The Quick and the Dead, 2 Timothy 4:1-5

I’ve titled today’s message the quick and the dead. That phrase is found in vs 1 of our text in the KJV.  That title does not really describe the major content of my message, but I thought it sounded cool, so I decided to make it my title.  If it sounds like the title to a western movie, it’s because it actually is.  It was used for at least two movies by that name. One was what is called a revisionist western, which had cast some sultry actress as the gunslinger.  I never bothered to watch that.  As someone who grew up watching westerns, I felt that it was something like sacrilege to have that actress play a gunslinger in a western.  The other movie called The Quick and the Dead was based on a Louis L’amour novel, and he did have a realistic knowledge of how it was in the Old West. And they had Sam Elliot play the lead in that.  He at least looked and sounded like a cowboy.

Of course, in a western movie you would think that the word “quick” was a reference to how fast they could draw a pistol.  But the origin of the phrase “the quick and the dead” is actually from the King James Version of the Bible and as I said it is found in our text today, in vs 1. Modern versions interpret it as the living and the dead.  And that is more accurate.  That phrase is used several times in scripture, and also in the Apostle’s Creed.

But that phrase, while it makes for a cool title, is really only a side note of this final message of Paul to Timothy. The context of this message really starts in chapter 3 vs 1, where Paul says, “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.”  I said previously that the last days speaks of the church age, which started with the first appearing of Jesus Christ and continues until His second appearing.  And during this age, Paul said, there will be perilous seasons, actually becoming more perilous and more frequent as the age comes to a close.  We are living in the last age, and I believe the church is in yet another perilous season.

Paul says that the danger to the church was there would be seasons where apostasy would run rampant in the church, when false teachers would prevail in the pulpits of churches, when people would be duped by a form of religion but without the power of the Holy Spirit to change their hearts from being dead in their trespasses to being made alive in Christ.

Now last Sunday as we studied the last half of chapter 3, I said that Paul gave Timothy and by extension, gives us, a strategy for surviving these perilous seasons.  The first part of that strategy for surviving the perilous times which we covered last time, was the need for discipleship.  Being a disciple means abiding in sound doctrine.  Following the teaching and principles of the word of God as given by the apostles.  Paul says in chapter three vs 10, “Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, [and] sufferings.”  So being a disciple is to pattern your life after the example of Christ and the apostles.

And another aspect of discipleship that we talked about last week is the need to abide in the word of God.  Avoiding the perilous times, the traps of the enemy, will be accomplished by continuing your walk according to the word of God, which is able to train you for righteousness and equip you for every good work. Today we come to the next part of the strategy for surviving perilous times, and that requires submitting to the preaching of the word of God. And we find that laid out for us in chapter 4, starting in vs one.  We must remember that the chapter breaks are a man made effort to categorize the scriptures so that we might refer more easily to them.  But when Paul wrote this letter, he did not make a break in his argument.  There were no chapter breaks in the original text.  So he continues his argument in chapter 4.

That being said though, we do see a heavy emphasis given here to the necessity of preaching in chapter 4.  Paul gives a very solemn charge to Timothy to preach the word. Starting in vs 1 he says, “I solemnly charge [you] in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season [and] out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.”

Paul gives Timothy a solemn charge to preach the word.  I just don’t know how to say it any better.  I guess  the closest example is that it’s like a command from a superior officer, an order to do something that has serious, life or death consequences.  An officer in the army who gives a solemn order to a soldier to perform a most serious mission, even a very dangerous mission, which has serious consequences.  

Notice he gives this order in the presence of God and Christ Jesus.  The Father and Son are ultimately the authority for the command to Timothy. He will be acting on their orders, on their behalf. You know it’s a serious responsibility to preach the word of God.  We should not approach this responsibility with a cavalier attitude.  James said, “let not many of you become teachers brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment.” It’s a serious responsibility to preach the word of God, and it has serious consequences.  It is a matter of life and death.

And Paul adds that aspect of life and death by saying, ““I solemnly charge [you] in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead.”   As I mentioned earlier, in the KJV it reads “the quick and the dead.” I like that better.  But I think it needs to be explained.  Most commentators think that this phrase refers to those who are still living when the Lord comes back, and those that have died before His second coming.  Thus the living and the dead or the quick and the dead.

But I don’t interpret it that way at all. I think it refers to those who are spiritually alive and those that are spiritually dead.  We are all to be judged. Paul indicates that Timothy will be judged by Christ regarding how well he carried out his mission to preach the word.  I will be judged by that same standard.  2Cor. 5:10 says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” Everyone will be judged by what he has done in the body, whether good or bad.”  All  those that are spiritually alive and all those that are dead in their trespasses and sins will be judged when the Lord comes back. Everyone will face the judgment.

It is by His appearing and His Kingdom that the King will judge the earth and all the inhabitants of the earth, both those who are of His kingdom and those who have rejected His kingdom. The first time Jesus came to earth He came to establish HIs kingdom and offer salvation to those that would believe in Him and confess Him as their Lord. The second time He comes to consummate His kingdom and judge the people of the world. And those that He finds have been good stewards will be rewarded, but those who denied Him will be cast out into outer darkness.  

Jesus said in Matt. 25:31-33  "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;  and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.”

That judgement which will come upon the whole world is the reason that the charge Timothy is given is such a solemn, weighty command.  Because the preaching of the word is the primary means by which God has established that people will be given the wisdom that leads to salvation and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.  It is by the foolishness of preaching that men are saved, and by which those that are saved are trained in righteousness.  1Cor. 1:21 says, “For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not [come to] know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe.”

To preach, by the way, means to be a herald of the message that God has given to men.  It’s the proclamation of the gospel, the good news of salvation.  It is the exercise of what it means to be an ambassador.

And very important to note, Paul commands Timothy to preach the word.  Not Timothy’s word.  Not preach some form of spiritualism.  Not human psychology.  Not the social gospel. Not the prosperity gospel.  Not how to have your best life now.  Not how to win friends and influence people. Not what you think is a more current, relevant, socially acceptable, politically correct version of the gospel. And not preach something that is designed to make everyone feel all warm and fuzzy and loved and special and not hurt anyone’s feelings. But preach the word of God, the truth of God, the truth about sin, about hell, about the cross, about sacrifice, about atonement, about reconciliation, about justification, about sanctification, about glorification.  Preach all of the word, every word of God given to us in scripture.  

As we learned last week in chapter 3 vs 16, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

Now in our text today Paul goes on to say that truly preaching the word of God will have four essential components.  First, to “be ready in season and out of season.”  This idea behind the phrase translated “be ready” to preach isn’t really communicated very well by our translation.  Some versions say be instant, others be urgent, others be prepared.  The original Greek translation is primarily used for the idea “to come, or to stand, or to appear.”  So it’s a little hard to determine what it means exactly.  But I think the idea is that he was to be consistent, on point, at all times.  Not hot or cold.  Not fervent in preaching in good times and in perilous times lax in preaching.  But having an urgency that each opportunity to preach was of vital importance.

