Focus on What Counts.
I wonder what you think the greatest threat facing the church is? Secularism and the push to privatize religion? The rise of militant atheism that's always ready to attack Christianity? Perhaps it's young people with their lack of respect? Or old people stuck in their ways? Globally, we're regularly reminded of the bombing of churches, such as took place in Pakistan recently. We're reminded of the threat of persecution from those outside the church.
As we’ve read through 1 Timothy, we’ve seen other threats facing the church. Paul constantly charges Timothy to confront the threat posed by false teaching. Flowing from this is the threat posed by poor leadership. There’s also the threat of disunity, and of the community failing to care for itself. Three times in the letter, Paul refers to the threat posed by the enemy, by Satan, who prowls around looking for an opportunity to destroy the church. Surely this is the greatest threat, the greatest danger facing the church?
But, the truth is, the greatest danger comes from within. The greatest danger is that we allow any of these other things to distract us from the truth. The greatest danger facing the church is that we lose our focus on what counts, that we fail to keep a firm grip on our faith.
So in verse 11 Paul repeats his commission to Timothy. He repeats his warning to stay focused, to not to allow anything to draw us away. ‘But as for you, man of God, shun all this.’ In the first half of chapter 6, Paul describes the effects of following unsound doctrine. (As Ian put it so succinctly last week, bad root results in bad fruit). ‘But as for you’, indicates there should be a distinction. Those who follow unsound teaching, those who’ve lost their focus live like this, but as for you, something different is expected.
In his charge, Paul address Timothy as ‘man of God.’ This echoes a term used in the Old Testament of the leaders of God’s people. It’s vitally important that leaders don’t lose their focus, because it’s their job to help keep everyone else on track. But that doesn’t excuse everyone else. It’s just as important that everyone keeps focused on what counts.
The first part of that involves shunning, fleeing from, all this. At the very least Paul’s referring back to what we saw in chapter 6. We’re to totally avoid any teaching that doesn’t conform to the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ. We’re to shun teaching that isn’t in accordance with godliness we’re meant to be striving for. We can’t allow ourselves to be drawn away from the truth. We have to reject pride, envy, slander. And we can’t allow the love of money to replace our faith in God. The first part of keeping focused on what counts, is not focusing on anything else. Paul highlights this in his final, emphatic words. In verses 20-21, he warns that by letting themselves be drawn away by false teaching, some have missed the mark!
Staying focused doesn’t just involve avoiding some things. It also means pursuing others. We’re to flee from error, and follow Christ’s example. So we’re to strive for righteousness and godliness, seeking to be holy and blameless. We’re to be people of faith and love, belief and action. To this, Paul adds that we must pursue endurance. As we heard back in chapter 4, we must constantly practice being godly. It’s not like riding a bike, where we master it and move on. Every day, every moment of every day, every situation we find ourselves in, we must pursue godliness. We have to continually stay focused on what counts, maintaining our faith and a good conscience. Following Jesus is a life long journey, it’s a marathon, one that we have to run with perseverance and endurance. Even when the going gets tough, when we face opposition, we need to maintain gentleness.
The six things Paul lists here aren’t the only things we’re meant to strive for. They’re to bring to mind all that is called for holiness. So we’re to flee from unrighteousness, and flee towards righteousness.
Paul knows that staying focused isn’t an easy task, but it’s an important one. Throughout the letter Paul’s used the language of a fight, or struggle, and he continues it here. It’s going to be a battle, one against false teachers, against our innate apathy, against the wiles of the devil. We can’t afford to lose focus, to get weary or complacent in our faith.
Knowing it’s going to be hard, Paul encourages us to keep our eyes fixed on the prize. He instructs Timothy to, ‘Take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession.’ A few verses later on, (vv14-15), we’re reminded of the truth that Christ will return. We know that when he does, those who persevere in their faith will join him in heaven, forever. Remembering this should encourage us to stay focused! We’re to look to the finish line, eternal life with God in heaven.
But the eternal life Paul talks about is something that we can begin to grasp here and now. The word he uses in verse 12, means to seize hold of, to grab tightly and hang on to. The idea is that it’s something we can take hold of and make our own. Its something that we can take possession of, here and now. In fact, it’s something we began living out the moment we responded to God’s call. It’s the eternal life ‘to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.’ God called us to follow him, and we responded. Eternal life began the moment we first believed. As we look back to this moment, and look forward to its consummation at Christ’s return, we’re to persist in following Christ. Being reminded of our past, locked onto the future, we’re to remain focused on living out our faith in the present.
It’s easy, when you’re alone in your office, locked in your room meant to be studying, to lose focus. There are any number of distractions, things that call you away from what you’re meant to be doing. But have you noticed it’s harder to be distracted when there are others around? It’s why it’s a good idea to study in groups. It’s harder to slack off when you know everyone else is watching. It’s harder to spend time checking Facebook and eBay if there are others around who know you should be working instead.
