1 Timothy 1:12–20 - The Gospel & False Teachers
Good morning, church! It is good to be with you. I hope it is well with you today. If I haven’t had a chance to meet you, my name is Mike, and I’m one of the teaching pastors here at The Well.
Our staff just got back from our annual staff retreat. So if we seem a little bit extra energized, it’s because we got to spend the weekend in Santa Cruz hanging out as a staff with our spouses. It was a sweet weekend. We’ve been doing that every year for almost twenty years—except for last year, for obvious reasons—and it was so good to get back together with that crew.
If you’re new around here, a special welcome to you, whether you’re joining us live here at North Campus or watching online. We are truly grateful that you chose to walk through these doors or tune in today. Whatever brought you here, we’re thrilled you’re with us.
The Plumb Line of God’s Word
I want to invite you to turn in your Bibles to the book of 1 Timothy. We’re in our fifth week in this book, which is essentially a letter from an older, wiser, seasoned pastor—Paul—to his young protégé in ministry, a man named Timothy. Timothy is stationed in a very difficult place: Ephesus. It was a spiritually confused, dark, and challenging city. This letter contains Paul’s instructions to his young pastoral protégé on how to handle the affairs God has put him in charge of.
Last week, our lead pastor, Brad Bell, taught through the plumb line of the Word of God. Paul was telling Timothy, “Hey, we have to hold fast to the things that are right and true, because they matter.” They have real-life applications. These aren’t hypothetical coffee-shop theological conversations that nerds with wire-rimmed glasses have; these truths actually matter in daily life. When we deviate from the Word of God, and when we become God in our own minds and set our own standards, destruction happens. Brad shared the heartbreaking story of a dear friend who was led astray from the plumb line of God’s Word, resulting in devastating, real-life consequences as he left his wife of ten years and his children.
As we continue in 1 Timothy 1, Paul continues that exact train of thought. As he talks about the plumb line of God’s Word and the work God has done in his own life, he admonishes Timothy to take action. This morning, we will look at verses 12 through 20 and finish chapter one.
In the middle of giving these instructions, Paul pauses in verses 12 through 17 to share his personal testimony. It’s as if, while giving these instructions to Timothy, he is suddenly overwhelmed by the grace of God in his own life. He pauses in an almost parenthetical moment to say, “Timothy, by the way, this is what God has done in my life, and I am still wrecked by it years and years later.”
Then, in verses 18 through 20, Paul returns to the charge he began earlier in chapter one, urging Timothy to fight the good fight. Timothy has a job to do in Ephesus, and Paul implores him to deal specifically with two men who are introducing doctrinal error and heresy into the church.
Overwhelmed by Mercy and Grace
Let’s begin in 1 Timothy 1:12 at the start of Paul’s testimony.
1 Timothy 1:12 (NASB)
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service,
Paul reflects on his past and thinks, Lord, of all the things I’ve been through, I am absolutely blown away that You considered me worthy to be a steward of Your gospel, to carry the good news, and that despite who I used to be, You still put me into service.
Paul is acutely aware of who he was prior to meeting the risen Christ on the road to Damascus in Acts 9.
1 Timothy 1:13 (NASB)
even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief;
Paul gives a strong, threefold description of who he used to be prior to the gospel: “I was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent aggressor.”
He was a blasphemer—a hater of God. He and God were not on the same page, and Paul strongly opposed the idea that Jesus Christ was the promised Old Testament Messiah. Not only that, he took it a step further as a persecutor: systematically hunting down those who believed in Jesus, throwing them into prison, and putting their lives in peril to stop the message of “The Way” from spreading. In Acts 7, when Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was stoned to death, Paul stood by in hearty approval. Shortly thereafter, the text tells us he began ravaging the church. He was a violent aggressor.
What Paul is communicating here is that he wasn’t chosen for this calling because he was somehow better or more spiritual than others, or because his sin list was shorter. It was the exact opposite. Why did God pick him? Verse 13 gives us the answer: mercy.
