Keep Yourself Pure
May 2, 2018 · Pastor Miles DeBenedictis
In this teaching
Drawing from 1 Timothy 5:17-25, Pastor Miles examines the universal human drive toward purity and shows that, although Scripture commands us to be holy, no one is naturally pure and we therefore need God's supernatural power. He ties Paul's seemingly odd instructions about elders, wine, and hidden sin to the truth that personal religious standards do not equal righteousness—only the Spirit's fruit reveals genuine, Christ-given purity.
- Every human culture and every person has an innate, God-given drive toward purity, morality, and religion—better explained by creation in God's image than by naturalistic evolution.
- Scripture commands us to be holy (Leviticus 11:44; Matthew 5:48; 1 Peter 1:15), yet also declares no one is righteous (Romans 3:10), driving us to depend on God's supernatural power.
- In its context, Paul's instruction to "keep yourself pure" concerns the careful, unhurried appointment and discipline of church elders.
- Sobriety (or any external standard) is not the same as righteousness; you can keep a rule and still not be filled with the Spirit.
- Private impurity will eventually be publicly manifest, so leaders must be tested over time by their fruit (Numbers 32:23; Matthew 7:15-20).
- The true evidence of God's work is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5), not religious ritual or attendance.
Readable is a lightly edited reading copy; Verbatim stays close to the spoken words. The audio and video are the record of what was said.
Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and in doctrine. For the Scripture says, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain," and, "The laborer is worthy of his wages." Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses. Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear. I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality. Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people's sins; keep yourself pure. No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach's sake and your frequent infirmities. Some men's sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later. Likewise, the good works of some are clearly evident, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden. ()
Scripture commands us to be holy and tells us we cannot be—both true, and both pointing us to the supernatural power of God.
Honoring Those Who Rule Well
Before we turn to the Scriptures, I want to acknowledge something. One of the verses we'll look at says we should honor those elders who rule well, and a big part of the reason I'm in the ministry today is the work God did through a youth pastor named Tony Bonita when I was in high school. I came into the ministry nineteen years ago, largely due to God's work through him. Shortly after I started—twenty years ago—he was severely injured in a mountain bike accident.
Pastor Tony is here today. I can say with absolute certainty that I would not be in the ministry today if it weren't for him. He has always been a mentor and an encouragement to me, and he continues to attend this church every week. Tony, thank you. Anything God has done through me is fruit to your account.
The Universal Drive to Be Pure
If you take time to think about it, it won't take long to conclude that we humans are amazing beings. One of the amazing things about us is this abiding internal drive, this desire to be pure, to be better. To my knowledge we don't see this in any identifiable way in animals. Humans have a deep desire for purification—which begs the question, why?
If you survey the various opinions, you find many ideas. One view popular in our increasingly naturalistic society comes from evolutionary psychologists. They theorize that as the human brain evolved, it tripled in size, and most of that final development took place in the neocortex—presumed to be the seat of perception, thought, and language, the necessary precursors to religion and morality. They believe early humans realized they needed to stay together in tribes, because to be alone and exposed in the ancient world meant you wouldn't last long. Out of that social structure, they say, we developed an inclination toward morality and eventually religious rites and rituals that held the group together. To transgress those was to be banished, and to be banished meant death—so this got hardwired into us.
That's one theory. Anything is possible, I suppose. These theories arise to explain what is. The scientific method observes reality and tries to deduce why it is the way it is. What we observe is that every culture, as far back as we can study, at every time and place, has an inclination toward purity and morality and is geared for religion. Because those in the social sciences begin with a naturalistic framework—everything came to be by random chance and mutation over billions of years—they must come up with a naturalistic explanation for it.
Two Worldviews in Conflict
There are, of course, other theories. If, like me, you don't see morality and the inclination toward purity and religion as merely socially derived, you might assume a different origin. In modern Western culture there are fundamentally two worldviews: a naturalistic framework, where everything came to be by random chance over billions of years, and a theistic framework. These are in conflict, and you've probably met that conflict in conversations with friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers.
Perhaps the advanced neocortex is not a product of blind evolution but something designed. Perhaps our inclination toward morality and purity exists because we were created in the image and likeness of a God who is pure, who has called us to morality and written this inclination into us. That's why we have a conscience. One of the hardest questions for the naturalist to answer is where the conscience came from. I would posit, in line with Scripture, that we have a conscience and an inclination toward purity because God hardwired us that way—and that's why every culture orients itself toward religion.
Much to the disappointment of many evolutionary atheists, religion is not disappearing or even in decline. I would suggest that even ardent atheists are religious in their atheism, and they too feel this compulsion toward purification. If you tell almost anyone, "You're not living up to your potential; you could be better," they'll agree, because it aligns with what we innately already know. Richard Dawkins, the famed atheist professor at Oxford, even thinks there needs to be a purification of all that is bad and evil—and he identifies religion as that evil. He is religiously committed to purifying the world of religion.
Keep Yourself Pure
There is a compelling sense among humans everywhere, at all times, to keep oneself pure. It is an essentially human desire. And here in , Paul explicitly gives the exhortation: keep yourself pure. He's writing to his young protégé, a newly appointed pastor of the church in Ephesus, two thousand years ago.
