Between 1962 and 1977, Arthur Pedrick patented 162 inventions. Which sounds impressive except that none of them was taken up commercially. Among Pedrick’s inventions was a way a car could be driven from the back seat - and a golf ball that could be steered in flight. Pedrick’s greatest scheme was a way of irrigating deserts by sending a constant supply of snowballs from the polar regions through a massive network of giant peashooters.

The prize for the most useless invention of all time goes to the Russians - who invented the “dog mine.” During World War II the Russians came up with the idea to train dogs to associate food with the undersides of tanks. Bombs were strapped to the dog’s backs, in the hope that they would run hungrily beneath advancing Panzer divisions, and then blow up the German tanks. Unfortunately, when they put the plan into action the dogs - with the bombs on their backs - associated food with Russian tanks and forced an entire Soviet division into retreat. (1)

Since Resurrection Sunday we’ve been talking about “What comes next” - what God wants to do in and through us - His Church. The bottom line - why we’re here - the ministry of the Church is to take the Gospel into the world. What becomes difficult is the question of “how?” There are any number of ideas and priorities that we may feel are essential if the church is going to accomplish her mission. And yet, as we go along its amazing how many things we once took so seriously - how many essentials lose their importance.

In the spring of 62 AD, the Apostle Paul was released from a Roman prison. When he was released Paul went to Ephesus to visit the church he’d pastored there eight years earlier. Then Paul moved on to visit the churches in Colossae and Macedonia. When he left Ephesus, Paul put Timothy in charge of the church.

Paul’s letter to Timothy - 1 Timothy - was written the next year. 1 Timothy is a letter in which Paul is giving instructions - teaching Timothy - and the Church - and us - about the essentials of the Church - what we need to consider important if we’re going to take the Gospel into the world.

Put slightly different. Imagine the church as wheel. The essentials are spokes. Emphasize the wrong essentials - remove some essentials - and the wheel - the church - gets stuck - or comes apart - people get hurt - wounded. The church fails at her purpose. People die in sin - condemned - without Jesus. The church becomes a place of frustration and defeat rather than a community of joy and victory.

Which brings us to our first essential - the essential of love. 1 Timothy 1:3 - Paul writing to Timothy: As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith.

Let’s pause and understand what Paul is writing about.

“Strange doctrines” are like a pair of shoes - a right shoe and a left shoe. They look a lot alike - same style - color - material. But one curves right and one curves left. These “strange doctrines” sounded so close to the truth. But when we get down and look at them close up they’re very different.

The teachers had spiritualized the Old Testament in much the same way that people today will claim that the Old Testament is a collection of stories - not actual people and events. They said - there’s some historical accuracy. But, we can’t take it literally. The Old Testament is mainly myth - the spiritual aspirations of the Jews.

Added to these “myths” were “endless genealogies.” Imagine a pool of water smooth as glass. Throw a small stone into the center of the pool and waves - rings - start moving outward - emanations - generations - each one moving farther from the center. The idea is that the center - where the rock hit - is pure - holy - without sin - the divine origin of all things. We’re out here on the outermost ring - sinful - so far away from the divine that we can’t even see the beginning of the place where you can begin to see the beginning of the place where we could begin to glimpse the divine. Somehow we have to get rid of sin and get back through those generations - or rings - to the point of our spiritual origin.

The technical name for this teaching is “gnosticism.” Today we know it as elements of Eastern Mysticism - or Mormonism - or the First Church of Christ, Scientist.

These “certain men” - probably leaders in the church - were teaching that the myths of the Old Testament - even Jesus Christ - who was Himself closer to the divine - are a guide to lead us backwards through the emanations towards our goal of sinless perfection.

In a way that does sound like the teaching of the Apostles - the other shoe. Putting off the flesh. Being one with the Father. Jesus who points the way - who gives us life. Becoming more holy. Living in obedience to God. But, Paul is not talking about differences of opinion or different perspectives shared between like minded people - comparing Macintosh apples to Golden Delicious. Paul is pointing to men within the church who were teaching something completely different than the Gospel.

The church was being caught up in endless - fruitless discussions - speculations about these teachings - rather than rolling forward with God’s work. Which can happen even today. The whole congregation can get so focused on trying to understand all these man centered essentials that it takes the place of God’s essentials. It divides the congregation into groups focused on man centered ideas. Its dangerous. Its hurtful. Paul says, “Timothy, instruct them to stop teaching these strange doctrines.”

Going on - verse 5: But the goal of our instruction - what’s essential - the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

The essential of “love from a pure heart” - a heart - the core of who we are - sacrificed to God - purified from sin by the work of the Holy Spirit. Love which is both a love of God and a love for others (Leviticus 19:18; Deuteronomy 6:5).

Second, “a good conscience.” Literally an inward sensitivity to how God views our thoughts - emotions - actions. A good conscience is one that troubles us - judges and accuses us - when we do anything outside obedience to the will of God..

Third, “a sincere faith” - faith without reservations.

Actually these work backwards. Faith - trusting in God - should lead us to a good conscience - living in obedience to God’s will - so that what results is a life that’s totally surrendered - totally in love with God and others. The essential of love.

Verse 6: For some men, straying from these things - this essential goal - some men, straying from these things have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.

