Portraits of the Church (3) - Pillar and Buttress of Truth

Well, a very warm welcome to you all to our service this morning.

We're particularly glad to see visitors with us as well, and we want to give thanks to

you for joining us for this time of worship.

We trust that together we will know God's blessing as we come to worship Him here together.

I want to mention a few things from the bulletin sheet today, and the bulletin sheet is available

for visitors as well.

Please take a copy with you.

Everyone is welcome to the hall for tea and fellowship after the service just now.

That includes, of course, visitors as well.

You'll see the details for the meetings and services throughout the week on the first

page of the bulletin there.

The meeting with prayer link with Muriel in Cambodia on Tuesday, prayer meeting on Wednesday,

and Thursday the Gaelic prayer meeting, Saturday the English prayer meeting in the seminary.

Lots of prayer meetings, and prayer is essential to the well-being of any congregation, and

all of these prayer meetings themselves are an indication, I trust, of our concern to pray

for the Lord's blessing week by week.

There's also an indication of the services next Lord's Day.

The Holiday Club meets this week from Monday to Friday.

We're seeking God's blessing on the Holiday Club as the children will learn about the Lord

Jesus Christ.

And next Sunday, 7th of August, everyone is welcome to the morning service.

As a family service, it will be taken by Reverend Calumurro Smith, and then enjoy some fellowship

in the hall afterwards as well, God willing.

There's a change to the ladies' walking group.

You can just read the change for yourselves.

They're a slight change from the usual.

There's a thanks from the Elan Shear Food Bank.

And they're asking also for donations of these items, pasta, curry sauces, etc.

You can just read these items through for yourselves.

We all understand how the cost of living has increased so much in the last wee while.

And the food banks themselves are providing a very valuable service to our community and

many other communities as well.

And we're thankful for the provision that they make, and we're happy to support them that

way and also as we can financially.

You'll see the thanks there for the free breakfast that took place last week.

And there are a number of very encouraging responses and reports from those who attended

the prayer breakfast and have indicated, God willing, they'd be very happy to come back

next time.

And we had some who came to the service as well following the breakfast, and all of that

was most encouraging.

We thank God for the opportunity to reach out with the gospel to visitors like that to the

island.

You notice a congratulations there to Cara Hanlon.

It's very appropriate.

She is a young person brought up in the congregation here and still very much part of the congregation

through her family particularly.

And her achieving, getting to the swimming final of the 50 metre breaststroke at the Commonwealth

Games was really an amazing achievement in itself.

And it's worthy of note.

And we give Cara and her family her best wishes, but also seek God's blessing for them.

Now please also read the details there about the use of the car park, just to maximise the

use of the car park.

If you can please just read these three points that are set out there for you, it's so that

we can actually, as I say, maximise the availability of space in the car park.

A few things also not mentioned on the information sheet.

Firstly, we regret to hear about the passing of Margaret Rose MacLeod.

Margaret was a valued member of the congregation, lived in a trust housing on Madison Road, and

she passed away.

But her funeral is not going to be here.

It will be in Tain.

She lived in Tain for some time.

Her late husband is buried in Tain.

But there is a memorial service, and that will be tomorrow at 2pm.

And that will be in the seminary at 2pm.

And all friends and others are warmly invited to that memorial service tomorrow.

I'm also informed that little Jessica, Torkel and Jessie's granddaughter, for whom you've

been praying and we've been praying since she was born, she's actually here today.

She'll be outside with Torkel and Jessie.

So I'm sure anyone who wishes to see her and to see Torkel and Jessie with her as well would

be welcome to go outside.

It's such a nice day, but I'm told that she'll be outside, round in the hall area after the

service today.

And we're really thankful to God for Jessica's continued upholding by God and improvement in

her health as well.

Now there's a slight change in the order of service today, just at the beginning of the

service.

We're going to have the main prayer later on in the service, just so the tweenies can

actually not be in too long in the service, and they'll go through after the preliminaries.

There'll be the singing, a short prayer for the tweenies and Sunday school, then the address

and the Lord's Prayer, then a psalm and then the prayer after that.

So it's just a slight change.

We're singing then to God's praise.

We begin our worship singing to God's praise in Psalm 57.

This is in the Scottish Psalter on page 288.

And we're singing from verse 5 through to the end of the psalm.

Be thou exalted very high above the heavens, O God.

Let thou thy glory be advanced over all the earth abroad.

My souls bowed down, for they and yet have laid my steps to snare into the pit which they

have digged for me.

They fallen are.

This psalm is crying out to God for help, but also with thankfulness for his upholding

of him.

Let's sing these verses 5 to 11 to God's praise.

Amen.

Be thou exalted very high above the heavens, O God.

Let thou thy glory be advanced over all the earth abroad.

My souls bowed down, for they and yet have laid my steps to snare into the pit which they have

for me.

For me they fall in awe.

My heart is raised, my heart is raised, O God, thou sing the praise.

My glory with my soundry heart, my self by every way.

My glory with my soundry heart, my self by every way.

