1 Timothy 1:6

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope; unto Timothy, my own son in the faith... Now the end of the commandment is love out of a pure heart, of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned, from which some, having swerved, have turned aside unto vain jangling, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor whereof they affirm. But we know that the law is good if a man uses it lawfully... — 1 Timothy 1:1-11

Faith is a seed God plants in every heart—it can grow into life or be shipwrecked by a lie.

Why Paul Wrote to Timothy

Paul writes this letter near the end of his life. After his first Roman imprisonment, recorded at the close of Acts 28, he was released for a season—just as he had asked the church at Philippi to pray. It is during this period, between his first and second imprisonments, that Paul writes to Timothy.

Paul left Timothy in Ephesus for a specific work, stated in verse 3: to charge the church that they teach no other doctrine. This is one of the central aims of the letter. Timothy was the overseer of the overseers—the pastor of the pastors, the elder over the elders. The church in Ephesus met in multiple homes, each with its own overseer, and Timothy was set over them all to put things in order.

Paul charged Timothy to disciple them and to entrust the Word to faithful men who could pass it on. Even this early in church history, heresies and false doctrines were creeping in. Often that is the enemy's chief strategy: not always persecution—which frequently scatters the gospel further and sets believers on fire—but subtle false teaching that confuses the church and tosses it about. I would say the enemy's number one weapon is subtlety and false doctrine.

Divided Over Non-Essentials

God has given the church leadership—apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers—for a clear purpose, as Paul wrote in Ephesians 4: to equip the saints for the work of the ministry and to build up the body of Christ. Timothy was sent to make sure the people of Ephesus were thoroughly equipped against doctrines that minister questions and divide.

Looking over the last 2,000 years, the enemy has done a fairly good job of dividing the body of Christ over non-essential points. There are essentials we must stand upon: the atonement of Christ, that He is the only way, that His sacrifice is sufficient, the inerrancy of God's Word. But there are countless non-essentials—whether guitars belong in worship, the right way to pray, the right way to evangelize—over which churches and denominations have split.

You find it even among us. You start sharing something you're excited about—maybe the second coming and the rapture—and someone says, "I'm not sure I agree with that eschatology." Suddenly you're ready to fight. Division builds up so quickly.

The Seed of Faith God Plants in Everyone

Last week we zeroed in on verse 5: the end of the commandment is love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and faith unfeigned. The pure heart speaks of justification through Christ's work on the cross; the good conscience, of the cleansing of His blood (1 John 1:9) and the washing of the water by His Word. Now I want to consider the third part: a sincere faith.

Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God, "for he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him." Where does such pleasing faith come from? Every one of you desires to please God—and rightly so, for that is the very purpose of our creation. Revelation 4:11 says, "You are worthy, O Lord... for you have created all things, and for your pleasure they are and were created." We have been created to please God, and it is impossible to please Him without faith.

So where does this faith come from? Romans 12:3 says God "has dealt to every man a measure of faith." Don't think of yourself more highly than you ought; God has planted in every single person—including the atheist—a seed of faith. That measure is enough to leave every man inexcusable before God, who has given us a conscience, His moral law written on our hearts, the creation around us, and this seed of faith.

Dead Faith and Living Faith

Yet that seed by itself is not enough for salvation. Salvation is by grace through faith (Ephesians 2), but James 2:17 tells us that faith without works is dead. Billions of people carry this God-given measure of faith, but in them it lies inactive and dead until it is proven by works. James 2:19 adds that even the demons believe there is one God—and tremble—yet their faith cannot save them, for it is not mingled with obedience.

In the Gospels, Jesus actually saw faith. We tend to think of faith as something invisible in our heads, but Scripture says Jesus saw it. He commended those with great faith and denounced those with little faith. In Mark He found a group with no faith. In Luke 8:25 He asked, "Where is your faith?"—seeing no evidence of it. In Mark 11 He told people to have faith toward God, and in Luke 22 He prayed for Peter that his faith would not fail.

So how can this seed of faith be cultivated? Romans 10:17: "So then, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Faith can and does grow as an individual rightly divides the Word of truth and sits under its preaching. If we are to fulfill our purpose, our faith must grow into a sincere, unfeigned faith.

How Faith Is Shipwrecked

But faith can also die. In 1 Timothy 1:19 Paul speaks of some who, putting away faith and a good conscience, "have made shipwreck." If we let go of God's Word and turn away, our faith can be wrecked. And in 1 Timothy 4:1, "the Spirit speaks expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons."

One of the surest ways to destroy faith is false teaching. Consider the believer taught that the Christian life means only health, wealth, and ease—that you'll never be sick, never suffer. There are churches that teach exactly this. What happens to that person when the doctor says, "You have cancer"? When trial, suffering, and hardship come, their faith is shipwrecked, because they were built on a lie.

