2 Timothy 3:10-15 - True Gospel Living
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction:
One of the most difficult things in the lives of believers is seeing a church leader that they have respected and learned from not practicing what he preached. This has been most clearly seen with the rise and fall of many celebrity pastors which has led to disillusionment of many people throughout the world.
Warren Wiersbe said this about the Apostle Paul in comparison to today’s celebrity pastors:
"Paul’s “manner of life” backed up his messages. He did not preach sacrifice and live in luxury. He gave to others far more than he received from them. He stood up for the truth even when it meant losing friends and, in the end, losing his life. Paul was a servant, not a celebrity.”
Warren Wiersbe
Not all of the disappointments that we face with church leadership come from celebrity pastors however. There are likely many stories that each of us could tell about church leaders and others that we looked up to that fell far short of what we expected. Whether it was infidelity to their marriage, infidelity to the Scriptures, or something else - these failures of church leaders can lead one to struggle at times.
Yet, we are called to continue living out the Gospel despite what is going on around us. Our faith must be rooted in something bigger than a person walking this earth. Instead, it should be based upon the Person of Jesus Christ Who is all-powerful and never fails.
However, we must not overcorrect as well. We must not refuse to follow any church leaders or respect anyone because of the failure of some. We must not cancel church altogether and thereby disobey God by not obeying Hebrews 10:25.
So how are we to navigate truly living out the Gospel in a world full of sin?
Today we are going to see Paul speak to Timothy about the importance of the Scriptures, about the importance of following godly leadership as measured by the Scriptures, and about the importance of standing firm despite the persecution that such holy living will bring.
Let’s dive into our Scripture for today.
Read Full Scripture:
10 You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. 12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
Prayer
Today we will see three things that followers of Christ are bound to see as they truly live out the Gospel. The first is…
I. Followers of Christ Will See the Gospel Proven (10-11)
I. Followers of Christ Will See the Gospel Proven (10-11)
You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness,
Now we come back to the beautiful relationship between Timothy and Paul. Timothy had ministered alongside Paul and had learned from him first hand. In this learning, Timothy had witnessed how Paul ministered for Christ. He had seen the Gospel lived out and proven true.
This is a great example of discipleship. Discipleship is more than just imparting knowledge. Although it certainly encompasses passing on the truth of God’s Word, discipleship also involves passing on one’s own convictions to another. The old adage that more is caught than taught is probably an overcorrection as teaching is extremely important as we will continue to see throughout this letter. However, teaching is devoid of any power if it is not practiced.
I was listening to an audiobook a while back that encouraged prayer. It talked about pastors wanting to have a praying church and setting up services so that prayer would occur. Yet, it was noted that these pastors often weren’t at the services themselves. The power of their teachings and admonitions were drowned out by their lack of commitment and practice.
Getting back to our Scripture we see that Paul is encouraging Timothy and not trying to flatter himself here. He is saying that Timothy has followed in these things. He has seen them and is walking in them as well. And he charges Timothy to continue walking in them. Note the personal nature of each of these as well. They are all preceded by the pronoun ‘my.’ These are personal values for Paul. They are a part of who he is.
So, what were some of these personal values that Paul encouraged and lived out?
1) My Teaching
This word can refer to doctrine as well. This reference is to the divinely inspired teachings that Timothy had heard taught by Paul throughout their missionary journeys. He had heard countless sermons from Paul. Timothy had even been present during the writing of many of Paul’s letters. Most theologians think that Timothy scribed for Paul in the writing of three of the Prison Epistles - Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. He also is mentioned as a co-sender in 1 and 2 Thessalonians as well as 2 Corinthians.
Understanding true doctrine is the foundation of the Christian life. We must know and hold fast to the truth of God’s Word.
However, as we have already mentioned earlier - it is not just enough to have correct doctrine you must also live in a holy way which brings us to number 2…
2) My Conduct
It isn’t enough to have right theology. Right theology with wrong living has no Gospel power.
Because of his correct conduct, Paul was able to say with confidence:
I urge you, then, be imitators of me.
He made similar statements in 1 Corinthians 11:1, 1 Thessalonians 1:6, and Philippians 3:17.
