TRUE TO THE KING

I Tim. 1-18-20

President Bush's approval rating went up slightly with the recent victories in Iraq. Did he fly the planes? Did he make the smart bombs? Did he plan the strikes? Did he drive a humvee or carry a gun? Of course not! He didn't do those things but he is the commander in chief.

Paul's reminder to Timothy of his charge (orders), was with the backdrop of his Commander in Chief who is…

The King of the ages - King over everything and all time.

The Immortal God - Ever-living - without beginning or end

The Invisible God - unseen and unseeable

The Only God - There is absolutely No other

The Wise God - Infinite in knowledge - past, present and future.

The Only One deserving eternal honor and glory.

With Timothy we should realize that we serve the Eternal King with eternal purpose!

I. The Charge (orders)v. 18

In v. 3-4 we learned this charge was to avoid heterodoxy and adhere to the dispensation of God.

Charge is a military term so there's a natural connection to warfare.

Prophecy (from the past) aligned with the charge. Evidently when prophets and the gift of prophecy were active there was a prophecy about Timothy. This is not to promote sign gifts, the point is that this charge from Paul is consistent with it.

II. The Battle v. 18-19a

The root of war or fight is army or soldier in both a verb and noun form. In context it's a spiritual battle. Eph. 6:10-12 tells us what our fight is against and that we can't do it without God's enabling as we saw in our context, v. 12. We must be focused in this battle, not entangled with things of this life, II Tim. 2:4. We must be focused on His life, Col. 3:3-4 and our position at the right hand of God, Col. 3:1-3.

This battle has more to do with being than doing. Being a good soldier will translate into effective soldiering. Two aspects stood out in Paul's mind.

A. Holding to Faith - This is the walk by faith.

B. Holding to Good Conscience - Conscience indicates applied knowledge. It's knowledge in action without compromise.

III. The Traitors v. 19b-20

Paul gave a nautical picture with these words. The key word "hold" is in contrast to "shove and from" in v. 19. Some didn't hold (anchored) to… but "shoved off" and the result was shipwreck!

A. Shipwreck the Faith - "Wrong thinking about God's will in life leads to wrong thinking about God and His Word."

B. Shipwreckers (Traitors)

1. Hymeneas - In II Tim. 2:17 he overthrew (shipwrecked) the faith of some by his false teaching. The battle over truth is a constant in the spiritual battle.

2. Alexander - In II Tim. 4:14 and Alexander did Paul much evil.

Paul "delivered them to Satan" to discipline them. That implies they were believers and his goal was to restore them.

A true soldier is true to the charge, true in the battle, and true to King!

Grace, Mercy and Peace to you!