PAUL'S GIFT TO SATAN

128-1 PAUL'S GIFT TO SATAN

May 26, 1974

Henry F. Kulp 

I Timothy 1: 18 - 20 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; 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.

Paul has left Timothy in Ephesus as a trouble shooter. The Pauline team had come through Ephesus and found that this assembly was in deep trouble. And Paul had to go to Macedonia, so he left Timothy behind to straighten the situation.

1/ Paul first talked to him about the divine truth of the Pauline message. He gave him a re-statement of doctrine. This doctrine goes all the way to the fourth chapter. 

I  Timothy 4: 1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

Here, as Paul concludes the doctrinal part of this book, he talks of the doctrine of demons, and then I Tim. 4:16 he tells him to give heed to thyself and to the doctrine and to continue in them. This 4^th chapter is the climax of the doctrinal teaching. 

2/ But here in I Timothy 1: 18 - 20 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; 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.

Paul is talking about a right mental attitude. One can know all the doctrine in the world, but if he has the wrong mental attitude he is whipped before he starts. A tremendous emphasis on doctrine demands the right mental attitude.

3/ This is true in all of life. It is true in sports, it is true in everyday life. It is true in the Christian life. In sports in a football game, two teams can be equal in talent, size, and preparation. But the one with the right mental attitude will win. In the Christian life you must know doctrine, but you must also have the right mental attitude with that knowledge.

4/ This was Timothy’s whole trouble. Timothy had all gifts that were needed. He had great ability, he had been chosen by God to be pastor-teacher, and he knew doctrine, but he had the wrong mental attitude. Word got back to Paul in Macedonia that Timothy was failing miserably, he was having practically a nervous breakdown. 

5/ TIMOTHY WAS TIMID, SHY, BACKWARD, HE WAS NOT AGGRESSIVE. He knew the doctrine, had the ability but his timid attitude destroyed his usefulness. He could not get the job done.

6/ Verse 18 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;

The word, charge means a command or order, committed means to make a deposit that which was deposited with Timothy. And the key to the whole thought is that thou mightiest by them war a good warfare. You say right away, wasn’t that a bad usage of words, warfare? Paul should never have used warfare. 

We are living in a day in which pacifism is very strong. And pacifism is of the devil, certainly not of God. We as a nation, have come to the conclusion that one of the greatest things we can do is to stay out of wars. And this is satanic. 

IF WE DO NOT COME TO THE CONCLUSION THERE ARE SOME THINGS WORTH FIGHTING FOR, WE ARE DOOMED AS A NATION. 

Surely and gradually, wherever socialism rears its ugly head, they have a principle. Teach people no matter what the price you have to pay, even if it means slavery, it is better to avoid war and bloodshed at all costs. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The nation that refuses to fight will soon be in slavery. These folks who tell us we should cut the military budget to solve other social problems are mistaken. 

7/ We are not to fight for ourselves as believers. We don’t have to defend ourselves, and this is a very hard thing to put into practice. 

Romans 12: 17 - 21 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

We are not to fight for ourselves, for vengeance belongs to the Lord. But Paul is saying, we are to fight, wage a good warfare, for doctrine, the truth that God has presented. There is the thought going around today, be lovey-dovey—all the cults, the evil teaching, we are not to confront them, but we are to love them, and through our love they will not be able to resist Christ. Then many say, let us find a mutual ground for agreement, and get along no matter what doctrines we disagree on—this is called the ecumenical movement, but again this is not correct. We must stand up for the Pauline truth.

8/ Mightest war is in the middle voice. This means that the subject of the sentence, Timothy, is benefited by fighting for doctrine, the truth of God. Then it is subjunctive mood that means it is the mood of potentiality. Maybe Timothy will and maybe he won’t defend the faith, war for the faith, be aggressive for the faith. 

9/ What God has commanded Timothy here is also our command. We don’t fight believers, but we war and fight for the truth that God has given to us. We don’t set aside for the sake of peace, the virgin birth, or the vicarious suffering of Christ, Nor the unique distinctive ministry of Paul. 

10/ Timothy is fighting legalism. This is what God hates above all else—human works, human good, and legalism is opposed to grace. We can never compromise with it for one second.

11/  Verse 19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

How are you going to fight? Holding faith and a good  conscience. What does it mean, a good conscience? Notice faith and a good conscience go hand in hand. Faith speaks for the embodiment of the truth which God has revealed to us. So faith and good conscience, or doctrine and a good conscience go hand in hand. You must have a good conscience as well as doctrine. So we have to find out what a good conscience means.

12/ What is conscience? It is that which tells us which is right and wrong. A little girl was asked, Do you know what a conscience is? She replied, Oh yes, it is something in me that always tells me when my little brother is doing wrong.

13/ Most of us believe, conscience is something in us that tells us when other people are wrong, but it is not at all.

14/ Genesis 2: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Here we are told that conscience is knowing right from wrong, and we received this through the fall of Adam. Adam in his created state before the fall, didn’t need to know the difference between evil and good, sin and righteousness. He only knew that which was good until he partook of the forbidden fruit. Then he knew good and evil.

15/ CONSCIENCE NEEDS TO BE INSTRUCTED. 

Acts 23: 1 And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.

When the Apostle Paul was making his defense in Jerusalem, he said, Men and brethren, I lived in all good conscience toward God until this day. When he said that, he was reviewing his whole life—before he was saved as well as afterward. Even before he knew Christ, he sought to have a good conscience. In other words, when he persecuted the believers, he did it with good conscience. He thought it was an evil teaching they had embraced and that Christians were enemies of God, and he was obeying the Old Testament Scriptures. 

BUT HIS CONSCIENCE WAS NOT PROPERLY INSTRUCTED.

Act 26: 9, 10  I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them.

So it is not enough for a person to say he lives according to his conscience. The conscience needs to be instructed by the Word of God.

16/ Romans 2: 14, 15 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)

Here we find the Gentiles who have not the law have a conscience that is not instructed. They are in great trouble.

17/ Titus 1: 15,16 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

Here we read of a defiled conscience. They professed that they knew God, but they did not. Therefore, their conscience is defiled, and it is no longer a safe guide.

AMEN

Ref: 05/26/1974 / 128-1 “PAUL’S GIFT TO SATAN” / 01/15/2021