In 1 Timothy 6.20-21, Paul gives Timothy one final charge. He exhorts Timothy to guard the gospel and avoid false teaching. This is something he’s done throughout this letter but as he wraps up he wants to make sure Timothy does not forgot why he’s in Ephesus. In a similar way, every true church and every true christian has been entrusted with the gospel and also must take the responsibility to guard it very seriously. In this sermon we contemplate two big ideas: 1) the Preservation of the Gospel (20-21) and 2) the provision of Grace (21).

In 1 Timothy 6.17-19, we are warned against abusing the good gifts of God and are exhorted to worship the giver and not the gifts. In verse 17, we find two ways to avoid worshiping our wealth: 1) by not becoming proud about our wealth and 2) by not setting our hope in our wealth. Then in verses 18-19, we find four ways to worship God with our wealth: 1) enjoying our wealth as a gift, 2) prioritizing true wealth, 3) sharing our wealth, and 4) storing up heavenly wealth.

Perseverance is one of the hardest things to practice in life. But in 1 Timothy 6.11-16 Paul exhorts Timothy to persevere in gospel-faithfulness. In verses 11-14, we see how Christians persevere (flee worldliness, pursue maturity, fight for the faith, holdfast eternal life, keep the commandment, and remember heaven’s witnesses). Then in verses 15-16, we see two motivations for why Christians persevere (the Son’s appearing and the Father’s glory).

In 1 Timothy 6.6-10, Paul explains how godliness (devotion and conformity to Jesus) and contentment (a happy trust in the sufficiency of Jesus) is great gain. In this text, we can find three reasons why contentment is gain: 1) contentment weans us off this present world, 2) contentment satisfies us in God’s perfect care, 3) contentment delivers us from temporal and eternal ruin.

In 1 Timothy 6.2-5, we find that the church must teach and urge one another in sound doctrine. And if we’re going to do that we must understand two things: 1) the Nature of False Teaching and 2) the Fruit of False Teaching. False Teaching opposes the Lordship of Christ and godliness and it always reaps corruption in our minds and desires.

In 1 Timothy 6.1-2, we find Paul’s instructions to slaves and how they are to relate to their masters. In order to better understand Paul’s approach to slavery, it’s important to understand three perspectives: 1) the historical perspective, 2) the scriptural perspective, and 3) the gospel perspective. The closest application to us today who live in a free society is our relationships to our employers. And in this text Paul gives two motivations for why we should work with excellence and honor our employers: 1) the glory of God and 2) the good of my brother.

In 1 Timothy 5.21-25, we continue to consider how the church is called to honor the role and work of Pastors. Last week we saw that we do this by: 1) providing for them, 2) protecting them, and 3) rebuking them. In this sermon we consider one last way to honor the pastor, which is by wisely affirming them. We also consider one big motivation for all this, which is that all of this is done before the witness of heaven.

To kick off the new year, we jump back in our 1 Timothy series looking specifically at 1 Timothy 5.17-20. In this text what we find our three ways that God calls the congregation to honor the pastorate (by pastorate, we mean the office, the work, and the man). The ways we honor the pastorate is by 1) Providing for their needs, 2) Protecting them from false accusations, and 3) Rebuking them before all.

We spend one more week thinking about the truth we find in 1 Timothy 5.3-16. This Sunday we unpack the idea that if we’re going to be a church who faithfully cares for the needy, we must first care for the needs of our own family. This means that we cannot faithfully care for the needy in the church while at the same time neglect to care for the needs of our own households. In this sermon, we consider three motivations for why we should care for our own families: 1) Our Care Honors Our Family, 2) Our Care Honors Our Church, and 3) Our Care Honors Our King.

The church is a spiritual family committed to caring for one another. In 1 Timothy 5.3-16, we see this is especially true when it comes to widows in the church. If the church is going to be faithful to Jesus, we must discern all the various needs within in the body and prioritize caring for those who are truly needy. In these verses there are two main ideas we find:

1) Where We Should Not Prioritize Care and 2) Where We should Prioritize Care.

The ultimate reason the church cares for the needy and vulnerable is because that’s exactly who we were before Christ and God in infinite mercy demonstrated divine care for us in the gospel.

In 1 Timothy 5.1-2, Paul explains how the church is the family of the triune God. We have been brought into the family of the Father, Son, and Spirit. As the household or family of God must relate to one another. In this text we find two distinct ways: 1) We must relate to the older saints as fathers and mothers and 2) We must relate to the younger saints as brothers and sisters.

In 1 Timothy 4.11-16, Paul continues to highlight essential marks that Timothy must develop and culitivate in his life and ministry if he is going to be a faithful servant of Christ Jesus. But these this isn’t just true for Timothy, but every Christian must: 1) exemplify godliness, 2) devoted to the scriptures, 3) exercise spiritual gifts, 4) watch life and doctrine.

In 1 Timothy 4.6-10, Paul shows Timothy three important marks of every faithful servant: 1) Faithful Servants Instruct the Brothers, 2) Faithful Servants Train for Godliness, 3) Faithful Servants Hope in God. Next Sunday we’ll consider several others marks of faithfulness as we close out chapter four.

There are many who walk away from the faith. Apostasy isn’t anything new, in fact it’s actually been promised. The church must be aware of and guard against. If we’re going to do that there are three ideas in 1 Timothy 4.1-5 that we must understand: 1) dangerous departures, 2) demonic doctrines, 3) defiant denials.

In 1 Timothy 3.14-16 we see the glory of the Church (the church is where God's presence dwells, the church is God's family, the church is the guardians and proclaimers of God's truth) and the glory of the gospel. In light of these realities, both the church and the gospel needs to be central in our lives.

In 1 Timothy 3.8-13, we are called to celebrate deacons as a gift from Christ. In order to do that we must understand three ideas in the text: 1) the deacon's role, 2) the deacon's qualifications, and 3) the deacon's reward.

Everyone knows that qualifications matter. If you’re flying, you want qualified pilots, if you’re getting surgery, you want qualified surgeons, if you’re getting your house rewired, you want qualified electricians. It’s no different in the church, the church must have qualified pastors. In this sermon we continue considering the qualifications for pastors in 1 Timothy 3.1-7. Overall, the pastor must be above reproach. But then Paul fleshes that out with 13 qualities that must characterize every pastor.

Qualifications matter. They matter in the world and in the church it's no different. In 1 Timothy 3.1-2, the church is called to value and uphold the pastorate and the qualifications of those who fill it.

In these verses we consider two realities: 1) The Office and 2) The Man. In light of these realities we should respond by: 1) Striving for these qualities, 2) Praying for qualified men, and 3) praying for our pastors.

God calls women to embrace and celebrate biblical womanhood. If women are going to do that, there are two truths in 1 Timothy 2.11-15 they need to understand: 1) God's Order in the Church and 2) God's Order in Creation. This text also implies a need for strong men and for faithful women in the church.

**** e kala mai: we've continued to have recording issues. Only the last third of the sermon was recorded. ****

Extravagance and sensuality are two common temptations facing women when it comes to the way we dress. In this text, God calls women to adorn themselves in dignity. And to do that, women must put away worldliness and put on godliness. There are also four considerations that will help sisters discern what is appropriate and dignifying clothing: 1) consider your cultural-context, 2) consider your community, 3) consider your conscience, and 4) consider your Christ.