Sermons of Redeeming Life Church

“Fight the Good Fight” (1 Timothy 1:12-20)

What does it mean to hold onto the faith? How do we maintain a good conscience? How can we worship God in light of the sins that we have committed against Him? In his sermon, “Fight the Good Fight” (1 Timothy 1:12-20), Pastor Josiah explains how each one of us has committed crimes against the Kingdom of God, yet, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, we can be forgiven of our sins and found righteous before God. Pastor Josiah also outlines the importance of maintaining a clear conscience and holding on to the faith in order to fight the spiritual battles against sin that wage war on our eternal souls. Deliberate disobedience will kill our spiritual life, but if we hold on to the faith and a good conscience, when the storms of life come our way, we will be able to remain steadfast and hold firmly to Christ Jesus. This sermon was preached on June 30th, 2024. Copyright 2024. For more information, please visit RedeemingLifeUtah.org

Duration:: 35m
Broadcast on:: 30 Jun 2024
Audio Format:: mp3

You're listening to a sermon preached at Redeeming Life Church. Well, good morning church. If you have your Bibles with you, I'd like to invite you to turn with me to 1 Timothy. We're going to continue our series walking through the book of 1 Timothy this morning. If you're using one of those red church Bibles, we're going to be on page 1051 1051. There's going to be a few verses on the screen this morning, but the majority, all the verses that I'm going to be reading this morning are in the U version Bible app as well. My sermon is jam packed with a ton of scripture today. So if you're wanting to refer back to the scriptures that I cite this morning, go ahead and say that U version of the app event so you can refer to it later. I'm going to pick up 1 Timothy this morning, starting in the 12th verse. As we're preparing our hearts to read God's word this morning, I want to let you know something today. If you've ever found yourself feeling unqualified to serve the Lord, or maybe even unworthy to be forgiven for the sins that you've committed in your life, I want you to know something you are not alone. You are not alone. Let's turn to Paul's letter now and I will show you exactly what I mean. First Timothy starting verse 12 says, "I give thanks to Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has strengthened me because he considered me faithful, appointing me to the ministry, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor and an arrogant man. But I received mercy because I acted out of ignorance and unbelief. And the grace of our Lord overflowed along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners and I am the worst of them. But I received mercy for this reason so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate his extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in him for eternal life. Now to the key eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, the honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. Continuing on in verse 18, "Timothy my son, I am giving you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies previously made about you so that by recalling them you may fight the good fight, having faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these things and have shipwrecked their faith. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander who might have delivered to Satan so that they may be taught not to blacks and grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of the Lord remains forever. We bow your heads with me as we pray. Dear Heavenly Father, our good and gracious King, I thank you so much. Lord, we have this opportunity to gather together today. Lord, to hear from your word this morning, to hear your voice. Lord, I pray that you would open our minds and ears to hear you this morning. Pill me with your Holy Spirit, Lord, and speak to us today. I thank you Lord for all that you've done in our lives, all that you're currently doing to redeem us and sanctify us and grow us and all that you're going to do as we await your return. Sing your holy and precious name, Lord, we pray. Amen. Amen. All right, well, here in our text this morning, we see Paul kind of going on a little bit of a tangent, or rather he takes a small detour from his instructions to Timothy to share his confession and his testimony of what Jesus Christ has done for him before continuing on in chapter two on how the body of Christ is to function as a healthy church. During our time together today, we're going to take a moment to look first here at Paul's testimony and his confession. And we'll unpack his instructions to Timothy to fight the good fight, and then we're going to see how all of this can really apply to our lives today. So looking first at Paul's testimony, we see that as Paul is writing his letter to Timothy, he takes a moment here in the beginning of the letter to share his testimony and really reflect on all that God has done for him. This past month, our youth interns have been discussing what a confession is. Oftentimes, when we think about the word confession, our minds immediately turn to our favorite courtroom drama or police drama, where we see a criminal confessing his signs, his sins, his crimes, really, before the detective in some small, windowless room, just a camera up in the corner and a yellow legal pad on the desk. But a confession is also a statement of beliefs. As Christians, we all hold the various creeds and confessions that serve as tools really to interpret what we believe about God and his word. These function as a means to help us find unity and solid ground on doctrinal issues with our fellow believers. So here in verse 12, Paul is confessing his belief in Christ and sharing a testimony of all that Christ has done for him. Look again at verses 12 through 14. Paul says, "I give thanks to Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has strengthened me because he considered me faithful, appointing me to the ministry, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an arrogant man. But I received mercy because I acted out of ignorance and unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed, along with the faith and love of our own Christ Jesus." Paul tells Timothy that he goes thanks to God for redeeming him and saving him from his sins, despite the fact that Paul had been a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an arrogant man. As a way of reminder of who Paul was, let us not forget that before Paul was an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the command of God our Savior, that we saw last week in verse 1, Paul was Saul, the persecutor, and the destroyer of the church. Here in chapter 1, Paul is all too very aware of all that Christ has saved him from, and the mercy that's really been bestowed on him. In order to drive home the point to Timothy and to the church, the gravity of the sins that Paul has committed, and the grace that Christ has really just lavished upon him. Paul continues his testimony with the phrase, "This saying is trustworthy, and deserving of full acceptance." This is Paul's way of saying, "Look, listen up." He uses this phrase multiple times through his letter to Timothy in order to grab his attention. If Paul were a next-gen student, he might say, "Look, bruh." If he was Jesus, he would say, "Truly, truly, I tell you." If Paul is not in next-gen, and he's not the Savior of mankind, he's Paul, the worst of sinners. So he tells Timothy, "The saying is trustworthy, and deserving of full acceptance." So let's listen up. Let's look and see what Paul says next. Verse 15, he says, "This thing is trustworthy, and deserving of full acceptance. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, tie in the worst of them. But I received mercy for this reason so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate his extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in him for eternal life." Paul tells us that Christ has come to save sinners and that he is the worst of them. When Paul refers to himself here as the worst of sinners, I want you to know something. What he is not doing is he's not seeking to be self-deprecating. I know many of us make self-deprecating statements, "I for one am notorious at this." But this is not what Paul is doing. Rather, Paul is reminding the reader that if Christ can save him, Christ can save anyone. If the blood of Christ can redeem Paul from his sins and wash him white as snow, the blood of Christ can cover your sins and make you whole and new as well. If you're not familiar with who Paul was when he was Saul and the crimes that he committed against Christ prior to his conversion, and I would encourage you, go home this afternoon, read Acts 7 through 9 and see what Saul did and how he persecuted Christ. If it weren't for Saul, I don't believe Stephen would have been stoned after preaching his sermon in chapter 7. With the same level of determination and devotion that Paul exhibited as he fought for the advancement of the gospel and Dr. Earl Purity, Saul persecuted and tormented the church as he threw believers into prison cells and argued for the deaths of all who profess faith in Christ. As Saul this man was a thug, he was a villain, he was the greatest threat to the kingdom of God and the advancement of the Christian church. Now, as one Bible scholar put it, as a redeem believer, Paul is calling us from across the centuries. Don't despair, he saved me the worst of sinners, a religious sinner, who persecuted Christ himself. He can save you too. If God can save Saul and transform him into Paul, then God can save Joe and turn him into Josiah and he can save you too. Quick time out for our kids who are filling out that sermon worksheet and this is that gospel connection. That's that gospel connection on the right hand side. 1 Timothy 1, 15, this saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Christ came to save sinners. Period. If you're sitting here today, you're listening to this message online and you're a sinner, which spoiler alert is all of us, that you need to hear me this morning. Christ came to rescue you. Praise God. Praise God that he did. Do you ever just stop and praise God you've been redeemed from your sins? Do you ever take a moment to thank the Lord and worship him for giving up his life to pay the price for the foolish, stupid, sinful things that you've done? Do you ever stop and take a moment to really look back and reflect on the gravity of the sins that you've committed against the Holy and a righteous God? Do you ever truly think about the treason that you've committed against the King that are in direct violations to the laws of the kingdom? If you've ever taken the time to truly look back and think about all that Christ has done for you and let's be honest, continues to do for you. I'd imagine that in those moments, you quickly turn from having feelings of disgust and shame over the things that you've done and these moments turn into times of praise and gratitude to Christ Jesus for what he has done. How can we talk? How can we not reflect on the sinful things we've done? See how Christ willingly paid for our ransom despite the fact that we were his enemies and then not fall on our knees and worshiped him for forgiving us of our sins even before we can forgive ourselves. The answer is you can't. Man, you can't. You can't fully grasp or understand the weight of your sins and not immediately worship God in