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Well, good evening, everyone. 
It's good to see you once again. You can turn with me in your 
Bibles to the book of 1 Timothy chapter 1. 1 Timothy chapter 1. We're going 
to look at verses 18 through 20 this evening, but I will begin 
reading at verse 3 to set the context for us. I know the New 
King James gives the heading, fight the good fight. That's 
wrong. It's waging the good warfare. Hopefully we'll see that as we 
go through. The imagery is more of military than athletic. So 
it is wage the good war, waging the good war of the Christian 
faith. And so we'll look at verses 18 through 20, but I'll begin 
reading 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, 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 saw, or say, nor the things which they affirm. We 
know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing 
this. 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. 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. Yet 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, 
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. Well, our great God and Father, 
we know that you are the Father who watches over your children 
and watches over your people. We know, God, that as we walk 
this life, as we engage in the Christian life, we know, oh God, 
it is one of great warfare. For there is a blessed truth 
that we must cling to and hold to, and that is salvation by 
faith alone in Christ alone. We are thankful, O God, for justification 
that is found in Jesus, based on his blessed, imputed righteousness 
to us. We're thankful, O God, it's not 
based upon our own righteousness, but it's based upon a righteousness 
not our own. We know, God, we cannot earn 
our way through keeping the law. We cannot earn our way keeping 
the laws of you or keeping the laws of man. We can only be saved 
through Christ who kept the law perfectly and kept your blessed 
standard perfectly, perpetually, and every day of his life. And 
for this, we give you glory and praise and honor. But as your 
people, as we walk this life in our sanctification, in our 
Christian life, because we are saved, we ask God that you'd 
help us as we wage that good warfare. May we do so basis on 
the glories of Christ, basis on the fact that Christ is our 
King and our Lord, based on the gospel of free and sovereign 
graces found in Him. Help us to give you glory and 
praise and honor because you've saved us, not to be saved. And 
we're thankful, O God, that you created us to give you glory 
and praise and honor. We can only do this by your Spirit 
and because of Christ, who is our blessed mediator. So we ask, 
O God, as your people, that we would wage the good warfare, 
that we would love your scriptures, that we would love your word, 
that we would saturate our minds with holy writ. And we ask, God, 
that you'd help us not to neglect the good warfare. Help us, O 
God, not to grow lethargic. Help us not to grow complacent. 
But never fight, O God, based on your power and based on your 
goodness and based on who you are and based on the truth of 
saving knowledge in Jesus Christ. And we pray, O God, that you'd 
be pleased to work this day in our hearts and lives. Help us 
as we wage this good warfare. And we pray, O God, that you'd 
show forth the warnings to your people. We know, O God, that 
your people shall not fall away. There are many assurances that 
we do have. But we ask, O God, as we study 
these words, that you'd give us eyes to see and ears to hear 
the things you have for us in this text. We pray, O God, if 
there are any here today who do not know you, we pray that 
you would save their souls, that you would change them. that they 
would not look to themselves, not look to the law, but look 
to faith in Jesus Christ. They look to Christ for everlasting 
hope and peace. So we ask, O God, you'd send 
forth your Spirit. We pray and we pray that you'd 
be pleased to strengthen your saints, be pleased to save sinners, 
and we pray in all things you would be glorified. We pray these 
things in the name of Christ. Amen. Well, the word warfare 
is something that Christians don't like to hear. In fact, 
most people don't like the idea of warfare, especially in our 
modern context. People in general don't like 
conflict, and Christians seem to not like conflict as well. 
Now, we should seek to have peace with all men, but there are certain 
doctrines we must hold to. There are certain hills we ought 
to die on. There are certain hills we ought to never waver. 
namely the gospel of Jesus Christ, that is, the blessed hope found 
in Christ and in Christ alone. Any deviation from that, any 
sort of addition to it, any sort of subtraction from that denigrates 
the gospel of free and sovereign grace. We ought to hold to that 
truth and we ought to wage the good warfare with that truth. Because in reality, brethren, 
the Christian life is one of great warfare. It is spiritual 
warfare. That's why in the book of Ephesians, 
in Ephesians 6, we see we have the armor of God set forth for 
us as Christians marching our way to that celestial city with 
the power of God most high in this warfare. And in the Christian 
life, we have public warfare and private warfare. Privately, 
we wage war against sin. The Christian life is one of 
battle against sin. Thankfully, that battle has been 
won in Jesus Christ. But nonetheless, we must watch, 
we must pray, we must fight against that sin based upon the gospel 
of free and sovereign grace. But publicly, we must wage the 
war against false gospels. We don't just get to sing kumbaya 
with everybody just because they say they're Christian. If they 
teach a gospel other than the one that we preached, let them 
be anathema. Those are the words of the Apostle 
Paul in Galatians 1. In 1 Timothy 3, he charges Timothy 
that some who claim to be teachers charge them to teach no other 
doctrine. Because the gospel is of vital 
importance, and that's the hill we ought to die on. The gospel 
of free and sovereign grace, especially in ministers who preach 
it, is a hill we ought to die on. And this is why Paul is writing 
to Timothy in the first place. This is his problem and purpose 
that he's dealing with. There are false teachers who 
threaten the church at Ephesus at this time. And so there needs 
to be a reminder of what the truth is, what the church ought 
to be doing as the pillar and ground of truth, as Paul says 
in 1 Timothy 3 verse 15. He's already set forth for us 
the law and the gospel, the proper use of the law and the proper 
place of the gospel in verses 8 through 17. And so we have 
this truth, we have this reality, we must understand that distinction 
between the law and the gospel. The law teaches us our sin, the 
gospel saves us from our sin. The law teaches us our need for 
Christ, and it points us to that blessed gospel of free and sovereign 
grace, but is not meant to be a way of salvation, which is 
what some of these false teachers were teaching. So we must wage 
this good warfare. Because unfortunately, there 
were some false teachers who were not waging the good warfare. 