You've probably met someone who said, "I tried Jesus once; it didn't work for me," as if He were a pill to make things better. Push a little and you'll often find they went forward at some crusade where they were promised love, joy, and peace—and instead got trials. Their faith was shipwrecked, and Proverbs says an offended brother is harder to win than a walled city. There are people all around this county who "tried Christianity" because they were handed a false gospel.

Jesus never promised ease. He said, "In the world you shall have tribulation"—much difficulty. But He also said, "Greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world," and promised peace in Him in the midst of the storm (John 16). We are overcomers, more than conquerors. God's desire is that the faith He planted in us grow up into an active, living faith that loves Him and others.

Guarding Against Shipwreck

How do we grow and guard against shipwreck? Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:15, "Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." Verse 16 adds, "But shun profane and vain babblings, for they increase unto more ungodliness," and their word eats like the cankerworm. Paul even names Hymenaeus and Philetus, false teachers whose error overthrew the faith of some. Rightly divide the Word—and stay away from false teachers.

Peter says the same in 2 Peter 1:5-8: "Add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity." If these things are in you and abound, you will not be barren or unfruitful. We add to our faith the works that prove it—culminating in love, the very fulfillment of the commandment Paul named in 1 Timothy 1.

Fruitfulness glorifies God. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 5). And fruitfulness blesses the body of Christ—love, joy, peace, gentleness, kindness, the fruit of the Spirit. That is why we preach the Word the way we do.

A Placebo From the Pulpit

But verse 6 says some "having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling." If you visited a new church every week, you'd find a great deal of talking—often entertaining talk. But is it edifying? Does it produce fruit? If the teachers have turned aside from the Word to teach something else, Paul calls it "vain jangling"—idle talk, what the New American Standard calls "fruitless discussion." It has no eternal value and is essentially pointless.

I know that's not popular, but there are thousands of churches engaged in fruitless discussion that makes people feel good while changing nothing. Scripture even warns that in the latter days people will gather teachers who tickle their ears. It is a placebo from the pulpit—a sugar pill given to someone who feels sick. They take it, believe it will heal them, and feel better for a moment, though it has no medicinal value and is a complete waste of their time. Multitudes receive exactly that, week in and week out. Paul says in Ephesians 4:29, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying." This idle talk is corrupt communication; it does not build up.

The Word Is Meant to Transform, Not Just Comfort

It has never been my aim to make people feel good when I teach. When you and I open the Word each morning, it is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword—and while you read it, it reads you. It is not comfortable to study to show yourself approved. People come up to me nearly every week and say, "That message was painful, convicting." That is what God's Word does.

Look at Acts. In Acts 5:33, when Peter preached to the Sanhedrin, "they were cut to the heart"—and took the apostles out and beat them. In Acts 7:54, when Stephen preached, the very same group "were cut to the heart"—and took him out and killed him. The flesh profits nothing in the teaching of the Word. Its aim is not to make us feel good, but to transform us, that we be no longer conformed to this world but transformed by the renewing of our minds.

God is the vinedresser. He wants to cut off every vain, unfruitful branch in my life and cast it into the fire. He does not reform it or trim it to look nice; He removes it because it is worthless—and He uses the sword of the Spirit to do it. That is why studying through God's Word is uncomfortable for our flesh and yet absolutely essential. And when the Word shows us where we fall short, we return to 1 John 1:9: confess, and He is faithful to forgive and cleanse. That word "cleanse" is the same word used in John 15 for the pruning of the unfruitful branches.

Sheep, Goats, and the Fruit of Love

There are many in our nation with a dead faith who attend church every week, for faith without works is dead. In Matthew 7, many will say, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name?" and He will answer, "Depart from me, I never knew you, you who practice lawlessness."

In Matthew 25, He separates the sheep from the goats. To the sheep He says: when I was hungry you fed me, naked you clothed me, sick you visited me—enter into your rest. To the goats: you did none of these. Notice that Jesus does not list the Ten Commandments—you didn't kill, you didn't steal. He speaks of things that flow from love: a cup of cold water, clothing the needy, tending the sick. These are the fruit of the Spirit, and the fruit of the Spirit is love. To those whose mature faith produced love He says, "Enter," and to those with no fruit, "Depart into outer darkness." Can you see why the Word of God is so vital? God even says He esteems His Word above His name.

The Emerging Church and Fruitless Conversation

That is why we go through Scripture systematically—even when it's painful, even when we come to a passage we don't like because it shows us we're not fulfilling it. Yet some have swerved into idle talk and fruitless conversation. There is a large movement in the evangelical church called the emerging church—Charlie Campbell spoke on it here last October. They are big on conversation but not on evangelism. They love to sit down and discuss, "Tell me what you believe"—but it is fruitless conversation, because it never deals with sin, death, righteousness, and the blood of Christ that atones for sin.

