There was a popular show in the 90s called, “The X Files.” One of the taglines for the show was, “The truth is out there.”
In the movie, “A Few Good Men,” Jack Nicholson declared, “You can’t handle the truth!”
You see, people want the truth.
Jesus said in John 8:32, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
The truth is paramount for the church. In our sermon today, we’re going to learn that Paul refers to the truth as the story of God’s great work in the world.
We’re also going to talk about how the church should handle the truth. That’s the title of today’s sermon, “How the Church Should Handle the Truth.”
Before we go any further, let’s pray together and ask God to speak to us through His Word. Join me in prayer.
(prayer)
Ok, let’s look at the passage, and then walk through four ways we handle the truth.
Look at 1 Timothy 3:14. We’ll read all the way through 4:16.
3:14 I write these things to you, hoping to come to you soon. 15 But if I should be delayed, I have written so that you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. 16 And most certainly, the mystery of godliness is great:
He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated in the Spirit,
seen by angels,
preached among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.
4:1 Now the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, 2 through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared. 3 They forbid marriage and demand abstinence from foods that God created to be received with gratitude by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 since it is sanctified by the word of God and by prayer.
6 If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished by the words of the faith and the good teaching that you have followed. 7 But have nothing to do with pointless and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness. 8 For the training of the body has limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9 This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance. 10 For this reason we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.
11 Command and teach these things. 12 Don’t let anyone despise your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity. 13 Until I come, give your attention to public reading, exhortation, and teaching. 14 Don’t neglect the gift that is in you; it was given to you through prophecy, with the laying on of hands by the council of elders. 15 Practice these things; be committed to them, so that your progress may be evident to all. 16 Pay close attention to your life and your teaching; persevere in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers.
Ok, first, let’s see that . . .
I. The church supports the truth.
First of all, notice that Paul wants to come to see Timothy and visit the church in Ephesus soon. But, he may not be there right away, so he doesn’t wait to give him instructions for how the local church should operate.
Paul says in verse 15, “But if I should be delayed, I have written so that you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household.”
It’s very important that the church receive these instructions. So, important that Paul doesn’t wait to tell them later. Rather, he tells them in this written letter to Timothy.
Church, we must realize that the words that Paul had for Timothy and the church in Ephesus were important then, and they are important to us today.
This Word from the Holy Spirit of God contains instructions for the church; they are instructions for our church.
Pay attention to how Paul goes on to describe God’s household in verse 15.
Paul says, “ . . . which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.”
So, God’s household is the church, and the church is the pillar and the foundation of truth. In other words, the church supports the truth.
By the way, let’s remember what the church is, or better yet, who the church is.
The church is not a building; this building is not the household of God. This building is a building.
Rather, the church is a people. When Paul is writing to the church, he is writing to people who are followers of Jesus who are gathered together in Ephesus.
Hand illustration: you may remember the old hand illustration, this is the church, this is the steeple, open the door and there’s all the people. That’s wrong. The biblical illustration is, here’s the building, here’s the steeple, open the door and there’s the church.
First Baptist Church Bartow is a people who are gathered together under the lordship of Jesus Christ, and we, the people support the truth of God; we hold up the truth of God here in Bartow.
So, we must be people of the truth. We must maintain the truth, proclaim the truth, explain the truth, and sustain the truth.
Paul then goes on in verse 16 to describe part of that which the church is to hold up: the mystery of godliness.
Look at verse 16:
And most certainly, the mystery of godliness is great:
He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated in the Spirit,
seen by angels,
preached among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.
Paul does not speak of this mystery as something that we can’t understand. Rather, Pauls speaks of this as a great and marvelous wonder that God has performed.
God the Father sent His Son, Jesus, in the flesh; Jesus was supported by God’s Holy Spirit; Jesus was seen by angels; Jesus is preached among the nations; Jesus has been believed all over the world; and Jesus has been taken up in glory, waiting to return one day soon.
This mystery, this marvelous truth, is the story of the gospel.
This mystery of God is part of the truth that the church is charged to support and hold up as the message that must be heard, must be preached, and must be preserved.
The church supports the truth.
Second, . . .
II. False teachers distort the truth.
Ok, we’re moving into chapter 4 now.
Look at verses 1-5 again.
4:1 Now the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, 2 through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared. 3 They forbid marriage and demand abstinence from foods that God created to be received with gratitude by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 since it is sanctified by the word of God and by prayer.