And that's a problem. Without the war of faith, we 
are going to lose. You see, without the war, waging 
the war based on the power of the Spirit, I guess based on 
the power of the Spirit, we will not lose. We are in Christ. But 
those who name the name of Christ but do not have the Spirit will 
evidence that they are not believers in the first place. And that's 
still evidence that they never had the Spirit and evidence they 
were never believers in the first but it's still a reminder for 
Christians to wage the good warfare based on the gospel and based 
on the power of the Holy Spirit. And thankfully God invests His 
true ministers with that authority to wage that good warfare. Thankfully 
God invests His people with all that we need to wage His good 
warfare as a sign, as an evidence of who God's people actually 
are in this life. God's people can have assurance. 
We have assurance, as we'll see, through faith and a good conscience. And so Paul is commanding Timothy 
to wage the good warfare, but he's also giving examples of 
those who neglect the good warfare. Paul uses lots of contrasts in 
the book of 1 Timothy. So we must ask this question. 
Do you wage the good warfare against sin? Perhaps we can ask 
a follow-up question to that question to help flesh that out. 
Is there discernment with respect to the truth of the gospel? And 
is there sensitivity with respect to sin in your life? That is, 
is there discernment with respect to what is the true gospel of 
free and sovereign grace? And is there sensitivity with 
respect to sin in your Christian walk? And we'll seek to answer 
these questions under two headings this evening. First of all, we'll 
see waging the good warfare in verses 18 through 19a. And then 
we'll see, secondly, neglecting good warfare in 19b to verse 
20. So waging good warfare and neglecting 
good warfare. So let's first look at waging 
the good warfare in verses 18 through 19a. Notice in verse 
18, we see the authority with which Timothy has been invested. As I've already said, the preceding 
context speaks about the law and the gospel. And in the context, 
it also focuses on teachers. Some men wanted to teach the 
law. It says in verse 7, Desiring to be teachers of the law, they 
understand neither what they say nor the things which they 
affirm. There were men who wanted to teach that the way of salvation 
was keeping certain commandments. And not just that, when they 
got into the pulpit, their focus was not on certain things, but 
uncertain things. Genealogies and fables. Speculation. They wanted to spend their time 
musing on those certain ideas, rather than focusing on the truth 
of the gospel that's been set forth. You are a sinner, and 
you need salvation in Jesus Christ. And so they were focusing on 
things that could be true, could not be true, rather than the 
truth itself. And so Paul comes, we see in verses 12 through 17, 
in a contrast with them, and based on his own personal life, 
he speaks about salvation through grace in Jesus Christ. I was 
once this haughty, insolent, arrogant man. but now God has 
saved me, God cared for me, God died for me. This is a faithful 
saying and worthy of all acceptance. Christ Jesus came into the world 
to save sinners, of whom I am chief." And this is the chief 
aim of the church, to preach the gospel of free and sovereign 
grace. And that's why he comes in verse 18, this charge, I commit 
to you, my son, Timothy, he returns the command of this commandment 
of what he said in verse 3, when he says, I charge you that they 
teach no other doctrine. He returns to this very idea 
as Timothy is going to have to deal with these teachers. And 
Timothy is a young lad. He's a young man in theologian 
years and pastor years. So he has to deal with men who 
are supposedly older than him in age. And so Paul gives him 
some encouragement as he has to deal with these certain people. 
He gives him some reminder. Here's the authority been given 
to you. These men are self-appointed. These men have put themselves 
in the pulpit. These men think they're good teachers. But here 
is what you've been invested with Timothy as a teacher of 
this gospel. and especially as one who's protecting 
this gospel against these false teachers. And so we see two ways 
in verse 18 where Timothy is given a reminder of his authority. 
First of all, we see he's been given authority by Paul, this 
charge, I commit to you, son, Timothy. It doesn't matter what 
these self-appointed men might say. Timothy comes to them, has 
to deal with them, has to rebuke them. They can say whatever they 
want. They can say, I've got age. I've got gray hair. I've 
got experience. Timothy's got Paul in his back 
pocket. Paul has appointed me for this specific purpose. And 
Christ, through Paul, has appointed me for this specific task. And 
you cannot take that away from me. I have this task. I have 
this bond. Even the language, son Timothy. 
This mentor-mentee relationship between them, it is a filial 
type of relationship. They care for one another, they 
love one another. Paul treats Timothy just like his own son, 
and he would do anything for him. If I may suggest, brethren, 
I do feel like I do have that with Pastor Butler. I feel like 
if anything goes wrong in Syria, I can call up Pastor Butler and 
people will come and deal with certain things. I do appreciate, 
you know, God's grace and mercy in bringing us to free grace. And I have him that I can go 
to and cling to and call upon in times of struggle because 
he is a blessed brother. And much like I have with him, 
even more so, Timothy and Paul have this here. As Paul reminds 
Timothy, here's your charge. Here's what you're supposed to 
be doing. My son Timothy, I commit this thing to you. So he has 
Paul in his corner. But as well, he's got the church 
in his corner. Notice, according to the prophecies 
previously made concerning you. And notice multiple prophecies. Brethren, we got no issue with 
the term prophecy, especially as it's being used in the first 
century. They didn't have the Bibles fully written for us, 
or the Scripture fully written for us yet, and so God conveyed 
His will through prophecies. And in this case, there's multiple 
prophecies, not just one. to confirm to Timothy his role 
and his task. He's got multiple prophecies, 
multiple affirmations. We see he's spoken well of in 
Acts 16. We see his blessed upbringing, 
2 Timothy chapter 1. And we see perhaps an example 
of what Timothy went through with the Apostle Paul in Acts 
13, where Paul is set apart for a specific purpose. The point 
is, his calling and ministry as a whole has not just been 
appointed by Paul, but it's been recognized by the Church of Christ 
as well. And he's been entrusted by Paul 
and the Church with this gospel. He's been entrusted with it for 
safe In fact, Paul says in verse 11, according to the glorious 
gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust. He's got a specific task he must 
do. He's got this affirmation from 
multiple places, from God on high, through these means, to 
affirm Timothy in his task. He's been recognized by the church. And we can apply that to our 
modern context, not with prophecy. If anybody says, I was washing 
the dishes, and I feel a call to the ministry, and God spoke 
to me, make sure that person never comes into the pulpit. 
Because you see, we have ordinary means by which ministers are 
called to the ministry. Namely, through, as Albert Martin 
says, a desire born out of right motives. They have certain mechanical 
gifts. They can string some sentences 
together. And then the church has to recognize them. That's 
probably one of the most important things in this whole process. 
