Be Courageous!

Back in 2013, we went on a holiday with Carl and Marj to B.C. and Oregon. One of the stops we made was a dam where we were able to see how they had made a fish ladder so that the salmon could still swim upstream to spawn. What is fascinating is that salmon leave the ocean when they are mature and swim upstream so as to lay their eggs and then they die. Swimming against the natural flow of water and jumping over rocks and ladders to spawn wears them completely out. They have no strength to return to the ocean.

In a similar way, the sinful nature of men, women and children is to naturally act in a sinful way. For a Christian, they now are swimming against the natural fallen world. They are constantly opposed by evil. They are running contrary to the ways of the world.

In order to do this, they need to rely completely on the grace of the Lord. Paul encourages Timothy of the Christian duty in following Jesus, to pick up our cross and follow the pattern established by the King of kings. What the Lord has endured to save us, we also endure out of gratitude. We are no longer of this world when we are saved. We swim against to flow of the world by the strength of the Almighty God.

So what does this look like in the every day life of the believer? They need to be courageous. So, let’s dive into the water and find out.

Point #1 - Courageously remove what is false.

If you remember from last week, Paul instructed Timothy to correct false teaching with gentleness and kindness so that they may repent if the Lord grants that to them.

Now in this section, he starts with “But understand this...” meaning that while he hopes these false teachers will repent, many will not. Understand that the sinful heart is wicked and deceitful. To correct someone’s error is gonna get you into hot water. The power of evil is beyond our comprehension. This is why God needs to give a new heart to see the snare of the devil and free us from that snare like you would a dog caught in a trap meant for what you are hunting.

Apart from grace, sinners are going to sin. This is our story. So if sinners are deceived and follow their master’s will, they are going to hate you just like they hated Jesus. To proclaim truth with the gospel, in the last days they are going to give you much difficulty in this world. The last days is everything from the resurrection of Jesus to his second coming.

Paul then lists the behaviours of sinners in (2-4) READ.

(5) should cause us to squirm a bit. There is going to be those in the church who profess faith in Jesus, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. The power is the Holy Spirit. These are unbelievers who think and profess that they are Christian, but they are not because God does not live in them. These are the white washed tombs. Look pretty on the outside but filled with dead man’s bones.

Paul instructs Timothy to avoid such people, meaning to remove them from their influential positions. This is not to mean that sinners and unbelievers cannot fellowship with us, but rather that we do not allow their opinions darkened by the flesh to make us compromise on truth.

For (6) among these professing believers are false teachers, they creep like snakes into households and capture weak women. Is he saying that women are weak and men are not? Not at all, but what he is saying is that where there is foolish women, being controlled by their passion, open to all kinds of intellectual myths, never willing to set their feet on the soundness of Scripture.

These imposters are spiritual predators taking advantage of those who are vulnerable.

Paul then uses extra-biblical resources to name Jannes and Jambres as examples of those who oppose truth. These were the magicians that copied the miracles of Moses but eventually it became evident they could not copy Moses and it became evident that they were imposters just like Satan.

So these false teachers will oppose correction, they are corrupted in mind, and thus disqualified to lead the church because they fail the test of who is to shepherd the flock. These are wolves in sheep clothing, so remove them, avoid them, give them no platform. They will not get very far, truth will someday reveal their error and wickedness.

Point #2 - Courageously follow me.

Here in these verses, Paul stands in direct contrast to these false teachers who devour the flock with a smile on their face.

You, in singular pointing to Timothy have followed me. The “my” statements in these verses is not putting himself of a pedestal but rather is pointing out the pattern that he lived for the gospel and Jesus is the pattern Timothy is to follow. This is the pattern that all pastor/elders are to follow.

The life Paul lived was in obedience to the King’s will. This included persecutions and suffering for the gospel. At Antioch the Jews persecuted him terribly, then at Iconium they were threatened with stoning so they moved onto Lystra where again they were opposed for the gospel and in fact Paul was captured, stoned and then dragged out of the city supposing that he was dead.

Yet, from all these persecutions, the Lord rescued him. This is not to mean that he was protected from pain, loneliness, hardship, prison or beaten to near death. No, he rescued Paul by preserving his life, healing him strengthening him with supernatural power to endure the hardships of swimming upstream against the world.

These Jews that opposed Paul and his message about Jesus were religious but did not have God’s Spirit in them. So we can see that through church history, the words false teachers have may make you think they are Christian, but if they are filled with the behaviours listed earlier, they are just the servants of Satan doing his bidding without even knowing who is pulling their strings.