light of your salvation. That's exactly what happens to Paul. Paul, as he is writing out his testimony for Timothy, immediately turns his testimony into praise. As he says in verse 17, "Now to the king eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God be honor and glory forever and ever." Amen. Amen. Look at the doxology that Paul gives to God. Look at the glory that he gives to Christ. The king eternal and the sovereign king will reign forever. Immortal. He's immortal. He's not subject to decay or destruction. He lives forever. Invisible. God lives in unapproachable light that no one has seen or it can see. We saw in Revelation this morning that there will always be light in heaven and glory. He is the only God. Paul says he is the only God. He alone is God. This is the praise that God deserves. This is the praise that God alone deserves. This is the type of praise that we should be offering up to Christ every day in light of the grace and the mercy that he's bestowed upon us. After taking a moment to praise God, to worship him for all that he has done for him, Paul now shifts gears, gets back onto the main road and continues in his instructions to young Timothy. Paul tells Timothy to fight the good fight by holding on to the faith and maintaining a good conscience. Look with me again at verse 18. Paul says, "Timothy, my son, I'm giving you this instruction and keeping with the prophecies previously made about you so that by recalling them you may fight the good fight, having faith and a good conscience which some have rejected and have shipped right to the faith. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have delivered to Satan so that they may be taught not to blaspheme." Church spiritual warfare is a real and tangible thing. Timothy's fight is not just against the false teachers in Ephesus, but his fight is also against his own sin and his fleshly desires as well. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul reminds us that this battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the constant powers of the darkness, against evil spiritual forces in the heavens. God's word also reminds us that sin is crouching at the door. It's desirous for you, but you must rule over it. Paul is giving Timothy instructions on how to finish well and survive the battle that wedges against his flesh and the renewed man that he is in Christ Jesus. Paul's reminding Timothy that he has been called to the pastoral ministry. He's encouraging him to hold on to the calling and the charge that he has been given to him by God and confirmed by those closest to him. He doesn't need to lose hope. He mustn't give up because Christ has saved both of these men for ministry and for the advancement of God's kingdom. So both he and Paul must continue the race, fight the fight and keep the faith. Paul goes on to share two important keys to finishing well and winning our battle over sin. Paul tells Timothy have faith and a good conscience. Have faith and a good conscience. Let's talk about those two things. What does it mean to have faith? What does it look like to have a clear conscience? I think we all know what it means to have faith. Faith is believing in what we cannot see. The author of Hebrews tells us that faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the Word of God so that what is seen was made from things that were not visible. What does it mean to have a good conscience? Surely Paul is talking about more than an imaginary cricket that lives on your shoulder. We all remember Jiminy Cricket from Pinocchio. These two things Paul tells us go together in order to fight the fight and win the battle that we heed. We need more than just faith in Christ Jesus. We need to maintain a good conscience as well. Repeatedly throughout the New Testament we see Paul stress the importance of maintaining a good conscience. In Acts 23 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, "Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience to this day." In Acts 24 Paul states that he always strives to have a clear conscience toward God and men. What Paul is not saying here is that he is living a perfect sin-free life but rather that he recognizes the difference between right and wrong and is constantly seeking to do what is right. Obviously Paul is still a sinner. He tells Timothy that he is the worst of all sinners. In Romans 7 Paul writes that he does not do the things that he wants to do and he does do the things that he does not want to do. Listen to these words from Paul here in Romans. If you want to follow along we are going to be on page 1002 in those Red Bibles. This is a large portion of text but I want you to see the heart behind what Paul is saying here as he deals with his wrestle with sin. We are going to look at Romans 7 starting in verse 14. Paul says, "For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold as a slave to sin. For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate. Now if I do what I do not want to do, I agree with the law that it is good. So now I am no longer the one doing it, but it is the sin living in me. For I know that nothing good lives in me that is in my flesh. For the desire to do what is good is with me. There is no ability to do it. For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do. Now if I do what I do not want, I am no longer the one that does it, but it is the sin that lives in me. So I discover this law. When I want to do what is good, evil is present with me. For in my inner self I delight in God's law, but I see a different law in the parts of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and taking me prisoner to the law of sin in the parts of my body. What a wretched man I am. Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with my mind I myself am serving the law of God, but with my flesh, the law of sin. To Paul's words sound familiar. How many of us struggle with the same issues? I know Paul is a little wordy at times and sometimes that could be confusing, but I hope that you can sense the war that is really raging inside of him. How many of us experience struggles with our sin issues like Paul does? Brothers and sisters there is a battle that wages war inside each and every one of us. Sin is seeking to kill you. I hope you see that this morning. Our sinful flesh is literally eating our soul from the inside out and we must be killing our sin or it will be killing you. One of the ways that we kill our sinful desires is by holding on Paul says to a good conscience. Just last week in verse 5 Paul states that the goal of our instruction is love that comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. In chapter 3 Paul tells Timothy the deacons must hold on to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. When I spent time this really examining what it meant to have a clear conscience, my first thoughts went to Jiminy Cricket, but I knew there must be more to that. There has to be more to what Paul is saying here to Timothy and as I was studying I was reminded of what John says in 1 John. Listen to these words from John we are going to be looking at 1 John 1 starting in verse 5. John says this is the message that we have heard from him and declare to you. God is light and there is absolutely no darkness in him. If we say we have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness we are lying and are not practicing the truth. If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all our sin. If we say we have no sin we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned we make him a liar and his word is not in us. We must walk in the light as he is in the light. Our lives must be lived with a clear conscience. This doesn't mean we are perfect. That could be further from the truth. It means that we are seeking what is good. Neither Paul nor John are calling on the readers to live a life of sinless perfectionism. The cold hard reality of this world is that we will never be found completely righteous this side of heaven. That's why in 1 Timothy here in verse 15 Paul says that Christ came to save sinners and I am the worst of them. If you write in your Bible circle that word M. I am present tense. Not I was past tense but rather Paul says I am. He says I am a sinner even after our conversion we are still sinners. That's why I say all the time that if you have been saved then you are being saved. If you are being saved then you will be saved. The theologians call us the perseverance of the saints. He who has begun a good work and you will carry it on to completion. However as long as we remain on this earth our temptation to sin and struggle to do what is right will always continue until Christ's return. Thankfully God is faithful and He is righteous to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That being said if we hold on to a good conscience then the sins that we continue to commit will be few and far between. When we are walking in the light then we are walking with Christ and walking in the light is fundamental to maintaining a good conscience. If Pinocchio had listened to Jimmy Cricket he never would have ended up at Paradise Pier with all the other donkey boys. If we listen to the Holy Spirit's prompting we won't end up parked on lovers laying with that boy or girl that we are not married to. If we listen to our conscience we won't end up in a compromising situation with that co-worker who is constantly flirting with us despite the fact they know we are married. No one sets out to steal thousands of dollars from their employer. That is exactly what happens when you take a couple dollars from their register over time here and there. Hyman ASN Alexander did not set out to make a shipwreck of the faith. They did so by downright disregarding the good conscience and emphatically turning their back on God. Hear me this morning. Deliberate disobedience will kill our spiritual life. Blatingly running head-first in the sin is paramount to getting in your car, putting a rock on the accelerator, letting go of the steering wheel as you drive down the interstate blissfully thinking you are going to end up at your destination safely and accurately. There are going to be things in this life that are okay for others but they're not okay for you because the voice in your head is telling you so. Whatever that inner voice inside you is calling you to do, heed his voice. Hyman ASN Alexander shipped wreck their faith because they did not maintain a good conscience. It's our conscience that helps us determine the difference between right and wrong. It's our conscience that helps us recognize the sin in our lives and the dangerous pitfalls that we should avoid. These two Ephesian elders willfully and deliberately rejected their conscience. As a result, Paul has handed them over to Satan to be sifted. Some might read these words by Paul where he says he's handed these guys over to Satan as Paul's way of saying that he has completely written these two men off. However, I don't think that could be further from the truth. Paul's not giving up on Hyman ASN Alexander. Rather, he is hopeful that these two men will be saved. What Paul has done is he has excommunicated these brothers from the church in an effort to put an end to their false teaching and their heresy. As with many Christians, Hyman ASN got a little lost in the sauce when it comes to his eschatology. We know this because then Paul's follow-up letter to Timothy. He mentions Hyman ASN along with Felitas and explains how they have wandered away from the