Sermon: Fight On

This morning 1st Timothy Chapter 6 and we're looking at verses 11 through. 16 this morning First Timothy chapter 6 11 through 16

Let's pray one more time before we open God's word together.

Father we do stand upon your promises. We look to you this morning with the eyes of faith.

And we want to hear your truth.

Promise that we can cry out to you and that you hear the prayers of your children. And so we cry out to you this morning. We say speak to us. Oh Lord. You who are king of kings and Lord of lords who Reigns over Heaven and Earth speak. To us this morning we pray.

And we pray it in the strong and effective name. Christ Jesus amen this morning first Timothy chapter 6 verses 11 through 16 this is the holy inerrant sufficient word of God.

But as for you o man of God. flee these things pursue righteousness godliness faith love steadfastness gentleness fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession and the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God. Who gives life to all things and of Christ Jesus who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession to keep the Commandments?

unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ Which he will display at the proper time. He who is the blessed? And only Sovereign the king of kings and Lord of lords who alone has immortality. Who dwells in unapproachable light whom no one has ever seen or can see to him be honor and eternal Dominion? amen This is the word of God the grass withers and the flower fades. Word of God is forever. Thanks be to God.

amen

Our passage this morning. begins with Paul contrasting with Timothy what he has just spoken to Timothy about the false preachers. those who were peddling false Doctrine there in Ephesus, and now he is contrasting who they are and what they were doing and with what it is that Timothy is to be and what it is that Timothy is to do but as for you he says but as for you

Those are powerful words.

It's pretty easy. To consider others. It's almost too easy at times to consider others. but as for you sit up when you hear that. Think on this as for you.

It's focus on you Timothy. And then he closed in this he says oh man of God.

They are not men of God. And this is what they look like. This is what they are attending to. This is what they are doing. But as for you, oh man of God, that'll make you sit up. Make you listen.

Paul has three things that he puts before Timothy. It's John Stott healthy put it and I'm just going to use his three points this morning. As soon as I read it I said, oh, that's it. these three things the ethical the doctrinal and the experiential three points this morning the ethical the doctrinal and experiential This is at least in my mind. What makes for a good Christian? I have often said that the others life that is lived along

the ethical the doctrinal and the experiential is the great aim of the Christian Life. I have said to others often that my Ministry is aimed at one thing. As I think about my Ministry. And that is that I want to form and I want to shape warm-hearted experiential Calvinists. That's the aim of my Ministry. Simply these three things just last two and a little different order than from how Paul puts him here, ethically mature doctrinally sound

experientially living Christians warmhearted experiential Calvinists. Let's look at that together. first warm-hearted or the ethical he gives Timothy to General instructions here. He says flee and pursue ethics matters for the Christian. The Christian is not simply a person of the intellect. That's not simply what we are. like some make that mistake and think that if they think the right things about God that that is sufficient that that's the essence of being

a Christian but the Christian understands that the mind and the heart that they are tied together. They can't be separated. What you are to believe is to inform. It's to shape. It's the mold you. One is not independent from the other Timothy as a man of God flee these things and pursue other things. That's at ethics. Right belief shapes right living. Our faith has feet what we believe is the Dominate dominate or living.

So Timothy flee these things. Well what thing? the things I just mentioned all of these things that these opponents to the gospel are preaching all these things that the opponents of the Gospel are seeking after flee the Love of Money flee from worldliness flee from coveting flee from discontentment flee from causing constant friction flee from conceit and unhealthy craving for controversy flee from Envy dissension slender

evil suspicion. Why? Because it's opposed to your god. Oh man of God. supposed to him

and if you are tied to him it is opposed to you.

You flee. It is not hear me. It is not cowardice for a Christian to flee from sin.

You are the rightfully flee. It was not cowardice. When Joseph left his cloak behind when Potiphar's wife was grabbing at him to seduce him. That was not cowardice that was wisdom that he fled.

Some of you need to be fleeing.

Need to be fleeing.

He treats sin like it's something that you can domesticate. like this little sin is a pet dog that I can bring into my house of my life and I can tell it to sit down at times and I can tell to lay down at times and I can domesticate that thing. It's not something that can be domesticated. It is a wolf that you have led in. You're to flee from sin. please

Remember Paul's address here o man of God. You belong to him. You're not your own.