I have always personally applied that verse to my ministry, especially the in season and out of season part.  It’s difficult to have seasons such as we have in our church.  But remember, Paul was waring Timothy of the perilous seasons  which were to come.  Paul says be ready, be earnest, be prepared, be urgent in your preaching, both in the perilous seasons and in the more acceptable seasons.

The second essential component of preaching the word is to reprove.  Another possible translation might be to convict. Sin must be preached against so that the sinner repents. To not preach about sin is to take away the whole purpose of the cross, to nullify Jesus’ atonement.

Thirdly, preaching must include rebuke. In the process of reproving, there must be a reprimand. Actually, I think there is very little difference between reprove and rebuke.  I suppose you might say one emphasizes conviction, and the other emphasizes correction.  This is what you have done wrong, this is how you correct it.

And fourthly, preaching must include exhortation.  Exhortation is to encourage.  Not just showing sympathy, but motivating the person to make a change, to take action, to get up, to continue, to persevere.  Urging.  That’s really the difference between preaching and teaching.  Preaching is exhortation.  Emphatically urging. I guess that’s why preachers tend to yell. Or at least, that’s my excuse.

Then as a modifier to all the above elements of preaching, Paul adds, preach with great patience and instruction.  The preacher must be patient with the one hearing the message. Not patient as in “well, when you get around to it, eventually, you should do this.”  But the pastor should persevere, be deliberate, willing to put in the time, to wait for the Lord to give the increase to the seed which he plants. Instruction means teaching.  So preaching includes teaching. And his teaching should be characterized by great perseverance or endurance, which is perhaps the best idea behind patience.

Then in vs 3, Paul gives a reason why Timothy must be so diligent in preaching the word.  Because he says, “the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but [wanting] to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,  and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”

The perilous season will be a time when men will not listen to sound doctrine. Men will not tolerate the truth, or say that there is not absolute truth, and so give ear to false doctrines and myths. 

The different translations translate the phrase differently, “wanting to have their ears tickled.” Some say “having itching ears.”  Itching ears means you want to hear something that scratches that itch.  You want to hear something that suits your own desires.  You know it’s a strange irony in Christianity that a lot of people have an interest in church, or an interest in religious things, they seek out Bible studies, they hop from one church after another, trying to find one that tells them what they want to hear.  It’s like Paul said of certain idle women in the church in the last chapter, “always learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

Sometimes it’s taken me awhile to recognize a person who seems to have an interest in the Bible, in being taught the things of God, and I suppose that because they have been going to Bible studies or to other churches that it’s evidence of their sincere faith.  But it sometimes becomes evident later on that they really had no saving knowledge of the truth at all, but were merely searching for someone to scratch their itch, to validate their false belief.  So pursuing religious activities, or going to church is not a true measure of one’s desire to know the truth.  Paul says they don’t want to know the truth, they want to hear something to validate their false doctrine.

And so he says they accumulate to themselves these false teachers, these teachers that over emphasize some doctrines, yet overlook other aspects of scripture.  They are attracted to teachers who add human psychology and mysticism and spiritualism and all kinds of other isms to their message.  The bottom line is that people in these perilous times turn away from the truth, the pure milk of the word, and turn to false doctrines.  And that’s what is so perilous about these difficult seasons in the church age, it causes men to believe a lie, and as such remain dead in their sin.

Paul concludes this solemn charge to Timothy by saying in vs5 “But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”  Paul is making a sharp contrast between the false teachers that people accumulate and congregate around and listen to, and Timothy’s ministry.  I think he is indicating that Timothy must recognize that he is to take the less popular path.  The false teachers are very popular.  They have no problem gathering a crowd with their people pleasing doctrines. The truth is much less popular.  Timothy must accept that, and endure the  hardship that comes from preaching the truth, to not being popular.

You know, the prophets in the Old Testament were rarely popular.  Not even Moses was popular while he was living.  The people usually were antagonistic towards God’s prophets.  But the false prophets are popular.  Don’t judge a preachers’ message by the size of his congregation.  At least not by the standard that bigger is better.  That’s not how God measures, or how God will judge his ministry. God will judge a preacher by how faithful he was to God’s word.

Paul encourages Timothy to do the work of an evangelist. An evangelist is someone who preaches the gospel. It could be used as a title as well.  It was used as a title for some early preachers like Philip. But notice Paul is not saying Timothy is to be an evangelist, but to do the work of an evangelist. That simply means to be a gospel bringer.  To bring the gospel.  To bring it, in season and out of season, in good times, and in hard times.  Bring it. Don’t back down, don’t hesitate, don’t grow tired and discouraged and want to take a break for a while.  Stir up  the fire in you and bring the gospel to a world that is dying.  Bring the gospel to the quick and the dead. That’s the mission, that’s the command.  Fulfill your ministry.

What is your ministry, or better yet, what is your part in the ministry? Paul said in Eph 4:11-16 “And He gave some [as] apostles, and some [as] prophets, and some [as] evangelists, and some [as] pastors and teachers,  for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, (that’s you, that’s your ministry - the work of service) to the building up of the body of Christ;  until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.  As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;  but speaking the truth in love,(that is the work of an evangelist; speaking the truth of the gospel in love for those that are dying) we are to grow up in all [aspects] into Him who is the head, [even] Christ,  from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, (that speaks of each of you doing your part in proclaiming the good news) causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” 

So you have been commissioned to bring the gospel as well.  To do the work of an evangelist. To build up the body of Christ, that is to build up the church, to add to the church, to make disciples.  That is every Christian’s commission.  That’s your solemn charge.  It’s a matter of life and death.  I pray that you will heed the call, and fulfill your ministry, that you may be found a faithful servant when the Lord comes again to judge the quick and the dead.

Surviving Perilous Times, 2 Timothy 3:10-17

Last week we studied a rather grim message that Paul gave Timothy regarding the last days.  And as a reminder, the last days is a phrase that refers to the time period between Christ’s first appearing and His second coming.  It is sometimes called the church age, which is the age Timothy was living in, and which we are living in.  Obviously, we are living in the latter days of the last days, but we don’t know how much longer there is until Christ comes back.

But I say it was a grim message because Paul said there would be perilous seasons which would come in this church age.  I suggested it was kind of like hurricane season which comes every year, which sometimes can be extremely damaging and dangerous.  And Paul explains that the danger to the church was there would be seasons where apostasy would run rampant in the church, when false teachers would prevail in the pulpits of churches, when people would be duped by a form of religion but without the power of the Holy Spirit to change their hearts from being dead in their trespasses to being made alive in Christ.

These perilous seasons would be dangerous because there would be a powerful spirt of deception upon the church which would take people captive to damning theology. Instead of the gospel freeing them from the hold of sin, this false gospel would actually give them a false sense of security, deceiving them by means of false signs and wonders.  Paul gave an example of the sort of deception that would be fostered on the church by the example of Jannes and Jambres, the Egyptian magicians that were able to duplicate a lot of the miracles that Moses did, and their deception resulted in the damnation of the Egyptians.  Paul says similar deceptions of signs and wonders would be characteristic of the perilous times in the church.