Can you make a statement like that to others? Can you look at your children, your friends, your spouse, or your neighbors and charge them to be imitators of you as you follow Christ?
That is quite a statement. This is not meant to make one boastful. None of us are good as we see in Romans 3. The only goodness we have is Christ in us. Yet, is our conduct holy and set apart? Is our conscience clear?
If someone was to confiscate your phone, computer, and other devices - would your conscience be clear? Could you rest knowing that what would be found would be consistent with godly conduct?
May we live our lives set apart. May we cast off anything that does not fall in line with living for Christ.
And as Paul asserts in the next statement - may He be our only aim in life…
3) My Aim in Life
Paul was singularly focused. His mission was for Christ and Him alone. His interests were not divided.
This phrase aim in life means purpose.
Many people ask what is the purpose of life.
The Shorter Westminster Catechism starts off with the following:
Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.
The chief end refers to the purpose of man. Paul made it his purpose, or aim in life, to glorify God and enjoy Him.
What is your purpose? What is your aim in life?
For many it is the pursuit of happiness. It is the pursuit of living a comfortable life. Yet, for those who wish to live a life worth living - a life worthy of the Gospel - our lives need to be set on glorifying God and walking with Him every step of the way.
4) My Faith
How are we to live our lives for Christ? We must walk by faith. Paul had placed his complete faith in Jesus Christ. And because of this he was born again and filled with the Holy Spirit. This led to Paul being able to remain faithful to Christ.
Galatians 5:22-23 includes faithfulness as one of the fruit of the Spirit.
If we wish to remain faithful, we must be firmly rooted in Christ.
5) My Patience
Continuing with the fruit of the Spirit, Paul mentions his patience.
As leaders in the early church, Paul and Timothy needed patience. The spread of the church took time and took much effort. There were times of blessing and times of trials. We will see the persecution that Paul underwent in a moment.
And to continue pushing forward and waiting on the Lord through all of these difficult times required patience. Borrowing from John MacArthur, godly patience is a patience that never gives up and never gives in.
How are you with patience? This is one of the hardest of the fruits of the Spirit. In a world of ‘I want it all and I want it now’ - or maybe better said - ‘I want it yesterday’ - it can be difficult to wait for the results. Yet, we must trust the Lord to work everything out in His timing as we walk in His ways.
6) My Love
Here we find the first of the fruit of the Spirit. This is the Greek word agape which means sacrificial love. This word is found some 71 times in Paul’s letters. It is actually found in every single one of his letters.
Love is the glue that holds the believer’s work together.
In 1 Corinthians 16:14 Paul states:
Let all that you do be done in love.
Note that every single thing that we do as believers should come from a heart of love. And this love that is poured out is from none other than Christ Jesus working in and through us.
Paul teaches on the importance of love in 1 Corinthians 13. Listen to the opening three verses of this beautiful chapter…
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
How important is love? These verses clearly articulate that love is of utmost importance in the life of a believer.
7) My Steadfastness
This word means endurance and perseverance. Perseverance is the mark of a true believer. True believers stand firm despite persecution. Whereas everything the believer does should be done from a heart of love, it should be maintained with a steel-like perseverance.
This perseverance, or steadfastness, is necessary because persecutions and trials are sure to come to the believer. Without such resolve, a false convert will quickly fall away.
Looking at the following verse, we see the persecutions that Paul experienced up close and personal…
my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me.
These qualities that Paul has just mentioned were proven legitimate because they persisted despite persecutions and sufferings. Paul endured great persecutions, but he confidently states that the Lord rescued him from them all. Jesus doesn’t lose any that are his (John 10:28).
He mentioned three different places where he suffered and was persecuted.
The first is at Antioch - Acts 13:14-52
After preaching the Gospel, the Jews of the city along with others stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of their district. We are not given all of the details of what this persecution entailed, but we are told that Paul and Barnabas shook off the dust from their feet and went to Iconium.
The second is at Iconium - Acts 13:51-14:5
We are told in Acts 14:1 that many Jews and Greeks believed in Iconium. But before they could celebrate, we are told that unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and others there and came up with a plan to mistreat them and to stone them and so they fled to Lystra.
