Cambria Pulpit

In the late 1800s Charles Spurgeon commented, "Everywhere there is apathy. Nobody cares whether that which is preached is true or false. A sermon is a sermon whatever the subject; only, the shorter it is the better." He went on to warn that the Church was drifting away from the purity of the Gospel. Instead of boldly proclaiming the truths of Scripture, Christians were candy-coating the Word, being careful not to offend anyone. As a result, Christianity's influence in nineteenth-century England was severely weakened. 

100 years later, this is true of the United States. Churches have moved from centering on the Word and the Gospel to centering on the program and entertainment. Music is judged based on how it makes me feel, not on that it actually says. All for fear of offending the world in the name of Christ. I have often stated that a preacher need not worry about splitting a church over preaching heresy, no they need to be worried about splitting the church over the color of the drapes. 

The reason that our country is in the state it is in is not because sinners are acting like sinners, but because saints are ashamed of being saints. Our country is in the state it is in because our churches are in the state that they are in. And the reason that the churches are in the state that they are in is because the believers are ashamed of the gospel. We fear the persecution of the raised eyebrow. We are unwilling to share the gospel, we are unwilling to stand for truth, we are unwilling to call out the insane worldview of the world around us because we are afraid of feeling uncomfortable. In short, we are ashamed of the Gospel. 

God has called us here at Cambria to be a lighthouse of the gospel. God has called us to be willing to share the Gospel and stand on the truth of the Word, even and especially when it is not popular. This is of increasing importance as the word continues to degrade. 

June is Pride Month in which the world celebrates the depravity of the LGBTQ+++ movement. But no longer is this a fringe celebration. Just a few days ago, the children’s program Blue’s Clues featured program that sought to normalize polyamory (relations between multiple men and women), polyamorous parenting, and all varieties of sexual deviancy. Throughout the episode, the writers were sure to cover every aspect of the LGBTQ+ spectrum. The host of the show was an animated drag queen who celebrated “Ace, bi, and pan grownups” (a group which covers all imaginable aspects of sexual deviancy). The innocent children’s show is no longer an innocent children’s show. 

As this engine gains steam, do not be mistaken, they are coming for you and your children. Do not be confused, they will not allow the church to escape unscathed. The day has arrived in which you must decide, are you a cultural Christian or a true Christian. For cultural Christianity will soon cease to exist. It is time for us to decide, will we stand for the Gospel or will we be ashamed of the Gospel?

This is not the first time in history that Christians have needed to make this choice. In fact, much of what we face is a mirror of what the early church faced in ancient Rome. As Paul sat in the prison cell awaiting martyrdom, he pled with Timothy not to be ashamed of the Gospel. In this plea, he gave Timothy some direction towards the power to stand for truth. 

We don’t like to think of death, but have you ever thought about what you would say if given the opportunity to utter your last words? What message would you convey? We think of final words that have been said over history. Some have been unfortunate. General John Sedgwick, a general in the union army during the civil war, said to his men who were ducking from a confederate sniper, “They couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance.” And was promptly killed by the sniper. Some last words have been touching. Ludwig Wittgenstein, an Austrian Philosopher is said to have uttered, Tell them I’ve had a wonderful life.” What would yours be? Would you seek to pass on any wisdom you have gained? Perhaps give final instructions to your family. 

The book to which we will now turn our attention and spend the next few months in are the final words of the Apostle Paul. He knows that he is facing certain death. He understands that his time on earth is short. So he writes to Timothy some final words as he passes on his ministry to his protegee. Yet these final words are fascinating. As we work through this book, we will discover that the topic of the final message he sent to Timothy was to endure suffering through faithfulness to the Word of God. he sought once again to ground Timothy in the Word. He reminded Timothy that the Word is sufficient for everything that we face in life. In each chapter we find some combination of the idea that we must endure suffering through the Word of Truth. 

Endure suffering through faithfulness to the Word of God

As we begin this study, we will do so with the first two verses. These will serve for us as an introduction. As is always the case when we begin a new book study, this first message will be a little different. This message serves to provide the background and theme of the book so that we can understand it rightly and handle it properly. 

The Bible cannot mean for us what it did not mean to the original author and audience. While the applications may change, the meaning does not change. So in order to understand the proper meaning intended by God, we must understand the background and purpose of the letter. So that is what we will attempt to do today. 

Whenever we finish a book, it is like saying goodbye to an old friend. We have spent almost seven months in 1 Timothy and today we bid it farewell. This epistle is a vital epistle for the church to understand. If we can understand this epistle, and obey it, we can avoid many of the challenges which split churches today. As we worked through the book, we learned that the church is the visible picture of Christ. As such the church is entrusted with the role of guarding and obeying the truth of Scripture. We observed this in … 

1 Timothy 3:15 – if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.

Our world today hates the concept of truth. We have arrived at a place in our post-modern world in which everyone can choose truth for themselves. Whatever makes life work for you can be your truth. There are only a couple of important caveats. First, love (at least the world’s concept of love) is the ultimate truth. The world’s concept of love trumps any truth claim you might make. Second, a religious statement of truth cannot be tolerated. And so, we live in an age of confusion. For, when everyone gets to determine their own truth, there is no truth. Yet, truth (real, dogmatic, unchanging, undeniable truth) does exist. God is truth. John 14:6 reveals to us that He is the truth. Not that he has the truth, but that he is the truth. Truth us bound up in his person and as such he is the determiner of truth. Second, God has revealed that truth to us in His Word (John 17:17). As a result, the church is charged with being the guardian of the truth. 

We have seen this reality over and over in the epistle. As Paul ends this letter to Timothy and the Ephesian church, he reminds them (and us) one last time to guard the faith from all that would destroy it. 

It is easy for many of us to skip over the text for today when we come to it in our bible reading because it is a text about wealth. Those who have wealth tend to overlook it because they don’t want to hear its message. The rest of us immediately think that this passage is not for us because we are not wealthy. However, those who have wealth need this message in order to understand God’s expectations of them. The rest of us need to recognize that we are actually wealthy. 

A recent study revealed that 71% of the world makes less than $10k per year. If you make more than 30k per year you are in the top 10% of the world. So, while you may not think so, this text is for you. We live in a day of unprecedented wealth. Most have some kind of discretionary spending. But with this blessing comes responsibility. It is vital that we understand what God’s expects of the wealthy. 

There is a storm on the horizon. There is a cultural (a spiritual) revolution occurring before our eyes which will bring trouble and trial to true believers. ... In the not to far distant future, this storm will arrive at our doorstep. And we will be called to stand. Society will seek to overwhelm us and force us to comply with their beliefs. The outer walls have been breeched and we have a decision to make. Will we stand or will we fall?

In the first century, the church at Ephesus faced a similar crossroads. Pagan society encroached into the church. The people were to busy obsessing over myths and foolish teaching to notice. Interpreting Scripture to fit their agenda. So Paul wrote this epistle to inform them and Timothy how to stand against the oncoming storm. As he closes the epistle, he gives Timothy and the church a command: Stand for the Truth. 

How do you know if that book, bible study, teacher or preacher, or website you are looking at is truly a good Christian thing? There are a lot of things that place themselves under the label of Christian. Out of curiosity I looked at what Amazon sells under the label of Christian books and got 80,000 results. 80,000 books all claiming to be good Christian teaching. Then we consider the thousands of Christian podcasts and tv shows. Needless to say, with this many options, I hope that you realize that all that labels itself as Christian is not indeed Christian. 

It is important to realize this because, as we saw a couple weeks ago, you are what you think. What you place into your soul is what you become. You will soon emulate and follow the kinds of teaching you consume. Therefore, it is vital that you fill your mind with good teaching. Further, with the vast number of resources available today, why would you waste your time with resources that are not excellent?

