Cited in sermons
George Knight
69 sermons · All people cited
The Appointment of the Seven
Acts 6:1–7 presents the appointment of the first seven men set apart to serve the Jerusalem church, men whom later apostolic instruction in 1 Timothy 3:8–13 would identify as deacons in the formal sense. The sermon works through three movements: the temporal problem of neglected widows that threatened to consume the apostles' calling, the apostolic proposal demanding spiritually qualified men of good reputation full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, and the divine provision confirmed by the spread of the Word. The governing argument is that the diaconate exists precisely to guard the church's primary ministries of prayer and gospel proclamation, freeing elders to devote themselves continually to those ends. The sermon concludes by directing both the newly installed deacons and any unconverted hearer to Christ, the Son of Man who came not to be served but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many.
The Conduct of the Good Minister, Part 1
What marks a minister as truly 'good' in the sight of God? Expounding 1 Timothy 4:6–11, this sermon argues that ministerial faithfulness is defined not by popularity, giftedness, or leadership skill, but by the diligent instruction of the congregation in sound doctrine — the words of faith and good teaching. The pursuit of godliness, understood as rigorous training for the unhindered service of God, surpasses all bodily discipline because it carries promise for both the present life and the age to come. The sermon concludes by addressing the contested phrase 'Savior of all men' in verse 10, rejecting universalism and unlimited atonement in favour of a reading grounded in God's common grace and providential preservation, with special and saving grace belonging distinctively to those who believe.
The Qualification for Elders
What does Scripture require of a man before he can lawfully serve as an elder in Christ's church? Working through 1 Timothy 3:1–7, this exposition first establishes five elements of a genuine call to the ministry — desire born of right motives, graces indicating genuine Christian experience, gifts indicating divine provision, providential opportunity, and recognition by the local church — before moving through the text's qualifications under five headings: personal holiness, domestic faithfulness, experience in the faith, testimony toward outsiders, and the one indispensable gift of being able to teach. Throughout, the point is pressed that these virtues are not merely a checklist for candidates but the standard of godliness every Christian man and woman ought to be pursuing.
Wage the Good Warfare
Paul's charge to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:18–20 — to wage the good warfare — is the ground for a sustained argument that gospel ministry requires both the positive exposition of truth and the courageous refutation of error. The sermon works through the basis of that charge (prophetic appointment), its necessary instruments (faith and a good conscience), and the catastrophic consequences of rejecting those instruments, illustrated by the named cases of Hymenaeus and Alexander. Church discipline, including excommunication into the realm of Satan, is presented not merely as punitive but as remedial — aimed at the repentance and restoration of the erring sinner. Every Christian, not only ordained ministers, is called to maintain fidelity to Christ and his gospel as soldiers and sailors in a genuine spiritual combat.
The Gospel Committed to Paul
What does it mean that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners? Expounding 1 Timothy 1:15–17, this sermon traces the faithful saying of verse 15 from its roots in the eternal decree of God through the covenant of grace to its historical execution in the incarnation and atoning work of Christ. Paul's own conversion is examined as a paradigm of sovereign mercy — not a unique case, but a pattern establishing that even the chief of sinners may obtain grace — and the sermon closes with Paul's doxology as the only fitting response to the gospel of free and sovereign grace.
The Goodness of God's Law
Paul's claim in 1 Timothy 1:8 that 'the law is good if one uses it lawfully' confronts two recurring errors in the church: legalism, which perverts the law into a ladder of merit before God, and antinomianism, which banishes the law from the Christian life altogether. This sermon works through verses 8–11 to establish three things: the apostolic affirmation that the law is intrinsically good, the necessary qualification that it must be used lawfully, and Paul's explanation of its civil use — the restraint of outward wickedness — illustrated by a rehearsal of the Decalogue's second table. The threefold use of the law (civil, pedagogical, normative) is set within the framework of covenant theology and justification by faith alone, which together guard the church from both errors, and the sermon closes by pressing the pedagogical use upon the unconverted: look to Sinai, see your guilt, and flee to Christ alone.
Author, Recipients, Greetings
Paul's opening two verses of 1 Timothy are not a mere literary formality but a carefully constructed theological foundation for the letter's entire argument against false teaching. The apostle's self-identification establishes his divine commission by the commandment of both God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, marking a sharp contrast with the self-appointed teachers troubling the Ephesian church. Timothy is presented as Paul's legitimate representative — his "true son in the faith" — whose authority the congregation is bound to receive. The threefold greeting of grace, mercy, and peace names the indispensable resources that every minister, congregation, and unbeliever stands in need of, resources that flow from the Father and the Son and are grounded in justification by faith alone.
A Call to the Ministry
What qualifies a man for gospel ministry, and how does the local church bear responsibility for ensuring its pulpits are filled with such men? Expounding 1 Timothy 3:1–7, this sermon argues that a biblical call to the ministry involves five distinguishable elements: desire born of right motives, graces indicating genuine Christian experience, gifts indicating divine provision, opportunity indicating providential opening, and recognition by the local church. The qualifications Paul sets forth — personal holiness, domestic faithfulness, maturity in the faith, and a good testimony among outsiders — are not optional preferences but the objective standard by which the church must evaluate candidates, so that the subjective sense of inward call is always tested and regulated by the community of God's people.
A Faithful Saying
The phrase 'Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners' (1 Timothy 1:15) is not rhetorical decoration but a precise theological claim about the nature and scope of redemption. This exposition works through Paul's self-description as 'chief of sinners' — blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent man — to show that the depth of his depravity magnifies rather than diminishes the glory of sovereign, particular grace. The sermon argues that Calvinistic soteriology reduces to one confession: God saves sinners, doing everything from election to glorification, leaving no share of the decisive act to man. Hearers are called to respond to this grace with informed, exhilarated worship and to press the invitation upon every sinner who imagines himself too wretched to be saved.