Guarding the Gospel-Week 2

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Guarding the Gospel

1 Timothy Sunday, September 8, 2024
Phil Courson
1 Timothy 1:18-2:15
Introduction

Praying and Living Out the Gospel

I. Life in the Church – Prayer (v.1:18-2:4)
Paul is instructing Timothy to fight the good warfare. Paul knows that we are in a
spiritual battle and an enemy that is trying to ‘shipwreck our faith’ like he did with
Hymenaeus and Alexander. Paul reminds Timothy of the prophecies about him and that
he must fight.
Objectively – holding faith – meaning apostolic faith – must have a solid faith in gospel
Subjectively – good conscience – A good conscience is a life lived blameless before
God and others. It is not perfection.
“When morals slip, doctrine ebbs, and the fight is soon lost." Kent Hughes
The Apostle Paul encourages Timothy and the church to pray because prayer is part of
the life of the church. It is praying for ‘ALL PEOPLE’ including those in authority!
“Prayer is not a nicety, but a necessity.” Steven Cole
“The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward
you, not wishing for any to perish but for ALL to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9
There is a great tension and mystery in all of this, but there is no mystery in the
revealed basic, bedrock, biblical truth: God desires all men, all persons, to be saved.
This is His heart and this must be our heart. All humanity is on His heart. Let’s share the
gospel with everyone.

II. Life in the Church – Gospel (v.5-11)
The gospel is central to life in the church and Jesus is our mediator as we stand before
God. This is the central message of Paul and it should be our message as well.

Men, we are to be praying and worshipping through lifting our hands without anger and
quarreling with someone.
Ladies, you are called to live differently than the world as well.
“…women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-
control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper
for women who profess godliness – with good works.”
“our social media – saturated world encourages Christian women to replace modesty
with exhibitionism.” Rosaria Butterfield
“modesty is an inner attitude of the heart motivated by a love for God that seeks His
glory through purity and humility; it often reveals itself in words, actions, expressions,
and clothes.” Martha Peace and Kent Keller

III. Life in the Church – Authority (v.11-15)
v.11,12 – “Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman
to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather she is to remain quiet.”
It is significant that Paul directs the women to learn. In the Jewish culture, they
were not able to go to school to learn the Torah. But Paul wants women to learn as
long as their attitude is marked by two qualities: “quietness” and “submissiveness.”
v.13,14 – “For Adam was formed first, then Eve, and Adam was not deceived but the
woman was deceived and became a transgressor…”
He goes directly back to creation BEFORE the fall.
v.15 – “Yet, she will be saved through childbearing – if they continue in faith and love
and holiness, with self-control.”
IV. Conclusion
“This is about gospel and mission. Paul’s concern that the church pray and deport itself
so ‘all men would be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth’ was one with the
concern that godly men, not women, exercise authority in the church. Paul believed that
if the church joyfully lived out the creation order in God’s household, the gospel would
continue to go out with power.” Kent Hughes