Well, please turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Timothy chapter 1. As we end this chapter tonight, our focus is on verses 18 to 20. I'll read the chapter to remind us of what's going on in terms of Paul's epistle to Timothy. So beginning in verse 1, 1 Timothy 1, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ our hope, to Timothy, a true son in the faith, grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.
As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith. Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm. But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust. And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man.
But I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.
Now to the King Eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare.
Faith and Conscience as Weapons
having faith and a good conscience, which some, having rejected, concerning the faith, have suffered shipwreck, of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme." Amen. Well, let us pray.
Opening Prayer
Father in Heaven, we thank you for your Word. We thank you for this privilege to gather together in corporate worship. We pray that you would be glorified in this glad hour, that you would fill our hearts, and that we would understand this passage of Scripture, and that we would see this as a necessary part of churchmanship, to wage the good warfare against false teaching and against false teachers. We ask God that you would protect us.
We ask that you would cause us to hold fast to scripture as that ultimate authority, that infallible and inerrant and inspired word of God. And may we as well hold fast to that confession we believe clearly summarizes and articulates biblical truth. You forgive us now for all sin and unrighteousness and guide us by the spirit of truth. And we pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
Introduction
Well, as we come to verses 18 to 20, we see Paul resume what he starts to do in the earlier part of the chapter. If you look back in chapter 1, specifically at verse 3, as I urged you when I went into Macedonia, remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine. So Paul highlights the wickedness of these heretics, and then he gives a digression. It's a connected digression, but it's a digression nevertheless.
He speaks in verse 11 of having had the gospel committed to his trust. He then shifts direction and highlights the fact that God had put him into the ministry. Notice in verse 12. I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry." He then rehearses his conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ.
He had been a great sinner, but Christ is a great Savior. And then he summarizes that gospel presentation in verse 15. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. So then back to verses 18 to 20, he resumes the charge.
The main emphasis in chapter 1 is that Timothy waged the good warfare. So
The Charge to Wage Good Warfare
we're going to look first at the charge to wage the good warfare in verses 18 to 19a, and then secondly, the conflict that necessitates the good warfare in verses 19b and 20. You don't have a warfare without some sort of a conflict. And if there were no heretics, if there weren't no heresies, there'd be no command to wage the good warfare. If we all believed the same thing, if we all held fast to the scriptures of both the Old and New Testaments, there wouldn't be a need for warfare.
But there is a need for warfare because of sinful men who distort and twist the truth. These men, highlighted by the Apostle Paul at the end of the chapter, specifically Hymenaeus and Alexander, but previously in the chapter in verse 7, they desire to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm. They have no idea what they're talking about. They have no clue whatsoever what they are talking about.
And it is evident and obvious to those filled with the Spirit, blood bought by the Son of God, and we ought to be able to spot them and we ought to be able to deal with them in a way that is consistent with what we find here. Now notice first the charge to wage the good warfare. As I said, this reiterates chapter 1, verses 3 to 7. He is resuming.
He is back to what he was emphasizing previously with reference to Timothy. And notice in verse 18, he says, this charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them. So Timothy's responsibility is seen in his relationship to Paul, in his relationship to the past, and in his relationship to the present. Notice that when Paul says in verse 18,
Timothy's Authority and Calling
this charge I commit to you, son Timothy, this is not simply a term of affection. He uses it again in verse 2 in chapter 1, to Timothy, a true son in the faith. What he is doing is highlighting and underscoring the authority of Timothy. If Timothy is a son to the Apostle Paul, and the Apostle Paul has authority invested in him by the risen Christ, then so does Timothy.
So Timothy is not self-appointed, Timothy is not a renegade, Timothy is not a maverick, but rather Timothy is a Christ-appointed minister of the gospel stationed in Ephesus with the specific task to wage the good warfare. George Knight says the designation son Timothy is one not simply of affection, but rather one that a spiritual father uses with his spiritual son and disciple. And that conveys for Timothy his role and responsibility under Paul's apostolic authority. In other words, Paul highlights Paul's authority in verse 12.
