1Tim 1:5-11
God, Why?
10/28/2015 Wed.
We started this book last week and noted several things about it.
1. It is a Pastoral Epistle, meaning that it was written from
Paul to a pastor, Timothy. (Don’t let that keep you from
book. All Christians are to know what God expects of pastors
and hold them accountable.)
2. Paul told Timothy not to waste time preaching…
a. \\#3\\ "other doctrine" - new or different doctrines.
b. \\#4\\ "fables"
c. "endless genealogies" which do not edify
3. \\#6\\ He called those who did "vain janglers." They talk
a lot but they say nothing. They…
a. …had "swerved" out of the true way onto another path.
b. \\#7\\ … desired to be teachers of the law but did not
understand it.
With that though, Paul will explain some of God’s reasoning. Many
have wanted to know why God did one thing or another. Most of the
time, those kind of questions never get answered; but Paul will
give three answers to what why God did what God did.
I. \\#1:8-11\\ Why did God give the Law? or "what is the purpose of
the Law?"
A. This is a good question especially since Christians do not
keep the rites, rituals, customs, ceremonies, or cleansings
of the Law.
1. This was a new truth that was revealed through the church.
2. We need to understand that Christians and Jews have had a
different relationship to the Law.
a. For the Jews, the Law WAS their religious, civil, and
political law.
(1) It was their Bible, constitution, and law books
all rolled into one.
(2) It governed every aspect of their life including
what a crime was, what the punishment was to be,
what they could eat, wear, what holidays they
celebrated, and more.
b. When the church was born and Gentiles started coming
to Christ, the church had to find out what God wanted
the Law to be for the church.
3. God revealed that the church was NOT to be governed by
the Law the way the Jews had been.
a. First revealed to Peter.
Acts 10:11 And saw heaven opened, and a certain
vessel descending unto him, as it had been a
great sheet knit at the four corners, and let
down to the earth:
12 Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts
of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping
things, and fowls of the air.
13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter;
kill, and eat.
14 But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have
never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.
15 And the voice spake unto him again the second
time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou
common.
16 This was done thrice: and the vessel was
received up again into heaven.
b. Through James.
Acts 15:19 Wherefore my sentence is, that we
trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles
are turned to God:
20 But that we write unto them, that they
abstain from pollutions of idols, and from
fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
c. And through Paul.
Col 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat,
or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of
the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but
the body is of Christ.
4. That determination did not change what right and wrong
were; but it did remove the church from keeping all the
commands of the Law.
5. So, what is the purpose of the Law for the church and
Christian?
B. For the Christian, the law’s purpose is two-fold:
1. It is a teacher.
a. It teaches us moral law; that is, what right and wrong
are.
b. It teaches what sin is.
Romans 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law
sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but
by the law: for I had not known lust, except
the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
c. This is how I know that adultery, fornication, lying,
stealing, blasphemy and so many other things are
wrong.
d. In essence, the Law became our teacher.
Ga 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster
to bring us unto Christ, that we might be
justified by faith.
e. This is what our nation’s founding fathers understood
and they set America’s laws up on the foundation of
Biblical law—not with mandated religion or even
Biblical punishments—but with Biblical morals.
(1) Mankind does NOT have the right to determine
moral law. God did not give that right to him.
(2) Someone asks, "Don’t I have the right to be
happy?" Answer - Not if it involves sin.
2. It is a rebuker.
a. The Law rebukes those who break it.
(1) The Bible rebukes those who break God’s moral
laws.
(a) The Law has no problem defining right and
wrong.
(b) The Law has no problem telling someone who
breaks it that he has sinned.
(c) The Law has no problem telling a sinner what
his punishment will be. It is always the
same — death.
(2) People hate that rebuke so they hate the Bible
and the people who won’t let the Bible fade out
of existence (Christians).
b. \\#9-10\\ The Law’s rebuke is why Paul said the law
was written for those who break the law.
(1) In truth, the law has no power over those who do
not break it.
