of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, he says in verse 2, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron. This is the culture we live in. Our culture is like the harlot of Proverbs. She eats forbidden fruit and she wipes her mouth and then she brazenly says, I've done nothing wrong. Now let me ask you a question. How are you going to deal with that as a minister of Christ? What kind of power does your eloquence have to change the heart of people like this? And all your strategies and gimmicks and parties and parades. What can they do against something like this? You need to understand the heart of man is like Jericho. It is tightly shut up.
SPEAKER_03No one comes out and no one goes in. And so is this culture. And you are not going to be able to carry out the work of Christ. You are not going to be able to advance the cause of the gospel with your silly little toys. We must take up the weapons of our warfare, and they are few, but they are mighty unto God.
SPEAKER_02What are they? What are they? The proclamation of the word of God. The fearless, bold proclamation of the word of God. What else? Intercessory prayer. I am so happy that there are so many conferences on expository preaching and we need more of them. But where are the conferences on intercessory prayer? On men who hold the night watch? Men who stand in the gap.
SPEAKER_03Men who wear themselves out holding on to the horns of the altar. Men who wrestle with God for their own souls, for the souls of their people and for the souls of a nation. Where are they?
SPEAKER_02If you're not a man of prayer, all your theology, they're just marbles of little boys. Prayer. What else? Godliness, holiness, separateness. A young man walked up to a concert violinist one day, as the story goes, and said, I would do anything, I would do anything to play like you. And the old man said, I have done everything to play like me. Young man said, I would I would give anything for the Lord to use me, then make yourself usable.
SPEAKER_03Throw yourself into the scriptures until when they cut your veins, you bleed the Bible. Throw yourself on your knees. Spend more time with God.
SPEAKER_02And then discover in the scriptures all the things that God hates and avoid them like the plague. And discover all the things that God loves and embrace them to your bosom. You want God to use you. The weapons of our warfare are these things. These things. And the man of God has no need of anything else. So in verse 1, Paul talks about deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. And then he goes on in verses three through five and describes these doctrines. Men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth, for everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude, for it is sanctified by the means of the word of God in prayer. I have to admit, this is rather unexpected. And no place else is Paul so extravagant with his language as in verse 1, talking about heresy in terms of deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. And then we come to verses three and four, and he's simply talking about people who forbid marriage and abstain from eating certain foods. We would think that Paul would now go on to talk about maybe, I don't know, the worship of Satan or the mark of the beast or gross immorality. But he talks about these things that, although they are aberrant and can be dangerous, it's difficult for us to understand how they could be put in the category of doctrines of demons. But what I want you to see is this. You say, in what way? Do you see what Paul is saying? And you listen to me. Any doctrine, any principle, any law, any teaching that is placed beside the gospel, are given more emphasis than the gospel. No matter how harmless it may be in itself, immediately turns into a doctrine of demons. We can see, especially in the book of Colossians, but also Ephesians, we can see in 1 and 2 Timothy, Paul was a steward of the gospel. He was a guardian of the gospel.
SPEAKER_03And you know what he was doing.
SPEAKER_02If you read his epistles carefully, he was not only preaching the gospel, he was constantly, constantly, constantly giving it the preeminence and teaching the church about the preeminence of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That of all things it stands first, because without it all things fall apart, fall to rubbish, and we find ourselves no longer saved. Do you see this? There are many good things, there are many good ethics, there are many good principles, there are many good laws, even in the scriptures. But if your conversation is consumed by something other than the gospel, then you are not understanding scripture. You are not understanding the heart of Paul. You are not understanding the very mind of God.
SPEAKER_03The gospel is not just a doctrine added on to other doctors, it's not just one among many, it is the greatest manifestation of the attributes, the person of God that has ever been given or will ever be given. If you right now were standing in the place of Isaiah in Isaiah 6, if you were very beholding the very face of God upon the throne, you could not understand him well, unless you also understand the gospel, because it is there he is revealed.