He's not in the ministry because he had a bee in his bonnet and Aunt Bessie told him he ought to be. No, he's in the ministry because Christ put him in the ministry. The same holds for Timothy. The problem in Ephesus was false teaching.
The problem in Ephesus was heretics and heresy. The problem in Ephesus was going to ruin the church if Timothy didn't do what Paul commands him to do or charges him to do in this section. He needs to wage the good warfare. He needs to refute the heretics.
He needs to silence the opposition. And he needs to do so responsibly as a true son to the apostle Paul. but as well his relationship with the past. If you look at verse 18 again, And then
Prophecies and Timothy's Past Commission
again in 2 Timothy chapter 1, specifically at verse 6, Now, when these prophecies were made, we don't have a record. In other words, in Acts 16, when Paul finds out about Timothy and he wants to take him on the missionary journey, there's no record there of any prophecies having been made with reference to Timothy and his position under Paul for the good of the gospel ministry. But that prophecies were made is obvious from what the apostle says here. This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you.
In other words, what we have here is that the specific timing of the prophecies is a mystery, but revelation had been given by God concerning Timothy and his ministry in the presence of others. And so Paul says, essentially, do what you were called to do. Do what you've been invested with authority to do. In other words, Timothy, don't shrink back, don't neglect, don't retreat, don't run, but rather engage the enemy.
So Paul's relationship to Timothy, or rather Timothy's relationship to Paul, Timothy's relationship to the past, and Timothy's relationship to the present. Notice again verse 18. according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them, that by those prophecies previously made concerning you." Again, it's not a self-appointed authority that Timothy has. It was prophetic. It was revealed by God.
It was his purpose. It was his calling. It was his mandate. And so
The Nature of the Good Warfare
Paul, as it were, is loading up the conscience of young Timothy to point him in the direction of the enemy, and he is going to tell him, assault them. Take up your axe and battle against them. Do not resist this. Do not fear this, but rather go forward in the fear of the Lord.
God most high spoke prophecies concerning your particular purpose. As my son, invested with authority by the same Christ who put me into the ministry, by them, by those prophecies, I want you to engage the enemy. I want you to take up arms. Not physically, but metaphorically in terms of destroying the enemy.
The function of Timothy in the waging of the good warfare is grounded not in, as I said, his self-appointment. Not in whatever it was he thought he was going to be as a gospel minister. But it rather is grounded in God's appointment and revealed through prophecy. And I suggest that Paul is doing this conspicuously because what he's calling Timothy to do is not easy.
It's not easy. If you look at Titus 1 verse 9 for just a moment, Titus 1 verses 5 to 9 are the qualifications for elders. And in verse 9 it says, "...holding fast the faithful word as He has been taught, that He may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and convict those who contradict." I would submit it's a lot easier to exhort those who are on the same page with you. It's easier to teach people that already believe what you believe.
In other words, I'm not fearful tonight that someone's going to stand up with a dead cat or rotten tomatoes and throw them at me, which happened in the preaching ministry of George Whitefield. Dead cats and tomatoes were thrown at George Whitefield. I'm not fearful of that because for the most part, I believe that you believe what I'm saying is true. Not because I'm saying it, but because it's obviously written in the scriptures there.
But that's not where the minister's job ends. Again, Titus 1.9, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and convict those who contradict. That's not always easy. That's not always a walk in the park.
If somebody is a heretic and somebody is propagating heresy and somebody is recognized in the church, when Paul mentions Hymenaeus and Alexander, the fact that he mentions them by name would indicate that they were known within the churches of the Lord Jesus Christ. They were men of some notoriety. They were men of some popularity. and to resist those sorts of men, or to try to shut those sorts of men down? And as we glean elsewhere in the pastoral epistles, specifically with reference to Timothy, there might have been some timidity in that brother.
There might have been some degree of a fearfulness. And if we say, well, how could that ever be? Well, we just saw it in King David. King David slayed Goliath on the field of battle, and now he's greatly afraid in the midst of his enemies.