I'll praise thee, my heart, my heart.

My heart is raised, my heart.

I'll praise thee, my heart.

The people, Lord, what nations she will lie.

For me, my heart is raised, my heart.

For me to heaven, thy mercy is.

Thy truth into the sky.

O Lord, exalted be thy name.

O Lord, exalted be thy name.

O Lord, exalted be thy name.

O Lord, exalted be thy name.

Above the heavens to stand.

To the glory of God

Let's now pray for the Twinnies and for the Sunday School

and for the children of the congregation.

Almighty God, we give thanks that we are gathered here today in Your presence

and that all ages are welcome in Your presence as we come together to worship You.

We thank You for these words that You have given us to sing,

words that express our praise to God.

We thank You today, Lord, for our children, for our young people,

for those who belong to the congregation even at this early age,

we pray today for Your blessing for them.

And we pray that as they receive the teaching of Your Word,

we ask, Lord, that You would enable them, even at their youngest age,

to receive these things into their heart,

to plant them, Lord, in their minds,

and so to develop under the instruction of Your own truth

in a way that will be to their own life's fulfillment

and to the glory of Your great name.

Receive us now, we pray, and pardon our sin in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Okay, children, you'll know that this week the Commonwealth Games are being held in Birmingham.

Commonwealth Games have all kinds of sports, competitions,

and medals given out at the end of each of those to those who have won gold, silver, and bronze.

And really taking part, especially the Commonwealth Games,

we're told that taking part is just as important in many ways as receiving medals.

But, you know, that reminds us of two things about being Christians or the Christian life.

Because all of those people competing in the Commonwealth Games

have really trained hard for this event.

They've spent years training for this event

and dedicating themselves to preparing for the Commonwealth Games.

And the Bible tells us that that's also important for us as human beings, as Christians.

Because dedication is one of the things that Jesus emphasizes and stresses for His people.

To be dedicated to Jesus.

To be dedicated to following Him.

That's important for adults as well as children.

But many times you'll read in the Gospels

that Jesus spoke about how important it was

to put Him first.

To be dedicated to following Him.

To be His disciples.

So today I want you to think about

being dedicated to Jesus.

Not dedicated to the church as such,

though it's important you're here in church,

you belong to the church.

But most important to be dedicated to Jesus.

To be committed to Jesus.

To love Jesus more than anyone else.

And the second thing,

along with being dedicated or committed to Jesus,

or loving Jesus,

is that all of these people in the Commonwealth Games

are always saying to us how important it is

to listen to what their trainer,

what their coach has said to them.

They follow the instructions of their coach.

Now their coach is somebody who trains them.

Somebody who actually tells them

how to go about doing what they're doing.

Whether it's in swimming,

or in running on the track,

whatever activity it is,

they have a coach that tells them

this is how you do it

so that you can do the best

and be the best you can be.

And hopefully get a medal.

And very often,

the trainer that gives his time

or her time to training the athletes

have themselves been athletes before.

Somebody was asked the other day,

one of the commentators was asked,

what does it take to be a good coach?

And the answer was,

well, one thing,

most of these coaches

have already been through the experiences

that these athletes are now experiencing.

So they can take from their experience

and pass that on to those

who are now competing

in the likes of the Commonwealth Games.

And you know,

the Bible tells us

that's one very important thing about Jesus.

He is the coach of our lives.

And he has been through

the life that you and I are living

as human beings.

He came into this world.

He lived in this world.

He died.

He rose from the dead.

He's gone back to heaven.

And that tells us

that every single thing

we will experience,

Jesus has already experienced.

And he is able to help us

as nobody else can

in our experiences as well.

Even for you children today,

Jesus was a little boy.

Jesus came into the world as a baby.

He was nursed by his mom.

He was looked after in a family.

He grew up as a boy,

just as you little boys and girls

are growing up today.

And so he knows what it's like

to be brought up

as a youngster, as a child,

and then growing up

to be an adult.

And he's able to give

from the experience he's had,

as well as being the son of God,

everything that we need

to help us in our life as well.

So remember these two things.

Remember, first of all,

to be dedicated to Jesus.

And remember, secondly,

to listen to Jesus' instructions.

And he has given us

these instructions.

He is the spiritual coach

of our lives.

And the instructions

are set out in the Bible.

One of the things

we're doing here today,

as we do every Sunday,

is to listen to Jesus' voice

speaking to us from the Bible

and saying,

this is how your life

is to be lived.

This is what I've done for you.

And this is what I now need from you

in order to follow me

as my disciples.

Dedication and listening

to his instructions.

Now let's say the Lord's Prayer together.

Our Father, which art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth

as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread

and forgive us our debts

as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom

and the power

and the glory

forever.

Amen.

We're going to sing

to God's praise again.

And while we're singing,

the Twinnies will go through

to the hall.

We're singing from Psalm 25.

Psalm 25

in the Sing Psalms version.

That's from page 29.

verses 4 to 9.