The church needs to recognize that this person has some ability. 
Maybe he ain't Spurgeon, but nonetheless, he's got some ability 
to teach and preach. The problem is, in our day and 
age, there are many men who don't have that affirmation. Many men 
who think they can teach and preach, and they just self-engineer 
their way to this ministry. And perhaps some of these teachers 
at this time, the false teachers, were such like these ones. Unfortunately, they think they're 
wonderful. They think they're God's gift 
to the church. But in reality, they just don't see it. And one 
telltale sign is whether the church recognizes it or not. And so Timothy was dealing with 
these ones. These ones did not have this 
affirmation, but Timothy, you do. You have that authority been 
given to you by God to deal with these rebel rousers who are taking 
out the church with their false teaching. And so, he has this 
invested authority, he has this confirmation, then we come to 
the main crux of these three verses. That by them you may 
wage the good warfare. Again, the Christian life is 
one of warfare. And as I said at the outset, 
the terminology here is not fighting the good fight. That is used 
later on in 1 Timothy 6 and 2 Timothy 4. Paul says he fought the good 
fight. The metaphor there is athletic, wrestling. The Christian 
life is one of great struggle. But here we have a different 
sort of imagery. It is one of warfare. It is one of military 
campaign. In fact, in 2 Timothy, Chapter 
two, we see Paul describe the office of ministry using three 
metaphors. He does use the athlete, he does 
use a farmer, but he also uses a soldier as well. In verse three of 2 Timothy two, 
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 it may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. When a soldier enlists, he puts 
civilian pursuits aside, and he goes on to engage in the warfare 
for the one he has chosen to enlist with. He puts aside these 
civilian ideas, and he wants to come and please the officer 
with whom he has enlisted. So the Christian life especially 
for ministers, is one of great warfare, is one enlisting to 
endure such hardships that do come about, because the Christian 
life is one of great battle. Especially in Titus chapter 1-9, 
we see one of the qualifications of a minister. He must give instruction 
in sound doctrine and refute those who contradict it. The 
minister does go through great difficulty and trial and warfare 
as he deals with sinners, as he himself is a sinner, as he 
deals with certain people walking in the Christian life. He must 
wage the good warfare, and especially in the context it is for the 
truth of Scripture. Yes, sin. Sin is out there and 
it comes in all shapes and sizes, but one way sin emerges is through 
false teaching and through false salvation. Because you see, as 
Pastor Butler I know says so often, right teaching leads to 
right practice. And the opposite is true as well. 
False teaching leads to false practice. Especially when you 
teach someone that they must earn their way. What a hopeless 
religion that is. You have certain things you must 
do to make your way to heaven. If you can't, you can buy it 
if you want. If you can't, you might go to purgatory for a little 
bit. In other religions, you might try again in a new life. 
There's absolute hopelessness in such an endeavor. Because 
when you read the law of God, when you read it in its entirety, 
when you read the Puritans expound the law of God, We don't keep 
one commandment for one second of this life. That's why we need 
such a Savior as Jesus Christ. That's why we need Christ to 
keep it in its perfection, who died for sinners like Paul. And Paul himself is that blessed 
pattern for those who are going to believe. Paul a murderer, 
Paul a prideful man, Paul a haughty, insolent, violent person, is 
saved by grace. He was once a man who hated men. 
He was once a man who hated God. But God saved him, now he trusts 
in God, and he loves men, he loves Christ, because of the 
transformation found in Jesus. Christ. So we must wage the good 
warfare against the false teaching. We must engage in the enemies 
of the truth. We must engage in the warfare 
against heterodox positions. But notice the encouragement 
Timothy has as he engages in these things, that by them. And 
the by them here probably refers back to these previous prophecies 
and affirmations. as Timothy has to engage in his 
warfare. Maybe it's one against three. 
Maybe there's four of them. Maybe there's five of them. Timothy's 
got to go in on his own. Paul's very far away. Paul's 
not here at this time. Paul's not near. So Timothy's 
got to throw down with four or five of them. That can be difficult 
and trying and very exhausting. And so he's like Timothy here, 
by them. by these prophecies, by these 
confirmations, by these affirmations, wage in this good warfare. It's much like in Joshua 1.9, 
where Joshua receives that reminder, that encouragement, as he goes 
into battle against the Canaanites. Just because God is certainly 
on their side, but God is still gracious and merciful to remind 
Joshua of who is with him. Joshua 1.9, Have I not commanded 
you be strong and of good courage? Do not be afraid, nor be discouraged, 
for the Lord your God is with you wherever you may go. God will be close. God will be 
near. You've already received these affirmations from God, 
and use that now as you engage in this battle. Look on what 
God has done for you. Look on that affirmation, and 
now be free and open to preach the gospel of Christ and refute 
those who contradict it. He's ready to spare no arrows, 
as Knox says. Knox threw down with the Mary 
Queen of Scots over that wretched abomination of Roman Catholicism. 
Spare. No. Eros. And it's like Paul 
is saying, Timothy, wage the good warfare. Spare. No. Eros. What's very interesting, 
too, about this context, waging the good warfare is not outside 
the church, is it? It's within the church. is with 
those who name the name of Christ, those who would say they're believers, 
those who come on Sundays, those who seem to be close to the faith. 
They might name the name of Christ, but their hearts are far from 
God, because their doctrine of the gospel is absolutely wrong. And that doctrine is going to 
find them out. It's going to evidence they were 
never believers in the first place. Even though they seem 
to be Christians, they seem to be believers, in reality, they 
never were near God. We'll get to that in the second 
point in verses 19b and 19c. but he's meant to engage in the 
protection of the church as the pillar and ground of truth. So he's encouraged. You have 
these prophecies, these reminders, that you might wage this good 
warfare. Then he goes on to say in 19a, 
he further speaks of weapons that he has in this warfare by 
having faith and a good conscience. They emphasize the minister's 
weapons as he engages with such men. Faith and a good conscience. 