As our brother said, this overtakes the best of men. Certainly it's going to overtake the lesser than the best of men. And I'm not picking on Timothy, brethren. I'm just trying to put this into its context that what Paul says here in verse 18 is absolutely crucial.
In other words, Timothy, I'm going to send you into the battlefield. General Paul is going to send in Lieutenant Timothy to carry out warfare. And Lieutenant Timothy needs to understand that it's his relationship with Paul, his relationship to the past, and his relationship with the present that is to gird him up, that is to strengthen him, that is to be that sword in his hand by which he engages in the good warfare. And that brings us then to that simple statement.
So after highlighting this charge, I commit to you, son, Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare. You may wage the good warfare. What's the nature of or the description of this warfare? Well, it's to silence the opposition.
It's to silence the heretics. It's to shut them up and to shut them down. It is to refute them. It is to show that they are in error.
It is to show that what they're engaged in, in terms of endless genealogies and Jewish fables, this desire to be teachers of the law, but being absolutely ignorant of the law, Timothy needs to make that known. Now, brethren, we're not dealing with tertiary matters. We're not dealing with out there sort of matters that good men can disagree on. The fact that these people were obsessed with endless genealogies and Jewish fables indicates they were not obsessed with the gospel of Christ and Him crucified.
So these were dangerous men. These weren't just different men. We don't have an axe to grind with different men. We all have our differences in terms of, you know, doctrines that are out there.
But we're all hopefully walking on the same page or reading off the same page when it comes to who God is in terms of triunity, in terms of who Christ is, the one person and two natures, and soteriology or salvation. If persons disagree on eschatology, if persons disagree on other things way out there, that's okay. Though what we find with Hymenaeus is he had a problem with eschatology. His eschatology was simply this.
There was a denial of a future resurrection, basically a teaching that we were already in the eschaton, which is heresy, which denies a cardinal truth of the Christian faith. So the apostle wants Timothy to wage the good warfare. That means to refute the false teachers, to silence the opposition, to shut them down. Positively, the waging of the good warfare also includes preaching the truth.
What's the best remedy against error and heresy? It's the truth of the gospel. It's the truth of God's Word. And Timothy positively will be teaching that truth to silence the opposition.
And then in terms of the illustration that the apostle invokes here, notice again, that by them you may wage the good warfare. That sounds pretty serious, doesn't it? Paul uses martial imagery in other portions of his writings. He uses martial imagery in 2 Corinthians 10, 3 to 5, obviously Ephesians 6, put on the whole armor of God, and then turn over to 2 Timothy 2.
Note specifically verse 1. you therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." So one of Timothy's positive sort of ministerial functions is to identify faithful men within the context of faithful churches and to pass the baton of teaching on to them. In other words, get them in the pulpit, get them preaching, get them proclaiming such that we can carry on this blessed endeavor to see the church in successive generations. Timothy was tasked to do that.
And then notice verse 3, you therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please Him who enlisted him as a soldier. And also, if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. The hard-working farmer must be first to partake of the crops.
Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things." So he uses these sorts of metaphors, this sort of imagery to highlight and shine the light upon specific responsibilities that Timothy has. Yes, preach the truth. Yes, refute the heretics. But do it like a soldier.
Notice in verse 4. What seems to be the overarching concern there? Devotion. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life that he may please Him who enlisted him as a soldier.
The soldier is disciplined. The soldier is devoted. Notice, with reference to the athlete, and also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. If we had to think of an overarching theme there, what does athletics or those engaged in, you know, hardcore athletics, not me hitting a tennis ball or me throwing a fishing line, discipline.
Discipline. You're not going to be a good athlete if you're carrying an additional 40 pounds. You're not going to be a good athlete if you're ingesting garbage. You're not going to be a good athlete if you're sleeping three hours a night.
You're not going to be a good athlete if you're out partying every night. So be devoted like the soldier, be disciplined like the athlete, and be diligent like the farmer. Notice in verse 6, the hard-working farmer must be first to partake of the crops. The hard-working farmer.