And this is just really

as we've been saying to the children,

a prayer for God to lead us

and for us to listen

to the way that he leads us

in his ways.

O Lord, reveal to me your ways

and all your paths.

Help me to know.

Direct and guide me in your truth.

Instruct me in the way to go.

These verses 4 to 9.

And we stand to sing.

O Lord, reveal to me your ways

and all your paths.

Help me to know.

Direct and guide me in your truth.

Enstruct me in the way to go.

You are my Savior and my God.

I'll give my hope in you alone.

Remember, Lord, your love and grace,

which of my sins you have shown.

Do not recall my sins of you,

for my sins you have found.

For my sins you have found.

For my sins you have found.

For my sins you have found.

For my sins you have found.

Take and guard me in your ways.

Remember me in your grace,

Fender me in your great love, for you, O Lord, are good always.

Because the Lord is just and good, He shows His path to all who stay.

He guides the people in what is right, and teaches them His holy way.

Amen.

So let's turn to read God's Word.

Our reading today is from 2 Timothy, chapter 2, verses 1 to 26.

2 Timothy 2 · chapter mention

That's the second letter of Paul to Timothy, and chapter 2 from the beginning.

You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard

from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others

also.

Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted

him.

An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.

It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.

Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel,

for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal.

But the Word of God is not bound.

Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation

that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

The saying is trustworthy, for if we have died with him, we will also live with him.

If we endure, we will also reign with him.

If we deny him, he will also deny us.

If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.

Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words which

does no good but only ruins the hearers.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be

ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness.

And their talk will spread like gangrene.

Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who having sweared from the truth, saying that the

resurrection has happened already, they are upsetting the faith of some.

But God's firm foundation stands bearing the seal.

The Lord knows those who are his, and let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart

from iniquity.

Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay,

some for honorable use, some for dishonorable.

Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable

use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.

So flee youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who are

who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies.

You know that they breed quarrels.

And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome, but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently

enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness.

God may perhaps grant them repentance, leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may escape

from the snare of the devil after being captured by him to do his will.

Amen.

May the Lord bless to us reading that portion of his precious word.

Let's now call upon him once more in prayer.

Lord our God, we come before you to bow our minds to your truth.

We thank you that you have given us your truth in the record of your word.

We pray today, Lord, for receptive hearts, for hearts that will be freed from our own prejudices,

from our own inclination to understand things in the light of our own wisdom.

We pray, O Lord, that your word today will truly deliver us into the freedom with which Christ makes us free.

We thank you today, Lord, for the reliability of your word, the way that we can depend upon it,

for it has remained unchanged in itself down through the years.

We pray that we may look after it as you have given us charge, O Lord, to be custodians of your truth.

And we pray that as we seek to have our lives influenced day by day by your truth,

that we may be increasingly dependent upon it.

Lord, we ask that your Holy Spirit will today open our eyes further,

increase our understanding, we pray,

and enable us to delve into the deep parts of your word

so that we may find our lives develop in a way that will be holy and acceptable to you.

We thank you today, Lord, for this occasion.

We thank you for this day which you have set apart

and which was set apart even from the creation of the world

as a day to be different to the other six,

a day on which your people are able to gather as we do here in public worship,

a day that we can use to set aside,

in the most part, the ordinary things of life,

the ordinary course of our employment in the world,

and to give ourselves more fully to the study of your truth

and the worship of your name and the fellowship of your people.

We ask today your blessing, Lord, for our gatherings

and for the gatherings of your own church throughout the world

in very different circumstances at times to ours here.

And yet we are bound by that common tie

of grace and of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And Lord, we pray today for our fellow believers throughout the world

that your cause will advance, that your word will be blessed,

and that you will, Lord, grant to all who serve you

in these various countries of the world

and in the varied circumstances of their lives

and of your providence for them.

Lord, we pray today that your blessing will truly reach them.

Bless all today who preach your word.

O Lord, we recognize the place you have given

to the preaching of your word

and the history and experience of your church

down to the present day.

For truly, faith comes by hearing

and hearing the word of Christ.

You have given us that truth

in the context of the preaching of your word

by those whom you have called to preach it.

Help us to be faithful to your calling.

Help us, Lord, to be faithful in speaking

as well as in hearing.

We ask your blessing for us,

for this congregation we belong to

in these days ahead, O Lord.

We pray that you'll bless all that we seek to do in your name,

following on from the services of worship today

and during the midweek.

We pray for the other activities, O Lord,

that have been set up without concern

to glorify your name,

to extend the teaching of your word by other means,

and to also specially instruct our young people.

Remember, we pray the holiday club.

We give thanks for those who have set it up

and for those who have contributed so much, O Lord,

to preparing for their children throughout this week.

We ask your blessing, Lord, to be upon it.

We pray that those who will act as leaders in it

will indeed find satisfaction in seeing your blessing

reaching these young lives.

We pray for our tweenies,

for our children in Sunday school,

in Bible class,

and in youth fellowship.

We ask that you'd bless them.

We pray that your blessing will be with all

who have dedicated themselves

and intend to do so in this year ahead

to the teaching of our young people.

O Lord, remember all our Sunday school teachers.

We thank you for their commitment,

for their way in which they have given of themselves

so readily to prepare week by week

lessons for the children.

We pray that they may be blessed,

that their prayers may be heard by you

in the blessing of their young children

under their care.

We ask too, Lord,

that you'd bless all who help

with the older age group in the congregation,

those who have reached adulthood,

those who come to Bible class,

those who are coming to the youth fellowship.

We ask that, O Lord,

you would bless all our efforts

in seeking to bring your truth

before young minds.

We pray for Marianne,

our youth leader,

and all who help her.

We ask today that you'd bless her.

She recovers from her time at camp.

We pray for your blessing

to follow the work of camps, O Lord,

and give thanks for the number of children

and young people that attended,

for those who gave up their time,

not only as leaders,

but as cooks,

and in other ways to help

with the running of the camps.

Lord, again, we commend this work to you

and ask that you'd be pleased to bless it.

And we pray that you would bless those today,

Lord, who we know are in difficulties

of various kinds.

Remember those facing hardship.

We pray for the state of our nation,

Lord, in times of financial concern

and of the increase in the cost of living.

O Lord, we look to you

and ask that you would alleviate the stress

of those who find themselves without work

and need to provide for their families.

We pray for relationships affected

by these times of stress

and pray, Lord,

that you would protect marriages

and families from falling apart.

We ask, Lord, for those that have struggles

in different ways in dealing with a situation

in terms of mental health.

Lord, we pray for them

and ask that you'd bless them.

We pray for those who administer

the food bank locally

and other food banks throughout our nation.

We thank you for your provision in that.

For those who are in need,

we pray that they may not be exploited.

And we ask that you would bless those

who are in genuine need through them

and ask that your blessing, Lord,

will reach the ministry of mercy

and of help that is extended

to our communities.

And we pray for the Salvation Army

as they especially head up

the work of the food bank.

And we ask, O Lord,

that your blessing will follow

all their efforts

in providing for these needs.

We pray for those who are ill today

in different ways.

We pray for those with COVID,

those recovering from COVID,

those, Lord,

who have other illnesses to contend with,

whether physically or mentally.

We commend them all to you.

We pray for any of our young children

and toddlers who are ill at this time.

Remember them, we pray.

And those that we know

and other families too.

We give thanks for your continued upholding

of young Jessica.

We pray for her as she, Lord,

as we pray for her and continue

that her progress indeed

will be blessed by you.

Remember her parents,

grandparents,

Lord, grant to her

that she may know

your own blessing upon her young life

from day to day.

And so we pray for all others

that we know are ill at this time.

And we do commend them to you

in our congregational family.

We pray too for those who mourn

the passing of loved ones.

We pray for all of Margaret MacLeod's

own relatives

and her friends,

her many friends.

We give thanks for the bright witness

of her life

and for the way that she

was so unashamed

in her proclamation

of your truth through her life.

And we pray, O Lord,

that her witness may continue

even though she is now

no longer in this world.

So remember us, Lord,

we pray now

as we turn to your word.

Hear us in this,

our prayer

and cleanse us

from all our sin.

For Jesus' sake.

Amen.

Always turn with me, please,

now to 1 Timothy,

1 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3 and verse 15.

1 Timothy and chapter 3

and verse 15.

We'll read again from verse 14.

I hope to see you,

come to see you soon,

but I'm writing these things to you

so that if I delay,

you may know how one ought to behave

in the household of God,

which is the church of the living God,

a pillar and buttress of truth.

Now we began a short series

on scripture portraits of the church

some weeks ago.

We're doing it during our morning service

whenever I'm here in the morning.

As you know,

every second week or so

I'll be in the Gaelic service,

but every week we're together

in the English morning service.

We're following this short study.

And we looked at this verse twice before,

looking at the descriptions

or the portraits you find

of the church in this verse itself.

We looked, first of all,

at the church described

as the church of the living God.

And we emphasized especially,

as the Bible does,

that the church is the people of God,

the worshiping, witnessing people of God.

And that's why they're called here,

it's the church of the living God.

Secondly, we looked last time

at the household of God

and how that description

really brings in the whole idea

of a family and relationships

in a spiritual family

as the church is described there

as the household of God.

And some of the aspects

of those relationships

we covered briefly.

And you can just remind yourselves

of them if you have time.

Just go back to the website

and you can just listen to that again

if you wish.

Now, tonight or today,

we're looking at the third description here

in this verse,

and that's the pillar

and buttress of truth.

Now, you all know, I'm sure,

what a pillar or buttress is.

You've just got to look around you

to see pillars.

And you can see pillars

in terms of buildings.

Mostly pillars actually support

something that's set

or situated above them,

just as you find the gallery

around this church

that's now supported

by all of those pillars

that you find

the length of the building.

They are supporting

of the gallery.

And that description

of the church

as the pillar of the truth

really shows

the support of God's truth

by the church.