The third is at Lystra - Acts 14:6-23
Paul had already made enemies in Antioch and then Iconium. Now he enters Lystra and starts preaching the Gospel yet again. However, after healing a crippled man, the people of Lystra start worshiping Paul and Barnabas. They tear their clothes and explain that they are servants of God and only men. In an unfathomable turn of events, Paul’s enemies - the Jews from Antioch and Iconium - come and persuade the crowds to turn on Paul. Before long they go from being worshiped to Paul being stoned and dragged out of the city. Supposing Paul to be dead, the attacking mob returns to the city.
Then comes one of the most amazing scenes in the Bible…
… they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.
Now that is steadfastness! That is perseverance! He gets stoned and left for dead. He then rises up and goes back into the city.
These godly values and this godly endurance and perseverance from persecution show the proven nature of the Gospel. The Gospel has the power to change even the most lost and wicked soul. The Apostle Paul was quite a rebel before Jesus saved him. I am sure we have all seen people miraculously changed by the Gospel. The Gospel continues to prove itself time and time again. In fact, I am sure that, if you are in Christ, you have seen the Gospel’s power proven in your own life as well!
Next we see that…
Scripture References: Hebrews 10:25, 1 Corinthians 4:16, 1 Corinthians 11:1, 1 Thessalonians 1:6, Philippians 3:17, Romans 3, Galatians 5:22-23, 1 Corinthians 16:14, 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, John 10:28, Acts 13:14-14:23
II. Followers of Christ Will See the Gospel Persevere (12-13)
II. Followers of Christ Will See the Gospel Persevere (12-13)
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
Paul gives quite a sobering message to young Timothy that applies to us today as well. Those who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
First off, we see the necessity of union with Christ in the middle of verse 12. We see the phrase ‘in Christ Jesus.’ The New Testament actually refers to our being united to Christ more than 200 times.
The old Puritan Jeremiah Burroughs once said:
“From Christ as from a fountain sanctification flows into the souls of the saints: their sanctification comes not so much from their struggling, and endeavors, and vows, and resolutions, as it comes flowing to them from their union with him.”
Jeremiah Burroughs
We can only persevere when we abide in Christ as seen in John 15 and Ephesians 5:29. We are fed and nourished from our Savior. This is the only way that we can live a godly life. We can only bear good fruit if we are firmly fixed upon Christ. He is the vine and we are the branches.
Yet, Paul makes it clear that living this godly life will bring inevitable trials and persecutions. He doesn’t say that all might be persecuted. He says that all will.
This persecution may come more subtly in our culture than in other more hostile cultures. It may be through being ignored, looked down upon, left out, made fun of, or disrespected. These persecutions can be the most difficult on young people who are struggling to fit in and are seeking to find their identity in this world. Although it can certainly be hard for adults, young people are the most vulnerable to such trials.
But when one finds his or her identity in Christ - as a son or daughter of the King - everything changes. Union with Christ changes everything.
Dane Ortlund offers encouraging words to us in his book Deeper that we studied earlier this year…
“Amid the storms of your little existence — the sins and sufferings, the failure and faltering, the waywardness and wandering — he is going to walk you right into heaven… Draw strength from your oneness with Jesus. You are no longer alone.”
Dane Ortlund
This is such a comforting thought after such a difficult teaching. Paul moves forward to tell of the terrors that we will see from our persecutors and false teachers…
while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
Instead of those seeking to live godly lives in Christ Jesus, we see that there is another group of people. This group of people is bent on rebellion. They are described as evil and impostors. We obviously understand the meaning of evil - meaning wicked. But impostors is an interesting word that follows. It is a translation of the word goēs (go-ace) which refers to a swindler, magician, or sorcerer.
Paul is likely using this word to refer back to Jannes and Jambres - the two magicians who sought to mimic the actions of God on behalf of Pharaoh as mentioned in 2 Timothy 3:8.
Paul is warning Timothy about false teachers again. False teachers and false converts seek to pervert the Word of God. They are impostors who try to act like they are of the truth. Yet they are of their father the devil.
These evil impostors are mentioned in 1 John 2:19:
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.