What does this mean? Well, perhaps faith here, some 
of the old boys review it as a body of truth. Calvin, the 
old guys, they say it's the doctrine, it's the truth, it's the gospel, 
and I certainly believe that's in play. That's certainly a main 
focus and a main idea in the book of 1 Timothy. I think that's 
what's going on in verse 20. Perhaps better, I think the emphasis 
here seems to be trusting in the true and living God. You 
see, these ones have a false truth, and as such, they believe 
in a false God. But here, Timothy has belief 
in the true and living God. And perhaps it's connected with 
what Paul says in verse 14, You see, at one point, Paul had faith 
in man, as he trusted in himself, as 
he trusted in his own law-keeping, but now he's got faith in the 
true and living God. And as such, Timothy has that 
same profession. I have faith in the true and 
living God. And Paul's reminding him of that faith that he has 
in the God of heaven and earth. And as Fairbairn says, faith 
is this which provides the Christian combatant with his only valid 
standing ground for the conflict. And that, I think, applies whether 
it's a body of truth or whether it's faith in the God that the 
body of truth summarizes. And he goes on to say, standing 
ground for the conflict and supplies him with the weapons which alone 
can enable him to repel the assaults of the adversary and counter 
work his devices. Not only does he have the body 
of truth, but he has the God to whom that truth points with 
him. He has the God of heaven and earth near to him, and that 
God of heaven and earth will build his church, and the gates 
of Hades shall not prevail against it. That truth shall advance, 
and no one is going to stop it. That truth shall prevail, and 
no one is going to kibosh it. Governments might be able to 
shut mouths of preachers, but once that gospel goes forth, 
that gospel is set. And that gospel will continue 
to advance in the lands that God has set forth to bring about 
such salvation. So faith in God as his weapon, 
not in himself, not in his own way, but he comes to the God 
in whom he has been saved. This is especially important 
as we see verses 12 through 17. We don't engage in warfare based 
upon our own doing, brethren. We don't engage in our warfare 
to try a little harder. We do so knowing that the battle 
has already been won in Jesus Christ. That's the hope that 
we have already. Christ has won this battle. This 
is a faithful saying, worthy of all acceptance. He goes on 
to talk about the mercy that he's obtained, and he gets to 
the point in verse 17, he can't contain himself now to the King, 
eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be 
honor and glory forever and ever. God is the one who turns the 
pages of history, and that includes the salvation of the Apostle 
Paul. That's why he doesn't understand. That's why he has to praise God. 
Immortal, invisible, God who alone is wise? Why would God 
take someone like the Apostle Paul and save his soul and use 
him as the Apostle to the Gentiles? That's something only this God 
could ever think of and do. And so Timothy, with this gospel 
in the backdrop, with this truth in the backdrop, he can then 
go and engage in the good warfare that he already has in Christ 
Jesus, his Lord. The Christian life is never meant 
to be one of moralism, not saying there aren't commands for us, 
but it's important for us to understand that those commands 
are grounded in the truth and the fact that we are already 
righteous before God. Brethren, all our sins, past, 
present, and future, are forgiven in Jesus Christ. 1 John 1.9 is 
for poor, sensible sinners as we go before the Lord God in 
our remaining corruption. But all our sins, past, present, 
and future, are forgiven in Him. That's the certainty God's people 
have as we engage in such a good warfare. So we have faith. But as well, we have a good conscience. 
And I think there are two things we see with good conscience. 
It certainly is about discerning right and wrong. That's the second 
thing I'll draw in just a second, but it's also about discerning 
truth. We have to be able to know what the truth is. We have 
to be able to saturate our minds with that truth. Yes, we only 
have that saturation by the power of God on high, by the power 
of the Holy Spirit. Even when we study theology, 
brethren, we have to ask God to help us understand what's 
going on because we need the Spirit to understand these things. 
And even when we read our Bible and our scriptures, we need God 
to help us understand what these things mean. That's typically 
the prayer, hopefully every preacher prays before he preaches, the 
prayer of illumination to give us understanding to what's going 
on here, to give us a further, not enlightenment, but yeah, 
illumination is the best. I guess we could say enlightenment 
if we don't use it in its 18th century context, but help us 
to better understand what's going on in the scriptures. We have 
a good conscience. Calvin says, we know that the 
treasure of sound doctrine is invaluable. There is nothing 
that we ought to dread more than to have it taken from us. But 
here, Paul informs us that there is only one way of keeping it 
safe, and that is to secure it by the locks and bars of a good 
conscience. We must discern that truth. We 
must know what that truth is. We must saturate ourselves with 
that truth that when we hear something false, we can easily 
say that's wrong and refute it. But as well, the conscience is 
not just about discerning truth, but it's the seat of right and 
wrong. How is it that we discern right or wrong? By knowing what 
is right or wrong, by knowing what the truth is. Again, everything 
comes back to the word of God, doesn't it? Both in right doctrine 
and in right practice. It drives me nuts to think that 
people can have right practice or practice without theology, 
without doctrine, without truth. How do we know what sin is? How 
do we know what we ought to be doing? We do so by knowing what 
that truth is that God has laid down for us in his word. Vera 
Baron says, but a good conscience is here faith's necessary handmaiden. For the contest is in the strictest 
sense a moral one, and a deprivation of the conscience is a virtual 
abandonment struggle. It is yielding to the adversary 
an entrenchment in the citadel." So we must know that truth and 
must ask God to soften our hearts to that truth that we know what 
is right and wrong. It is that reality of knowing 
right and wrong wrought by the Holy Spirit and God's standards. And it's really a reminder in 
this whole Christian walk about our needfulness of Christ and 
our sinfulness before Him. Let's reverse those two. The 
sinfulness that we have, and thus we have our need for Jesus 
Christ. Brethren, I hate to burst your bubble again. That's my 
favorite word today, I guess. I've said that twice. But when 
it comes to the Christian walk and sanctification, you know 
what it really is? It's just a continual reminder of how sinful 
you and I are. and a continual recognition of 
how vile we are. And the reason that that is, 
is that we see how glorious Christ is. That's the Christian walk. 
And see our dependence upon Him, and be reminded what He's done 
for us. Be reminded of who He is. Rather than the most sanctified 
person in this life doesn't think they're the most sanctified person 
in this life. They don't think they're the most holy person 
in this life. They don't think they're the best person ever. 
