I Timothy 2:9 - 3:16
Thesis: Beauty on the inside is a secret that cannot be kept.
Before we get into our text today, I think we ought to review a bit. Because after today we will be half way though our study of I Tim.
Christ�s cross made us worthy. Love God; love others.
We need a spiritual mentor.
You are in the right place at the right time.
Today we�re going to talk about how to be beautiful inside and out because Beauty on the inside is a secret that cannot be kept. Culture is on the outside; Integrity is from within.
Our text today is a strange one. I�ve been dreading this for a number of reasons. I mean, it�s talking about how to choose an overseer and a deacon. I don�t think many of you are on a church board right now that is dealing with the hiring possess.
So how do we make this applicable to us, now?
I seems like a bunch of rules, and frankly, I don�t like to talk about rules, trying to please God, and that God has rules. We are saved by grace, not by works. We cannot earn our salvation.
I love to talk about God�s grace, mercy and love.
I have helpers at church that know that I don�t like rules. Yesterday we started a new Sunday morning program. They repainted and decorated the Sunday School classroom that I use. And They posted these new rules. Honestly, I still haven�t read them. As I was about to get started, one of the other leaders pointed out that we need to start by going over the rules. I mumbled something about not needing rules. So she offered to be the bad guy and go over them for me. A bunch of stuff about be nice to others and have fun. I want the kids to be nice to each other because they want to, not because it�s a rule. True righteousness, which is beautiful comes from the inside.
So in preparation for today and trying to apply all these rules, I prayed and I procrastinated. I read and brainstormed. I came up with a lot of ideas, and considered a number of possible thesis statements. But the passage addresses so many different issues, 27 by my count, where do you start and where do you go with it?
Well, let�s take a look.
I Timothy 2:9 - 3:16
9I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, 10but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.
11A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. 12I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. 13For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. 15But women[a] will be saved[b] through childbearing�if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.
1Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer,[c] he desires a noble task. 2Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5(If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) 6He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap.
8Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. 9They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. 10They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.
11In the same way, their wives[d] are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.
12A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well. 13Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.
14Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, 15if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. 16Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great:
He[e] appeared in a body,[f]
was vindicated by the Spirit,
was seen by angels,
was preached among the nations,
was believed on in the world,
was taken up in glory.
So what do we do with that? It sounds like a bunch of rules to post on a classroom wall.
Well, I found that like I said that there are 27 character qualities mentioned here, and as I began to sort through them I found that they fit rather neatly in to 3 categories: Values, Self-discipline, and Honor.
When you get these three lined up properly, it the ingrediance for a beautiful spirit, and Beauty on the inside is a secret that cannot be kept. beauty on the inside cannot be hidden.
You can try all your life to fit in and keep up with the culture around you so that you�re acceptable to those around you, but you are most acceptable, most beautiful when you are right with God on the inside.
Let�s take a look at the first category, Values. (Values transparency)
Now there are many other things that we can put into this circle, but evidently these are some things that the Ephesians were dealing with at the time.
The point being;
A beautiful worldview based on selfless, godly values.
A worldview is how you see and interpret the world around you.
And I looked up Values and got 18 different definitions.
I narrowed it down to 4;
Sociology. the ideals, customs, institutions, etc., of a society toward which the people of the group have an affective regard. These values may be positive, as cleanliness, freedom, or education, or negative, as cruelty, crime, or blasphemy.
Ethics. any object or quality desirable as a means or as an end in itself.
to consider with respect to worth, excellence, usefulness, or importance.
to regard or esteem highly: He values her friendship.
So we face the question, �What is valuable to you?�
Is it money or possessions?
When actress Sophia Loren had a peace of jewelry stolen, and as she sobbed, her director told her, �if there is one great truth I have learned about life, it is this--never cry over anything that can't cry over you."
Perhaps your values are rapped up in how you look.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said,
�I have heard with admiring submission the experience of the lady who declared that the sense of being perfectly well-dressed gives a feeling of inward tranquility which religion is powerless to bestow.�
Is your identity and self-worth defined by how your dressed?
Perhaps, social acceptance by your peers is what is most valuable to you?
I was laughing with a grade schooler the other day about how she got picked last in kickball. Later, I told her that I wouldn�t tease her about it if I thought that it would hurt her feelings, but I know that, where some kids would get really upset about getting picked last, this kid is mature enough to realize that their value is not defined by how good they are at kickball.
How do you measure your value and what do you consider valuable? Are your values selfless and godly?
The next category is Self-Discipline.
