Emmanuel Lutheran Church

1 Timothy 4:1–16 (NKJV)

¹ Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, ² speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, ³ forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. ⁴ For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; ⁵ for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. ⁶ If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed. ⁷ But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. ⁸ For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. ⁹ This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance. ¹⁰ For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe. ¹¹ These things command and teach. ¹² Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. ¹³ Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. ¹⁴ Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. ¹⁵ Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. ¹⁶ Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

The Holy Spirit speaks yet again, through St. Paul, of the importance of protecting sound doctrine. God is making it clear what His hearers should expect of the “good ministers of Jesus Christ,” that they should be defending against the doctrines of demons. That not only means staying with and teaching the orthodox doctrine of God’s Holy Scripture; it also means not allowing false doctrine to be taught.

This means that a congregation cannot simply say that it doesn’t teach or agree with the heterodox teachings and practices of other congregations with whom they knowingly remain in fellowship. To remain in that heterodox fellowship thus allows the heterodox teachings and practices to continue to be taught, and it inevitably results in a support of the heterodoxy.

Pastors are called to be the spiritual overseers (or fathers) of the saints entrusted to their care. Their conduct matters, as they are to be examples to the flock in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. The public reading of Scripture matters, for God’s Holy Scripture must always take prominence, as proper preaching, teaching, and practice depend on it. The exhortation of others, especially the flock entrusted to their care, matters, for if there is no accountability to God’s Word, then it all comes across as though it didn’t matter. And, lastly, doctrine matters, for where the doctrine is errant, then, ultimately, Christ and His fully atoning merits are maligned. Support of such faithful pastors should clearly follow. And the thanks always go to God!

Let us pray: Almighty and Everlasting God, give us an increase of faith, hope, and charity; and that we may obtain what You have promised, make us to love what You have commanded; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

1 Timothy 3:1–16 (NKJV)

¹ This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. ² A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; ³ not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; ⁴ one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence ⁵ (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); ⁶ not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. ⁷ Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. ⁸ Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, ⁹ holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. ¹⁰ But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. ¹¹ Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. ¹² Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. ¹³ For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; ¹⁵ but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. ¹⁶ And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.

Verse 16 proclaims that Jesus was “justified in the Spirit.” Some hold that if Jesus was justified, then all of sinful humanity was justified in Christ, apart from faith.

To connect the entire sinful world to Christ apart from faith, however, is to force a man-made philosophical thought upon Holy Scripture, and worst of all it’s unfaithful to Holy Scripture. It’s to make God say something He does not say. God’s Word does not rely on philosophy. Rather, the Holy Spirit reveals spiritual understanding through God’s Word of truth where and when He pleases, and the gift of God-created faith simply believes God’s Word.

Many qualifications for the Office are made clear in this text, one of them being, “holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience.” Yet, even when they know it to be false, some pastors continue to defend the teachings of their founding fathers for the sake of a denominational triumphalism (a “glorious kingdom”) on earth. This is not “holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience.”

By God’s grace, the men fulfilling the Office, who are sharing fellowship within the Confessional Lutheran Ministerium, have held the mystery of the faith, rightly proclaiming justification not apart from faith but as coming through faith alone in the fully atoning merits of Christ Jesus. By God’s grace they do this not only for the sake of having “a pure conscience” themselves, but for the conscience of the flocks entrusted to them as well. Thanks be to God, indeed!

Let us pray: Almighty and Everlasting God, give us an increase of faith, hope, and charity; and that we may obtain what You have promised, make us to love what You have commanded; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

1 Timothy 2:1–15 (NKJV)

¹ Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, ² for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. ³ For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, ⁴ who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, ⁷ for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. ⁸ I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting; ⁹ in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, ¹⁰ but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works. ¹¹ Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. ¹² And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. ¹³ For Adam was formed first, then Eve. ¹⁴ And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. ¹⁵ Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control.

The kingdom of the left (the world) and the kingdom of the right (God’s kingdom of grace) need each other. The world (fallen and filled with nothing but sinners) needs grace. Yet God’s grace (that is, Christ’s fully atoning merits, delivered through His Word and Sacraments) needs faithful rulers that maintain a freedom for the Church to exist in order to rightly deliver God’s grace through the Office of the Holy Ministry.

Thus, God, through St. Paul, speaks the important exhortation “that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.” Why such an exhortation? Because when the Church is free to exist, then Christ can be proclaimed, for God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”

Upon that scriptural truth we confess and proclaim: “Faith justifies… Just as it is necessary to maintain this sentence: Christ is Mediator, so is it necessary to defend that faith justifies. For how will Christ be Mediator, if, in justification, we do not use Him as Mediator; if we are not convinced that, for His sake, we are accounted righteous? But this is to believe, to trust in the merits of Christ, that for His sake God certainly wishes to be reconciled with us” (Ap:IV, 69, Jacobs).

Let us pray: Almighty and Everlasting God, give us an increase of faith, hope, and charity; and that we may obtain what You have promised, make us to love what You have commanded; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen

1 Timothy 1:1–20 (NKJV)

¹ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope, ² To Timothy, a true son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. ³ As I urged you when I went into Macedonia—remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, ⁴ nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith. ⁵ Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, ⁶ from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, ⁷ desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm. ⁸ But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, ⁹ knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, ¹⁰ for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, ¹¹ according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust. ¹² And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, ¹³ although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. ¹⁴ And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. ¹⁶ However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. ¹⁷ Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. ¹⁸ This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, ¹⁹ having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, ²⁰ of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.

It is often said, “There shouldn’t be divisions in the Church.” Yet, this is one text (of many) which reveals why God brings about separation: It’s for the sake of His truth! Fallen flesh, by its very nature, though, ever strives to stay alive and live for the self. Such selfishness is displayed when the flesh maligns God’s Word by openly changing or purposefully mis-teaching His doctrine, which is, ultimately, calling God a liar. It is a “nothing-new-under-the-sun,” on-going (yet hopeless) notion of fallen flesh that it can stay alive by way of the Law.

God, through St. Paul, urges Timothy that to “charge some that they teach no other doctrine.” Obviously, St. Paul is exhorting Timothy to carry out such a charge through the Office of the Holy Ministry into which he ordained him. Yet all Christians are exhorted—and expected—not to put up with heterodoxy.

A Christian’s confession of being a totally depraved sinner while remaining in the flesh is a confirmation of the truth of God’s Law. As faith does self-examination according to God’s Ten Commandments, all Christians repentantly conclude that they are the chief of sinners, yet, God’s purpose of the Law is to drive sinners to His Holy Gospel. As Luther once wrote regarding the teaching of the total depravity of man’s flesh: “before God I will gladly be a sinner, that this article [of forgiveness & justification through faith in Christ’s merits] may remain true.” (W.A. 29. 573 f.) A true confession that brings us to realize that it is only in Christ Jesus where we truly have life! Thanks be to God!

Let us pray: Almighty and Everlasting God, give us an increase of faith, hope, and charity; and that we may obtain what You have promised, make us to love what You have commanded; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.