Legacy pt4

Where is our focus?

That’s a real challenge these days because there are so many things we are told are ultimate. You can choose to give your life to so many causes, people, reasons, platforms…etc…

The list can go on ad infinitum.

Paul had this concern as well for Timothy and for the church. If you go back to the first part of chapter 2, and his metaphor of a soldier who is not involved in civilian affairs, you see that start to come through.

And as he continues, that concern remains.

Why are we so easily distracted?

Because, just as in Paul’s time, everything seems so important. So earth shattering. So vital. Times change, but man’s desire to have something to live for does not.

Blaise Pascal called it the “God shaped void.” A place everyone is trying to fill with something that matters.

Louie Giglio used to say that man was made to worship - it is literally our nature- but we have to choose carefully the object of our worship.

In our day and time, even in recent days, we have seen this confusion. We take the earthly and act like it is eternal and then ignore the eternal because it does not square with what has filled the void.

Church, in a confused world, we just do not have that option.

Turn with me t0 2 Timothy 2:14-19.

Verse 15 is the key here. We will get back to 14 in a moment, but we need to start with 15 to understand the fuller context.

1, 2 Timothy, Titus (1) Resistance of the False Teachers (2:14–19)

M. Dibelius and H. Conzelmann say, “The best medicine against the disease of ‘disputes about words’ is Timothy’s good conduct itself.”

There are 2 callings here and one way to fulfill them.

First, show yourself as one approved.

To be approved, means to be one who has been tested and found to be true. In other words, we are not faking the faith. This is not an act or something we are using to forward our own ambitions.

Second, one who is not ashamed. This means someone who is living out what they believe and not making a mockery of the faith by saying we believe one thing and doing another.

1, 2 Timothy, Titus (1) Resistance of the False Teachers (2:14–19)

The term “workman” is frequently used in reference to an agricultural laborer (e.g.,

And how do we demonstrate these qualities- we correctly handle the Word of Truth.

1, 2 Timothy, Titus (1) Resistance of the False Teachers (2:14–19)

Paul showed concern that Timothy would present the gospel without perverting or distorting it. He was not to be turned aside by disputes about words or mere empty prattle.

Church, this is a very serious issue in our time. We see it in several ways

Prooftexting

Misapplying

Twisting

This is not about making honest mistakes. Or growing up with one understanding and later discovering you were incorrect. That’s growth. Maturity.

What Paul is talking about here is malicious.

Verses 14 and 16 give some examples.

Verse 14 is about twisting. Basically taking scripture and trying to make it say something it cannot. (the definition of is is)

1, 2 Timothy, Titus (1) Resistance of the False Teachers (2:14–19)

This wrong emphasis can lead to aimless word splitting. “In the end disputing about words seeks not the victory of truth but the victory of the speaker.” This word splitting involved useless verbal quibbling, but it did not focus on the aims of Christianity.

Paul says it “ruins the hearers.” Why? Because it teaches them something false about God that leads to them away from being able to be vs 15.

1, 2 Timothy, Titus (1) Resistance of the False Teachers (2:14–19)

The word for “ruins” (katastrophē) describes the tearing down of believers. It is the opposite of edification. Word splitting whets an appetite for argument rather than building commitment to the living God. In the heat of debate we must always ask ourselves if the subject is actually worth a fight and a searing disagreement.

Verse 16 is more about proofing or misapplying. Taking scripture and creating it into a slogan or claiming promises that are not ours to claim.

1, 2 Timothy, Titus (1) Resistance of the False Teachers (2:14–19)

Paul urged Timothy to make a positive contribution to the fight against false teaching. He was continually to keep away from “godless chatter.” The use of the present imperative for “avoid” suggests that Timothy had to remain continually alert to the threat of heresy. The term “godless” shows that the debates of the heretics had nothing to do with real godliness. The term “chatter” pictures the discussions of the heretics as aimless and empty

And the result of that kind of practice is in verse 17- like gangrene. An infection that spreads.

1, 2 Timothy, Titus (1) Resistance of the False Teachers (2:14–19)

the context and the pronoun “their” of v. 17 suggest that the false teachers themselves will develop in ungodliness. With a twist of irony Paul stated that the heretics would indeed advance but only in the direction of ungodliness

What happens when gangrene sets in? Amputation.

Something rotten has to be cut off.

1, 2 Timothy, Titus (1) Resistance of the False Teachers (2:14–19)

Just as gangrene progressively brought death to the human body, the sickening progress of the heretical teaching worked havoc with the body of Christ in Ephesus

We are seeing that in our day today. People making pronouncements about severing the body of Christ.

1, 2 Timothy, Titus (1) Resistance of the False Teachers (2:14–19)

The spread of their heresy furthered the spread of ungodliness. Their influence on other believers would be disastrous. The term “spread” is an idiom with the literal meaning of have pasture. Alford suggests that “pasture” is “the medical term for the consuming progress of mortifying disease

In the last two weeks how many of you have seen the following phrase

“If your pastor does not speak about ________ then you need to find a new church.”

That’s hot garbage. But you can see why it would be spoken, by people from a myriad of different positions all of which have NOTHING to do with Jesus.

That is the one unifying force Church. Jesus.

And hearing from Him. And obeying Him. And following Him. And one day being reunited with Him.

We have Someone to fill that God shaped void. We have Someone to worship who is worthy of that worship.

And we can’t waste our time on causes, people, or pursuits that seek to divert us from the One who has called us to rightly handle the word of truth.

And I want you to catch the last part of verse 17 into 18. These people are IN the church.

One of the controversies of Paul’s day was whether the final resurrection had already occurred. And these 2 jokers he calls BY NAME were straight deceiving people! Literally causing people to doubt their faith or the faith of others.

1, 2 Timothy, Titus (1) Resistance of the False Teachers (2:14–19)

In asserting that the resurrection had already occurred, the false teachers could deny both the past resurrection of Christ and the future resurrection of believers. They could depreciate the body and promote asceticism. Both emphases can lead to moral indifference. D. Guthrie says, “Christianity without a resurrection ceases to be a living faith.” For Paul the resurrection hope was foundational in Christianity

(Talk about how that could happen then and how it happens now)

Church the faith of other people in Jesus is precious- the same as yours- what if your words caused someone to lose faith (talk about my careless words to Dave Miller)

Worse, what if your abuse of scripture or Jesus caused someone to not even consider the faith?

Careless words. Lazy use of scripture. Mistaking passion for Jesus for being passion for something else.

We have to be wise!

But let me tell you the good news. It goes back to what we said last week. God is unstoppable.

He is not going to be thwarted.

But He is also not going to play around.

Verse 19.

His foundation stands firm.

1, 2 Timothy, Titus (1) Resistance of the False Teachers (2:14–19)

The “foundation” may refer to the church as a whole, the genuine work of God in Ephesus, the deposit of faith, or it may be a general statement of truth without a definite reference. Paul’s description of the church as “the pillar and foundation of the truth” (

He knows who belongs to Him and He will not let them stay in their delusion and sin and cause damage to the Kingdom.

I can tell you from experience- expect correction when temporary things compete with the eternal.

And do not be surprised when things you have tried to replace Jesus with come up empty.

But do not be hesitant to repent and come home.