He goes on to say in the passage we are looking at today, which is a continuation of his warning to Timothy, in vs 13 that “… evil men and impostors will proceed [from bad] to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” As the church age progresses, so will the intensity of these perilous times.  Evil men and imposters will proceed from bad to worse.  That means the deceptions will go from bad, which it was in Paul’s day, to worse, which I think it is in our day. An imposter is someone who pretends to be someone else.  The Bible says that the devil is an expert imposter, masquerading as an angel of light, when he is actually the prince of darkness. And he is the puppet master behind the false teachers that will proliferate as the church age comes to it’s consummation.

Now if Paul stopped there, then it would be a grim message indeed.  But Paul gives a counter strategy to the church so that they might survive the perilous times.  Not only will the true church survive, but they can even thrive in perilous times.  You know, the reality is that the church thrives in times of persecution.  When the church declines it is usually in a time of peace and prosperity. But when persecution arises, the church gets stronger. Tertullian, one of the early church fathers living around 200 AD is credited to have said, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” It is when the world is antagonistic towards the church that the battle lines are more clearly drawn, and the truth stands out more clearly than the deception, but when the world and the church lie down in the same bed then it produces adultery with the world and the apostasy that brings destruction.

But in this last section and continuing in the first part of the next chapter, Paul gives us a strategy for surviving the perilous times which come upon the church, and not just surviving, but thriving. But for the sake of brevity, I am not going to really expound much more than this chapter, and wait on the part found in chapter 4, which we will address next week, God willing.

The first principle of the strategy for surviving perilous times might be summarized by the idea of discipleship. The concept of becoming a disciple is something that seems to have fallen by the wayside in modern evangelicalism. But back in the beginning of the church, before even they were called by the name  “Christians”, the concept that Jesus taught was to become His disciple. What does it mean to become a disciple?  It means to be a follower of Christ, one who receives and believes the teaching of Christ, who patterns himself after the behavior and actions of Christ.  And by extension, it meant after Christ’s death and resurrection that one would follow an apostle, follow their teaching, their pattern of life.  

And so we find that principle of being a disciple given here by Paul as part of his strategy for surviving the perilous times.  He says in vs 10 “Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, [and] sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium [and] at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me!”

The significance of what he says is you followed me.  Timothy was a disciple of Paul. Timothy literally followed Paul in his missionary journeys as he planted churches in the Gentile regions. In the great commission in Matthew 28:19, Jesus says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.”  The mandate is to make disciples, followers of the apostle’s doctrine, followers of the apostle’s teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance persecutions and sufferings.

The life of discipleship is much more than simply profession of faith and then continuing to live as you always have lived but with the exception of an hour or so a week spent in church. Being a disciple is a new life, one that is characterized by service to the Lord, by obedience to the word, by a sacrificial love for others, and love for God.  It’s a life that perseveres  when it seems that there is not always evidence to support our faith. It’s a life that endures suffering for the sake of Christ, that endures persecution for the sake of the gospel.

It’s interesting to notice that Paul says Timothy followed his purpose.  What was the purpose of the apostle?  It was to carry the gospel to the Gentiles, to the people who had not heard the truth.  Paul’s purpose was to share the gospel, to win souls for the kingdom of heaven.  That’s the reason God left him on the earth after his conversion.  And that’s the reason we are left on the earth. Our purpose, our mission is to go make disciples of all the nations. Make disciples of our loved ones, our families, our friends, our neighbors, our community. That’s the purpose that God has for us that are saved.

It’s also important to notice that Timothy followed the apostles teaching.  Teaching is doctrine. And the doctrine taught by the apostles is the doctrine which the church is to hold fast to, to listen to, and to obey.   Paul refers to it as sound doctrine in his previous letter to Timothy.  He says in 1Tim. 4:6 “In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, [constantly] nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following.”  Part of discipleship is following sound doctrine.  There is a lot of deviant, deceitful doctrine that is being taught in the church today, which is a hallmark of the perilous times of the last days. We need to be like the Berean’s, who studied the word daily to see if the things being taught to them by Paul was correct.  Sound doctrine has it’s basis in the words of scripture. And we need to ask the Lord for discernment so that we can check the doctrine coming from our pulpits with the scripture, so that we may know the truth. But being under the teaching of sound doctrine is a vital part of discipleship. You cannot be a disciple and not be under the preaching of sound doctrine.

So being a disciple is a complete life of devotion to the Lord.  It’s living a life that is conformed to sound doctrine, that exhibits godly conduct, that fulfills the purpose which we have been given, that perseveres in faith, that has patience and love for others,  and which does not waver in persecution and suffering.  It’s not just a matter of making a profession of faith and then coming to church once in a blue moon.  But it’s a life that is patterned after Christ and the apostles. Walking in the footsteps of Jesus is discipleship.  When you are walking in the footsteps of Jesus in your day to day life, then you will be preserved from the perilous times which are coming upon the church in the last days.

The apostle Peter said in 1Peter 2:21 “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.” That’s our purpose, to follow in the steps of Christ, doing what He did, living as He lived, even to the point of suffering as He suffered for the sake of the gospel.  You might not be called upon to suffer on a cross, but you are told to take up your cross and follow Christ.  That means dying to self, dying to self gratification, and living for the Lord.

Paul says that suffering is a part of discipleship, in vs. 12 “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” That’s a sobering statement.  All who follow Christ, all who desire to live godly lives, will be persecuted.  Not maybe will be, but will be. Persecution may not always be physical, but it will come in attacks from the enemy, ridicule from the world, difficulty in the work environment and antagonism from your own family.  I will tell you something that wasn’t true 50 years ago.  And that is  that there are very few occupations that you can be involved in today in this culture that are not in some way or another hostile to Christianity. You’re probably going to have to make a decision in your job in some way, some day soon, where you will be forced to cave into the demands of the culture, or stand up for your convictions and your faith and bear the consequences of possibly being censured, or forced to take sensitivity training,  or even fired for your faith. But that day is already here for many careers and occupations.  The same is true for colleges and universities.  They are hostile to Christianity.  If you are a Christian in a secular college today you will either have to cave in to the pressure, or risk being ostracized and perhaps cancelled because of your faith. I hope that when that day comes, you will not waver in your faith.

So discipleship is the first way to survive in perilous times.  The second principle is to walk in the truth.  Paul speaks of walking in the truth as continuing.  To be a disciple, to be follower, means to continue to follow, to continue to walk in the truth.  He says in vs 14 “You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned [them,] and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

This continuing in the apostle’s doctrine is the emphasis that Paul is making as a strategy for survival. The life of the disciple is not start and stop, take a break for a while.  The life of a disciple is continuing to follow, continuing to fellowship, continuing to learn. The preaching of the word is one of the primary ways in which we learn the truth, and then we continue to apply ourselves to that truth.  Timothy knew that apostle intimately.  He knew that he could trust his word, trust his message as the truth of God. It was the same truth that his mother Lois and grandmother Eunice had taught him.  