Paul moves from Timothy singular to “all” in (12). All who desire to be godly will be persecuted. There is a belief that a person can be a Christian without being a disciple. That as long as one believes, repeats the sinner’s prayer or walks an aisle, that person is a believer. Even though their whole life is bearing fruit of those behaviours listed above. This is a false belief. The one who has been truly saved by God through genuine saving faith does an about face in the stream of life and starts swimming against the current of the world.

Now this is not to say that this is done perfectly, that has been accomplished already by Jesus. But when one is truly born again, they are empowered by the power of God to live in a different way. They “desire” to live a godly life because a new nature, a divine nature now dwells in them. Thus, they stop going to parties, they stop fornicating, they stop their cussing and they start evangelizing, they tell people about Jesus, they love their enemies because God loved us when we were enemies of the Lord. We disciple, we are kind, we are generous, we have self control.

We will correct bad theology and doctrine gently because we love Jesus. This will make you a target, you will be hated for the truth. The true believer picks up his cross and follows the pattern of Jesus, of Paul, of Timothy. You will be persecuted. Not maybe burned at the stake, but you will suffer slander and abuse, you will maybe lose your job, you may be made a public spectacle in the community. But as the Lord rescued Paul, he will rescue you and me. He will never leave us nor forsake us.

But the evil false converts and teachers, the imposters will go from bad to worse, deceiving others to their ruin and deceiving themselves. They will believe their own lies and will oppose anyone who contradicts them. This is just reality Timothy, just letting you know that there is no other way for a believer to live. It is the way of the cross.

Point #3 - Courageously continue to mature.

How is the true believer able to stand against all this opposition? Paul seemed like this super Christian, but I ain’t nothing like that at all. While it is true that the biblical account of Paul was quite something, if you study church history, there is many farmers, fishermen, entrepreneurs, politicians, mothers, fathers, factory workers who loved the Lord and laid down their lives to follow Jesus.

Scripture informs the Christian how to live for Jesus. Not out of “I have to” but because “I want to”.

Timothy is instructed by Paul to continue his education that he has received from his mother and grandmother. They taught him how the OT points to Jesus as their Saviour.

Here in (16,17) we have a very common passage about the doctrine of Scripture. READ.

All the OT and many of the writings that were currently written were seen as inspired by God. In fact, Paul says that Scripture, the book in your hands this morning was God breathed. That when you read your bible, you are reading the inerrant word of God. What you read is what God says.

The false teachers make crooked what God says by twisting it. Qualified pastors/elders cut it straight giving the proper meaning of what God is saying.

Paul gives four benefits of Scripture. Creed and Conduct.

What is right. Teaching, doctrine. Teaching positively what we must believe.

What is not right. Reproof. Teaching negatively what we should not believe.

How to get right. Correction, setting straight. Teaching negatively what we must not do.

How to stay right. Education in right living. Teaching positively what we must do.

Understanding rightly what God says helps our mind to know how to think correctly about God’s design for his creation. Proper doctrine or creed then influences how we live to the glory of God.

Thus, the man of God, in this case the pastor/elder may be complete, fully mature, fully equipped to do the work of shepherding the flock well.

The courage of the pastor cannot be by some whim and blind faith. It needs to be rooted on the solid foundation of God’s breathed out word.

Conclusion:

Paul is fully aware of what it means to endure suffering for gospel truth. He lays out for Timothy and all future under shepherds what is required to fulfill their duty in caring for the flock. You must correct gently and kindly, but if they refuse to repent, beware that they will oppose you with slander and anger. Great difficulty will come your way but be courageous and remove them through church discipline, excommunicated them so they do not poison the church.

Beware elder in removing them for they will come against you They will persecute you, but be courageous in following in my footsteps. Endure suffering and persecution for the Lord. He will comfort you and will strengthen you by his grace.

Continue elder in the study of God’s word that builds you up into a mature follower of Christ. Learn it and obey it for the glory of God.

The true Christian will suffer persecution. Let us encourage one another with truth. God’s promises that build us up so that we can persevere in the midst of trials. Let us pray for one another, for supernatural power to fill us with grace to strengthen us for the many hardships that come our way in swimming against the flow of this world. We cannot do this alone. Let us do this for Jesus with willing and joyful hands because one day we are going to see our Saviour and he will say to us “Well done _____, my good and faithful servant.”