In 1991-during the Gulf War - American cruise missiles hit their targets with deadly accuracy. One reporter - in Baghdad - reported that he saw a cruise missile come into the heart of the city - turn sharply to the left - and go down the chimney of a military command building. The missile was off course - corrected its direction - and hit its target. The reason those cruise missiles succeeded was their internal guidance system.

These men have strayed off course. The course wasn’t corrected. Something’s wrong with their internal - spiritual - guidance system.

These “certain men” would have liked to have been known as men whose teaching and opinions people should respect. But, they’re lost in worthless discussions because they have no idea what they’re talking about. Internally - for their own lives - they’ve never come face to face with the truth of what they’re trying to teach.

Going on in verse 8, Paul gives us that truth. But we know that the Law - what these men wanted to be teachers of - the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully - if one teaches and understands it the way God intended - realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person - its not for those who are already in a right relationship with God - but for those who are lawless and rebellious - who know God’s law and choose to live in disobedience to it - for the ungodly and sinners - those without reverence for God - the unrepentant - for the unholy and profane - those actively working against God - who ridicule God - for those who kill their fathers or mothers - who dishonor their parents - for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching - that’s a miscellaneous category - any sin Paul may have left out. All of which is not - according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.

These men were teaching about the Law - God and His holiness - how we’re to come to holiness before God. But they’d missed the point. They were taking this standard of God’s holiness - the Law - and trying - through myths and genealogies and emanations and eliminating the sins of the flesh - somehow by their own works and effort to achieve this holiness.

The whole point of the law is to show us our need for grace - that we can’t achieve holiness - reach to God - on our own. We need Jesus. And that really is the core essential of what Paul is getting at. The truth that these “certain men” had never come to understand for themselves.

The goal of our instruction - the pure heart - the good conscience - the sincere faith - only comes as we acknowledge our sin and throw ourselves on the grace of God offered through Jesus Christ. Everything else that entangles us - wounds us - keeps us from joy and victory and fulfilling God’s ministry in and through us - as people - as a church - comes as we focus on ourselves - when we refuse to get past our own appetites - our own issues - our pride - our goals.

In thinking all this through for our lives today - there are two thoughts of application I’d like to share.

First: The Law is good - if we use it the way God intended.

Often - in talking about Law and grace - we talk about a courtroom scene. A man is brought before the judge - guilty of breaking the law - condemned without hope of pardon. The judge’s son comes and offers to pay the penalty for the prisoner - offers to take his punishment. The prisoner is then set free before the law. It’s a great illustration of what Jesus has done for us on the cross.

The struggle is that we understand this intellectually - but practically - we have hard time living by grace - living the way God intended.

Dr. Harry Ironside - a great pastor and Bible teacher of the last century - shares about a conference speaker who was coming by train from Flagstaff, Arizona to Oakland. The speaker was talking to a group of youth about law and grace. He said this, “I came here from Flagstaff on the train, and we stopped over for several hours in Barstow. There in the station’s waiting room I noticed signs on the walls which said, ‘Do Not Spit On The Floor.’ That was the rule there. I looked down on the floor, and observed that nobody had paid any attention to the law. But when we go here to Oakland I was invited to stay in a lovely, Christian home. As we sat in the living room I looked around and noticed pretty pictures on the walls, but no signs which said, ‘Do Not Spit On The Floor.’ I got down on my hands and knees and felt the rug and, you know, nobody had spit on the floor. In Barstow it was law but in the home in which I’m staying its grace.” (2)

When we believe - not just understand - but believe with a sincere faith - that we live under grace. When we see ourselves as God sees us - forgiven - restored - accepted - the past washed in the blood of Jesus - our actions will change. Drawing closer to Jesus, the issues of our heart that we’re once so important begin to fade. Attitudes and sins just don’t have the same meaning. The TV programs and movies and music and stuff we put in our minds. The words we speak. The attitudes we harbor. Our thoughts towards others. The addictions we allow ourselves. They’re no longer acceptable.

We don’t need to wallow in sin or prop ourselves up with pride. We don’t need to condemn others with criticism. But, we’re freed to love with a pure heart even those who criticize us. Freed to go on living in the life that God offers to each one who will come to Jesus as the means of their salvation.

The second thought of application is that we need to live the essential of love - the goal from verse 5.

Paul - when he writes about “certain men” is not commissioning us to go out and hunt down and kill heretics. The mission of the church is take the Gospel into the world - even beginning within the community of the Church. These “certain men” were in the church - leaders - teachers - men who were respected. But, they’d strayed from the truth of the Gospel. They’d missed the point. They needed to know Jesus.

Paul is encouraging us to become conduits of God’s love flowing through us to others. That’s really hard. I know I have a ways to go with this. We have room for growth here. As individuals in the church it becomes easy for us to share with others of like mind - to share with others about the spiritual shortcomings of those who “just don’t get it.” Especially when those “others” criticize and speak against us because we, “just don’t get it.”

In 1 Corinthians 6 - the Apostle Paul goes down a list of sinners similar to the one he has here in 1 Timothy. He concludes the list with these words, “Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11)

“Such were some of us” - sinners - by God’s grace - saved. We’ve been entrusted with the Gospel. The Gospel is not a weapon. It is a message of God’s love and salvation.

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1. Chuck Swindol, Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life, page 29
2. J. Vernon McGee, Through The Bible Commentary, vol. 5, page 433