1 Timothy 6:20-21 - Full of Grace and Truth
Imagine that you’re leaving town, and you ask a friend to house sit.You tell them, “Treat my home like it’s your own.” What does that mean?It means you want them to relax, feel at home, and take good care of everything.
Well, you go on your trip, and then you return, and as you drive up to the house, you’re shocked because your house has been painted a different color! And your paved driveway is now gravel. So, you pull in, get out of your car and walk to the door, confused. Even the door is a different color.
Then you put your key in the door knob, but the lock has been changed. You’re floored! So you knock, and your friend opens the door – so glad to see you. You start to speak, but then you look past your friend, and you realize the whole house has been remodeled inside. And when you ask what in the world happened, your friend says, “Well, you said to treat the home like it’s my own.’ So I made some changes.”
But that’s not what you meant at all, is it? You wanted them to preserve everything as is.
It was always your home. Your name is on the deed. You pay the mortgage and bills. You established your home, and you sustain it. You merely appointed your friend as a caretaker.
That scenario sounds crazy, but it’s something like what many leaders have done in the church of Jesus Christ. Ministers and church members are prone to make many unauthorized changes in the Lord’s church. Vain pursuits may be chased.
People want quicker results, notoriety or attention. Acceptance in the eyes and hearts of the world is naturally appealing. And church leaders are prone to error, as are all the people of God.
What the church needs is both the desire and the ability to guard what Christ has entrusted to us, that we may obey His will for His church and hand it off healthy and intact to the next generation.
Both that desire and ability comes from Christ Himself – to borrow language from last week’s sermon, as Christ is formed in us. When He transforms our faith and character,
we will desire to care for His church according to His will. And these final verses of 1 Timothy reveal how He does this. He guides us by His truth and preserves us by His grace.
Now take a look again at verse [20]. Paul says, “O Timothy.” Interestingly, “O” is the translation of one Greek letter there – Omega. The last letter of the Greek alphabet. Paul writes it here to express his emotion. There’s a great sense of urgency. Clearly, there is much at stake.
And so with a pleading tone, Paul writes, “guard the deposit entrusted to you.” The language here communicates the concept of safekeeping. NT scholar George Knight says this is “the high obligation of having in trust another person’s treasured possession, of keeping it safe, and returning it as it was.”
How was this to be done? Well, there’s a major thread that runs throughout the letter of 1 Timothy. It’s the call for the pastor to uphold the apostolic standard of doctrine.
In ch.1, Paul wrote, “charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine.”
In ch. 4, he writes, “If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.”
And in ch. 6, he adds, “Teach and urge these things. If anyone teaches
a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit
and understands nothing.”
So, the pastor must preserve the truth handed down from Christ to the apostles. The minister must focus on it, learn it and teach it. And these next lines communicate that. Paul says, “Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called ‘knowledge.’” There were philosophies and religious ideas at that time that were being spouted by some of those in or around the church in Ephesus where Timothy was stationed.
We have the same issue today. In fact, today, false religious ideas have more channels
to people than ever before. But today, just like back then, the apostolic doctrine has not changed in any way. But notice what happens when people abandon it for something different or new. “for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.”
Interesting wording. In an effort to become more right, these people became more wrong. In the pursuit of a better way, they wound up worse off. They deviated from what is true. They lost their way. They got off course from sound belief.
If you’re driving somewhere and your GPS tells you to turn, but you think, “I know a better way,” you may only be one turn off at first. You’re still close to the right road. You may even be going in roughly the right direction. But if you keep following the wrong course, before long you may be miles from where you intended to go.
That’s the danger of departing from sound doctrine. The first deviation may seem small. It may even be presented as an improvement. But once you leave the apostolic course, there’s no guarantee where you’ll end up.
Where unhealthy beliefs reside, unhealthy practices will follow. And while one generation may just deviate slightly, the next generation may go even further off course. The broader Reformed tradition holds to three marks of the true church: the Word of God rightly preached, the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper rightly administered, and church discipline faithfully exercised. Church discipline is the exercise of Christ’s shepherding authority through ordained leaders to nourish the faithful, correct the wayward, and protect the purity of the church.
That is the biblical pattern or framework established by Christ, and He is central to each one. The truth of who Christ is and all He has accomplished through His redemptive work is the unequivocal standard of doctrine from which His church must not swerve.
Put differently, the true church will be guided by the truth of Christ. (vv.20-21b) To be clear, the so-called “red letter words” of the Bible are not the only words of Christ in the Bible. All of it – OT and NT – is the Word of Christ.
In the next letter, 2 Timothy, Paul tells him, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” The minister must preach and teach in faithfulness to the Scriptures. But the minister, like all the members, is a regular person. He’s a redeemed sinner. He’s born again, maturing in the faith, but not perfect. And so it’s appropriate for Paul to end this letter with this simple sentence.