Now again, Paul was addressing issues of his day, which are not far from the issues of today.
You may say, �One spouse is not an issue that a high schooler or college student is facing.�
But (Self-discipline transparency)
I would assume self-control is.
Verse 2: �temperate, self-controlled, respectable,�� Save your body and your heart for the one God has for you. Do not awaken love be for it�s time. Song of Solomon 2:7 If you�re still in your teens, it�s not time.
You�ll notice that some of these qualities , along with the categories, overlap, and again, there are countless other qualities we could add. I couldn�t even fit the 27 into these circles.
But in our search for true beauty we find that
Beauty within requires self-disciplined (repeat)
Now discipline and punishment are not synonyms. A punishment is the consequence of a wrong action. Discipline is to prevent the wrong action. Discipline and training are synonyms.
An immature person requires a lot of disciple from authority, but a mature person will discipline themselves. They will be teachable and submissive and self-controlled.
Evidently Timothy was dealing with some people that had trouble controlling their temper. I like the quote by Joseph Hunter about his temper.
�My life is in the hands of any fool who makes me lose my temper.�
Don�t give your life away so easily.
In what ways do you need discipline?
Is it honesty? or anger? Gossip? Or dealing with peer pressure?
Now lets consider the last category, Honor. (transparency)
Is there honor in your name?
Now in preparing for today this is where I was really getting hung up. It�s easy, in the church setting to get hung up here, and put to much focus on pleasing others and being socially acceptable. We dress a certain way, talk a certain way, and act a certain way in order to fit in, but your sub-culture does not define your character. A skin deep life will decay; a spiritually deep life will live abundantly.
Heb 13:18 says,
��that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way.�
We don�t live honorably to please others or to earn our good standing with God. We live honorably because we love God and we love others.
When people hear your name do they think: gentle, upright, above reproach, honest, teachable.
You�ll notice that when we put all of these together it forms integrity (transparency)
Now, when speaking of honor and integrity, one can get mislead into thinking that we are simply talking about reputation and making people happy. Integrity is who you are when no one is watching. Our honor and integrity is not to please others, but it�s done out of love and respect for God. We become spiritually healthy, and beautiful, when our goal shifts from being good to being godly.
You�ll notice that the character qualities that form integrity are not defined by our culture or temporary surroundings, they are timeless. But a person of integrity will work within the setting and traditions of his neighbors to point them to God, without compromising his integrity.
Integrity is summed up in: Values, Self-discipline, and Honor.
When you get these three things lined up properly, it is the ingrediance for a beautiful spirit, and Beauty on the inside is a secret that cannot be kept.
When these are what people see in you, when, like in verse 10, you are clothed in good deeds, then you are beautiful inside and out. Because beauty on the inside cannot be hidden.
(Extra notes)
Values
Modest clothes
Not a lover of money
Loves what is good
Hospitable
One spouse
Not a drunkard
Manages family well
Obedient children
Sincere
Self-Discipline
Self-control
Not violent but gentle
Not quarrelsome
Not Overbearing
Not Quick tempered
Disciplined
Temperate
Holds to truth
Submissive
Honor
Has a good reputation
Upright, Holy
Above reproach
Respectable
Able to teach
Not a resent convert
No Dishonest Gain
Tested
Teachable
When people are right with God, they are apt to be hard on themselves and easy on other people. But when they are not right with God, they are easy on themselves and hard on others.
John Newton.
At their school carnival, our kids won four free goldfish (lucky us!), so out I went Saturday morning to find an aquarium. The first few I priced ranged from $40 to $70. Then I spotted it--right in the aisle: a discarded 10-gallon display tank, complete with gravel and filter--for a mere five bucks. Sold! Of course, it was nasty dirty, but the savings made the two hours of clean-up a breeze.
Those four new fish looked great in their new home, at least for the first day. But by Sunday one had died. Too bad, but three remained. Monday morning revealed a second casualty, and by Monday night a third goldfish had gone belly up. We called in an expert, a member of our church who has a 30-gallon tank. It didn't take him long to discover the problem: I had washed the tank with soap, an absolute no-no. My uninformed efforts had destroyed the very lives I was trying to protect. Sometimes in our zeal to clean up our own lives or the lives of others, we unfortunately use "killer soaps"--condemnation, criticism, nagging, fits of temper. We think we're doing right, but our harsh, self-righteous treatment is more than they can bear. Integrity is the backbone of you ministry.
Culture is on the outside; Integrity is from within.
Beauty on the inside is a secret that cannot be kept.
Richard L. Dunagin.
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