You know the truth of God is self validating.  As you learn the truth, and apply the truth, it becomes more and more evident that it is the truth. When you first come to Christ and you are converted, the Bible is something which you have to believe by faith. There isn’t a lot of support from the world that the Bible is God’s word, that it is truth. But as you believe it by faith, and start to apply it to your life, the truth is manifested as being true in your life. That’s why Jesus said, “you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” The truth of God’s word is believed by faith, but it is validated in application.

I believe that if you are going to be a disciple, then you are going to want to be in a Bible preaching church every time the door is open.  You cannot walk in the truth, you will not continue in the truth, if you forsake the assembling of yourselves together.  The word of God is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path.  And when you start skipping church, skipping Bible study, you’re going to find that you are going to be wandering and straying from the path of following Jesus.  Your attendance to church is a like a spiritual thermometer that everyone can see.  When you are absent more than present, its evident that your love for God has grown cold.  When you are eager to hear the word, then its evident that your faith is hot.

Another important principle to notice here in this passage is one that parents should take note of.  And that is Timothy was taught the Bible from childhood. The word Paul uses which is translated childhood literally means infancy. The sacred writings is a reference to the Old Testament. That was all that they had available at that time, for the most part. But his mother and grandmother instilled the scriptures into him from infancy, and throughout his childhood.  The best insurance you have as a parent that your kids will turn out all right is to raise them in the church, and teach them the scriptures from a very young age.

I find it ironic that Christian parents seem to leave Christian education up to their child to decide if they want to participate.  They don’t leave it up to the child to see if he wants to go to school, or to decide what he wants to eat, or whether or not to wash up and brush his teeth. But yet they leave the most important aspect of life, a person’s spiritual health, up to the child to decide if they want to come to church or not.  No, start their education as an infant and continue with it until they reach the age where they no longer are under your roof.

Notice Paul said the scriptures were able to give Timothy the wisdom that lead to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  Faith is founded upon truth, it’s founded upon the scripture, it’s founded upon the promises of God. Faith is not a feeling, it’s not conjuring up some emotion, faith is not imagining something really hard and trying to visualize it.  Faith is believing what there may not seem to be any evidence for, but which you are convinced is true. And the word teaches that salvation is from the Lord Jesus Christ who died in your place, to take away your sins, and give you new life through Him.

So the other aspect of continuing in the truth is to walk according to the word of God.  Paul gives a tremendous statement about the authorship and authority and sufficiency of the scriptures that everyone should take the time to study and even memorize as the definitive statement about the scripture.

He says in vs 16 “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;  so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”  There are so many vital principles that are contained in this verse.  But first of all notice that he establishes the authority of scripture.  All scripture, both the Old and New Testaments, even though it was not all written at this time in history, all scripture, is inspired by God.

What does inspired mean? Literally, the word mean’s “God breathed.” That refers to the divine breath, the Spirit of God. The human authors were guided and directed by the Holy Spirit. I’m not going to try to take the time today to give an apologetic about the scriptures which we have in our Bibles.  That is a study that would take far more time than what we have today.  But I will emphasize what I said earlier, that the truth is self validating.  God’s word attests to it’s own authenticity. 

God used human authors to write the words that God breathed into their minds. The individuality of the human author is not override, but instead incorporates their own personality, their education, their style and language.  Peter spoke of inspiration this way in 2 Peter 1:21 “for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”  God spoke through men by the Holy Spirit. That’s inspiration. 

So all scripture is authored by the Holy Spirit, and it is authoritative because it is the word of God. God spoke as men were moved by the Holy Spirit.  It’s God’s word, thus it is truth, it is reliable, it is authoritative.  Jesus said in Matt. 4:4, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’”

And all scripture is profitable. It is profitable to the disciple who submits to it’s teaching.  The Bible is instructions from heaven to earth.  It’s God’s instructions and principles which are given to man so that he might know how to live and how to live more abundantly.  Timothy was able by the wisdom of the word to gain the knowledge of salvation.  And so are we. The scriptures are God’s will for mankind revealed.  It is the truth of God revealed to us so that we might walk in the light of God.

Paul says the scriptures are profitable for reproof.  I said the other night when we were studying the Psalms, that though David asked that God would not rebuke him, he undoubtedly needed to be rebuked. The word of God rebukes us when we need to be rebuked. It corrects us, corrects our thinking, aligns our minds with God’s minds, our attitudes with God’s attitudes, our desires with God’s desires.  To be reproofed is to be turned back from a false way.

And the word of God is profitable for training in righteousness.  Training is an integral part of discipleship. That’s why we walk in the steps of Jesus, so that we might be trained how to walk. And in the same way, the word of God teaches us how to walk, how to we are to conduct ourselves, how to be godly, how to be righteous.  When we read and study the word, it trains our minds which then trains our bodies. Psalm 119 says, “your word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

Finally, the word of God is sufficient.  Do you want to be a disciple?  Do you want to follow the example of Christ and the apostles?  The word of God is able to supply all that you need to know in order to be a disciple.  Paul says the word is sufficient so that the man of God is adequate, and equipped for every good work.  All the things we have been purposed to do, we are able to do as we walk according to the word of God. It’s able to strengthen our faith. It’s able to give us sufficient knowledge that we can share the gospel. It’s able to equip us with the tools we need to fight the good fight of faith in the midst of persecution and sufferings.  It’s sufficient for everything that we need. It’s like a manual for discipleship which covers every thing that we need. It’s sufficient to help us survive in the perilous times that come upon the church, when false teachers prevail and the world ridicules and the enemy attacks.  

When we read the gospels we see that Jesus Himself relied upon the scriptures, even quoting the scripture repeatedly to combat Satan’s attempts to tempt Him in the wilderness. The word of God was sufficient for Jesus, and it will be sufficient for us as we go through the perilous times of the last days which lie ahead. Paul gives us the certain hope that if we are disciples who continue in the sound doctrine and practice of our faith as exemplified by the apostles, as we walk according to the word of God,  we will not be overcome by the world, or by the perilous times ahead, but that we will prevail by the power of the Spirit and the word of God. 

Listen, the strategy for avoiding the pitfalls of the perilous times ahead is to draw near to God and He will draw near to you.  As we stay close to the Lord and follow Him, stay in the word and submit to it’s teaching, then you will be preserved from the deception and destruction that comes in the last days.

Perilous times, 2 Timothy 3:1-9

As a surfer, I look forward to hurricane season with a mixture of anticipation and anxiety.  Hurricane season can bring epic waves to the East Coast, which are for the most part much better than the normal summer fare.  But at the same time, those hurricanes are best enjoyed when they are hundreds of miles offshore.  When they get close to land, or make landfall, they can be extremely dangerous.  We are now in hurricane season, and the waves we have this morning are the result of Hurricane Earl which is churning away somewhere off the coast of Greenland this morning, after having moved up the US east coast over the last few days.

From a boating perspective, hurricane season is a perilous season. These powerful storms pose a serious threat to shipping and fishing vessels at sea.  The apostle Paul was no stranger to severe storms while at sea. He said in 2 Cor. 11:25 that he was shipwrecked three times.  One of those events we read about in Acts 27, where he and his shipmates were in the midst of a severe storm for 14 days and eventually had to abandon ship and swim ashore on an island. So Paul was very familiar with the season in which the storms were known to be severe on the sea.  So here in 2 Timothy 3, it’s very interesting to note that  Paul uses this expression of a perilous season in his letter to Timothy to describe what he calls the last days. 

