“This is not your father’s church.” “High powered” worship. “High energy” worship. “Cutting edge ministry.” “Contemporary,” “relevant,” “expressive.” These are just a few of the marketing slogans and catch phrases that today’s churches use to promote their services.
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1 Timothy 4:11-16
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When you step into such a church you may find that the “creative arts minister” has worked diligently to get the colored stage lighting just right. The fog machine has been rigged to give the right ora. And the band, which has just gotten back from recording its latest album, is ready to rock the audience.
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All of this makes a church like ours seem like it is long outdated and completely irrelevant to today’s modern society.
I have often wondered what kind of sales pitch we should make for our church. I think that, if we were to do something like that, it would sound something like this: “Come to Hopewell and experience 1746 all over again.” But that just doesn’t seem to make for a good jingle. I’ve thought about calling it something like “Throwback worship.” There’s a lot of appeal in the whole retro thing today. Maybe that would work. Or perhaps we could really jazz it up and say, “Get ready to worship like a puritan.”
Somehow that just doesn’t have the same appeal.
But as you look into our passage today, we find that the Bible is to be central when it comes to leading a church. And that is particularly so when it comes to the services of worship within the life of the church. The passage before us was written to a church leader and in it Paul outlines how the word of God is to dominate the life and worship of God’s people.
Paul’s counsel to Timothy was to shape his philosophy of ministry. In sum, Paul tells us that our churches are not to try and be cutting edge and appeal to every fleeting whim of the flesh. Rather we are, as a gospel based church, to conduct an ordinary, means of grace ministry. In other words, the Word of God is to be the distinguishing mark of Christian worship.
And, as you look at the passage, you find that the first distinguishing mark of a gospel based church is that it recognizes the authority of God’s Word.
I. The authority of the word of God
We see the authority of God’s word in two ways. We see it in how Timothy teaches and how Timothy lives.
Look at verse 11. It says, “Command and teach these things.” Now the word command is an authoritative word. As a matter of fact, it is a word that is used in reference to the military. Soldiers follow commands. They are ordered to do certain things and they have to comply with those orders. That’s what they signed up for. They are not allowed to buck the system. When their officer speaks, they are to do whatever he commands.
Now that’s the word that Paul uses here to describe the kind of ministry Timothy is to conduct. Timothy is supposed demonstrate that same kind of authority in the Ephesian church. He is to command people to obey. He is to lay down the law when it comes to their practicing godliness.
Of course, this isn’t Timothy wielding his own power or acting on his own whims. He’s commanding and teaching the things that God wants.
But you see what kind of authority the word of God carries. It is to have absolute sway over our actions. It is to guide and direct everything that we do.
And I might add, before we go one, that this is the way we should view the ministry of the church. This sets for us our understanding of what exactly true biblical teaching is to be like.
There are a lot of people out there who are serving in leadership positions that are undermining the authority of God’s word by the way they conduct their ministry. A lot of ministers don’t want to command or be commanding in their preaching. They don’t want a monologue where they say, “This is what God says and you need to do it!” They’d rather have a dialogue where you come to a mutual conclusion. You see, there’s no commanding in today’s teaching. Most ministries like to advise or counsel. They like to provide you with options or give you some helpful tips.
Here’s the one that is a personal pet peeve of mine. Some ministers will come to the pulpit and say, “I’d like to share with you a few thoughts I have.” But what kind of authority is there in sharing your thoughts?
Bible preachers are not called to share or enter into a dialogue or offer some helpful tips on godly living. The word of God is to have command over people’s lives. God’s word should be declared not dialogued because is the final and ultimate authority in our lives.
But you’ll notice that Timothy is not just to demonstrate the authority of God’s word in his teaching, it is also to be found in his own adherence to this word.
Look at verse 12. It says, “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”
Paul reminds Timothy that the best way to convince people that he is mature enough to lead is not by pulling out his driver’s license and showing them that he’s legal. The best way to convince them of his leadership capability is to live a godly life. In sum, he should show how God’s word has authority over his own life.
He’s going to let God’s word govern his speech. God’s word is going to govern his conduct. He’s going to strive to show the kind of love that God’s word requires him to show. He’s going to submit his faith to the directives of Scripture and let it command his purity (which is likely talking about his sexual life).
