Alright, the reading is 1 Timothy
chapter 1, verse 1 through 17. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
by the commandment of God our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ,
which is our hope. Unto Timothy, my own son in the
faith. grace, mercy, and peace from
God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. As I besought thee
to abide still in Ephesus, when I went to Macedonia, that you
might charge some that they teach no other doctrine, Neither give
heed to fables and endless genealogies which minister questions rather
than godly edifying which is in faith, so do. Now the end
of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart and 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 use it lawfully, knowing this, that the law is not made
for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient,
the ungodly, for sinners, for unholy and profane. for murderers of fathers and
murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers, for them that
defile themselves with mankind, for men-stealers, for liars,
for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that
is contrary to sound doctrine according to the glorious gospel
of the blessed God which was committed to my trust. And I thank Christ Jesus, our
Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful,
putting me in the ministry, who before was a blasphemer and a
persecutor and injurious, that is, violent, but I obtained mercy
because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. and the grace of our
Lord was exceedingly abundant with faith and love which is
in Christ Jesus." Now this I'd like you to watch. This is a
faithful saying, worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. Howbeit for
this cause I obtain mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might
show forth all long-suffering for a pattern to them which should
hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting. Now unto the King
eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be glory and
honor forever and forever. Amen. Now, we have the whole
chapter, but we're looking not at all of it per se, but at that
part concerning Paul and his ministry of salvation and such
like. Now again, in reading from this
book or from this text, we have lighted in one of those books
in the Bible that is called or known as the Pastorial Epistles. There are three of them, two
to Timothy and one unto Titus. And in the case of each man,
Timothy and Titus, he had left them in a certain place when
he pressed on in order that they might oversee the work of the
church, that they might defend the truth of the gospel from
corrupting false teachers, and that they might oppose any heresy
that might raise up in that particular congregation. Now Titus, he had
left on the island of Crete to finish what Paul had not had
time to do. Titus 1 and verse 5. For this cause, he said, left
I thee in Crete to set in order the things that were left undone
and to ordain elders in every city. But Timothy, on the other
hand, he had left at Ephesus in order that he might maintain
sound biblical doctrine and gospel and defect any heresy that might
come." 1 Timothy 1 and verse 3. Now this young man, Timothy,
let's think about him here for a moment. Timothy was a favorite
helper of the Apostle Paul. And he referred to Timothy as
my beloved son, 1 Corinthians 4 and verse 17. And here in the
second verse of our text today, my own son in the faith is how
he addresses or refers to him. Some think that Timothy was converted
on Paul's first missionary journey as he came through in the area
where they were. Timothy lived or abode in Lystra,
and Timothy had this advantage that from an early age, even
as a boy, He was taught the Scripture by his God-fearing mother and
his grandmother. That's 2 Timothy 1 and 5 and
3.15. If you remember in the 16th chapter
of the book of Acts, Paul came to that region preaching the
gospel. Timothy was there. He's a young
man now. And Timothy was well respected
as a disciple and a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was
respected by those that knew him, Acts 16 and verse 2. As Paul labored there, he no
doubt saw the gifts and the talents that the Lord had endued Timothy
with, and so he desired Him to accompany him on his journey
and take him along with him on his preaching. Consider, if you
would, how very highly Paul valued his young assistant when we turn
back to Philippians the second chapter and read a passage here
concerning this matter. It's in Philippians the second
chapter. It begins in verse 19. We'll read through verse 23.
Here you'll see what Paul thinks about Timothy. Verse 19, But
I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you,
that I may also know of your good comfort when I know your
state. Watch this. I have no man like-minded
who will naturally care for your state, that is like Timothy verse
21, for all seek their own, not the things which are Christ Jesus
or Jesus Christ. But we know the proof of Him.
that as a son with a father, he has served me in the gospel. Him, therefore, I hope to send
presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me."
