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1 Timothy 4:6-10 - The Benefits of Godliness · Tabernacle Talk - A Bible Study Podcast with Pastor Bryon Self

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  Welcome to Tabernacle Talk. Tabernacle Talk is a Bible study
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  podcast brought from Tabernacle Baptist Church in Essex, MD.
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  I'm your host, Brian Self. We hope this podcast encourages
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  you to know Christ, grow in his word, and show his love to
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  others. Let's dive right in.
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  Welcome back to Tabernacle Talk. Today we are in first Timothy
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  chapter 4 and verses 6 through 10.
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  First Timothy 4/6 through 10 and in these verses we're going to
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  see contrary to what we learned last episode of not following
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  the false teachers and what they were trying to teach the church
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  at Ephesus. Paul was instead telling his son
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  in the faith Timothy, that as he was helping to lead the church
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  at Ephesus. Here is the here were the things
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  that Timothy should be teaching. Here's the things that he should
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  be practicing with in his own life for you today.
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  This is like great game plan for your week.
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  So the day that I'm recording, this is a Monday.
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  This is releasing on a Tuesday. And so for you for Tuesday
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  throughout the end of this week, you can find out from today's
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  passage. Here's what you need to know and
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  here's what you need to do. Verse #6 Paul says if you point
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  these things out to the brothers and sisters.
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  So that's what the false teachers were saying.
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  Point out that this is not God's way or God's will.
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  So this is if you point these things out to the brothers and
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  sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus,
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  nourished by the words of the faith and the good teaching that
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  you have followed. You want to have like spiritual
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  food and encouragement for your life.
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  Listen to good teaching that falls in line with the Word of
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  God. This is one of the reasons why I
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  really, really, really encourage people.
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  Don't just allow like a Sunday morning sermon to be the only
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  time that you are in the Word of God.
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  We need to be fed. We need to be nourished through
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  good faithful gospel teaching. And so this is what Paul here
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  encourages Timothy to do. You want to be a good servant of
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  Christ Jesus. Listen to sound teaching verse
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  #7 he says. But have nothing to do with
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  pointless and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in
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  godliness. There will be people that
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  constantly want to talk about or obsess over minutia in the Word
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  of God or outlandish theories. Possibilities that in no way
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  could you emphatically prove or disprove from scripture.
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  But those are not the people that we need to be modeling our
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  lives after. Those aren't the people that we
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  should spend a bunch of time arguing with.
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  If someone wants to be, if you will, pedantic about the Word of
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  God, if they want to just constantly be trying to argue
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  with you about minor spiritual things, that's not someone that
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  you should spend time listening to.
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  It's not something that you should waste your time doing.
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  That can look like a bunch of different things in today's
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  world. That could be someone that is
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  super obsessed with, let's say, what the early church did in a
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  way that is totally bereft of what is spoken about in the New
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  Testament. So I'll just give one example.
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  I have like my personal convictions on ideally how often
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  a church should observe the Lord's Supper.
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  And I have especially from looking at some of the earliest
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  Christian documents that we have from the 2nd and 3rd centuries.
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  I could say, well, here the the Christians during that time
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  period, here's how often they observe the Lord's Supper.
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  And so we need to do that as well.
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  And I could be really insistent on that.
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  However, Scripture doesn't command that specific practice.
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  And so that to me would seem to be, here's something that's not
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  directly commanded in Scripture. And so I can obsess over it and
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  I can make a big deal about it and make a stink of it to
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  everyone that will listen. But I don't think that that
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  would serve people well. And so even though it would be
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  my personal conviction and belief, I don't have to convince
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  everyone else in the world about it.
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  Same type of thing happens with the Old Testament and what are
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  called the the Nephilim or the giants, the sons of God and the
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  daughters of men. I have my belief from Scripture
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  on what that is. I believe it's testified about
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  within Scripture. And you know, Christian history
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  and exegetical work would at least convince me.
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  Yeah, this is in the ballpark of that.
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  But I know many, many, many godly people that take a
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  different position. I'm not going to waste my time
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  talking about or arguing with another person about who the
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  Nephilim are. I'm not going to hijack a, you
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  know, small group or Sunday school class or something to go.
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  OK, well here's the reason why I think that this is this.
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  No, it it's not worth it. Even when I'm talking with
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  people within my own church. You guys know, I did a
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  Tabernacle talk on why I am a Baptist or what do Baptist
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  believe? I forget what the title of it
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  was, but you guys know, as you've been listening to
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  Tabernacle talk, me being a Baptist has come up, you know,
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  maybe I think 5 to 10 times other than in like, you know,
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  the church name or something, it's only come up like 5 to 10
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  times over the course of several 106 hundred 700 episodes.
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  And that's intentional because the Bible isn't concerned about,
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  you know, there there's no portion of Scripture that says
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  thou shalt be a Baptist or thou shalt be an Episcopalian or a
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  Catholic or Eastern Orthodox or Presbyterian.