Sins opposed to God, so we're opposed to sin.

This God whom Paul notes in verse 13 that we live in the presence of. And so those sin allures like Potiphar's wife the promises ecstasy will promise all kinds of happiness and joy and pleasure and satisfaction you and I as a man or a woman of God or to run from it.

but the Christian doesn't simply run from here she runs too. Pursue he says in the second half of verse 11 pursue chase after these things. Well, what things are you and I to pursue to chase after in Christ Jesus. Well, he says righteousness be fair and be upright in all of your interactions with other people that is live with integrity. pursue righteousness godliness seek God and all things Paul uses this word in different forms

eight different times in this one book. This is an emphasis of his to Timothy. You are to be Godly. pursue godliness live for God not for the world faith. You have faith Timothy, but you are to grow in this faith. Notice that faith is something that you and I are to pursue. It's something that we have. But you see there is a holy discontentment that every Christian is to have you and I are never to be settled with the faith that we possess.

We're always the desire to grow more and more and more in that faith and notice there's a pursuit to it. This doesn't just come. You don't just sit on your hands and it just explodes more more. No, he's saying you pursue after this in Christ Jesus. You attend to the means of Grace the word and prayer you come to corporate worship. You seek The Fellowship of the Saints you seek to kill sin and to grow in righteousness by the power of His Spirit

at work within you you pursue it. Grow in faith to live intentionally. It takes focus it takes discipline. And then he says love. Faith and love they always go together.

Always go together in Paul's mind. If you have faith you have love. For God love for others. You pursue it. steadfastness and his patience and hard thing. Having patience and the midst of hard thing. That's a hard one to pursue. He's done. Timothy. You are to pursue this. the most curious though is the last And that's gentleness. If steadfastness is patience and hard things gentleness is patience with hard people. And that is to be pursued.

I want you to think about the context here. Paul and writing in a time to Timothy when the faith is in Jeopardy Christianity is being attacked and it's infancy by false teachers who are not outside the church, but are within the church and Paul tells Timothy to pursue gentleness.

May seem at all in second Timothy. He will say to Timothy this that a worker approved by God as one who is quote correcting his opponents with gentleness. It seems to be forgotten. Or ignored or even ridiculed in our day that a Christian man or a Christian woman a man of God or woman is to be gentle. gentle

been reading a book filled with funeral sermons and Memorial addresses of some of the well all of the early professors and theologians at Princeton Theological Seminary when it was a Bastion of Orthodoxy no longer is but when it was in the early 19th century and as these men would pass. a great theologians in the church great professors It's been curious to me to read all of these funeral addresses and memorials that were written

about them and funeral and sermons that were preached at their funerals and over and over and over without fail. It's said of almost I say almost because I think it's every but I don't want to be hyperbolic almost every single funeral address for Memorial that I've read speaks about that Theologian being a gentlemen

That mean that they were milk toast. They were weak. They were yellow bellies. Far from it they were men who stood on Truth. They were principled men. They were willing to stand and fight. Not only were they willing but almost every single one of them engaged in polemics when it was necessary and yet without failed they did so as gentlemen

just want to read a few words said about one upon his death. While his aim was to confound his adversary by unanswerable arguments. And to bring out what he believed to be the truth in the light of noon day. He never sought egg from vegan sinuations or bitter invective. Never forgot his own personal dignity even in the closest conflict in which he could be engaged. It is within our distinct recollection that an individual

who had held for some time the relation of a vigorous opponent to him in a theological controversy. Assured us that he was deeply impressed by his uniformly. fair and gentlemenly bearing and that much as he differed from him. He could not but regard him. with the highest respect

long for a day and we're gentlemen is no longer disparaged. Let alone mocked and ridiculed. It's actually a title fittingly sought among Christians.

Gentleness is to be a Pursuit.

