Redeeming Power of the Gospel

Good morning once again to you. We are in the second week of our exploration of the first letter of Paul to the young pastor Timothy at the church in Ephesus. Each time I get into this letter I get more and more excited about what God has to say to us therein.

Have you noticed that the music today doesn't talk as much about our sin as the old hymns used to? I am a fan of some very new music to be sure, but the words of the old hymn writers did a great job of teaching us theology as well as helping us worship.

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me."

"Prone to wander Lord I fear it, prone to leave the God I love."

Today songwriters seem to have decided that dealing with sin either isn't popular or won't sell.

*Brian Abel Ragen wrote, " While Newton believed that human beings were wretches, in desperate need of a Savior, these 20th-century adapters clearly believe that they and the congregations who sing their words are perfectly nice people.… They are not bad—certainly not _wretches_; they have simply lost their way. They are not wicked; they merely have a handicap—a dysfunction—from which they hope to recover.” “Grace is amazing because it saves _wretches_, not because it puts a final polish on nice people.… You cannot be saved if you are not lost.… You cannot be freed unless you are enslaved.”*

I Timothy 1:12-20 is going to help us celebrate the redeeming power of God in the gospel. Let's pray and dive into it together.

**PRAY**

I. The Redeeming Power of the Gospel

- What Paul was.

- Blasphemer

- Persecutor

- There for the stoning of Stephen.

- Acts 8:3

Acts 8:3 ESV

3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

- Acts 9:1

Acts 9:1 ESV

1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest

- Insolent opponent - go into each of these.

- Acts 26:9-11

Acts 26:9–11 ESV

9 “I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. 11 And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities.

- Paul has clarity about his own sin.

- Honest about who he was. Not trying to sand the edges of his sin to make it seem less evil.

-There is a humility here.

- What Jesus did for Paul

- Saved him

- forgave him (GOSPEL HERE)

- appointed him for service

- strengthened him

- Why Paul received the mercy of Christ

- chosen by God to glorify Christ through suffering - verse

- chosen to take the gospel to the Gentiles

- to display the perfect patience of Jesus Christ (start with this one)

- Ultimately Paul received mercy because God is merciful.

Paul didn't think God was privileged to have him. That is the attitude so many in the church have sometimes. Instead of serving out of gratitude to the Lord and not requiring any recognition, they want the church to know how blessed the church is that they have deigned to serve in the church. Do you see how foreign that attitude would be to Paul?

Paul was humbled that the King would have mercy on him even with his dastardly past.

II. The Recommendation of Paul to Timothy

- Why Paul writes this to Timothy

- what charge?

- in accordance with the prophecies about Timothy

- tells him to wage good warfare by them

- so he will hold faith and a good conscience (explain this)

- Fight for the gospel in our lives.

- Fight for the gospel in our churches.

III. The Results of Rejecting Faith and a Good Conscience

- shipwrecking their faith

- H and A (who where they and what did they do?)

Our Response:

- Be honest about your sin. CONFESS.

- Trust that Jesus took care of it on the cross. BELIEVE.

- Turn away from your sin and run to Jesus. REPENT

- Praise and worship the Lord in all of your life by obeying the commands of God and bearing the fruit of the Spirit. Praise God for the ministry he has given you in your family, church, and the world. WORSHIP

- Watch your life and your doctrine closely to make sure you are rightly aligned with the gospel and the whole counsel of God. STAND.

- Walk through life looking to God to grow you as you suffer and celebrate. SANCTIFICATION

In whatever we do, we must hold tightly to the gospel. It is the very message that saves us and our hearers. It must be at the center of whatever we do because Jesus is true, merciful, and worth it.