EXPOSITORY SERMONS

1. TOPIC: Guarding the Church from Apostasy

2. TITLE: Care of the Pastor: His Ministry
3. BIBLICAL BASIS: 1 Timothy 4:1-16
4. AUDITORIUM: Church in general
5. HEART OF THE SERMON: Caring for the faith and spiritual life of the Church with sound
doctrine
6. BODY OF THE SERMON:
I. CARE OF THE PASTOR FACING THE APOSTASY (V.1-6).
A. THE PREDICTION OF APOSTASY (v.1a): "The Spirit clearly says..."
o He said it in THREE ways:
1. Through Christ (Mark 13:22; etc.).
2. Through Paul (2 Thes 2:3)
3. Through other apostles (1 John 2:18ff).
B. THE MOMENT OF THE APOSTASY (v.1a): "...that in the last times..."
o The Bible speaks many times of "the last times." This era began with the first
coming of Christ (see Heb 1:2), and will culminate with His Second Coming.
Therefore, many apostasies will occur throughout this time, but especially in the
last years of the history of this world.
C. THE DESCRIPTION OF THE APOSTASY (v.1b): "...some will apostatize from the faith"
o The verb means 'to separate' or 'to separate'. Apostasy occurs when "believers"
deliberately turn away from the true gospel.
o A true Christian will never be an apostate, because his faith is a gift from God
forever. Such a Christian cannot stop believing in either God or Jesus. However,
many surprises will occur (Mt 7:21-23).
D. THE BASIS OF APOSTASY (v.1c-2): "...listening to deceiving spirits..."
o Paul says that apostasy has its source or root and names THREE reasons:
1. Deceiving spirits will make "Christians" listen to them (v.1c).
2. By the teachings ("doctrines") imparted by demons (v.1c).
3. Because of hypocritical "Christians", who live in sin (v.2).
 Review (James 3:14-17).
 There is talk of spirits and demons, which deceive with false
doctrines.4 That is why the commandment is: Test the spirits whether
they are from God (1 Jn. 4:1).
 The way to save the Church from apostasy is by teaching the TRUTH
of the gospel, and living according to the WORD of God (see 1 Tim
4:6-7).
E. THE TEACHINGS OF APOSTASY (v.3): "they will prohibit marriage..."
o Paul mentions TWO things that will affect the Church in the apostasy:
1. The rejection of marriage, as something sinful.
2. The rejection of certain foods, as something impure.
  The Bible teaches that marriage is honorable and that apostles were
permitted to have their own wives (1 Cor. 9:5), as were pastors,
bishops, and deacons (1 Tim. 3:2, 4, 12). God's Word also teaches that
each man should have his own wife because of fornications (1 Cor.
7:2, 8–9; 11:11). Although Paul speaks in favor of singleness and
celibate life (1 Cor. 7), at no time does he present them as an
obligation instead of marriage.
 In both cases, apostasy consists of rejecting something that God has
created, and that is good. This rejection is related to doing certain
works, which ensure (or promote) salvation. In said rejection, and in
what was expected to 'harvest', as a result of this rejection, the hand
and mentality of Satan is seen.
F. THE REJECTION OF THE APOSTASY (v.4-5)
o Paul mentions at least three basic reasons for not accepting such teaching:
1. It is not based on the good will of God.
2. It is not established in the Holy Scriptures.
3. What God gave, established and ordered is not undone. God is thanked in
prayer and the Lord sanctifies it. (Gen 1:31; Mark 7:18-19; Acts 10:14-15;).