Notice it there. “Grace be with you.” God’s unmerited favor – His grace – would be necessary every step of the way. Believers rely daily on the grace of Christ. It’s by His gracious work within us that our faith and character are shaped in His image. By grace Christ is formed within His people. And as the outward or physical means for accomplishing this spiritual work, Christ has appointed the Word, sacraments, and prayer – all which must be framed by Him and which must be received with faith in Him.
That a person could be transferred from spiritual death to life – from spiritual darkness to light – is a gracious work of God. We don’t need grace only at the moment we’re saved, but every moment after as well.
There is perhaps no better illustration of this point than the one Christ Himself gave
in John 15. He says to His eleven remaining apostles, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
We’ve looked at this many times. The branch doesn’t receive life from the vine once and then carry on by itself. Every leaf, and blossom, and piece of fruit depends on the ongoing union with the vine. Cut the branch off, and it withers and dies. The same is true for the church.
Christ does not give His church grace to begin and then leave her to preserve herself. The same grace that gives life to the church will sustain her life to the end. You see, the true church will be guided by the truth of Christ, and preserved by the grace of Christ.
Any true and good spiritual fruit in our lives or church is the gracious work of Christ. He graciously established His church through His apostles. As apostles, they authorized the writing of the NT Scriptures. And as the first elders or shepherds of the church, they proclaimed Christ and cared for God’s people, setting the course for sessions of elders to lead congregations with the truth of Christ as their guide and the grace of Christ for their preservation.
Truth and grace. Grace and truth. In John 1, the apostle John wrote about Christ. He said, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John said Jesus Christ was full of grace and truth. So naturally, every true church of Christ will be as well.
And do you see what this means? It is by His very self that we are guided and preserved. Where people have changed the church, they have first changed Christ.
They have deviated from what His Word says about Himself and about mankind. But my friends, Christ has not changed. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
He is still full of grace and truth. His truth still guides His church. His grace still preserves His church. And He has not left us to ourselves. Even now, He invites us to His Table, where by faith we receive again the signs and seals of His grace,
where, by the power and presence of His Holy Spirit, we are nourished by the same Christ who gave Himself for us.
Have you believed on Him today? Will you trust in Him? May we take to heart the words of 1 Timothy, and guard what He has entrusted to us, depending on the grace He supplies, and looking to Christ Himself – full of grace and truth – that like Him, this congregation may be full of grace and truth – full of Christ!
Let’s bow together in prayer.
Well, you go on your trip, and then you return, and as you drive up to the house, you’re shocked because your house has been painted a different color! And your paved driveway is now gravel. So, you pull in, get out of your car and walk to the door, confused. Even the door is a different color.
Then you put your key in the door knob, but the lock has been changed. You’re floored! So you knock, and your friend opens the door – so glad to see you. You start to speak, but then you look past your friend, and you realize the whole house has been remodeled inside. And when you ask what in the world happened, your friend says, “Well, you said to treat the home like it’s my own.’ So I made some changes.”
But that’s not what you meant at all, is it? You wanted them to preserve everything as is.
It was always your home. Your name is on the deed. You pay the mortgage and bills. You established your home, and you sustain it. You merely appointed your friend as a caretaker.
That scenario sounds crazy, but it’s something like what many leaders have done in the church of Jesus Christ. Ministers and church members are prone to make many unauthorized changes in the Lord’s church. Vain pursuits may be chased.
People want quicker results, notoriety or attention. Acceptance in the eyes and hearts of the world is naturally appealing. And church leaders are prone to error, as are all the people of God.
What the church needs is both the desire and the ability to guard what Christ has entrusted to us, that we may obey His will for His church and hand it off healthy and intact to the next generation.
Both that desire and ability comes from Christ Himself – to borrow language from last week’s sermon, as Christ is formed in us. When He transforms our faith and character,
we will desire to care for His church according to His will. And these final verses of 1 Timothy reveal how He does this. He guides us by His truth and preserves us by His grace.
Now take a look again at verse [20]. Paul says, “O Timothy.” Interestingly, “O” is the translation of one Greek letter there – Omega. The last letter of the Greek alphabet. Paul writes it here to express his emotion. There’s a great sense of urgency. Clearly, there is much at stake.
And so with a pleading tone, Paul writes, “guard the deposit entrusted to you.” The language here communicates the concept of safekeeping. NT scholar George Knight says this is “the high obligation of having in trust another person’s treasured possession, of keeping it safe, and returning it as it was.”
How was this to be done? Well, there’s a major thread that runs throughout the letter of 1 Timothy. It’s the call for the pastor to uphold the apostolic standard of doctrine.
In ch.1, Paul wrote, “charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine.”
