2 Timothy 2:14-26
2 Timothy • Sermon • Submitted
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Intro:
a poem by Myra Welch:
'Twas battered and scarred,
And the auctioneer thought it
hardly worth his while
To waste his time on the old violin,
but he held it up with a smile.
"What am I bid, good people", he cried,
"Who starts the bidding for me?"
"One dollar, one dollar, Do I hear two?"
"Two dollars, who makes it three?"
"Three dollars once, three dollars twice, going for three,"
But, No,
From the room far back a gray bearded man
Came forward and picked up the bow,
Then wiping the dust from the old violin
And tightening up the strings,
He played a melody, pure and sweet
As sweet as the angel sings.
The music ceased and the auctioneer
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said "What now am I bid for this old violin?"
As he held it aloft with its' bow.
"One thousand, one thousand, Do I hear two?"
"Two thousand, Who makes it three?"
"Three thousand once, three thousand twice,
Going and gone", said he.
The audience cheered,
But some of them cried,
"We just don't understand."
"What changed its' worth?"
Swift came the reply.
"The Touch of the Masters Hand."
"And many a man with life out of tune
All battered and bruised with hardship
Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd
Much like that old violin
A mess of pottage, a glass of wine,
A game and he travels on.
He is going once, he is going twice,
He is going and almost gone.
But the Master comes,
And the foolish crowd never can quite understand,
The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought
By the Touch of the Masters' Hand.
Intro:
-Paul is in prison
-Ready to die
-Writes a letter to his son in the faith Timothy
-2 themes: step forward in courage and be ready to suffer
-hold onto the truths of the Word of God
Vs. 14a
-What is Timothy to remind his flock of?
-More than likely to the faithful saying of verses 11-13
-That we are called to endure with Christ and suffer with Him so that we can reign with Him!
-That if we leave the faith, we will be condemned
-But not to fear, because the times when a sincere Christian is faithless, God is still faithful!
-Timothy’s flock needed to be reminded of these things
-And so do we!
-I want to exhort and encourage and remind you: we are commanded to endure in suffering for the name of Christ!
-Do not shrink back in fear
-Continue to cling to Christ
-Because ultimately, He is faithful!
-Do not deny Him. Live for Him and identify with Him
Vs. 14b
“Timothy, command them not to fight and argue about words!”
-now, what are these words?
-We’re given 2 hints:
-They are of no profit
-They are not about something that is of significant doctrinal importance
-If they were, then Timothy would need to contend for the faith
-But they are not
-They also lead to the ruin of the hearers when people argue about them
-This means that these kind of discussions cause spiritual hurt to those who listen
-So these must be trivial matters that don’t lead to any deeper walk with the Lord
-I want to encourage each of you: there is a healthy place for good, biblical theological discussion!
-But there can be a danger at times of disputing about things that are very trivial, that are often generated out of a heart of pride and arrogance
-Make sure that as Christians, we don’t join in empty disputes that aren’t going to profit those involved, because the results could be hurtful
Vs. 15
-After this verse, Paul will go back to the negative examples of what Timothy should not be part of
-But this verse shines all the more brightly, being bracketed by examples of what not to do
“be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed”
-Timothy, work hard!
-Be diligent
-As a pastor, you must be a hard worker!
-There’s work to be done for God!
-What kind of work?
-We’re going to see at least what some of this hard work entails in the remainder of the chapter, so keep this in the back of your mind
-What’s the purpose of this hard work?
-To show yourself approved to God!