The context is intriguing. This exhortation toward purity follows a word about the appointment and ordination of elders. Paul tells Timothy to choose leaders carefully—"do not lay hands on anyone hastily"—to hold them to a high ethical standard, and to reward them generously with double honor. Then he says, do not share in other people's sins; keep yourself pure.
That brings us to point one: we should be careful to maintain a personal purity. This aligns with the innate drive of every human being and with the teaching of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. In God says, "You shall be holy"—and then gives the standard: "as I am holy."
The interesting thing is that we usually set the bar for holiness based on other people, which is a problem, because you can always find someone worse off than you. "At least I'm not as bad as Hitler." But that's not the standard. God says, be holy as I am holy. Jesus says it in the Sermon on the Mount: "Be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect" (). That's a high bar—God Himself as the objective standard. Paul says, "keep yourself pure." Peter says, "be holy in all your conduct" ().
How People Try to Be Pure
We interpret and apply this internal drive in different ways. Some pursue purity by purging certain things from their lives. In 21st-century American culture this shows up as a near-religious zeal: if I could just get rid of calories, carbs, and gluten, I'd be more pure. Have you met any anti-carb evangelists? They're out there.
Others think purity comes by separating from certain people or groups—and frighteningly, that was the core mindset of the Third Reich: if we purify ourselves from these people, all will be right. Still others believe purity comes from purging certain ideas and thoughts. We see this in North American culture today: certain speech is classified as hate speech, and the new holy ground for this religious endeavor is the university campus with its safe spaces. And others pursue purity through denial—self-discipline, buffeting the body, getting rid of anything contaminating.
The simple question is: how do we actually keep ourselves pure? Here's what matters where the gospel is concerned. When you genuinely try to live by this drive and apply Scripture's command to be holy, you quickly reach point two: we are not naturally pure. Try as we may through asceticism, self-denial, separation, and safe spaces, the labor of self-purification will ultimately wear us out. We come to the clear understanding: I am not holy.
We Need God's Supernatural Power
The Bible says, "Be holy," but it also says, "There is none righteous, no, not one" (). Why would God call us to holiness and then tell us it's impossible? Is He messing with us? No. This is not a cosmic joke; He's leading us to a vital conclusion—point three: we need God's supernatural power to acquire and maintain purity. At its core, this is the gospel.
Paul puts it this way in Romans 7: the good I want to do, I don't do; the evil I don't want to do, that I practice. Can you identify with that? We desire purity, we agree with the standard, but we have no power in ourselves to make it a reality—certainly not to the level our conscience desires or to the level God demands when He says, "Be holy as I am holy."
The Verse That Wouldn't Fit
What does this have to do with ? When I set out to teach this letter, I planned on six weeks. This is our twenty-first message; six weeks became six months. And over the last several weeks I've been dodging this passage—not because I don't understand what Paul is saying, but because one verse in the middle just didn't seem to fit the flow.
Remember the context. Paul left Timothy to pastor a church in Ephesus that had gone off course, to bring it back. It's clear from chapter 1 that a large part of why the church went astray was that its leaders had led it astray. So Timothy, a young and newly appointed pastor, would have to exercise church discipline over elders already in place—men probably older than he was, which made it harder in that culture. That's why Paul said earlier, "Let no one despise your youth" (4:12).
So Paul cautions him: "Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses" (5:19). There must be due process. Don't go in guns blazing, turning over tables. But also honor those who do well: "Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor" (5:17). Discipline bad behavior; reward good behavior. Then in , "Those who are sinning"—underline that word; in the Greek it's the present tense, those openly and continually practicing sin—"rebuke," that is, openly confront for the purpose of correction and repentance, "in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear."
And then : "I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality." There would be a social compulsion to fall in line with respected leaders, so Paul says: show no partiality. God, Jesus, and the elect angels are watching how the church is led.
It all flows—, 18, 19, 20, 21—and then : "Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people's sins; keep yourself pure." By ordaining elders too quickly, you could have koinonia, fellowship, with their sin. And then, suddenly, : "No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach's sake and your frequent infirmities." It seems like a massive speed bump dropped right into the middle of the logic. How does that fit?
Maintaining Purity Is a Corporate Endeavor
This leads to point four: maintaining purity in the church is a corporate endeavor. I read commentaries and talked with Bible-teaching friends, and I didn't love any of the explanations. Then last week a friend from this church asked to have lunch. He shared part of his testimony—he was a terrible alcoholic for the first half of his life, and by God's grace has been sober for nearly forty years. As we talked, I said I'd been wrestling with this very passage, and I asked him: would you agree that drunkenness is sin? Absolutely, he said. Then I asked: would you also agree that sobriety does not equal righteousness? Yes, he said—you can be sober and still be totally unrighteous.
I think alcohol was a problem in the Ephesian context, just as it is for many in ours. Paul exposes it as an issue in : "Do not be drunk with wine, in which is excess, but be filled with the Spirit." He wrote that to the Ephesian church a few years before sending Timothy there. Here's my theory—Paul can correct me in heaven if I'm wrong—that the elders at Ephesus were not given to wine, and yet they had led the church astray. They had a standard: we don't drink. In a culture where alcohol was a major problem, that's a valuable standard. But sobriety did not equal righteousness. You can be not drunk with wine and also not filled with the Spirit—and that became the problem at Ephesus.