They are reminded of that. That's what sanctification is, 
dying to sin and growing to the image of Christ Jesus. But as 
we seek to grow into the image of Christ Jesus, we realize how 
unworthy we really are. And it reminds us of how great 
Christ is and the assurances that we have in Him. And all this proper moral evaluation 
is found in the light of God's standard. And Paul's gonna get 
there in 1 Timothy 3 with how ministers ought to act and ought 
to behave. And very much in the backdrop 
of how ministers ought to behave are some ministers who are not 
behaving this way, who are not acting like, not looking for 
perfection, but they must evidence these graces and have the gift 
of teaching as they engage in waging the good warfare. Now 
brethren, hopefully the application is very clear. Wage the good 
warfare. And certainly the application 
implication is for ministers of the gospel. We must, the commandment 
here, this charge I commit to you is an absolute must wage 
the good warfare. Ministers who are called true 
ministers, not perfect ministers, again, born out of right motives, 
gifts and graces, recognition by the church, and then Albert 
Martin adds that last one, providential openings. God opens the door 
for one to be able to preach. All those things affirm the Christian 
walk, and it's an assurance and a reminder. And hopefully there 
is that recognition, the laying on of hands, as one is conferred 
and ordained as an elder. All those things are meant to 
be encouragement and reminders for the one who engages in such 
a task. But notice again, brethren, that 
the means emerge again. We say this and speak about the 
means like a broken record. Sing the means of grace, especially 
when we gather corporately. Yes, privately is what we call 
a means of growth. Scripture and prayer reading. 
but especially on the Lord's Day gathering. It is a means 
of grace. That is how God in His blessed 
goodness, as we see that triune work of God, as He applies the 
benefits of the Holy Spirit, especially for Christians, in 
sanctification. How can you expect to grow if 
you're not using the means God has provided? How can you expect 
to grow without using the means God has given? And this is especially 
true for ministers. Because all that believers ought 
to be in 1 Timothy 3, ministers must be. But even when we come 
to 2 Timothy 3.16, perhaps you all know it off by heart, all 
Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for 
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 
that the man of God may complete, thoroughly equipped for every 
good work. Now it's important to highlight here, man of God 
does not mean a godly man. Now a man of God ought to mean 
a godly man, but typically we substitute man of God with godly 
man. That's not what's going on here. Man of God in scripture 
refers to a specific office. And perhaps the reminder for 
Timothy here, and for us as we read it, is what the minister 
has been invested with. He has all he needs with the 
Word of God. We don't need to add to it. We don't need puppets, 
ponies, and programs, as Pastor Butler says. We don't need shredding 
guitars and people swinging off the chandeliers. We don't need 
all that sort of stuff. The word of God that is profitable for 
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction, that the man 
of God may be equipped to complete and may be complete through thoroughly 
equipped for every good work. And then he goes on to say in 
verse two, preach the word of God. The man of God ought to 
preach that word because it is all he needs as he engages in 
the Christian warfare, as he battles against such truth. So the means are important for 
the minister, but the means are important for the Christian as 
well. Again, even though I think ministers and offices are in 
view here, certainly it does apply to Christians. Brethren, 
we ought to wage that good warfare against sin. We ought to wage 
that good warfare against truth. And we ought to wage the good 
warfare based on the authority of Christ our King, who saved 
us, who's changed us, who's given us his blessed word with that 
truth, and especially as we engage against sin. Sin just rears its 
ugly head in many shapes and sizes, doesn't it? Even when 
we do a good thing, brethren, it is tainted with pride, isn't 
it? Look at me, how much I'm giving. 
Look at me, how much I'm serving. Look at me and all these other 
things that I'm engaging in. Brethren, we cannot do anything 
good without being tainted by sin. That's why we need Christ 
our Lord and give Him glory for saving such wretches like us. But nonetheless, we engage in 
that good warfare based on what He has done. We must battle with 
such sins. And again, it can merge in so 
many ways. It can be one pet sin. It can 
be many little sins. It can be relying on self, pharisaism. It can be adding to the Word 
of God. That's a sin, making yourself God instead of God. 
saying this law is what we ought to do and going above and beyond 
the scriptures. In fact, these men do that with 
respect to marrying and eating certain foods in 1 Timothy chapter 
4, forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from foods which God 
created to be received with thanksgiving. Now, if you're on a diet, that's 
fine. You're allowed to be on a diet. But if someone wants 
to have a steak or something else or something delicious every 
once in a while, it's not the end of the world, as long as 
there's no excess with it. You see, when we begin to add 
to the Scriptures and add to the Word of God, we denigrate 
the Word of God because we have clarity with the Word of God 
and how we ought to live, and we make ourselves to be God. But on the flip side, if we deny 
the law in its place, we begin to engage in licentiousness. 
I am saved. I can do whatever I want. That's 
usually not a good sign, brethren. That's not a good assurance for 
God's people. I think you can be assured as 
God's people, you know, I do see some fruits of the Spirit. 
The Bible says that God's people evidence these things. I see 
these things, albeit in small degree, I can be assured that 
I'm found in Christ. I'm resting on Jesus Christ. 
You have no desire to do what is pleasing to God? You have 
no desire to do things that honor Him? That's a telltale concern, 
brethren. Especially in the modern church, anti-law, that there's 
no place for the law of God. There's no proper understanding 
of its place and its use. Big-time concerns in the church 
of God. Sins emerge all the different 
times. We ought to remember Christ as 
we wage in this good warfare. So that's waging the good warfare. 
Let's then look secondly at neglecting the good warfare in 19b through 
20. This is a warning. God's people who are truly saved 
shall not fall away. The Holy Spirit shall work and 
is truly amongst them, and they shall not fall away. It's the 
perseverance of the saints. But nonetheless, those who might 
say they're Christians will eventually evidence that they're not. Time 
is a friend, people. Time exposes many different things. It'll find people out. It certainly 
does, especially as we see these ones here. Notice 19b. having faith and a good conscience, 
which, some having rejected, considering the faith, have suffered 
shifrek." The antecedent is singular. It goes back to this good conscience. Rejection of faith is seen in 
having their conscience seared and marred. There is no Discernment. There is no tenderness. There 
is no recognition. If someone warns them, OK. That's 
concerning, brethren, especially in church discipline situations. 
