Living as the Church in These Days

This Wednesday, March 27th, we will be starting a new midweek study in the book of First Timothy titled "Living As The Church In These Days." Paul wrote to Timothy to urge him on in his work as the pastor of the church in Ephesus. While the book is first and foremost a personal letter from pastor to pastor, it lays out very clear guidelines for what the whole church should look like and how the leaders in the church—her overseers and deacons—should steer the church in the direction of God's gracious will for them. As such, it is deeply applicable not only to me as a pastor, to our elders and deacon, but to our entire congregation.

The first century church of Ephesus found itself as an alien organism, newly planted and growing with God's grace in the midst of a perverse culture, a corrupt government, and, even more threatening, abundant false teachings with a religious veneer. Something else was consistently being planted alongside God's church. Like tares among wheat, the devil was sowing seeds of deception with a particular target in mind: the church. The world was already in his pocket. But how many of those who had made the good confession could he cause to swerve and wander from the faith? 

While centuries have come and gone since this letter was first written, the mission of the church has not changed nor has the variety of threats that come against her. Just as in Paul and Timothy's day, not all of those threats are pagan, licentious, debauched ones. Many false teachings gain some foothold within the faith only to cause some to swerve and wander (1 Tim 1:6; 6:21) and make shipwreck of it (1 Tim 1:19). "What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun” (Eccl 1:9).

Our day, just as the first century when Paul wrote and Timothy pastored, is filled with manifold problems, multiplied evil, and manifest false teachings parading around a form of morality and religion that ultimately denies "the gospel of the glory of the blessed God” (1 Tim 1:11). As your pastor, I have many privileges and duties; I have many joys because I see the work of God made evident in you. But I also carry many burdens for you and for the church in general because this gospel is assaulted on all fronts. It is your duty and privilege as "the church of the living God" to be "a pillar and buttress of the truth” (1 Tim 3:15). And it is my joy to help you be equipped for such an honorable and God-glorifying life.

As I prayerfully considered where to take our midweek study next, I was in one sense overwhelmed with the unending list of things to positively teach on and the many errors of false teaching alive and well today to address. I, just like all of you, need the timeless truth of God's word, directed toward his church, to dictate the focus of our time and the energy we expel in our work. We need the clear path that God has laid down to guide us for how we, as a church, should live in these days. Paul's first letter to Timothy touches on so many subjects—all of them as relevant to us today as they were two millennia ago—that it is a natural fit to teach for this season of life in our church. We will take an expositional-thematic look at this letter, exploring topics such as sound doctrine as opposed to false doctrine and the role of consistent faithful teaching of God's word in the life of the church; the warfare we are actually waging; church leadership; male and female roles in the church; the centrality of prayer; the need for church accountability to preserve its purity; the seditious allure of riches and power; the care of widows; the church's relationship to government; and more.

I am eagerly anticipating our time in this treasure chest of God's word that gives us clear direction on how we should live as Christ's church in days like these. I gain great amounts of peace and rest in the positive instructions that are given: the focus upon "the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness” (1 Tim 6:3) as well as a rallying cry of courage to stand against all forms of evil that oppose Christ's message. Many of these messages come into the church as Trojan Horses. Deception is often well-camouflaged. May this letter steer our church in a united effort to pursue Christ; to better know his word; to focus on his desires for his church; and to fend off all manners of false teaching, both obvious ones, and, more importantly, the Trojan Horses we would gladly invite in only to find out all too late that we had been duped.

My desire for this study is that Paul's own purpose in writing First Timothy will be the prize that we come away with, that we "may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth” (1 Tim 3:15).

As the title of the class suggests, we will be exploring the depth of this pastoral epistle in its context as we seek to apply it to the day in which we live. Some may say that our day is unprecedented, the crises we face are unparalleled, and the encroachment of evil unheard-of. I will be reminding us that there is nothing new under the sun and that God has given us a clear path to follow—one well-trod by saints who have lived and died in similar circumstances, facing great challenges and all the human reasons to be afraid or overwhelmed, assaulted on all fronts by satanic trickery. By God's grace, they were supernaturally supplied with all of the wisdom of his word in order to live well for Christ in days like our own. We too at Living Hope Fellowship, can have great confidence as a church that we are fleeing false things as we "[p]ursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness” (1 Tim 6:11).

In the coming weeks, will you please join me on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 as we grow together in our joint confession of Christ?

"Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:
He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory."
1 Timothy 3:16