Rock Solid
How the church needs to follow Scripture to stay strong and true in a world of chaos
When Jesus completed the long narration of the passage best known as the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5 through 7), He ended with a powerful message to follow Him — a message that was not lost on those who heard Him. Matthew 7:24-29 states,
"Every one therefore that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man, who built his house upon the rock: 25 and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon the rock. 26 And every one that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand: 27 and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and smote upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall thereof.
28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these words, the multitudes were astonished at his teaching: 29 for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes."
Notice how the crowd reacted: amazed at His authoritative teaching. His message in the passage was also clear: Follow Me and My commands, and I will serve as your foundation even in the midst of chaos.
As we see in Paul's letter to his apprentice Timothy in 1 Timothy, those who are called to follow Christ should congregate together and live on that foundation. In return, the church becomes "the pillar and ground of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:15) for their communities.
Why do churches not focus on following Christ's commands and stay rock solid on that foundation? Or as Paul states it in verse 15, how men ought to behave themselves in the house of God? As a group of people who profess Christ, we should have our foundation in Jesus and our church structured as He commands in Scripture.
It concerns me that many churches think more of attracting a crowd, having successful programs, or being known in the community as the "fill-in-the-blank" church. We should serve as that rock-solid place proclaiming Christ, living out the Scripture as the Scripture itself states. If our focus is on anything else, we are in danger of being tossed around during the chaos of life — and we see evidence of that in churches all around.
The Apostle Paul outlines several ways the church needs to conduct itself in 1 Timothy. We would do well to examine these as we serve together, striving to stay rock solid on Jesus' teachings and committed to remaining Gospel-driven in the midst of chaos. Let's look at a few of the themes from this great epistle.
Fight false teaching and the motives behind it
Paul starts his epistle by strongly condemning false teachers and false teaching (1 Timothy 1:3-11). It is a theme he returns to several times (4:1-5; 6:3-4) and even calls out specific people within the church in Ephesus for teaching wrongly (1:20).
Paul doesn't just mention false teachings and heresy, but also "vain talking" (1:6) or "questionings and disputes of words" (6:4). That is why the foundation of a church's preaching and teaching needs to be the faithful exposition of the text of Scripture.
It is important for a preacher to preach the Scriptures instead of out of the Scriptures — meaning using a verse or two as a springboard for a message that is more motivational speech or popular topics of the day. The unintentional consequence is a congregation listening to "12 ways to do this or that" — all of which may be good ideas — but missing the point of why it's important, how it points to Jesus, and turning into "fables and endless genealogies, which minister questionings, rather than a dispensation of God which is in faith" (1:4).
Churches would do well to follow Paul's example as he tells Timothy to be "nourished in the words of the faith, and of the good doctrine which thou hast followed until now" (4:6). As Paul tells the church in Corinth, "we preach Christ crucified..." (1 Corinthians 1:23).
But Paul doesn't just warn Timothy and the church about fighting false teachings. He also makes us aware of the motives behind false teachers: greed, power, and influence (6:3-10). Too many times, especially in our age of social media, preachers and churches are driven by these three things. They are driven by money. They are driven by power. They are driven by having influence over people. They've stopped (or never started) being Gospel-driven.
Paul lays out for Timothy that our drive should be to flee those three things and instead be driven by righteousness that is found only in Christ (6:11-16).
Be given to prayer
Paul also outlines a ministry that every person in the church should be engaged in: prayer (2:1).
Regardless of a Christian's gifts or talents and other ways they may be called to serve, Paul tells Timothy the prayer ministry of the church should be prominent. And he states, "This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour" (2:3).
My fear is that too many Christians and churches today do not follow the prominence of this command. We should make prayer a priority both personally and publicly.
Praying is something every Christian should do and can do. Even when we find it hard to pray and don't know how to articulate our thoughts, we have "one mediator" (2:5) in Christ Jesus, and that gives us true comfort in this ministry. When we pray, we show our reliance and dependence on God for everything.
Recognize, build, and honor Godly leaders
Chapter 3 outlines the qualifications of leaders in the church: both pastors/elders in 3:1-7 and deacons in 3:8-13 (note: verse 14 is not part of qualifications).
For those wanting to serve as pastors/elders, there is a sense of calling or desire (3:1). However, since Paul outlines qualifications that are all character qualities except one ("apt to teach," 3:2), it is important that the church be involved in validating those qualities in the aspiring leader. This is even indicated in the way Paul talks about Timothy's ministry (1:18; 6:12) being intertwined with the church's affirmation of it.
Leading in the church context is more about faithfulness than talent, more about fighting for the faith than popularity.
If the church is teaching rightly, praying earnestly, and ministering well as a congregation, it should be fulfilling the Great Commission and developing disciples. Some of those disciples will be tasked with making more disciples and shepherding the congregation to continue that cycle over and over again.
Also, Paul tells Timothy that those who lead and shepherd well should be honored (5:17-18). Financial support, prayer support, and ministry support are all ways to honor those who serve well as pastors/elders.
Paul also gives Timothy instructions about when a man should become a pastor/elder (5:22), as well as when elders are not untouchable if they fail to meet the qualifications (5:19-20).
Deacons, as well, lead through serving. They serve the practical needs of the congregation. As in the book of Acts, they serve to quiet disputes, meet practical needs, and care for the congregation.
It takes recognized, godly leaders and servants — and a whole church congregation completely engaged with them in day-to-day life — in order to stay firmly planted on the foundation of Christ Jesus.
Live rightly and care rightly
It is important for churches to stay rock solid in how people engage within the congregation and how it cares for others.
Paul instructs men to pray (2:8) and women to focus on Christ by good works instead of drawing attention to themselves through dress or speech (2:9-15). Ordered rightly, the church functions when everyone honors Jesus and submits to His teachings.
There is also a call to live as family: the bride of Christ. Treating all generations with respect (5:1-2) and caring for those who cannot care for themselves. Paul specifically outlines how the church should care for widows.
In 5:3-16, Paul gives detailed instruction on how the church should take care of widows who are widows "indeed" (5:3). It is surprising to me, as we read this passage, that these qualifications actually focus on a widow's family as the first line of support and not the church. The church is only to fill any gaps.
And caring rightly also ensures that the church is not taken advantage of by widows who are disqualified due to age or who are not acting Christlike (5:10-16).
Being a Godly steward
Paul closes the epistle with instructions for rich congregants (6:17-19): Be godly stewards of what God has given you. Be generous. Do good works — not to be seen, but for the furtherance of the Gospel message moving forward.
Our rock-solid directive
Like Timothy, we are charged to guard the truth (6:20), building on the foundation of Christ to show the truth in the midst of chaos. I pray that churches reengage with this directive. I pray that our churches become "the pillar and ground of the truth" (3:15) in this chaotic time.