SPEAKER_02The greatest of all questions. One of my favorite books that has ever been written. It's rather lengthy, but it's worth it. It is 17th century William Bates, the harmony of the attributes of God in the contrivance and accomplishment of our redemption, because it is in the gospel of Jesus Christ that the divine dilemma is solved, that the problem of every theologian, philosopher, and thinker is finally answered.
SPEAKER_03How can God be a just God and show mercy to wicked men?
SPEAKER_02You see, earth's problem is how can God judge? Heaven's problem is altogether different. How can God save, pardon wicked men, and still maintain his righteousness? And the answer is in the gospel, where God becomes a man and goes to a tree and bears the sin of his people. And with that sin the curse, and with that curse, all the holy hatred, all the righteous judgment of God is poured down upon the head of God's Son, and he absorbs it. He satisfies justice so it no longer has a demand against God's people, and God can be just and the justifier of wicked men. Never put anything above the gospel of Jesus Christ. Verse 6 In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following. Now, in verse 6, he says, in pointing out these things, again present tense, continuously pointing out this. Why? Because Satan, the world, and many ministers who call themselves evangelical, Christian, and reformed are constantly trying to pull God's people, God's bride, pull her vision off of the sun to something minor. And it is a constant battle. And one of the things that you and I are to do as ministers of Christ is constantly turn the gaze of the bride back to her spouse. That's our job. That's our stewardship. We are like, well, we are like, we're like Abraham's servant. Listen to me, kings men. Listen to me, you ministers of Christ. We are like Abraham's servant, who was sent to fetch a bride for his son. That's us. That's us. And so we go into the hedges and the highways, and we call to her. We bid her come. And she comes. Tender and afraid. And then it is our stewardship and ours alone. This does not belong to princes or politicians. It's our stewardship. To now lead her through the wilderness to her spouse. That's why we live. Men of Christ, that's why we exist for her. For her. And every time we see a doubt in her eyes, we take one more jewel of the gospel. And we place it in her hand. And we say, He is worth it. And every time she becomes afraid, going through this terrible wilderness with all its monsters, and she wants to turn back, we pull out another jewel of the gospel and we lay it in her hand and we say, He is worth it. And every time, every time, some handsome young man passes by going in the opposite direction. We catch her gaze and we turn her back. And we place another jewel of the gospel in her hand and we say, No, no, no. He is worth it.
SPEAKER_03And every time bandits appear, we show no mercy.
SPEAKER_02We draw our swords and we slay them. And we do that until the day that he appears. And she sees him, and her face is all aglow because her garments are white. And one last time she turns back and looks at us. And then she runs. And she falls straight into his arms. And we're the king's men. And we say, My work is done. My work is done. What a glorious and terrible stewardship unto us has been given. He goes on. Says, You will be a good servant of Christ Jesus.
SPEAKER_01If we do this, if we do this with a congregation of 10, if we do this with a congregation of 25, if we do this with a congregation of 50, if we labor all our life over 12 people that are a part of that bride, we are a good servant of Christ Jesus.
SPEAKER_02Is that not enough for you? Is that not enough? What other accolade do we desire? And from whom? Is it not enough to stand before him and hear, Well done, my good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your master. Enter into the joy of your master. The word servant here, diaconos, he's not saying that Timothy is a deacon necessarily, but he's bringing out a very important aspect of the ministry. The fact is that Christ's men, the king's men, are servants. We are ministers, we are stewards. Now it says here, servants of Christ, it's in the genitive, and I believe that sometimes the genitive just kind of overcomes its borders. It's a genitive of description.
SPEAKER_03We are our lives, our ministries, everything is defined by the person of Christ. It is a genitive of possession. He owns us. He owns us, he owns us. We belong to Christ.