Notice vs 1, “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.” That reads in the NASB a little more tame than how it was originally written.  More literally, he means “perilous seasons.”  It’s not the word “chronos” which indicates time, but “kairos” which indicates a season, a period of time.  So during the last days, there will be periods or seasons which are particularly perilous, or even extremely perilous.

But the real difficulty in this verse is the phrase “in the last days.” Many people suppose that is a reference to the time directly before the second coming of Christ.  But if you study the scriptures to see how this phrase is used in other places, it becomes clear that it cannot mean that. If that were so, it would be pointless for Paul to tell Timothy to avoid these people who characterized the perilous season of the last days, when the second coming has not yet come some 2000 years later.

There are many other references in scripture where this phrase is used, but the most significant one might be found in Acts 2:17, when Peter quotes from Joel 2:28, where God says, “‘AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS, THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND.” Peter goes on to say that this prophecy was being fulfilled in that day, on the day of Pentecost.  The best understanding then of the phrase the last days is to say that it is a time period that began at Christ’s first coming, and continues until His second coming.  It is called by some the church age.  And so as you consider the persecutions and afflictions of the church throughout the last 2000 years, it is evident that there have been perilous seasons which have come and gone.  But these perilous seasons will become worse and worse as time goes on, culminating in a severe climax of wickedness in the last hours before Christ’s return.

Certainly, Paul and Timothy were living in a perilous season.  They were experiencing persecutions and even executions for their faith. Paul would soon be martyred after writing this letter.  In another couple of dozen years, Timothy would be stoned to death for his faith.  I would suggest that we  that are in the church are entering into a perilous season as well in our lifetimes, and possibly becoming even worse in our children’s lifetimes.  When you look at the state of the world, t’s hard not to imagine that we are in the last hours of the last days, but it’s possible that our season will come and go and there may still be some time before Christ’s appearing.  We do not know the day or the hour.  But we know that perilous seasons will come as a result of ever increasing wickedness, until one day, God will say “Enough! It is time!”  And Christ will come in the clouds with millions of His angels in power and in glory to execute God’s wrath and judgment upon the world.

It is the people of the earth who are living during these grievous seasons who are the cause of all the grief.  Paul gives a long list of the characteristics of these sinful people.  I’m reminded in Psalm 5:5 which we studied last Wednesday evening, that the Psalmist David said, “God hates those who do iniquity.” And he gives a description of boastful, proud, lying, deceiving people as examples of those that God hates.  In Romans 1:28-31 there is another list which is very similar to the one here in 2 Timothy.  It says in Rom 1:28-32 “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,  being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; [they are] gossips,  slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,  without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful;  and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”

Now let’s read Paul’s list he gives here to Timothy and notice the similarities. Vs 2, “For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,  unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,  treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,  holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.”

Now I don’t want to get bogged down in defining all of those types of sinful behaviors. I think that this list can be summarized as “lovers of self,” “lovers of money,” and “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” They have no spiritual quotient at all in their lives. They don’t love God, nor love his people.  Though they may profess to do both, their actions betray them.  And about these sort of people, Paul says “avoid such men as these.” It’s not just males, but females, all people who embody such characteristics, we are told to avoid.  To turn away from. The point is, don’t fellowship with such people.  Don’t hang out with such people. Don’t try to be friends with such people. Because their actions will rub off on you. They will influence you to follow them into wickedness, just as Eve influenced Adam to follow her into sin.

What becomes more apparent though as Paul continues in this letter, is that these people he is describing are not necessarily pagans, but people in the church.  Particularly church leaders seem to be indicated here as a part of this group. The list we read in Romans was describing  people who had rejected God wholeheartedly, they didn’t even try to pretend to be Christians. But these people Paul describes, though they have many of the same characteristics of the pagans, are actually according to vs 5, claiming a form of godliness, or you might say, claiming a form of religion. They claim to be godly, to be Christian, to be a part of the church.

Now when we understand that he is talking about so called Christians in the church, and we are to avoid such men as these, then that is a very shocking statement.  Of course, we know that we are warned in scripture by the apostles and by Christ, that false teachers will come in to the church who are actually wolves in sheep’s clothing. We are warned that the false doctrines that they teach are actually the doctrines of demons.  We are warned that they will lead many people astray, and destroy the faith of many. But it’s still shocking to realize that they are in the church, masquerading as Christians, and we are told to avoid fellowship with such people.

Jesus gave a parable about the wheat and the tares, which I’m sure you are all familiar with.  There is a long time in the process of the planting and sowing and maturing of the wheat, when the tares look like the wheat.  Jesus said the devil comes in the darkness and sows tares amongst the wheat.  The only way to be sure which is which is to wait for the harvest, when the fruit will make it known which are tares and which are wheat. That’s a picture of the church, tares are sown amongst the wheat.  And the fruit which shows the difference is either their righteous behavior or their wicked behavior.  That’s why Paul gives us this list of the behavior of these people. Their actions show that they are not converted.  They may hold to a form of religion but their actions show that they are unregenerate.

Now those false teachers, Paul says, in particular take advantage of those in the church who are weak. Vs6 “For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses,  always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”  

A lot of people see some sort of male chauvinistic bent that they think Paul has against women in this statement. So it’s tempting to try to mitigate the effect of Paul’s words here which on the surface seem to be an indictment against women.  But actually, I don’t think that Paul was a male chauvinist at all. I think he writes by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  So either you are going to believe that the Holy Spirit is a male chauvinist, or you don’t believe that the scriptures are inspired. 

The best way to understand it, is to realize that in the church in Paul’s day, and in the church in our day, there were some women who are gullible, who were vulnerable to deceiving spirits, who are weighed down by sins that they have not repented of, nor have they been delivered from. And these false prophets, these wolves in sheep’s clothing have targeted these women.  It’s like the way a wolf works in the wild. They go after the weaker sheep, the straying sheep, the ones that have wandered from the herd. Those are the targets of the wolves in sheep’s clothing.

And I would suggest that Paul’s indictment is not so much against the women, even though they are burdened with sins.  His indictment is directed towards the false prophets who prey on these gullible women.  These women who are looking for spiritual validation without repentance are easy prey for these false prophets.  These women are not led by the Spirit, they are led by their impulses and they are taken captive by these false doctrines that promise spiritual validation, but actually produce more ungodliness and are held captive by the false doctrines.  As a result, Paul says these women are always learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Now that is not an indictment against all women.  There are women who are strong in the faith, who are knowledgeable of the scriptures.  In a previous passage, Paul praises Timothy’s mother and grandmother who raised Timothy in the scriptures and imparted to him the knowledge which leads to salvation.  So in the church are many women who live chaste and holy lives. Women that are examples to the younger women. But there are some weak women who are especially vulnerable to the false teachers. These women were home when their husbands were working, and the false teachers knowing they were vulnerable, preyed upon them and targeted them.