O man of God. Parts are to be inflamed with Warmness toward God and towards others. That's the ethical.

second the doctrinal

it's not enough to be moral warm-hearted one muscle be doctrinally sound. Paul says the Timothy in verse 12 fight the good fight of the faith take hold of the eternal life to which you were cold and about which you made the good confession the Christian both flees and the Christian fights. Both are necessary fight the good fight of the faith. That is this is not the faith. He just spoke about in verse 11 that subjective Faith now he is talking about objective Faith

the faith the Christian Orthodox faith that you and I confess and profess and that we are to hold on to he says fight for it. Fight for it.

the word for fight It's a strong word in the Greek. It's a word agonozo agonozai. You can hear it in the word. There's effort here. There's wrestling there's struggling. It's word that's often used referred to box scene or to refer to wrestling. It's at times no doubt in this context use refer to a kind of physical combat Warfare to fight for the faith Timothy a lot of things that aren't Worth Fighting For

the fight for the faith is worth it. So much. So the Paul calls it a good fight. Why is it good? Because if the faith is not contended for it is lost. laws There's a naturally erosion in the world that you and I dwell in that if the faith is just left alone. And if we think it will just stand. Without us contending for it and fighting for there are all kinds of destructive forces sin and worldliness and Satan and hell and

death and all the Demonic forces and all that is waging Warfare against this Faith to minimize it to tear it apart.

There's constant Warfare surrounding it. And so the faith never remains apart from effort by Christians the Gates of Hell shall not Prevail against the church. That is a promise for our Lord from our Lord Jesus Christ and yet what he does is he calls you and I in the church to stand upon the wall and to defend the faith. Part of the way that the gates of hell did not Prevail against the churches that you and I are involved in

this Warfare. We fight.

And Christ bids a sinner come. We not only enter the family of God, but the army of God. Yes, he's your father.

And he is also your king. Not just a son and daughter. You are also a soldier. So you remember that Timothy? Every Christian is to fight the good fight.

His faith is so easily lost. so easily lost see this over and over an institutions and denominations and local churches and You are hard-pressed. You and I are hard-pressed to look out and find an institution whether it is a seminary a college a church a denomination that has existed for a hundred years in Hilton to the faith. It's hard to find.

has to be fought for

none of us should take it for granted. We get a little distracted and we lose it.

Look a little different this morning. Some of you have noted it. You've give me signs as of standing up here at the beginning of the service. Move you offering to help me. Let me explain.

I was outside this week the beginning of the week. And it was a sunny beautiful day. and while I was outside a spider started across my face

It was huge hairy beast. If it had eight legs it had 20. and you would think that that would elicit a cry or a scream. I manly Constitution had none of that. But in a moment, I reacted some might have counted that as anxiousness. It was not anxiousness. It was cat-like reflexes. And I with two fingers as this thing was crawling. It was so big. It wasn't crawling. It was parading across my face like it. Owned it. I flicked it with two fingers and it

sailed. victory But also flicked my glasses and did I mention I was on a kayak in the middle of a lake. Not so much victory.

Just a little distraction. That wasn't so little in this case, but just a little distraction. And you can lose that which is of far more value.

It's easy to take for granted. A faith that we've been handed.

I just want you to think back over the century some of you know, church history. Some of you have very little knowledge of church history. But all of you have to have some semblance of the mothers and fathers of the faith how many of them gave their Earthly lives? Gave their children's lives gave their grandchildren's lives so that you might have this faith.

gave their lives

you haven't contended yet to the point of shutting blood.

You and I are to fight the good fight of the faith all that we are. It's on an overstatement to say that if the church loses truth, it loses everything.

doctrinal soundness is not a nice add-on to the joy of our fellowship it is it so Without truth. There is no church. Fight for a Timothy fight for no man of God.

Let's give a warning.

And if you've seen the documentaries have been a number of documentaries that have come out over the last few years about. These men and women that do free solo climbing. They will. approach these Rock faces some of the highest mountains in the world and they will climb these Rock faces without carabiners without harnesses without ropes.

They're just using their hands and they're just using their feet. And if they fall it's it's a full. It's not a mistake that almost every single one of them that has reached some kind of fame or prominence. Over the last few decades has died. Doing the sport. Was watching one of the documentaries one day and they were doing a psychoanalysis of one of these famous rock climbers. And as they did tests on him, they found

that his brain literally had no sense of fear. It never registered fear.

There's something wrong with him. literally It's not a joke. There's something wrong with him. Fear is there to make you stop from doing stupid thing?