We're going to talk about discipline in just a second. But if someone 
comes to you, if we get to stage three of church discipline, hey, 
I'm going to bring it before the church, everybody's going 
to know about it. That ought to cause people to go, okay, 
that's a serious thing, I shouldn't be doing this anymore. Or if 
you say, you know what, if you continue in this, we're going 
to excommunicate you. Okay, that should be like, wow, okay, this 
is pretty serious. If that doesn't strike a chord, that's a big 
time concern. And this was the case with certain 
two men. They rejected the truth, they 
rejected the gospel, they rejected the truth of scripture by turning 
to an external law, an ascetical faith, that is, forbidding and 
marrying and abstaining from food, to false. They're turning 
to this false truth. And as such, these false ones 
must be removed. And what happens is they reject 
the faith, they reject good conscience, and concerning the faith, have 
suffered shipwreck. Built-in imagery for us. Disaster. I've never been in a shipwreck 
before. By surmise, it's a difficult thing to be a part of. In fact, 
the word is used for the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 11.25 regarding 
his legitimate, actual, literal shipwreck that he goes through 
in Acts 27. And so we see this. We see the imagery here. It's 
not just a little ding. It's not just, you ran aground 
a little bit and caused a little scrape. It's an absolute shipwreck 
of the faith. I think there are two results 
as we consider this shipwreck. And I think we can refer to this 
shipwreck as the two ways personally or publicly. Personally, it shows 
they were never believers. And personally, it shows that 
they need salvation. And as such, you treat them as 
unbelievers, sharing the gospel with them that they might believe. 
But it shipwrecks the faith, and it is a denigration of the 
truth that they claim to confess. But I think publicly as well, 
when we consider these men as false teachers, as they teach 
false things, they might sway new and naive Christians. Sometimes 
new Christians don't always know better, do they? You get saved. 
You're new to this Christian faith. You're new to this idea. 
Sometimes they don't know where to go. And sometimes people get 
sucked into things that they should not get sucked in. If 
you got saved in a Reformed Baptist church, praise God for that very 
thing. That doesn't happen all the time. 
But sometimes you don't know what's happening, you look up 
to someone, but they say something wrong, but they seem to know 
more than you, so you just go with it. It can shipwreck their 
faith. Can you imagine a new Christian 
coming to them and saying, you can never get married, and that 
person has that desire and wants to get married and enjoy those 
things? Or they come and say to them, listen, you can never 
have a piece of meat. That's just something you cannot 
have. Every time they see someone having a steak at the keg or 
something like that, they probably never go to the keg, but if they 
ever did, they would just be concerned and be conscience-seared. And not only that, then they 
might hear these guys say, look, you've got to earn your way to 
get into heaven, but I'm a pretty bad person. I've done some terrible 
things in my life. That can scare people, that can 
concern people, that can shipwreck the faith publicly as they are 
standing in pulpits preaching such a false thing and steer 
many away. The blind who lead the blind, 
they both shall fall into a ditch. It is absolute shipwreck of the 
faith when we neglect the true faith and we neglect in waging 
the good warfare. both for one's preaching, as 
well as we engage in it ourselves. But notice we see the identification 
of these ones in verse 20, of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, 
examples of these false teachers. Again, just another brother, 
part of the same religion. He says he's a Christian, he's 
a good brother, he's a nice man, yeah, but he's teaching false 
things, and he ought to be removed. And we see kind of some indication 
of what their false teaching was for Hymenaeus. We see in 
2 Timothy 2.17, we see some that were rejecting the resurrection, 
which unfortunately leads to wickedness. Nevertheless, solid 
foundation of God stands, having the seal. The Lord knows those 
who are his, and let everyone who names the name of Christ 
depart from iniquity. But in a great house there are 
not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and 
clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore, if anyone 
cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel of honor 
and sanctified and useful for the master prepared for every 
good work. Flee also youthful lusts, but pursue righteousness, 
faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a 
pure heart. heart, even verse 18, who have 
strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection 
is already past. False teaching led to a false 
practice. Denying the resurrection is denying 
the gospel that is found in Christ. So he denies this thing. So he 
gets up there, there's no resurrection. Okay, no hope then. And then 
we see Alexander in 2 Timothy 4.14. Alexander the coppersmith did 
me much harm May the Lord repay him according to his works. You 
also must be aware of him. He has greatly resisted our Words, 
he doesn't just leave he doesn't just teach false things and then 
is kicked out and goes away now He has to try and stay and take 
out Paul. He has to try and hurt Paul. 
And eventually, he's going to go after Paul's young protégé 
as he has to deal with that one. So they need to be aware of this 
one. That typically happens, right? 
If someone's a false teacher, you say to them, hey, you can't 
do that anymore. They never go, OK. They usually have to leave 
with such a ruckus and such a fuss and try to take out the people 
and drag everybody down as they go through. and such of them 
are seen in Hymenaeus and Alexander. But notice we see the consequence 
at the end of verse 20. Excommunication. Whom I deliver 
to Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme. Kind of odd, 
isn't it? Being handed over to Satan being 
a good thing. It most assuredly refers to church 
discipline. Paul gives another explanation 
of this in 1 Corinthians 5.5. He says, "...deliver such a one 
to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit 
may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." It is for the good 
of the church, and it's actually for the good of the one being 
excommunicated, that they might consider their sin. and realize 
what they've done, we might treat them not as believers anymore, 
but treat them as unbelievers and share the gospel with them. And notice Paul is the one who 
does this. Perhaps Paul does this as an officer of the universal 
church. Perhaps he had some special authority 
as the apostle to just get rid of that guy right away for this 
specific purpose. In our day and age, where we 
have officers of the local church, we do so by church vote and by 
the church together engaging in a certain process. The universal 
church, there were certain offices of that. Christ is the head, 
then we have the apostles and prophets. Remember, the universal 
church is every single person, every elect person who's been 
saved in Jesus. It's a reference to all believers 
around the world. We see the expression of that 
in local places in the local church. And there are offices 
of the local church, elder and deacon. So Paul, as an officer 
of the universal church, engages in a special act of authority 
similar to excommunication. So he gets rid of him, hands 
him over to Satan, hands him over to the special enemy of 
God. He's outside the kingdom of God 
and given to the devil for a specific purpose. He's been handed over 
in judgment. Handed over is very much used 
for judgment, especially in Romans chapter 1. Now that might freak 
us out. Does Satan really have that much 
power? Is it really his realm? But we must remember Satan is 
not omnipotent. I think we forget that sometimes. 