SPEAKER_02We've been bought by the blood of the Lamb. We are his men. 2 Corinthians 5.13. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God. And if we are of sound mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died. And he died for all so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who died and rose again on their behalf. We have been bought with a price. There is a sense when we came to Christ that our bondage was gone. There was another sense in which it was replaced with another bondage. The love of Christ. And don't look inward on this. Paul was not saying the motivating force in his life was his love for Christ. He is saying that the motivating force in his life was Christ's love for him. Your love, like mine, is up and down and back and forth. It is nothing to find comfort in but Christ's constant love for us. Now there is power. Now, I want you to look with me for just a moment. We're in 1 Timothy, but I want us to go over to the book of Revelation, chapter 14. In verse 4, these are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb, and no lie was found in their mouth. They are blameless. Now, I do believe it is important. Many documents have been written, many debates regarding who are these hundred and forty-four thousand, and it is a necessary thing to discover. But what saddens me is in all the debate regarding who these people are, not enough emphasis is given to the description that at least in some way applies to all of us, and especially to the king's men. Minister, you want to be used of Christ. Is that true? You want to be used for Christ. Is that true? You want to be one of the valiant ones who leads his bride through the wilderness. Is that true? Well, then take this up as your own. Look what it says. These are the ones who have not been defiled with women. They have not chased after other loves. They have not chased after other loves. They have kept themselves chaste. They belong to Christ and Christ alone. They'll not soil their garments with another. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. And how can you do that? Except by the word of the Lamb, the Scripture. Follows the Lamb wherever he goes, not the culture, not the latest fad in Reformed theology. No, follows the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been purchased from among men. No lie was found in their mouth. They are blameless. And in another place, of course, they did not love their lives, even unto death. Don't you see, men?
SPEAKER_01In this world that is so mundane, so colorless, so blah, so without purpose, you and I have been given a purpose. We have been given a stewardship. We have been called in to battle. We have a reason to live.
SPEAKER_03We have a reason to die.
SPEAKER_02And we can go forth seeking glory and immortality from the one who died and rose again from the dead. Something to fight for. He goes on. He says, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine. How can we be this kind of man that I'm talking about? How can we be such a servant? He says, a good servant, and then he says, sound doctrine. In both those cases, in the New American Standard, there's different words in English, but it's the same word in Greek, kalos. Good. And what does it teach us? A good servant of Christ Jesus is the result of good doctrine. But not just doctrine. And this is somewhere where I want to plant myself for a moment. Dear brothers, I have spent 30 years reading men that I cherish, particularly the reformers, but mostly the Puritans. I love the Puritans. I study the Puritans. I bring together passages of the Puritans. I love the Puritans. But they're writing about something. They're writing from what they know about a book. I need to read the book. I need to be nourished in the word.
SPEAKER_01And you young men, listen to me. Listen to me. I'm not talking about a 45-minute quiet time. I'm talking about if you're going to go into the ministry, you eat this book, you consume this book, you live this book. This book is everything. You bleed this book when they cut you.
SPEAKER_03But it's more than knowing.
SPEAKER_02It is feeding upon the scriptures. Feeding upon the scriptures. You say, yes, the scriptures, scriptures, scriptures. But you need to understand, especially from Paul's prayers in Ephesians 1 and Ephesians 3, he had no understanding of learning anything from God where prayer was not included. Son, get off the internet. Just quit it. Get off the internet. Get on your knees and in the Bible. Hours a day. And for all you young reformed guys, the Bible consists of more than the book of Romans and the book of Ephesians. Read from Genesis to Revelation over and over and over and over again. I can tell you something. In most cases, if I have two men with the very same doctrine and I listen to them long enough, I can tell which one learned it from a systematic theology and which one learned it from Scripture. Now you need both. Do not misunderstand me. But nothing trumps the study of Scripture, and nothing trumps prayer. Prayer. Not just intercession, not just crying out for the nations, not just crying out for your family.
SPEAKER_01Communion with God. Remember, he is a servant of Christ Jesus. That is not just horizontal, it's vertical.
SPEAKER_02Ministering unto the Lord. The greatest missionary movement in the history of the church in Acts chapter 13 occurred while men were ministering unto the Lord. Let me say this. Your public ministry, and I say this in the fear of the Lord, your public ministry should just be the tip of the iceberg of your life. Below the water is a man shut up to God. While everyone else is playing, while everyone else is conversing, while everyone else is surfing the internet for the next great sermon. The man of God is on his knees. The man of God is in the word. The man of God awakes in the night watch. And he tarries there.
