Naylor Community
Christian Church
Naylor, Georgia
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to 1 Timothy 1:12-17
1
Timothy 1:12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he
considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was
once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because
I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on
me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
15
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very
reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus
might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in
him and receive eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible,
the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
-- when I was growing up, our
parents and our teachers spent a lot of time teaching us how to remember -- we
didn’t have cell phones and the internet and the access to information that we
do now -- so, they would drill us on the important things that we all needed to
know -- our names -- our parents’ names -- our address -- our telephone number
-- important dates -- things like that
-- they would go over them time and
time again to make sure we knew all this information and could recall it
without a second thought -- and it worked great
-- I can barely remember what I had
for supper last night, but to this day, I can still remember my home phone
number -- 896-7735 -- and my address -- 810 North Cleveland Avenue, Adel GA --
I haven’t lived at that house or had that number in 40 years, but I still know
it today, all because it was drilled into me when I was young
-- and there were other things that
were taught to us -- little sayings that society felt that everyone should know
-- little nuggets of wisdom that taught a lesson or morals or something similar
-- I know now they’re called aphorisms -- communication devices that are used
to remember everyday truths, like proverbs or adages -- but regardless of what
you call them, they’re something that we all grew up knowing and that we
learned so that they could help us in life
-- let me give you a few examples of
these and see if you can help me finish them:
-- a stitch in time…[saves
nine]
-- don’t count your
chickens…[before they hatch]
-- a penny saved…[is a
penny earned]
-- an ounce of
prevention…[is worth a pound of cure]
-- you can lead a horse
to water…[but you can’t make him drink]
-- early to bed and
early to rise…[makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise]
-- actions speak…[louder
than words]
-- don’t judge a
book…[by its cover]
-- and one more that has
to have been developed in the south -- if it ain’t broke…[don’t fix it]
-- these aphorisms that we were
taught early in life are good rules of thumb to help us get through life and
remember the important things -- aphorisms were used throughout history for
this purpose because they’re short -- they’re easily understood -- and they’re
something that we can just take with us -- that’s why we all remember so many
of them
-- well, maybe you didn’t know this,
but we find aphorisms in the Bible, too -- in his pastoral epistles -- in the
letters that Paul wrote to Timothy and Titus to mentor them and help them grow
in their role as elders and pastors of their churches -- Paul gave them several
aphorisms to remind them of foundational spiritual truths that both they and
everyone in their churches needed to know and remember
-- there are five of them in three
pastoral epistles, and we’re going to start a series today looking at each of
these separately
-- let me go ahead and give you all
five of them now, and then we’ll spend the next five weeks looking at them in
more detail
-- the first is “Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners”
-- the second is “Whoever aspires to
be an overseer desires a noble task.”
-- the third is “physical training
is of some value, but godliness has value for all things”
-- the fourth is “if we are
faithless, He remains faithful”
-- and the last is “having been
justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.”
-- these aphorisms are identified in
the Bible by the phrase, “this is a trustworthy saying that deserves full
acceptance” -- some translations of the Bible use the word, “faithful,” instead
of “trustworthy” -- “this is a faithful saying that deserves full acceptance”
-- there’s no real difference
between trustworthy and faithful -- both of them are English translations from
the same Greek word -- both of them mean that these sayings are something that
we can trust in -- we can put our faith in -- that we can trust in because they
are foundational truths
-- the reason we have them in the
Bible is the same reason why we used to be taught aphorisms and proverbs as
kids -- it’s because the Christians in Paul’s day didn’t have ready access to
the Bible or information like we do today, and the early Christians needed a
way to learn and know the truths of the Bible
-- remember that when Paul and the
other apostles were writing their letters and their gospels, there wasn’t a New
Testament that everyone could carry around with them -- the books that are in
the New Testament were written over a period of about 50 years, so there wasn’t
a complete collection of them
-- what we call the Old Testament -- the
Law and the Prophets and the Wisdom literature -- was collected and available
-- but these were in scrolls and most people didn’t have access to them -- they
were in the synagogue, and a few rabbis and teachers had some of the scrolls
they traveled with or kept at home -- but for the most part, the Bible was
inaccessible to most people
-- so, the faith was carried orally
-- it was spoken -- it was truly “the Word” -- people would memorize sections
of Scripture and use aphorisms like the one Paul gave Timothy here to remember
the core tenets of the faith -- to know what the truth of the gospel was
-- the good thing about these aphorisms is
that they were short and could easily be remembered and told to others
-- that’s one reason the creeds were
developed -- the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed and the others -- to lay
out the foundational core of our faith in a way that was short and true and
easy to remember and share with others
-- these trustworthy or faithful
sayings of Paul are an early form of creeds -- so, with that long introduction,
let’s look now at the first of the five trustworthy sayings of Paul from the
pastoral epistles
II. Scripture Lesson
-- look back at verse 15
1
Timothy 1:15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.