You no doubt remember that though Timothy's mother was a believing
Jewish woman, his father, on the other hand, was a Greek or
a Gentile, and he therefore was of mixed blood. And because of
that, Timothy was uncircumcised and because Paul and Timothy
would be preaching to many Jews, Paul had him to be circumcised,
for all the Jews knew, it said, that his father was a Greek. So now, Paul sends this first
epistle back to his young protege, who he's left behind, exhorting
him concerning the Word of God, church order, and Christian work
in general. In verses 1 and 2, you have the
greeting from Paul to Timothy, grace, mercy, and peace, as was
so often the custom of the apostle. Then in verse 3 through verse
11, you have the main thrust of the epistle, in the end of
verse 3, to restrain some from teaching all manner of strange
doctrine that were at variance with what Paul had delivered
unto them, that were contrary to the gospel that Paul had preached
and that they had believed and received. to cease and desist
from bringing in other doctrines that were not according unto
the faith. And in verse 4, especially, to
avoid myths and arguments about genealogy, which he says were
useless and without any profit whatsoever. Now it seems from
verse 5 through verse 11 that those who desired to be teachers
of the law actually were found to be ignorant of the true nature
and of the function of the law and of the purpose of the law.
That's the case so many times with people who are pressing
the law upon people that they are ignorant of its true nature. But in verse 7 he acknowledges
desiring to be teachers of the law. With that you could read
Romans 2. And verse 17 to verse 23 sometime,
I think it has a close affinity. In other words, they wanted to
be teachers of the law. It was their wish to instruct
people out of the law, thinking themselves very skilled doctors
and teachers of the law, and well grounded in its precept. and in its portion. But Paul
says they are ignorant of the true nature of the law. And yet were they dogmatic in
their assertions about the law? And still, as Patrick Fabrain
wrote in his book on the pastoral epistles, quote, they were utterly
unqualified for the office that they assumed." And again, isn't
that always the case as well? Now in verse 8 through 10, Paul
will not leave himself open to the charge that he is an enemy
of the law. Having said what he said about
the law, he will cut off any opportunity for them to count
him as an antinomian and an enemy of the law, and that Paul says
the law is useless, worthless, and is a nuisance. He's not against
the law per se, we learn, nor did he teach that it was bad. Yea, we know that the law is
good, he said so in Romans 7, 7, 7-12, and 7-14, that even
after the law, found sin in him that he was
not aware of. Even after it had stirred up
passions of sin and feelings of sin in him, and it slew him,
then he still denies in Romans 7 and verse 7 that the law is
sin. Or in verse 12, he calls it holy
and just and good. And in Romans 7 and 14 says that
the law is spiritual, but I on the other hand am carnal." So
his contention is not with the law per se, but with those ignoramuses
who used it in the wrong way, doing great harm in their teaching. It was with their handling of
the law that he contend. In short, they knew not the proper
design or the proper function of the law. They perverted it
out of its design purpose that God had intended. it not being
used lawfully or not being used properly, such as when one seeks
justification by or from the hands of the law, or when one
seeks righteousness by the hands of the law, it is a wrong or
unlawful use of the law. Then verse 9, many have been
caused to scratch our chins at first until we see the contrast
that is here in this verse. The law is not made for the righteous. but for every sort of lawless
ones is the law made." Now I agree with Calvin that in this place
it is not Paul's intention to cover every aspect or every use
and every purpose of the law. His words are in relation to
those about whom he is speaking in this epistle. Law instructors
who did not know what they were talking about. And who, in verse
5, did not understand that the end, the aim, or the goal of
the law is love, which has its realization in faith. It's in Acts 15 and verse 9.