Mercy is a key component in understanding the gospel. Mercy is when God withholds from us what we deserve. Instead of receiving the wrath of God that our sin deserves, God withheld that judgment from Paul and placed it upon Jesus Christ on the cross. Paul received mercy by not getting what he was due.
But that’s not all.
1 Timothy 1:14 (NASB)
and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are [found] in Christ Jesus.
If mercy is God not giving us what we do deserve, grace is God giving us what we could never deserve. It is a beautiful coupling in the gospel. Not only did I not receive the wrath of God for my sin, but He gave me what I didn’t deserve: He adopted me as His child, gave me an eternal inheritance, indwelt me with the Holy Spirit, and gave me the assurance that I am loved and cared for by Him regardless of my past.
Paul says that this grace was “more than abundant”—superabundant! You take a violent aggressor, a persecutor, an angry opponent of the gospel, stack up all his sin, and the grace of God superabounds over all of it. There was no sin on Paul’s list that could not be covered by the grace, mercy, and goodness of God.
It wasn’t the law that saved Paul. As Brad pointed out last week, the law is simply a mirror. It shows you your sin and your brokenness, but it is powerless to save you. It revealed to Paul his desperate need, but only the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ could rescue him.
The Foremost of Sinners
Paul makes sure Timothy knows that this grace isn’t just for him alone.
1 Timothy 1:15-16 (NASB)
It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost [of all]. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.
Paul clearly states the central purpose of the incarnation: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And then he adds, “among whom I am the foremost of all.”
Notice the tense Paul uses. He said, “I was formerly a blasphemer… a persecutor… a violent aggressor.” But he does not say, “I used to be the foremost of sinners.” He says, “I am the foremost of all.”
Writing this letter as a seasoned apostle who has planted churches and will author thirteen books of the New Testament, Paul maintains a keen awareness of his own heart. The closer he walks with Jesus and the more he is conformed to the image of Christ, the greater he perceives the gap between God’s holiness and his own depravity. Paul understands just how far God had to reach down into the pit to rescue him.
In fact, the longer Paul walked with the Lord, the lowlier his self-assessment became. Early on, in 1 Corinthians 15, he wrote, “I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” A few years later, in Ephesians 3, he wrote, “To me, the very least of all the saints, this grace was given.” And now, in 1 Timothy, he writes, “I am the foremost of sinners.”
Paul is being honest about his sin. He is walking in the light and naming his weakness. He recognizes that the gospel wasn’t just a one-time event on the Damascus Road; it is the daily power that continues to mold and shape him into the image of Christ. The older he gets, the more he realizes the ongoing battle between his flesh and the Spirit, and he thanks God that the gospel wins.
This is a great diagnostic question for us: As you walk with the Lord and mature in your faith, is God continuing to reveal new areas of sin to you? He should be. If God is actively conforming us into the image of His Son—a lifelong process that won’t reach final completion until heaven—there ought to be things in our lives where we say, “Lord, I am convicted of that today, even though five years ago it wasn’t even on my radar. Work on my heart and help me submit that to You.” That is Paul’s posture. God’s perfect patience is on display as He faithfully forms us.
By the time Paul reaches verse 17, he simply cannot contain his exuberance for what the gospel has done.
1 Timothy 1:17 (NASB)
Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, [be] honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Do you ever have moments like that during worship, where you reflect on who you used to be and what God saved you from? You think, Lord, without Your grace stepping into my life, I would be dead, in jail, or completely lost. Paul is simply overwhelmed by the goodness of God.
This is what happens when we rightly understand our depravity, our need for mercy, and the glorious cross that rescues us. To God alone be the glory!
Guarding the Plumb Line
Unfortunately, Paul must pivot from this glorious doxology back to the hard reality facing the church in Ephesus. In verses 18 through 20, he returns to his charge concerning false teachers.
Earlier in chapter 1, Paul laid out Timothy’s assignment.
1 Timothy 1:3-4 (NASB)
As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than [furthering] the administration of God which is by faith.
Timothy was a younger, naturally more timid pastor facing a daunting assignment in a hostile city. Strange doctrines were creeping into the church, and Paul was calling Timothy to draw a plumb line and shepherd the flock with courage.
Paul had warned that this would happen. In 2 Timothy 4, he wrote that a time would come when people would not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears tickled, would accumulate teachers to suit their own passions and turn away from the truth to myths. Paul tells Timothy: That time is now, and we must deal with it.
1 Timothy 1:18-20 (NASB)
This command I entrust to you, Timothy, [my] son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme.
Paul uses the language of a command. This isn’t a casual suggestion; it is an urgent pastoral charge. Paul says, “Timothy, you have my full support. I have already begun dealing with these men, and now I am entrusting this charge to you. Fight the good fight for the non-negotiables of the gospel.”
Paul reminds Timothy of the prophecies previously made about him—referring to when the elders publicly laid hands on him and commissioned him for ministry. Paul is reminding him, “The elders saw God’s hand on your life, and they affirmed your calling. Remember that commissioning, Timothy. Stand firm and fight the good fight.”
We saw a picture of this just last week at The Well when we installed Michael Stane as a new elder. The current elders came up, laid hands on him, and said, “We know you, we’ve walked with you, we’ve examined your life, and we are publicly affirming God’s call on you.” Paul tells Timothy: remember your calling, stay sound theologically and morally, and fight the fights that actually matter.
Churches often get caught up in silly, divisive battles. In our teaching team meeting the other day, we were talking about the ridiculous things churches fight over. One pastor shared that he came from a church that literally split over the color of the carpet! We fight over whether there should be a wooden cross on the stage, or various secondary preferences, and we lose focus on the mission. Paul says, “Timothy, don’t get distracted by peripheral matters. Focus on what is paramount.”
Truth in Love vs. Shipwrecked Faith
In verse 19, Paul explains how Timothy is to fight: by “holding faith and a good conscience.” You must hold fast to right doctrine, but you cannot be a jerk while doing it. First Timothy 1:5 tells us that the goal of our instruction is love. We must uphold truth in a manner that honors the Lord.
Paul warns that some have rejected a good conscience and suffered “shipwreck in regard to their faith.” A shipwreck is a vivid picture of catastrophic failure. Ships overpromise and underdeliver. You put your trust in a ship and its captain to navigate you safely from one shore to another. But if the captain veers off course, the ship wrecks—and it’s not just the captain who goes down, but every passenger and all the cargo on board.
False teaching works the exact same way. It overpromises, but because it abandons the North Star of God’s Word, it destroys the lives of those who follow it.
In verse 20, Paul names two men specifically: Hymenaeus and Alexander. It helps to understand three things about them:
- They claimed to be followers of Jesus. Paul isn’t addressing secular culture here; he is addressing professing believers inside the church.
- They rejected God’s Word and led others astray. In 2 Timothy 2:18, Paul says they “swerved from the truth.” Like an arrow that misses the target entirely, their teaching wasn’t even in the right zip code.
- They were wolves in sheep’s clothing. They were actively gathering disciples after themselves and spreading spiritual poison.
Why does Paul call out these two men by name? What were they teaching that was so destructive? We find the answer in 2 Timothy 2.
2 Timothy 2:16-18 (NASB)
But avoid worldly [and] empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, [men] who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some.
Hymenaeus was teaching that the resurrection had already taken place, spiritualizing away the future bodily resurrection of believers.
To Paul, tampering with the resurrection is a catastrophic error. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul makes it clear: if Christ was not physically raised from the dead, our faith is futile, we are still in our sins, and we are of all people most to be pitied. The physical resurrection is the definitive proof that Christ’s sacrifice for sin was accepted by the Father. If you compromise on the resurrection, the entire gospel collapses.
Paul says their false teaching was “upsetting the faith of some.” That phrase literally means to ruin or destroy. These men had shipwrecked their own faith and were dragging others down with them.
