Endure, Keep, Stay Put

The words you heard from 2 Timothy this morning are not for you. Really, all of 2 Timothy is a conversation between Paul and Timothy. The words that Paul writes are not for you. They are for Timothy. Timothy was Paul’s protégé. As Paul traveled throughout the ancient world, he ran across a young Timothy whom he took up as a disciple and follower. Timothy traveled around with Paul and eventually was made a pastor. This letter then, is some of Paul’s last words to his friend, spiritual child, and brother in the ministry.

The words you heard from 2 Timothy this morning are not for you. Really, all of 2 Timothy is a conversation between Paul and Timothy. The words that Paul writes are not for you. They are for Timothy. Timothy was Paul’s protégé. As Paul traveled throughout the ancient world, he ran across a young Timothy whom he took up as a disciple and follower. Timothy traveled around with Paul and eventually was made a pastor. This letter then, is some of Paul’s last words to his friend, spiritual child, and brother in the ministry.

That’s not to say that you can’t learn from them. Paul is not just speaking to Timothy as a personal friend, but he’s speaking to Timothy as a fellow pastor. The words of command here apply not only to Timothy but to all pastors. Continue in what you’ve learned. Preach the word. Be ready. Reprove. Rebuke. Exhort. Be sober-minded. Endure suffering. Be an evangelist. Fulfill your ministry.

Paul is not just speaking to Timothy as a personal friend or as a Christian in general. He’s speaking to Timothy as a fellow pastor. The words of command here apply not only to Timothy but to pastors. Continue in what you’ve learned. Preach the word. Be ready. Reprove. Rebuke. Exhort. Be sober-minded. Endure suffering. Be an evangelist. Fulfill your ministry. There’s a reason this text often shows up at ordinations. It’s not a text for a congregation, it’s a text for pastors. These words are not for you.

But that’s not to say that you can’t learn anything from them. Because as much as these words are addressed to Timothy as a pastor, they have a bearing on you as members of the Church. As Paul is encouraging and preparing Timothy to be a pastor, to do the work God has called him to do, he describes a setting that was probably familiar in their day 1900 years ago and it still familiar today. “The time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Endure

Paul describes a very unhealthy church culture. It's a church that abandons the truth of Scripture for the lies of this world. By looking at what Paul warns Timothy about, we actually get a very good idea of what we should be doing as the church. The first thing is a simple one: endure sound teaching. It seems like a simple thing, but it’s phrased in a very odd way. Endure sound teaching. The way Paul puts it, it sounds like there will be a lot of sound teaching that people won’t like. Sound teaching is something you might have to endure, push your way through, and let it have its way. You won’t always like sound teaching. But you weren’t called to like it. You were called to endure it. Listen to it, learn from it, make it your own. But don’t ignore it. Don’t change it. Don’t give up on it.

Today, that advice from Paul is just as pertinent as ever. Endure sound teaching. It hurts some of us that the church’s sound teaching is that homosexual behavior is a sin. Endure it. It hurts some of us that the church’s sound teaching is that Jesus must reign supreme over all things, even over your political party and nationality. Endure it. It hurts some of us that the church’s sound teaching is that salvation is found in Jesus alone and that apart from Christ is eternal punishment. Endure it. Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean it’s not true. Endure sound teaching because it is sound teaching whether you like it or not.

Keep

That’s very hard to do in a culture that likes to gather up teachers who will tell people what they want to hear. These are people who “have itching ears” and refuse to hear anyone standing on God’s Word. Instead, they accumulate teachers to suit their own passions. If that’s not true at this point in history, here in America, I don’t know when or where it is. You can drive through Grand Rapids and find churches that tell you that sin isn’t really a problem, it’s your attitude or mindset that needs to change. You’ll find churches that say, “sure, the Bible’s good, and Jesus was a great guy, but as long as you love each other—whatever that means to you—you’re just fine.” Other churches will teach that it really doesn’t matter what religious tradition you belong to—as long as you’re in one and you believe it, we’ll all get to heaven. And that’s just within the Christian tradition, let alone the other religions and non-religions that abound around us.

If you want a teacher to tell you what you want to hear, you can find one. A quick Google search will get you there. In fact, once Google figures out what you believe, it will automatically start filtering out results that you wouldn’t like in order to surround you with what you want to hear. The same thing happens with Facebook and Amazon and just about every other retailer out there. They’re not in it for the truth; they’re in it to make money off of your contentedness.

If

Paul would tell you to flee from that kind of life. Don’t live in an echo chamber. Stick with teachers who will grow you, challenge you, stretch you, point you to the unchanging truth of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection for you. And once you’ve found that person, hold onto them. Don’t pick and choose teachers that give up the truth in order to suit your passions, but stand firm on God’s Word and listen to those who faithfully teach it to you.

Stay Put

Lastly, Paul warns Timothy that people “will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” So you, stay put. Listen to the truth. Do not wander off into myths. This one may be a little harder to understand. We get the first part, listen to the truth; that’s clear. But what about the second? What does it mean to wander off into myths? I’ll give you three general rules to help keep you from so-called “Christian” myths. There will be exceptions to all of these rules, but it’s pretty safe to start here.

Rule #1: If it’s on the History channel, it’s myth. I don’t know why it is, but somehow we think that a TV station with shows like “Ancient Aliens” “The Curse of Oak Island” and “The Unexplained with William Shatner” somehow, we think that this kind of TV channel will give us reliable truth about God’s Word. Beware. Don’t get caught up in these kinds of myths.

Rule #2: If you get a big glossy flyer in your mailbox promoting a Bible Study on the End Times, it’s myth. This is now the third or fourth time I’ve gotten one of these kinds of flyers in the mail, and I’m sure you’ve seen them too, either in your mailbox or on a big billboard along the highway. Most of these teachings rip the Bible out of context and wander off into cleverly devised myths. The people who teach these things may believe them strongly enough, but they are no more than myth. Beware. Don’t get caught up in these kinds of myths.

And Rule #3: If it’s an archaeological discovery that destroys a basic teaching of Christianity, full details in a book about to be released, yours for only $24.99, and just so happens to be announced a couple weeks before Christmas or Easter, it’s myth. Although, perhaps “myth” is too generous a word for this kind of drivel. “The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife” and “Jesus’ Family Tomb” are two that come to mind in recent memory. One a complete forgery, the other still marred in controversy. Beware. Don’t get caught up in these kinds of myths.

Conclusion

No, most of today’s text is not for you. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to learn. Especially as Paul describes what’s to come, it’s good and right to remember as a congregation that “the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” So you, endure sound teaching. Keep God’s Word and those who proclaim it to you. And stick with the truth of Jesus for you. Amen.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .