After reminding Timothy of the need to hold on to faith and a good conscience and so avoid making a shipwreck of his faith, in 1 Timothy 2:1-4, Paul outlined what needed to be done in Ephesus to put the church back ‘on the rails’. First in terms of priority was prayer. This should not surprise us. The Scriptures encourage us toward prayer as the means by which God acts in the world. The Bible has many examples of men who prayed and of God’s many answers. In particular, Timothy was to pray for all in positions of authority. It would not have been easy living under Roman rule and the Caesars were not tolerant of Christians, but prayer like this would be vital. Such prayer pleases God and brings to mind that His will is that all kinds of people – high and low – those in the public eye and those who are not – come to know of His saving grace in Jesus.
Sermons
‘Timothy! Watch out to avoid shipwreck!’ (1 Timothy 1:18-20)
After Paul had shared with Timothy something of the nature of the task he had sent him to complete in Ephesus and something of his testimony about the grace of God, in 1 Timothy 1:18-20, Paul sought to reinforce something of the importance of the task that Timothy had before him. To prove faithful, Timothy would need to faithfully disharge his own commission which Paul had given him and the prophecies that had been made concerning him. Timothy would also need to hang on to faith and keeping a good conscience, as well as avoiding the mistakes of others like Hymenaeus and Alexander who had made a ‘shipwreck’ of their faith. The Titanic was laid low by icebergs that were unseen. Timothy should watch out for them both large and small, as must God’s people in every generation. There are many ‘icebergs’ of many kinds that will seek to trip up even the most wary.
‘Timothy! Here’s a good summary of the gospel!’ (1 Timothy 1:15-17)
After the Apostle Paul had given the young pastor, Timothy, a brief summary of his conversion and how it did not come about through law but because of grace, Paul added a brief summary of the gospel message he proclaimed in 1 Timothy 1:15-17. In these verses are the first of 5 ‘trustworthy sayings’ that are found in Paul’s letters to Timothy and to Titus. In this trustworthy saying, Paul outlined the ‘gospel in miniature’ by saying, ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst’. These verses add to the weight of Paul’s own testimony, that his salvation was all of grace, freely given to the most undeserving of his time. The result of it all is the grand doxology of verse 17. When grace changes the human heart, the result will be praise to the One who saves completely all those who come to Him (Jesus).
‘Timothy! Here’s my testimony. It’s all of grace!’ (1 Timothy 1:12-14)
After the Apostle Paul had urged the young pastor, Timothy, to stay in Ephesus and straighten out the church there that was being led astray by false teaching, in 1 Timothy 1:12-14, Paul referred to himself as ‘Exhibit A’ in relation to those who were using the Law of God the wrong way. Paul had once considered himself righteous by his own (mis)understanding of what the Law taught. As a result he became a violent persecutor and hater of Christians. However, after he met the risen Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus in Acts 9, Paul was transformed. Grace was given to him by God. Not only did he come to know the forgiveness of his sins but he also knew of the calling of God upon his life to serve the One who had hated and persecuted. Paul’s testimony was all of grace and stands to remind us that God forgives and receives even the ‘worst’ of sinners.
‘Timothy! Here’s the need, the plan and the goal’ (1 Timothy 1:1-11)
When the Apostle Paul wrote letters he did so for good reasons and his first letter to Timothy is no exception to that rule. Timothy had been sent by Paul to pastor and teach the believers at Ephesus in the first century AD. The church had been torn apart by an influx of false teachers who were leading many astray from the truth of the gospel, so Paul sent Timothy there to bring it back onto the straight and narrow. As this is a personal letter from Paul to Timothy, it would be easy for us to set it aside as irrelevant to modern needs, but nothing much has changed since those days. The need remains for sound teaching that will bring a church back to health, and this sound teaching must and will show itself in the fruit and the grace of love. God’s people are to be a people who love the truth while also known by their love.
‘There’s work to do before Jesus returns’ (2 Thessalonians 3:6-18)
Waiting is hard. You only have to look at husbands waiting for their wives outside the shops! Some of the believers at Thessalonica were also having trouble waiting for Jesus to return as he promised. In 2 Thessalonians 3:6-18 we find that some of them had adopted a passive attitude to the extent that they no longer worked with their hands and were relying on the generosity of others to live. Paul would have none of this. He urged the believers at Thessalonica to live with a sense of the balance, purpose and discipline. The fact that Jesus is coming does not give us an excuse to put our feet up but instead get busy with the work of the gospel.
‘These things must be done until Jesus returns’ (2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5)
After Paul had told the believers at Thessalonica to beware of the rise of the Antichrist and the rise in the spread of error in the last days, in 2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5, he then urged them to continue to believe the gospel that he and the other apostles had taught. In believing this truth, the Thessalonians were also urged to not move away from the truth but to hold firm to it, to live it out in their daily experience and also to pray for the spread of the gospel throughout the world. Instead of retreating into their shell, the believers were to be active in letting the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ be known.
‘This man must come before Jesus returns’ (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12)
Though persecution from the enemies of the gospel had come against the Thessalonians with little negative effect apart from causing their faith to grow stronger, a greater danger that faced these believers was some false teaching concerning the second coming of Jesus. In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 we find that this teaching stated that the return of Jesus had already taken place and the Thessalonians had missed it. To allay their fears and to remind these believers of what he had taught them, Paul then reminded his readers of the facts concerning the appearance of the ‘man of lawlessness’ (Antichrist) before the day of the Lord’s return. Much has been written about the identity of this man, but the Bible is far more concerned with our need to remain faithful to the Lord rather than wasting time speculating on identity.
‘It will all be different when Jesus returns’ (2 Thessalonians 1:1-12)
In Paul’s second letter to the believers at Thessalonica, the apostle has much to say about the return of Jesus. Not times and dates, which most people are concerned with, but how to live in the light of his return. In 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12, Paul commended the Thessalonians who had endured some bitter persecution from the enemies of the gospel. This persecution had only enhanced and intensified their faith in God, their love for each other and their hope in the return of Jesus. Paul also explained that while believers can look forward to the great Day of the Lord, that the return of Jesus will not be a great event for all. Those who refuse to bow the knee to Jesus will only face Him as Judge and not Saviour and the consequences of this will be played out for all eternity. It is vital to respond to Jesus and the gospel now before that glorious but terrible Day comes.
‘What does the virgin birth of Jesus have to do with you?’ (Luke 1:1-4, 26-38)
There’s no denying that Jesus born in Bethlehem has had a great impact upon the world. There is no-one like him nor has there ever been. So many things set Jesus apart from ordinary human beings, even aspects surrounding His birth. The gospel writer, Luke, set out to establish these things as fact and tells in Luke 1:26-38 that Jesus was born of a virgin. The virgin conception of Jesus has long been hotly disputed, but is so vital to so many aspects of the Christian faith which stands of falls on the test of truth. If it is true, then it is one of the most amazing events ever to happen and should cause us to view Jesus in a totally different light.