Ben Smith: All for the Kingdom

As Paul writes these opening words of this final letter to the young pastor Timothy, he is not writing as a failure, in defeat, or even depressed by his circumstances. Paul writes with expectation and authority, knowing that his life is not his own and the kingdom of God is not dependent on his circumstances. This is not an effort to put a positive spin on a bad situation. This is Paul writing and living according to God's perspective, not man's. To live faithfully and obediently to the Lord, you must live according to God's perspective, not man's.

In these final two verses, Paul gives two commands and a closing blessing of grace. Guard the truth entrusted to you and turn away from anything and everything that distracts you from faithful obedience.

What does it mean to be rich? The meaning of being rich is a complicated question. Though you may be rich compared to others, you may struggle to pay your bills. You may have a high income but great debt. 1 Timothy 6:2-10 instructs Christians who are poor how to live and relate to wealth. In verses 17-19, the Bible instructs wealthy Christians how to use their wealth for God's glory. In this passage, the rich are those whose wealth is such that they are not concerned with their basic needs and can afford comforts and pleasure beyond basic needs. Christians with earthly riches are warned not to put any hope in their riches but to hope in God alone, trust in God's provisions, and use what they have for God's glory.

In the concluding words of 1 Timothy, Paul addresses Timothy as a man of God. From this passage, the Bible commands Christians to be set apart for God and called to faithful obedience because God is worthy of all the glory and honor.

Does the pursuit of worldly gain drive you, or are you driven by growing in godliness? This passage does not teach that Christians cannot have wealth or do well in this world. The issue at the heart of this passage is what drives your heart, what motivates your life, and what you see as the greatest value. Those captured and controlled by worldly things will be driven and motivated by worldly gain, but those who are servants of Christ will be driven and motivated by godly gain.

You might expect the cost of receiving the gift of atonement provided by the eternal Son of God to be high and costly. You might expect the requirements for exchanging your sin for the righteousness of Christ and being made heirs with Christ, adopted as children of God, to be complicated and difficult to achieve. However, in simple language, the Bible declares that to be saved from your sin requires the confession of Jesus as Lord and the belief that God raised him from the dead.

The most offensive thing is to dispute someone's definition of what is good. The greatest of these offenses is rejecting what someone claims makes them good. What is so offensive about Jesus is not that he died but that he had to die for your sins. The world is happy to receive him as a dying martyr, but a savior dying to atone for your sins requiring believing faith, the world finds offensive. The crowd wanted a warrior king, but Jesus was the suffering servant who came to die for man's sins (Isaiah 53). The crowd wanted someone to affirm and support their cause, but Jesu s called sinners to repent of their sins and believe in faith on him. Jesus, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29), is also a stumbling stone and offensive to all who remain in their sin.

1 Timothy 6:1-2 is not an endorsement of slavery, but it is an acknowledgment that slavery was part of the societal reality in which the church in Ephesus lived. Recognizing these realities, Paul instructs the church to live according to who they are in Christ, even in the brokenness of this world. In these verses, the Bible instructs Christians on how to labor for unbelieving masters and for masters who are fellow brothers in Christ.

Having instructed the church to honor, with financial support, widows who were worthy of such honor and had no other source of support, Paul now instructs the church on its proper relationship with Elders. Like with the instructions concerning widows, the church is commanded to honor elders with financial support. However, more than just instructions on elder remuneration, this text teaches the church what it should honor, its responsibility to protect its elders, and a warning to be wise in choosing future elders.

The reality of living in a sin-filled fallen world is that you often treasure what is not worthy of honor while neglecting to honor what is a true treasure. 1 Timothy 5:3-16 commands the church to honor widows in the church who are without any means of support and who have lived a testimony of faithful devotion to the Lord and the church's work. As Paul gives instructions for this support, we learn the responsibility of the household of God to honor members in need, the reason for this honor, and some practical truths about family, devotion to the church, and the God-honoring labor of raising children.

In recent years, there has been a noticeable growth in the use of the word "family" in reference to co-workers, teammates, professional associations, and hobby groups. The rise of applying the concept of family to corporate culture has grown so common that there is now a growing awareness of the problems this creates and significant pushback. In the context of the overuse of "family" applied to none-family connections and the corrective pushback, we come to 1 Timothy 5, where Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, instructs Timothy to labor as an overseer among the church not as a dictator, ruler, or boss but as a son and brother. While applying the family relationship to your school, work, or hobby connections may be unwise, the Bible commands that Christians should apply it to fellow church members. Recognizing the members of the church as family testifies that the church is more than a disconnected group with no responsibilities to one another but that through saving faith and mutual submission to Christ and one another, the members of the church are related and connected to one another.

The instructions of 1 Timothy 4 are addressed to Timothy and his church pastoral leadership. At first reading, it may seem that verses 6-16 relate only to overseers' leadership, preaching, and teaching ministry of the church. Though these instructions are addressed to the overseer, they relate to the whole church in understanding proper biblical training, personal holiness, and the church's public worship. These instructions to the overseer help the church understand what should be honored and celebrated in the leadership of the overseer, the importance of personal holiness, and what should be honored in their public assemblies.