So what we see here in verse 12 is that Timothy is merely a man under the law. God’s word is just as authoritative over his life as it is over everyone else’s life.
And it’s this concept of the authority of Scripture that is to grip us. And you have to ask yourself if you are making God’s word the ultimate authority of your life. There are a lot of other things we can look to as our authority. We might make our own desires our authority. We can make our feelings that thing that guides our life.
A lot of you young people need to realize that your friends can become your main authority in life. Everyone has that time when their parents say, “Why did you do that?” And the kid will answer by saying, “Because Joey did it.” Then the age old question is: If Joey jumped off a cliff, would you do it too?
You know what that question is? It is a challenge to what your authority is in life. It is reminding you that your life isn’t to be ruled by other people. It isn’t even to be ruled by pastors and preachers. Your only authority in life is Jesus Christ, and it is His word that you are to heed.
And if our church wants to be a gospel based church we need to take that to heart. We are to conduct an ordinary means of grace ministry because God’s word is to rule our lives.
But a gospel based church will not only recognize the authority of God’s word in our lives, but it will recognize the sovereignty of God’s word in our worship.
It is not only to be the authority over your life, but it is sovereign in your worship.
II. The sovereignty of God’s word [13-15]
In verses 13-15 Paul talks about how God’s word is to be the rule when it comes to worship. He says, “Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, and to teaching.”
Paul’s laying out Timothy’s job description and as he does so, he shows us what worship is to be like. When we gather for worship we are to have the word of God read. It is to be preached (that’s exhortation). And there is to be explicit teaching on the doctrines of the faith.
Then he goes on in verse 14 to expand on the preaching that Timothy was to do. He says, “Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.” The laying on of hands refers, of course, to the time when Timothy was ordained and given the expressed ability to preach. So Paul’s saying, “Timothy, preaching is one of the most important parts of public worship. Make sure you do not neglect this. Make sure that when Sunday rolls around you are ready to declare what God has said.
So what are we to make of this? What is Paul saying? He’s saying that the word of God is to reign supreme in the context of public worship. Timothy is not to spend his time developing new methods of teaching or creating tricky gimmicks to get people into the church. He’s supposed to simply conduct an ordinary, plain jane, bible based ministry. When you gather for worship, what is supposed to happen? God’s word should be read. God’s word should be preached. God’s word should be taught. And you should go home saying, “I have been thoroughly instructed in the Scriptures today.”
There’s a book that I was given a number of years ago called “Give God Praise.” It is a book that was written by a number of authors. Different pastors and theologians contributed to it. But it is all about worship and each author had some topic about worship which he addressed. And even though I read that book over 10 years ago there is still one part that sticks out and has always remained with me. One of the authors said that when it comes to worship our philosophy is simple. He said that in worship we are to “read the Bible, sing the Bible, preach the bible, and pray the Bible.” That is Christian ministry in a nutshell.
The only downside to this is that a lot of people don’t find this to be all that exciting. A lot of churches know that you can’t draw a lot of people in doing this kind of ministry. That’s why a lot of churches look more like a circus, or a talk show, or a music concert.
But even in churches that are evangelical and may be denominated a bible believing church, there is often very little Scripture being read or doctrine being taught. The word does not rule and reign in these churches.
And this is why our services are often like culture shock for people. We put and emphasis on the Word of God here. Our services tend to be longer because we fill our services with a lot of teaching. We want the word to be read. We want it taught and we want it expounded from the pulpit. And that’s the way it should be. The Word is to be the primary thing when we gather.
My seminary professor told us of a time when he went on a mission trip to some country in Africa. Being a minister, he was asked to preach the one Sunday. Even though he didn’t have any notes and wasn’t all that prepared, he said he would. So he took a few minutes and pulled together some thoughts from a sermon he had preached recently. And when the time came he got up in the pulpit and he began to preach. And he said that he had never had such a weird experience. He was preaching through and interpreter, of course, and that’s kind of hard in and of itself. But he said it was hard to get a read on the congregation. He said they just sat there the whole time staring at him. There wasn’t any head nodding or amens or “hallelujah’s;” they just sat there and listened.
When he was done, he said his closing prayer as he usually does, and went to sit down. And he said it was kind of awkward silence. People continued to just sit there. Some of them looked around at each other. And then, one of the older gentlemen down front raised his hand and said, “Thank you. We would like another.”