Diligence. So the apostle uses that kind of imagery, that kind of parallelism, that kind of metaphor to underscore gospel ministry. And back to our particular text, he speaks of it as a good warfare. Again, George Knight, by adding good to warfare, Paul makes clear that the fight is a good and noble task and in accord with the gospel.
The context depicts the fight in terms of a warfare against opponents such as Satan, and more concretely, those who abandon a good conscience and faith, who blaspheme, and who teach heterodoxy. In his use of soldier imagery in 2 Timothy 2, 3 and 4, Paul elaborates in effect on what is involved in such a fight, namely, willingness to suffer hardship and to be completely faithful to one's commander. So Timothy is being given a pretty difficult task. I think in some ways these are verses we just kind of run right through.
This is sort of the nuts and bolts of gospel ministry. You've got to hold the line, Timothy. Hymenaeus and Alexander are going to do great damage to the church, which is to be the pillar and the ground of the truth. And if we allow that pillar and ground of the truth to be invaded by heretics and heresies, it won't be long before the pillar and the ground of the truth is obliterated and demolished and destroyed.
There have been many a church in the history of the world that has ultimately closed its doors because of heretics and heresy. Paul doesn't want that on his watch, and he is charging Timothy to not allow that to happen on his watch. And then in terms of the elements necessary for Timothy to engage in the good warfare. Notice he goes on, after making that declaration, waged the good warfare, verse 19, having faith and a good conscience.
Having faith and a good conscience. Turn back to verse 5. Verse 5, now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith. This is what Timothy is supposed to have.
This is what is lacking, obviously, in the false teachers in chapter one, verses six and seven. From which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm. So when it says, or when Paul says in verse 19, having faith and a good conscience, or holding faith and a good conscience, I take it as objective faith. When we talk about faith, there's a couple of ways to look at it.
Subjective faith is when I believe the gospel. When Paul says, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved, he's emphasizing subjective faith. I, the subject, am exercising faith in the risen Savior such that I may have everlasting life. But then there's an objectiveness to faith.
We see this in say, for instance, Jude 3, contend earnestly for the faith, which was once for all delivered to the saints. In other words, it's the system of Christian truth. And so the apostle says, wage the good warfare, having or holding the faith. In other words, Timothy, how you wage the good warfare is not your persuasive skills.
It's not the fact that everybody's going to necessarily love you. It's not sitting down over coffee and just wooing them in. No, it's going to be holding the faith. It's going to be holding the truth.
It's going to be having that objective content as your primary weapon. It is, in fact, the sword of the Spirit, and it's with that sword of the Spirit that you're to engage in the good warfare. But it's not just this holding the faith, but it's a good conscience. The good conscience is the consequence of the holding the faith.
Again, this is not there with the heretics. They don't have a good conscience. Why? Because they don't hold the faith.
You got to understand, brethren, that what we believe affects how we live. If we hold to heresy, our lives are going to be a mess. If we hold to truth, our lives are still a mess, but they're not quite as messy. In fact, Matthew Poole makes the connection, error seldom goes along with a holy life.
The truths of the gospel have such an influence upon men's conversation that ordinarily men's holiness is proportioned to their soundness in the faith. And usually the love of some lost is what betrays men into erroneous judgments and opinions. I think he's bang on. Paul agrees, 1 Timothy 6, verse 3, "...and to the doctrine which accords with godliness." There's no magic.
You put heresy in, you get bad practice out. You put truth in, and you get not as bad practice out. As well, Titus chapter 2 and verse 10, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. The false teachers are ungodly.
They do not have a good conscience because they're heretics. Not so with Timothy. You're going on the field of battle. You're holding the word or the faith.
You have a good conscience. In other words, Timothy, you're fit, you're ready, you're prepared. Nobody goes to battle without first preparing. I mean, you put on your wet belt, you make sure your weapons are in place, you make sure your ammo is in place, you make sure you have all that you need to go and engage the enemy.
That's what Paul's doing. He grabs his conscience in verse 18. He gives him the declaration in verse 18. And now he tells him that you have this, Timothy, you're fit, you're equipped, you're ready.
