Our text this morning will be in 1 Timothy 1. Most of us are somewhat familiar with St. Augustine. You might not know a lot of details, but you at least know the name. You know he's a significant figure in the history of the church. He was the Bishop of Hippo in North Africa in the early portion of the 5th century. And most of those who study church history believe that he was probably more influential in the development of the church than anyone but the Apostle Paul himself. And there's a number of reasons why they say that. One of the reasons is that Augustine combated a number of early heresies. He refuted the Donatists and the Manichaeans and the Pelagians. At a very critical time in the history of the church, Augustine stepped in, spoke very clearly, exegeting God's Word, bringing it to bear on some real threats to the development of the church. He did a lot of work, a lot of writing about the concept of original sin, the nature of sin, the extent of sin. He talked about the nature of evil and developed a number of the biblical texts in this regard and just wrote in very clear ways. He also stressed the importance of grace in salvation. As a matter of fact, the Reformers who had come along nearly a thousand years later, needing to draw the church back to an understanding of salvation by grace alone, appealed to Augustine. And they continued to refer and read his writings to understand the Scriptures correctly. And Augustine has been read and interpreted by influential churchmen down through the ages like Gregory the Great and Martin Luther and John Calvin. So we at least know Augustine, we know his significant figure, we know that God used him in some really significant ways. But few of us maybe would know the name Ambrose. Ambrose was the Bishop of Milan, and it was Ambrose who led Augustine to Christ when Augustine was 31 years of age. Augustine was a godless man, having lived with a woman outside of marriage for 15 years, engaged in all number of different ungodly activities. His mother Monica was a godly woman who prayed fervently for her son's salvation. But Augustine repeatedly spurned her appeals. He secured a job as a grammar teacher in the city of Milan And that is where he encountered Ambrose, the bishop of the church in Milan. Augustine wrote in his confessions that he was initially drawn to Ambrose not because of his teachings or his eloquence, but because of his character. He saw in Ambrose someone that he admired. He saw someone that he wanted to be like. And God, through His Word, began to work in Augustine's heart, and Augustine surrendered his life to Christ and took a radical change of trajectory as it related to his life. Each one of us could probably identify some role models in our lives, people that we have wanted to model our lives after, people that we respect and admire, If you haven't thought much about this, I suggest that you should. The reality is you probably have some role models. They might not be the ones you should have, but we all have ways of aspiring to be like certain people, right? Whether we would articulate it or quantify it or not, we are imitators. And we need to think carefully about who it is that we're imitating. Who are your role models? Well, of course, in the context of 1 Timothy, context of the local church here, Paul puts himself forward as an example for Timothy and for the church. Matter of fact, in 1 Timothy 1, verse 16, Paul writes, I receive mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. So Timothy says, or Paul says, I'm being put forward as an example. My sin was so extreme. I mean, I was an enemy of the cross. And God saves one that was in such a bad way, one that was so far off the path so that I could be an example. I could be a template. I could be a prototype. of how God works with people and how people can come to peace with God. So Paul urged the believers here, as in other places, to imitate him. And we would say, well, aren't we supposed to be following Christ? I'm a Christ follower. I'm not a Paul follower. I had someone say that to me the other day. They said, I'm a Paulist. If you know theological stuff, you might know what this individual was getting at. He puts a lot of credence in the writings of Paul, more so than the writings of Jesus. Look, I'm a follower of Christ. But Paul said, imitate me as I imitate Christ. In other words, obviously, ultimately we're following Christ, but Christ has put us together in the context of the local church in such a way that we can see godliness lived out before us in the lives of real people. We ought to be looking to people whose lives reflect Christ. Seeking to model our lives after them. That's what Paul puts forward here. That's what we looked at last week, verses 12-17. Paul said, you know, I came to realize I was a sinner. I was a lawbreaker. And I was one who was pretty picky about the law, at least in its external observations. I mean, I did all the things I was supposed to do as a young man who had studied under the right rabbis in the context of Israel. But I'm a lawbreaker. I came to realize I was a sinner, a lawbreaker, under the damnation and condemnation and judgment of God because of my sin. I fell short of the glory of a holy God. And then Paul says, I came to Christ, He saved me. I cast myself upon Him and Jesus became my Savior and I experienced His grace and mercy, he says there in those verses. And then he says, And my life has been transformed. I've responded to that grace. Matter of fact, he says that the faith and love of Christ have been poured out into my life, that my life now reflects Christ's love and Christ's faith. And he talks about his trajectory of service and his response to the gospel. And Paul says, you know, I'm an example, I'm a template. This is what it should look like. We come to recognize our sin and we need to respond to God's grace and receive the salvation that's offered through Christ. And then there ought to be a response, a gospel response in terms of how we live our life. There ought to be a change of trajectory. Paul says, I'm the template here. I'm the pattern, the example for you to follow. Imitate me as I imitate Christ. But Paul knew that he was not the only possible role model. He puts himself forward as an example in verses 12-17. And then here in verses 18-20, he identifies two individuals were the opposite, that you should not model your life after. So we have sort of Paul's example as he puts himself forward and then he warns them against following the examples of these others. So that's what we want to look at here this morning. 