I think we see that happen today a lot of times by the use of television.  There are some people who mean well, who have good intentions perhaps, who go to some of these so called Christian television broadcasting stations, and they listen to false prophets who tell them what they want to hear. They tell them that they don’t need to repent of sin. I could name names this morning, but I don’t want to give these false prophets any more notoriety than they already have.  But I warn you that a lot of the characters who are televised on these Christian TV stations are wolves in sheep’s clothing, that come right into the homes of the unsuspecting and take them captive by deceit.  And of course, they try to take their money as well, to fund their lavish lifestyles and private planes and luxury homes.  A more primitive version of that was happening in Paul’s day.  But it’s still happening in our day and it’s perhaps more prevalent than we realize.

To further describe and warn against these false teachers in the church, Paul gives an historical illustration.  He says in vs8 “Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these [men] also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith.  But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all, just as Jannes's and Jambres's folly was also.”

The first question we must ask of course, is who is Jannes and Jambres? Well, this is the only place in scripture that they are mentioned by name.  But whoever they were they opposed Moses.  The answer is found in Jewish rabbinical tradition, which Paul and presumably Timothy were familiar with.  That tradition states that Jannes and Jambres were the magicians of special arts who were called up by Pharaoh to counter the miracles that Moses did. When Moses turned the staff into a snake, Jannes and Jambres turned their staffs into snakes.  Moses snake ate their snake, but still, they performed  mighty miracles by some power other than the power of God.  And they were able to duplicate to some degree most of the miracles that Moses did. 

Now that is a significant characteristic that Paul is pointing out about these false prophets. Some of them may possess miraculous powers.  I believe that a lot of the so called miracles that are being done today in the church at large are not true miracles at all.  I know of one such false prophet in particular who admitted that he studied and practiced hypnosis before he supposedly became a Christian. I think a lot of these faith healers are practicing something like that. They seem to always heal a disease that can’t really be quantified by actually seeing the problem.  Something a like a pain in someone’s back, or headaches or something that they are supposedly healed from, whereas the poor paralyzed guy in the wheelchair usually leaves the service still in the wheelchair. Those types of false prophets are just charlatans, snake handlers, what I call fake healers.

But what Paul indicates is that some false prophets do possess some spiritual powers.  But the spirit that they are of is not of God.  It’s demonic. I think there are some preachers or evangelists active today that may fit that category as well.  But most of them I think  are charlatans.  It’s mostly smoke and mirrors, the power of suggestion, perhaps hypnosis. But there are deceiving spirits in the church, and we are told in John to test the spirits. 1John 4:1 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”  That’s why we need the gift of discernment. To distinguish between truth and error.  The point that should be clear though, is just because there is some seeming miracle, some power demonstrated in the church, that is not a reason to believe that they are of God. Don’t be deceived by demonstrations of some spiritual power into believing or accepting false teachers who actually oppose the truth.

Paul says, just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regards to the faith. The bottom line, that means these men are not saved.  They have a form of religion but they denied the power thereof. They have depraved minds, that means they are unconverted.  Oh, they seem to have a power, they claim it’s power from God, but their power is not from God, its’ demonic. Listen, demonic power is real. Demons can make a man superhumanly powerful.  Demons can cause physical things to do things that are unnatural. But greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.

What is important to take away from this is that we are warned that these demonically powered false prophets are in the church, taking captive people who are easily duped, who are gullible, who are living in sin and looking for an answer that doesn’t require repentance from sin. And we are told to avoid such people. To recognize that they are not teachers of the truth of the gospel, but are actually opposed to the truth.  And we must practice discernment to know the difference.

But though Jannes and Jambres at first were able to match Moses miracle for miracle, there came a point when their limit was reached and they were not able to duplicate Moses’ miracles.  At that point they had to reluctantly concede that what Moses had done was the power of God.  In the same way Paul says the false prophets of his day will fall short and be revealed for who they are.  We can assume that the same will be true today about the false prophets that we see on television and so forth.  One day their true nature will be revealed and they will be put to shame.  That revelation may come in their lifetime, and from time to time we hear about some famous televangelist who comes to public shame because their depravity becomes known.  But if not in their lifetime,  it will certainly come on the last day, at the judgment seat of Christ, when Jesus said "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’  (Matt. 7:22,23)

There is the message of great hope in the midst of this great deception that is perpetrated on the church — the spirit of the false prophet will not prevail against the truth of Jesus Christ. The spirit of the last days to deceive is not stronger than the power of Jesus to save. The tremendous truth is that we don’t have to be held captive by the spirit of the world; but by the truth of the gospel we can be set free from the captivity of sin and the condemnation of death and receive life from the Lord Jesus Christ.

An unashamed workman, 2 Timothy 2:14-26

In the previous section which we looked at last week, Paul said in his admonition to Timothy that he was to be like a strong warrior, that he should be unafraid of making the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of the gospel. As a warrior for the kingdom of God, he should not shrink back from affliction, persecution or even death, because of the eternal glory that awaited him.

Today in this next passage, Paul changes analogies, saying that Timothy needed to be a workman that was not ashamed. And he uses yet another analogy, he was to be a useful vessel as opposed to a worthless vessel.

Paul is writing to Timothy, who was a sort of assistant apostle to the apostle Paul, and Timothy was to teach these principles to the local pastors of Ephesus and the surrounding region.  But though it is written to pastors, it is by extension, given as well to the congregation. Because whatever standard the Lord sets for the pastor is given so that the pastor can be an example to the flock. Paul said to Timothy, “Be an example to the believers in word and conduct.” The apostle Paul said concerning himself that, “You are to follow me as I follow Christ.” So, when we talk about the standard that God has established for the pastor, we should understand that he should be the example for all the church to follow. 

In this passage, Paul talks about a workman that doesn’t need to be ashamed.  That’s in contrast to other church leaders such as Hymenaeus and Philetus who will be ashamed when they face the judgment.  And notice in verse 14 you see the word “useless.” And in verse 21 you see the word “useful.” There’s a contrast in this text about being useless or being useful as a good faithful workman, or one that is shameful. Anyone who serves the Lord Jesus Christ I think would desire to be useful, a workman that doesn’t need to be ashamed.

What does it mean to be useful? Verse 21 says, “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the master prepared for every good work. The word “vessel” is a household container.  It refers to a pot, or a cup, a serving dish, a serving bowl. The master of the house has certain vessels that are honorable. On the other hand, there are some other vessels. They are dishonorable. Verse 20 says, “In a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor.”

Paul is giving us a picture, I believe of the church. And the Master here, in this large house, which is the church, is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. And within the church there are contrasting vessels that serve the congregation. Some of them are honorable. They are made of precious metals; they’re clean; they’re useful for every purpose.  

There are others that would never be for proper food service, that are not for any clean usage. The honorable vessels are made of gold and silver. The dishonorable vessels are made of wood and earthenware, pottery. The contrast is deliberately extreme; the honorable vessels in the house were what you served the food on, and the dishonorable vessels are what you took the waste out in.

