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The Aim of Our Charge Is Love
We’re in a fight. Like it or not, Christians find themselves in a world that is hostile to biblical truth claims and the living out of these claims. Truth, once deemed to be relative and then unknowable, is now subject to the whims of the moment, the individual, the loudest voice, or circumstances and even showing itself to be comfortable with contradiction. Some institutions, seminaries, and churches have succumbed to the philosophy of the day and allowed the gospel to be distorted, producing “Christians” who do not believe what the Scriptures, in fact, teach. This is the fight in which we find ourselves. A fight for the truth in a world of distortions and distractions. What the Church faces today is not unique in history. The Apostle Paul wrote a letter to his young pastoral protégé saying, “Fight the good fight of the faith.” It is a charge to stand up for what a Christian must believe and how he or she must live out their faith, devoted to the gospel truth in a world of distractions. This spring and summer at Harvest, we will be working verse by verse through this critical letter to learn how to engage in “the good fight.”
Series: The Good Fight (1 Timothy)
Todd Dugard
Message: 1 – The aim of our charge is love
Harvest Bible Chapel
Text: 1 Timothy 1:1-7
March 2, 2025
Revelation 21:27
When the God-given aim is to love (1:5a)…
…I will recognize all threats to the gospel (1:3-4a, 6-7)
Orthodoxy – believing established doctrine; adhering to original belief. Heterodoxy – contrary to or different from an acknowledged standard, a traditional form, or an established religion; holding unorthodox opinions or doctrines.
Miriam-Webster
Acts 20: 29-31a
"Different Doctrine"
o The all-paths-lead-to-God gospel;
o The prosperity gospel;
o The affirming (love and accept everyone) gospel;
o The me-centred gospel;
o The checkmark-Christianity gospel;
o The theological-fathead gospel;
o The peace-at-all-costs gospel;
o The gospel-lite gospel.
…step up to my stewardship of it (1:4b)
Love without truth is sentimentality; it supports and affirms us but keeps us in denial about our flaws. Truth without love is harshness; it gives us information but in such a way that we cannot really hear it. God's saving love in Christ, however, is marked by both radical truthfulness about who we are and yet also radical, unconditional commitment to us.
Timothy Keller, The Meaning of Marriage
John 8:32
John 14:6
1 John 4:8
John 14:6
When Christians say, “God is love”, they don’t then conclude that “everything is lovely”. It’s not. But the God of love makes sense of our outrage at everything that is unlovely. He gives us the right to call a bad world “bad”.
Glen Scrivener, 3 2 1: The Story of God, the World and You
…and live it out
Not everything that is called love is really love.
William Hendriksen
…with a heart for Christ (1:5b)
Philippians 3:7-9a
…a clear conscience (1:5c)
…and an unshakable confidence in what it says (1:5d)
When the God-given aim is to love, I will recognize all threats to the gospel, step up to my stewardship of it, and live it out with a heart for Christ, a clear conscience, and an unshakable confidence in what it says.
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By Harvest Bible ChapelWe’re in a fight. Like it or not, Christians find themselves in a world that is hostile to biblical truth claims and the living out of these claims. Truth, once deemed to be relative and then unknowable, is now subject to the whims of the moment, the individual, the loudest voice, or circumstances and even showing itself to be comfortable with contradiction. Some institutions, seminaries, and churches have succumbed to the philosophy of the day and allowed the gospel to be distorted, producing “Christians” who do not believe what the Scriptures, in fact, teach. This is the fight in which we find ourselves. A fight for the truth in a world of distortions and distractions. What the Church faces today is not unique in history. The Apostle Paul wrote a letter to his young pastoral protégé saying, “Fight the good fight of the faith.” It is a charge to stand up for what a Christian must believe and how he or she must live out their faith, devoted to the gospel truth in a world of distractions. This spring and summer at Harvest, we will be working verse by verse through this critical letter to learn how to engage in “the good fight.”
Series: The Good Fight (1 Timothy)
Todd Dugard
Message: 1 – The aim of our charge is love
Harvest Bible Chapel
Text: 1 Timothy 1:1-7
March 2, 2025
Revelation 21:27
When the God-given aim is to love (1:5a)…
…I will recognize all threats to the gospel (1:3-4a, 6-7)
Orthodoxy – believing established doctrine; adhering to original belief. Heterodoxy – contrary to or different from an acknowledged standard, a traditional form, or an established religion; holding unorthodox opinions or doctrines.
Miriam-Webster
Acts 20: 29-31a
"Different Doctrine"
o The all-paths-lead-to-God gospel;
o The prosperity gospel;
o The affirming (love and accept everyone) gospel;
o The me-centred gospel;
o The checkmark-Christianity gospel;
o The theological-fathead gospel;
o The peace-at-all-costs gospel;
o The gospel-lite gospel.
…step up to my stewardship of it (1:4b)
Love without truth is sentimentality; it supports and affirms us but keeps us in denial about our flaws. Truth without love is harshness; it gives us information but in such a way that we cannot really hear it. God's saving love in Christ, however, is marked by both radical truthfulness about who we are and yet also radical, unconditional commitment to us.
Timothy Keller, The Meaning of Marriage
John 8:32
John 14:6
1 John 4:8
John 14:6
When Christians say, “God is love”, they don’t then conclude that “everything is lovely”. It’s not. But the God of love makes sense of our outrage at everything that is unlovely. He gives us the right to call a bad world “bad”.
Glen Scrivener, 3 2 1: The Story of God, the World and You
…and live it out
Not everything that is called love is really love.
William Hendriksen
…with a heart for Christ (1:5b)
Philippians 3:7-9a
…a clear conscience (1:5c)
…and an unshakable confidence in what it says (1:5d)
When the God-given aim is to love, I will recognize all threats to the gospel, step up to my stewardship of it, and live it out with a heart for Christ, a clear conscience, and an unshakable confidence in what it says.