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  And so because it's not the focus of the Bible, it's not
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  something that as I'm walking through the Bible that I want to
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  be teaching, I want to tell you guys, this is what the Bible
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  says. This is how it points to Jesus.
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  Here's the gospel. And so here's what we believe
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  and what we practice and how we treat other people as a result
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  of what the Bible says. I want the important things that
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  I teach you guys to be what the Bible deems as important, what
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  the Bible spends time talking about.
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  So people that are super, super into, well, here's all the
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  reasons why you need to be a Calvinist.
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  Here's all the reasons why you need to be a provisionist or a
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  Mullinist or an Armenian. Here's all of the reasons why
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  you know this, that, or the other.
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  These things that are not clearly taught or instructed or
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  commanded in the Scripture. Here's the reasons why you need
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  to believe or teach these things.
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  Don't listen to those kinds of people.
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  Instead, as Paul says, rather train yourself in godliness that
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  what you need to be working out is not like an airtight an
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  airtight argument for any, you know, particular thing that
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  could be a myth, might or might not be true, could be or might
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  not be. Don't waste your time on those
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  or arguing about that with people.
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  Instead, exercise yourself in godliness that you are becoming
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  like God. You are learning and
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  exemplifying the fruit of the Spirit.
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  So that's that. Lovejoy, peace, patience,
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  long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and
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  self-control like that is what we need to be giving ourselves
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  to because we know that that is true.
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  We know that that is God's will for us, that we begin looking
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  more and more like like Jesus each and every day.
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  Frankly, someone can be incredibly theologically sound
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  and they can, you know, learn and say and do all of the things
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  in line with everything that I would teach.
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  But if they are not godly people, if they're not
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  exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit, then all of that
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  knowledge is just wasted. It's like Satan knows Psalm 91,
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  but it doesn't do him any good because like, he's not using the
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  knowledge of that Psalm to obey the Lord.
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  He's using that knowledge to try and, you know, tempt Jesus and
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  to, you know, guide worship towards himself and dictate
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  God's actions, things like that. And So what Paul tells Timothy
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  and what I'm telling you guys, exercise yourself, Train
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  yourself in godliness here. One of the things that would
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  kind of be in mind is like for a sport, or it wasn't the Olympic
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  Games at this time, but that kind of sport mindset is you are
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  to be a pro athlete in behaving and speaking like Jesus.
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  Now, if you're like me, you're like, man, that is a really tall
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  ass. I don't know if I can do that.
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  The truth is you and I cannot do it.
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  But the Holy Spirit of God living inside of us, he can do
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  it. It's not the fruit of the Brian
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  or the fruit of the, you know, Myron.
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  It's the fruit of the Spirit. And so as we just allow the
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  Spirit to take root in our life, that when he tells us to do
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  something, we say yes. When he tells us you shouldn't
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  have done that, we say, OK, I'm, I'm, you know, trimming that out
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  of my life and pruning that out of my life that we allow the
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  Spirit to, to bring about his fruit within our life.
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  Verse #8 continues in this thought, For the training of the
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  body has limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every
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  way since it holds promise for the present life and also for
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  the life to come here. He does not say the training of
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  the body has zero benefit. I will level with you guys.
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  You know, we're 10 minutes into this thing.
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  Anyone that washes these nose like I'm not the world's
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  skinniest guy. One of the things that I know
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  that I need to be consistently working on is making sure that
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  my diet and my exercise is consistent, not strictly so
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  that, you know, I can see one specific number on the scale,
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  but so that I can exercise self-control, which is a fruit
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  of the spirit. I don't want anyone to ever be
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  like, oh man, it's just one of those fat Baptist preachers
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  again. And I'm, I'm not going to listen
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  to him because he can't even exercise self-control.
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  And so he just wants everyone else to change what they're
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  doing and he can't even control himself.
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  I don't want that to be the case.
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  And so that's something that I want to consistently pursue and
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  I want to encourage you guys like pursue, pursue self-control
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  in your life as well. And it is good for us.
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  I want to be able to play with my kids and to have a great time
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  and to be there for all the various moments of their life.
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  I, I want to be able one day to, you know, be running around and,
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  and playing and wrestling and having a great time with my
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  grandkids, should the Lord give me grandkids.
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  So I want to invest now so that in the future I am continuing to
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  reap benefits from exercising bodily there.
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  He says the training of the body that it has limited benefit.
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  I can be super fit. I can have, you know, I, I can
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  have a Arnold Schwarzenegger's body from, you know, however
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  many decades ago when he was a bodybuilder.
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  I could have just this amazing body and it would not do
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  anything for my eternity. And a lot of the people that you
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  know, are bodybuilders. You have to give up so many
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  things in your family, you know, Olympic athletes, there's so
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  many things that they have to say no to, even in relationships
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  that they are not able to experience, you know, a, a great
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  life now. And then when they get to
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  eternity, God's like, oh man, you were a bodybuilder.
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  That's awesome. Enter into the Kingdom.
