成績單

The church scene today reminds me of a buffet, where you can pick out just about anything that seems appealing. Whether it is liturgy, preaching, music, programs, or belief systems, many churches today are serving up anything they can think of to try to attract more people to attend.

A man in our church sent me an article where a pastor from a mainline Protestant church was asked, “What would you say to someone who is thinking about attending your church?” The pastor responded, “They would be welcome regardless of who they are and regardless of what they believe; we don’t try to convert anybody.” The reporter asked him, “Well, what exactly is your church known for?” The pastor said, “We are known for having a positive message so that we can feel better when we leave than when we came in.” 

What he was actually admitting was, “No matter what you believe, and no matter how you behave, our church wants you to feel good about yourself when you leave.”

The man in our church who sent me this article made a funny remark as he wrote in the margin, “Pastor, sometimes I don’t feel better after your sermons. Could you work on that?” 

Well, the truth is, you can believe just about anything you want to believe and feel pretty good about yourself and your opinions and your lifestyle—until you open up the Bible.

The Bible has a way of confronting our thinking, which is constantly being influenced by the world. The gospel is not about making you comfortable in the world; the gospel is about saving you from the world.

That does not mean new methods or ideas are automatically bad. The Bible does not mention potluck dinners or grand pianos, and our church enjoys both. But there is constant pressure on pastors and congregations to change with culture—to compromise biblical truths. Today, more than ever, we need some biblical wisdom on what really matters for the church.

As we set sail today into 1 Timothy, we discover the wisdom we need. First Timothy, together with 2 Timothy and Titus, are called the Pastoral Epistles. The word epistle is the Greek word for “letter,” so these three pastoral epistles are three pastoral letters. They are written to pastors involved in leading and organizing local churches.

But these are more than letters to pastors way back then. They present inspired instruction, and they are going to remind the church how it ought to behave and what it must believe to be a true church today. And it is going to remind us that there is a vast difference between building a crowd and building a church—an immense difference between attracting people and making disciples.

Here in the first verse of 1 Timothy, Paul identifies himself as “an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope.” And according to verse 3, Paul is writing from Macedonia, and Timothy is currently pastoring the church in the city of Ephesus. He has been sent there as Paul’s representative and to give leadership to that church. His mission is spelled out clearly in verses 3-4:

Remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations.

Evidently, serious doctrinal error has slithered into this local church, and Pastor Timothy needs to sound the alarm and get rid of it.

Paul calls the erroneous doctrine “myths and endless genealogies” (verse 4). “Myths” refers to Jewish legends that were added to the Bible. “Endless genealogies” refers to the Jewish custom of creating fanciful stories and legends associated with the names in Old Testament genealogies.[1]  It was all interesting, but it was not helpful. In fact, it created all kinds of speculations, much like the Bible-code people today, who come up with all kinds of fanciful interpretations. It might attract a crowd, but it is not going to build up the disciples.

Paul adds that it opened the door to people “desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions” (verse 7).

In other words, these trendy teachers without any doctrinal foundation were misusing the Mosaic law. Now Paul affirms that the law is good if it is used properly to expose sinful lifestyles that need to change. He speaks here of people he calls “the ungodly and sinners” (verse 9). These are the people the law is designed for, and he gives us some examples of them in verse 10: “the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers [slave traders], liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine.”

The apostle is making a clear connection between false teaching and sinful living. If it is not sound teaching, it will not lead to sound living. The Greek word Paul uses for “sound” (hygiainō) gives us our word hygiene. People today are more conscious than ever about their diet and good hygiene, but they are not living healthy lives if they are not grounded in “sound doctrine.”

Paul then gives us a little bit of his own personal testimony. He writes in verse 13 that he used to be “a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent [of the gospel],” but he experienced God’s mercy, grace, and forgiveness. And notice what he adds in verses 15-16: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy.”

My friend, that can be your testimony as well, if you will admit your sin and trust in Christ. Just like Paul, you can become, as he says here, an “example to those who [will] believe in [Christ] for eternal life” (verse 16).

With God’s saving work in mind, Paul stops for a moment and praises the Lord, writing, “To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” (verse 17).

In verse 18 he gets back to the business of instructing Pastor Timothy to stay faithful to sound doctrine.[2] He makes this interesting comment that Timothy’s ministry was “in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you.” Apparently, some prophetic word from the Lord had been given regarding Timothy’s ministry (see 1 Timothy 4:14).

Paul is reminding Timothy that he has been called by God. Perhaps he needed that reminder because he was enduring a ministry that involved very hard work. If you are in the ministry today, you have learned by now, as my missionary father used to tell me, “Ministry is 99 percent perspiration, and 1 percent inspiration.”

Timothy’s ministry will include what Paul calls in verse 18 spiritual “warfare.” He is going to confront false teaching. He will even have to discipline people who have gone astray and refuse to repent.

Paul mentions certain people who have “made shipwreck of their faith” (verse 19). He says, “Among [these] are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.”

Paul used similar language in 1 Corinthians 5:5 in reference to church discipline of a man who refused to repent of his immorality. His removal from the church is described as handing him over to Satan—that is, giving him over to the consequences of his sin. And beloved, Satan is more than happy to see unrepentant sinners suffer the consequences of their sin.

You get the idea from this opening chapter that doctrinally strong pastors and churches are more needed than ever. The local church must teach the truth, guard the truth, and apply the truth to life.

Truth is not an option; it is essential for the church. If we do not stand for the truth of God’s Word, we have nothing to offer our hopeless world.