Calvary Road Baptist Church
“TIMOTHY’S CONSCIENCE”
First Timothy 1.18-20
My sermon is titled “Timothy’s Conscience.”[1] As we look into First Timothy 1.18-20, I want you to reflect on the intimate relationship between the faith once delivered to the saints and the Christian individual’s good conscience.[2] What is conscience? The word is suneidήsewV and refers to self-judgment.[3]
Read along with me:
18 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;
19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:
20 Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.
Some Christians honestly believe they can serve God with a defiled conscience, which is to say, in conflict. The fact that they believe such an error indicates spiritual myopia that can result from a defiled conscience, not to say the Spirit of God is grieved and quenched.[4]
Before we proceed, let me offer my definition of the term conscience, as the term appears in God’s Word. To restate, conscience translates a compound word that means co-perception. I see conscience as the ability to see yourself as another person would see you and be able to decide the rightness or wrongness of something you are doing or thinking. Everyone has a conscience, though you and I both know people who seem utterly incapable of seeing themselves as another person would see them and are at a loss to arrive at the rightness or wrongness of notions or conduct from an objective perspective.
This is frequently a problem that parents have with their children, paralyzed and incapable of doing the right thing because they are enslaved to some perverse notion of their offspring being untouchable or absolved from all consequences of misconduct. This was a severe problem with the high priest Eli and King David.[5] It is a problem with many of my colleagues in the Gospel ministry. Ramzi Kammar related to me in a phone call yesterday, a missionary to the Middle East whose children are uncontrollable.
Although no one’s conscience is infallible and everyone’s conscience must be trained, the frequency and contexts in which the conscience is referred to in the New Testament show the importance of conscience in the Christian’s life.[6] In our text, we will see evidence suggesting that without a good conscience, the Christian risks the eventual departure from the true faith.
Two things suggest this risk concerning Timothy:
THE FIRST THING TO TAKE NOTE OF IS THE DUTY OF TIMOTHY TO PROPERLY CONDUCT HIS MINISTRY.
Verses 18-19a:
“This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; holding faith, and a good conscience.”
Here we see that Paul repeats Timothy’s charge committal and then reviews Timothy’s charge.
Paul’s repetition of Timothy’s charge reads as follows:
“This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee.”
The word “charge” in verse 18 comes from the same Greek word as the word “charge” in verse 3 and the word “commandment” in verse 5. The word commit, ί, means to lay before. It is a banking figure suggesting that one is depositing something valuable. Paul, then, is committing a charge to his protégé Timothy that he began to write about in the first part of his letter.[7] What Paul is doing, then, is laying before Timothy his responsibility to give direction, instruction, and lead the congregation where he serves in matters related to Christian doctrine.
But Paul is not the one who initially lays this heavy responsibility on Timothy. Timothy’s duty springs from “the prophecies which went before on thee.” You see, Paul refers to Timothy’s initial calling into the ministry. Timothy’s call into the Gospel ministry was unusual, to say the least, even in apostolic times. Other than Paul and Barnabas’ calling, Timothy’s is the only one of its kind that I can recall. In Acts chapter 13, Paul and Barnabas were given a special calling to go and preach Christ among the Gentiles. This even though Paul had already been called to be an apostle. I think two birds were killed with one stone in Paul’s case: First, the local Church’s authority was reinforced as the sending agency for all work done in fulfillment of the Great Commission. Second, no one would successfully oppose Paul and Barnabas’ ministry since it was entirely validated by the Holy Spirit and the Church in Antioch.
We know that opposition was mounted against Paul. The opposition came from within the Church, as it usually does. But the opposition was not successful. There are also two good reasons for Timothy being specially called into the ministry. Remember that Timothy was half Jewish and half Gentile, fathered by a Gentile man with a Jewish mother. It would be naive to think that Timothy would not face extreme opposition to his ministry for purely racial considerations. No matter to others that distinctions are erased with the new birth. No more Jew or Gentile, but one man in Christ. Timothy’s special calling would probably change few minds among Christians, but they would have to be a little quieter in their opposition now that the Apostle Paul mentored the lad.
The other reason for Timothy’s special calling was his age. Timothy was a young man when young men were to be seen and not heard. It was a challenge for Christians of that era to acknowledge that God had placed a young man in a position of spiritual leadership over them. But He had done just that. It touches on this problem again in First Timothy 4.12, where Paul wrote,
“Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”
Paul referred to Timothy’s calling, not for Timothy’s poor memory but to reinforce his position among the Ephesians, who were surely reading over Timothy’s shoulder. As Paul was called by the commandment of God and not his own will, Timothy was called by God’s will, not his own will.