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  That's not how any of that works.
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  So bodily exercise it, it, it profits a little bit.
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  It's got some limited benefit, he says, but godliness is
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  profitable and everything it it has a promise for the present
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  life that as we look and act and think and behave like Jesus in
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  the here and now man that will bless every person that we come
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  into contact with. And he says, and also for the
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  life to come, that what we do now effects our future one day
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  in eternity, that the seeds that we plant now of God, leliness,
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  it will flourish, it will come to fruition in the afterlife.
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  And So what we, what we choose to invest in in our spiritual
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  life now is really, really important.
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  You might think, OK, I, I was kind to that person today.
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  I don't really know what I gained from that.
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  You won't know until you either die or Jesus comes back.
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  And when that happens, you'll go, oh man, I never, I never
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  pictured that that would be the result of when I was kind, you
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  know, 300 years ago. I didn't know that now I would
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  be experiencing this or this would be the reward for that.
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  I I love the verse that Paul says.
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  I think it's in Second Corinthians.
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  Eye is not seen, nor has ear heard, nor has entered into the
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  heart of man the things that God has prepared for those that love
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  him. So invest in your spiritual
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  life. Spend time in the word, spend
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  time in prayer, listen to preaching, go to church
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  regularly, be a part of a small group.
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  All of those things will help you invest into your spiritual
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  life and then actually do something as a result of what
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  God's word is that is being spoken into your life.
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  Like actually do something with it.
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  Have godliness. Don't just be a recipient of so
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  much of God's teaching, actually do something with it.
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  Verse #9 This saying is trustworthy and deserves full
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  acceptance. For this reason we labor and
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  strive because we have put our hope in the living God who is
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  the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.
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  So we labor. Here Paul is saying in a
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  ministry context of leading people to faith in Christ and
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  helping them in their walk with the Lord.
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  He says, Timothy, This is why we do what we do, why we labor and
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  strive, why we work hard. It is because we have put our
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  hope in the living God, that God who lives, this God who
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  conquered the grave, this God who is resurrected and will live
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  forever. This God saves all kinds of
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  people, and he says he's the Savior of all people, especially
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  of those who believe Jesus is the Savior.
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  There is no other savior for mankind like Jesus, is it?
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  Contrast some things that I've seen on the Internet.
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  This does not mean that every person will be saved regardless
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  of how they respond to Jesus and who he is.
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  Only those that believe in Jesus will experience the salvation of
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  Jesus, that Jesus is the Savior of all mankind.
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  No one will be saved outside of Jesus.
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  But that also means then then you do have to believe in Jesus
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  in order to be saved. I'll, I'll throw this in there
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  as well as kind of a throwaway thing.
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  I don't say that in a kind of smug version of Oh yeah, I just
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  can't wait for people to go to hell.
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  Honestly, it would throw me to death if God at the end of my
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  life was like, oh hey, actually what Jesus did on the cross, it
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  did pay in full for everyone's sin.
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  And so everyone is going to heaven, Everyone will be
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  transformed by what Jesus did on the cross, and so everyone will
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  experience eternal life and no one will go to hell.
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  Like if that happened at the end of my life, I wouldn't be like,
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  oh man, I just really wanted people to go to hell.
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  No, I'd be thrilled. However, from what God has said
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  in His Word, God allows us to be able to actually make that
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  choice, to say yes to Jesus, yes to eternal life.
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  Or if we refuse God's path of life, which is Jesus Christ,
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  then all that has left for us is the eternal destruction of our
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  souls in hell. And so here, end of the episode,
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  I want to encourage you share your faith.
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  It's an important thing. Jesus is the savior and he's not
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  the savior of the rich people, the poor people, the white
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  people, the brown people, the black people, like Jesus is the
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  savior of all people. There is no category of human
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  that Jesus did not die to save. And so I want to encourage you
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  share your faith. It is a good thing and you can
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  labor and you can work. Knowing that the work that we
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  do, it is important because it's centered on Jesus.
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  It's not centered on myths. It's not centered on even self
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  improvement. What we do as Christians is we
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  say man, Jesus paid it all and then he gave me the Holy Spirit.
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  And as I allow the Holy Spirit to do in and through me what He
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  wants to do, I suddenly find that my life has this trait that
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  I could not have manufactured of godliness.
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  And this godliness blesses me and those around me in this
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  life. And God has promised that there
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  are rewards eternally for what I do and say in the here and now.
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  What a cool thought. What an amazing truth that this
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  God who did not have to give me anything, He has given me
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  everything. He has given me his Son.
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  He has given me eternal life. He's given me redemption and
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  forgiveness, He's given me his Holy Spirit, He's given me his
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  Bride, the Church to strengthen and to encourage and to equip
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  and to sharpen me. He has given me a home in heaven
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  eternally. And he has given me a
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  relationship with Him. And there is nothing greater
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  than those things. Thanks for tuning in today.
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  I hope that it was an encouragement to you.
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  God bless.