truth because they're saying that the resurrection has already taken place and thus are destroying the faith of others. It is possible that the issue with Alexander is that he's been caught up in the same end times drama as well. Whatever the case may be, Paul has handed them over to Satan so that they will be taught not to blasting. Paul uses the same language in Corinthians when he tells the Corinthian elders to hand someone over to Satan for the destruction of their flesh so that their spirit may be saved. Paul's goal in executing these Ephesian elders from the church is twofold. One, but not allowing them to remain in the church. They're no longer able to lead others astray through their influence and false teaching. And two, by not being surrounded by their brothers and sisters in the faith, they're more susceptible to the enemy's attacks and thus, hopefully, after they've been sifted by the devil, they'll turn from their sinful ways, repent and give their lives back to God. Quite often, one of the easiest ways that the enemy convinces us that we don't need Christ and lures us away from him is to pull us away from the church and fellowship with the saints. There is care and there is protection from God that we experience and are blessed by when we regularly gather together. This is why Robbie and I so strongly encourage that you faithfully come to church each week. It's not so you can get another gold star on your perfect Sunday school attendance chart, get a reward at the end of the quarter. It's because it's good for your soul. Hebrews 10, 25 reminds us that as Christians, we should not neglect gathering together as someone in the habit are doing, but rather, we should encourage one another all the more as we wait for the return of Christ. So, with that in mind, don't shipwreck your faith. Don't shipwreck your faith. The same instructions that Paul has given to Timothy are the same instructions. I believe the Lord has us for us today. Don't shipwreck your faith. The charge and encouragement for us this morning is crystal clear. We must hold on to the faith and to a good conscience. Otherwise, the risk is severe and when the storms of this life come our way, we will crash headfirst into the jagged rocks of the shore and regrettably make a shipwreck of our faith and even worse, the faith of others. Brothers and sisters, hold on to the faith. Hold on to a clear conscience. Stand firm and help others remain steadfast as well. The saying is trustworthy. Christ came to safe sinners, including you and me. Hold on to him and don't ever let go. I want to close our time together now with a word of prayer. But before I do, I want to read to you the 25th Psalm. During our time together this morning, we've seen how both Paul and John have looked back to Christ and the redemptive work that he accomplished on the cross. But now as we close our time together, I want you to hear the Psalm from David as he struggled with his sin and looked forward to the Savior who was to come and cleanse him from all unrighteousness. Psalm 25, David says, "Lord, I appeal to you. My God, I trust in you. To not let me be disgraced. To not let my enemies gloat over me. No one who waits for you will be disgraced. Those who act trickerously without cause will be disgraced. Make your ways known to me, Lord. Teach me your path. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you alone are the God of my salvation. I wait for you all day long. Remember, Lord, your compassion and your faithful love for they have existed from antiquity. To not remember the sins of my youth or my acts of rebellion and keeping with your faithful love. Remember me because of your goodness, Lord. The Lord is good and upright. Therefore he shows sinners the way. He leads the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. All the Lord's ways show faithful love and truth to those who keep his covenant in decrees. Lord, for the sake of your name, forgive my iniquity, for it is immense. Who is this person who fears the Lord? He will show him the way he should choose. He will live a good life and his descendants will inherit the land. The secret counsel of the Lord is for those who fear him and he reveals his covenant to them. My eyes are always on the Lord, for he will pull my feet out of the net, turn to me, and be gracious to me for I am alone and afflicted. The distresses of my heart increase bring me out of my sufferings, consider my affliction and trouble, and forgive all my sins. Consider my enemies, they are numerous, and they hate me violently, guard me, and rescue me. Do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. My integrity and what is right watch over me, for I wait for you. God redeem Israel from all its distresses. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you so much that you are faithful and just to forgive us our sins, to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Lord, I thank you that even while we were still sinners, you sent your son to redeem us of our sins, to wash just why it is new, so we might be found righteous and justified before you. Dear Lord, when the enemy tries to remind us of our past, I pray that your Holy Spirit would remind us of our future, how you redeem us, rescued us, saved us from the punishment that we deserve. Lord, I pray that your Holy Spirit would go with us today. Now you would help us to heed our good conscience, to heed the Holy Spirit's prompting to listen to your voice, help us to clean to what is good and to get rid of what is evil in our lives. Help us Lord to die to our flesh, to live for you. In the words of Paul, now, to the king eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory, forever and ever. Amen. [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING]