Turn with me now to 1 Timothy
chapter six. 1 Timothy six, the Lord willing, we will
finish our study through 1 Timothy tonight. We have two verses to
go. And verse 20, 1 Timothy 6, verse 20 begins with these two
words, O Timothy, O Timothy, We're just saying, oh soul, are
you wearied and troubled? No light in the darkness you
see. There's light for a look at the
Savior and life more abundant and free. Turn your eyes upon
the Lord Jesus Christ. Look full in his wonderful face
and the things of this earth will grow strangely dim in the
light of his glory and grace. Oh, Timothy. I have something
to say tonight and I'll emphasize it by the end of this message.
It very much is heavy on my heart and I pray the Lord will make
it clear and bless it. And it comes from, I believe,
the same place that Paul was coming from when he was writing
to Timothy here. Oh, Timothy. Paul loved Timothy. He loved Timothy. I want to show you some things
in the word that prove that to us, all right? Follow me to a
few scriptures here for just a minute. Go with me to Acts
chapter 16. Acts 16 verse one says, then
came he, then came Paul to Derbe and Lystra and behold, a certain
disciple was there named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which
was a Jewess and believed, but his father was a Greek, which
was well reported of by the brethren. that were in Lystra and Iconium. Him would Paul have to go forth
with him and took him and circumcised him because of the Jews which
were in those quarters, for they knew all that his father was
a Greek. Paul met this young man, Timothy,
and he said, I want him to come with me. I want him to come preach
the gospel with me. I want him to travel with me. Second Timothy tells us that
he was a young man who was well taught from his youth up. Well taught the scriptures and
Paul had much confidence in Timothy. Paul had much confidence in this
young man, Timothy. Look with me at first Corinthians
chapter four. First Corinthians 4 verse 17,
it says, for this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who
is my beloved son and faithful in the Lord. who shall bring
you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ as I teach
everywhere in every church. He said, Timothy preaches the
same gospel I preach. And he's beloved to me. He's
like a beloved son to me. There's so much love in me for
him. It's like he's my own son. Oh, the love and the unity that
there is in Christ. Turn over to Second Timothy chapter
one. Second Timothy one verse one,
it says, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,
According to the promise of life, which is in Christ Jesus. Verse
two says to Timothy. I'm writing this letter to Timothy. Paul said the same thing in first
Timothy one, but he expounds on it here. Verse two, he said
to Timothy, my dearly beloved son. Grace, mercy, and peace
from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God whom
I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience that without
ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and
day. He said, Timothy, I think about
you all the time. I pray for you all the time.
Verse four, greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of
thy tears, that I may be filled with joy when I call to remembrance
the unfamed, that means the sincere, the truthful, faith that is in
thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and in thy mother
Eunice, and I am persuaded that in thee also. Wherefore, I put
thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which
is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not
given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and
of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed
of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner. But be
thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the
power of God, who hath saved us and called us with an holy
calling, not according to our works, but according to his own
purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus. before
the world began. Oh, Timothy. Oh, Timothy. Our text, for me, is just right
across our page, back in our text, 1 Timothy 1, or 1 Timothy
6, verse 20. He said, oh, Timothy. And here's
what he's getting at right here. Here's Paul's final word to Timothy,
this young man who he obviously loves with all of his heart.
Paul ended his first letter by saying, Timothy, Stay on Christ. What are you saying right here?
Oh, Timothy, stay on Christ. Keep the message. Keep the focus. Keep your doctrine, your teaching
on Jesus Christ. Stay on Christ. Verse 20 says, Oh, Timothy. Keep that which is committed
to that trust. What was committed to Timothy's
trust? What is committed to every believer's
trust? Preacher and hearer. It's the
message of Jesus Christ. It's the message of the Lord
Jesus Christ. That's what has been committed
to God's people. Committed to the trust or to
the hand of God's people, salvation and redemption from sin that
has all been committed to Christ. Election, redemption, regeneration, glorification. That's God's work. That work has been committed
to the Godhead in, by, and through the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Look at 2 Timothy 1 again. Speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ,
verse 9 says, who hath saved us and called us with a holy
calling. Salvation is of the Lord. Calling
is of the Lord. not according to our works, but
according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us
in Christ Jesus before the world began, but is now made manifest
by the appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who hath abolished
death and hath brought life and immortality to light through
the gospel, whereunto I am appointed a preacher and an apostle, and
a teacher of the Gentiles, for the witch cause I also suffer
these things. Nevertheless, I am not ashamed,
for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able
to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." The
choice in who will be saved, that's committed to him. The
decision is committed to him. The will in the matter is committed
to him. The payment for all the sin of
all of his people. That's all committed to him.