God purified their hearts by faith. Concerning Acts 15 and
verse 9, Peter is arguing against imposing the ceremonial law upon
the Gentile converts in that day, calling it a yoke which
neither we nor our fathers were able to bear, and addressing
the Gentiles that they are saved by grace even as we were at the
beginning. But let's go back to our text
and verse 5, where three things are listed here as companions
of love. that it proceeds out of a pure
heart, a good conscience, and faith, that is, unfeigned faith,
faith that is real and genuine, not false and pretentious. Verse
9, the law is necessary to such as were lawless and rebels, all
sorts of vile sinners, are listed here in verse 9 and verse 10. Here are some of them. The impious,
murderers, fornicators, sodomites, thieves, liars, perjurers. These need the restraint of the
law. The law has a purpose toward
them. Calvin insinuated that righteous
persons do not need the law to control them. They walk by faith
and live under and through the grace of God, their conscience
is purged from dead works that it might serve the living God,
and they are moved by love, love to God, His Word, in all that
they do. But now coming to verse 11 and
following, we will be reminded. that those that are ignorant
of the true nature and of the true function of the law will
also not likely understand the true nature and the true function
of the gospel or of the grace of God. Those who know not the
law will know not the gospel. Those who know not what to make
of the law will also not know what to make of the gospel. And
here let me call your attention. Paul transitions here, if I may
use the word, to a discussion of the glory of the gospel of
the blessed God. And the question is, What is
the apostle telling Timothy that is in accordance with his gospel? What is it that he is saying
that is in accordance with the gospel that Paul had preached
unto them in verse 11? according to the glorious God's
gospel which I was entrusted with." I notice that the NIV
version has it, quote, that conforms to the glorious gospel of the
blessed God which he entrusted to me, unquote. Now again the
question, What has Paul said previous that is in accordance
with the gospel entrusted to him? How far back must we go
to find the point of reference for this verse? Now, let's notice,
first of all, how it is punctuated in our English version. In that,
if you will notice, verse 8 through verse 11 is a long flowing sentence
for which Paul is famous. Thus it must refer to all that
Paul had just said about the law, that is, Gil said, no doctrine
is sound, no doctrine at all, but what is agreeable to the
gospel of the Lord's Christ. There's a statement from Paul
in Romans 3 and verse 31, that has often made me sit back, scratch
my head, and see if I can understand what Paul is saying. It is this. Paul had been saying, free grace
apart from the law. Now he asked this question in
Romans 3.31. Do we then make the law void
through faith? Do we make Void the law through
faith. Then his answer is, God forbid. No, that's not so. That will
not happen. And he goes on to add, yea, we
establish the law, that is, by faith. So the question is, do
we avoid the law by faith? God forbid. Yea, actually we
establish the law by faith or by believing by faith. Salvation
by faith. apart from the law, does not
make void, does not destroy, does not nullify the law, it
establishes the law, says Paul. Well, how so? Let's see if we
can get a hold of it. First we see that Paul answers
in the negative, God forbid. No, we do not make the law void
by believing through faith in Christ. In fact, we establish
the law in justification by faith, which faith rests upon the redemption
which is in Jesus Christ our Lord. I had to see what Gil said
on Romans 3 and 31, by faith the law is established, the spirituality
of it is acknowledged, the righteousness of it secured, all its demands
answered, perfect obedience to its precepts answered by Christ
because He bore its full penalty, Gil said. Well, back to 1 Timothy
1. verses 12 through 17 now, that
section, the mention in verse 11 of the glorious gospel committed
unto him causes the apostle now to express thanksgiving unto
his Lord and unto his Christ for putting him in the ministry,
for committing the gospel to him and making him a minister
of the gospel. for calling him, enabling him,
entrusting him with a gospel minister. In fact, making him
an able minister of the New Testament or the New Covenant, 2 Corinthians
3 and verse 6. Now, what makes this so amazing? And what it is, that so humble
Paul is in the 13th verse of our text. What he had been. What
Paul had been before his encounter with Christ. What he was before
he was a converted man. What was he? Was he a moralist? Was he a perfect man? He calls
himself, look, a blasphemer. a persecutor, an injurious, literally
a violent man, is how he described himself, against the people of
God. Here's a man who was the foremost
zealot for Judaism and the most ardent enemy of Christianity
on the face of the earth at that time. He persecuted the church. He wasted it, is how he said
it in Galatian. He put the saints in prison. Men and women he hailed and cast
them into prison. He forced some of them to blaspheme. forcing them to blaspheme against
the name of their Christ. So much so was Paul an enemy
and a trouble and a nuisance to the churches that it is said
when he was converted, the churches had rest. In the book of Acts
chapter 9 verse 31, then had the churches rest. When Paul
was captured by God, by Christ, he was at rest, came to the church. His persecution was at an end. Notice what he said, I obtained
mercy. I was given mercy. I had acted
out of pure, unadulterated ignorance. He means as great as was his
wickedness. as vile as was his guilt, as