Let me make a few comments about one’s calling into the Gospel ministry. Every Christian has been called into the Gospel ministry. What must be understood is that God leads to specific areas of ministry. God place’s the desire to work in a specific area of ministry into the heart of every believer in Christ whose desire is to glorify God. No one should aspire to any position in the Church congregation of their own choosing. Before you begin to serve in an area of ministry, you ought to be intent on discovering your calling of God in the area of ministry you settle in as I am of my calling.
We cannot perform a ministry that God has not called us into nor function except where God ultimately wants us. God’s calling is His enabling. So, the believer discovers their ministry by beginning to serve in an area of ministry to find God’s will and continue in that ministry if it proves to be God’s will. Without satisfaction and fruit as the result of faithful service, you consider engaging in another area of ministry to discern God’s will for you. Of course, God never calls anyone to do anything contrary to the teaching of His Word. And at each step in your journey of discovery, you demonstrate faithfulness and a teachable spirit.
Returning to our consideration of Timothy, notice Paul’s review of Timothy’s calling. He writes,
“that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; holding faith, and a good conscience.”
Paul was reminding Timothy to war a good warfare. The words “war” and “warfare” are translated from the same Greek word, which gives us the English word “strategy,” strateὑw. Paul not only reminds Timothy and the Ephesians what they are to do but how they are to do it. Timothy has been burdened with forming a strategy or battle plan for taking the city of Ephesus for Jesus Christ. My son Timothy, make good plans for taking your city for the cause of Christ. This is the goal and direction of Timothy’s ministry. Fight a good fight, Christian.
How do you achieve this goal? How is a pastor, and a Church member, supposed to war a good warfare? What spiritual equipment is needed to prepare for this kind of war? One of the things needed is for the Christian to be “holding faith,” Paul writes. I trust that the people here understand, without my proving it from God’s Word, that the child of God is eternally secure in his salvation and does never need to fear the wrath of Hell. This being true, we are pleasantly constrained from understanding this verse to apply to our personal salvation. The Christian does not hold to saving faith. This “holding faith” refers not to faith in Christ but to the faith once delivered to the saints. Paul reminds Timothy that to war a good warfare; he must hold on to that body of truth which comprises the Christian faith. Though a Christian can never lose his salvation, he can wander from the body of truth found in this blessed book. Having done that, he will be unable to war a good warfare. So, hold on to the truth.
The other requirement is a good conscience. We frequently minimize the importance of conscience. God gave the faculty of conscience to fallen mankind to serve as a guide, though fallible, and to deter people from sin. I say that conscience is fallible because the persecutor of the Church named Saul committed great sin, though he maintained a good conscience. Conscience is a guide when the child of God has his conscience calibrated to the absolute standard of God’s inspired Word. While conscience can lose its reliability through neglect and willful sinning against conscience, the Word of God can never change. My second main point will help us to understand the extreme importance of a good conscience.
THE SECOND THING TO TAKE NOTE OF IS THE DEPARTURE OF CERTAIN MEN.
Verses 19b-20:
“Which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.”
We will look at the process, the persons, and the prescription involved in departing from the faith. Do you imagine that this was not a reference to alert Timothy to an ever-present danger resulting from a conscience that is not good? Think again.
First, the process of departing from the faith. Paul writes, “which some having put away.” This phrase refers to the putting away of a good conscience. We know from First Peter 3.21 that the children of God are given good consciences when their sins are forgiven by the blood of the Lamb. We know this since baptism is the first requirement of God’s newborn children after they receive Christ as their personal Savior. According to Peter, obedience to Christ’s command to be baptized is the answer or is the response, that a good conscience shows forth.
Where does the good conscience come from? Forgiveness of sins. Remission of sins. Salvation. Thus, something is wrong when people begin to balk at believer baptism. They have been taught something else, or they are not sure of the forgiveness that is in Christ, or they are not saved. Surely there are Christian brothers who sincerely believe baptism after salvation is not required. But most people who say they are saved and will not submit to baptism have some severe problems that need to be dealt with. And the issues have to do with their conscience.