That's why, right in the middle of instructions about appointing elders, Paul throws out this parenthesis to Timothy. Nearly every commentary agrees Timothy was probably a teetotaler. The water supplies in that day, as in many developing nations today, were often unsanitary, so people added a little wine to kill off contaminants. Timothy's abstinence—a standard practice he shared with the Ephesian elders—was causing him physical infirmity. So Paul says: deal with this problem, and don't think your standard makes you righteous. It doesn't.
Some Sins Are Hidden
Then Paul returns to the thought in : "Some men's sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment." Some people you look at and immediately know they're not ready for eldership—their lives are out of order, their sin is worn on the outside, pushed before them in a cart for everyone to see. Maybe in the future, as God transforms them, but not now. "But those of some men follow later"—some people hide it well. The same is true of good works: some are clearly evident, and "those that are otherwise cannot be hidden."
So Paul is saying: don't lay hands on someone too quickly, because often the very thing needed is time—time to see the fruit of their life, because people can look very good on the outside. This is what Jesus condemned in the Pharisees in Matthew 23: you clean the outside of the cup, but inside it's dirty; you're like whitewashed tombs, beautiful outside but full of dead men's bones. No matter how good you make the outside look, the inside is still full of decay.
Private Impurity Will Be Publicly Manifest
This brings us to point five: private impurity will eventually be publicly manifest. You can't hide it forever. says, "Be sure your sin will find you out." Jesus said in , "Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits." Do men gather grapes from thornbushes? A good tree bears good fruit, and a bad tree bears bad fruit. By their fruits you will know them.
Having personal convictions about righteousness and purity is a good thing. But those positions, rites, rituals, and traditions don't make you righteous. Christ makes us righteous, beginning internally and working out through our lives by the renewing of our minds. We need God's supernatural power to acquire and maintain holiness.
The Fruit We Should Look For
In that light, the more important visible evidence is the fruit of the Spirit. Paul said, "Do not be drunk with wine, which is excess, but be filled with the Spirit." What do we want to see in people—just that they keep certain standards, "I don't drink"—or that they're filled with the Spirit, with the evidence showing in their lives? It's the evidence of the Spirit's filling we're far more interested in.
We can be tempted to exalt people whose lives look good on the outside while paying little attention to what's happening inside. So gives us a wonderful barometer. The evidence of God's Spirit is not religious ritual, church attendance, tithe records, or serving in children's ministry—all good things, but not the test. What we need to see is "the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." These are what God wants manifested to show forth His glory, and these are what we should honor when we lay hands on someone and say, "We see God's call and work in your life."
That's exactly what we'll do next week. I've been observing a young man's life, watching him walk these things out, and we'll be appointing him to the work of the ministry. We can get so fixated on how religious a person appears when we need to see Christ's righteousness manifested in them through love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. And we, as followers of Jesus, should endeavor to see that grow in our own lives by the work of God's grace and Spirit. Amen.
Closing Prayer
Father, thank you for this passage of Scripture, even though seeing the clear logical thread through it is sometimes hard for my little mind. Thank you for the work of your grace and your Spirit to lead us into these things. I pray, God, that any loose ends I've left, you would tie back together by your grace.
Thank you that it is not up to us to work our way up to you, because by our own strength and determination we will never get there. Thank you that you came down to us and dealt with our unrighteousness perfectly on the cross. So work out your righteousness in us as we follow you by faith.
Maybe as we stand here you realize you've been trying, through church attendance or religious effort, to make yourself pure—and you've found it impossible by your own strength. Christ died for your sin to make it possible that you could be forgiven and pardoned, indwelt with His Holy Spirit, and that He could accomplish His good work in and through your life by grace. If you would like to receive the forgiving grace of God today—His salvation, His Spirit in your life—lift up your hand.
If that's you, pray this with me out loud where you are: Dear Jesus, I know I cannot make myself pure. I confess that I need you. Would you come into my life, forgive me of my sin, and help me to follow you by faith, for your glory. Amen.
There's an internal drive in every human being to be holy, to be pure. The Bible has a lot to say about that, so open with us to First Timothy, chapter 5, as we consider it together.
Good morning, guys! How are you doing? Before we get into the Scriptures today, I just wanted to acknowledge something. We're going to be back in First Timothy, chapter 5, today, and one of the verses that we're looking at says that we should honor those elders who rule well. A big part of the reason that I'm in the ministry today is the work that God did through a pastor when I was in high school, a youth pastor named Tony Bonita. I came into the ministry 19 years ago, largely due to the work that God did through him.
Shortly after I started in the ministry, on April 29th, 1999, 20 years ago, Pastor Tony was severely injured in a mountain bike accident. Pastor Tony is right back there. Tony, would you stand up? I can say with absolute certainty that I would not be in the ministry today if it weren't for Pastor Tony. He was a mentor of mine, has always been a mentor of mine, and an encouragement. He continues to attend this church every single week.
