Making Sound Doctrine a Priority (2)

Introduction

I want to thank those responsible for the honor and privilege to speak at this conference today. The State of North Carolina has meant so much to me through the years. I was born and raised in the Apex and Cary area, and when I was in High School we moved to Kinston. It is there I met my high school sweetheart who later became my wife—Michelle and we’ve been married since 1992.

I went to college at Southeastern and managed to get a 4 year degree in 6 years. It is in NC that I pastored my first two churches...Reidsville and Plymouth.

Even though my family and I spent 22 years up north in the states of Michigan, Ohio, and PA.

The state of NC was among our top 3 giving states when we went to Erie to plant Flagship FWB Church.

When our daughter passed away in 2022 from a fentanyl overdose, many of our FWB friends from NC made the journey up to embrace us and hold us up during the darkest moments of our lives. It may surprise you to know we had more FWB’s from NC come all the way to Erie to help us during that time than our own family. I don’t know where I’d be today if it weren’t for so many of you in this room.

When God led us back to NC our local church and home state welcomed us with open arms.

And it was so many of you in this room that stepped up and help us minister to Western NC for months following Hurricane Helene...

I said all that to say I LOVE AND APPRECIATE NC FWB’S. You have touched and blessed our family more than you probably know, and I am eternally grateful for you.

I could go on and on about why I appreciate you, but that’s not why we are here. We are here to take a look at God’s Word and invite God’s Word to take a look at us. Today we want to talk about SOUND DOCTRINE and so I ask you to join me in 2 Timothy Chapter 1

Scripture Introduction

In this book we find the Apostle Paul, although imprisoned and awaiting execution, taking the time to prepare his young protege, Timothy, to not only continue serving the church, but also making sure that he (Timothy) has a FIRM grip on the baton of faith that he has received from his grandmother and mother.

Paul does not want Timothy to be swayed by the difficulties, persecutions, and temptations that are sure to come his way.

One of the temptations that Timothy would face, was the temptation to “water down” the message of the Gospel.

That’s still a temptation today.

There is RELENTLESS PRESSURE to EDIT the truth rather than PROCLAIM the truth...

to compromise the truth of Scripture so as not to offend people, or to make people feel more comfortable about their sinful lifestyle, or to make the truth about hell a little more palatable.

Proposition: While, there is a great temptation to take the truths of Scripture lightly, we MUST embrace Scripture as a treasured gift. When we embrace God's truth by faith, and intertwine Scripture into our daily life, we find it not only makes a difference in our lives, but also in the lives of those we touch!

This is what we see today in our text. Notice 2 Timothy 1:13-18

2 Timothy 1:13–18 KJV

Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us. This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain: But, when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me. The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.

Let’s begin our message today by focusing on verse 13 of this text. We find the importance of...

Receiving Sound Doctrine (v. 13)

Notice again 2 Timothy 1:13

2 Timothy 1:13 KJV

Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

Paul tells Timothy he must “hold fast the form (pattern) of sound words.” We will look at that momentarily, but notice where Timothy received those sound words from.

2 Timothy 1:5 KJV

When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.

Not only was Timothy greatly influenced by his mother and grandmother (Lois & Eunice) (praise God for the godly ladies that have influenced the generations coming behind them).

As we’ve already established Timothy was greatly influenced BY the Apostle Paul.

He reminds Timothy that he had received those “sound words” from him (which thou has heard of me).

If one is running a relay race, he cannot hold fast to the baton, until he/she has received the baton! The same is true with the SOUND WORDS that the Apostle Paul is referring to.

The idea of “hold fast” could mean “follow” or “hold on to.”

Elsewhere in 2 Timothy 1:3 the same word is translated “remember.”

Paul is challenging Timothy to take the lit torch of the Word of God, have a firm grasp on it, and pierce the darkness with it so it can be passed on to the next generation.

Paul is challenging Timothy to take the baton of the Word of God, keep a firm grasp on it, so he can pass it along to the next runner.

What is this torch? What is this baton? It is SOUND DOCTRINE! The word used for “sound” means “HEALTHY.”

One commentator said:

The gospel makes spiritually sick people whole in Christ. Just as I try to give my kids healthy food so they can grow, Timothy was to give God’s people healthy teaching so they can grow up in the faith.

It is VITALLY IMPORTANT for ALL of us to be on the RECEIVING END of Sound (HEALTHY) Doctrine before we can be on the GIVING END of Sound Doctrine.

While this may seem like a basic and simple concept, it is vitally important. We cannot give someone something we do not first of all possess for ourselves.

This is why PERSONAL Bible Study and FAITHFULLY putting yourself UNDER the influence of SOUND, HEALTHY DOCTRINE is so vitally important.

We MUST NEVER get away from preaching and teaching SOUND DOCTRINE. From the nursery, to Children’s Church, to Sunday School, to Youth Group, through our music...we teach and preach the Word of God.

May God help us not be be distracted and begin to:

teach and preach the headlines,

teach and preach a political platform,

teach and preach conspiracy theories,

teach and preach progressive ideology...

Sadly what Albert Mohler said in his book HE IS NOT SILENT is true:

The sacred desk has become an advice center, and the pew has become the therapist’s couch. Psychological and practical concerns have displaced theological exegesis...

We are to teach and preach the living, unalterable, unchanging, inspired, infallible WORD OF THE LIVING GOD because it is SOUND, HEALTHY DOCTRINE that God the Holy Spirit uses to transform lives BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT OUR CHILDREN, OUR GRANDCHILDREN, and OUR PEOPLE NEED TO RECEIVE!

We must DO SO with CLARITY and CONVICTION! We cannot give into the temptation to preach diluted messages that cater to cultural preferences. Someone said:

We must resist the urge to soften what God has spoken. Clarity is not cruelty—clarity is compassion.

We must RESIST compromise on clear doctrines of Scripture. Anchor your preaching, teaching, and ministry in Biblical truth not secular ideology or progressive theology.

Again I quote Mohler’s words from his book, He is Not Silent: Preaching in a Post-Modern World:

...the Christian preacher simply MUST confront the congregation with the Word of God. That confrontation will be at times awkward, challenging, and difficult. After all, this is the Word that pierces us like a sword. The...preacher must set his aim at letting the sword loose, neither hiding it nor dulling its edge.

(Illustration about couple living together in Erie)

You see it is the WORD of GOD that will get into YOUR soul, and YOUR mind, and YOUR heart, and YOUR life, and YOUR thinking that will not only transform YOU but will begin to transform YOUR life and YOUR family and the trajectory of YOUR future!

So before Timothy could do anything with sound doctrine he first of all had to RECEIVE it! The same is true for YOU!

Receiving sound doctrine is the first step. Once we RECEIVE SOUND DOCTRINE we must take the initiative to...

Guard Sound Doctrine (vv. 13-14)

Notice 2 Timothy 1:13-14 again

2 Timothy 1:13–14 KJV

Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.

How do we guard it?

1. We are to HOLD FAST

Dr. Stanley Outlaw says that the phrase “hold fast” could be rightly translated as “keep on holding fast.”

The idea of “holding” carries with it the idea of “keeping in a certain state or position.” In other words we are to RETAIN SOUND DOCTRINE.

Dr. Outlaw goes on to say:

Our efforts to retain the foundations of the gospel MUST continue until Christ’s return.

Why?

2 Timothy 4:3–4 KJV

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

In verse 14 of our text we have a similar word. The word is “KEEP.” The idea here is to “guard and to protect from loss or damage.” It is sometimes used of “protecting a palace from intruders and possessions from thieves.”

We must understand that false doctrine tries to work its way in subtly or like a “trojan horse.” We must be VIGILANT in protecting the PURITY OF THE GOSPEL.

We must also be DISCERNING.

Charles Spurgeon: “Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.”

We need to DISCIPLE THOSE WHO ARE FOLLOWING US to do the same.

2. We are to Hold Fast to SOUND DOCTRINE

Not only are we to HOLD or RETAIN SOUND DOCTRINE, but he gets a little more specific about what he means by that. He uses the word “form” (pattern) in verse 13.

Some of you remember what a “pattern” is. I remember hearing my mom talk about buying a “new pattern.” I knew that meant she was going to buy a “pattern” from the store and use it to make an article of clothing.

The word “pattern” means “a prototype, or example…a representative form to be imitated.”

We do not need a NEW PROTOTYPE!

Please understand this…THE GOSPEL DOES NOT NEED TO BE UPDATED IT NEEDS TO BE EMBRACED AND PROCLAIMED!

HOW we present the Gospel may change, but the GOSPEL does not change!

WHERE we proclaim the Gospel may change, but the GOSPEL does not change.

While the pattern does not need to be changed it needs to be REPRODUCIBLE! We are to give our people the FRAMEWORK that they can follow and there is no greater foundation and framework than the Word of God.

3. Hold Fast to Sound Doctrine with the Right Spirit

(see again v. 13) How are we to do this? We are to do it through “faith and love which are in Christ Jesus” and “by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us”

Once again I quote Dr. Stanley Outlaw:

We must hold fast to the form of sound doctrine with a strong faith in God and demonstrated love for our fellow man. A Christian must be known to be both godly and KIND.

God has not called us to be “jerks for Jesus.” I used to be in the “jerks for Jesus” club to try to impress and score points with other preachers.

BUT WE ARE NOT COLD-HEARTED POLITICIANS WHO ARE TRYING TO SCORE POLITICAL POINTS!

We are called to HOLD FAITH THROUGH FAITH AND LOVE!

We are part of the FAMILY OF GOD! We are on the SAME TEAM! Someone said the Christian army is the only one that shoots its own wounded.

We MUST stand for righteousness and holiness, but we must do so with HUMILITY, AND COMPASSION and GRACE!

We have been called to follow the admonition of Ephesians 4:15 and “speak the truth in love.”