-- this first trustworthy statement
of Paul establishes the foundation of our faith -- the truth that Jesus came
into the world to save sinners -- to go to the cross as our atoning sacrifice
to pay the penalty for our sins and provide for us salvation and the
forgiveness of sins so that we might be reconciled to the Father forever
-- with this short saying, Paul
explains the reason for Christmas, the cross, and the empty tomb and points us
to the saving grace of Jesus Christ and the eternal salvation we have through
Him
-- if we’re sharing the gospel with
someone today, we usually start at John 3:16, right? -- “For God so loved the
world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall
not perish but have eternal life”
-- but remember, Paul and Timothy
and Titus didn’t have John 3:16 -- the gospel of John wasn’t written yet -- but
trustworthy sayings -- aphorisms like this -- were shared among Christians to
help them understand the way to be saved -- to know the grace and the
forgiveness of sins that comes only through believing in Jesus
-- knowing that Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners was the first step to salvation -- the
foundation of faith -- and knowing this truth -- believing in this truth -- is
all that is required to save a sinner and give them eternal life
-- that’s why Paul tells Timothy
here that these sayings are trustworthy or faithful -- you can put your trust
in them -- you can put your faith in them -- and they deserve full acceptance
-- which means that you have to do more than just know this -- you have to
believe it -- you have to trust it -- you have to depend on Jesus for salvation
-- by saying it deserves full acceptance,
Paul is saying you need more than head knowledge of this truth -- you need
heart knowledge if you are going to be saved
-- Paul knew the truth of what he
was telling Timothy here -- he came to know it personally when he experienced
Jesus on the road to Damascus -- and he had learned that the Jesus he had been
persecuting was the Christ -- the promised Messiah -- who came to take away the
sins of the world
-- Paul stood on the truth of this
trustworthy statement as the foundation of his life from that moment on -- and
it changed him, inside and out
-- that’s why Paul says here that he knows
this is true, because he was the worst of sinners, but Christ saved him as an
example to others of His amazing grace
-- look back at verse 13 and 16
1
Timothy 1:13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent
man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.
16
But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners,
Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who
would believe in him and receive eternal life.
-- Paul reminds Timothy of his story
-- of who he had been and what he had done before he learned the truth of this
saying -- he was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man -- he actively
preached against Jesus and His followers -- he went from town to town searching
out Christians and arresting them and having them executed
-- he stood there as Stephen was
stoned and held the cloaks of those doing the stoning, in full acceptance of
Stephen’s death simply because he was a Christian
-- Paul hated Christians -- he hated
Jesus -- and he sought to stamp out the Christian faith -- but then came the
Damascus Road and his experience with the overwhelming grace of God
-- look at verse 14
1
Timothy 1:14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with
the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
-- the grace of God was poured out
on him and he came to know the truth that Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners, even sinners as bad as he -- Paul’s salvation was the proof that
everyone can be saved -- that there is no sinner so vile or no sin so great
that the grace of God can’t erase it -- that the love of God can’t overcome it
-- that through Christ Jesus all sinners can be saved
-- this aphorism of faith -- this
trustworthy statement -- overwhelmed Paul -- it changed him -- and it changed
his life as God blessed him and called him to share this message of grace and
good news with others
-- look back at verse 12
1
Timothy 1:12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he
considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service.