There's some who love to fight. And there's something wrong with them.

Shouldn't ever love to fight.

But let's all be clear. There is equally something wrong with the Christian who is unwilling. To ever fight there is something wrong with them.

There are good fights. Fight the good fights of the faith Timothy. I will tell young married sometimes when they come down and they sit down and doing counseling with them. I will tell them sometimes when they're worked up about different things. I would tell them some fights are worth having. It Gotta Have him. There are good fights. Now when you fight you do it in love you do it in kindness. You do it as a gentleman or a gentle woman, but dear Christian for

the faith. There are fights worth having because Doctrine matters if we don't contend for it, we lose it. It's gone.

Number of your elders and your pastors and your an interns and fellows here at you or see we'll head down to Alabama this week, Birmingham. Where this year? Our national gathering of our denomination will meet together and what we call our general assembly and in that general assembly part of what we do is we gather together and part of the reason that we gather together is to fight the good fight of the faith. There will be debates.

And there will be sharpening one another and they will be rebuking doctrinal air. It often takes effort it often costs and it is always worth it. because the faith matters

Paul reminds us in verse 13 Christ stood firm before Pontius Pilate he made the good confession and the same Christ as returning as he stood so he's relaying the Timothy so you are to stand as he confessed and upheld the truth. So you are to confess and uphold the truth. And this is not a suicide mission. This is not a Fool's Aaron because why because the same Christ that stood and made his good confession and profession in

the face of Pontius Pilate is the same one who is returning upon the clouds and he will reward those who stand firm in him. He will appear

this faith is worth fighting for

notice how Paul describes what our faith teaches about God. Is Faith that's worth fighting for verse 15? He says he is sovereign. He's king of kings and Lord of lords. He is Immortal. That is he is never one who dies he dwells in unapproachable light. He's deserving of all honor and eternal Dominion meaning rule forever and ever Paul is speaking about a great God. God that yours and my finite minds and our finite eyes, even

when they are glorified that even then they cannot fully take in his person. Because he is so great.

Oh erupts here with what many to believe in early him or Creed in the church. You can't help himself when he thinks about this is great Sovereign. Good God.

God to be honored and even feared

at the beginning I know some of you Probably hesitated me saying that. the goal of my ministry as I've often explained it to people is the form people's warm-hearted experiential Calvinists and Say why? calvinist that sounds pretty parochial I'm not so concerned about. People loving Calvin I could care less about that. What? I mean by that is an understanding of God and understanding of salvation.

That confesses and believes that God is truly Sovereign and all things including our salvation. And that everything is aimed at his glory everything.

When I was in seminary, I was trying to wrestle through this whole calvinist, you know, the other side of the equation often that's brought up as arminianism. There are other sides of the equation semipalagianism and pelagianism Etc. But I was walking up to my professor. And I went up to my professor after hearing him speak. It was was a predominantly arminian School Seminary and I'd heard him speak and I said to him I said

professors such and such Are you a calvinist? It's just learning the language. And he said Jason I'm augustinian. Okay, I don't care same idea. God is sovereign. Is that he is Sovereign over all things? He is not a domesticated God a domesticated. God is no God. That he is great and he is majestic and he is above all. That all of Salvation all of creation all of the universe. All of it is singularly aimed at his glory all

of it.

Whole things from him and through him and to him. To him be glory forever.

Paul's addressed the ethical and the doctrinal Finally, he addresses the experiential.

It's not enough to simply be moral nor to add to the that morality the right doctrine of God. We are also to experience this God to truly know him to truly love him verse 12 take hold of the eternal life to which you were cold and about which you made the good profession and the presence of many witnesses. Notice first that Timothy made a good confession in the presence of many witnesses when we come to Christ we confess our faith in Christ before others. We

do this together here at URC as you become a member of this local church, you are admitted into the membership of the church. And then what do you do you profess and confess that you hold to before the entire body? Is what Timothy? did Membership is not an arbitrary decision or part but confessing our faith in the presence of witnesses. Christian. Faith is public faith. It is participation in a community. There are to be Witnesses.