1 Timothy 1 beginning in verse 18, hear the word of the Lord. This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme. We know as we look at different ones that they're not good role models. They're not the ones we ought to be following after. Their path is a path of destruction. And Paul names two of them here, Hymenaeus and Alexander. We know little about these two men. Hymenaeus is mentioned in Paul's second letter to Timothy. Again, in a negative light. Alexander, there's a couple of Alexanders mentioned in the book of Acts and some of the other epistles, but none that seem to be this particular individual. Based on the context, we know that they were influential teachers in the church in Ephesus. And they were two men, again, that provide a cautionary tale. that serve as a warning for us, that show us the dangerous progression and devastating consequences of sin. The text says, Paul says that they shipwrecked their faith. I couldn't help but think about this ship lost at sea in the midst of the Hurricanes, and the search vessels are out, and in this case, again, because of weather, were driven off course, or the ship was damaged, or we don't know what the end of that story is, but we think about just the really heavy scene, the search and rescue teams, and total, what seems to be just a very grim situation. And Paul paints this out. This was the picture of these individuals who had shipwrecked their faith. So what lessons might we learn to help us avoid shipwreck? First is this, that we should remember our calling. Remember your calling. This is language here of military combat. Timothy has been commissioned. I charge you or I commission you with a particular responsibilities, particular mission, a particular set of orders. And he was to hold tightly to these instructions, to these orders, to this mission. The charge that he talks about here in verse 18 really takes us back to verse 3 where Paul first began giving instructions to Timothy. And then he comes to this point and he says, so this charge that I've given to you, I want you to hold on to it. It's been entrusted to you like something really valuable that you need to guard over. It's an important mission. So the text seems sort of laced with that type of metaphor. Paul was reinforcing instructions that really Timothy had already received. So he says, this charge, I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you. And if we were to go a little later into his letter, Paul's going to reference back to Timothy's ordination when he was identified for gospel ministry, when the church observed gifts in him and they gathered around him. And it mentions again these prophecies that were made over him, these exhortations that were extended. Timothy, this is going to be your role. This is how God is going to use you. And we want you to stay with the charge, to finish the task, And Paul says, what I'm telling you now is not new information. I'm just reinforcing what you've already been told about the calling that you have received. Don't forget it. Hold tightly to it. Guard it. Preserve it. And it was going to be by these instructions, by this charge, that Timothy would succeed in battle. Notice the connection here. "...This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare." Timothy's success in the spiritual battle would hinge on his His familiarity, his obedience, his observance of those commands, of his mission would be so important for him. And of course, Paul essentially is drawing attention to the Word of God as his baseline, as his compass, in the words of Ephesians 6, as his weapon. The thing that God had entrusted into his care would be by his commitment the Word of God that Timothy would succeed in the battle. John Knox lived during the Reformation time. Again, would have done most of his ministry in Scotland. He was teaching in the church there in St. Andrews, but not in a formal role, a formal church leader, and he had really downplayed any talk of an appointment to formal vocational church ministry. The pastor there at St. Andrews, a man by the name of John Rogue, directed his words to John Knox one Sunday from the pulpit and said, brother, I charge you that you refuse not his holy vocation, God's holy calling. but that you take upon you the public office and charge of preaching, even as you look to avoid God's displeasure." How would you like to be called out like that on a Sunday morning service? I charge you that you refuse not His holy vocation, but that you take upon you the public office and charge of preaching, even as you look to avoid God's displeasure. We're told that Knox burst into tears and withdrew to his chamber. His countenance, the letters read, his countenance from that day revealed the grief and trouble of his heart. Here was a man who felt unsure about his abilities, who was overwhelmed with the responsibility, but he had a calling. The church called him. The church identified his gifts and commissioned him into ministry. And Knox knew that he could not simply walk away from that. He never forgot his calling. It shaped his life in the days that followed. And we need to be reminded that every believer has received a calling. Your calling's not the same as the calling that Timothy received, but this language is so common in scripture. I've just cited just a small sampling of the texts that reference the calling that we have received as believers. Romans 8, verse 30, and those whom he predestined, he also called. We're talking just about salvation, and when God draws someone to himself, And He's purposed to save them. He has also called them. Called them into service. Called them into His service. 1 Corinthians 1.26, "'For consider your calling, brothers. Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards. Not many were powerful. Not many were of noble birth.'" Galatians 1, "'I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel. Ephesians 4.1, "'I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.'" Paul's not writing here in these passages to pastors. He's writing to churches. He's writing to believers and reinforcing to them their call. We are in a spiritual battle. We better be clear on our mission. And I ask you this morning, what is your current relationship with the Word of God? Your call, the mission that God has designed for us is contained in His Word. And just as Paul called Timothy to guard over the trust, that particular commission with which he had been given, we too must continue to cultivate and increasing knowledge of our calling. So if you wanna avoid shipwreck, remember your calling, stay rooted in your mission. It's gonna take active effort to continue to keep in the forefront of your minds the commands and instructions of our master. Number two, guard against moral compromise. Guard against moral compromise. Paul reminds Timothy to hold onto or cling to faith and a good conscience. The conscience is the moral alarm system hardwired into the human soul. It informs and shapes our moral choices. And conscience convicts us when we're doing something wrong. It confirms us when we're doing something right. And Paul says to Timothy, I want you to guard against moral compromise, to maintain a good conscience. Paul was concerned not only with Timothy's doctrine, but also with his lifestyle choices and his ethical decisions. He says to Timothy in another place, watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. Watch your life and your doctrine closely. See, these persons that were shipwrecked, the text says they rejected faith and a good conscience. A very strong word. They thrust it aside willfully. They kicked it to the curb. They rejected God's conviction in their life. Don't underestimate the impact of your moral choices. Hymenaeus and Alexander did not set out to shipwreck their faith. They made lifestyle choices that ultimately led them away from their faith. The tendency, if we're not careful, is for us to change our theology to affirm our behavior. So Paul calls Timothy to maintain a good conscience, to guard against moral compromise, knowing that it would lead him astray. We were returning from the East Coast a couple of years ago when the oil light went on in our van, happened to be right at an exit ramp. And so we just slid right off, right into the service station, popped the hood, pulled the dipstick, dry as a bone. That's not good. And we ended up realizing later on, we filled it, made it home, no problems. We ended up realizing we had a very small leak in the oil line. And it was only going through the mountains of Pennsylvania that the engine got hot enough and the oil got thin enough that it started leaking out that tiny hole. And so we were able to get that repaired. But when the light goes on in your 15 passenger van, You don't ignore it. And when the light goes on in your conscience, you don't ignore it. Paul says to Timothy, guard against moral compromise. Guard your conscience. Be quick to confess. Be informing your conscience. Be continuing to rehearse what is right and what is wrong. Guard against Moral compromise. It might be some of you here today who have identified as followers of Jesus Christ, but have given yourself over to a certain sin. Perhaps it's bitterness, or gossip, or sexual sin, or drunkenness, or rejection of God-given authority in your life, or perverse and godless media choices. Cast off the conviction of your conscience. Let me warn you that you are on dangerous ground. It's a step in a progression towards destruction. We need to guard against it. Number three, recognize blasphemy for what it is. Again, we're just thinking through the progression here. These individuals had lost sight of their mission, their calling that they had received. They had begun to make ethical choices and begun to shape their theology to affirm their lifestyle. And then this issue of blasphemy is identified as the fullest expression of their sin. We see it at the end of verse 20. Among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. This was sort of the final stage of their sin, blasphemy. Now blasphemy involves speaking against God. We often think of it like slander. a verbal attack on someone's reputation. And so we tend to think of this idea, blasphemy, in very overt ways, right? Sort of shaking our fist at God, scoffing at God, denying the existence of God, using God's name in vain in a very callous and cavalier type of way. But that doesn't describe these people. These were leaders in the church. And it doesn't describe Paul who identified himself before his conversion as a blasphemer in this very passage. In what sense did these individuals and the Apostle Paul blaspheme? I would suggest to you that they promoted their own accomplishments and rejected God's grace. They devalued God in the gospel. They made much of their own achievements. They made much of their law observance and minimized the glorious grace of God. And in that sense, they misrepresented God. They devalued God. They spoke against God, not so much in their words, but in their actions. The Bible describes a number of ways in which we can be guilty of blasphemy against God. Romans 2, verse 22, "...you who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For as it is written, the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you." That when we claim to be a believer, but we disobey His laws, We say something about God. We say something about who God is. We say something about our view of God and our commitment to God. We see in this text in Romans 2 that because of their disobedience to God's laws, they were causing God to be blasphemed. They were misrepresenting God to a watching world. 1 Timothy 6, "...let all who are under a yoke as bondservants regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled." Or blasphemed, that's the same word. Here he talks in terms of work ethic. If you are not a good worker, here he's talking specifically about slaves and masters. If you're not a good slave, if you're not a good employee, if you're not a good worker, you bring shame to the name of Christ. You talk about yourself as a believer? and then you go and do shoddy work, you bring shame, you blaspheme the name of Christ. Titus 2, speaking specifically to women in the church, he says, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed or reviled. We need to recognize what blasphemy really is. I'd never blasphemed God. I'd never used God's name in vain. I would never speak in a callous sort of way about God. But is it possible that you are blaspheming God in your actions and attitudes? In the way that you live your life, is it possible that you are bringing disrepute to the name