God inspired Paul to warn the church of demonic spirits that are working to deceive and lead some away from the faith. This danger remains a clear and present danger to the church today. Paul identifies the threat and then instructs the church to recognize and defeat these lies.

The sad reality of the present-day church culture is the lost understanding of the church's witness to God's truth and the hope of the gospel. Every faithful church and every church member should be living witness in their community to the truth of God and the hope of the gospel. This is the heart behind Paul's instructions in 1 Timothy 3:14-16. This passage teaches who has authority over the church, its purpose, and its message.

It is no secret that the office of deacon in many Baptist churches is not rightly ordered. Because this office, in living memory, has functioned according to practical conventions rather than biblical directives, many people have antidotal stories that illustrate the dysfunction that this has produced. Though these stories are part of our experience, they are not helpful to us today, and I have chosen to give them little attention. Rather, I think it best to give my attention to preaching a biblical understanding of this office. A disordered church and church leadership create dysfunction. Dysfunction creates dissatisfaction with and confusion over the purpose of biblical offices. There are three common responses to such dissatisfaction and confusion. 1. Reject and disband the office entirely. 2. Limit or remove the authority and responsibility from the office. 3. Create new positions according to human wisdom and practical solutions to perform the tasks formally assigned to deacons. The disorder of the deacon's office resulted from the practical taking precedence over the biblical. These responses continue in this trajectory by attempting to correct the issue with practical and secular solutions. The only faithful response to disorder in the church is to return to faithful obedience to a biblical order. This includes the biblically assigned responsibilities, tasks, and authorities of the offices of the church. In verses 8-13, Paul gives the qualifications for deacons. From this passage, I want you to gain a biblical understanding of the office, the qualifications for it, and the honor of it.

The sanctity of life for Christians is not a political issue. The sanctity of life for Christians is a convictional issue that before the Lord, every human life is made by God and holy before God. Psalm 139 is a psalm of David and a powerful word on the omnipresence of God. Verses 13-16 come in response to David marveling that God knows everything about him. Building on this, David declares that every human life is the glorious masterpiece of God, known by God, and the intentional work of God.

*** The original audio of this podcast episode had an error. I have corrected the file, but because many podcast apps do not download the file again when updated, I have released this “special episode” so that you will not miss this sermon from Psalm 11. This is a Psalm of David, but it is unknown what situation he is writing about. From the first two verses, we learn that he is being threatened by evil persons and has received the counsel to flee for safety. However, in the situation that was the occasion of this psalm, David was led by the Lord not to flee from whatever was threatening his life. He trusted his life and well-being to the provision of God. Psalm 11 is not about David’s bravery, wisdom, or tenacity but about who God is. The division of the psalm is in two parts. It begins with a statement and question, followed by a testimony of who God is. The first part is a declaration of faith: “In the Lord, I take my refuge (vs. 1).” The evidence of this faith is that David rejects the suggestion that he should flee like a bird. The second part is verses 4-7, which testify that God is holy, actively working, and eternally righteous.

This is a Psalm of David, but it is unknown what situation he is writing about. From the first two verses, we learn that he is being threatened by evil persons and has received the counsel to flee for safety. However, in the situation that was the occasion of this psalm, David was led by the Lord not to flee from whatever was threatening his life. He trusted his life and well-being to the provision of God. Psalm 11 is not about David’s bravery, wisdom, or tenacity but about who God is. The division of the psalm is in two parts. It begins with a statement and question, followed by a testimony of who God is. The first part is a declaration of faith: “In the Lord, I take my refuge (vs. 1).” The evidence of this faith is that David rejects the suggestion that he should flee like a bird. The second part is verses 4-7, which testify that God is holy, actively working, and eternally righteous.

This world is corrupted and filled with wickedness. Psalm 10 addresses the wickedness of this world and the destruction that such evil brings, particularly to the weak and vulnerable. However, you must be careful not to assume that the wickedness exposed in Psalm 10 applies to someone else. This psalm does not confront the classical atheism of those who openly reject the existence of God but functional atheism of living as though there is no God. The psalm calls believers not to settle for the things of this world but to long for the kingdom to come when the king who is king forever will fully reign. And while there is an opportunity, it beckons all to bow the knee, confess Jesus as Lord, and surrender yourself to the king who is king forever.

I hope you and your family had a blessed Christmas celebration and a happy new year. Podcast episodes post a week and a half after the date I preach the sermon. Usually, for podcast listeners, this makes little difference. However, during special occasions like Christmas, it is more obvious that the podcast episodes are behind. I had the opportunity to hear a fellow pastor in our community preach, and I was out of the pulpit for a Sunday, so I do not have a current sermon for the podcast this week. So, I have pulled one from the archives for today's podcast. In 2020, I preached through the book of James. Originally preached on August 2, 2020, this is the third sermon I preached from James. The sermon is titled Be Doers of the Word, and it is from James 1:19-27. This simple command – be doers of the word and not hears only – is a much more difficult command to obey and a much more costly truth than you may realize. Many believers have the desire to live out the word in their lives. However, desire is not a guarantee of doing. James teaches that constant, conscious, and conspicuous efforts must be made to demonstrate that your faith is more than a facade and is what is true of who you are.