Of course, my professor thought this was great. It was like getting an encore.
But the whole point is that this congregation knew how important the word of God was. They knew that it was to have sovereign sway in their service and they wouldn’t have it any other way.
Now, it is okay if you don’t ask for another sermon today. It’s enough to grasp what Paul’s communicating here. Churches are to be didactic in nature. They are to be oriented around Scripture, so that God can be heard speaking in our midst.
The last thing that we see in this passage is the power of God’s word. God’s word is authoritative over our lives and sovereign in our worship. But its important that we understand that the truth of Scripture is God’s appointed means for salvation.
III. The power of God’s word
Verse 16 says, “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.”
Now, the first thing we see in this is that those who are church leaders are instrumental in the salvation of others. They are saviors in the sense that the Lord uses their ministry, their preaching, their exhortations to bring people into the kingdom of God.
But of course, it is the word of God that is primary here. God’s word has power to save. If the word of God is not proclaimed, then people will remain in their sins and never see eternal life.
But notice that the word not only has the power to save, but it is also the fuel that gives rise to the public ministry of the word.
Paul tells Timothy to keep a close watch on himself and the teaching. He was to persist in this because this will be what saves him and his hearers. What is Paul telling Timothy to do? Paul’s saying, make sure you study God’s word diligently! Stay in the Scriptures, keep learning, don’t let your study habits slacken. Persist in honing the different nuances of theology. For it is by doing this that you save yourself and your hearers.
In Reformed churches we have historically taught the importance of a “well trained minister.” By that we mean someone who has been thoroughly steeped in biblical doctrine prior to his being ordained. But this isn’t just something you graduate from. When we talk about a well trained minister, we are implying that he is going to continue his training. It might not necessarily be through formal coursework, but through meticulous study of Scripture on his own.
Why do I mention this? It is because you as a congregation need to be aware that the pastor does not have an “office,” but rather a “study.” We can put a lot of demands on a pastor. We want him to be an administrator, we want him to be a CEO, we want him meeting this or that person. But the thing that the church needs most is a man who will have his nose buried in the Scriptures. He’s going to be a guy who is constantly learning.
It is only when the leaders of the church are immersed in the Scriptures that the saving grace of Christ will really be proclaimed.
But let’s not let that word go unsaid. Let’s remember that the word of God is the power for salvation, and that word is that we who are sinners by birth may be reconciled to God and have everlasting life if we trust in Christ.
If you confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and savior of men, then you to will have that new life.
I have often wondered what kind of sales pitch we should make for our church. I think that, if we were to do something like that, it would sound something like this: “Come to Hopewell and experience 1746 all over again.” But that just doesn’t seem to make for a good jingle. I’ve thought about calling it something like “Throwback worship.” There’s a lot of appeal in the whole retro thing today. Maybe that would work. Or perhaps we could really jazz it up and say, “Get ready to worship like a puritan.”
Somehow that just doesn’t have the same appeal.
But as you look into our passage today, we find that the Bible is to be central when it comes to leading a church. And that is particularly so when it comes to the services of worship within the life of the church. The passage before us was written to a church leader and in it Paul outlines how the word of God is to dominate the life and worship of God’s people.
Paul’s counsel to Timothy was to shape his philosophy of ministry. In sum, Paul tells us that our churches are not to try and be cutting edge and appeal to every fleeting whim of the flesh. Rather we are, as a gospel based church, to conduct an ordinary, means of grace ministry. In other words, the Word of God is to be the distinguishing mark of Christian worship.
And, as you look at the passage, you find that the first distinguishing mark of a gospel based church is that it recognizes the authority of God’s Word.
I. The authority of the word of God
We see the authority of God’s word in two ways. We see it in how Timothy teaches and how Timothy lives.
Look at verse 11. It says, “Command and teach these things.” Now the word command is an authoritative word. As a matter of fact, it is a word that is used in reference to the military. Soldiers follow commands. They are ordered to do certain things and they have to comply with those orders. That’s what they signed up for. They are not allowed to buck the system. When their officer speaks, they are to do whatever he commands.
Now that’s the word that Paul uses here to describe the kind of ministry Timothy is to conduct. Timothy is supposed demonstrate that same kind of authority in the Ephesian church. He is to command people to obey. He is to lay down the law when it comes to their practicing godliness.