Tony, thank you for the work that God did through you and for being a blessing to me. You taught me a lot, and you continue to teach me a lot, so thank you very much. If you get a chance, say hi to Tony. Today is a significant day for him; 19 years ago today, he was injured pretty severely in a mountain bike accident and has never been the same. However, there has still been a great work that God has done in and through him. I would say anything that God has done through me is fruit to your account, so thank you very much.
Now, would you guys stand with me and open your Bibles to First Timothy, chapter 5? If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of the ushers will bring you one. First Timothy is near the end of your Bible. Open to the very last book and turn to the left, and you'll find First and Second Timothy. Let's look at chapter 5, .
Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and in doctrine. For the Scripture says, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain," and "The laborer is worthy of his wages." Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses. Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest may also fear.
I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice. Do nothing with partiality. Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people's sins. Keep yourself pure. No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach's sake and for your frequent infirmities. Some men's sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later. Likewise, the good works of some are clearly evident, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden.
Father, we pray for wisdom. We believe that all Scripture is given by inspiration from You, and it is useful for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness, so that we would be thoroughly equipped for every good work. This includes this passage. So, God, we pray that You would speak, that You'd give us wisdom, understanding, and insight to make application from this passage for our lives. We desire to be continually transformed by the renewing of our minds to show forth what is Your good and perfect will in this world. We pray this in Jesus' name, and all those that agreed said, "Amen."
You may be seated. If you ever take time to think about it, I don't think that it will take you very long to conclude that we humans are amazing beings. One of the things that is amazing about us is that we have this abiding internal drive, this desire to be pure, to be better. To my knowledge, I don't think that we see this in any identifiable way in animals. Humans have this deep desire for purification, which begs the question: why? If you go and look at the various opinions, the various views of people as to why we have this, you will find a multitude of perspectives.
There is a deep drive to be better, to be pure, and an inclination towards morality. You find a lot of different ideas and opinions on this topic. One of the views that is popular in our day, as we live in a society that is increasingly naturalistic in its perspective, comes from evolutionary psychologists. They theorize about how we became moral beings and how this drive towards purity and morality is seen in every culture at virtually every time in recorded history.
According to evolutionary psychologists, the human brain underwent significant changes during its evolution, particularly about five hundred thousand years ago. At that time, the brain tripled in size, and most of the final evolution of the human brain, as stated by evolutionary psychologists and naturalists, took place in a portion of the brain called the neocortex. This part of the brain is presumed to be responsible for many complex phenomena that set humans apart, such as perception, thought, and language. It is believed that these capabilities are necessary precursors to religion and morality within human beings.
Theories abound regarding how we developed these moral sentiments. Those who study evolutionary psychology suggest that early humans recognized the need to stay together in groups or tribes. In the pre-civil ancient world, being alone or separate made individuals vulnerable, and they likely would not survive for long. Therefore, to survive and thrive, humans gathered in groups. As a result, they began to develop a social structure that included an inclination towards morality, working for the benefit of others.
Over time, these groups developed religious rituals, rites, and beliefs to help unite them. This idea is put forth by those within academia and the social sciences today, explaining how we came to be religious creatures.
Strongly tied to religious rites and rituals is the need to maintain morality within a group. If one transgresses these norms, they are often put out from the group. To be banished from the group, especially in the ancient world, could mean death. This is why such beliefs are so hardwired into us.
One of the theories put forth suggests that this inclination towards morality and religion is a fundamental aspect of human nature. It sounds interesting; perhaps that is how everything came to be. Anything is possible if you look at it that way. These theories arise to try and explain what we observe.
The scientific method involves observing reality as it is and then deducing why it is that way. When we look at what is, we see that every single culture, as far back as we can study, has an inclination towards purity and morality. We are geared for religion. When we observe this, we must try to explain how it came to be.
Those in the circles of social sciences and evolutionary psychology believe that the origins of everything are through naturalistic processes. Therefore, we must come up with a naturalistic explanation or framework for how things came to be as they are. In our culture today, we begin with a naturalistic framework: everything came to be by random chance and mutation over billions of years. We see what is, and from that starting point, we try to figure out how it came to be.
Of course, there are other theories. If, like me, you do not see morality and the inclination towards purity and religion as merely socially derived, or if you find that there aren't adequate answers or explanations from evolution, you might assume a different origin for these phenomena.
In modern Western culture, there are fundamentally two different worldviews. One is a naturalistic framework, where everything came to be by random chance and mutation over billions of years. The other is a theistic framework. These two perspectives are in conflict. You have probably encountered this conflict, perhaps in conversations with others.
Friends, family members, neighbors, and co-workers often bring up these topics. Perhaps this advanced neocortex of the human brain is not a product of a naturalistic evolutionary process; perhaps it is actually something that was designed. The inclination we have towards morality, towards purity, and the religious rites we try to adopt to bring about morality and purity may stem from the fact that we were created in the image and likeness of a God who is pure. He has called us to a morality and has written into us this inclination towards purity. That's why we have a conscience.
One of the hardest questions for naturalists to answer is the question of where the conscience comes from. There are all kinds of interesting theories about that, but I would posit, in line with what the Scriptures teach, that we have a conscience and this inclination towards purity because God hardwired us to be like that. This is why every culture we see at every stage of history has oriented itself towards religion.
Of course, there are those who say that this sounds really far-out, but it is certainly no more so than the alternative explanations being given to us. Both the theistic and the naturalistic frameworks that are popular in our culture are attempts to explain how things came to be as they are. Since we do not have a time machine to go back and see everything at its base level, we rely on theories.
Every human culture is religious; that is the reality. Going as far back as we can possibly study, every human culture has been religious, much to the consternation and disappointment of many evolutionary atheists. Religion is not disappearing; it is not even in decline when you look at the world today. I would suggest to you that even those who are ardently atheistic are religious in their atheism, and they too have this compulsion towards purification. In fact, if you are talking with someone who is not a believer or a believer, and you make the statement...
You know you're not living up to your potential. You could be better. Almost without a doubt, they'll say you're right. That statement aligns with what we innately already know. Those who have an atheistic worldview are even bent toward a purification.
Interestingly, if you read the writings of people like Richard Dawkins, a famed atheist professor at Oxford University in the United Kingdom, he even thinks that there needs to be a purification of all things that are bad, evil, and not good in the world. Of course, he identifies religion as that which is bad, evil, and not good. So, he would like to purify and get rid of religion. He is religiously committed to this endeavor, if you read what he has to say.
We are all geared this way. There is a compelling sense among humans everywhere and at all times to keep oneself pure. It is an essentially human desire to be pure. Here in this passage, , Paul explicitly gives the exhortation to keep yourself pure. He is writing to his young protégé, a newly appointed ordained pastor of the church in the city of Ephesus 2,000 years ago. In this passage, he says to keep yourself pure.
The context of that exhortation is intriguing to me. The exhortation toward purity follows a word about the appointment and ordination of elders. He is saying to Timothy that you need to appoint ordained elders. As you appoint and ordain leaders, overseers within the church, he emphasizes that you need to choose them carefully. There needs to be a careful process; do not lay hands on anyone hastily or too quickly.
There needs to be a careful process in identifying and appointing leaders and overseers within the church. Not only do you need to choose them carefully, but you also need to hold them to an ethically high standard, which we see in this text. Furthermore, after you have carefully chosen them, you should reward them generously. It is what he says; they should be given double honor.
After giving this direction about appointing or choosing elders or leaders within the church, he says, "Do not, in other people's sins, keep yourself pure." This brings us to point number one.
We should be careful to maintain personal purity. This statement aligns with the inclination of all human beings: a desire for personal purity and a living out of morality according to the conscience we have. Not only does this align with the innate drive of human beings, but it also aligns with the teaching of Scripture. From Genesis to Revelation, we see the concepts of morality, purity, and righteousness emphasized throughout.
One of the significant passages is found in the Old Testament Book of Leviticus, chapter 11, . There, God is speaking and says, "You shall be holy." He then gives us the standard for holiness: "You shall be holy, for I am holy."
The interesting thing about human beings is that we have this drive to be holy, and we often establish the bar for holiness based on what we observe in other people. This is problematic because we can always identify someone who is worse off than we are, which can make us feel good about our purity, righteousness, and holiness. Even if we struggle to find someone, we might say something like, "Well, at least I'm not as bad as Hitler." We look around and think, "Maybe I'm not as good as that guy over there, but I'm not as bad as that one over there." However, that is not the standard we are given.
God says, "Be holy, for I am holy." Jesus teaches this as well. In one of the greatest teachings of Christ in the Gospels, specifically in Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7, known as the Sermon on the Mount, He states at the end of chapter 5, "Be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect." That is a high bar and a high standard.
It is easy for me to feel righteous, moral, or perfect in light of other people in the world. However, when we set God, who is perfectly righteous as revealed in the Scriptures, as the objective standard of morality, righteousness, and holiness, that is a high bar. God says, "Be holy, as I am holy," and Jesus says, "Be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect." The early followers of Jesus, the Apostles, also give exhortations toward this as well. Paul...
Right here in this passage, we find the exhortation from Peter in 1 Peter, chapter 1, : "Be holy in all of your conduct." We should be careful to maintain purity. We have this innate drive to do so, and we have the exhortation of the Scriptures to guide us. We interpret and apply this internal drive, as well as the exhortations of the Scriptures, in various ways.
Human beings have different methods of interpreting this internal drive toward holiness and applying it in their lives. Some people believe that purity comes from purging certain things from their lives. They think, "If I just get rid of these specific things, I will be pure." How does this manifest in 21st-century American culture? For instance, some might say, "If I could just eliminate calories, carbs, and gluten, I would be better; I would be more pure." There are indeed individuals who are quite religious about this.
Others believe that purity can be achieved by avoiding certain people or groups. They think that if they just stay away from or segregate themselves from specific individuals or communities, they will be pure. Frighteningly, this was the core mindset of the Third Reich during World War II. The belief was that if they could purify themselves from certain people or groups, everything would be right.