The suffering, the judgment, the torture, the pain, the agony
that was all committed to him. The deliverance. The resurrection,
the ascension, the glory, that was all committed to him. The
declaration of that. The going and telling everybody. Great things, these great things. The preaching of Jesus Christ
to every soul in this world, that has been committed by God's
grace to us. We can't do, without him we can
do nothing, it's still his. However, according to his word,
that has been committed to us. That's why Paul said in verse
8 of 2 Timothy 1, right here, be not thou therefore ashamed
of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner, but
be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the
power of God. He said, no matter what, you
go out and preach the person and the work of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Stay right there. Don't be ashamed
to stay right there. Don't be ashamed to stay right
there. Timothy, some are going to see you as being foolish. Some are going to see you as
being too simple, too shallow, not challenging the mind enough. Some are going to see you as
being too repetitive. You know that story of when Brother
Joe Terrell first heard the truth, he went to college near Brother
Henry Mahan. And a man who had been listening
to Henry told him, you need to go hear Henry Mahan. So he did,
you know, a couple of times. And when he went home on break,
the guy, he ran into that guy and he said, did you ever go
hear Henry Mahan? He said, yeah, I did. The guy said, what'd you
think? He said, it was all right. He said he repeats himself a
lot. So he went back to school, and
he went a little bit more, came home on break, and ran into that
guy, and he said, you still listening to my hand? Yeah, I go every
now and then. What do you think? Yeah, he repeats
himself a lot. I like this story. I think it's
an interesting point of view. I can see that. So Joe went back. And he started going full time.
And he went back home, and he ran into that guy, and he said,
I'm sitting full time under Henry Mahan. The guy said, really?
What do you think? He said, he repeats himself a
lot, and I'm starting to get it. We repeat ourselves a lot, don't
we? Timothy, some are going to see
you as being too simple, too shallow. Boy, you're a broken
record, aren't you, buddy? You only got one note. Is that
all you play is one note? Too repetitive. Some are going
to see you as being too dogmatic. That's just too narrow. But Timothy,
some are going to see you as being a messenger of Jesus Christ. an ambassador of Jesus Christ,
and they're going to believe the message you preach. And if
they do, that faith is committed to him. That's his work. If faith
comes, causing people to believe, that's Christ's work. If any
sinner ends up believing this truth, that's Christ's committed
work. His faith that he gives and he
performs, causing a person to believe. People believing the
message, that's not committed to us. I wish everybody believed this
message. That's just not in my ability. It's not in your ability. It's not in my ability or your
ability. Christ is the author and the finisher of any sinner
believing the message. But Paul said, Timothy, the responsibility,
and I think about this, the responsibility to preach Jesus Christ and him
crucified has been committed to our trust. We have a responsibility to say
it again and say it again and stand up and say it again. And
Paul said, stay on that, do that, stay there, stay right there.
Our text here, 1 Timothy 6, verse 20, it says, O Timothy, keep
that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain
babblings, and oppositions of science, falsely so-called, which
some professing have erred concerning the faith." He said, Timothy,
we have a responsibility to get on Christ and stay on Christ
and to not let anything get us off of Christ. That young man
filled in for the pastor while he was gone one time. And you
know, when he was done, Reached his message and when he was done,
he came back and asked that elder in the congregation, what'd you
think? The elder said he was poor. Why do you think he was
poor? Christ wasn't in it. And this
is what he said. Christ wasn't in the text. Do you see the word Christ right
there? That young man said, well, Christ wasn't in the text. That elder said, young man, Christ
is in every text, in every portion of scripture. There's a road
that leads to Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Our business is
to find that road and get on it. That's our business. Timothy,
we have a responsibility to get on Christ and stay on Christ
and not let anything get us off of Jesus Christ. He said in verse 20, O Timothy,
keep that which is committed to thy trust. Avoid profane and
vain babblings. Profane means unholy, wicked. Vain means empty, useless discussions,
babblings. Avoid that. Verse 20, and oppositions
of science, falsely so-called. The word science right there
means knowledge, intelligence, understanding. He said, Timothy,
ignore the oppositions of man to God's Word. Ignore them. Ignore
them. They think they have knowledge,
intelligence, understanding. They don't. They think they can
disprove God's Word. They can't. Don't waste your time arguing
with them. Declare your truth and move on. We're not here to
argue the law. We're here to declare Christ. We're not here to debate prophecy. We're here to declare Christ.
