A Faithful Servant1 Timothy - 4:6-16

This morning we’re continuing our study of 1 Timothy.

By way of reminder, Timothy was left in charge to minister at the church in Ephesus. And there were a lot of problems in the church in Ephesus. Paul addresses the false teaching that was developing and creeping into the church in both chapter 1 and chapter 4.

And in this passage we just read, Paul gives a lot of personal instruction to his young protege Timothy. As a young pastor and minister, Timothy needed some advice on how to remain faithful in the face of challenges.

In verses 6-16, we see that in order to be a faithful servant of Christ, you must be nourished on sound doctrine (vv. 6-8), reject false teaching (vv. 7-10), and embrace God’s Word as the foundation for all true doctrine (vv. 11-16).

In many ways, it humanizes both Timothy and the church in Ephesus. Timothy was a regular guy and the church in Ephesus was a church full of people and all their problems!

Nourished by Sound Doctrine (v. 6)

Now it’s important to remember that our passage comes on the heels of Paul warning Timothy that some will “depart from the faith.” Which is why Paul says in verse 6, “If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus...”

That is, he must warn the church in Ephesus against the false doctrine. Remember the false doctrine? Some false teachers were teaching that the physical material world was bad and therefore sex, even within the confines of marriage was sinful along with eating some foods, probably meat, was sinful as well.

The false teachers taught that holiness and godliness were attained by rejecting the material, physical world. That’s what Timothy needed to “put before the brothers.” He needed to warn the church of this false teaching.

And that’s a major part of the pastor’s work isn’t it? To not only teach Biblical truth but to warn against false teaching.

That’s what makes a good pastor or minister. Interestingly enough, a few commentators actually translate the word for “servant” as “minister.” “If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus...”Because that is, what a good minister is, a servant of Jesus Christ. Isn’t that why Paul regularly refers to himself as a slave to Jesus Christ.

Pastors’ are undershepherds of the true shepherd. We’re servants of the King. And it’s the job of servants to deliver both good and bad news. Which means, warning against false doctrine.

And one of the easiest ways to defend yourself against false doctrine is to know, love, and teach right, orthodox, Biblical doctrine.

You know as I was preparing for this sermon I kept wondering am I going to be preaching to you all or to me? It’s always good to know what the characteristics are of a good faithful minister.

Because a faithful minister doesn’t view his congregation as a weekly punching bag. We don’t gather together so I can remind you all how terrible you are. But on the other side of that coin, the worship service isn’t the minister’s therapy session.

For whatever it’s worth, I already know y’all are sinners, and I’m going to go out on a limb and say y’all already know that I’m sinner too. We gather together to be reminded and washed over by the remedy for our sin: we’re here for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Which is why Paul reminds Timothy that he’s been, “trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.”

Notice that Paul says that Timothy has been trained in good doctrine and follows it.

Because the doctrine that nourishes and feeds your soul, should be the same doctrine that nourishes and feeds my soul. Faithful pastors preach and teach out of an overflow of a love for Biblical truth.

Reject False Doctrine (vv. 7-10)

It really goes without saying that if you love sound doctrine then you’ll reject false doctrine. That sounds pretty obvious doesn’t it?

But the reality is, life is usually more complicated. Things don’t always work out so neatly. I can just about guarantee you that if you were to ask any faithful, God-honoring minister if he’s ever had to combat false teaching he’d tell you: of course!

Just because you love sound Biblical doctrine and teach sound Biblical doctrine, that doesn’t automatically mean you’ll never deal with false doctrine.

False doctrine almost always leads to ungodly living.

The country music singer Charley Crockett captured an antinomian spirit that’s imbedded in so much false teaching in his song, “Saturday Satan, Sunday Saint.”

The lyrics are “Saturday Satan, Sunday Saint fooling your neighbors that what you think. Reading the good book, singing a hymn, come Monday morning and it’s back to a life of sin.”