(2) Example - A police officer has no authority over
to arrest or even to stop and question someone
who is not breaking the law.
II. \\#1:12-17\\ Why did God show Paul so much mercy? or "what was
God’s purpose in Paul’s life?"
A. \\#12-13\\ Paul never got over the fact that God had showed
him great mercy, especially considering the fact that Paul
had dealt out so much pain and suffering to others.
1. All of us our sinners and have been shown great mercy.
2. However, Paul was blasphemer and a persecutor of the
church!
3. Why would God take such a man, convert him, and then make
him the preacher to do the gospel to Gentiles?
4. That was probably a question that those who had been hurt
by Paul asked often—especially those who family members
died from Paul’s cruelty.
B. \\#14\\ God also showed him great grace.
1. Mercy is for salvation.
2. Grace is for service.
3. Mercy is God holding back what we deserve. Grace is God
working in and through our lives to accomplish His will.
4. God had showed both of these gifts to Paul in abundance.
C. So why did God show Paul such mercy?
1. God did it because He can and does. That is just who
God is and what God does!
a. That is just what a loving, good, gracious God does!
b. Look how God worked to save Paul, change Paul,
empower Paul, equip Paul, and keep Paul going in the
ministry.
c. But Paul learned that God had another reason for
showing him such abundant mercy.
2. \\#16\\ So that God could show the rest of the believers
how to suffer for a long periods.
a. Paul said he was the pattern or the example. Of what?
b. Of longsuffering.
(1) That is two of our English words.
(2) Suffering which means to endure pain.
(3) Long which means to endure pain for a long time.
c. So God made Paul the pattern of how we are to suffer
for a long period.
d. To whom did God make Paul this pattern? "to them
which should hereafter believe on him to life
everlasting."
3. So Paul was to suffer and be an example of how to suffer
well! Did he?
a. Paul was rejected by the very groups he once belonged
to - Pharisees and the religious.
b. Paul was rejected by his own nation - the Jews.
c. Paul was rejected by most of the people he ministered
to - Most cities and individuals rejected Paul, many
of them beating and imprisoning him.
d. Paul was rejected by some he won - Some of the very
people who came to know Christ through Paul rejected
him as not being an apostle and being too hard.
e. During his ministry, he was beaten, stoned,
shipwrecked, flogged; left hungry, naked, and cold.
f. He said of his own body:
Ga 6:17 From henceforth let no man trouble me:
for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord
Jesus.
4. Yet, through all of that and so much more, Paul counted it
an honor to suffer for Jesus his Christ!
2Co 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is
sufficient for thee: for my strength is made
perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will
I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power
of Christ may rest upon me.
5. Friend, that is how suffering is done!
III. \\#1:18-20\\ Why did God give this charge to Timothy or "what is
the purpose of this epistle?"
A. God wanted Timothy to stay faithful.
1. He did not want Timothy to shipwreck like Hymenaeus and
Alexander had done.
2. Who are Hymenaeus and Alexander?
3. We don’t know for certain but Alexander could have been
the Alexander of Ephesus.
Ac 19:33 And they drew Alexander out of the
multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And
Alexander beckoned with the hand, and would
have made his defense unto the people.
a. Of course, we can’t know for certain for more than one
person was named Alexander.
b. However, it seems likely that this Alexander being
spoken of was a coppersmith who turned against Paul.
2Ti 4:14 Alexander the coppersmith did me
much evil: the Lord reward him according
to his works:
4. Concerning Hymenaeus, we know that he also turned from the
truth.
1Tim 2:16 But shun profane and vain babblings:
for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
17 And their word will eat as doth a canker:
of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;
B. The thing is that these two young men started off just like
Mark, Titus, and Timothy.
1. No human knows who in their church or company will
complete their race faithfully to the end. All we can
do is make certain we do!
2. Paul was writing this letter to encourage Timothy to do
just that.
3. By the way, that is another reason why we are studying it!
4. As we find out what God expects from the preachers, we
find out what God expects of us all!
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