Verse 7 says these false teachers "desire to be teachers of the law," but understand "neither what they say nor whereof they affirm." Hebrews 4:12 says the Word is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. A sword in the hands of someone who doesn't know how to use it is dangerous. Would you hand a young child a sharp sword? He would hurt himself and others. So it is with the Word in the hands of an unskilled teacher. False teachers are dangerous; they destroy faith.

The Lawful Use of the Law

Verse 8: "We know that the law is good if a man uses it lawfully." Romans 7 says the law is holy, just, and good. Yet many evangelical churches today want nothing to do with God's law. Ask why, and they answer, "We're a New Testament church." But Paul says we must know how to use the law lawfully.

What is the right use? Verse 9: "The law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient... for murderers... whoremongers... liars and perjured persons." The Bible says there are none righteous, so the law was made for every one of us. Romans 3:19-20: "that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin."

The Jewish people, and many today, thought the law was given to make men righteous. God never intended that. He gave His law to show us we are not righteous. Used to justify ourselves, the law is dangerous, because it fools us into thinking we're okay. Perhaps you came from a background that handed you a list—prayers to pray, rules to keep—and on the days you kept it you felt righteous, and on the days you failed you vowed to try harder. According to your rules you were righteous; in God's eyes you were not. One day such a person stands before God and hears, "Depart from me," and thinks it isn't fair—because he never used the law lawfully.

A Schoolmaster Pointing to Christ

Galatians 2:16 says a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ. Galatians 3:24: "The law is our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith." The law is a road sign pointing to Jesus. It reveals that I cannot reach God on my own, that I am a sinner destined for judgment in need of a Savior.

But people get fixated on the sign. Imagine driving three hours up the freeway to Six Flags Magic Mountain, pulling off, parking in front of that big colorful sign, admiring how beautifully it's crafted—and then driving home. What a waste! The sign exists to point you to the entrance so you can enter in and enjoy the park. So with the law and Christ: the law points to Him that we might enter in and find justification. The law cannot save; Jesus saves.

I've met well-meaning churchgoers who, when I speak of God's wrath and judgment, say, "That's not the God I know." I tell them gently: then you don't know the God of the Bible, and you've never rightly used His law. Romans 2 says the unrighteous are storing up wrath for the day of wrath—as if a storehouse in heaven bears their name. People object, "God is love, grace, forgiveness." All true. But it is equally true that He is holy and just and will by no means clear the guilty.

Preachers Who Knew the Law

Read the sermons of Whitefield, Wesley, Spurgeon the Prince of Preachers, Martin Luther in the 1500s, or D. L. Moody in the 1800s, and you'll find they dwelt heavily on the law, the wrath, and the judgment of God—because they understood how to use the law lawfully. Today many deceived teachers do not. Perhaps they want to be popular, or liked, or to gather money. Whatever the reason, those who follow them receive only fruitless discussion and are left without the proper use of God's law.

The New Living Translation renders verses 9-11: the law was not made for those who do right, but for the disobedient and rebellious, the ungodly and sinful, "for those who do anything else that contradicts right teaching that comes from the glorious good news entrusted to me by our blessed God." God gave us His Word and His law that we might give it forth to others—that the body of Christ would be built up to love God and love others from a pure heart, a sanctified conscience, and a sincere faith.

That is my desire for myself and my prayer for you. That is why we go systematically through the Word: because it transforms us. Yes, it hurts. Some nights you may walk out saying, "That message hurt." But that is God using the sword of the Spirit to cut away unfruitful branches so we can bear much fruit, glorify Him, and fulfill the purpose He gave us. We are not here to invent a purpose for ourselves; God has revealed it in His Word. The question is whether we will fulfill it—to be pleasing to Him, as Revelation 4:11 declares.

Closing Prayer

Father, I thank you for this passage of Scripture tonight. I pray that you would continue to do the work you desire in my life and heart. Lord, teach me what it is to be a living sacrifice, to lay myself down holy and acceptable unto you. By your Spirit, strengthen me and my brothers and sisters here, that we would not be conformed to this world but transformed by the renewing of our minds as we study your Word, and that our faith would grow—for faith comes by hearing, and hearing by your Word. May we take it in and not harden our hearts. As we saw in Acts 5 and Acts 7, when your Word went forth simply and clearly, they were cut to the heart, yet stiffened their necks, hardened their hearts, shut their ears, and beat up the messenger. Lord, may we not be those who harden our hearts. Soften our hearts by your Spirit, I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.