Whatever hesitancy there may be, whatever timidity there might be, whatever fearfulness there may be, Timothy, it ought not to be the case that you sit on the sidelines. You have or hold the faith. You have a good conscience. So understanding that, Timothy, wage the good warfare.
Fight the good fight. Press on. Persevere. Deal with these people that are going to destroy the church.
So that's the charge to wage the good warfare.
The Conflict Requiring Good Warfare
Notice the conflict that necessitates the good warfare in verses 19, B, and 20.
Defection Within the Church
Defection in the church. Again, if everybody just believed everything they're supposed to believe, there'd be no need for an exhortation of this nature. Wage the good warfare against who? There's no enemy.
Well, unfortunately, there'll always be enemies. Unfortunately, the church has always had enemies, and not just the external. I'm not talking about that. Like Old Covenant Israel, they had external enemies.
They had Philistines. They had the Yites. They had all those menaces out there. But it was the internal threat that more often than not paralyzed them.
It was the internal threat of bad kings. It was the internal threat of false prophets. It was the internal threat of those within that were disrupting and destroying from within. Well, the church has its enemies.
There's the external, civil state. Oftentimes, when we read Voice of the Martyrs, the biggest persecutors of the people of God in the persecuted church are godless governments, false religions. Certainly, they're an external threat to the people of God. But it's that internal threat.
It's the guy that got the bee in his bonnet and Aunt Bessie told him, you're going to be a pastor, but he doesn't understand theology. He doesn't know the scriptures. He can't preach. In fact, not only does he not understand it, he embraces heresy.
And given the opportunity, he's going to espouse that heresy and he's going to ruin people. It's an amazing thing. Truth is hard to root into people's brains, but somehow errors and heresies find their way in pretty readily and pretty quickly. Mostly because we have an inclination or a bent or a downward trajectory in our souls that respond to things that are fleshly, that respond to things that are conducive to our ways of life.
So this defection in the church, notice verse 19, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected. They've rejected the faith, the objective content of Christian, the Christian system of truth and a good conscience, that they don't have those things. They're messed up. They're twisted.
They're defective. They're menaces. They're dangers. They're threats.
And that's why we need to wage the good warfare. The false teachers did not deviate from biblical Christianity because they were further enlightened. The false teachers didn't deviate from biblical Christianity because they watched a YouTube video and the guy on the YouTube video set everything in order. No, they deviate from the truth because they have an axe to grind with the Most High, they hate the Christ of God, and they'd rather busy themselves in endless genealogies and Jewish fables.
That's the problem. And Paul clearly articulates that, which some, having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck. Interesting use of metaphor there. The good soldier must also be a good sailor.
Because if you're not a good sailor, you're going to be shipwrecked. And if you're not a good sailor, you're going to cause the shipwreck of others. In fact, Hymenaeus is of that particular sort. Look at 2 Timothy 2, specifically at verses 7.
Well, we'll pick up in verse 14. Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present, let's just stop for a moment, to the ruin of the hearers. You may wage the good warfare.
Again, very serious language. And I think calculatedly so, to show the seriousness of the warfare. You get that? In physical combat, you can die and go to heaven.
In spiritual combat, if the heretics win, you die and go to hell. I'd argue that the waging of the good warfare in terms of the church and its ministry in some senses, is far more consequential than waging the good warfare, one nation-state against another. Again, I'm not endorsing that. Let's all go out to war.
But the consequences are far more serious when you're dealing with men's never-dying souls. If the heretics win, they destroy churches and they destroy souls. Notice, Paul says it in verse 14, to the ruin of the hearers. You see, brethren, I'm not sure we're altogether convinced on the necessity of truth.
I know we say we are, and bless God, I think to some degree we are, but the apostles saw it more life and death sorts of ways. Notice in verse 15, because of that, be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Timothy, there's going to be those who are striving about words to no profit to the ruin of the hearers. We know that there are heretics and there will be heresies.
So Timothy, what is the order of business for you? Well, here in verse 15, be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. In other words, labor in the word and doctrine. Be faithful in your study.
