SOME OF THE "I HAVE'S" OF PAUL TO TIMOTHY

1 Timothy 1:20

Morning Meditation 1/10/15

"Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme."

In this meditation I will begin with the first "I have" that I have found in these two pastoral epistles. Paul did not hesitate in calling names. I would hate to get in the way of Paul's pen. I don't know if these men ever got right with God or not. But I know that their names have been etched in stone with the pen of the Holy Spirit as being two men who were so stubborn and obstinate that Paul delivered them to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. So let's look first of all at,

THE "I HAVE" OF COMMITTING STUBBORN TROUBLE MAKERS TO SATAN

1 Timothy 1:19-20, "Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme."

First, he calls their name and tells what they did in general. Blasphemy is a serious sin. And evidently they did it boldly. Now to do this Paul says they had put away the faith and had made shipwreck. I would not mind Paul using my name in a good sense. But to have my name recorded in God's inspired word as one who had put away his faith, and blasphemed, and the blasphemy had been bad enough for an Apostle to deliver me to Satan for the destruction of the flesh (See 1 Cor. 5:5) would have me in serious trouble with myself. That is about the time I would make a dead-run for the altar begging God's forgiveness and asking Paul's pardon.

Guy King in his comment on this verse asks, "Where had these two persons failed?" Then he says, "The two persons who failed were Hymenaeus and Alexander, (a) Where they failed--it seems that, in some way, they trifled with their conscience; and so, as inevitably follows, they shipwrecked their faith, even to the extent that they blasphemed the Holy Name. Let us all take warning, that we treat the dictates of conscience with uttermost care, lest we sear it, and stultify it, and eventually silence it. It is a very delicate instrument--not itself the voice of GOD, but one of His chief means of guiding His children; it is, as Milton puts it, 'the umpire of the soul', giving the 'yea' or 'nay' to this or that."

This is the way Paul dealt with trouble makers in the church if they would not respond to godly counsel.

THERE IS THE "I HAVE" OF REMEMBRANCE

2 Timothy 1:3-5, "I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy; When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also."

There is a good remembrance. This good remembrance is of the, "unfeigned faith that is in thee." The word "unfeigned" means, "without hypocrisy." Timothy was an unusual young man. He had gotten the attention of this great Apostle without trying. His sincerity that was seen in his life, heard in his prayers, and manifest in his addiction to the Word of God brought him in favor with Paul. Philippians 2:19-20, "But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state. For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state." Paul is saying Timothy's knowledge of the Word, his compassion for the saints, his love for the local church, his dedication to the task, his commitment to the Lord, and his willingness to go through any hardship for the spiritual growth of the saints qualifies him as no other man that I can commission to a task. What an awesome comment that Paul is giving this young man whom Paul considers as his son in the ministry.

Every Christian in a local church ought to live in such a way as to give former pastors fond memories of these qualities in one's life. I have fond memories of people in every church that I have pastored. I also have troubled memories of some who could not be trusted with a task and therefore it would make me say, "How is so and so doing?" You hope to get a good answer but you are not surprised if the one who knows the situation says something like, "I am sorry to have to tell you this but they seldom come to church any more."

Christians who are faithful to the church and pastor will not know until the Judgment Seat of Christ how much their faithful service meant to the Lord and God's man.

THE "I HAVE BELIEVED" OF FAITH

2 Timothy 1:12, "For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day."

The second Epistle of Timothy record the last days of Paul's life on earth. 2 Timothy 4:5-8, "But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." There are so many things Paul names in these verses that apply to the Christian life. It involved watching. Paul had to watch for Satan's traps that he sets to catch God's people. He had to watch for the soon return of our Lord. Jesus said in John 14:1-3, "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." This promise had to be a great motivator to suffering saints.. It also had to be a good motivator for those who were suffering martyrdom.. One cannot lose in the battle of the ages that is running in high gear now. As we look at, and see the physical death of the saints, we rejoice to see the attitude which God gives them to face suffering and martyrdom.

Paul says in 2 Timothy 1:12, "For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." Paul says not only do I believe in Him as Saviour, but I believe in His strength to keep what I have committed to him against that day." This has to do with the assurance of salvation and the keeping power of Christ for those of us who have trusted Him. His power to keep is just as great as His power to save.

THE "I HAVE FOUGHT A GOOD FIGHT" OF THE APOSTLE

This is not a boast of the great Apostle. It is a declaration of His faith in Christ. He is saying that Christ can be trusted. Satan is always questioning the power of Christ to keep so that he can keep us in doubt. But if we believe what Jesus says, he is on a wild goose chase!!!

This is revealing the conflict of the Christian life. We are in a warfare. There can be no doubt about that. It is not a warfare to stay saved but to stay in the fight with perfect assurance that He will do what He says He will do. Romans chapter seven Paul declares the conflict in his own personal life.

Romans 7:15-25, "For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin."

The flesh is ever present with the believer. Even though he received a new nature when he was saved, it did not eradicate the old sin nature. So Paul went on with the fight, knowing that he was saved, and that the flesh would not win in the end, he pictures it as a continuous struggle.

He deals with this same issue in Galatians 5:17, "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." The warfare is there. This is a sign one is truly saved instead of being a sign that one is not saved.

THEN PAUL'S "I HAVE" KEPT THE FAITH OF FIDELITY

2 Timothy 4:7, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:"

This verse should be a great encouragement to all of us. Paul said, "I have fought a good fight (and won), I have finished my course (this is the course the Lord laid out for him and he had finished it), I have kept the faith (the faith that saves and the faith to walk by)." Paul was committed to Christ and His Word. There were many fights along the way, and I have not changed my faith or lost faith.. I believe what I did to start with and I face martyrdom with a faith that is as strong as it was to begin with.

May the Lord bless these words to our hearts. We need to live by these same "I have's."

In Christ

Bro. White