I think sometimes we also forget Satan is not omnipresent. Only 
God is omnipresent. Satan is a fallen angel, brethren. And maybe this kingdom, he's 
been handed over, or the sinning man, the sinning men have been 
handed over to this one, but it's for a specific purpose. 
Satan might be roaming this world like a roaring lion, but he is 
certainly on a leash, and God has dominion. We don't need to 
worry and fear from him, brethren. We don't need to fear Satan, 
because Christ is on the throne. Christ has crushed his head, 
and Christ reigns supreme. But nonetheless, it's a way to 
say, hand it over to the present evil age, hand it over to Satan. 
Fairbairn says, Satan is but a creature and an instrument, 
one who has a definite sphere to occupy and a power to exercise 
in relation to the purposes of God's moral government, but still 
only of a subordinate and ministerial kind. Because the reason or the 
purpose they're handed over is that they may learn not to blaspheme. 
They might be corrected not to denigrate God. They may be corrected 
not to profane the name of God with what they're saying, with 
false teaching. The purpose for this whole idea 
of excommunication is to cause people to consider their sin, 
especially for these ones being excommunicated. Again, if there's 
no You know, there's no thought process. It doesn't shake people. 
Hey, wow, excommunication. That's a big time concern. OK, 
hand them over, that they might one day consider that very thing 
and treat them like an unbeliever that they might believe. But 
brethren, discipline isn't just for the one being disciplined. 
It's for the ones doing the disciplining as well. It's actually a reminder 
and a warning. It's a reminder and a warning 
to what will happen to those who are not truly in Christ Jesus. It's a warning for the discipline 
and for those engaging in discipline. It's a warning to remind us, 
to cause us not to sin. Churches ought to be engaging 
in church discipline. There's rarely any church. A 
lot of churches do not do this that much anymore. But it's an 
important aspect of the local church. As we live in a present 
evil age, there is, so to speak, people who come into the church, 
might profess the name of Christ, but are actually not believers. 
There's membership on the front end. And if that doesn't work 
out, if we get some things wrong like the apostles did with Simon 
in the book of Acts, there's church discipline on the back 
And the purpose is to teach these ones that they may learn, that 
they may be corrected, to not blaspheme the name of the Lord 
God Most High, to not speak false things against God Most High. 
That's what blaspheming means here. And we see it in 1 Timothy 
6.1, let as many bondservants as are under the yoke count their 
own masters worthy of all honor, so the name of God and his doctrine 
may not be blasphemed. We don't just blaspheme God in 
our words and thoughts, but we blaspheme God in our works as 
well. And this was the case for both 
of these ones, Alexander and Hymenaeus. So the warning very 
much is, we must not reject the faith. We must not turn from 
Christ. For there are consequences for 
backsliding. And again, the consequences for 
backsliding are going to be seen in those who are not actual Christians, 
but just profess to be Christians. In reality, they're probably 
relying upon something else. They're baptized as a child. 
I'm a pretty decent person. I've done good things. I attend 
church. And as such, because I attend 
church, I'm going to be saved. I'm not against coming to church, 
brethren. It's important to understand the blessed means of grace that 
we do have. But we don't come to church to 
be saved. We come to church because we have been saved. We don't 
come to church to earn our way, we come to church because Christ 
earned it for us, and we come to give Him glory and praise 
and honor for that. We must remember that. Sometimes 
that gets lost for those who are close to the faith, have 
friends, family, connected with it. It's not about what we do, 
it's about what Christ has done for us, and as such, out of response 
to His blessed goodness, we seek to do what is pleasing in His 
We must not shipwreck the faiths, evidence we are never believers, 
but as well as denigrate God's name publicly before others. And this is especially important 
for ones who want to be teachers. James 3, let not many of you 
be teachers. It's a very serious warning and 
a very serious reminder. And may I say as well, especially 
as we're engaging in the good warfare, perhaps good Calvinists 
are like, yeah, engaging in the good warfare. Let's fight against 
truth. Let's take everybody out. May I just say that as we deal 
with certain people, of certain faiths, of certain ideas, we 
must have an understanding that there are degrees of people within 
that. Namely, how I treat a person in the pew will be different 
than how I treat someone who typically stands in the pulpit, 
who should know better. The demeanor which I have towards 
a pastor who teaches false things will be very different from someone 
who sat in a pew and has had to sit under that rabble for 
their entire lives. Patience, kindness, mercy, yeah, 
still deal with the truth. But if men get up and say they're 
Christians, that's another story. And we'll fight to the bitter 
end against them, against that truth. If any sort of big name 
preacher comes in and says certain things, you better believe that 
it's different. We treat them differently. Treat 
me differently. If I say something wrong, call 
me out on that very thing. The point is how we treat certain 
people in the pew differently than we necessarily do people 
who stand in the pulpit. Now again, not saying we don't 
just let their heterodoxy slip on by, but how we operate and 
engage with them is different based on where they are. Because we need, thankfully though, 
when we engage with false things, whether it's 
a pastor or whether it's people in the pew, there is church discipline, 
and it happens for both people in the pew and for the pastor. 
Thankfully, it is church discipline. And there is an order that we 
do see in Matthew chapter 18. If someone sins against you, 
go to them, call them out. If they say, I'm sorry, hey, 
you've gained a brother. If they don't, Grab somebody 
else. Go to them again. Have a witness. 
Ask for forgiveness. If they do, great. You gained 
a brother. If they don't, stage three. Take it to the church. 