II. CARE OF THE PASTOR BEFORE HIS MINISTRY (V. 6-16).

A. THE PROFILE OF THE "GOOD MINISTER"
o Every leader must be a "good minister"; Gr. 'deacons'. To be a "good minister" you
have to do THREE IMPORTANT things:
1. Teaching the Brothers (v.6a)
The verb here is not 'didasko' (see 1 Tim 2:12; 4:11), but 'hupotithemi', which
literally means 'to put under'. In light of the context of the apostasy (v.1-5), it is
interesting to note the comment that Fernando makes: "Timothy had to place
before the believers these truths, which became like those stones that are placed
on dangerous lands on which must be stepped on to avoid falling, and to be able to
cross them without danger." (Fernando, p.106).
2. Nourish Yourself (v.6b)
The word in Greek is, 'entrefomenos'; This is the present participle, in the middle
or passive voice, of the verb, 'entrefo', which means 'to nourish' . The passive
voice indicates that Timothy is nourished (by God, in His Word) , and the present
tense indicates that it is a continuous process: 'being nourished...' If we take it as
the middle voice, then the idea would be that Timothy had you nourish yourself.
The servant of God who stops meditating on the great truths of faith weakens
himself and also weakens his ministry. That is why many abandon the ministry, or
work the work with little enthusiasm and motivation.
3. Know sound doctrine (v. 6c)
“Healthy” is an old term. In Paul's pastoral epistles to Timothy and Titus, “sound”
means trustworthy, accurate, or faithful. The root of this word is an image from
 the world of medicine, which gives a connotation of wholeness or health. “Sound
doctrine consists of sound words, which is neither sick nor atrophied, which is
completely complete and not half.” John Stot. P. 48.
All this should be the profile of a good minister of the word. Timothy had it and
Paul affirms it by saying “what you followed.” Timothy had had Paul as his teacher.
(1 Tim 1:11).
B. THE ATTITUDE OF THE GOOD MINISTER (V. 7-10).
1. Fight to Obtain "Godliness" (v.7b-8)
 The verb that Paul uses (“exercise yourself”) is 'gumnazo'. The image of the
'gymnasium' indicates that Paul expected great spiritual effort from Timothy.
You don't go to the gym to walk around and take a break; one goes to work hard.
In the gym, one has to take off one's clothes to do the exercises better. In the
same way, the Christian has to 'put away' things that hinder him in his spiritual
life (see Heb 12:1-4).
 The noun (“piety”) is 'eusebeia', which carries the idea of reverence and fear
before the majestic presence of God. At the same time that the servant of God
fights against heresy, it is important that he not only have a blameless life, but
also transmit the reality of his fear, love and service of God.
2. Work (v.10a, 13, 15a)
 The verbs that Paul uses speak clearly of the attitude of the servant of God: he
must be willing to WORK. The verbs are: "we work" (v.10a), "get busy" (v.13)
and "get busy" (15a).
 The verb Paul uses in v.10a is 'kopiomen', which means, 'to work hard', 'to work
until one is tired' (see 1 Cor 4:12; 1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8) . Paul uses this word in
Phil 2:16, in a context of athletics, and in Eph 4:28 and 2 Tim 2:6, in a context of
manual labor. It is the word used for spiritual work, which implies how one
should work. See Rom 16:12; 1 Thes 1:3; Gal 4:11; Phil 2:16; 1 Thes 5:12; 1 Tim
5:17.
 The verb in v.13 is 'proseche', which means 'devote yourself' or 'pay attention'.
The present tense indicates a continuous action, and the verb implies
preparation beforehand ('pro-'). The word is used in Acts 8:10 ("they listened
attentively"); 1 Tim 1:4; Titus 1:14. The false teachers were dedicated to their
(false) teachings; Timothy was to do the same, regarding the truth.
 The verb in v.15a is 'meletao', which means 'to be careful', 'to practice', 'to
cultivate', 'to think about something'. The word is related to 'amelei', in v.14
("do not neglect"). Perhaps Paul still had the athletics metaphor in mind;
Timothy had to continue practicing the exercises, in order to develop his "piety."
3. Suffer (v.10a)
 The verb is 'agonizomai', which means 'to fight' or 'to strive'. It describes the
struggle and suffering of the athlete. The verb expresses the intense effort that
Paul made to preach the gospel. The word is in the present tense, indicating
ongoing action, even at the time of writing this letter.
 What motivates the "good minister" to work and make such an effort? It is the hope
of God's promise:
4. Wait on God (v.10b)
 The verb in Greek indicates 'to wait confidently'. The verb is in the perfect tense,
indicating a permanent state of trust in waiting for the fulfillment of God's
promise. Paul's trust was not in an inert idol (like the goddess Diana), but in the
"Living God."

C. THE CHARACTER OF THE GOOD MINISTER (V.12).

o Timothy was young; How could he have authority over the elders in the Church? It
seems that Timothy was being watched because of his age. Surely the false teachers
were older than him, and therefore used this to gain an advantage over Timothy.
o The way to earn the respect of the Church would be through an exemplary life; This is
the best way to silence the criticism of our opponents.
1. Be an Example (v.12b, 15c)
 The word Paul uses is 'tupos', which means 'model' or 'example'. The word is
related to the verb, 'tupto', which means 'to hit'; This is where the idea of the
'mark' left by a blow is derived. This 'footprint' is a faithful copy of the
instrument that produced the blow; in that sense it is an 'example' or a 'model'
of the original.
In what areas of life should Timothy be an example to the elders?
Yo. In what he says: So many times young people speak before thinking, and
they manifest their immaturity in the words they speak.

ii. In His Behavior: The young man often shows impetuosity in his actions.

iii. In His Love: This is the quality that will defeat all enemies.

iv. In His spirit: In his attitude, encouragement. John Calvin translates this word
“ardent zeal for God.”

v. In His Faith: Here Paul may have had 'faithfulness' in mind. In the fights
against
opponents, our fidelity to God and the work, is put to the test.

saw. In His Holiness: The same word (“purity”) is found in 1 Tim 5:2, in a
context of sexual purity. The heretics of 1 Tim 4:3 prohibited marriage, but
perhaps they were guilty of many sexual sins. Timothy must set a good
example in this area of his life, in which many times the
young people are weak.

D. SUGGESTIONS FOR A GOOD MINISTER (V. 13-16).