The Eight-Point Preacher – Part 1
1 Timothy 4:11-14
April 18, 2010
As you know we are studying the book of 1 Timothy,
Because there is no book quite like it for giving clear instruction
As to the expected conduct of the church.
1 Timothy 3:14-15 “I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.”
I find it extremely valuable for us to study what God expects the church to be, since it is our main focus and desire to be pleasing to Him.
And most recently in our study of what the church is to be,
Paul has zeroed in on one particular person: THE PREACHER
Yes, we talked about the qualifications for the elders in chapter 3,
But you must understand, that while all elders must be “able to teach”,
It is highly likely that of all the elders,
There was still one who stood to do most of the preaching.
There is still a biblical concept to having a “teaching elder”
Or a leader among the elders.
For example:
When you study the 12 disciples, in every list given, Peter is always listed first.
Matthew 10:2 “Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;”
Peter was called “the first” PROTOS.
(Obviously not the first chosen,
Since it was Andrew who took Peter to Jesus)
PROTOS indicates, not first in order, but first in rank.
Paul used the term of himself.
1 Timothy 1:15 “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.”
The simple point being,
That while there is an order of elders who rule the church,
There is still a leader among them.
No doubt at Ephesus this person was Timothy.
He was the one called to “instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines” (1:3)
In (1:18) Paul told Timothy that “This command I entrust to you”
And of course the entire letter was addressed to Timothy.
And as Paul sets out to address the expected conduct of the church
It is only right that he take at least a portion of that letter
And focus in on the expectations for the preacher.
In (4:1-5) the SECTION WAS INTRODUCED
As Paul revealed to Timothy the extreme need for a faithful preacher.
Timothy needed to recognize, expose, and silence
The heresy that was being promoted at Ephesus.
The heresy involved a veiled form a legalism in which men were encouraged to abstain from marriage and certain foods (obviously to prove their piety), but the danger was that those who followed the teaching would be led into legalism and ultimately into apostasy.
Apostasy is a real threat and someone had to fight against it.
For this battle Paul enlisted the preacher.
And after addressing the issue,
He then gave Timothy some solid words of encouragement.
(6) “In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus…”
And so the understanding of the chapter is simple.
Because of the spiritual threats that stand against the church,
The church needs a godly preacher.
Paul pens this chapter to clearly explain
What God’s expectations are for this man.
I have called it “The Eight-Point Preacher”
For that is how many check-points Paul examines about this man.
And just as a precursor, for any who would ever aspire to preach, or for any preacher who may ever hear this.
Nothing is mentioned about his administrative skills
Nothing is mentioned about his innovative abilities
Nothing is mentioned about his style, coolness, or relevance
Nothing is mentioned about his education
Nothing is even mentioned about his pastoral skills
All Paul (and obviously the Holy Spirit) can focus on
Are the man’s faithfulness.
And so this evening.
Paul gets specific as to what the preacher ought to be and do.
#1 HE PREACHES TRUTH
1 Timothy 4:11
It is not hard to understand this simple admonition.
“Prescribe and teach these things.”
One would find it blatantly obvious
That the preacher is supposed to be one who preaches.
And perhaps that is why most in this position today
Have shied away from the title of preacher.
I’ve actually heard a pastor of a large church tell his congregation,
“Don’t call me preacher, call me pastor.”
And that is a tragedy, because when this man wanted to, he could preach. He just didn’t want to.
And it is no wonder.
The term “preacher” has almost become a derogatory term,
Since most people today have grown impatient with preaching. (Especially that which lasts more than about 12 minutes, or reads more than about 2 verses)
But preacher is not a negative term.
The writer of Ecclesiastes revealed himself as a preacher.
Ecclesiastes 1:1 “The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.”
Paul twice called himself a preacher
1 Timothy 2:7 “For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle ( I am telling the truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.”
2 Timothy 1:11 “for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher.”
Also added to the list was a man named Noah
2 Peter 2:5 “[God] did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;”
And beyond that, preachers are essential to the work of salvation.
Romans 10:14 “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?”
And so regardless of the negative connotation
That the world has taken on in recent years;
God still intends for the leader of the church to be a preacher.
And if Timothy was going to be faithful, he was going to have to preach.
“Prescribe and teach these things.”
Whether it was confrontation of heresy, or proclamation of God’s truth,
Someone had to explain it to the people.
For people who do not sit under biblical preaching are misinformed
Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.”
Preaching is a must.
If he will not preach, he is out of the will of God.
And this does not just refer to how often he speaks from the pulpit,
For there is a difference between speaking and preaching.
(Although frequency in the pulpit is seemingly becoming a thing in the past)
But the focus is on the willingness to preach “these things”
Not everything the preacher is called to preach will be unanimously received, but he is called to preach them none the less.
This was perhaps the greatest burden God placed on me as He called me to preach.
Ezekiel 3:16-21 “At the end of seven days the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me. “When I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. “Yet if you have warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered yourself. “Again, when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I place an obstacle before him, he will die; since you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. “However, if you have warned the righteous man that the righteous should not sin and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; and you have delivered yourself.”
That is why Charles Spurgeon said:
“It were better to break stones on a road than to be a preacher, unless God had given the Holy Spirit to sustain him. The heart and soul of a man who speaks for god will know no ease, for he hears in his ears that warring admonition, ‘If the watchman warned them not, they perished, but their blood will I require at the watchman’s hands.’ Is the infallible revelation of the infallible Jehovah to be moderated, to be shaped, to be toned down to the fancies of the hour? God forbid us if we ever alter His Word.”
Timothy was called to preach “these things” regardless of the difficulty.
If you are in the position of preacher,
You must preach and you must preach the truth of God’s Word.
He Preaches Truth
#2 HE IS SPIRITUALLY MATURE
1 Timothy 4:12
This is an often quoted verse at venues like youth camp and what not.
“Let no one look down on your youthfulness…”
And commonly some young (and foolish) person will come back
And brow beat the older congregation;
Scolding them that it is unbiblical to not treat them as equals.
THIS VERSE IS NOT SCOLDING THE OLDER GENERATION,
THIS VERSE IS CHALLENGING THE YOUNGER GENERATION.
Paul is NOT telling Timothy, “You make them respect you, and if they don’t, then you tell me, and I’ll come tell them how out of line they are.”
Instead Paul is telling Timothy that because of his young age, respect will be that much harder to come by, and therefore
He will have to work that much harder to attain it.
Timothy was going to have to prove his spiritual maturity
In spite of his young age.
HOW?
“In speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself and example of those who believe.”
Paul lists 5 evaluation points of spiritual maturity.
And we don’t have time to fully talk about spiritual maturity,
But just to simply say, it has nothing to do with your age,
Or even how long you have been a Christian.
Spiritual maturity is based upon your humility and submission to Christ.
• The mature are those who have gone farther in killing of the flesh and denying the sinful nature.
• The mature are those who are letting go of selfishness and self love.
• The mature are those who more eagerly accept the will of God even when it is hard to swallow.
And not only was Timothy called to be mature,
But he was called to be a living example of it.
And this is how he would gain the respect of those in his flock.
It carries the same idea that Jesus spoke to the disciples.
Matthew 10:16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.”
And it carries the same reasoning as why
The overseer must be “above reproach”.
Timothy (and any preacher) must earn the respect of his congregation
By being an example of spiritual maturity.
And Paul lists five areas of observation here.
“In speech”
Because the heart is revealed on the tongue.
Adrian Rogers said, “What’s in the well comes up in the bucket”
And that is true.
Matthew 12:34-37 “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. “The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
James asked:
James 3:11-12 “Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.”
Furthermore controlling the tongue is absolutely necessary
For one who dares to teach.
James 3:1-2 “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.”
And so Timothy could not be loose at the mouth.
He had to be an example of spiritual maturity
And the first area was in his speech.
“conduct”
Obviously if he could not say carnal things
Then he could not do carnal things either.
1 Peter 2:12 “Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
His life had to be the epitome of good living.
“love”
And of course this is not the gooshy emotional soap opera attribute,
But Timothy must be a tremendously self-sacrificing person.
Of all the people in the church,
The preacher needed to be an example of self-sacrifice.
And of course the degree of self-sacrifice is limitless.
Paul said:
Philippians 2:17 “But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all.”
Colossians 1:24 “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.”
John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”
And I find this extremely valuable information today,
In a day where preachers are commonly instructed not to give too much.
I have yet to ever have another pastor, a seminary professor, or any other “mentor type” person instruct me to sacrifice everything for the church.
But I am certain I have had no less than 20 tell me not to spend so much time on behalf of the church that my family suffers, or that I don’t get enough personal time, or that I burn out, etc.
All of that advice is contrary to the calling of God upon the preacher.
Furthermore it is exactly opposite to the example of Christ.
2 Corinthians 8:9 “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.”
Could God’s preacher be expected to pay anything less?
“faith”
And while it is obvious that Timothy must believe,
That is not the main thrust.
We live in a day when people seem to try and compete with faith.
The charismatic movement has produced a sort of “faith Olympics” where we try to believe something more “unbelievable” than the next person and thus prove that my faith is superior to yours.
But that is childish.
Faith is not measured by what it will believe,
But by how it believes.
God is not looking for gullible people, He is looking for faithful people.
He is looking for people that will not waver, that will persevere,
And that will be consistent.
1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”
The preacher is supposed to be an example of such commitment.
1 Corinthians 4:2 “In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.”
The preacher has to hang on when no one else wants to.
The preacher has to endure when everyone else wants to quit.
“purity”
Here the term is HAGNEIA
And it primarily relates to sexual purity.
It was a big deal in Greek culture and it is a big deal in our day.
That in a society saturated with sexual temptation,
The preacher must be a shining example
Of one who can withstand the temptation.
And of course you see the point.
The preacher must be one who is spiritually mature,
And this must be the way he earns the respect of his flock.
And for those who are young (where respect is not automatically given)
He must strive all the more to demonstrate his maturity.