-- even though Paul had been the worst of
sinners -- a blasphemer and persecutor and violent man -- God saved him through
Jesus and graced him in three specific ways as the calling upon the rest of his
life
-- first, Paul says that Jesus had
given him strength -- or, as the KJV puts it, Christ had enabled him -- in
other words, Paul was saying that we don’t have to rely on our own strength or
our own skills or our own talents to do great things for God or share the word
of God with others -- all we have to do is rely on the power of God, and He
will accomplish through us all that He has called us to do
-- secondly, Paul says that Christ
considered him faithful -- to be faithful means that you are trustworthy and
that you can be trusted to do a task -- being faithful means that once you
believe that God will strengthen you and enable you to do things for Him --
that you accept His call to ministry
-- remember the old Mission
Impossible TV shows? -- at the start, they always sent a message with a mission
for the team to consider -- they were deemed to be the only ones capable of
completing the mission -- the only ones who could accomplish this mission that
for other people would be impossible -- but, the voice on the message always
concluded by saying, “If you choose to accept this mission” -- they had to do
more than just be capable -- they had to be willing to go forth and do it --
they had to be faithful
-- God is saying the same thing here
-- you are faithful -- you are trustworthy -- I trust that you can accomplish
this task to which I have challenged you -- this task that I have set before
you on this day -- you have been given my strength to go forward and complete
-- you need only supply the willingness -- the faithfulness to accept the
mission
-- most people live boring Christian
lives only because they refuse to faithfully accept the mission that God has
called them to
-- finally, Paul says here that
Christ appointed him to God’s service -- He put Paul in the ministry -- only
after Paul accepted the mission -- only after Paul agreed to go forth in God’s
power and not His own -- did God give Paul his marching orders
-- God sent Christ Jesus into the
world to save sinners, but He saved us for a reason -- He did not intend for us
to be satisfied with being pew-warmers on Sunday mornings -- He intended for us
to get involved in His mission -- to serve Him where He sends -- to be His
front-line troops in the battle against evil in this world
-- God created us to serve Him -- to
minister in His name -- as it says in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God's
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in
advance for us to do.”
-- all of this is embodied in the
trustworthy saying, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”
-- what Paul is trying to get across to
Timothy here with this phrase is that Jesus can save anyone, even the worst
sinner in the world -- and when He saves us, He gives us His strength -- He
calls us faithful -- and He empowers us to go forth and serve others in His
name -- sharing with them the good news of the forgiveness of sins through
Jesus and salvation through faith in Him
-- that’s why Paul ends this section
with a doxology -- an exclamation of praise to the God who saves
-- verse 17
1
Timothy 1:17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be
honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
III. Closing
-- most of us in here know Leo Tolstoy
because of his famous novel, “War and Peace” -- but when Tolstoy recounted his
life, he considered another book that he wrote in 1879 the greatest work of his
life -- a book called, “A Confession,” which tells the story of his search for
meaning and purpose in life
-- Tolstoy had been raised as a
Christian, but he rejected his faith as a child and spent his early years
seeking fame, fortune, and pleasure -- he drank heavily -- he lived
promiscuously -- and gambled frequently
-- in 1862, he married and had 13
children -- having achieved fame and fortune through his writing and now
surrounded by a loving wife and children, it appeared that he had found what he
had been seeking -- yet one question haunted him to the verge of suicide -- "Is
there any meaning in my life which will not be annihilated by the inevitability
of death, which awaits me?"
-- as Nicky Gumbel explained,
“[Tolstoy] searched for the answer [to this question] in every field of science
and philosophy. As he looked around at his contemporaries, he saw that people
were not facing up to the first-order questions of life ("Where did I come
from?" "Where am I going?" "Who am I?" "What is
life all about?"). Eventually he found that the peasant people of Russia
had been able to answer these questions through their Christian faith, and he
came to realize that only in Jesus Christ do we find the answer.”
-- and now, in this 21st century, we find
that nothing has changed -- despite finding worldly success, we are still
haunted with the same questions that tormented Tolstoy -- just like Freddie
Mercury, the lead singer of the rock group Queen, wrote in one of his last
songs as he faced the specter of AIDS and the end of his life, “Does anybody
know what we are living for?”1
-- Paul knew -- and he tells Timothy right
here -- the answer to life -- the answer to eternity -- the answer that we are
all seeking -- is only found in Christ Jesus who came into the world to save
sinners -- to give us His strength -- to consider us faithful -- to make us His
servants -- and to bring us into eternity with Him
-- this first aphorism -- this first
trustworthy statement that he gives to Timothy -- is the foundation of our
faith and our life -- and we need to learn this and know this and fully accept
it so that it might change our life as it did his
-- let us pray
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1
Modified from: Nicky Gumbel, Questions of Life (Kingsway Publications, 1993),
pp.14-15