Of course, this isn’t Timothy wielding his own power or acting on his own whims. He’s commanding and teaching the things that God wants.
But you see what kind of authority the word of God carries. It is to have absolute sway over our actions. It is to guide and direct everything that we do.
And I might add, before we go one, that this is the way we should view the ministry of the church. This sets for us our understanding of what exactly true biblical teaching is to be like.
There are a lot of people out there who are serving in leadership positions that are undermining the authority of God’s word by the way they conduct their ministry. A lot of ministers don’t want to command or be commanding in their preaching. They don’t want a monologue where they say, “This is what God says and you need to do it!” They’d rather have a dialogue where you come to a mutual conclusion. You see, there’s no commanding in today’s teaching. Most ministries like to advise or counsel. They like to provide you with options or give you some helpful tips.
Here’s the one that is a personal pet peeve of mine. Some ministers will come to the pulpit and say, “I’d like to share with you a few thoughts I have.” But what kind of authority is there in sharing your thoughts?
Bible preachers are not called to share or enter into a dialogue or offer some helpful tips on godly living. The word of God is to have command over people’s lives. God’s word should be declared not dialogued because is the final and ultimate authority in our lives.
But you’ll notice that Timothy is not just to demonstrate the authority of God’s word in his teaching, it is also to be found in his own adherence to this word.
Look at verse 12. It says, “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”
Paul reminds Timothy that the best way to convince people that he is mature enough to lead is not by pulling out his driver’s license and showing them that he’s legal. The best way to convince them of his leadership capability is to live a godly life. In sum, he should show how God’s word has authority over his own life.
He’s going to let God’s word govern his speech. God’s word is going to govern his conduct. He’s going to strive to show the kind of love that God’s word requires him to show. He’s going to submit his faith to the directives of Scripture and let it command his purity (which is likely talking about his sexual life).
So what we see here in verse 12 is that Timothy is merely a man under the law. God’s word is just as authoritative over his life as it is over everyone else’s life.
And it’s this concept of the authority of Scripture that is to grip us. And you have to ask yourself if you are making God’s word the ultimate authority of your life. There are a lot of other things we can look to as our authority. We might make our own desires our authority. We can make our feelings that thing that guides our life.
A lot of you young people need to realize that your friends can become your main authority in life. Everyone has that time when their parents say, “Why did you do that?” And the kid will answer by saying, “Because Joey did it.” Then the age old question is: If Joey jumped off a cliff, would you do it too?
You know what that question is? It is a challenge to what your authority is in life. It is reminding you that your life isn’t to be ruled by other people. It isn’t even to be ruled by pastors and preachers. Your only authority in life is Jesus Christ, and it is His word that you are to heed.
And if our church wants to be a gospel based church we need to take that to heart. We are to conduct an ordinary means of grace ministry because God’s word is to rule our lives.
But a gospel based church will not only recognize the authority of God’s word in our lives, but it will recognize the sovereignty of God’s word in our worship.
It is not only to be the authority over your life, but it is sovereign in your worship.
II. The sovereignty of God’s word [13-15]
In verses 13-15 Paul talks about how God’s word is to be the rule when it comes to worship. He says, “Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, and to teaching.”
Paul’s laying out Timothy’s job description and as he does so, he shows us what worship is to be like. When we gather for worship we are to have the word of God read. It is to be preached (that’s exhortation). And there is to be explicit teaching on the doctrines of the faith.
Then he goes on in verse 14 to expand on the preaching that Timothy was to do. He says, “Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.” The laying on of hands refers, of course, to the time when Timothy was ordained and given the expressed ability to preach. So Paul’s saying, “Timothy, preaching is one of the most important parts of public worship. Make sure you do not neglect this. Make sure that when Sunday rolls around you are ready to declare what God has said.
So what are we to make of this? What is Paul saying? He’s saying that the word of God is to reign supreme in the context of public worship. Timothy is not to spend his time developing new methods of teaching or creating tricky gimmicks to get people into the church. He’s supposed to simply conduct an ordinary, plain jane, bible based ministry. When you gather for worship, what is supposed to happen? God’s word should be read. God’s word should be preached. God’s word should be taught. And you should go home saying, “I have been thoroughly instructed in the Scriptures today.”