Paul points out how the Holy Spirit of God has warned us that some will depart from the Christian faith.
We’re not exactly sure what Paul means here by the Holy Spirit warning us. Three ideas come to mind:
First, remember that Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would remind us of the things He taught. Well, Jesus taught that false teachers would come, so perhaps Paul is saying that the Holy Spirit is reminding us of what Jesus already told us.
Second, we know that the Holy Spirit was using the apostles by giving them the gift of teaching and prophecy during the days of the early church. We know from the writings of the apostles in the Bible, that they also warned about false teachers.
Third, perhaps Paul was referring to a general divine wisdom that the Holy Spirit gives to Christians through his revealing to them the things of God, through His grace and illumination.
In any case, Paul says people will depart from the faith and follow false teachers.
Paul says in verses 1-2 this will happen in part because they are “paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared.”
Pay attention to this, church: the false teaching that Paul is speaking about here is described by him as demonic. It’s very important that we catch this truth.
Now, pay attention to how Paul continues to characterize the false teaching.
Paul said that these false teachers claim that people cannot be married and that they can’t eat certain types of food.
So, here’s what’s happening. These false teachers are not being fast and loose with morals, and they are not ignoring God’s laws; rather, they are actually adding to it; they are creating extra rules.
They are saying that good followers of God will not get married, will not eat certain foods, and will follow these extra rules that they made up.
Can we think of any made-up rules that people have said Christians need to follow? Boy, I heard a lot of these growing up: men can’t have beards, women can’t wear pants, don’t go movies, don’t listen to rock or hip-hop music, don’t grow your hair too long if you’re a man, don’t cut your hair too short if you’re a woman, don’t play cards, don’t dance, don’t take even one sip of alcohol, don’t smoke, don’t chew, and don’t date girls who do.
Church, if we think that someone has to follow these extra made-up rules to be approved by Jesus or to be part of the church of Jesus, we are way off! In fact, Paul describes this type of false teaching as from a deceitful spirit and the teachings of demons.
Let me make it clear for you: it is demonic to require that someone perform a set of manmade rules in order for them to feel that they have earned the favor of God.
I’m not the smartest man in the world, but I’m smart enough to know that we should not do things that are demonic.
May we never be a church who pretends that anything makes us right with God other than the blood of Jesus, received through faith, by the wonderful grace of God.
Once we’ve been saved by God’s grace, we live a radically different life, following the ways of God. By the way, the ways of God are not found in the minds and opinions of humanity; they are found in the Holy Word of God; they are found in the Bible.
Pour yourself into the Bible, search out God’s ways, and commit yourself to that.
Well, how should we handle these kinds of moral issues, like certain types of food and marriage, and more? I’m glad you asked; Paul tells us in verses 4-5.
Paul says, “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, since it is sanctified by the word of God and by prayer.”
The Bible says elsewhere that every good thing is from above, meaning it’s from God. If we are responsible with and grateful for all that God has given us, then it is good.
Now, we’re not to abuse what God has given us. When it comes to how we live, we are to be careful and wise. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:12 “‘Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is permissible for me,’ but I will not be mastered by anything.”
So, let us be holy, let us be wise, and let us be biblical.
The church must be on the lookout for those who want to add to, or take away from, the one true gospel.
Church, whether it’s this issue here, or another issue, false teachers will seek to distort the truth of the gospel.
Next, in order to know what is true from that which is false, . . .
III. _________ should _________ with the truth.
IV. _____ should _________ in the truth.
Bottom Line: Gospel people must be committed to gospel truth.
Timothy was a gospel person. Paul was a gospel person. Paul wanted the church in Ephesus to be gospel people, so he called them to be committed to the truth of the gospel.
The truth of the gospel is that God created us and loves us; sin separated us from God; God is pursuing us to forgive our sins through the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus; God sent His Holy Spirit to be with His church; we are to proclaim the forgiveness offered through Jesus; and Jesus is coming back one day to judge sin and to make all things new.
We, the church, must be committed to gospel truth.
Challenge yourself this week in the following ways:
Weekly Challenge #1 – Embrace the truth in your life.
If you’ve not been changed by the gospel, really changed, embrace the truth in your life.
Be saved. Be changed. Be new.
Weekly Challenge #2 – _________ the truth in the _________.
Weekly Challenge #3 – _________ the truth to the _________.
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
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