These evil impostors go from bad to worse - meaning they continue to progress in their evil. Interestingly, they not only deceive others - but they themselves are deceived.
Unfortunately, there are many in today’s church that are impostors. They look the part but they are far from God. They twist the words of the Scriptures for their own shameful gain. And over time, these charlatans become more and more bold. They start out just a little off base. But after a while, their teaching becomes more and more deceptive and evil.
Beware of such false teachers. If we want to live a godly life, we must remain united with Christ and His Word, and we must remain dedicated to learning from those who are teaching and preaching the Word of God faithfully.
Despite their evil ways, the Gospel will always persevere. There have been many times in the history of the Church that the Word of God has been twisted. Yet, it continues to spread despite whatever persecutions come. God always wins. Which brings us to our final point…
Scripture References: John 15, Ephesians 5:29, 2 Timothy 3:8, 1 John 2:19
III. Followers of Christ Will See the Gospel Persuade (14-15)
III. Followers of Christ Will See the Gospel Persuade (14-15)
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
After such a sober-minded message to Timothy, he offers this charge.
Continue - namely persevere, keep going. This implies that Timothy is already on the correct path. Paul is telling him to keep going. But what is Timothy to continue in? He is to continue in what he has learned and has firmly believed - namely the Gospel and the Word of God.
Why? Paul gives two reasons Timothy should continue. The first is personal. He is to remember from whom he had learned it.
The whom here in the original Greek is plural and likely has a few layers.
Verse 15 tells us that from childhood he had been taught the sacred writings. The whom here would have referred to his Jewish mother and grandmother. Eunice and Lois had quite an impact on young Timothy.
Next, Timothy is to remember both Paul and his witness and mentorship. Paul has already discussed the proof of the Gospel in his own life as he lived it out in front of Timothy.
And finally, he is also to remember the work of Christ in his life. The Holy Spirit has revealed the Word of God and has grown Timothy into the man of God that he had become.
Second, Timothy should continue in what he has learned and firmly believed because of the Holy Scriptures - namely the sacred writings listed here. Paul is clear that the Word of God includes both the Old Testament as well as the Word of God as revealed up unto that point in time including the Gospel message. Our next sermon will discuss this in even greater detail.
However, Timothy was to remain steadfast because of the truth of the Scriptures.
The Gospel continues to persuade lost persons.
Now there is an incredibly important teaching that can get missed here. The Scriptures are able to make one wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. But we must note an important distinction here.
The Scriptures do not automatically save everyone who reads them.
Many atheists and skeptics read the words of the Scriptures and leave unconvinced.
That is because salvation belongs to the Lord.
We are told in John 6:44 that…
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
We also see that the Scriptures are only understood by those to whom the Holy Spirit illuminates and reveals to them:
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
These are important points. The Bible is absolutely imperative to the Christian faith. However, one must see the Scriptures as they relate to Jesus Christ in order to understand the Gospel message clearly. One must believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who lived a sinless life, died on the cross, and rose from the dead - and by repenting and placing one’s faith in Christ alone one may be saved.
Only by the power of the Holy Spirit illuminating the words of the Scriptures as one is drawn to Christ by the Father may one to come to a true saving faith.
This is why prayer is so important as well. We need to not only share the Gospel with others, but we need to pray that God will draw them and soften their heart to the Gospel message. We cannot will or personally persuade anyone to become a believer. We must fully rely on the power of Christ through His Gospel to save lost souls.
Scripture References: John 6:44, 1 Corinthians 2:14
Conclusion:
As we come to a close, we have seen what it means to truly live out the Gospel. When we are living out the Gospel we will see it proven time and time again. The old saying that the proof is in the pudding is applicable here. True followers of Jesus will be marked by the fruit of the Spirit. Next we know that we will see the Gospel persevere. Despite false teachings and persecutions, those firmly rooted and abiding in Christ will remain steadfast. And finally, we will see the Gospel persuade and change lost souls when the Lord moves upon them to draw them to repentance and faith as we share the Good News with them.
May we remain confident in the Gospel, and may we continue spreading the Good News throughout our neighborhoods, workplaces, and beyond.
