The Aim of Our Charge I. Introduction A. Today we formally begin working together 1. It is my desire that our work together be profitable in the Lord 2. Hopefully there will be spiritual development for all of us, along with numerical growth B. As we begin this work, let us look into the Scriptures for direction on how to proceed C. As Paul wrote a letter to instruct his fellow evangelist Timothy, he spoke in 1 Timothy 1:5 regarding the aim of the charge of proclaiming the Gospel of Christ Jesus 1. "The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith." 2. Let us spend some time looking at the substance of this verse in more depth and apply it to our current situation II. "The aim of our charge..." A. It could also be translated "the conclusion of our commandment" 1. What follows represents what the Christian should be a. in the ideal, every Christian will be encouraged and will develop the love issuing from a pure heart, good conscience, and a sincere faith b. yet as all of us are works in progress, this charge is always in progress! B. Who is the "our"? 1. The letter, of course, is written by Paul to Timothy, and certainly has evangelists in view a. this verse, therefore, is particularly relevant to evangelists, and should always guide them in this work 2. Yet has not every Christian been given the charge to preach to the lost (Matthew 28:18-20)? a. it should always be remembered that the New Testament does not elevate full-time evangelists onto any platform b. There is nothing that the full-time evangelist is charged to do that every Christian is not charged to do 3. To that end, in truth we should be working together! a. The evangelist is not a "hireling", nor should the evangelist be expected to do all the work of evangelism "for" the congregation! b. The evangelist works with the congregation c. We will see how the evangelist works with the congregation as we continue to go through the passage III. "...is love..." A. Love is the aim of the charge 1. the rest of the verse is a prepositional phrase: "from..." 2. the pure heart, good conscience, and sincere faith are what lead to the love that is the aim of the charge 3. It should be noted that this love is not automatic: it is indeed the conclusion of the command, and one has to work to have and exhibit that love! B. Love: Greek agape 1. "Self-sacrificial love", best described in 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 2. God is love (1 John 4:8), and to be Christian is to know and have love C. Love as the summation of Christianity 1. Galatians 5:22: love is the first characteristic of the fruit of the Spirit mentioned, and can be seen as the summation of all the manifestations of the fruit of the Spirit 2. Matthew 22:36-40: the Law and the Prophets defined by the commandments to love God and love your neighbor 3. Tradition of Judaism: Hillel, a rabbi about a hundred years before Christ, was asked by a Gentile to give the whole law (Torah) while standing on one leg. Hillel responded by standing on one leg and saying, "love God and your neighbor. The rest of the Torah is commentary. Go read it." 4. This is true in New Testament terms: if you have the love you ought to have, you will fulfill all the commandments and please God-- everything else is indeed commentary! D. The development and demonstration of this love is the aim of the charge of the evangelist 1. The main goal of the evangelist is to develop the love of the brethren for one another and for those outside! a. indeed, such is the purpose of all Christians in the assembly (Hebrews 10:24-25) b. when brethren show the love they ought to have for one another, their association will be tighter and more encouraging; when brethren learn to love their fellow man, the imperative of evangelism is made clear! 2. This love is not automatic, and it is not easy; we must all strive toward it! a. It requires brethren to spend time together-- more than just three times a week in the assembly b. It requires brethren to get to know one another c. It requires all of us to give consideration of what was done for us and how we ought to want to help all people gain salvation 3. Let us work toward this goal! IV. "...issuing from a pure heart..." A. The first means by which the love which is sought is gained is by having a pure heart B. "Heart", of course, does not refer to the literal muscle in the body that pumps blood 1. The heart is often used to refer to the mind, the command center of the body 2. One's mind-- and the thoughts and actions that proceed from it-- are to be pure C. We must, therefore, be clean: we must strive to be holy and pure in our words and deeds (1 Peter 1:15-16) 1. After all, how can we have the love we are to have if we are not pure? 2. Matthew 7:15-23: people are to be judged by their fruits-- what they do-- and if you profess Christ as Lord yet are not pure in word and deed, you face condemnation as one working lawlessness! D. The evangelist strives to exhort brethren to develop and maintain a pure heart 1. This can be done through lessons explaining and/or reiterating the commands for pure living from the Scriptures, teaching in Bible studies, and by personal example 2. No evangelist, of course, is perfect, yet he must be an example of the faith to all (1 Timothy 4:12) 3. Each and every one of us who professes Christ, in the end, are responsible for living the pure and holy life, manifesting the pure heart! 4. Let us strive to have and demonstrate a pure heart! V. "...and a good conscience..." A. The second means whereby one has the commanded love is through having a good conscience B. Everyone has some form of conscience…yet not all are good! 1. Conscience: the internal ethical standard that can guide people 2. Consciences can go bad when they are continually violated a. if a conscience is violated often enough, it becomes seared, and no longer will the person feel any guilt for their actions b. 1 Timothy 4:2 3. Consciences also are bad by virtue of not being properly trained! a. Acts 23:1: Paul establishes that he has lived in good conscience... b. ...despite the fact that he considered himself the chiefest of sinners (1 Timothy 1:13-15)! c. his conscience was always clean because he acted "ignorantly in unbelief," for his conscience was not previously trained according to the standard of God's Word C. The Christian must have a good conscience 1. What is a good conscience? 