So Paul reminds Timothy that he’s surrounded by many witnesses. Those in Ephesus might not have been present at Timothy’s baptism, but they carry on the role of witnesses. The church is meant to stand by, to encourage him to stay focused. As the writer of Hebrews puts it,
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us [Heb 12.1]
If that weren’t enough of an encouragement to stay focused, Paul wants us to understand that we stand in the presence of the living God! It’s not that God is standing over our shoulder, ready to pounce when we get off track. He’s the Lord, the giver of life, who gives life, and sustains life. God, the Father, who raised Christ to the dead, gives us life, sustains us as we seek to live for him.
From comforting us with the greatness of the Father, Paul switches to the weakest moment for God the Son. We stand in the presence of ‘Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession.’ Christ fought the good fight to the bitter end. Before Pontius Pilate, in the face of enormous temptation, he confessed that he was the true King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Christ endured the cross, scorning it’s shame, for the sake of the joy set before him. We are to follow his example in staying focused, on running to godliness, on fighting the good fight. Standing in his presence, encouraged by his example we’re to keep the commandment without spot or blemish. We’re to stay unswervingly focused to the gospel.
The good news is we don’t have to do this forever! Just until Christ returns! This will be the day that ushers in the life that is truly life, which brings an end to all suffering and struggles. It is the day we are to stay focused on. It’s the goal that we look towards. The day when the blessed, only Sovereign, the one true Lord will reappear, when all the world will bow at the name of Jesus. When the one who is immortal will bestow immortal life on his people. When the one who is holy and unapproachable will draw near once again, and take his people away to be with him, to dwell in his presence for all eternity. This is the day that we’re to remain focused on!!!
The false teachers lost sight of this future. They’ve taken their eyes of the goal. They haven’t stayed focused on what counts, so they’ve drifted astray. They’ve opted to live only for this world and the satisfaction of immediate desires. Instead we’re to keep our eyes firmly on the future reality of the appearance of Christ, and to allow this to shape the way we live in the present.
Having reminded us to focus on what counts, Paul jumps back to talking about money! The heights of his praise of God in verse 16, punctuated by that ‘to him be honour and eternal dominion, for ever and ever, Amen,’ is suddenly brought back down to reality with words addressed to those who in the present age are rich. At the start of the chapter he warned against greed and the desire to get rich. Here though, he addresses those who are already rich. These would have been the rich families, in whose households the church met. If we’re honest, if we think on a global scale, even on a local scale, Paul’s words are directed at us! We’re among the richest people in the world!
What Paul says is that we’re not just to give it all away. The answer isn’t to leap to asceticism. But we’re to remember that God has been generous to us, in giving us good things to enjoy. The writer of Ecclesiastes came to the same conclusion. That all that we have is a gift from God, that it is right and proper for us to thank him for it and to enjoy it. But what Paul says here, is that we can’t be self-indulgent.
And we can’t let our wealth allow us to lose focus. This begins by not letting it sow the seeds of disunity in the church. Alongside the wealth were the widows and slaves, the poor mixed with the rich. Timothy is to remind the rich, that they mustn’t allow their fortune to give them a big head! They can’t look down on others. Wealth doesn’t give the rich an excuse to be full of themselves, or haughty. They can’t be proud of their position, because it is just a gift from God.
Worst still, we mustn’t fall into the trap of trusting our wealth for security. In Luke 12, Jesus told a parable of a rich man who did just that. What happened? He was called a fool! We’re foolish too, if our wealth means we lose focus on what really counts! Instead we should set our hope on the living Lord. We’re to trust in Christ Jesus, in his promises, in his sure and certain return.
Instead of being like the foolish rich man, we’re to be like the shrewd manager, from the parable in Luke 16.
[9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.]
We’re to see our wealth as a gift from God and to use it for the service of his kingdom.
18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, 19 thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.
We’re to do good, to be rich not in finances but in good works, to be ready to share. We’re to use our money, our resources to open up opportunities for the gospel. Doing so, Paul says will lay up a treasure that will last. The best place to invest our money is in heaven! Which is just where Jesus said we should invest at the end of Luke 12!
The biggest threat facing the church today, is that we’ll lose focus of what truly counts. We’ll either be led astray by false teachers, by something that amounts to no more than ‘the profane chatter and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge.’ Or we’ll be lured into thinking that money is where it’s at, forgetting that we’ve already been entrusted with something far more valuable. We’re to guard the gospel, to stay focused on it. We can’t allow anything to cause us to budge an inch. By doing so, Paul warns some have missed the mark. By not staying focused on what counts, some have missed the whole point of why Jesus came and what he calls us to do.
So let’s about what Jesus has done for us on the cross. Let’s stay focused on the future, the promise of eternal life with Christ. Let’s stay focused on living out our faith in the present, using our gifts, our lives to honor Christ.
And may grace be with us all as we do this. Amen.