awful as was his behavior against the things of God and Christ
and the people of God, yet he was given mercy. My being that,
my being what I was, and yet I was given mercy. Heavenly compassion
rained down upon his unworthy head, which not only saved his
soul, but it made him an apostle, made him a minister of the gospel,
and a minister under the Gentiles. Now, we notice something. Paul
saying his obtaining mercy was both because he acted in ignorance
and unbelief, and because in spite of his ignorance and unbelief. He does not use his former ignorance
in any way to lessen or to mitigate the enormity of his ignorance,
his guilt, or of his behavior. He was acting in ignorance and
carried away in unbelief, carried away by a current of what shall we call ignorant
zeal. Yes, ignorant zeal Paul was exhibiting. Listen to him before Agrippa. You'll find it in Acts chapter
26 in verse 9, quote, I truly thought with myself that I ought
to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth,
unquote. His enmity was an outgrowth of
two things in his life and experience, eh? At the time, he was living
as a Pharisee. And as a Pharisee, he espoused
all the teaching of the Pharisee, yea, and was stricter than they
all who adhered unto that sect. He was impelled by ignorance
and unbelief. Imagine that, if you can, brothers
and sisters, the smartest man, the most learned man in all of
Judaism, yet so ignorant of the things of God. The most religious,
yet an unbeliever. The most devoted and yet ignorant
and unbelief. guided his way. Now this shows
how dangerous is religious ignorance. A lot of people are proud of
their ignorance. I've heard a lot of preachers brag about how ignorant
they were, how they never have studied this or that. or it is
dangerous, religious ignorance is, or should it be ignorance
on religious matters that we're discussing. To expand, consider
what the Apostle Peter told a gathering of the Jews concerning their
having put the Lord Jesus Christ to death. You'll find it in Acts
3 and verse 17. In preaching to them after the
man in the temple had been gloriously healed Many Jews gathered there
on the porch to see about this matter. Peter says to that crowd
of Jews, quote, I know that through ignorance you did it, that is,
crucified, killed the Son of God, as also your rulers. I know that it was out of ignorance. You can see more. In Acts 13
and 27, 1 Corinthians 2 and verse 8, where Paul said, had the rulers
of this world known, they would not have done so. So Paul is
saying, as Calvin put it, it was thoughtless zeal that carried
Paul or Saul alone. He was not, someone said, good
point I think, a deliberate enemy of Christ, but so by reason of
error and by ignorance. Patrick Fairbain had not deliberately
said it, nor the counsel of God defied heaven to its face, but
he did it out of ignorance and unbelief. Gill said of Paul's
behavior as a Pharisee, he was a poor, blind, ignorant bigot
who at the time did not know that Jesus was the Christ or
that his followers were the true Church of God." Even the Savior
said in his dying hour upon the cross, Luke 23 and verse 34,
Father forgive them for they know not what they do. They had no idea of the extent
and the consequences of the one that they were putting to death.
Paul, in his blind and ignorant zeal, thought that he was a servant
of the Most High God. He thought that he was defending
the true way of worship and he thought that he was standing
upon the Scripture and the Word of God. He reminds Timothy, therefore
reminding us, that this had not put him outside of the pale of
saving mercy. That he was a blasphemer, an
ignoramus, that he was full of unbelief, that he was a violent
man, did not put him beyond the pale of the saving mercy and
grace of God. In fact, God mercied him in Jesus
Christ, is what he is saying. Look at verse 14. He exults in
the grace of God, saying there, in addition to the mercy shown
to me in spite of my ignorance. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
was exceedingly abundant with faith and love which is in Christ
Jesus. Everything flowing out of Christ
Jesus and the grace of God. He uses a word here that means
to super abound. We don't see it too many times
in the scripture. So it was a case A literal case
where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. As he said
in Romans chapter 5 and verse 20, grace went beyond his sin. God had more grace than Paul
or Saul had sin. And this abounding grace was
accompanied with faith and love which came to him in connection
with Jesus Christ. All Paul became, all that he
was as an apostle, a Christian, and a minister, he owed it all
and fully to the grace of God. In fact, he writes in 1 Corinthians
15 and 10, I am what I am by the grace of God. In Galatians
1.15, God separated me from my mother's womb and called me by
His grace. This, after he had been such
a sinner, such an enemy of Christ, such an enemy of the church,
and yet called by the grace of God. I like to think that there
could be four slices here to this verse that make up the whole
of it. First of all, what he is about
to say is a reliable statement. Verse 15 I'm talking about. What
he is about to say is a reliable statement of fact. Look at this.
This is a faithful saying. Like over in chapter 3 in verse
1, this is a true saying. If a man desire the office of
a bishop, he desireth a good thing. In other words, it's a
faithful word. It is a trustworthy saying to
say that. In fact, Paul uses this phrase
some five times in the pastorial epistle, a faithful saying I'm
about to give you. Secondly, he said, it is worthy
of all acceptation. It is deserving of being received. It is a word which can be accepted,
relied upon, trusted in with all confidence in the world. It can be fully accepted, being
of all acceptance worthy without any reservation whatsoever."
