Cutting it Straight
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
Have you ever tried to cut something for a project and you didn’t check your measurements? You know the old saying is “Measure twice, cut once.” For me, it’s probably better that I measure a couple of times or I will get myself in a mess. I was building a compost sifter the other day and I kid you not, I had to cut my cross boards for that sifter three different times because I didn’t measure it out right.
There was no harm, no foul with a compost sifter, but that is not always the case, especially when it comes to handling God’s Word. If you say, “Thus says the Lord, you better be sure the Lord really said it!
Tonight, we are going to look at what Paul had to tell Timothy about cutting it straight.
14 Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.
15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
16 But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness,
17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,
18 who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some.
19 But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”
Pray
It’s been a little while since we’ve been in 2 Timothy so we need to do a little catching up. This is Paul’s second letter to Timothy. He wrote the first letter to him to encourage Timothy to remain in Ephesus as the pastor of that church and continue to preach and set an example to the believers. He was to set things in order. Paul writes 2 Timothy as his last words to Timothy because he knows that he is going to be leaving this world soon as he awaited his execution at the hands of Nero.
The constant charge that Paul gives to Timothy in both letters is to keep watch over the teaching and don’t neglect to preach and read the word. God has ordained this method to bring about the conversion of the nations. It was critical to guard the message because people are always trying to twist and distort God’s Word.
In 2 Timothy 2:14-19 we have a verse that so many of us have learned by heart in verse 15. I remember my first study Bible had these words written in the beginning flyleaf. Timothy is still having to deal with some false teachers that Paul had already put out of the church and now Paul is once again encouraging Timothy to stay strong and guard the faith.
1. Remind them of What God Has Said (v.14)
1. Remind them of What God Has Said (v.14)
14 Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.
These things are all of the things that Paul has said up to this point in the letter.
Constant Reminding
We need constant reminding. People might think that when they come to church and hear a sermon, they are hearing the preacher preach the same sermon over and over again. Now, don’t get me wrong. There is enough in the Bible to preach on and stay fresh. My preaching professor, Dr. Jim Shaddix, used to say that boring preaching is a sin! I think he’s correct!
But at the same time, we are not reinventing the wheel here and need to be reminded of things over and over again. Sometimes we need to be reminded of even the most basic things again and again!
Don’t Quarrel Over Words
Paul tells Timothy not to quarrel about words. These were speculations that people were making. There are some difficult things to understand in the Bible and sometimes we are told things that are descriptive and we aren’t given an explanation. We have to simply believe what God says.
The Book of Enoch as an Example
We are not to quarrel over these things. Let me give you a “for instance.” The Bible says in Genesis that Enoch walked with God and he was no more because God took him. What does that mean? How did God take him? Well, we don’t know. I believe that he was raptured up to heaven and didn’t see death, but did you know that there is a whole book called the Book of Enoch that was written and it goes into explaining all sorts of things that are not anywhere else in the Bible? All of it is vain speculation and it has even ruined many a hearer who read it.
Stand Firm for the Things that Matter and Don’t Argue Over the Rest
Paul didn’t have a problem arguing with someone about something that was of upmost importance, like the gospel. But he taught Timothy that it was unprofitable to argue about things that the Bible doesn’t go into detail about.
Proverbs 14:7 says,
7 Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge.
And Jesus said in Matthew 7:6
6 “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.
Don’t waste your time arguing with a fool that won’t listen. And remember, we all who teach will have to give an account to God according to James 3:1
1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.
We need to now look at the second thing that Paul charged Timothy to do.
2. Study to Show Yourself Approved (v.15)
2. Study to Show Yourself Approved (v.15)
15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
Lazy Teachers
The problem with a lot of teachers today is that they are lazy and don’t want to put in the work to preach a sermon. They want the glory and the glamour of preaching and being recognized by everybody, but they don’t want to work hard.
To be sure, some preachers are nothing more than charlatans.
Master Craftsman
Paul uses the illustration of a master craftsman. Paul was a tentmaker and he uses the word for cutting it straight to describe how we are to prepare for our lessons or sermons we are teaching and preaching.
An artist or a craftsman is not ashamed to have someone inspect their work. Have you ever seen these art galleries where they have all of these paintings on display and people walk by and examine the paintings? Some of the paintings are pretty straight forward. Maybe it’s a scene of something or a person, place, or thing. Others are more abstract. You sit there and stare at it and wonder what it is.
I saw a painting like that at the orthodontists office and I’m still convinced the painting is hung upside down!
Anyways, the artist is often interested in seeing what you think of their work. Paul is using this idea of someone who has studied to the point that they are not ashamed of God inspecting their work.
Now let’s take the painting illustration and go a step further with it. Imagine that you are painting a replica of a Rembrandt and you have to show your painting to Rembrandt himself. Can you imagine the pressure!
Well, when we study God’s word and preach it to someone, we are presenting it first to the Lord who inspired and wrote it! God is inspecting our work to see if we really say what He intended.
Drawing a Following
What I have discovered is that people who want to make something of themselves and draw a following always try to find something in the text that no one has ever noticed before, if they even use the Bible.
I had a seminary professor once tell us that if we find something in a text that no one else has seen before in over 2,000 years of church history, we probably got it wrong!
Others will use the Bible or a word from a verse and springboard into a whole discussion about things that aren’t even really there.
3. Be Careful Not to Stray (vv.16-18)
3. Be Careful Not to Stray (vv.16-18)
This is what was happening to those in Ephesus. Hymenaeus is a guy that was previously mentioned in 1 Tim. 1:20
20 among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.
We see here that he was the ring leader behind this false teaching.
16 But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness,
17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,
18 who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some.
Their bad teaching was a cancer in the church.
Hymenaeus was Disciplined by Paul
Paul had to discipline these men and put them out of the church because they were teaching things that were disturbing the faith of whole households and leading many astray. It seems that Hymenaeus didn’t just go away, but he has not found him a replacement for Alexander in Philetus by the time 2 Timothy has been written.
False teachers always try to go after believers in the church and drag them away. They are happy to have a following of any kind, but they especially like to draw believers away from the truth if they can.
Denying the Resurrection
Their teaching is a poison that is concealed like a bacon-flavored medicine wrap for a dog! Remember that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Hymenaeus seems to have been teaching a form of heresy that Paul had addressed in 1 Cor. 15, where people were denying the reality of the resurrection.
People can sometimes get all wide-eyed and become almost like a conspiracy theorists when they hear of something that could possibly be twisted or misinterpreted to prove our crazy theories. Look no further than the recent Chinese “weather balloons.” We get that way when we see something we want to run with, especially if it something we think is new or that will give us license to sin.
Don’t Wander Off the Path
Believe it or not, there are no new heresies, only old ones recirculated. Paul warns Timothy not to stray from the Bible which is the truth. It is the rule and guide for what we teach. When we wander off the path, all kinds of doubts and fears can arise and we can do serious damage to people’s faith.
Doubting Castle in Pilgrim’s Progress
This is what happens when Pilgrim strays off the path to try to find a shortcut through a field in Pilgrim’s Progress. He ends up on the land of the Giant of Doubting Castle. He starts to question everything he’s believed while he is imprisoned in that castle. He even gets so low he considers taking his own life. The giant, who cannot take his life himself, encourages him to go through with it.
It is only when Christian refocuses from his doubt to despair that he is able to escape. He realizes he had the key to his cage, called “Promise,” that allows him to unlock the doors and escape with his friend Hopeful.
A Night of Prayer to Get You Back on Course
If you have believed the lies of the devil, spend a night in prayer like Christian and go back to God’s Word. The promises and answers lie there. You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.
4. Persevere as God Preserves (v.19)
4. Persevere as God Preserves (v.19)
Some of the people who heard these words were being misled into to believing that the body will not be resurrected. This was a common problem Paul had to address. It was a proto-gnostic teaching that basically allowed for them to live lives of sin since they were being taught that the body would be destroyed.
Jesus warned in Matthew 24:24 that false Christs and false Messiah’s would come and if possible lead even the elect astray. The only thing is that God prevents that from happening!
Paul encourages them to remember that God knows those who belong to Him.
19 But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”
A Firm Foundation
The firm foundation Paul is talking about is His Church, the elect. God has sealed his church and those who are his. He knows who really belongs and who doesn’t. Like Jesus parable of the wheat and the tares, God allows the weeds to remain for a time, but they should not be tolerated in the church if we know who they are and judgment awaits them one day. This is why Paul put Hymenaeus out of the church. It is also why he uses the description of gangrene to describe their teaching. False teaching spreads quickly and can infect everyone!
Seals and Buildings
It’s interesting because in ancient times people would inscribe on a door or the cornerstone of a building the names and purpose for which the building was built. We see this with the New Jerusalem in Rev. 21.
Often in the Bible we see God using the metaphor of a seal to mark those who belong to God. He knows if you are His or not because He saved you and redeemed you.
Korah’s Rebellion
This quote that the Lord knows those who are His is a reference to Numbers 16, where Korah rebels. He challenges Moses’ leadership and God separates out those that are His from those with the false teachers. The ground swallows up Korah and all of those with them and they are destroyed!
Persevere in the Faith
Paul encourages the believers to persevere in their faith and not be shaken by this wind of false doctrine. It was nothing more than the hot air of a false teacher. But he also reminds them that those whom God preserves will also persevere in living a holy life. They will depart from iniquity.
The proto-gnostic teaching that seems to have been spreading from Hymenaeus and associates taught that the body was material and they would either teach an ascetic lifestyle where they had to give up anything material and even give up marriage and eating certain foods, or it embraced a licentious lifestyle of doing whatever you wanted and gratifying the desires of the flesh. Both were wrong.
As believers we are to enjoy what God has given to us, but we are also to exercise self-control and holiness.
Conclusion
So how well are you at cutting it straight?
Often on social media, a new trending post will pop up that promises all sorts of things. Maybe it’s a new concoction you can drink to loose weight fast. Maybe it’s a secret that no one knows about. People have their “spidey senses” aroused and they quickly share it with others, never checking the facts.
We really do this out of pride. We want others to know that we know something that they don’t. News organizations want to be the first to break a story and they don’t check their facts first.
Just like we mentioned this morning with telling the truth and keeping our word, we need to understand that when we teach things that aren’t true and we don’t cut it straight, we will eventually be exposed. What will that do to people who are depending on you to give them the gospel?
There is a judgment that is one day coming. I hope and pray that when I stand before God on that day of judgment, He can say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” What will He say about you?