In ch. 4, he writes, “If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.”
And in ch. 6, he adds, “Teach and urge these things. If anyone teaches
a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit
and understands nothing.”
So, the pastor must preserve the truth handed down from Christ to the apostles. The minister must focus on it, learn it and teach it. And these next lines communicate that. Paul says, “Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called ‘knowledge.’” There were philosophies and religious ideas at that time that were being spouted by some of those in or around the church in Ephesus where Timothy was stationed.
We have the same issue today. In fact, today, false religious ideas have more channels
to people than ever before. But today, just like back then, the apostolic doctrine has not changed in any way. But notice what happens when people abandon it for something different or new. “for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.”
Interesting wording. In an effort to become more right, these people became more wrong. In the pursuit of a better way, they wound up worse off. They deviated from what is true. They lost their way. They got off course from sound belief.
If you’re driving somewhere and your GPS tells you to turn, but you think, “I know a better way,” you may only be one turn off at first. You’re still close to the right road. You may even be going in roughly the right direction. But if you keep following the wrong course, before long you may be miles from where you intended to go.
That’s the danger of departing from sound doctrine. The first deviation may seem small. It may even be presented as an improvement. But once you leave the apostolic course, there’s no guarantee where you’ll end up.
Where unhealthy beliefs reside, unhealthy practices will follow. And while one generation may just deviate slightly, the next generation may go even further off course. The broader Reformed tradition holds to three marks of the true church: the Word of God rightly preached, the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper rightly administered, and church discipline faithfully exercised. Church discipline is the exercise of Christ’s shepherding authority through ordained leaders to nourish the faithful, correct the wayward, and protect the purity of the church.
That is the biblical pattern or framework established by Christ, and He is central to each one. The truth of who Christ is and all He has accomplished through His redemptive work is the unequivocal standard of doctrine from which His church must not swerve.
Put differently, the true church will be guided by the truth of Christ. (vv.20-21b) To be clear, the so-called “red letter words” of the Bible are not the only words of Christ in the Bible. All of it – OT and NT – is the Word of Christ.
In the next letter, 2 Timothy, Paul tells him, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” The minister must preach and teach in faithfulness to the Scriptures. But the minister, like all the members, is a regular person. He’s a redeemed sinner. He’s born again, maturing in the faith, but not perfect. And so it’s appropriate for Paul to end this letter with this simple sentence.
Notice it there. “Grace be with you.” God’s unmerited favor – His grace – would be necessary every step of the way. Believers rely daily on the grace of Christ. It’s by His gracious work within us that our faith and character are shaped in His image. By grace Christ is formed within His people. And as the outward or physical means for accomplishing this spiritual work, Christ has appointed the Word, sacraments, and prayer – all which must be framed by Him and which must be received with faith in Him.
That a person could be transferred from spiritual death to life – from spiritual darkness to light – is a gracious work of God. We don’t need grace only at the moment we’re saved, but every moment after as well.
There is perhaps no better illustration of this point than the one Christ Himself gave
in John 15. He says to His eleven remaining apostles, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
We’ve looked at this many times. The branch doesn’t receive life from the vine once and then carry on by itself. Every leaf, and blossom, and piece of fruit depends on the ongoing union with the vine. Cut the branch off, and it withers and dies. The same is true for the church.
Christ does not give His church grace to begin and then leave her to preserve herself. The same grace that gives life to the church will sustain her life to the end. You see, the true church will be guided by the truth of Christ, and preserved by the grace of Christ.
Any true and good spiritual fruit in our lives or church is the gracious work of Christ. He graciously established His church through His apostles. As apostles, they authorized the writing of the NT Scriptures. And as the first elders or shepherds of the church, they proclaimed Christ and cared for God’s people, setting the course for sessions of elders to lead congregations with the truth of Christ as their guide and the grace of Christ for their preservation.
Truth and grace. Grace and truth. In John 1, the apostle John wrote about Christ. He said, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John said Jesus Christ was full of grace and truth. So naturally, every true church of Christ will be as well.
And do you see what this means? It is by His very self that we are guided and preserved. Where people have changed the church, they have first changed Christ.
They have deviated from what His Word says about Himself and about mankind. But my friends, Christ has not changed. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
He is still full of grace and truth. His truth still guides His church. His grace still preserves His church. And He has not left us to ourselves. Even now, He invites us to His Table, where by faith we receive again the signs and seals of His grace,
where, by the power and presence of His Holy Spirit, we are nourished by the same Christ who gave Himself for us.
Have you believed on Him today? Will you trust in Him? May we take to heart the words of 1 Timothy, and guard what He has entrusted to us, depending on the grace He supplies, and looking to Christ Himself – full of grace and truth – that like Him, this congregation may be full of grace and truth – full of Christ!
Let’s bow together in prayer.
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