What is that word? Well, thirdly, the faithful word
worthy of acceptation is this, Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. This is the word that's worthy
of all acceptation. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. One writer called this the gospel
in one sentence. Came into the world to save sinners. Much like the word of the angel
unto Joseph in Matthew 1.21. We had a good message from Brother
Wilson on that last Lord's Day. Thou shalt call His name Jesus. He shall save His people from
their sin. Even the Lord said in Luke chapter
19, I believe it's in verse 10, The Son of Man has come to seek
and to save that which was lost. In Galatians 1 in verse 4, who
gave Himself for our sin that He might deliver us from this
present evil world according to the will of God and our Father. His purpose in dying. was to
save His people from their sin. And in the Gospel, there is proclaimed
that wonderful death of our Lord, that Jesus died to deliver sinners
from a state of sin and of slavery. When grace overcomes our ignorance
and our unbelief. When grace working effectually
only, or rather, overcomes our sin, and it comes only by and
through the Lord Jesus Christ. The fourth part is, Paul makes
a remarkable statement in connection with the word sinners. Look at
the last phrase of that verse. Of whom I am chief. Hmm. Christ came into the world
to save sinners and I'm the chief. I'm the first or the worst of
the worst. I'm the greatest. I'm the foremost. Notice something here. We do
not hear Paul speaking in the past tense, but in the present. He's not saying, I was, I was,
but I am. Present tense, as he said in
1 Corinthians 15 and 9. I am the least of the apostles,
being the only one of them to persecute the church of God and
to waste it. Now Paul's sin before conversion,
was not open immorality. He had not been like a prodigal. He was not a drunk, nor was he
a thief. He was not a whoremonger, nor
a fornicator. Paul was a religious sinner. He plundered, imprisoned, for
some of the saints to blaspheme. And he consented to the death
of Stephen when he was put to death for declaring Christ. Now look at verse 16. He is obtaining
mercy, being shown saving mercy. He became living proof of the
statement in verse 15 that Christ saves sinners, that He came into
the world to save sinners. He is living proof. Great sinners
saved by Christ. And a wonderful example and model
was Saul of the long-suffering of God towards sin and sinners,
and especially towards his elect of whom Paul was one. Rather
than destroy Saul for his sinful enmity against Christ and the
church, rather than destroy him like he destroyed Pharaoh, God
saved him. God saved his soul. His grace
was fixed upon Paul from his birth. In Galatians 1.15 he said
so. He allowed him for a time to
waste the church. Then he saved him as an example
of the long-suffering and the mercy of God. A model of grace
in saving a most determined enemy of Christ and of righteousness. Did ever any man more boldly
provoke the Lord Jesus? He hated what Christ had done
unto Judaism with all of his passion. He hated the new way. that sprung up after Christ.
He was determined to stamp it out, put an end to it. But in
a mighty, irresistible display of the power of God and of grace,
God saved the chief of sinners. On the Damascus Road, you have
it in Acts 9, as he journeyed with letters in his pocket, murder
in his heart, threatening on his breath, the Lord took him
and he was converted gloriously. How ironic! No man ever persecuted
the Church or more forcefully opposed the Gospel, and then
no man ever more strongly defended the Gospel or suffered more persecution
for the sake of the Gospel and the Word of God, preaching the
faith that once he had labored to destroy. Nothing, brother
and sister, but irresistible grace could have ever changed
Saul of Tarsus off of his course. He would have never changed for
any other reason, any other purpose, or any other means. Nothing but
the effectual grace of God would ever have made a Christian, an
apostle, and a preacher out of this salient Jew, nothing but
the irresistible grace of God. In time, take just a minute for
verse 17, closing the doxology from Paul in verse 17, a doxology
of praise and thanksgiving and worship and adoration to what
he calls the eternal, immortal, invisible God be glory. forever and forever. Yes, I say, Paul is indeed a
vessel of mercy. Here is a trophy of grace. Here is a shining example that
Christ died for and that Christ saves great sinners. As He saved
this man, Saul of Tarsus, made him Paul, the apostle. Only the
grace of God will work. I like it when he says that he's
a pattern. He's a pattern of the long-suffering
of God that rather than destroy us in our wicked, open-faced
rebellion against God and against heaven, his long-suffering bore
with us. He gave us mercy and He saved
us by His grace. What a wonderful grace is it
that saves sinners. Paul, a vessel of mercy. Thank God for that.