That's where all the members are going to get to know what's 
going on. Tell them what's going on. Have the members call them 
and deal with them and admonish them to repent. If they do wonderful, 
you gained a brother. But if they don't, that's where 
excommunication comes in. And certainly, it's not just 
for gross, heinous, immoral sins. But it's for little sins that 
people don't repent on as well. Continued impenitence against 
this calling and this reminder. That's what church discipline 
is meant to do, cause us to think, to remind us about what's going 
on. But I should say as well, we 
can jump straight to section 3 or step 3 and step 4 depending 
on the sin. We don't always have to go, okay, 
you didn't come to me. If someone engages in a gross, 
heinous, wicked sin, we can jump straight to step 3. We'll bring 
it before the church. We've got to deal with that very quickly 
and swiftly because it's in the church. And perhaps you see that 
in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, a man who has his father's wife. Boy, 
that's a heinous thing, isn't it? Boy, that's awful. So the 
guy who's there can't go, well, you didn't come to me privately. 
It shouldn't be some sort of discipline. Now, you can jump 
straight to step three, depending on the sin. And they certainly 
do that with the heinous sin that was engaged in in 1 Corinthians 
chapter 5. Because the purpose of church 
discipline is certainly restoration. We hope that. But as well it 
is for the purity of the church. Yes, I know there's going to 
be no pure church and perfect church on this side of heaven. 
But that doesn't mean we don't seek to keep it pure as we're 
able. The true believers are part of 
that membership. And the beauty is, again, we 
get things wrong sometimes. And that's why church disciplines 
on the back end to deal with such situations. But in all things, 
it's meant to glorify God as we engage in such discipline. But perhaps, too, this idea of 
discipline is meant to remind us of the importance of church 
membership. Membership isn't just, I attended 
church for a while, and today I'm a member. There's an actual 
formal process that happens with that. And membership is something 
that is very much despised in our modern context. We don't 
want to be a part of the church. We kind of want to do whatever 
we sort of want to do. But brethren, if you're not part of the Church, 
there really is no Church discipline, really, is there? How can you 
discipline someone? You can ask them to leave, ask 
them to not come back, you can do any of those types of things. 
You can't really excommunicate them, can you? You can't really 
engage in such discipline. You see, membership is actually 
meant to keep God's people accountable. I love the way our Constitution 
and Free Grace's Constitution, which is where we got ours, talks 
about formative discipline and corrective discipline. Formative 
discipline is this, being saturated with Scripture, coming on the 
Lord's Day, prizing the Lord's Day, that we might not be backsliding, 
that we might not, you know, start to do certain things we 
shouldn't, that we might not, our sensitivities, our conscience 
has become seared. It's for our good in that. Oh, 
wow, okay, yeah, that's a reminder. I got a reminder of what truth 
is and what sin is. It's important for our souls. 
It's important that we come and gather in such places. But if formative discipline does 
fail, there is corrective. And you can be assured it will 
be executed. You can be assured it shall happen, 
whether it's a gross, scandalous sin, or if it's in penitence 
along the way against the Lord God Most High. But the purpose 
for discipline is for the good of God's people. It's for the 
good of Christ's Church. It's for the one who's being 
disciplined, that they might repent and be restored, or it's 
that they might be evidence they were unbelievers, that we might 
share the gospel and preach to them that blessed truth. God 
does all things well, and he set up all things well in his 
scriptures, and how the church ought to function, how the church 
ought to operate, especially as we wage this good warfare. Christians who wage such good 
warfare must do so by the grace and power of God Most High, who 
is blessed to save sinners. We cannot do it on our own, but 
we do so in the gospel of Christ. And if you're an unbeliever here 
today, I implore you, I encourage you to believe on Jesus Christ 
who saves sinners. You cannot wash your hands and 
make yourselves a little bit better. It's not based on things 
that you do, but it's confessing your sin and believing on Jesus 
Christ for salvation. But as Christians and ministers 
ought to engage in such warfare. So perhaps we can ask that question 
again. Do you wage the good warfare? Are you discerning with respect 
to truth? Are you sensitive with respect to sin and what God says 
is right and wrong? And are you sensitive to that 
blessed gospel that is found in Christ, that is only found 
in him, salvation wrought by Christ who came to save sinners, 
that there might be everlasting life and hope in him? Well, let's 
pray. Our God, we are thankful that 
Christ is on that throne, and he is seated at the right hand 
of God, the Father. We confess, O God, that as we 
walk this Christian life, that we are in great need of you. 
We confess, O God, there are many false truths and false doctrines, 
and we all struggle with our own sins. We all struggle with 
our own hearts that are like idle factories. And we're thankful, 
O God, that there is forgiveness in Jesus Christ. We confess these 
sins to you. We're thankful, O God, there 
is mercy and forgiveness in him, that you are faithful and just 
to forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. We ask, 
O God, that you'd help us as we wage this good warfare, help 
your ministers as they wage the good warfare, your true ministers 
as they wage this good warfare. May we do so with faith and good 
conscience. We pray, O God, that we would 
not neglect all of us. We would not neglect this good 
warfare. We confess, O God, sometimes 
we can become lazy. We confess, O God, sometimes 
we can become negligent. We ask, O God, that you prick 
our souls once again, soften our hearts to the scriptures 
and what it says. We're thankful, O God, for the assurances that 
your people shall not fall away. We know, God, you shall expose 
those who are not yours, those whom you haven't saved, those 
who just profess Christ but do not truly believe. We pray, O 
God, that you would do so, that we might be warned and be reminded, 
and we pray, O God, that you would do so, that we might be 
able to share the gospel and truth with them. We're thankful 
for such mercy you give to people like us. We're thankful, O God, 
for the clarity you give with respect to how your church ought 
to function and operate. We confess, O God, that we fall 
very short in your church and how we ought to operate with 
respect to truth and with respect to discipline. But help us, O 
God, as your church, to hold fast to the word of God. Help 
us to hold fast to word and sacrament, and help us to hold fast as well 
to church discipline. Give us wisdom as we engage in 
such difficult things sometimes, as we engage in such sin. We're 
thankful, O God, you are merciful and kind towards your people. 
So we're thankful for this gospel. May it be what encourages us 
as we walk this life, that we have encouragement that Christ 
has died for us. And may we saturate our minds 
with the scriptures that we might glorify you as we wage this good 
warfare. So help us, encourage us by your 
spirit, we pray. In the name of Christ. Amen. We'll close 
with a brief time meditation. When the piano's finished, you 
are dismissed.