We're not here to split hairs over doctrines. We're here to
declare Christ. Look at Titus chapter 3 with
me. Titus chapter 3. Verse 5 says, Not by works of righteousness,
which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us by
the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which
he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ, our Savior, that
being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according
to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying, and
these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they
which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable
unto men, but avoid foolish questions and genealogies and contentions
and strivings about the law, for they are unprofitable in
their vain. You stay on who Christ is and
what he accomplished on the cross for his people. And avoid everything else, just
leave it alone. Look back at 2 Timothy, back
just a couple of pages. 2 Timothy chapter 2. 2 Timothy 2 verse 11, it is a faithful
saying Or if we be dead with him, we shall also live with
him. If we suffer, we shall also reign with him. If we deny him,
he also will deny us. If we believe not, yet he abideth
faithful. He cannot deny himself. Of these
things, put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord
that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting
of the hearers. Study to show thyself approved
of God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing
the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings,
for they will increase unto more ungodliness. That's all they'll
do. That's all they'll do. Verse
23 right here, he said, But foolish and unlearned questions avoid,
knowing that they do gender stripes. That's all they do. Stay on Christ. Stay on Christ. Look at 1 Timothy
1. 1 Timothy 1, verse 15. 1 Timothy 1, verse
15. Paul said, this is a faithful
saying. Here it is, right here. This
is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I'm the
chief. He said, that's it, Timothy.
That's it right there. That is the faithful saying.
Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners. Are there any
sinners here? Look to the Lamb of God. That is the message. Stay on
that. Stay on that. Right here in 1
Timothy 1, the end of verse 3, he said, teach no other doctrine.
Verse 4, neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies
which minister questions rather than godly edifying which is
in faith. Now, I know that I have read a lot of scripture to you
tonight. I've had you turn to a lot of scripture, but turn
with me to one more place and I'll close, all right? Go to
1 Corinthians chapter 1. This is what Paul was stressing
to Timothy. And this is what Paul is stressing
to all of us. This needs to be stressed to
all of us. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 17. He said, Christ sent me not to
baptize, but to preach the gospel. not with wisdom of words, lest
the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the
preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness.
But unto us which are saved, it is the power of God. For it
is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and will bring
to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the
wise? Where is the scribe? Where is
the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the
wisdom of this world? For after that, in the wisdom
of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews
require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach
Christ crucified. Unto the Jews a stumbling block,
and unto the Greeks foolishness. But unto them which are called,
both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom
of God. Because the foolishness of God
is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
For you see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after
the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called, but God
hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the
wise. And God hath chosen the weak
things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.
And base things of the world and things which are despised
hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nothing
things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence.
But of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto
us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
that according as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory
in the Lord." In Philippians 3, Paul said, everything else
is dung. Everything else, it's all worthless. Everything but the person and
the work of Jesus Christ. In chapter two, verse two, right
here, he said, I determine not to know anything among you save
Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Oh, Timothy, stay right there. Stay right there. May God give
us the ability to stay right there. Now, I told you I had
something to say. Something, you know, burdened
on my heart to say. May God give us the ability to
stay right there, not from just a preaching perspective, but
from a hearing perspective. May God give us a desire to only
preach Christ and to only hear Christ. Does that make sense? You pray for me, like Paul said,
brethren, pray for us. I want you to pray for me that
God will keep my preaching on Christ. And I will pray for you
that God will keep your hearing on Christ. and never get to the
place where we say, I've heard that already. I don't need to
hear that again. I think I need to go find something
else. I think something needs to be added to this. I think
maybe there's a little more to this. I pray God will keep this message
on Christ and keep our hearing on Christ. There is value in
this. This is the flesh. The flesh will glory in everything
but Christ, everything but the word of God, everything but the
gospel of God. It will glory in everything.
It will rejoice naturally and desire anything and everything
but the things of God. The flesh is so contrary to God. And, you know, like our brother
said, well, they get up there and repeat themselves a lot.
There's so much value in it. There's so much worth in it. There's so much safety in it.
There's so much fullness in it because Christ is in it. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
is in the gospel. And I pray that God will let
us stay right there. I pray that vain babblings will
never become a Enticing thing to us. Any sweet
whispering into the ear of anything else that would draw us away
from Christ. Lord, get us on Christ, keep us on Christ. Paul
ended the text by saying, Timothy, grace be with you. God's grace
be with you. Christ be with you. The grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ be with us. I pray so, amen.