Be faithful in your meditation and contemplation. Be faithful in your reading. Be faithful in what you do in terms of gospel ministry. Notice in verse 16, "...shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness, and their message will spread like cancer.
Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past." And notice, "...they overthrow the faith of Psalm." Now whatever Hymenaeus and Philetus believe, which I think was probably an incipient form of what's called hyper-preterism, There were people out there that listened to that. You ever heard a heresy and you go, wow, I can't believe anybody ever followed that. No, as W.C. Field said, there's a sucker born every minute.
How do cults get so big? How do false religions get so big? It's because, as I mentioned earlier, there's a tendency in our hearts to gravitate toward those things which are more fleshly, more carnally satisfying. So Hymenaeus and Philetus had engaged in heresy, and then it says they overthrow the faith of some.
So defection in the church necessitates the good warfare. Back to 119. Notice then, verse 20,
Hymenaeus and Alexander Delivered to Satan
Paul names them, of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I deliver to Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme. So we've just seen another reference to Hymenaeus in 2 Timothy chapter 2. There's a few Alexanders in the New Testament. It's probably the Alexander mentioned in 2 Timothy 4, and you can turn there. 2 Timothy 4, specifically at verse 14.
Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works. Again, the gravity of that. That's an imprecatory prayer.
That is an asking or an invoking of God to visit Alexander according to his bad works. In other words, the Apostle Paul is asking God to punish Alexander. The Apostle Paul is asking God to curse Alexander. The Apostle Paul is asking God to do what we see David do in many instances in the Psalms, smash the teeth of your enemies. smite them on the cheekbone.
This is precisely the ethos of the verse. And then notice in verse 15, you also must be aware of him for he has greatly resisted our words. That's the problem. It doesn't mean Paul, when he spoke words of, you know, grocery lists.
The Word of God, as an authorized minister of the Christian gospel, with Timothy as his designee, those men's words were binding. Those men's words were authoritative. Those men's words were to be heeded. And what does Alexander do?
He greatly resists our words. That's why the apostle says, may the Lord repay him according to his words. So he mentions these men specifically in chapter 1 at verse 20, of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander. As Towner said, explicit reference to their names probably indicates that they were prominent in the church.
Again, that internal threat, I would suggest, is more dangerous. I mean, the external threat, bombs and missiles, that's not something we can well survive, but it's the internal threat. It's subversion within. It's mutiny from within.
That destroys the church. That's why there's so many emphases in the New Testament endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace, Ephesians chapter 4. You see this emphasis over and over again, and it's not a unity and a peace founded on error. It's a unity and a peace founded on truth.
It is that which we hold in common confession. It is that which by God's grace we've come to know the Lord Jesus Christ. We need to hold tenaciously to those things and we need to protect what we have as we've been blessed by God most high. So then he goes on to say, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.
Now the parallel to this, or a parallel rather, is in 1 Corinthians 5 at verse 5. And I think what we see here in this statement is the apostolic act. whom I delivered to Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme." Paul, as an apostle, delivered them up to Satan. Knight says the closest parallel to the usage in 1 Timothy 1.20 is 1 Corinthians 5.5. Delivering over to Satan is an act of discipline for unrepentant sin and involves putting the person out of the church, the fellowship of God's people, into the realm controlled by Satan.
John Gill says, not by excommunication, In just a moment, I'm going to suggest there is an ecclesiastical act. In the absence of apostles, we're getting direct revelation from our Lord, vis-a-vis throw Hymenaeus and Alexander into the lap of Satan. What do we do as the church? we exercise church discipline. But John Gill says, not by excommunication, which is the act of a church and not of a single person, but by an apostolical power he had of delivering the bodies of men into the hands of Satan, by him to be tortured and afflicted in order to bring them to a sense of their sins and as a chastisement and correction for them and a token of God's displeasure at them.
In other words, we do this following Paul to deal with sinners. We do this following Paul to protect the saints. And we do this following Paul to promote their repentance. I mean, who knows?
Maybe there's hope for a Hymenaeus. Probably not an Alexander since Paul prayed an imprecatory prayer for him. But we do want men to repent. We do want men to forsake their heresy.