We all know exactly what he’s talking about! And of course, the way you live doesn’t save you, but serves as a testimony of God’s grace in your life. The Christian should live a moral, righteous life not because it merits his salvation, but because he wants to please the Lord!

But one of the most insidious aspects of false teaching is that it’s incredibly appealing, which is why it’s always a threat. Pastors and church officers must always remain vigilant.

Which is why Paul tells Timothy to have nothing to do with, “irreverent, silly myths.” What exactly are irreverent, silly myths, anyway? Well in chapter 1:4, Paul tells Timothy to, “charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.”

Paul was warning Timothy against this false teaching that was creeping into the church that put a heavy emphasis on fictitious Jewish lore.

These false teachers would put tremendous spiritual emphasis on unhistorical and untruthful fables about Biblical genealogies. Which is why Paul called them, “old wives tales.” The NASB translated verse 7 as, “But stay away from worthless stories that are typical of old women.” In other words, Paul was telling Timothy that this false teaching was rooted more in speculation, conjecture, and assumptions. Which is why Paul says they’re nothing more than “old wives’ tales.”

In case you’re wondering, there are many “irreverent silly myths or old wives’ tales” that persist in the church today. For example, some hang their faith on their particular, speculative view of the end times. Or how about folks that take the creative liberties of movies or TV shows that dramatized Biblical stories as gospel truth? Their old wives’ tales or irreverent silly myths.”

They shouldn’t be taken seriously. Instead of focusing on the wives’ tales, Paul tells Timothy his time is better spent on training, disciplining, and devoting himself to godliness. Why?

“…while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”

Obviously, Paul is comparing physical fitness to spiritual fitness. Interestingly enough, he says that bodily training is of some value, meaning there are positive benefits associated with working out, but there are infinitely greater benefits to giving attention to your spiritual fitness. Being health conscious will extend your life, but being spiritual fitness leads to eternal life.

Have you ever heard the popular saying, “you can’t out train a bad diet?” There’s a popular belief that if you work out hard enough you can overcome a poor diet and still reach your fitness goals. But the reality is you’ll never reach your full potential if you maintain a very unhealthy diet. But your diet deeply affects your fitness and training regimen.

In the same vein, in order to grow spiritually, you have to maintain a good spiritual training and diet regimen. You have to avoid the unhealthy, sugary desserts of false teaching. Reject the old wives’ tales that will make you atrophy spiritually.

Instead Paul tells Timothy to train himself for godliness. The Greek word for train is “gumnazō” which is where we get the word “gymnasium.” You have to work out spiritually.

Paul doesn’t want Timothy to coast spiritually on what he learned from his third grade Sunday school teacher. You have to continue to push yourself and train yourself in godliness.

You might think, that sounds great, Jake, but how do I train myself in godliness? What spiritual exercises should I be doing?

I recently came across a survey from 2021 that found only 11% of Americans have read the entire Bible. Something like 90% of Americans own a Bible, which is why it’s so shocking that so few people actually read it.

If you’re serious about training yourself in godliness, then don’t be a part of the 89% of people who have never actually read through the entire Bible. A familiarity with the sacred Scriptures is vital to your spiritual growth.

Charles Spurgeon said of John Bunyan that “if you cut him, he’d bleed Scripture.” Why shouldn’t someone say that about you? It’s never too late.

But don’t miss the reason for training in godliness. We don’t study God’s Word and memorize Scripture so that we can flex our incredible Biblical knowledge on someone. We study God’s Word and train ourselves for godliness because it’s life-giving.

Isn’t that precisely what Paul says at the end of verse 8? Paul says training for godliness, “holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” You should study God’s Word, memorize Scripture, and spend time in prayer and train yourself in godliness because more than anything you want life-giving fellowship and communion with the living God.

That right there, life-giving communion with the living God is more satisfying than any false doctrine’s appeal to the flesh. It’s the source of our hope and the hope that we preach to the world.

Which is why Paul says in verse 10, “For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.”