Back to the process of departing from the faith. It usually occurs gradually due to ignoring, rejecting, or violating the dictates of one’s conscience concerning the things of God. To put away means to reject or turn your back on. You’ve seen it happen. You’ve seen or experienced in your own life the hardening of your heart. You get to the point where you will not respond to the dictates of your conscience. You know when something you do is wrong. You know that it harms your testimony. But you go ahead and do it anyway. It is dangerous for a Christian to engage in this type of sin. It is this type of sinning which leads to departing from the faith.
Notice the persons who depart from the faith due to rejecting the dictates of their conscience over time. Their names were Hymenaeus and Alexander. Their specific sin was blasphemy. The cause of that particular sin was a long-standing rejection of conscience. Rejecting the dictates and demands of their conscience led to the searing of their conscience. This occurs when God’s children begin to degenerate in their spiritual life to the point where they do not shudder at the thought of sin and do not fear the chastisement of God for their sins. Does any here think that it cannot happen to you? Just remember that Alexander might be the same man who tried to stop the riot in Ephesus to rescue Paul from the mob in Acts 19.33. What a slide he took in his spiritual life. The descent to the bottom will happen to anyone who willfully ignores their God-given conscience long enough.
Notice, finally, Paul’s prescription for those two men. The two men were delivered unto Satan. If this is the same thing described in First Corinthians 5.5, and I think it certainly is, then Paul dismissed these two from the congregation, excommunicated them from the Church for blasphemy. There is no doubt in my mind how Paul accomplished this. It began with Matthew 18.15:
“Moreover, if thy brother hath trespassed against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.”
In obedience to the specific command of Jesus Christ, his Lord, Paul approached these two privately. Then, according to Matthew 18.16, he went again with one or two witnesses to confirm what he was trying to do. Since he could not persuade them to repent, they were expelled from the Church, according to Matthew 18.17.
What did Paul hope to accomplish by excommunication? First, he was obedient to Christ. When dealing with a sinning Church member, this must be first and foremost in our minds. Second, Paul hoped that Alexander and Hymenaeus would learn not to blaspheme. The word “learn” refers to receiving instruction.
Is it not strange how God can allow one of His children to be turned every way but loose by Satan so that they might learn not to take their Christian duties lightly?
Is your conscience sensitive to sin? Or can you resist and rebel against God without your conscience giving you much trouble? If so, your conscience is seared.
The Old Testament prophet Samuel had a conscience that was so keenly sensitive to sin that he realized it was a sin not to pray for the children of Israel.[8]
Men and women of God often have consciences that are so sensitive to sin that they weep at the recollection of failing to witness to someone they could have witnessed to.
Don’t toy with your conscience. Remember that rejecting the dictates of your God-given conscience for a long enough period might very well leave you shipwrecked in the faith. Not that you will lose your salvation. But you will be of no use to God or your loved ones if you persist in stubbornly resisting the impulse of your conscience to repent and do right, no matter the cost.
Does your conscience twinge when you resist the thought of surrendering your life to Christ so that He can turn you into a better Christian?
Don’t resist too often.
Surrender to God’s will for your life.
Make use of the conscience God gave you rather than resisting it and searing it with repeated resistance.
__________
[1] Recommended works on the conscience include William Ames, Conscience With The Power And Cases Thereof, (University of Franeker, Friesland, 1639) and John MacArthur, The Vanishing Conscience, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2005).
[2] See excursus, “conscience in the Letters to Timothy and Titus,” Philip H. Towner, The Letters To Timothy And Titus (NICNT), (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2006), pages 117-119.
[3] See suneidήsewV defined in 1 Timothy 1.5 in Rogers, Jr., Cleon L. and Rogers III, Cleon L., The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key To The Greek New Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: ZondervanPublishingHouse, 1998), page 487.
[4] Ephesians 4.30; 1 Thessalonians 5.19
[5] 1 Samuel 2.12-17; 1 Kings 1.5-6
[6] John 8.9; Acts 23.1; 24.16; Romans 2.15; 9.1; 13.5; 1 Corinthians 8.7, 10, 12; 10.25, 27, 28, 29; 2 Corinthians 1.12; 4.2; 1 Timothy 1.5, 19; 3.9; 4.2; Titus 1.15; Hebrews 9.9, 14; 10.2, 22; 13.18; 1 Peter 2.19; 3.16, 21
[7] Rogers, page 489.
[8] 1 Samuel 12.23
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