The church is,

as God sets the church

in the world,

the church is

a pillar of the truth.

And the word buttress

is also very closely related

to that.

A buttress

is more particularly

in older buildings nowadays.

Newer buildings

have technology

that maybe doesn't require

the same amount

of support.

But those of you

involved in building

can correct me afterwards

if I'm wrong.

But a buttress,

you'll see in old buildings,

old church buildings,

for example.

And indeed,

I think there's some

outside this building itself.

Usually outside the walls,

there's a construction

of cement blocks

or whatever

starting down below

in a wider dimension

and then just going

all the way up

and narrowing

as they reach the top.

And that's a buttress

that's there

to support that wall.

You could say

it's to prevent

that wall

just falling out

or collapsing outward.

It actually helps

to keep that wall upright

and straight

without falling in

on itself

or outward.

So the buttress

is a support

as well as the pillar

and that's the description

that Paul is giving here

of the church.

That's the portrait

we have of the church.

This living body of people,

this church

which is the church

of the living God,

this household of God,

it is the pillar

and buttress

of the truth.

Now in our translation,

we don't have the word the,

but it should be there.

A pillar and buttress

of truth,

but strictly speaking,

it should be the truth.

A pillar and buttress

of the truth.

And that's important

because the truth

is God's revealed truth,

not just any kind of thing

that passes for the truth.

It is God's revealed truth

that Paul has in mind,

the gospel,

the word of God,

what God has revealed

as his truth

to us human beings.

That is what the church

is set by God

in the world

to support.

the church

as the pillar

and buttress

of the truth,

of God's truth,

of the gospel.

The church itself

came into being

through the truth.

Way down through the centuries

from the very beginning

of time,

you will find

that God's church,

God's visible church,

the people of God

in the world,

came into being

through God's blessing

of his truth,

of his revealed truth.

And as God's revealed truth

was increased

gradually down

through the ages

and now we have

a complete Bible,

it's through that truth,

through that truth

being communicated

to people

like you and I,

that the church

comes into being,

that the church

is upheld,

that the church

is increased.

So through the truth,

God's church

came into being.

And born from the truth,

the church is now charged

by God

to be the pillar

and buttress

of that truth

of the gospel

through which we came

to be born

as Christians,

formed as a church,

as the household

of God.

Now there are two things

that I want to mention

just following on

from that

as to what the church

and we as the church

must be,

or a branch of the church.

This is through

of every congregation

of God's people,

that they are themselves

as a section

of the wider church,

the pillar

and buttress

of the truth

where they are.

First thing is

that the church

is a custodian

of the truth.

The church

exists

to guard

the truth,

a custodian

of the truth.

And secondly,

the church

is a conveyor

or communicator

of the truth.

The church exists

to present

the truth

to the world

as well as

to itself

in its own

internal consumption

of the truth

through the gospel.

So it's a custodian

of the truth

and it's a conveyor

or communicator

of the truth

as the pillar

and buttress

of truth.

Now first of all,

it is a custodian

of the truth.

You'll recall

that the first attack

on mankind

in the Garden

of Eden

was when the devil

in the form

of the serpent

came to Eve

and the attack

was on this

specific point,

on the point

of God's truth

or God's truthfulness

because the first words

of the serpent

of the devil

to human beings

was,

has God

indeed

said?

Is it really

the truth?

Are you sure

that this

is the truth?

Or

has he given you

the whole truth?

Has he kept

something back

from you

that you really

ought to have had?

You see,

all of that

is part of this

prong,

this attack

on human beings

and their relationship

with God

and it's on the basis

of God's truth.

Has God

really said?

And all the way

down through history

that has taken

different forms

but it's essentially

the same attack

in essence.

Has God

indeed said,

is this the word

of God

really?

Look at chapter 4.

No sooner has he said

this in chapter 3

than he begins

to deal with

what Timothy

is going to face

and what the church

is going to face

in the time ahead.

The Spirit expressly

says that in later times

some will depart

from the faith

by devoting themselves

to deceitful spirits,

teachings of demons

through the insincerity

of liars

whose consciences

are seared,

who forbid marriage,

who require abstinence

from food

that God created

to be received

with thanksgiving

and so on.

That is just

the church's

custodianship

of the truth

being attacked.

It's going to be

under assault,

Timothy is told,

and that's still

the case

very much today.

You'll find in Jude's

short epistle

that he says,

I intended to write

to you about

certain things

common to the faith,

but instead

he was led

to focus on this,

what he says,

that you should

contend for the truth

once for all

delivered to the saints

by God.

that's what Jude,

led by God,

set out in his

little epistle

because he lived

in days when that

truth was under

severe assault

and he was led

by God

to actually set

out this letter

to plead

with those

that were reading

it to contend

for the truth,

to fight the cause

of truth,

never to give up

standing for the truth.

A church

contradicting

the truth

is a tragic

sight.