We do want men to come to a living knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. So what Paul does here in delivering him over to Satan, or delivering over them to Satan, was again, I think Gil's right, apostolical power he had of delivering the bodies of men into the hands of Satan. But
Church Discipline as Ecclesiastical Warfare
the ecclesiastical act, discipline in the church, Matthew 18, 15 to 17, it's the broadest framework. If your brother sins against you, go to him. If he hears you, you want your brother. If he doesn't hear, you bring two or three witnesses.
If he doesn't hear them, tell it to the church. If he doesn't listen to the church, then treat him as a heathen and a tax collector. In an ecclesiastical setting, turn back to Romans chapter 16. Romans chapter 16.
Verse 17, Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you learn, and avoid that. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple. For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf.
But I want you to be wise in what is good and simple concerning evil, and the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. So notice again, verse 17, I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. Again, this isn't a little difference on a tertiary debate. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ but their own belly.
And then turn to Titus chapter 3. Titus chapter 3. Again, ecclesiastical sanction for heretics and heresy. Titus 3 at verse 9, But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law.
For they are unprofitable and useless. Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned. The church has a responsibility. The ministry has a responsibility to wage the good warfare.
And I love how Paul ends this, "...whom I deliver to Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme." Speaking contrary to the truth of Christ is blasphemy. You see that in Pisidian Antioch. I mentioned that passage this morning in verses 35 to 37, where Paul applies Psalm 16 to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says that through this man, the forgiveness of sins is preached.
Paul says, you'll be justified by all things you were not justified by through the law of Moses. Well, it causes quite an uproar in the city. As you might imagine, Paul in a Jewish synagogue preaching Jesus Christ and those who rejected Jesus Christ respond by blaspheming. It's interesting.
To speak contrary to the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on the part of the Jews in the first century was blasphemy. How the tables had turned in the rejection of the Messiah. When they rejected Jesus, they rejected Yahweh who sent Him. And in that rejection, it was tantamount to blaspheming the true and living God.
And Paul says as much here, that they may learn not to blaspheme. To speak contrary to the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is to undertake in blasphemy. What Hymenaeus and Alexander did was not harmless. It was not innocent.
It was not without repercussion. But it was blasphemy against the Most High that necessitated the apostolical act of the apostle delivering them over into Satan's hands and then telling Timothy to wage the good warfare. In other words, Timothy, there's going to be more Hymenaeuses and Alexanders. Timothy, there's going to be more that depart from the truth as it is in Jesus.
And as I said, church history is littered with heretics, with heresies, with all manner of deviation and departure and defection from the truth of God's Word. It's one of the reasons why we subscribe to the 1689 Confession. It's a helpful summary statement of the main teachings of God's Holy Word. The Bible is the authority.
It's inspired. It's infallible. It's inerrant. The Confession is subordinate to that, but the Confession clearly articulates the truth contained in Scripture.
We hold to that because we take seriously this admonition to wage the good warfare. We are not going to have truck with deniers of the Trinity. We're not going to have fellowship with persons who subject Jesus to only a creaturely status. We're not going to have truck with those who deny the way of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone.
Brethren, the church is built and founded on the truth of God's holy word. You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church." I don't think he means Peter the person, but Peter the confessor, the fact that Christ is the Son of the living God. Brethren, wage the good warfare is necessary for gospel ministry in every age.
And
Application: Necessity of Good Warfare
I would suggest in conclusion, the necessity of the good warfare. There's going to be challenges. There have been challenges. There are those who want to twist and distort.
We can't run and hide. What kind of a military commander would he be if, when threatened, he runs and hides? Our brother alluded to that scene in the Valley of Elah that really is disgusting. Not David knocking out Goliath, that's great.
But Saul and the armies of Israel cowering in fear because Goliath is there. How pathetic. So I've said to the men and the young men, when you read that 1 Samuel chapter 17, who do you want to be? David, right?
You don't read that chapter and go, man, I want to be Saul. I want to be hiding behind a tree. I want to be cowering. I say to women and young women, who do you want to marry?
