I Timothy 4:12 “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”
Introduction: In this lesson we are dealing with the faith that Paul speaks about in this verse.
Faith– Hebrews 11:1-3 “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”. Simple belief of the scriptures. Understating the truth of what God has revealed. 2 Corinthians 5:7 “for we walk by faith, not by sight”.
We see an example of the believers in faith, in the life of Paul or Timothy who had a:
I. Saving Faith– II Timothy 3:15 “wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus”.
- This is a faith which brings a person to know the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior. Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace are ye saved through faith”. Hopefully every one that is here today has a saving faith in Jesus Christ and what he already did for us, I Corinthians 15:1-4. This is not necessarily a problem for us, what IS a problem is believing that the saving faith is enduring faith- salvation forever.
- Christians today, because of the sin in their lives, don’t have assurance of their salvation. They have enough faith to believe they were saved by Christ, but not enough faith to remain saved regardless of what sins they commit.
- We’re not talking about having license or liberty to sin, Paul said in Romans 6:1-2 “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid.” Were talking about Christians struggling to believe that once saved always saved.
- John 5:24 “hath everlasting life”. When everlasting life is given by Jesus Christ, this is something that is secure and that cannot be taken away by anyone, including God himself.
- Psalm 103:12 “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”
- Isaiah 38:17 “for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back”.
- Micah 7:18-19 “He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”
- Isaiah 43:25 “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not rememberthy sins.”
- Because God has already dealt with our sins, and they have been forgiven and taken care of, we have know that we are free, and we don’t have to doubt our salvation.
II. Unfeigned Faith- II Timothy 1:5 “unfeigned faith that is in thee”, “and I am persuaded that in thee also.” Unfeigned– not counterfeit, not hypocritical; real; sincere. Not a faith that puts on a show like the pharisees, but that is real and sincere.
- What was it about Timothy, that makes Paul be confident and persuaded in Timothy’s unfeigned faith?
- That Timothy hadn’t departed from the faith, like others- I Timothy 4:1
- That Timothy hadn’t denied his faith, like others- I Timothy 5:8
- That Timothy hadn’t erred from the faith, like others- I Timothy 6:10 & 21
- Timothy had definitely proved that the faith that he had was unfeigned. Paul had appointed him as the elder of the church in Ephesus I Timothy 1:3, and had met the qualities found in I Timothy 3.
III. Waring Faith– I Timothy 6:12 “fight the good fight of faith”. When you commit to following the Lord, and not compromise, or give in to the ways of the world, you must be ready for war. This is to agonize, struggle, battle, and contend. Matthew Henry said “those who will get to heaven must fight their way there”. It’s true, the world and God are going in two separate directions. The admonition here is to stay faithful until we die.
- I Timothy 1:18-19 “mightiest war a good warfare”. We need to understand that we are at war, spiritually with high powers.
- II Timothy 2:3-5 “endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ”. We have to be ready with the whole armour of God in order to stand and withstand the enemy. Ephesians 6:12-18.
- Hebrews 12:3 “For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds”. Don’t get tire of fighting, consider our example Jesus Christ.
IV. Enduring Faith– II Timothy 4:7 “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith”. II Timothy was the last book written by Paul before he died, here he speaks of his soon coming death.
- Enduring faith is to the end- never Quit. When Paul got to the end of his life, he confidently said that he had kept the faith”. Paul didn’t loose his faith like many have done today.
You and I can have enduring faith when:
- We don’t count our life dear unto ourselves- Acts 20:24
- We keep our eye on the prize, incorruptible crowns- I Corinthians 9:24-27
- We forget about what is behind- Philippians 3:10-14
- II Timothy 1:14 “That good thing which was committed unto thee keep”.
- I Timothy 6:20 “O, Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoid profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called”. Don’t get involved in things that don’t matter and only waste your time, that will make you question your faith and eventually quit your faith, in exchange for something worthless.
- Keep your eyes on Jesus and we will have enduring faith.
Conclusion: If we are going to be a good example of the believers in faith, it’s important to know that once we are saved, we cannot lose our salvation, we are secure IN Christ. Also, the faith we do have, has to be real and proven so that we don’t leave our faith for a “better offer” in the world. Our faith also has to be waring, every day we are at war with the devil, his devils, or the flesh, and we have to stay on guard. Lastly, we need enduring faith, a faith that will last until Jesus come for his church, or we die and go to be with Him.