of Christ? This is a serious matter. This is what brought Hymenaeus and Alexander to the point of destruction, of self-destruction. It was this area of blasphemy, and we need to recognize it for what it is. Number four, respond to God's discipline. Respond to God's discipline. So these individuals lost sight of their calling, the Word of God, and began to make ethical choices to affirm their own behavior. They began to change their theology to affirm their own behavior. Moral concessions. And then they gave themselves over to blasphemy. In the way that they lived their lives, they spoke against God. We see a fourth warning here, to respond to God's discipline. These individuals were told in verse 20, were handed over to Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme. It's obviously very strong language, isn't it? I would suggest to you, based on the parallel text in 1 Corinthians, that this is simply describing church discipline. Paul writes there in 1 Corinthians 5, the only other place we see this same terminology, He says, "...you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord." So this individual is given to habitual sin, unrepentant sin. They were put under church discipline. Essentially, turning this person over to Satan. See, the church provides an umbrella of protection. When a person chooses to operate outside of that protection, they are now in the sphere of Satan. Paul seems to develop a similar idea in 1 Corinthians 7, and he talks about marriage. He talks about a believer who's married to an unbeliever, and he says that their children are holy. The children of that marriage are holy. There's some protection that takes place there. It doesn't mean the children are automatically believers, are automatically saved. But in some sense, God's protection falls on that house, or his blessing falls on that house because of that believing spouse. It's a really phenomenal concept. I don't understand what it all means. But there's that sense, it seems to be the case in the church as well, that God's extended some measure of protection over His church. And when a person is put outside of the church, they are essentially put out into the sphere of Satan, where Satan has control, and where they will experience the consequences of their sin. Paul's goal in all of this is that they would experience temporal pain, the destruction of their flesh, but that ultimately their soul would be saved, that they would turn back to the Lord. My kids usually know when they're being given a last chance. Maybe what they're doing really isn't that bad, but it's just gotten a little out of hand, and I felt like okay. That's enough you know and I Think this whole aspect of being turned over to Satan is is a last chance It's falling under God's discipline In other passages it says that when people persist in their sin Romans 1 when people persist in their sin God Gives them over to their sin. He removes restraint and he allows them to experience the full consequences of their actions. God does the same thing for us that I often do with my kids. He uses significant measures to get our attention and to communicate that he's serious. Perhaps there could be some here today who are in a hardened state. Somewhere along in this process. Maybe not under church discipline, but out from under God's blessing. I urge you to respond to God's discipline. Do not grow hardened in your spirit against God. but that you would respond. I can't help but think about Revelation 16. There's a series of passages there where God pours out His judgments. It's the last of the judgments, the bold judgments, which are the most intense of the judgments that are unfolding there at the end of the age. And in several places it says that God poured out His judgment, and this was the the nature of that particular judgment. And it was horrible and it was painful. And then you have these statements there in Revelation 16, where it says, they were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify Him. Even in the midst of judgment, it seems as if there was still opportunity to respond. And yet they grew increasingly hardened in their sin. I urge you before you would experience destruction to soften your response before God's discipline. Two texts I want to just read briefly as we close here this morning. One, Proverbs 4.26, ponder the path of your feet, then all your ways will be sure. ponder the path of your feet, then all your ways will be sure. I think it would be safe to say that none of us want to be Hymenaeus and Alexander. None of us want to be called out, identified publicly. None of us want to be like the poster child for how to wreck your life. None of us would desire that. And there in Proverbs we read, ponder the path of your feet, Consider where your path is taking you. I talk to a lot of people who sometimes are upset about their circumstances and sometimes don't always connect the dots because in some cases they've arrived at where they are because that's the path they've been on. Some people want an immediate fix to their problems. They've been 20 years on this path heading for destruction and now they want it to be resolved in one day. You just got to get on a different path. We got to get you going the other way. And we're urged to think about that. And here in Hebrews 13 as well, the similar exhortation, remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God, consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. As you think about identifying role models, you don't want to pick Hymenaeus and Alexander as the person on the poster on your wall, okay? You want the Apostle Paul on your wall. someone to imitate and to follow. And when you're picking out role models, don't pick out somebody that's like really impressive right now. Pick out somebody who has lived long enough that you can see the outcome of their life. Pick out somebody who's along the way. You can say, I see how this person's life has turned. I see that this person is respected and godly. and has done some significant things in service for Christ. And I want to be like that. I urge you today to choose a role model. Identify someone that you can follow after as you seek to follow Christ and choose carefully. As Paul lays out this contrast between himself and the pattern of his life and Hymenaeus and Alexander and the pattern and the outcome of their life. You choose your role models carefully.