There’s a book that I was given a number of years ago called “Give God Praise.” It is a book that was written by a number of authors. Different pastors and theologians contributed to it. But it is all about worship and each author had some topic about worship which he addressed. And even though I read that book over 10 years ago there is still one part that sticks out and has always remained with me. One of the authors said that when it comes to worship our philosophy is simple. He said that in worship we are to “read the Bible, sing the Bible, preach the bible, and pray the Bible.” That is Christian ministry in a nutshell.
The only downside to this is that a lot of people don’t find this to be all that exciting. A lot of churches know that you can’t draw a lot of people in doing this kind of ministry. That’s why a lot of churches look more like a circus, or a talk show, or a music concert.
But even in churches that are evangelical and may be denominated a bible believing church, there is often very little Scripture being read or doctrine being taught. The word does not rule and reign in these churches.
And this is why our services are often like culture shock for people. We put and emphasis on the Word of God here. Our services tend to be longer because we fill our services with a lot of teaching. We want the word to be read. We want it taught and we want it expounded from the pulpit. And that’s the way it should be. The Word is to be the primary thing when we gather.
My seminary professor told us of a time when he went on a mission trip to some country in Africa. Being a minister, he was asked to preach the one Sunday. Even though he didn’t have any notes and wasn’t all that prepared, he said he would. So he took a few minutes and pulled together some thoughts from a sermon he had preached recently. And when the time came he got up in the pulpit and he began to preach. And he said that he had never had such a weird experience. He was preaching through and interpreter, of course, and that’s kind of hard in and of itself. But he said it was hard to get a read on the congregation. He said they just sat there the whole time staring at him. There wasn’t any head nodding or amens or “hallelujah’s;” they just sat there and listened.
When he was done, he said his closing prayer as he usually does, and went to sit down. And he said it was kind of awkward silence. People continued to just sit there. Some of them looked around at each other. And then, one of the older gentlemen down front raised his hand and said, “Thank you. We would like another.”
Of course, my professor thought this was great. It was like getting an encore.
But the whole point is that this congregation knew how important the word of God was. They knew that it was to have sovereign sway in their service and they wouldn’t have it any other way.
Now, it is okay if you don’t ask for another sermon today. It’s enough to grasp what Paul’s communicating here. Churches are to be didactic in nature. They are to be oriented around Scripture, so that God can be heard speaking in our midst.
The last thing that we see in this passage is the power of God’s word. God’s word is authoritative over our lives and sovereign in our worship. But its important that we understand that the truth of Scripture is God’s appointed means for salvation.
III. The power of God’s word
Verse 16 says, “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.”
Now, the first thing we see in this is that those who are church leaders are instrumental in the salvation of others. They are saviors in the sense that the Lord uses their ministry, their preaching, their exhortations to bring people into the kingdom of God.
But of course, it is the word of God that is primary here. God’s word has power to save. If the word of God is not proclaimed, then people will remain in their sins and never see eternal life.
But notice that the word not only has the power to save, but it is also the fuel that gives rise to the public ministry of the word.
Paul tells Timothy to keep a close watch on himself and the teaching. He was to persist in this because this will be what saves him and his hearers. What is Paul telling Timothy to do? Paul’s saying, make sure you study God’s word diligently! Stay in the Scriptures, keep learning, don’t let your study habits slacken. Persist in honing the different nuances of theology. For it is by doing this that you save yourself and your hearers.
In Reformed churches we have historically taught the importance of a “well trained minister.” By that we mean someone who has been thoroughly steeped in biblical doctrine prior to his being ordained. But this isn’t just something you graduate from. When we talk about a well trained minister, we are implying that he is going to continue his training. It might not necessarily be through formal coursework, but through meticulous study of Scripture on his own.
Why do I mention this? It is because you as a congregation need to be aware that the pastor does not have an “office,” but rather a “study.” We can put a lot of demands on a pastor. We want him to be an administrator, we want him to be a CEO, we want him meeting this or that person. But the thing that the church needs most is a man who will have his nose buried in the Scriptures. He’s going to be a guy who is constantly learning.
It is only when the leaders of the church are immersed in the Scriptures that the saving grace of Christ will really be proclaimed.
But let’s not let that word go unsaid. Let’s remember that the word of God is the power for salvation, and that word is that we who are sinners by birth may be reconciled to God and have everlasting life if we trust in Christ.
If you confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and savior of men, then you to will have that new life.