20.1 Key themes⤒🔗

• God has placed the church in the world, so that the church will proclaim , show, and defend the truth of the gospel.
• The twentieth mark of a mature  Christian is that he is respected by unbelievers. 
• Even our enemies must be able to see the marks of maturity in our lives. 
• We must be careful with how we live, 
  - so that we do not fall into disgrace and into Satan’s trap  (doing the will of Satan by bringing shame on Christ’s name). 
• The way out of Satan’s trap is through humility, confession, and repentance.
• Every mark of maturity begins here: I am a sinner. But Christ has saved me!

20.2 – 1 Timothy 3:6-7, 14-16←⤒🔗

^6. He must not be a recent convert or he may become arrogant and fall into the punishment that the devil will exact.

^7. And he must be well thought of by those outside the faith, so that he may not fall into disgrace and be caught by the devil’s trap.

…

^14. I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these instructions to you

^15. in case I am delayed, to let you know how people ought to conduct themselves in the household of God, because it is the church of the living God, the support and bulwark of the truth.

^16. And we all agree, our religion contains amazing revelation: He was revealed in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among Gentiles, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

© NET Bible

20.3 In the world←⤒🔗

We have finally come to the last mark of a mature Christian! With this mark we are reminded that the people of God have a calling in this world. Only a few verses later, Paul tells us what this calling is. He writes that the church is “the support and bulwark of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). In other words, God has placed the church in the world so that the church will proclaim, show, and defend the truth of the gospel.

This means that the church cannot keep itself separate from the world. Also, a Christian cannot say, “It does not matter what other people think of me. What I do is between me and God only.”

No, as Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:16, “let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven.” Paul also writes in Colossians 4:5, “Conduct yourselves with wisdom towards outsiders, making the most of the opportunities.”

Every day we have many opportunities to show the beauty of the gospel to the people around us. We must use these opportunities as well as we can. God has placed us in many different places in this world. He has done this so that, together, we will be the support and bulwark of the truth.

20.4 Respected by unbelievers←⤒🔗

Let us now look at 1 Timothy 3:7. That is where we find our last mark of maturity:

And he [an overseer must be well thought of by those outside the faith, so that he may not fall into disgrace and be caught by the devil’s trap.

A mature Christian is a Christian who is “well thought of by those outside the faith.” In other words, he is respected by the unbelievers who know him.

Does this mean that a mature Christian is liked and loved by everyone? No. Remember what Jesus said to his followers: “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things about you falsely on account of me” (Matthew 5:11).

As followers of Christ, we will have enemies in this world. There will be people who speak evil of us. But those evil things must not be true. Even our enemies must be able to see the marks of maturity in our lives: that we are above reproach, temperate, not drunkards, not lovers of money, and so on. It must be clear to them that we are living for Christ.

20.5 Be careful with how you live←⤒🔗

In the second part of 1 Timothy 3:7, Paul explains why an overseer (and every Christian) must be respected by unbelievers. The reason is “so that he may not fall into disgrace and be caught by the devil’s trap.”

To “fall into disgrace” means to come under reproach. You will remember that the first mark of maturity is that a person is above reproach (Lesson 1). When you are above reproach, people are not able to say bad things about you. But when you come under reproach, it means that people are saying bad things about you (things that are true!).

Here is an example: Zayn is a Christian. When the people at his work hear of this, they laugh and tease him. They ask him, “What will your pastor say when he finds out that you are so lazy at work?”

Zayn’s laziness is bringing him under reproach. But even worse, it is bringing shame on the name of Christ. When his work friends look at him, they are not clearly seeing the beauty of the gospel.

That is why Paul’s warning goes even further. At the end of the verse, he says that a Christian who falls into disgrace is “caught by the devil’s trap.”

Take the example of Zayn again. How might he respond to the people at work? He might become angry at their words. Or he might laugh with them. Or he might ignore them and say to himself, “My pastor will never find out about my life at work!”

If Zayn does any of these things, he will be “caught by the devil’s trap.” In other words, he will be doing the will of Satan (2 Timothy 2:26).

What is the will of Satan? He wants God’s people to live “double lives” (one life at church and another life in the world). He wants to bring shame on the church and on Christ’s name. He wants the gospel to stay hidden from unbelievers.

So let us be careful of Satan’s plans! At all times let us be careful with how we live. As Paul writes in Ephesians 5:15-16, “consider carefully how you live—not as unwise but as wise, taking advantage of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”

20.6 Out of the trap!←⤒🔗

When we do the will of Satan, we have fallen into his trap. But there is a way out of the trap. That way is through humility, confession, and repentance.

Zayn thinks for a moment. Then he tells the people who are teasing him, “You are right. I am not living like a Christian by being so lazy. I am going to ask God to forgive and help me. I also ask for your forgiveness.”

By God’s grace, Zayn’s sin has turned into an opportunity. His work friends can now see the change that Christ is making in his life. He has shown them the beauty of the gospel.

Zayn has also shown his friends that the gospel is for everyone. The gospel says that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—and I am the worst of them!” (1 Timothy 1:15).

Let us always remember that. Every mark of maturity begins here: “I am a sinner. But Christ has saved me!” As the final words of our passage reminds us:

He was revealed in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among Gentiles, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. 1 Timothy 3:16