The Church of Eleven22

No Other Gospel – 1 Timothy – Week 2

Date: January 13, 2025
Speaker: Pastor Joby Martin

Episode Overview

This episode, led by Pastor Joby Martin, centers on the Apostle Paul's instructions to Timothy in 1 Timothy, particularly the importance of holding fast to the true gospel, discerning false doctrine, and nurturing love at the heart of Christian faith and practice. Pastor Joby weaves practical application for The Church of Eleven22 and modern believers, urging the church not to lose their "first love" as happened at Ephesus, and to guard against the many ways the gospel can be twisted.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Discipleship: A Generational Calling

• Standing on the Shoulders of Faithful Generations:
  Joby opens by expressing gratitude for those who came before—pastors, volunteers, and parents who have shaped the church:

  “What we're doing as a church is not new. It's just our turn. Don't you realize that we right now stand on the shoulders of generations...who have come before us and faithfully preached the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ?” (00:30)

• Disciples Making Disciples:
  The chain from Paul to Timothy is a model: “Your job, if you're a Christ follower, is to make disciples that make disciples and make disciples.” (00:14)

2. The Context: Timothy’s Calling & the Early Church at Ephesus

• Background on Timothy and Ephesus:
  Timothy came from a difficult background, mentored by Paul and entrusted with immense responsibility despite his youth and insecurity.

• Ephesus as a Model Church…at First:
  Deep spiritual transformation in Ephesus affected even socioeconomics & culture:

  “Can you imagine if the word of God so deeply infected so many people in Jacksonville that the stadiums are empty until church lets out?” (06:17)

• Start with Strong Doctrine, Change the City:
  The early church saw worship, life-change, and socioeconomic impact, but received stern warnings:

  “The church doesn't typically do very well with success. You realize that success can make a church real lazy.” (11:05)

3. Paul’s Warning: The Danger of Twisted Doctrine

• The Enemy is a Twister:
  Joby makes clear that heresy isn’t always an outright lie, but often “twisted truth”—

  “They're going to speak twisted things. They're not just going to outright lie, but they're going to take truths and twist them. That's the work of the enemy.” (12:23)

• Primary vs. Secondary Issues:
  Paul warns against making secondary issues primary—genealogies, myths, etc.—which promote speculation instead of faith (13:56).

4. The Central Aim: Love Rooted in Truth

• Doctrine for Love’s Sake:

  “The aim of our charge is love.” (15:10)
  Correcting and guarding doctrine is not policing, but loving.

• Sincere Faith:
  The most loving thing is to share the correcting truth of scripture, not to let someone walk away from God unchallenged (15:30).

5. Modern Twisted Gospels & Their Dangers

• Pastor Joby outlines several prevalent modern false or twisted gospels, always pointing out the small truths that get spun into heresy:

  • Prosperity Gospel:
    God is not a vending machine; “The false gospel of the prosperity gospel is if you do X, Y, or Z, then God owes you prosperity...essentially, what that message teaches is that God is not first...I'm first.” (21:50)

  • Poverty Gospel:
    Conversely, holiness is not found in self-imposed lack.

  • Legalism:
    “There are more people in hell over legalism than alcoholism, and it's not even close.” (attrib. John Piper, 27:00)

  • Antinomianism (No-Law Gospel):
    “If you do whatever you want, by definition, Jesus is not your Lord. You are your Lord.” (29:27)

  • Universalism:
    “The problem with that is the Bible. You're just making up stuff....You have stripped God of being a just judge.” (31:18)

  • Hyper-Calvinism:
    “I can't tell a group of people God loves them because God only loves those that he elects. And I don't know who's elected, you dummy.” (33:10)

  • Self-help/DIY Gospel:
    “Your best life is not now. Unless you don't know Jesus.” (35:33)

  • Works-Based Righteousness:
    “Essentially when you teach a workspace righteousness, what you do is you look at Christ crucified on the cross and you say...‘Thanks for getting me almost into heaven and I got it from here.’” (38:45)

  • Easy Believism:
    Not just praying a prayer, but ongoing submission to Christ as Lord.

  • Tolerance over Truth & Identity-Centric Gospels:
    “The problem with every single one of these twisted messages is at the core of it, it's all about self.” (44:27)

6. The True Gospel, Clearly Stated

• God’s Love is Primary:
  “The beginning of the gospel does not begin with your sin. The beginning of the gospel begins with the reality that you were God's idea.” (47:35)

• Our Sin: Rebellion or Religion, Both Seek to Cover Ourselves.

• Only Christ’s Sacrifice Satisfies:

  “He goes to the cross not simply to die for you, but to die instead of you. He takes our place on the cross.” (50:49)

• Resurrection and Adoption:
  Life, death, resurrection, and promised return of Jesus—“This is the gospel.” (52:39)

7. Love at the Center: The Church at Ephesus’ Warning

• Revelation’s Critique:
  While the Ephesians had right doctrine and actions, they abandoned their first love (Rev 2:1-7).