Paul compares their teaching to gangrene. If you contract gangrene in a limb, you don’t just put a bandage on it and hope for the best. Gangrene is necrotic tissue that spreads and kills the rest of the body. The only way to save the body is to surgically remove the infected part. Paul says false teaching on foundational gospel truths is spiritual gangrene. If it is left unaddressed, it will destroy the church.
Handed Over to Satan
This brings us back to 1 Timothy 1:20 and Paul’s severe action: “whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.”
We see this phrase used in 1 Corinthians 5, where a man in the church was living in open, unrepentant sexual immorality. Paul told the church to remove him from their fellowship. To be “handed over to Satan” means to be put out of the protection and community of the local church and placed back into the world—a realm under the influence of the enemy—so that the individual might experience the painful consequences of their sin, come to repentance, and be restored.
Paul had confronted Hymenaeus and Alexander. They refused to repent, refused to step down from teaching heresy, and insisted on leading others astray. So Paul drew a line in the sand to protect the flock and teach these men not to blaspheme.
Imagine if you discovered the absolute cure for cancer. The formula contains ten precise ingredients. If someone came along and said, “We only used nine of them and substituted the tenth with something random, but it’s 90% accurate,” what would you say? You would reject it completely, because that 10% error ruins the cure! You would guard that formula with your life because people’s lives depend on it.
That is how Paul views the gospel. We can have grace on secondary preferences, but when it comes to the core message of salvation—the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ—we must guard it with uncompromising fidelity.
Discerning the Essentials and Speaking in Love
How do we apply this today? Two thousand years later, we face the very same tensions. As believers, we must learn to discern between core gospel issues and peripheral matters.
I have plenty of strong opinions. In my flesh, my world is black and white: I think I’m always right and everyone else is usually wrong! I have opinions on politics, schooling, masks, vaccines, and a hundred other things. But those are not gospel issues. While our viewpoints should be informed by Scripture, secondary matters must never divide the body of Christ. We must be able to have charitable, sanctifying conversations, agree to disagree, and maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
To discern the difference, we must know the Word of God. Like the Bereans in Acts 17:11, we need to examine the Scriptures daily. Treasury agents don’t spend all their time studying counterfeit bills; they study genuine currency so thoroughly that when a fake passes through their hands, they instantly recognize it. When you know the Truth, you won’t be fooled by counterfeits.
Finally, we must hold truth and love together. Ephesians 4:15 calls us to speak the truth in love.
It is not enough simply to be right; we must also be loving. I need to hear this continually. By nature, I can be abrasive. Several years ago, I got into a theological disagreement with my brother. Biblically, I was 100% right. But I unloaded on him with both barrels, handled it like a jerk, and nearly destroyed our relationship because my words lacked love. He didn’t feel cared for; he just felt bludgeoned by my desire to be right. Paul reminds us: you cannot be a jerk for Jesus.
Pastor Rick Warren once noted that our culture has accepted two big lies:
- If you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear or hate them.
- If you love someone, you must agree with everything they believe or do.
Both are completely false. You do not have to compromise your convictions to be compassionate.
Like Paul in verse 17, let us stay perpetually amazed by the grace and mercy of God. The more we walk with Jesus, the more we recognize our ongoing need for Him, keeping us humble, gracious, and anchored in truth. May we be a people who guard the gospel, love others deeply, and point a broken world to the Savior.
Pastoral Prayer
Father, thank You for Your Word—even the hard and challenging passages. We are so grateful for Paul’s example: a man with a high view of Your holiness and an honest understanding of his own depravity, completely captivated by the glory of Jesus Christ.
Lord, help us to be men and women who hold fast to the inerrant, life-giving truth of Your Word. Give us wisdom to discern between essential gospel truths and peripheral matters. And grant us the grace to speak the truth with deep, Christlike love and humility. Guard our church, protect our doctrine, and let the beauty of Your gospel shine through us. We pray these things in the precious name of Jesus. Amen.