In case you’re wondering, Paul isn’t promoting some sort of universalism in verse 10. The emphasis is on the word Savior, because whether or not you acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world, doesn’t change the fact that he is the Savior of the world. The title of Savior is significant for all people, but it takes on a deeper, more glorious meaning for those who put their faith in him.

I hope you can see the general outline for Paul’s instructions for combating false teaching in verses 6-10. Interestingly enough, they really don’t deal with poking holes in false doctrine, setting up debates, or challenging anyone to duel in the parking lot. His battle instructions in this passage are for Timothy to train himself in godliness. Rather than being dragged down by old wives’ tales he needs to focus on becoming a man of God.

Isn’t that true for all of us? Have nothing to do with irreverent silly myths and instead focus your energy on becoming a man or woman of God. Wouldn’t you agree that we live in an age where godly men and women are in short supply?

You know Paul’s fitness or training analogy really is gold isn’t it? We all know when we’re going to start dieting, don’t we? Tomorrow, right? It’s always tomorrow! In the same way, how do you become a man or woman of God if you keep putting off faithfully studying the Scriptures or committing time to prayer?

Stop waiting to be the man or woman God has called you to be and start training yourself for godliness today.

The labor of gospel ministry is what Paul and Timothy toil and strive, because he is the Savior of all people especially those who believe. In other words, Paul and Timothy want others to experience the same life in Christ that they have experienced.

Love the Centrality of God’s Word (vv. 11-16)

And so this is what Timothy was to teach and encourage to the church in Ephesus! Paul tells him to, “command and teach these things.” Everything that Paul has told Timothy in chapter 4 he should command and teach. He should warn against false teaching, reject “irreverent silly myths,” and continue to train himself in godliness. That is, reject “irreverent silly myths” and train yourself in godliness.

But again, more than anything Timothy should be training himself in godliness.

Which is why Paul famously says in verse 12: “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”

As the leader of the church in Ephesus, the young man Timothy, should be setting an example for them. He should be demonstrating to them what godliness looks like: he should display godliness in the way he talks, acts, his love for others, his faith, and purity.

It’s quite the tall order for the young minister at the church in Ephesus who was somewhere between the ages of 34-39.

Can y’all think of anyone like that? I’m about to turn 35, and the fact that I only have to shave once a month isn’t doing me any favors. I’m just kidding, I shave twice a month. We all have struggles in life, mine is I have to cope with these boyish good looks.

All that to say, this verse has taken on a whole new meaning for me personally. Paul is reminding Timothy, myself, and frankly all of us this morning a fundamental truth of life that we’ve all experienced and that is, respect is earned not given.

Several of you served in the military and I’m sure at some point or another you had to render a military salute to someone you didn’t was worthy of the honor. But even I know the common caveat: You salute the rank, not the person. Meaning, you respect their rank, but you don’t necessarily respect the person who holds the rank.

We often assume that we deserve the respect of others because of our title, office, or position. Isn’t that a common misconception? Once I get to this title or position, then everyone will have to respect me. The same is true in the church as well. Men often assume that because they’re ordained and they’re the pastor, elder or deacon they deserve a little recognition.

I’ve heard horror stories about pastors requiring folks to stand up when they walk into a room. I wish I was making that up. Some men don’t realize that respect is earned not given.

There’s a tendency in the church to assume that because someone is older they’re automatically wiser and worthy of respect, while someone who is younger is automatically ignorant and can be disregarded.

And the stereotypes are generally true. Folks in their sixties, seventies, and eighties should be wiser than men and women in their twenties and thirties because they have more life experience. However, people don’t always learn the proper lessons from their life experiences.

And sometimes people who are younger are wise beyond their years.

We shouldn’t despise anyone for their youth or blindly respect someone for their age. You and I must judge with right judgment.

But of course the bigger point that Paul wants to make is that the people at the church in Ephesus should respect Timothy and his calling but Timothy must commit himself to earning their respect in every way.