Still, others argue that by not engaging with certain ideas or thoughts, they can achieve purity. This is what we are witnessing in 21st-century North American culture, particularly in the United States and Canada. Some believe that if we could just eliminate certain ideas and thoughts, we would be purer. This leads to a certain kind of speech that we need to legislate against, which poses a problem for our culture. We have enshrined in the First Amendment the freedom of speech, yet there are groups advocating for restrictions on certain kinds of expression.
Hate speech is not allowable, and when we eliminate that, we will be pure and enlightened. The new holy ground for this kind of religious endeavor is the university campus, where we have safe spaces that protect against such speech. People become religiously ardent about this idea of purity.
Another way that people interpret and apply this internal drive towards righteousness is by saying that purity will be found through denial. It will be found through the denial of desire and self-discipline. I can buff my body and discipline myself to rid myself of anything that is not helpful or is contaminating. We see all of these ideas in our culture in some way, shape, or form.
The exhortation of Scripture aligns with this internal drive to be pure. The simple question is: how do we keep ourselves pure? We will explore that as we go through the text in this passage. It is essential, as far as the gospel is concerned, for us to acknowledge that when we try to live according to this innate desire to keep ourselves pure and to be righteous, we will quickly come to the realization of point number two on your outline: we are not naturally pure.
Try as we may through asceticism, self-denial, self-discipline, separation, or safe spaces, the labor of purification and our own righteousness will ultimately wear us out. To be holy as God is holy, to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect, and to keep ourselves pure in all our conduct is a daunting task. As we endeavor to do this, we come to a very clear understanding: I am not holy. Hopefully, that is what we will see. Some people, upon realizing their inability to achieve this, simply try harder or seek a different method. Thus, we have this internal drive to be pure.
Holy, we have this external exhortation from God through the Scriptures to be holy. However, when we try to do that, we discover what the Bible also says in : "As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one." The Bible calls us to be holy, but it also states that there is nobody who is holy. Why would God call us to holiness and then also tell us it's not possible? Is He messing with us? What is this?
We have this internal drive, because we are created in His image, to be holy. Then He tells us to be holy, but also says, "Yeah, but you can't do that." Why on earth would He do this? Well, He is not messing with us; this is not some cosmic joke. He is leading us to a very important conclusion.
The third point is that we need God's supernatural power to acquire and maintain purity. At its basic level, this is the Gospel message: you are not pure, even though you have this internal compelling drive to be so, and even though the holy God tells us to be so. When you try to do that, you are immediately confronted with the reality that you are not pure. Paul puts it this way in : "The good things I want to do, I don't do; the bad things I don't want to do, that I practice." Can anyone identify with that? Absolutely.
We come to the realization that we are not naturally pure in and of ourselves. Therefore, we need God's supernatural power to acquire and maintain purity. We desire it, and we hold other people to a certain standard: "You're not living as you should be living." The Scriptures align with this, and we agree internally with the statement, "You should be holy," but we just can't. We have no power in and of ourselves to make it a reality in us, at least not to the level that we internally desire in our conscience or to the level that God says, "Be holy, as I am holy."
Now, what does this have to do with ? Let me try to wrap these things up together. When I set out...
To teach from First Timothy, I planned on covering it in six weeks. This is our 21st message in First Timothy, so six weeks has turned into six months. If you've been here over the last many weeks, you know that I've been kind of dodging this passage of Scripture. Why? Not because I don't understand what Paul is saying—I get it. Not because I don't know why he's saying it, but because I haven't really understood how best to articulate it. There is a verse in the middle of this flow of verses that just doesn't seem to fit. Every time I read it, I think, "I don't see how this fits."
Let's get back to the context for a moment. Paul left a man named Timothy to pastor the church in the city of Ephesus and to get a church that was off course back on course. That was the whole purpose of why Paul left him there. Paul had originally planted the church, and when he left, he was concerned that they might go astray. When he came back about eight years later, he found a church that had indeed gone astray. So he says to Timothy, "You stay here; you fix it. I gotta go." That's a tall order.
Timothy is there to oversee an off-course church and bring them back on course. Paul then writes this letter encouraging Timothy in that work and giving him specific direction about it. It becomes really clear very quickly when you open First Timothy chapter 1 that the reason the church was off course, at least in part and probably in a big part, was because the leaders had led them off course. There was a problem with the leadership—the overseeing elders in the church.
Timothy, as the newly appointed pastor ordained to oversee this church, is going to have to exercise church discipline over the leaders that are already there. This presents a problem, as he is probably younger than all those leaders, and in that culture, that would be even more difficult than it might be in our culture. Paul even says to him in First Timothy chapter 4, "Let no one despise your youth." Here he is as the overseeing elder over other elders, and now he has to get this church on course, which is likely going to involve church discipline.
He has to mete out that church discipline, so Paul cautions him. In First Timothy chapter 5, , he advises, "Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses." This makes sense. Timothy, the younger overseeing elder of this church, is going to have to exercise church discipline over other elders to get the church back on course. Paul emphasizes the importance of being careful when he says, "Make sure when you do..."
This you do with due process. There needs to be some corroborating evidence and testimony from at least two or three witnesses that this person is off course before you start going in there. Don't go in there guns blazing, turning over tables. There needs to be very careful oversight.