Oh, Saul, you know, he just has those great, great ability to run and hide. You know, every woman wants a runner and a hider. Give me a David. Brethren, the church needs to hold the line.
The church needs to stand fast. The church needs to wage the good warfare. Brethren, that's what it really is about. It's great to have more people here.
It's great to see the fellowship of the saints. It's great to hear expressions of love. It's great to see the unity in terms of the social relationships that are here. And I value and I prize and I praise God for that.
But it's the pillar and the ground of the truth. If we don't hold fast with reference to the truth, we'll not have a church anymore. This is absolutely crucial and imperative. If this church is to succeed into further generations, it's going to be through faithful exposition of God's holy truth.
That's what Paul recognizes in terms of faithful elders in 1st Timothy 5.17, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine, not especially those who are gregarious and out visiting everybody and having coffee all the time. It's not wrong to be gregarious. It's not wrong to visit people. It's not wrong to have coffee.
But it's definitely right to continue steadfastly in good doctrine and the truth of God's Holy Word, the necessity of a good ministry, the recognition on the part of ministers of the objective content of Christianity, This isn't a romantic religion. This isn't an experiential religion. And when I say that, people are going to say, wait a minute, Joel Beakey says experientialism all the time. What I mean by that is it's not a suspend the mind and dive into the experience.
Romantic. It's not this cool thing that we get to do once in a while. No, no, no. It's based on truth.
It's based on doctrine. It's based on revealed words from the living and true God. And to have ministers recognize, understand that, internalize and live according to it and bear forth a good conscience? That's what's needful.
Praise God for Pastor Morley. Praise God for his examination when he was here in April. Praise God that he can walk and chew gum, theologically and biblically speaking. Praise God that he can string together that timeline.
Praise God that he understands the system of Christian truth. And praise God that he's been set apart in a duly constituted church to now preach the word, to hold the line, and to wage the good warfare. And then I would suggest, thirdly and finally, the necessity of a good church. The good warfare infers, implies, or perhaps assumes a good church.
And by a good church, I mean, you know, conditioned by 1 Timothy to make sure only qualified men become teachers. 1 Timothy chapter 3, 1 to 7. That's non-negotiable. Oh, but he's so popular. Okay.
Can he teach? No. Well, it's not a popularity contest. Oh, but he's so good with, you know, all these other things.
Great. Let him go do those other things. Bless God. As I've said many a time, it's not a sin to not be an elder.
But if we're going to have elders, they better be qualified according to 1 Timothy 3, verses one to seven. I hear that a lot. Oh, you know, my last church, nobody was really qualified. That could be a subjective observation on the part of people that really aren't that savvy, but I've heard it over and over and over and over and over again.
How does a guy get into an eldership if he's not qualified? That's just not what I think should be the way. It's pretty simple. He must be.
Not he should kind of be, but he must be. If he's not this, he ought not to be an elder. So the church needs to do due diligence with reference to men who aspire to gospel ministry to make sure only authorized truth is proclaimed. That's why, again, we have a confession of faith.
It is that body of doctrine that we believe summarily contains or summarily expresses what Scripture teaches. And as well, to make sure church discipline is carried out. We don't have apostolic authority to individually deliver men up to Satan, but we have the collective voice of Christ's church to wage the good warfare against heretics and against heresies. and all of that argues for the glory of the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Paul does everything Paul does to protect what he says in 1 Timothy 1 15.
This is a faithful saying. It's worthy of all acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. So Timothy, protect that with your life. Timothy, pass the baton on to men that will protect that with their lives.
Timothy, value and prize the gospel of our salvation and the churches that result from that gospel of our salvation and fight for her. Wage the good warfare. Let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Our Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for this wonderful section of Holy Scripture, and I pray that we would see the consequences involved. Help us, Lord God Almighty, to maintain fidelity to the Scriptures, to maintain fidelity to our confession of faith. And may you be glorified here, may you keep us, may you protect us, may you watch over us, and may you always, always help us to do what is pleasing in your sight.
And we ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.