After all, people should respect their leaders in the church. People should respect their pastors, elders, and deacons. But here’s the asterisk that people don’t think about as much: in order for people to respect the office of pastor, elder, or deacon, they must respect the men who hold the office and it’s the responsibility of the men who hold the office to earn the respect of the congregation.

So Timothy is supposed to set an example for other believers in the way he lives his life, but he also is responsible for ministering to the church in Ephesus as well. And what was his primary means for ministering to the people? The word of God.

Verse 13, “Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.”

Notice that there are three words of significance: reading, exhortation, and teaching. Three different aspects to ministering the word. Reading the word is a critical element for familiarizing the congregation with the content of the Scriptures. Obviously, that was very important in the early church when copies of Scriptures were not easily accessible. But it’s still significant because it’s God’s primary means for speaking to us! Exhortation is a catch-all word for warning against false doctrine, giving advice, and speaking words of encouragement. And teaching is of course, communicating the facts and doctrine of the Christian faith.

All of these things come in and through the Word of God. Which simply means that the Scriptures should be the central component to public worship.

After all, this is precisely what Timothy was ordained or set apart to do. He was set apart to minister the word of the living God to the people there in Ephesus, which Paul reminds him of when the elders laid hands on him.

We don’t know exactly what the gift was that Timothy received, but it may have been the gift of discernment. Paul wants Timothy to teach faithful doctrine and at the same time expose false doctrine and in order to do that well he needs discernment.

Paul didn’t want him to neglect it! In fact, he was made aware of his gift through a prophetic word that was said when they laid their hands on him.

And it was all of these things that Paul wanted Timothy to keep in mind as he moved forward in ministry. He needed to vigilantly reject the silly myths, be nourished in the word, train himself for godliness, conduct himself so that no one will despise his youth, and cultivate his gifting.

These are the things he must practice and immerse himself in.

Which is why he must keep a close watch on himself and his teaching. Some of you may remember how the NIV renders verse 16: watch your life and doctrine.

Holy living and faithful teaching go hand in hand. They cannot be separated.

And through it both Timothy and his hearers will be saved. Is Paul saying that Timothy will personally save himself and the folks at the church in Ephesus? Of course not. We’re saved by grace through faith and this is a gift.

There are ordinary means that God uses to draw sinners to himself, namely, the preaching of the word. It’s what Paul says in Romans 10: Faith comes through hearing the words of Christ.

And it was and still is the church’s responsibility to faithfully employ those means! We need ministers who will faithfully preach the Word, because it’s the means by which God ordinarily saves sinners!

So Timothy needed to pay close attention to his life and doctrine because those are the means by which God will save him and others.

Timothy had a responsibility to point others to Jesus, but he always needed to remember that he needed Jesus too. The gospel that the pastor preaches is the same gospel that he needs to receive and cling to for his own salvation.

It’s a real problem, because if you spend all your time thinking about how everyone else needs Jesus, you run the risk of not thinking that you need him too.

So as we conclude, I want you all to see the big picture here: the Word is absolutely necessary for all the other things that Paul tells Timothy.

In order to train yourself in godliness, you need to study the Word. In order to recognize and combat false teaching, you need to know the Word. And in order to see people grow in their faith and come to Christ, you need to preach the Word.

The most faithful ministries are rarely flashy. More often they are simple, ordinary, and consistent.

That’s certainly true for pastors and ministers, but it’s also true of the Christian life in general. Often the people whose faith you respect and want to emulate are the folks who have made it their practice to read God’s Word, spend time in prayer, and faithfully attend worship for decades.

There’s nothing particularly flashy about any of those things, and yet we know it’s those things over the course of years that God uses to shape and mold people.

More than anything, this is what we need out of our churches and pastors - men who are wholly committed to preaching the whole counsel of God, because at the end of the day as Christians, what else do we have?

Most of you probably know the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism:

1. What is the chief end of man?

Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.

But most of us probably don’t remember the second question:

2. What rule has God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him?

The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him.

Let’s pray together.