Don't receive an accusation against an elder except with two or three witnesses. So, there needs to be due process in disciplining off-course elders, but there also needs to be some honoring of those who have done well. First Timothy 5:17 states, "Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who have labored in the word and in doctrine." You want to discipline bad behavior, and you want to reward good behavior, which is what Paul essentially says here in this passage. It makes total sense.
Then, what do you do? First Timothy 5:20 says, "Those who are sinning..." Now, underline that word "sinning" because it is important. In the original language, this was written in Greek, and it is in the present perfect tense. It means those who are openly and continually practicing sin, those who are continuing to walk in sin, should be rebuked. The word "rebuke" means to openly confront for the purpose of discipline and bringing repentance. So, those who are actively practicing sin should be publicly confronted for the purpose of correcting it in the presence of all, so that the rest might fear.
Then he says in , "I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality." There was no doubt that leaders within that church were highly respected, and there would be a social compulsion for Timothy to fall in line with that. Paul says, "Do not show any partiality in this. God is watching." You are doing this before God, before Jesus, and before the elect angels, which is an interesting concept. Apparently, there are heavenly beings who are watching how the church is led, and that all seems to flow.
It all seems to make sense until we come to this point, which I have been hung up on: states, "Do not lay hands on anyone hastily."
Don't ordain new elders too quickly, nor share in other people's sins. By ordaining elders too quickly, you could share in communion with their sin. The word is Koinonia; you can have fellowship with their sin. So, don't tie yourself to their sin. Keep yourself pure, Timothy.
In , it says, "No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach's sake and for your frequent infirmities." Some men's sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some follow later. Likewise, the good works of some are clearly evident, and those of others cannot be hidden.
It seems like a total massive brick wall or a speed bump right in the middle of this logical form of Scripture. This is how you ordain elders, this is how you deal with elders who are out of the way, and this is how you reward elders. Oh, by the way, drink a little wine for your stomach's sake. What? How does that have anything to do with the passage here?
I believe it leads to this point: maintaining purity in the church is a corporate endeavor. What does that mean? Well, again, look at : "No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach's sake for your frequent infirmities." I've been trying to figure out how this fits with the logic. I've read a whole bunch of different commentaries on it and talked with some other Bible teaching friends about this passage.
If I just taught this verse out of context, it would make sense. I could teach a topical message on this, fine, but I like to see how things logically fit in the progression. I have one of those minds that likes to go from A to B to C to D. Does anyone else think like that? So when I get to B and C, I wonder where that came from.
I asked a number of friends, and I have to be honest: I didn't like any of their explanations. Then last week, a friend who goes to the church here asked if we could get together for lunch. He said he would love to talk with me about something. I said sure, that sounds good. We went to lunch on Friday, and as we were talking about things that seemingly had nothing to do with this passage, he started to share a little bit of his testimony.
I knew that for the first half of this man's life, he was a terrible alcoholic. Then, by God's grace, he got sober almost four decades ago and has been...
Sober for nearly 40 years is awesome and totally commendable. As we were talking about various things in life, he shared what he has learned over the last 40 years of walking with the Lord, being sober, and helping other people experience sober living. This is hugely commendable. I said to him, "You know, it's amazing we're having this conversation because I think this is providential."
I have been wrestling with a passage of Scripture, and I shared what had come to my mind. I think both you and I would agree that drunkenness is sin. He said, "Absolutely, the Bible makes it very clear that drunkenness is sin." I then wondered if he would agree with me that sobriety does not equal righteousness. He replied, "Yeah, you're right."
You see, you can be sober, and that's a good thing. I think the Bible promotes sobriety, but you can be sober while living according to a certain standard. I don't drink anymore; I used to, but I don't do it anymore, as this man was telling you. You can still be totally unrighteous.
Why do I bring this up? I think that alcohol was a problem in the Ephesian context, and it is a problem for many in our own context today. Paul exposes it as an issue when he writes in another letter to the church at Ephesus. In , he says, "Do not be drunk with wine, which is excess, but be filled with the Spirit."
He gives this exhortation to the Ephesian Church a few years before he sends Timothy there. He says, "Do not be drunk with wine, which is excess." I have a theory; I could be totally wrong, and we could get to heaven and Paul can correct it, but I have a theory that the elders at the Ephesian church were not given to wine, and yet they had led the church astray.
They had this standard of life: "We don't drink," which is a highly valuable standard, especially in a culture where alcohol was a major problem. It seems to be an emphasis. Though they had sobriety, that did not equal righteousness, and there was still a problem.
You see, Paul said, "Do not be drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit." Do you realize that you can be not drunk with wine but also not filled with the Spirit? This became a problem for the church at Ephesus. So why does Paul bring this up? Because he's talking about elders.
In this passage, Paul is discussing the appointment of elders to lead the church. In the middle of his instructions, he casually mentions to Timothy, "Oh, by the way, drink a little wine with your water for your frequent infirmities." Most commentaries agree that Timothy was likely a teetotaler, meaning he did not drink alcohol. Yet, Paul advises him to consume a little wine mixed with water.