God expects spiritual maturity.
He Preaches Truth
He is Spiritually Mature
#3 HE FOCUSES ON THE ESSENTIALS
1 Timothy 4:13
It is really mind-boggling to me how far off course
The modern concept of being a faithful preacher has fallen.
It is clear in this verse what the preacher is to be consumed with.
“Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching.”
Very simple.
Proclaim the truth (read the Scripture)
Explain the truth (teaching)
Apply the truth (exhortation)
And Paul tells Timothy to “give attention to” these things “Until I come”.
There were no other ministries as important as this.
There were no other jobs that should distract from this.
Be a preacher all the time.
Be focused on preaching.
COULD IT BE ANY CLEARER WHAT THE ROLE OF THE PREACHER IS SUPPOSED TO BE?
There are many other job descriptions that get thrown in this man’s lap,
And I can speak from experience,
That a man who wants to focus primarily on preaching
Will have a battle on his hands.
Some want the preacher to be a chaplain.
Some want the preacher to be a community leader.
Some want the preacher to be a miracle worker.
Some want the preacher to be Mr. Popular in the community.
BUT TIMOTHY WAS CALLED TO PREACH
(Focus on the essentials)
John MacArthur wrote of several of the reformers and early church fathers in regard to their commitment to preaching. Let me just read to you about the commitment of John Calvin.
“Calvin ministered in Geneva from 1541 until his death in 1564. He preached twice each Sunday, and every other week preached each weeknight. His Sunday sermons covered the New Testament, his weeknight sermons the Old Testament. Those sermons were recorded by a stenographer, and became the basis of his commentaries. He produced commentaries on Genesis, Deuteronomy, Judges, Job, Psalms, 1 and 2 Samuel 1 Kings, all the major and minor prophets, a harmony of the Gospels, Acts, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and the Pastoral Epistles.” (1 Timothy commentary, pg. 177)
God expects preachers to preach.
I absolutely love Peter’s response to the problem with the widows and the food.
Acts 6:2-4 “So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. “Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.”But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
Don’t get distracted from preaching.
In his second letter to Timothy, Paul still harps on the same thing.
2 Timothy 4:1-5 “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
There are the same concepts.
• Preaching
• Reproval
• Rebuking
• Exhortation
• Instruction
The preacher must be focused on what matters.
He Preaches truth He is Spiritually Mature He Focuses on the Essentials
#4 HE SUBMITS TO THE SPIRIT
1 Timothy 4:14
Here it may have been that Timothy was
Already feeling some of those urges to quit the ministry.
We know by the time 2 Timothy is written he wants to quit.
2 Timothy 1:3-4 “I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day, longing to see you, even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy.”
Which is why Paul spends that entire letter encouraging Timothy to continue.
(1:6) “kindle afresh the gift of God”
(1:8) “do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord”
(1:13) “retain the standard fo sound words which you have heard from me”
(1:14) “Guard, through the Holy Spiri who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.”
(2:1) “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus”
(2:3) “suffer hardship with me as a good soldier of Christ Jesus”
(2:8) “Remember Jesus Christ”
(2:15) “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God”
(3:1) “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come”
(3:14) “continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of”
And then the “preach the word” passage at the end.
And it is possible that since Paul wrote this in a negative connotation;
“Do not neglect” that Timothy was contemplating quitting
At this present time already.
Timothy may have wanted to turn his back on the preaching ministry
And instead choose something that seemed easier to accomplish.
But here Paul encourages Timothy that if he does that,
He will be outside of God’s expectation for him.
HOW DO WE KNOW GOD WANTS TIMOTHY TO PREACH?
Because God gifted him to do so.
“Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you”
God doesn’t just hand out his gifts with no expectation.
When God gives you a gift, he expects you to use it.
We have all read Paul’s section on the body.
If eyes don’t work the body is crippled…
If ears don’t work the body is crippled…
If feet don’t work the body is crippled…
And if the mouth doesn’t work the body is crippled…
Neglecting your spiritual gift is not an option
And the same is true for the preacher.
God gave it and God expects it to be used.
Not only that, but the church expected that gift to be used.
“which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery.”
In Paul and Timothy’s day the ministry of prophets was still a viable ministry and apparently God had spoken directly through a prophet to announce that Timothy would be a preacher.
The church had then confirmed that calling in Timothy’s life by laying their hands upon him, thus setting him apart for the gospel ministry.
We still today lay our hands
On those God has called and equipped to preach His word.
This signifies that we see a gift in them
And that we confer the authority of the church to them,
And thus promise to support them as they leave behind their labors
In order to minister for the kingdom.
And because this has happened for the preacher,
He dare not turn back from his calling.
1 Corinthians 9:16 “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.”
And so there you have four points of evaluation for the preacher.
We’ll get the last four next time.
But God expects that this man:
• Preaches Truth
• Is Spiritually Mature
• Focuses on the Essentials
• Submits to the Spirit
This is the calling and these are God’s expectations for him.
1 Timothy 3:14-15 “I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.”
