The Church: Serving Jesus Christ

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Scripture Text:  1 Timothy 4:1-16

1 Timothy 4:7

⁷ Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness;

(ESV)

Deceit and demonic teaching are nothing new for it was the deceit of the serpent that led to the eviction of humanity from God’s presence (Genesis 3).  In 1 Timothy 4:1-2, the Apostle Paul warns Timothy that in the later days there will be a falling away by some, like Eve, enticed to follow deceit, false, and even demonic, teaching.  However, the false teaching of this text does not appear to be total Satan worship but instead a subtle straying from the Gospel of grace into a gospel of legalism forbidding marriage and eating of certain foods (1 Timothy 4:3).  This totally goes against the message from God given to Peter in his vision in Acts 10: 9-16 where God declares all food good.  The forbidding of marriage may have come from Paul’s desire that people remain single as he did so they could devote themselves more to the study of scripture (1 Corinthians 7:6-9).  However, this is not a command forbidding marriage for Paul begins by stating this is a concession, not a command and that one should marry if they cannot exercise self-control over sexual urges.  The only way to prevent falling for these or other deceitful teachings is to devote oneself to serving Jesus Christ and the study of the Bible. 

When our focus moves from self to serving Jesus Christ, we begin to have a desire to serve others.  Young Timothy must have had a heart of service with Paul directing him to serve those he ministered to by presenting the truth of sound doctrine (1 Timothy 4:6).  Living and teaching sound doctrine involves,

1)      Rejecting false teaching (1 Timothy 4:7) – The culture in which Timothy would be ministering was a culture where Greek mythology was prevalent.  Paul was concerned that Timothy would reach out to the community in Ephesus by accepting portions of their mythology.  Not wanting his mentee to succumb to this temptation, Paul instructs him to have nothing to do with these irreverent myths.  While Greek mythology is not the prevalent belief in our modern culture, the church still must resist the temptation to water down the message of the Gospel in the interest of political correctness and adhere to sound doctrine. 

2)      Biblical training through practicing spiritual disciplines (1 Timothy 4:7-8) – Just as one develops a strong physical body through physical training and exercise, one develops a strong spiritual body through practicing spiritual disciplines.  The book “Celebration of Discipline” by Richard Foster is a great book to assist in practicing spiritual disciplines and a must read for anyone desiring a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. 

3)      Working with Godly hope of the reward to come (1 Timothy 4:9-10) – The prosperity gospel that preaches we can enjoy heaven on earth actually robs the children of God of the hope of an eternal reward of eternity with God in heaven.  This past week my pastor said something interesting as we were studying Psalm 23:6.  For those that know Christ, life on earth is the closest to hell they will get but for those that do now know Christ, life on earth is the closest to heaven they will get.  As we serve Christ we must remember to do so with the hope of eternity with Christ and the goal of pointing others to that hope. 

4)      Being an example of Godliness in what we say and how we live (1 Timothy 4:11-12) – Like it or not when we profess our faith in Jesus as our savior, others watch us.  While we are human and will sometimes fail to live in a godly manner, our goal must always be to live according to the Word of God.  Therefore, our example of Godliness is not going to be one of perfection but instead an example of one loving God and thankful for God’s grace in their lives. 

5)      Serve using our God-given gifts (1 Timothy 4:13-14) – 1 Corinthians 12 speaks of spiritual gifts that empower each follower of Jesus Christ to serve the Body of Christ.  Just like the human body, which consists of many diverse parts, the Body of Christ consists of a diverse collection of individuals with varying talents and abilities.  The key to one serving Christ is to find their dominant gift and serve using that Gift.  In this way, we prevent ourselves from becoming like the man who buried his talent in the ground and instead serves using our talents for Christ, so they multiply. 

6)      Having accountability to biblical truth (1 Timothy 4:15-16) – Even though the commitment of Christians is to follow Biblical truth, we are human and can stray from the truth.  Knowing this we see Paul’s final instruction to Timothy on being a good servant of Christ includes keeping a close watch on himself and his teaching.  We all need someone to hold us accountable who will honestly tell us when our life, what we say, or what we teach if in ministry strays from Biblical truth.  We all stray like sheep and why the good Shepherd had to lay down His life to save us (Isaiah 53:5-6). 

I encourage all reading this to pursue the truth of God’s word and live according to its truth.  Christians must reject false teaching, practice spiritual disciplines to learn the truth and serve with the expectation of eternity with God.  While on earth Christians have a calling and mission to share the truth of the Gospel and make disciples (Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19-20).  I encourage believers to also have someone they are accountable to, ensuring they remain committed to Biblical truth.  May God bless everyone reading this post.