-Timothy, is God pleased with your effort and ministry
-Ultimately, Timothy is being called to live for an Audience of One
-God’s approval is the only one that matters
-I played football for 3 years highschool
-My junior year, I moved up to a varsity team that had won the state championship the year before, and were returning most of their starters
-My chances at getting much playing time seemed kinda slim
-But I worked as hard as I possibly could
-and some things fell my way, and I ended up playing all 3 phases of the game: offense, defense and special teams
-The positions I played were not very glamorous
-I was called on to do a lot of grunt work that seemed to get overlooked at times
-But I kept doing my best and trying to contribute
-We had some really really talented players that year, with some big personalities
-And at times, it was hard to wonder whether or not I was making much of a difference or whether my efforts were being noticed
-We went undefeated that year, and after the season, we played our first playoff game, and our team won in blowout fashion like we often did
-After the game, they named 6 of our players as all-conference players
-As I walked off the field after the game, our headcoach came up to me, grabbed me, and said in my ear: “I would have voted you as an all-conference player”
-And as a 16 year old teenager, that was all the affirmation I needed
-The most important guy, the head coach who watched every single play of every game and who ran every practice
-The guy who saw it all!
-Told me that I was approved to him
And Paul is saying to Timothy:
-There’s only 1 opinion that matters!
-Work hard to be approved by Him
And brothers and sisters, there is application here for all of us!
-Are you and I seeking to be approved by God?
-Yes, we have been forgiven by Christ and covered by His atoning work
-God loves us unconditionally
-We cannot earn more of His love
-But we are commanded to work for God
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
-Are you being diligent to please God?
-Are you being faithful with what you have been commanded to do?
-to pray
-to know God through the Word
-to be faithful to your local body
-to be a witness and disciple maker?
Now, what is one of the areas of work that Timothy is to be diligent in?
-he is to rightly divide the Word of truth
-The greek phrase used here literally means “to make a straight cut”
-Now, what the exact picture that is being expressed is hard to pinpoint
-William Mounce, in his commentary, talks about theories have been put forth as to whether this may have referred to cutting a path, or whether is spoke of a mason cutting stuff, or other ideas
-But the point is clear enough
-When it came to preaching the Word as pastor, Timothy was to cut it straight!
-the preacher of the Word of God needs to handle the Word of God with care, and say what the Bible says!
-As a preacher and teacher of the Word of God, and others like me who serve at this church or others, we are called to preach the Word!
-To study God’s word and not try to fit what we want the Bible to say into the text, but to study it to see what it really says, and then say that!
-It is not acceptable to change the meaning around a little bit
-or to skip some verses or topics that we don’t like!
-As preachers and teachers, we are commanded to say “thus says the Lord” and then to say what God is saying, and say it with His authority
-The preaching of the Word of God is a very big deal!
My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.
-Now, maybe you’re breathing a sigh of relief right now, because you’re not a pastor or teacher.
-And for sure, this verse speaks mainly to the pastor/teacher role in the local church
-But, as a Christian, you and I need to be people who know God’s Word, love God’s word, and study God’s Word
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
-Furthermore, you as a Christian ought to develop a love for good sound biblical teaching and preaching
-Do you love the preaching of the Word of God?
-Do you know sound exposition when you hear it?
-Can you pick out bad preaching and teaching?
-This is one thing we work on in our mission trip group and accountability group: developing a love for good preaching
-I want to challenge and encourage you: come to love sound preaching and teaching as a Christian
-And learn to study and rightly interpret God’s Word
-Get someone to help you with that, and recommend good resources to you so that you can grow in this
Vs. 16
-Paul is now going back to what Timothy is not supposed to do, and he commands him to shun profane and idle babblings
-This seems to go back to vs. 14
-These people participate in godless, empty speech
-They talk about things that are unprofitable and not edifying to the hearers
-And this leads them (these people who spread this and participate in this) to increase, or advance into more ungodliness
-This is not the direction you want to be heading!
Vs. 17a
-Their message will spread like cancer
-other translations say “gangrene”
-it has the idea of a repulsive, disgusting disease of the flesh
-Like rotting, oozing sores that engulf the body, this kind of message spreads and does damage and destroys the church
Vs. 17b-18
-We have mention of Hymenaeus earlier in Scripture
This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.