2. Hebrews 5:14 a. "powers of discernment" = conscience b. "trained" = instructed, informed properly c. "by constant practice" = not by mere profession or intellectual assent, but by constantly striving to live righteously d. "to distinguish good from evil" = able to do what is right according to God, and not do what God does not consider right (cf. 2 Timothy 2:15, 1 John 3:4) 3. The good conscience, then, is the conscience trained according to the standard of God's word, leading the Christian to be able through constant practice to do what is right D. The evangelist, then, strives to develop the consciences of the brethren 1. The evangelist can exhort through instruction to help brethren recognize what is good from what is evil 2. Likewise, he is to encourage brethren to practice the Christian life, and this lead to a more Biblically refined conscience 3. Many times consciences need to be un-trained and then re-trained! 4. As with the pure heart, it is incumbent upon every Christian to train their powers of discernment by constant practice to distinguish good from evil and thus reach maturity as a Christian 5. Let us strive to this end! VI. "...and a sincere faith." A. The final means by which the Christian will have the commanded love is a "sincere faith" B. Literally, this faith is a "non-hypocritical" faith 1. That is, the Christian is not to say one thing and yet do the other! 2. This was condemned in the Pharisees (Matthew 23:1-4) 3. We must live according to that which we profess C. Habakkuk 2:4 (cited in Romans 1:17): the righteous will live by his faith! 1. Part of having a sincere, non-hypocritical faith is to have your own faith 2. Note what the passage does not say: the passage does not say that the righteous lives by his father's faith, or his son's faith, or his wife's faith, but his own faith! 3. To have a sincere faith, then, requires one to know what he believes and why! D. Hebrews 11:1, Romans 14:23: Inherent in faith is conviction, and whatsoever is not of faith is of sin 1. These verses demonstrate the need for us to know what we do and why we do it 2. While analyzing what we do not do and why we do not do it can be profitable, we are called to have positive conviction, and that if we lack that conviction, we are acting according to sin and not faith! 3. After all, if on any given issue you know 30 things that are wrong and why they are wrong, yet do not know the truth of the matter, a 31st thing could lead you astray and disturb your faith (Ephesians 4:14)! 4. We must, then, have a good knowledge of what we are doing and why E. The evangelist is charged to guide brethren to have a sincere faith 1. This is done, of course, by continually encouraging brethren to live the life all Christians profess... 2. ...but is also done by showing from the Scriptures what Christians ought to do and why God has established that they ought to be done! 3. The evangelist is to encourage the brethren to have their own faith, which also means that they believe the truth because the Scriptures teach it, not because Brother Evangelist says so (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:11-13)! 4. In the end, we all will individually stand or fall to our Master (Romans 14:10-12); therefore, we will each be called to account for how we have composed ourselves, and it will not be sufficient to say that you acted because that's what your father did, or your wife did, or even what your evangelist said... you will be judged by the standard of His word (Acts 17:30-31)! 5. Let us all strive to have a sincere faith, our own faith! VII. Conclusion A. We have seen today from 1 Timothy 1:5 what is the aim of the charge of the evangelist 1. Love is the charge, and this from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith 2. This charge can go nowhere, of course, unless the brethren agree and strive to develop the love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith B. It is my goal to work to keep this charge here! 1. I will work to encourage the brethren to have and exhibit the love they ought, through personal example and instruction in regards to showing this love 2. I will strive to provide the instruction and example of a pure heart, and work to train consciences to be good according to the standard of the Scriptures 3. I will strive to encourage brethren to live their profession, and to have their own faith, understanding what they do and why they do it according to the Scriptures 4. This will not only guide how I will work with the brethren, but also in how I will work to evangelize the community, to help make disciples and instruct them in these ways C. This is what I desire to do and will strive to do; will you strive to work with me in these efforts? 1. I can instruct and encourage all I want, but it is of no avail if you do not desire instruction and encouragement! 2. I can aim for the charge of a love issuing from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith, yet if you do not aim for the same goal, how can it be successful? 3. Furthermore, I can do all the evangelism I can and plan and execute evangelism programs in various ways, yet if you do not work with me in evangelism and doing what you can to evangelize those who you know, the work will not be nearly as successful as it could be! D. I have come to strive to do the work of the Lord in this place; are you with me? It is my desire that you are with me today, and you will prove your profession by your deeds! E. Let us strive to be the Christians God wants, having the love issuing from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith, and by doing so lead others to the same goal! F. Songbook/invitation G. The charge of which we have spoken leads to salvation, as we have seen (1 John 4:7-12); if, however, any stray or have strayed from this charge, or have never taken up this charge, condemnation is risked (Matthew 7:21-23, 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9)! H. If you have never aimed for this charge, we encourage you to consider obeying Christ today and gain eternal life I. Or, if you have strayed from this charge, we encourage you to make your life right with God J. Perhaps you simply require encouragement to continue aiming for this charge...however we can help you, let us do so as we stand and sing