Many biblical historians suggest that, similar to many developing nations today, the water supply in that time was often impure and unsanitary. To address the impurities and contaminants that could cause illness, such as parasites and bacteria, people would add a small amount of wine to the water to purify it. However, Timothy and the Ephesian elders were against the use of alcohol, adhering to a standard that was causing Timothy physical infirmities. Paul emphasizes that this standard does not make one righteous; it does not confer righteousness.
As Paul continues to address the church regarding eldership and leadership, he states in that some men's sins are clearly evident. There are individuals whose lives are so out of order that it is obvious they should not be elders in the church. Their sins are apparent, almost like they are pushing a cart of sin in front of them for everyone to see. Conversely, he notes that the sins of some follow them later; some people can hide their sins very well.
The same principle applies to good works. Paul explains that the good works of some are clearly evident, while the good works of others may be more subdued and not as easily recognized. Therefore, Paul is cautioning that we should not lay hands on someone to ordain them to a position of leadership within the church too quickly. Often, the very thing that may not be immediately visible can have significant implications for the church's leadership.
What is needed is time—time to see the fruit of their life. People can look really good on the outside. This is what we would refer to as Phariseeism; it's what Jesus speaks against in , a great passage to read later. He says of the Pharisees, "You guys clean the outside of the cup, but the inside is dirty. You look good on the outside, but not on the inside." He said, "You're like whitewashed tombs; you've painted the outside of a tomb, but inside it's still full of dead men's bones." It doesn't matter how good you make it look on the outside; it's still full of decay.
There is a way in which people within church settings can look really good on the outside but not be so good on the inside. One of the things that becomes very clear is that private impurity will eventually be publicly manifest. You can't hide it forever. This is the clear teaching of the Scriptures: private impurity will eventually be publicly manifest. It is said like this in the Old Testament Book of Numbers, chapter 32, : "Be sure your sin will find you out." It will come out, so don't lay hands on someone too quickly. Watch and test.
Jesus said it like this in , at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, in : "Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles
By the transforming of our minds, we would show forth what is good and perfect will in this world. That's what God wants to do in our lives. We need God's supernatural power in our lives to acquire and maintain righteousness, holiness, and purity. In that context, the more important visible evidence is the fruit of the Spirit.
Paul said, "Do not be drunk with wine, which is excess, but be filled with the Spirit." What is it that we're wanting to see in the lives of people? Is it that they just keep after certain standards, like not drinking, or is it that they're filled with the Spirit? The evidence of the filling of the Spirit is what we are far more interested in.
We can have this inclination to exalt people whose lives look really good on the outside, paying very little attention to what's taking place internally. We have a wonderful barometer for what we should be looking for in , where Paul tells us what the evidence of God's Spirit is in the life of a person. It's not religious ritual, church attendance, tithe records, or serving in children's ministry. All those things may be really good, but what we need to see in the life of a person is this: the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
These are the kinds of things that God is looking for in us to be manifest, to show forth His glory. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control—those are the kinds of things God wants to see. We should honor these qualities when we see them, perhaps by laying hands on someone and saying, "We see this, and we see God's call and work in your life towards this."
This is so that people and churches would not be led astray, which is exactly what we are going to do next week. A very practical application of this is that I have been observing a young man's life and seeing him walk out these things. We will be appointing him to the work of the ministry next week, so hopefully, you'll be here as we lay hands on someone within the church and pray for them in this way.
Fixated just on how religious a person is, we often overlook the need to see Christ's righteousness manifested in them through love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. As followers of Jesus, we should be endeavoring to see that grow in our lives by the work of God's grace in His Spirit. Amen.
Would you stand with me for a closing prayer? Father, thank You for this passage of Scripture. Even though sometimes seeing the clear logical thread through it might be hard for my little mind, I appreciate the work of Your grace in Your Spirit to lead us into these things. I pray, God, that any loose ends that I've left in this would be tied back together by Your grace.
Thank You that it is not up to us to work our way up to You. By our own strength, determination, and power, even though it's phenomenal what we human beings can accomplish through self-discipline and denial, we will ultimately never get there. So, we thank You that You came down to us and dealt with our unrighteousness perfectly on the cross.
God, work out Your righteousness in us as we follow You by faith. It may be that as we stand here today, you realize that you have been trying, through church attendance or religious effort and ritual, to make yourself pure and keep yourself pure. You may have come to the realization that this is totally impossible by your own strength.
I want to encourage you: Christ died for your sin to make it possible for you to be forgiven and pardoned. He can endow you with His Holy Spirit and accomplish His good work in and through your life by grace.
If you would like to receive the forgiving grace of God today, to receive His salvation and His indwelling nature, what we call salvation, I want to give you a chance to do that. Would you just lift up your hand as we are in an attitude of prayer? Is there anyone here who wants to receive the forgiving grace of God? I see you in the back. God bless you. Anyone else? You realize you've been trying to make yourself pure and keep yourself pure, and you have frustrated yourself in the process. You want to allow Christ to work it out in you.
You would lift up your hand to praise the Lord. If that's you, just follow along with me in this prayer. You can pray it out loud where you're at.
Dear Jesus, I know I cannot make myself pure. I confess that I need You. Would You come into my life, forgive me of my sin, and help me to follow You by faith for Your glory?
Scripture in this teaching
9Passages opened in this message
Related teachings
12Other messages that open the same passages