Now what does Paul mean by take hold of the eternal life to which you've been called? but Timothy Is clearly a Christian? He's been a Christian for some time. Or otherwise he wouldn't be called to the pastorate Paul's already made that clear that a man that is to be called as an elder is not to be a recent convert. So he can't be a recent convert. No, we know that he received this good deposit when he was a child from his

mother and his grandmother Lois in Eunice that they passed on this faith and he's been a Christian for some time. So what does Paul mean when he says to him that he is to take hold of the eternal life. The eternal life is already his

I think a Stott said the probable answer is that it is possible to possess something. Without embracing and enjoying it. And I think that is the point. And that is part of the reason that Paul himself erupts in this glorious praise to God. Because he is demonstrating. He's moved himself as he's thinking about this great salvation that they are called the preach this great thing that they are to defend and fight for and contend for it leads

him immediately to exalt this great God why because Paul himself experientially knows God.

And he wants to encourage Timothy to grow. In that same experience will knowingness. Enjoy him. To lighten him take hold of it. Timothy grasp it experience your God.

Calvinists have at times been I think rightly called the Frozen chosen.

Sometimes you got to wake up our faces and realize that a smile is a good thing when you've received such a great salvation. You can demonstrate that to people. especially in worship

but that is not rightly lived Calvinism that kind of Frozen chosen that is used as a pejorative of us. It's true that Calvinism has a very high view of God. Believe there is nothing greater. That all things are aimed at him that he governs All Things by the word of his power that he created All Things by the word of his power that he sustains All Things by the word of his power that he will bring all things to an end by the word of his power.

That he is so great that your eyes and your minds and mine cannot take him all in. That he is truly transcendent. And yet what we equally confess as Calvinists. Is that this great Sovereign Mighty Sovereign God? throws near to us in Christ Jesus

that he indwells us. That he unites us to himself in his beloved Son. And that he will make his home Among Us. forever

that we experience him

that we dwell in relationship with him.

But Delights you about God right now.

lights you

are you enjoying him?

What is the chief end of man?

Chief end of man is to glorify God. and enjoy him forever

Delights you about God

can you name something?

You can if you're more than a moralist you can if you're more than a doctrinalist. If you're experiencing living relationship with him now that Ebbs it flows. or some days and it feels like he is very distant. There are. Entire periods of time that I know I've gone through. I know some of you are going through right now where he feels incredibly distant, you know, we suffering.

You believe he's transcendent.

You don't experience him. You find very little Delight.

Tabs it flows.

A do you live in him? You live with him.

Take hold. It's one thing to know about his love it's quite another to know his love. Paul knew it that's why he can't control himself and he just erupts in the stocksology.

He knows him. And he Delights in him.

It's king of King. Lord of lords, this one who alone is immortality who dwells and unapproachable light whom no eye has ever seen or can see and then Paul says to him be honor and eternal dominion and then he's got to close it out with an amen. That is a verily truly. I I just can't multiply this anymore. Let me just just say my verily truly to this I believe this.

It's just so stirred like that.

Christian faith is not a science. It's not an imaginative story. It's not a psychological Crutch It is experienced in living relation with this crucified and risen Sovereign Savior and his father and the spirit this one Triune God. Do you know him?

Do you Delight?

Are you pursuing that?

to close with this

There are those who Center upon the ethical? And simply live as legalistic moralists. That's not biblical Christianity. There are those who Center upon the doctrine. And simply live as detached theologians. That's not biblical Christianity. There are those who Center upon experience and simply live as emotional Mountain Top day trip Seekers. That's not biblical Christianity.

I believe with every fiber of my being. that warm-hearted experiential Calvinism Is biblical Christianity?

ethical experiential doctrinal that's our faith. Pray, you hold on to it fight for it pursue it. And grow in it to the glory of our God. Let's pray.

Father we do exalt you this morning.

It's the great God of the heavens and the Earth.

King of Kings Lord of lords The Great I Am who dwell in inapproachable light and Mortal invisible or God only wise?

in light it accessible. Hid from our eyes. And we long truly long for that day. And we shall see you in all of your glory in the face. of the Lord Jesus Christ It was very God of very God. Would you help us to live in light of that day? Well, then fast the profession we have made. contending for the faith And taking joy and Delight in you. Christ holy name we pray. amen