How can we judge between what is good teaching and what is not? How can we tell if that book, bible study, preacher, or website is good or bad? If we are honest, most of us simply judge the matter based on whether we like it or not. It makes us feel good, it aligns with our thinking, it is energetic and entertaining, therefore it must be good. Is this really the best way to determine whether something is good or bad? 

As Paul began 1 Timothy, he presented the characteristics of false teacher, teaching that we should avoid. 1 Timothy 1:3-7 – As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. 5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.

Now, as Paul finishes up 1 Timothy, he returns to this topic. From the foundation of the church, there has been a problem with bad teachers and teaching. As a result, Paul seeks to equip the church with the means to judge between good and false teaching. As we continued in 1 Timothy 6 last week, we observed that Paul presents for us the marks of false teachers. This week we will examine the marks of Godly men. We begin with the final phrase of verse 2.

There are a lot of things that place themselves under the label of Christian. Out of curiosity I looked at what Amazon sells under the label of Christian books and got 80,000 results. 80,000 books all claiming to be good Christian teaching. Then we consider the thousands of Christian podcasts and tv shows. Needless to say, with this many options, I hope that you realize that all that labels itself as Christian is not indeed Christian. 

It is important to realize this because, as we saw a couple weeks ago, you are what you think. What you place into your soul is what you become. You will soon emulate and follow the kinds of teaching you consume. Therefore, it is vital that you fill your mind with good teaching. Further, with the vast number of resources available today, why would you waste your time with resources that are not excellent?

How can we judge between what is good teaching and what is not? How can we tell if that book, bible study, preacher, or website is good or bad? If we are honest, most of us simply judge the matter based on whether we like it or not. It makes us feel good, it aligns with our thinking, it is energetic and entertaining, therefore it must be good. Is this really the best way to determine whether something is good or bad? 

As Paul began 1 Timothy, he presented the characteristics of false teacher, teaching that we should avoid. 1 Timothy 1:3-7 – As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. 5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.

Now, as Paul finishes up 1 Timothy, he returns to this topic. From the foundation of the church, there has been a problem with bad teachers and teaching. As a result, Paul seeks to equip the church with the means to judge between good and false teaching. As we continue in 1 Timothy 6, Paul presents for us the marks of false teachers and the marks of Godly men. We begin with the final phrase of verse 2.

What does Easter Sunday mean to you? Jelly Beans, Chocolate Bunnies, Easter Baskets, Breakfast with family, Easter dresses and suits? Of all the holidays we celebrate, this one is the most important. All of history centers on this weekend over 2000 years ago. For on this weekend, our sin was pardoned, our souls were redeemed, and lives were justified through the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ on the cross. 

But the glorious message of the cross is not just that Jesus died in our place. Rather, the glorious message of the cross is that Jesus conquered death though His glorious resurrection. This is the message of Easter. The most fantastic story, the most wonderous news. Jesus lives, and so will we! So for the next few minutes I want to spend some time together rehearsing this glorious news. ...

Ours is a society that does not place a high value on the work. In a day in which we are told there is record level unemployment, businesses are struggling to find those who are unemployed. In an NPR article last month, one business owner commented, “I keep hearing about all the unemployed people, I certainly can't find any of those folks.” As you drive through the county you will notice business after business hiring. Yet, no one seems to want to work. According to one recent survey, 70% of American workers do not like their jobs. Of those 70%, 90% said they did not feel like getting up in the morning to go to work. If the person could pay for their fun without work, then they would leave work tomorrow. 

Unfortunately Christians are no better. In many cases, we are worse. We view work as a result of the fall. We think that work is the result of sin and we long for heaven where we think we will live without work. However, as we examine Scripture, we learn that work is not the result of sin. In fact, God created us to work.

Genesis 2:15 – The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it

With this in mind then, we must begin to examine how we are to be different as Christians in our work. As Christians, how are we to view work. As Paul begins chapter 6 of 1 Timothy, he addresses this question.