I’m reminded of what Warren Wiersbe said about this:

Truth without love is brutality, and love without truth is hypocrisy.

We must SPEAK the right thing, but we must also do it the right way!

We can’t do this without the Holy Spirit’s help! Without the help of the Holy Spirit I find myself to be a VERY UNBALANCED believer. I find myself leaning one way or the other, but the Holy Spirit will enable us to be LIKE JESUS who was “FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH!”

As we come to the end of these verses and look at verses 15-18 it seems that the Apostle Paul makes a dramatic shift and begins talking about a whole new subject. However, in my opinion, and there are some Bible scholars who agree with me, I believe Paul proceeds to give some examples of those who held on to sound doctrine and those who did not!

Notice what he says in 2 Timothy 1:15-18

2 Timothy 1:15–18 KJV

This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain: But, when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me. The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.

We must also understand that we aren’t just to receive it, and hold it, and proclaim it, but we are also to LIVE IT!

Someone said, “Someone said this about Sound Doctrine: “First we KNOW it, then we HOLD it, and finally we SHOW it.”

Living Sound Doctrine (vv. 15-18)

There were several people in Asia that had “turned away” from the Apostle Paul. He mentions two men in particular: Phygelus and Hermogenes. The phrase “turned away” is the same word in Titus 1:14 in reference to those who turned away from the truth:

Titus 1:14 KJV

Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.

These two men were living proof of what Paul had just taught.

First, not everyone who starts well finishes well.

Second, When we do not have the RIGHT BELIEFS it will not result in the RIGHT ACTIONS! Wrong actions are ultimately the result of wrong beliefs.

Then in 2 Timothy 1:16 Paul mentions another individual by the name of Onesiphorus. His actions reflected his beliefs as well. Notice how he treated the Apostle. He didn’t turn away from him as the others did, but he was a “REFRESHING” believer!

The word “REFRESH” in this sense means to “GIVE NEW LIFE OR ENERGY TO.”

Our LEADERS, PASTORS, PASTOR’s WIVES, DEACONS, etc...need ENCOURAGEMENT!

May God help EACH of us to “be a faucet and not a drain!” May God help each of us to be a REFRESHMENT to those who drink from the fountain of our lives.

How did Onesiphorus give “new life and new energy” to Paul?

We know that unlike the others he WAS NOT ASHAMED of Paul or his imprisonment (v. 16).

Secondly, he intentionally looked for Paul once he got to Rome and continued to look for him until he found him (v. 17). HE SOUGHT ME OUT VERY DILIGENTLY—The way this is worded in the Greek language indicates that it was a very PROLONGED SEARCH for Paul. He went OUT OF HIS WAY to find Paul and to be a blessing to him!

If YOU and I are going to be refreshing believers to others, sometimes it will mean we are INCONVENIENCED for the sake of others! However, over and over again, I have found when I go out of my way to be a blessing to someone, I am the one who is BLESSED!

Once Onesiphorus found Paul he MINISTERED to him. He attended to the wants and needs of Paul. He wasn’t really thinking about himself, and he certainly wasn’t ashamed of the Gospel or of Paul, but rather because of WHAT he believed about the Gospel and what he believed about Paul he went out of his way to minister to him!

When Michelle and I walked through the darkest valley of our lives it wasn’t polished quotes or trendy slogans that got us through and continues to get us through. It was men and women like ONESIPHORUS. That’s who God used to REFRESH our souls...AND THAT’S WHO WE NEED TO BE FOR THE GENERATION FOLLOWING IN OUR FOOTSTEPS.

They don’t need to see us being “jerks for Jesus”

They don’t need to know where we stand politically more than where we stand Biblically

They don’t need our pride, but our humility

They don’t need to think we have all the answers in our polished little packages...they just need to see SOUND DOCTRINE being LIVED out by REAL, GENUINE servants of a HOLY and RIGHTEOUS God.

CONCLUSION

In a world where the temptation to take Scripture lightly grows stronger every day, we — as ministry leaders — must be the ones who treat God's Word as the treasured gift that it is.

We must be committed to receiving sound doctrine, humbly submitting ourselves to the authority of God's Word, not just once, but daily. If we think we have grown beyond the point of growing and maturing in our faith we are in a dangerous place.

We must be diligent in guarding sound doctrine, protecting the truth from compromise in our own hearts, our pulpits, and our churches.

And we must be intentional about living sound doctrine, letting the truths of Scripture shape our lives so completely that others see the transforming power of God's Word in us. We need Onesiphorus’ in our lives and we need to be an Onesiphorus for someone else! “Who is someone I know right now who’s in chains (emotionally, spiritually, physically)? How can I refresh them this week—with a visit, a call, a prayer, a gift, or just presence?”

When we embrace God's truth by faith — when we intertwine it into every part of our ministry and our daily lives — the impact will reach far beyond us. It will change our churches, our communities, and ultimately, our world for Christ.

So today, I challenge you: Treasure Scripture. Trust it. Teach it. Guard it. Live it. And watch what God will do through you!