What does it mean to be a useful vessel? What is it to be a gold and silver serving dish, to serve people the bread of life? Well, if you go back to verse 21, it says there are three things that describe the useful vessel. First of all, it is sanctified. Secondly, the Master employs it for His good purposes. And thirdly, it is prepared for good works.

Now let’s go back to verse 20 and look at the analogy. A large house – this pictures the church. There are valuable, honorable vessels that are used to serve the food, but there are also the vessels which have become corrupted and are only good for common use. That this house is the church can be drawn from verse 19, where it says, “Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands.” Most all commentators think that phrase “the firm foundation of God” refers to the church. In 1 Tim.3:15 the church is called by Paul the pillar and foundation of the truth.

So, Paul gives here seven characteristics of an honorable vessel, or of an unashamed workman.  And this is what we should all desire to be; unashamed, a vessel for honor, which is useful to the Lord.  So seven characteristics are given here.  The first one will take longer to get through, but the rest will go pretty quickly.

Number one thing that is necessary to being an unashamed workman, or honorable vessel is  Biblical fidelity. Back in verse 14 we read this, “Remind them of these things” – things concerning the gospel of Jesus Christ – “and solemnly charge them in the presence of God.”

“Solemnly charge them in the presence of God” – that is to say you have an accountability to God; you are visible to God.  It should be a sobering thing to realize God is watching you. And what is the charge? In chapter 4 vs 2, he states that charge to pastors in a positive sense, to preach the word of God, the truth of God. Paul charges them in the negative sense here, “Not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers.” The word “ruin,” by the way, here is the Greek word katastrophē. It is catastrophic; it is devastating; it is destructive. 

What does it mean wrangling about words? To wrangle is to wrestle, it’s an argument on the strength of human wisdom, philosophy, human reason from the viewpoint of the world. The argument of the church which uses the reasoning of the world has an outcome which is always catastrophic.  In contrast to that, Paul says you should accurately handle the word of truth.

Verse 15 says, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” Forget about wrangling with words of human wisdom. Instead  accurately handle the Word of Truth. Paul says “Be diligent”  – spoudazō in the Greek – it means to give maximum effort. The  King James said, “Study to show yourself approved”.  That may not be the best translation, but I do think it is applicable  because if you’re going to handle accurately the word of God you must be careful to study the word.  To compare scripture with scripture.  To meditate on the word.  We are instructed in the scriptures to meditate on the word.   Paul said back in verse 7, “Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.”  Think on the word, meditate on it so that we interpret it and apply it correctly.

The idea presented here is not just to be a student, but to apply what you have learned and become expert in it.  It’s a picture of a master workman who has perfected his craft. “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who doesn’t need to be ashamed.”

Be diligent to perfect your workmanship. What is the work? It is accurately handling the Word of truth.For a pastor especially your craft is expounding the word of God.  It’s understanding correctly what the Holy Spirit is indicating in His word.  You know, the idea that some pastors seem to have is that they can improve upon the gospel.  Really, that must be what they think because they use the word hardly at all, or at the best, they use it as a springboard to go off down some rabbit trail of their own making. But the word of God is what is powerful.  The truth of God’s word is what is able to pierce the heart.

Heb 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”  To borrow a phrase from Shakespeare, man’s words are "much ado about nothing.”  But the word of God is able to convict, to cleanse, and to give the knowledge that leads to salvation.  And so the pastor should be diligent in his study and faithful in his use of the word of God if he is to be effective and be approved by God.

You know, my goal is not to win your approval with my witticisms and articulation and oratory skills.  I gave up trying to be an entertainer years ago, realizing that not only was it beyond my ability, but it was not a worthwhile goal.  My goal is to win the approval of the Lord God as a faithful messenger of what He has already said in His word.

And so Paul repeats that idea verse 16 again, because we need to hear it again. “But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it leads to further ungodliness, and that kind of talk spreads like gangrene.”  Worldly wisdom, twisting doctrine to be acceptable to the world, using philosophy to try to minister instead of the truth of God only leads to further ungodliness.  That kind of talk, that kind of sermon, doesn’t produce sanctification, it doesn’t produce more Christlikeness in the hearer, it produces more worldliness. Worldliness is the opposite of godliness.  If you preach the philosophy, the reasoning of the world, then don’t be surprised to find it produces more worldliness.  It cannot produce godliness.  You must teach the word of God if you expect the outcome to be godliness. If you teach the world’s doctrines, then ungodliness spreads like gangrene. In other words, it corrupts more and more until it destroys the whole body.

Paul then gives a human illustration of this type of worldly preaching, “Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus” – these were two pastors who had turned from faithfully preaching the word, and had developed a dialogue with the world, they bought into the lies of Satan. They went so far astray from the truth, that they were saying that the resurrection had already taken place, and they upset the faith of some. We’re not sure what that false doctrine entailed, but it was probably a spiritualization of the resurrection, no longer believing in a bodily resurrection.  The result though was catastrophic, it upset, or better overthrew, or destroyed the faith of some of the church.

This kind of false wisdom is the opposite of the true ministers of Christ. Because verse 19 says, “Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.” So the firm foundation is the church, and God knows those who are truly His church, because they abstain from wickedness.  This idea Paul is speaking of is borrowed from Numbers 16, which is about Korah’s rebellion and God’s judgment. Back in Numbers 16, judgment from God fell on those men who had rebelled against Moses’ leadership. And God’s judgment will again fall on those who rebel against His word. But God knows those who are true, faithful workmen. God knows His true and faithful ministers because they are faithful to the word, and it’s evident because they abstain from wickedness. Good behavior is always the product of good theology, but wickedness is the product of worldly philosophy masquerading as theology.

So, the call to be a vessel unto honor - useful to the Master, prepared for every good work, a workman that is unashamed - is then a call to biblical truth. And right alongside that, number two, it is a call to a pure fellowship. Verse 21 “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.”

The things he should cleanse himself from are the dishonorable things, the common things, the unholy things, the world’s philosophy, the carnal knowledge that spreads like gangrene and causes the faith of men and women to be destroyed. In the rebellion of Korah the Lord told the Israelites to separate themselves from the wicked lest they too be destroyed. Look back at vs 20, “Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor.” So there is pure fellowship which is honorable, godly, and useful for every good work.  And there is dishonorable fellowship, which is hallmarked by ungodliness and false doctrine. And they are both found in the church at large.

Jesus gave a parable about a mustard bush which is often misinterpreted, in my opinion. In Mat 13:31-32 it says Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field;  and this is smaller than all [other] seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR come and NEST IN ITS BRANCHES.”  

The problem with most interpretations is that they confuse two different sayings about mustard seeds. In one, Jesus compares faith to the size of a mustard seed.  But in this case, Jesus teaches that this mustard seed grows into something abnormal.  It should produce a bush, but it produces a tree which is bigger than all the other plants, so that the birds come and nest in it’s branches.  In a previous parable about the sower, Jesus likened the birds of the air to the devil and his angels.  So if we are to understand this correctly, it would seem that Jesus was saying the church universal was going to grow, but the growth was going to be abnormally large and would actually give refuge to the devil and his angels, which are the ministers of false doctrine.