  “You have abandoned the love you had at first. You missed the whole point.” (57:15)

• Remember, Repent, Repeat:

  “Remember, therefore, from where you have fallen, repent and do the works you did at first.” (1:02:10)

• Practical Application:

  • Remember the joy of salvation.
  • Repent—rewire your mind, turn from rote religion.
  • Repeat early acts—worship, honesty, sacrificial giving, living by God’s word.

8. What Did the Early Ephesians Do “At First”? (Acts 19 Recap, 1:09:30)

• Extolled the Name of Jesus—Corporate Worship
• Confessed Sins Openly in Community
• Destroyed Objects of Sin (Put Sin to Death)
• Gave Sacrificially
• Rooted Everything in God’s Word

“They worshiped like crazy. They came together and they didn't fake it. They didn't flirt with sin...They were sacrificial in their giving. And it was all rooted in God's word.” (1:12:52)

9. The Ultimate Call: Love God, Love People

• Summed up by Jesus and echoed by Paul and John (1 Cor 13, 1 John 4):

  “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God. And whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1:15:51)

• It all begins—and is sustained—by God’s prior love:
  “The only way you can love him is cause you gotta realize he first loved you.” (1:17:10)

10. How to Respond & Application for the Church

• Individually:

  • Worship fully—physically express surrender, praise, and need.
  • Get honest—no “unspoken” requests; bring darkness into light in safe Christian community.
  • Kill, not coddle, sin.
  • Give sacrificially as an act of love/worship.
  • Root life in God’s word.

• As a Church/Community:
  “We could sponsor the most kids, we could have the most baptisms, we could be the fastest growing church in the world. But if we don’t love God, we missed the whole point.” (1:01:37)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Generational Mission:

  “Students that I discipled when I was a youth pastor are now discipling my children. And so to every one of you...thank you, thank you, thank you.” (03:01)

• On Enculturated Sin:

  “Right in the middle of Ephesus, there was this temple to Artemis. And it is dirty, real dirty. Like Google some stuff there, but you better put your safe shirts on, you know what I’m saying?” (07:13)

• On Love and Doctrine:

  “The aim of our charge is love. So the most loving thing that you can do is to correct the church with truth.” (15:27)

• On the Danger of “Swerving”:

  “For every mile of road, there’s two miles of ditch. And so Paul is telling Timothy, man, keep this thing down the middle. What's right down the fairway is the gospel of Jesus Christ.” (17:40)

• On Legalism vs. Alcohol:

  “There are more people in hell over legalism than alcoholism. And it’s not even close.” (27:00, quoting John Piper)

• On Universalism:

  “You say, ‘Well, I would never send anybody to hell.’ That's cause you're a crooked and depraved egomaniac that just thinks what you feel is the most important thing in the world.” (32:20)

• On Worship:

  “Worship is war. If your heart has been growing cold for the Lord, try worshiping. ... It’s unbelievable when you put your body in the posture that you want your heart and mind to be towards God.” (1:10:38)

• On Sacrificial Giving:

  “Where your treasure is, your heart will be also. You want to Love God. Aim your resources at him and watch your affections and your love follow.” (1:13:39)

• On Gospel Motivation:

  “The only way you can love him is cause you gotta realize he first loved you. And the reason that we can love him back is because he first loved us.” (1:17:10)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:14 – Introduction to Discipleship’s generational vision
• 06:17 – Transformative power of the gospel in Ephesus
• 11:05 – Paul’s warning: The church’s struggle with success
• 13:56 – Dangers of minor issues becoming major doctrine
• 15:10 – The true “aim” is love
• 21:50 – 45:00 – Modern false gospels & their subtle twists
• 47:35 – The true gospel: God’s love and Christ’s sacrifice
• 57:15 – Revelation’s critique: Abandoning first love
• 1:02:10 – Remember, repent, repeat (“Three R’s” remedy)
• 1:09:30 – Acts 19: Ephesus’ early passion
• 1:10:38 – Worship as spiritual warfare
• 1:12:52 – Practices that rekindle spiritual love
• 1:15:51 – Letters of John: God is love & implications
• 1:17:10 – How the gospel alone enables love
• 1:20:00+ – Call to response: Worship, honesty, community, prayer

Conclusion: The Main Takeaway

Stay anchored in the gospel of Jesus Christ—a gospel rooted not only in doctrine, but in love. Resist every temptation to trade the real, transforming gospel for a lesser, self-centered, or twisted substitute. Guard doctrine so that the church may not just ‘do right’ and ‘think right,’ but love God and others deeply, truthfully, and authentically.

“If we don’t love God, we missed the whole point.” (1:01:37)