Any denomination,

any congregation,

the church

visibly

actually not

contending

for the truth

or,

on the other hand,

compromising

the truth,

contradicting

the truth

is really a tragic

sight because

it's contrary

to and directly

against the command,

the instruction,

the privilege

that God

has given us

regarding his truth

to be custodians

of it.

And I didn't tell you

that today

that is actually

very commonly found

that foundational

doctrines

are being denied

or being distorted

or being contradicted

or being repackaged,

if you like.

You can use lots of words

but that's what you find

in the present day

and I'm not saying this

in any way

so as to try

and elevate ourselves

as if we were superior

to other denominations

or churches

is not to give ourselves

a pat on the back,

it's actually just

to take stock

of the situation

we face in the world

that we face

in the ecclesiastical

world of today

where people

who confess themselves

to be Christians

and bishops

and ministers

and so on

will actually

have no hesitation

in denying

the nature

of the Bible itself.

We'll have no hesitation

in denying

what the gospel

is about,

denying the trinity

that God is,

denying the resurrection

of Jesus,

distorting the terms

of salvation,

clouding the issues

of what comes

after death,

denying the reality

of hell

and a whole lot

of other things

I could mention.

That's what's out there

in the ecclesiastical world

and God is saying

to you and to me,

you are custodians

of my truth.

I have given you

my truth

to look after it,

to guard it,

to prize it,

to love it,

to believe it,

to embrace it,

to show it forth

as my truth.

Today here

in this locality,

we are the custodians

of the truth.

We're not the only

custodians of the truth

as a congregation.

Thankfully,

other congregations

are also,

other denominations

are also.

But for us ourselves,

this is what we're

focusing on,

how it affects

ourselves,

how it has a relationship

with us.

God is saying to us,

you are a pillar

and buttress

of my truth.

Now to do that,

you and I personally

must believe this truth,

must embrace this truth,

must see this truth

as so significant

that we cannot

alter its terms

unless we're being

disobedient to God.

and we have to love

this truth

and we have to show

this truth to the world

and not be ashamed

of the fact

that God

has given us

this word,

this gospel,

this truth

to be shown out

as His will

for humanity.

We are custodians

of the truth.

It's a great privilege.

It's a great responsibility.

But it's something

for which God

Himself

will furnish us

by His Holy Spirit

to be true

to this calling,

to be indeed

custodians

of His truth.

Secondly,

it means

as the pillar

and buttress

of the truth

that we are

conveyors

or communicators

of the truth.

Not only

has God given us

the privilege

of guarding

His truth,

looking after it,

but also

conveying it,

presenting it,

communicating it

to the world

in which we live.

And there are

three elements

that I want to mention.

We could mention others,

but three especially

I want to mention

in relation to this

for the rest of our time.

First of all,

the word preached.

The word preached.

And the word preached

is both

an explanation

and an application

of God's truth.

That's essentially

what we go to

college,

to seminary for,

to actually

be trained

by those

who are able

to do this,

to train us

in how to explain

the Bible,

how to open up

the Bible,

how to bring out

the meaning

of the Bible,

how to apply

the teaching

of the Bible

to our everyday lives

as human beings.

That's what the preaching

of the gospel

is about.

And preaching

in the New Testament,

as you see,

you know very well

yourselves

this is the case.

In the New Testament,

preaching has a primary,

the primary place

in conveying

the truth of God.

It doesn't mean

we don't communicate

by other means,

but this is centrally,

foundationally,

how all the way

through the New Testament,

the truth of God

is disseminated

and broadcast

and set forth.

The preaching

of the gospel.

And as the preaching

of the gospel

has down through the years

been blessed

by the Lord,

so, for example,

Paul in Acts chapter 20,

Acts 20 · chapter mention

where he said

a very emotional farewell

to the elders

at Ephesus.

I remember

they came to him

and they wept

that they were not

going to see his face

anymore after all the time

that they had spent

with him

and been taught by him.

But he said,

I did not shirk

from preaching

to you

the whole counsel

of God.

That's what he emphasized.

The whole counsel

of God.

In other words,

what he was saying

is whatever God

has revealed

in his word,

whatever he has revealed

in the gospel,

it's our business

to convey

as a church

and as a preaching

of the gospel.

All the different topics,

some more emphasized

than others,

but all the different topics

as they relate together,

that is the business

of preaching the gospel.

That is why

you're here today.

Yes, I know you're here

to worship the Lord

in the whole breadth

of the service

of worship,

worship,

but central to that

is the preaching

of the gospel,

the feeding of your minds,

the feeding of your souls,

the instruction

of your hearts.

You know,

and we're so,

we are so thankful

those of us who

are called

to preach the gospel.

One of the things

we're profoundly thankful for,

and let it never be

anything else,

that you're praying

for us,

that you're praying

that the preaching

of the gospel

will be effective,

that you're praying

that we will deliver

the whole counsel

of God

without compromise,

without fear,

without contradiction,

because that is what

God has given you

as a privilege

and me as a privilege

to be conveyors

of the truth,

to have the word

preached to you

and by us.

And that means

the truth of God

is applicable

in the preaching

of the gospel

to all aspects of life.

It's not just

for personal salvation,

of course it is that,

for your personal

relationship with God,

for your salvation,

for your justification,

for your hope

of eternal life.

But the preaching

of the gospel

must include

all things such as

social conditions,

moral issues,

political issues.

That doesn't mean

that the preacher

of the gospel

must become a politician,

that he must start

dabbling in politics

rather than preaching

the gospel.

But politics

has to come into it

because when the government

of the day

introduces law

that are contradictory

to the word of God,

introduces things

which are hateful

to God

in terms of personal morality

or public morality,

the church has to,

as custodians of the truth,

as communicators

of the truth,

raise its voice.

The preaching

of the gospel

has to deal with that.

And whatever governments

might say,

whatever people

generally might say,

well, the church

has no business

dealing with it,

that's a political issue.

If the politics

of the day

or the government

of the day

introduces legislation

that is harmful

to unborn children

or introduces euthanasia,

God forbid,

but it's on the horizon,

or anything else

that has to do

with moral issues

and ethics

in public life

or in private life,

the preaching

of the gospel

must set out

the will of God

against that.

It's not dabbling

in politics.

It's not dealing

with things

which are beyond

the reach

of the preaching

of God's word.

It's bringing

the light of truth.

It's communicating

the truth of God

to the current situation,

whatever it might be.

And it's our pleasure

and our responsibility

to raise our voices,

not just in preaching,

but as we'll see

in a minute,

also in Christian conduct

because you have voices

along with the preached word

that needs to actually

hold governments

to account

if they are

contradicting

or compromising

God's revealed truth.

So that's the first thing

in the conveying of truth.

There is the word preached,

but there's secondly

what I'm going to call

instructive evangelism.

instructive evangelism.

When you go back

to the terms

of Matthew,

Matthew 28,

the Great Commission,

we usually refer to it

as the Great Commission,

Matthew 28,

and verses 19 to 20 especially.

This is what Jesus

said to the disciples

just before He left them

to go back to heaven.

He said,

all authority in heaven

and on earth

has been given to me.

Go therefore

and make disciples

of all nations,

baptizing them

in the name

of the Father

and of the Son

and of the Holy Spirit,

teaching them

to observe

all that I have

commanded you.

You see,

there are two things

very closely

joined together there,

making disciples

and teaching.

You can't extract

the teaching element

from the making disciples element.

What Jesus is saying

to His church is,

I'm sending you forth.

I have the authority

and you are,

on that basis,

sent into the world

to make disciples.

But you make disciples

not just by baptizing them,

but by teaching them.

You have an instructive evangelism.

And that follows through

into our evangelism as well.

Because evangelism

has to be instructive.

It's not that we evangelize,

just looking at things practically,

and then different

or separate from that,

we instruct,

we teach.

No, it has to be a teaching

or an instructive evangelism.

As you seek to bring

the gospel to people,

as you reach out

with the gospel

into our communities,

you reach out

with the truth of God.

You lay out

the truth of God

as you're seeking

to have people

give attention

to the claims

of God upon them.

And indeed,

that's what we've been

seeking to do.

And that's what we're seeking

to do this coming week,

even,

in the holiday club.

We are seeking

to have a means

alongside

the formal services

of the church,

a means by which

our young people,

our children,

can receive

the truth of God.

It's not entertainment.

There is

an attractive element

in it.

There are certain things

involved in it

that are,

if you like,

not exactly

lecturing

or preaching

in its own right.

It's creating

an environment

that will give pleasure

to our children,

but will also

be a means

of bringing

the truth to them,

of educating them

under the truth.

And the same is true

of our Sunday school.

Why do we have Sunday school?

Why do we have Bible class?

It's so that our young people

can actually come

to have the truth

of God

communicated

to their young minds,

to bring them under

the shaping effect

of God's truth.

Same thing

with the free breakfast.

You'll notice

in the bulletin sheet,

the details

from that,

that free breakfast,

which maybe not everybody

would agree with,

but what we're seeking

to do in that

is use the opportunity

that God has given us

in His providence

to bring the gospel

to people

who otherwise

wouldn't have it,

or most of them

at least wouldn't have it,

because many,

many people

left that free breakfast

with a free copy

of the Bible,

which they didn't have.

They asked,

some of them,

asked for a Bible.

We gave them a Bible.

We gave them

the Word of God.

We gave them

the truth of God.

Some of them

came to the service

afterwards.

They weren't used

to coming to church services,

certainly not to free

church services,

but they came,

and they came willingly,

and they came

under the truth of God.

That's the intention.

That's the purpose.

We are communicators

of the truth.

That is the church itself.

And in all of that

instructive evangelism,

our concern,

of course,

our overriding concern,

is the glory of God,

the praise of God.

Not making a name

for ourselves.

Nothing like that,

but to bring the truth

of God to bear

upon people's lives.

Young ones,

middle-aged,

old,

doesn't matter.

This is the church

as the pillar

and buttress

of the truth,

communicating the truth

through the preaching

of the gospel,

through instructive evangelism,

thirdly,

through Christian conduct.

Let me come back

to the verse itself

in 1 Timothy,

which says,

I hope to see you soon,

verse 14,

but to come and see you soon,

but I'm writing

these things to you

so that if I delay,

you may know

how one ought to behave

in the household of God,

which is the church

of the living God,

a pillar and buttress

of the truth.

A worldly church,

a church that's packed

with worldliness,

and by that I mean

things which especially

are contradictory

to the Word of God,

to the truth of God,

or have displaced

the likes of preaching

with something else.

A church that exists

just to entertain people

or to draw praise

to people themselves.

A worldly church

is a sure way

to create more atheists.

It's always been the case.

Atheists are not created

by the church

withstanding assault

from those who are

in enmity to the gospel.

Atheists are created largely

through the church

abandoning its custodianship

of the truth

and its communicating

of the truth

as the truth of God.

Let me just briefly,

before we close,

go to Ephesians.

So I want to show you

a pattern there in Ephesians.

That's important.

Ephesians 5

and verses 1 to 6.

It starts there,

therefore be imitators

of God

as beloved children,

children beloved by God,

and walk in love

as Christ loved us

and gave himself up for us,

a fragrant offering

and sacrifice to God.

Then he says,

but sexual immorality,

all impurity or covetousness

must not even be named among you

as is proper among saints.

And all the way through then he says,

these are the things

that ought not to be found

in the people of God

in the church of God.

Let no one deceive you

with empty words.

For because of these things,

the wrath of God

comes upon the sons

of disobedience.

Therefore,

do not associate with them.

For at one time

you were darkness,

but now you are light

in the Lord.

You see,

there is an antithesis.

There are two opposites there.

You were darkness,

past tense,

but now you are light

in the Lord.

You are in the Lord,

therefore you are light.

You are a contradiction

of what you once were

as lost sinners.

But then he says this,

walk as the children

of light.

At one time you were darkness,

but now you are light

in the Lord.

Walk as the children

of light.

For the fruit of light

is found in all that is good

and right and true.

And try to discern

what is pleasing

to the Lord.

Take no part

in the unfruitful works

of darkness.

Instead,

expose them.

How is it to expose them?

By walking

as the children

of light.

By being

in their practice

what they claim

to be in their profession.

By being

in their way of life.

What their gospel

actually sets out

for them

as they should be.

And then,

of course,

in Ephesians

you find a pattern.

I mentioned a pattern

there.

There is a pattern.

He doesn't leave it at that.

He then goes down

at verse 22,

wives.

Verse 25,

husbands.

Chapter 6,

children.

Slaves,

obey your earthly masters.

That was the world

of the day.

Masters,

do good to

those who are

your slaves as well.

And so on.

You see,

he's building on

layer upon layer

of application

to what it means

to walk

as the children

of light.

Wives,

husbands,

children,

employees,

employers.

The credibility

of Christ

and the gospel

and the truth

of the gospel

is hung upon

these hooks

of your life

and my life

because that world

out there

doesn't read the Bible

and sometimes

doesn't possess

a Bible

but it knows

how Christians

ought to behave.

It knows

what kind of people

Christians ought to be.

It knows

what the church

ought to be

and what the church

ought to say

and how the church

ought to behave.

And it is Paul's burden

that as a pillar

and buttress

of the truth

so we be

a pillar

and buttress

of the truth

not just by the word

preached

and not just by the word

preached along

with instructive evangelism

but by our own

Christian conduct

by the biblical

morality

of our life

and of our lifestyle.

the church

as we saw

in our first

study

is the people

of God

the called out

called together

people of God

called out

from the world

called together

to be

a distinct

people of God

in the world.

And we really

want to be

all of that

as a congregation.

We all know

there is no

perfect church

no perfect congregation

no perfect Christian

in this world

and none

of what I am

setting out

today is intended

in any way

to discourage

you or to

discourage myself

because the more

we find the standard

of God

in his word

set out

the more we should

be determined

to actually

match up to that

and deal with the ways

in which we don't

match up.

It is not to

discourage us

it is rather to

encourage us

to be

more Christ-like

than we are.

But we want to be

as we saw

in our more recent

studies in Philippians.

Philippians 1

Philippians 1:27

verse 27

this is what Paul

is saying

it doesn't matter

he says

whether I come

and see you

or else be absent

only let your

manner of life

be worthy

of the gospel

of Christ

so that whether

I come and see you

or I am absent

I may hear of you

that you are

standing firm

in one spirit

with one mind

striving side

by side

for the faith

of the gospel

that is God's truth

striving side

by side

that means

every individual

of the church

has a contribution

to make

to the overall

guardianship

and communicating

of the truth

of God

by the church

and he says

and not frightened

anything

by your

opponents

R.C. Sproul

the late

American theologian

and Bible

expositor

and preacher

who left

a great legacy

to the church

and the

Lagonia ministry

you can find

that online