I think that ties in with what Paul is saying here.  In a large house, God’s church, there are honorable and dishonorable vessels. The dishonorable vessels are those pastors, those teachers that have adulterated or even abandoned the truth of God’s word for the sake of the world’s acceptance and approval.  But they are not approved by God.  Some of you folks visiting here today are perhaps attending churches back home that have abandoned the truth of God’s word. The pastor is teaching an adulterated version of the gospel which has been sanctified by the culture of the world, rather than sanctified by the Word of God.  You do not know what spirit you are partaking of.  I would suggest that unless you want to become corrupted like them, and be cut off, then you get out of those churches, stop supporting those churches for the sake of fellowship with the world, and find a church where you can have pure fellowship in the truth.

The third thing Paul says is this, “If you want to be a useful vessel, if you want to be an honorable vessel, you must have not only a biblical fidelity and pure fellowship, but thirdly, a clean heart.  Verse 22, “Now flee from youthful lusts.” That’s the negative. The positive is, “Pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” 

Youthful lusts are not the sole property of the youth. Old people can have youthful lusts as well.  Older people are just people that haven’t learned lessons that they should have learned in their youth.  Lusts include all the things of this world that are in opposition to the truth of God.  The desire for physical gratification, or sexual gratification, or financial gratification that the devil tells you can be found outside of the bounds that God has established for them. God gave us sex, He gives man the ability to make money, He blesses the work of our hands, He gives us things which we can enjoy. But to lust is to want more than what God has given, and use ungodly means to get such things.

Paul says run from such things.  These lusts of the world are so destructive, we should run from them, the way Joseph ran from Potiphar’s wife. Don’t dare try to  have God and have the world as well. Run away from the lusts of the flesh and the lusts of the world. But there are things we should run to, and that is righteousness, faith, love and peace.  If we pursue those things, we will have a pure heart, a clean heart.

He says we should pursue righteousness.  That means doing right according to God’s standards. Righteousness means living in harmony with God’s Law, living in obedience to His Word.  The second thing we pursue is faith.  Faith is trusting that God’s way is best.  It’s being faithful to God. It’s being a faithful steward of what God has entrusted you with.  The third thing to pursue is love, a sacrificial love for others. 1 Cor. 13 says “Love is patient, love is kind [and] is not jealous; love does not brag [and] is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong [suffered,]  does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;  bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” That’s agape love.  Peace means that they have made peace with God and man. They are no longer rebellious, no longer enemies of God.

And notice what he says at the end of the verse, “With all those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”  That’s speaking of salvation.  To call upon the Lord is to call upon Him for forgiveness, for life, for mercy, for grace, for His Spirit. David called upon the Lord in Psalm 51: “Hide Your face from my sins And blot out all my iniquities.  Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.” Those who have called on Him pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace.

Number four, if you would be an unashamed workman, a vessel fit for the Master’s use, you must have a discerning mind. And here he comes right back to the same issue again, verse 23, “Refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels.”  Foolish and ignorant speculations is a description of the wisdom of the world.  

1Co 1:21, 25 says “For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not [come to] know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. ... 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”  The foolish and ignorant speculations of false teaching, and worldly wisdom cannot produce godliness or a pure heart, but it will produce quarreling, squabbling, an impure heart, a deceived mind. Discernment is a gift of the Holy Spirit.  That is the job of the Holy Spirit, to give us discernment to distinguish between truth and error. So we should pray for discernment that we may not be deceived as we study the word and fellowship in the church.

Number five, if you want to be a useful vessel, honorable, you must be characterized by a manner that is not combative or argumentative. Vs 24, ““The Lord’s bond servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged.”  Foolish and ignorant speculations produce quarrels, arguments, contention.  But the useful vessel, the unashamed workman must not be quarrelsome.  I don’t preach the word of God to try to cause dissension or an argument, or to try to pick a fight with people.  I preach the word of God to take fighting off the table.  I am not the one saying a certain thing is a sin, or that we should run from certain things, or avoid certain types of people.  If the Bible says it, then the Lord is saying it. Don’t shoot me, I’m just the messenger.  I’m going to say what God says.  I’m not making this up on my own.  If you don’t like the message, your complaint shouldn’t be with me, it’s with God.

Number six is a humble spirit. Vs 25 says “with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth.”  The Biblical definition of gentleness is not weakness, but meekness. Meekness is power under control. It was a word used in talking about training horses.  The tremendous power of the horse that is under the control of it’s rider is said to be gentled.  So it should be with us.  Our message should be under the control of the Lord and given in the spirit of humility. 

Humility is essential to have as you try to correct those that are in opposition to the truth. We don’t have some air of supereriority as if we earned our salvation through our piety or by our works.  We are sinners saved by grace, by God’s mercy.  That understanding is the basis for our humility in dealing with those who are not saved. But for the grace of God, there would I be. That’s an attitude of humility, having the heart of a servant,  being concerned for other’s needs.

And then finally, number seven, seems almost counterintuitive. if you want to be a vessel unto honor, you must have a confrontive will. If you go back to  verse 25, “With humility correcting those who are in opposition” – you’ve got to be willing to correct. Go over to chapter 4, verse 2, he says it again, “Reprove, rebuke, exhort.” First Timothy 3 says that the Word give by inspiration of God is profitable for instruction and correction.

Being humble, being gentle, being loving, doesn’t mean that you don’t tell the truth in regards to sin and rebellion against God. But rather we speak the truth in love.  If we didn’t love you, we wouldn’t tell you the truth about sin and the wrath of God against sin. But because we love you, we must tell you the truth.  But thank God the truth is an antidote to sin.  The truth of the gospel is that the righteousness that is required comes through faith in Christ Jesus as a gift of God to the person who recognizes their need of it, who recognizes that they are lost, they are a sinner without hope.  To that one who looks to Christ, God gives the gift of righteousness.

But it could also be applied to a believer who has fallen into some false doctrine, or some sin, and needs to be confronted with the truth so that by that truth he can come back to his senses, escape the snare of the Devil where he’s been held captive. But it doesn’t happen without confrontation.

By the way, verse 26, it says, “May come to their senses.” He uses a verb ananēphō which means to return from drunkenness, to sober up. It’s used only here in the New Testament. There’s all kinds of lies floating out around there, the lies of Satan filtered into Christianity by the dialogue that the church always wants to have with the culture. These false teachers numb the conscience, deceive the mind, paralyze the will, and cause some believers to fall  into a spiritual drunkenness from which they need to be delivered because it is a snare of the Devil. And the devil tries to hold them captive, as long as he can, and render them useless. So, we need to deliver them by a confrontive will. So we are to be compassionate, a loving, and humble, yes, but we don’t back off when it comes to truth. 

So you want to be an honorable vessel,  a workman that needs not to be ashamed, you want to be a useful servant to the Lord? Then you need Biblical fidelity, you need pure fellowship, a clean heart, a discerning mind, a gentle manner, a humble spirit, and a confrontive will. I pray that’s your desire and the desire of all who truly know the Lord and are called to His service.