Vessels for Honor, Part 2
Notes
Transcript
Last week we started looking at 2 Timothy 2:8-26. This letter to Timothy was meant to encourage him as he underwent both persecution from outside of the church, and opposition from within the church. This letter is a great encouragement to us, and can help us as we remember our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world who are being persecuted.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,
Paul stood fast on his calling, and by his example encourages us to do so as well.
To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul reminded Timothy about the Grace, Peace and Mercy that only comes from the Lord.
I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.
He encouraged Timothy to remember his rich heritage of faith in his grandmother and mother.
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.
He exhorted Timothy to not be ashamed of the gospel, or of Paul who was imprisoned for being an apostle of Jesus.
And he commanded Timothy to join in suffering for the gospel.
He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,
He reminded Timothy of the holy life to which we are called by God’s grace.
but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
Paul spoke of our conquering Savior, the One who destroyed death, and brought life and immortality to us through the gospel.
You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.
He also commanded Timothy to be on mission, passing along the faith to those who would be faithful to then pass it along to others.
Remembering these things will help us to pray for our brothers and sisters around the world who are also facing persecution.
Let us pray these things for our brothers and sisters around the world who are facing persecution for their faith in Jesus.
Prayer
As we began looking at 2 Timothy 2:8-26 last week, we saw that Paul wanted to be sure that Timothy had the right focus and discipline that he would be a vessel worthy of honorable use to the Lord.
Paul used this illustration of vessels.
Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor.
Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.
Who wants to be a vessel of honor that is prepared to do every good work the Father has for us, even in the face of opposition and persecution? I believe most of us would want that.
What will it take to be a vessel for honor? Proper focus and discipline.
We started looking at the focus last week as we looked at 2 Timothy 2:8-10
Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel,
for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained.
Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
The Focus: Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David
The Focus: Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David
The focus needs to be on Jesus. Jesus who is our savior that died for our sins and rose from the grave! Jesus who is none other than the Son of God, who came in the flesh! Jesus who is the Christ, the Messiah that came to fulfill all that God foretold in the Old Testament, through the prophets that lived hundreds of years before.
Let’s pick up now in verse 11.
To further encourage Timothy, Paul reminds him of what must have been an early hymn.
Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us;
if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.
Hymn to remember to stay focused:
Hymn to remember to stay focused:
This was likely a hymn of the church in that day. There is a meter to this brief encapsulation of truth. It is likely something that Timothy knew, of which Paul was reminding him.
Songs can be a powerful way that we can remember what is true, and keep the proper focus.
Let’s look more closely at the lines of this hymn.
Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him;
If we died with Him… this points to the truth in Romans 6, where Paul explained that when we believe, we are baptized, or identified with the death of Jesus. It is as if we were spiritually put to death on the cross with Jesus, to be raised to live with Him.
We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.
For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—
because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
Focus: Die and Live!
Focus: Die and Live!
What a precious truth to hold onto for those facing persecution. It is also a truth that we all need on a daily basis. Jesus died for our sins, and rose to give us new life. He does not want us to live as slaves to sin any longer. He does not want us to live in slavery to bitterness. He does not want us to live in slavery to anger. He does not want us to live in slavery to self-centeredness. He does not want us to live in slavery to our addictions, our fleshly cravings. He has a new way of living for us! He wants us to live in the freedom of righteousness!
if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us;
Focus: Endure and Reign!
Focus: Endure and Reign!
We will join with him in reigning in the new kingdom.
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.
I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Warning
if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us;
Focus: Do not disown!
Focus: Do not disown!
But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.
They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
Hope
if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.
Focus: Jesus the Faithful One!
Focus: Jesus the Faithful One!
Like Peter who was restored.
We need the proper focus. We need to remember that we will reign with the Messiah in His kingdom. We need to remember to be faithful to Him. If we make a mistake, He will restore.
The focus we need to have is on Jesus. Our death in Him. Our life in Him. Enduring in Him. Our future in Him. Remaining faithful to Him. His Faithfulness to us.
If we can keep this focus, it will make us vessels worthy of honorable use.
How will we keep this proper focus in our lives? It will take discipline. Which is something Paul challenged Timothy toward early with the examples of the good soldier, the athlete, and the hardworking farmer.
But discipline? What do we need to be disciplined in? Some of us are very disciplined. But are we disciplined in the right things?
Paul next tells Timothy the proper discipline to have in order to keep this focus, and be a vessel worthy of honorable use.
Be disciplined in handling the Word of God
Be disciplined in handling the Word of God
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
Handle it correctly. Do not remove or ignore the parts you do not like. Do not replace the truth of the Word with your thoughts and ideas. Study it. Know it. Read it in context of the passage, and in the context of all of scripture.
Around this discipline Paul warns of what keeps us from this discipline.
Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.
Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.
Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,
who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some.
Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.
In this day, in our culture, there is a lot of mis-proclaiming of the gospel. There are many that want to talk about Jesus, but they want to focus on Jesus as the God who loves. Jesus, the good example for us to follow. Jesus the social justice warrior who honored women, who stood up for the oppressed. But when they do this, they move away from the scriptures, and speak mostly of what “I think...” They deny the Old Testament. They say God does not have wrath. They deny the miraculous things God has done in Creating the world in six days, the healings, the coming of God the Son in the flesh, the death and the resurrection. To them, the miraculous does not make sense, because they do not truly believe what God has said. They are more interested in their ideas about God, than what God has revealed.
I believe this is what Paul says is the wrong focus. This is godless chatter. This is the quarreling about words which is of no value and only ruins those who listen. These are the things Paul tells Timothy is the wrong focus. The wrong discipline. These teachings which are just quarrelling about words, and the teachers own thoughts are the wrong focus. It is true that Jesus loves. It is true that Jesus honored those who were typically dishonored in the culture. It is true that Jesus worked to help the oppressed. But what is the real message of the gospel? What is the key that we need to proclaim? Jesus Christ, resurrected and descended from David.
In order to be able to avoid those wrong teachings, and quarreling about words, we need to correctly handle the word of truth. We need to be diligent.
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;
It is going to take effort. It requires discipline. Are we giving the time we need to read, study and know the word of God? If we are not, how could we possibly keep the right focus? If we are not handling the word of God, we will get caught up in the teachings of men, the godless chatter that sounds good, but is off base.
Be disciplined in living the Word of God
Be disciplined in living the Word of God
Where do we see this?
Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.
And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.
Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth,
and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
This is pretty direct instruction. We need not only know the Word of God, we need to live it. As James said through the Spirit, do not be hearers of the word but doers.
Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror
and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
Do not look into the word, and then walk away forgetting what the Word told you about yourself. We need the focus on the true gospel, and the discipline to properly handle the word of God and to live it out.
Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
Proper focus: Jesus
Proper discipline: handle the word, and live the word.