SPEAKER_03The man of God doesn't just pray to intercede. He prays to see his face. He cries out, Show me your glory. I cannot live unless I see you in clearer light.
SPEAKER_02And I will tell you this: I am reformed. I am Reformed Baptist. But I will not allow anybody to take the supernatural away from me. And I'm not talking about these silly boys talking about silly gifts. I'm talking about the supernatural nature of an intimate relationship with God. In which God becomes more real to you than six thousand people in a room. And yes, sometimes it's like a ceiling of bronze over your head. How do you pray? I'll tell you what was told me many years ago. You pray until you can pray, and then you pray until you have prayed. You break through. You give him no rest. We're not just academics, and if we are, we are a pitiful lot. We are men who walk with God. Men who meet with God. And if you don't want to do this, if you don't want to do this, if you want to buy sermons and things like that, then just please go away. Just go away. Some of you are here saying my mind is so limited. There's no broadness of the spirit in me. I know. I know. Young man, listen to me. The weakest man on the planet. Who will see his weakness and hide under the shadow of the Almighty? He'll at least be usable for something. And that is enough, isn't it? Let's go on. He says, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following. This is very important. Hebert makes a very important point here about the perfect tense. Timothy was not only learning and teaching sound doctrine, but it had become the settled practice of his life. Teach them to do all that I commanded you. Training in righteousness. Part of that great passage in 2 Timothy chapter 3, verses 16 and 17, the word of God for training in righteousness. To mold our lives according to what is written. You see, you misunderstand the reform faith. You really do, some of you at least. You think it's all about one doctrine of soteriology. Well, that doctrine is important. But if you really break it down, the reformers were about one thing, and all the other goodness came forth from that one thing, and that is sola scriptura. Scripture alone. To look at scripture. That's why they said sempre reformata, always reforming. Why? Always looking at scripture, always seeing need for change, always praying for change, always striving for change. To conform every aspect of not just our ministry, but our lives and every aspect of our life to the word of God. Verse 7, but have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness. It says here, have nothing to do with, it can also be translated, utterly reject. Now, what falls into that category? That's very simple. Everything outside of Scripture. Everything that contradicts Scripture, and everything that some men seek to add to Scripture. I want to read a passage that really grabbed my life as a young man. It's in Isaiah 8. When they say to you, consult the mediums and the spiritist who whisper and mutter, should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living to the law and to the testimony? If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. Christ and Christ's wisdom needs no help from men. Not within the church, and certainly not from without. Do you understand me? The world has nothing to say to us about God or the will of God or the work of God. Absolutely nothing. And even the smallest hint of it should be utterly rejected. Flee from it like a man fleeing from the plague. To the law and testimony. If they speak not according to this, they have no spiritual light at all. Let's hurry through. Verse 8 for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but it is of profit. Little profit, but it is of profit. I want to be. I have had a massive heart attack. My left knee is totally replaced. Both my hips are totally replaced, and my wrist is made of metal. It's held together with pins. But I try to eat right, ministers. And I exercise daily, ministers. Why? To live as long and as strong as I can, to give as much of me away to Christ. Where do you find the time? Maybe I don't spend as much time in front of a screen as you do. I'll give you a challenge. Every week, I think somebody told me that you can know how much screen time that you've had on your phone and all these other things. Is that true? Well, every day, every week, compare your screen time to your prayer time. So he goes on and he says, For bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things. And he will go on, and that all thing is saying, for this life and the next. Now, godliness, does it have to do with obeying laws? Yes, it certainly does. Has to do with obeying the will of God. I know in our culture today, in evangelical culture, that sounds like legalism. Every time someone mentions a command now, they're labeled a legalist. But I can assure you the Bible is full of commands and Jesus told us to keep them. We do not keep them in order to gain acceptance before God. We are accepted before God. Therefore, we want to know out of appreciation God's will, and we want to do it in order to please Him and honor Him. But godliness is more than finding the commands and obeying. I want you to look at it this way. Look first at Godwardness. Godwardness. When you study the scriptures, read the scriptures, it's God word. I want to know you. When you pray, it's God word. And if you maintain yourself in that discipline long enough, do you know what begins to happen? Your daily life becomes Godward. And then do you know what begins to happen? You avoid certain sins, or you avoid sin, or you're seeking to avoid sin, not simply because it is commanded of you, but because you are a man who always stands in the presence of God. Because you are a man who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and that precious person you do not desire to offend. Let's go on 9 and 10. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving of full acceptance, for it is for this we labor and strive because we have fixed our hope on the living God who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers. Now I do not have much time, but I want to say something here that's so important. And if you're a church member here and you're not a minister, and you have a minister that you love, take this to heart, but also take it to heart for yourself and take it to heart for your family and for all the believers around you. And this is the truth I want to convey. The essentiality of hope is entirely overlooked. Hope is foundational in the Christian life. My dear brother Tom Buck asked me today, he goes, How are you doing physically? And I said, Well, the physical kind of comes and goes, but my main problem is often passing through the slew of despondency, that it seems like things get hopeless and it weakens me to the point beyond what I would choose to share with you. And then when someone comes to me with encouragement from the word, it seems that my strength even is renewed. I have, in the last four years, since my heart attack, I have learned something of the power of hope. Hope founded on the scriptures, hope founded on the promises of God, hope founded on the character of God. Let me ask you a question. Do you not know a man can live 40 days without food? He can live three or four days without water. He can live, some say, five, ten minutes without oxygen. But how long can a man live without hope? And this is another reason why Christ's minister must remain in the scriptures and must remain in prayer. And another thing that I have been privileged because the Lord knows how weak I truly am, one of the greatest privileges in my life, as Pastor Josh said, I'm not an elder, but I'm surrounded by elders. And they watch me and they encourage me and they correct me and they warn me and they encourage me. And I'm sure they get together in their room and say, We need to encourage Paul again. I have a wife that encourages me. See, she wrote me a text before I got up to preach in Spanish, and she said, Te amo, dales duro, which basically means I love the I love you. Smack them around. She encouraged me. See, many of you think I'm the meanest preacher. No, it's my wife, actually, behind me. Now look at verse 11, and we're we're gonna get through this. Prescribe and teach these things. Now here's something, minister. Listen to me. Again, we have this present tense idea. Keep on commanding and teaching. And notice that if you put these two together, we're talking about teaching with authority, and you cannot teach with authority based on your position or office. You teach with authority only to the degree that you correctly interpret and communicate God's word. But preaching is more than simply the transference of information. We are looking for transformation. And that's why we pray, and that's why we not only teach and inform, but we exhort and rebuke and correct. Verse 12 let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. This is why, in the non-negotiable qualifications of an elder in 1 Timothy chapter 3 and Titus 1, most of it has to do with godliness, with character, with character. There is a sense in which the minister should be respected because of his office. There is another sense in which the minister must earn the respect of his people, and it is not a once and for all thing. Also, the minister of Christ must not only preach, but he must be something of a walking sermon, an example to the flock. Now we must go on. Verse 13. Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and to teaching. This public reading of Scripture is greatly neglected. I see in evangelical churches and Baptist churches and where I go, and I wonder where is the reading of Scripture? Where is it? In the meeting. Well, if we read a chapter or two chapters in the congregation, the people, you know, they're they're people of the internet. They won't be able. Oh, I thought we were supposed to let Christianity change culture and not let culture dictate our Christianity. You teach them to listen. You read the word of God, public reading of Scripture to exhortation and teaching. Now this seems backwards here, doesn't it? You would think he would say teaching and exhortation, but he says exhortation and teaching. Why? Maybe Timothy was timid. You'll get in little trouble just merely transferring information to somebody. The difficulty comes when you exhort them to obey what has been communicated. We go on. Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you with through prophetic utterance, with the laying on of hands by the Presbyter. What does that mean? Do not be falsely humble with regard to what God has given you. Identify what God has given you, man. If He's made you a minister of Christ, He has gifted you to carry that out. Know what those gifts are, but do not be apathetic toward them. Do not be passive, but you must go forward and forward and forward, ever honing, ever improving character and ability. This is one of the reasons why we study so that we are simply a sharper instrument. Verse 15 take pains with these things. Take pains. It's not easy. Be absorbed in them. Of course, the word absorbed is not there in the Greek text. It's simply be in them. For the sake of time, let me just say this: you have a pool of water on a table. There's the water. Everyone can see the water. Then someone brings a towel, puts it over the water, and removes the towel. Everyone looks at the table, they can't find the water. Where's the water? The water's in the towel. Where's the minister? Where is he? He's in the word of God in prayer? Or is he a mover and shaker? He ought to be in the word of God, the ministry of the word and prayer. When I was in Peru, many of the pastors would laughingly refer to my wife Chado as La Gran Querubina, the great cherubim. They said she stood at the door of the house with a flaming sword, looking this way and that way. Because they would drop by the house unannounced at nine o'clock or ten o'clock and say, I just came to see Brother Paul. My wife would say, Did someone die? No. Did Jesus come back? No. Then you cannot see Paul until 12 o'clock. Now I'm going to prepare lunch and you can eat with him if you would like. But he's alone. Where is he? He's in his study. What's he doing in his study? It's in the word. It's in prayer. I was very fortunate to be born again before many of the old, old school men who hardly exist now before they passed away. The old preachers, you would not know their name. But they had more knowledge of God in their finger than I have in my entire body. You don't know their name. They prayed for hours and you don't know their name. They saw marvelous works of God and you don't know their name. They weren't we asked Richard Owen Roberts one time, what's the difference between the great men of God of old and the men of God today? He said the great men of God of old had the power of God upon their life. Many of the men today are just very, very intelligent. Where is he? Do you know the greatest, most dangerous moment in the history of the church? Do you think it was Caligula? Do you think it was Nero? Was it Constantine? No. It was a group of widows. Acts chapter 6. Was the greatest, most dangerous moment for the church when the ministers of the gospel could have laid aside the ministry of the word and prayer to do something marvelously important. The caring for widows. But they assigned it to godly men and they kept on with the word. This is why deacons are so important, and this is why elders are not only to raise up elders according to 2 Timothy 2.2, but also to raise up deacons. So that they can do this kind of work so that the men of God can devote themselves to the administration of God's word. Finally, verse 16, and I'm sorry I've kept you so long. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching, preserving these things. For as you do this, you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you. Do you realize that what we do is a matter of eternal life and eternal death? Even as I'm preaching, it is very possible that I am looking at some people who will spend eternity in hell. Others who are on the long road to glory. It's an oracle. It's a burden. It's crushing. It's crushing. Because it's about life and death and heaven and hell. Minister of Christ, be encouraged. Providence may determine the size of your ministry and whether or not your name is ever known. But you will not be judged based on that kind of providence. You will not be judged by the pragmatic standards of evangelicalism. You will be judged by your faithfulness within God's providence and your conformity to Jesus Christ. I want to end with just one of my favorite hymns. Could we with ink the oceans filled and the sky of parchment made? For every stalk on earth a quill, and every man, a scribe by trade, to write the love of God above. It would drain the oceans dry. And the scroll, it could not contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky. That is very encouraging.
SPEAKER_00He said, Your public ministry should just be the tip of the iceberg of your ministry. That is one of the most convicting statements in the whole sermon for me personally. I'm sure there were others for you as a pastor to hear him say, we're not just academics. If we are, we are a pitiful lot is such a reminder. It goes for the heart of our reformed or doctrinally focused camp to ensure that, yes, we're known for preaching, and yes, we must have exegetical precision, and yes, knowledge is good. But a relationship with Almighty God, to seek Him in prayer, to be a faithful servant of the Lord on our knees more than anything else is our highest priority. The entire emphasis of our life and ministry must be show me your glory. I cannot think of a better way to end the summer series. I hope every one of these messages were helpful, encouraging, maybe life-changing for you as well in some way. I'll be back next Monday with another episode and we'll keep on going. For now, keep on living for the gospel.