Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20120212.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
1 Timothy: God's Ministry Roles For Church Leaders And The Local Church
Part III: God's Discipling Template For Today's Leaders In Needy Churches
(1 Timothy 1:5-7)
  1. Introduction
    1. Having established the fact that an effective leadership ministry in the local church is a long-term one that counters error in giving only Bible content applied dogmatically to lead hearers to live by faith in God, it is important to discern the actual discipleship we should expect to see when this kind of ministry occurs.
    2. 1 Timothy 1:5-7 lays out God's discipling template on the matter, and we view it for insight (as follows):
  2. God's Discipling Template For Today's Leaders In Needy Churches, 1 Timothy 1:5-7.
    1. When an effective leadership ministry occurs in the local church (as briefly described in "I,A" above and taught in our last lesson in this series), there is a desired end result: the Greek word, "telos" in 1 Timothy 1:5 translated "end" (KJV) or "goal" (NIV) or "aim" (ESV) in this context implies the resulting desired product, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament , vol. VIII, p. 49, 54.
    2. That desired product contextually contrasts with the unsettling speculations raised by preoccupation with endless fables and genealogies (1 Timothy 1:4), and it is described in 1 Timothy 1:5 (as follows):
      1. First, true discipleship resulting from a Biblically effective leadership ministry is "love out of a pure (katharos) heart (kardia)," 1 Timothy 1:3a (U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p. 720) as follows:
        1. Paul uses this expression ("love out of a pure heart") elsewhere in Scripture only in 2 Timothy 2:22b (Moulton & Milligan, Conc. to the Grk. Test., 1974, p. 509) to describe believers with "pure hearts" with whom Timothy was to fellowship instead of seeking fellowship with false or erring teachers (2 Tim. 2:16-22a) who were not separate from youthful lusts, unbelief, lovelessness, unrest, etc.
        2. Hence, one goal of Biblical discipleship is a righteous love from the heart of the one discipled.
      2. Second, the true discipleship resulting from a Biblically effective leadership ministry is "a good (agathos) conscience (suneidesis)," 1 Timothy 1:5b (Ibid., U. B. S. Grk. N. T.) as follows:
        1. The expression agathos suneidesis is explained in passages like 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 to be what a certain believer at his particular level of spiritual maturity genuinely believes is right or wrong, whether this is the actual case Biblically-speaking, cf. 1 Corinthians 8:7-9.
        2. Thus, a key result of true discipling will be the disciple's avoiding what is wrong and staying with what is right as he personally TRULY views reality -- the focus being HONESTY of HEART.
      3. Third, the true discipleship resulting from a Biblically effective leadership ministry is faith "unfeigned" (KJV), or a "sincere" faith (NIV and ESV) as follows:
        1. The Greek word for "unfeigned" or "sincere" here is anupokritos (Ibid.), meaning "without hypocrisy, free from insincerity," Arndt & Gingrich, A Grk.-Eng. Lex. of the N. T., 1967, p. 76.
        2. Thus, Paul described a faith that was true as opposed to being externally expressed but not genuinely rising from within the heart and mind. (cf. Theol. Dict. of the N. T., Ibid., p. 571)
      4. In summary, true discipleship resulting from the Biblically effective local church leadership described in 1 Timothy 1:3-4 comes from a heart that has been purified by the Lord through one's genuine faith in Christ and in God as a believer, which faith is followed by a Christian life that adheres to an honestly pure personal conscience that reflects the believer's actual sense of right and wrong regardless of his spiritual maturity level. Paul was implying very candid, honestly upright saints in the Lord!
    3. In contrast, the errant teachers Timothy was to correct at Ephesus (1 Timothy 1:3, 6-7) had "deviated" or "departed" (astocheo, Ibid., U. B. S. Grk. N. T.; Ibid., Arndt & Gingrich, p. 117) from such a pattern: with impure hearts, compromised consciences and a dishonest faith in God and His Word, they had thus "turned away" (ektrepo, Ibid., p. 245) from the truth to "fruitless talk" (mataiologia, Ibid., p. 496).
Lesson: The true discipleship a Biblically effective leadership ministry in the local church produces is a pure heart, faith and conscience that keep the one discipled aligned to the Biblical truth versus a compromised heart, faith and conscience that cause him to leave the truth and go off into fruitless talk.

Application: May we evaluate the effects of our ministry to see if it is Biblical, and adjust as needed!