-Philetus is never mentioned anywhere else in Scripture
-But these 2 men seem to champion this sort of idle talk and arguing over words
-It seems that they were in this camp that puffed out their theological chest and tried to flex on people with their knowledge of obscure doctrines and bible phrases, but were actually probably unsaved, or believers who had been seriously deceived and were leading others astray
-These men had strayed from the truth
-They had left the safety of good, sound biblical teaching
-they had strayed away from the godly shepherding of their pastors like Timothy, and had turned aside to error
-They were apparently teaching that the resurrection had already past
-Now, this couldn’t be the resurrection of Christ, since that had already passed and wouldn’t be a heresy
-So this must mean that they were teaching that the resurrection of believers was already past
-Now, just looking around, it would have been hard to convince someone of that, because they weren’t seeing anything that looked like a physical resurrection
-So most commentators think that this may have been them teaching that the resurrection was a spiritual reality and not a physical reality
-And if this is what they were teaching, that is indeed a very destructive heresy that has wide-ranging implications
-Just as Jesus physically, bodily rose from the dead, so will we!
-And if the resurrection was something that had already happened in some spiritual sense, then this must mean that we’re now living in the eternal state with all the blessings of the resurrection fully realized
-And it would be a very sad thing to think that this right now is us living in the eternal state!
-But whatever the specifics of what their teaching meant and what it consisted of, the result was the people’s faith was getting overturned and overthrown!
-As one pastor I heard says: bad theology hurts people!
-When you and I stray from the truths of God’s Word, and start believing things that are contrary to Scripture, it can have awful implications
-Like those people who are caught up in the false prosperity gospel, where Christ came and died to give you and I a happy and healthy and wealthy life
-What happens when you don’t experience that?
-People become disillusioned and lied to and reject Christianity forever
-or those who go around teaching that everything Jesus did, He did in as a human in right relationship with God, not as God Himself
-So if you and I are Spirit-filled enough, we can do the things that Jesus did, like walk on water, heal people, control the weather, etc.
-And when you can’t do those things, it’s because you’re not godly enough
-Don’t you see why right and sound doctrine in so important?
-People’s faith gets shipwrecked through wrong doctrine and wrong theology and wrong teaching
Vs. 19
-Even in the face of heresy and false teachers however, Timothy can take heart!
-What is this foundation that Paul talks about?
-in light of the context surrounding the verse:
-the negative example of Hymanaeus and Philetus in the previous verses
-as well as the coming analogy about individuals being vessels either useful or not useful to God . . .
-It seems best to see this foundation as the God’s children, the elect who really know the Lord
-Paul says that this foundation has the following seal
-now, many commentators agree say that a seal was often an inscription on the foundation of a building that stated something about ownership or about the purpose for the building
-This inscription is a dual inscription
“the Lord knows those who are His”
and
“Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity”
-now, where do these quotations come from?
-They seem to be taken at least in part from Numbers 16 and the rebellion of Korah
and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will show who is His and who is holy, and will cause him to come near to Him. That one whom He chooses He will cause to come near to Him.
And he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart now from the tents of these wicked men! Touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins.”
We also have similar wording in Matthew 7:23 from our Lord
And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
-The idea is clear though: those who are the Lord’s, God knows them!
-Aren’t you so glad God knows those people who are truly His children!
-It can be hard at time to know who’s really a Christian at times
-There are probably people you know, and there are people that I know, and it’s hard to tell!
-They may claim to be a Christian, but their lives don’t really back it up
-and sometimes, you’re wondering if they’re just immature and carnal, or if they’re not saved
-But God knows!
-He’s not fooled, and He knows exactly those who are His!
-In the same way, that a mother knows the cry of her own baby. You can’t fool her
-God knows who are His
-If you’re a child of God, God knows you!
-The second part of the seal is that those who name the name of Christ are to depart from iniquity
-As Christians, we are commanded to live holy lives, in step with God’s commands
Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.
We are to flee from sin and pursue after Christ-likeness, as Paul will once again remind us in a few verses
Walter Lock says this
“Whatever false teachers may say, the solid foundation-stone of God’s Temple has been fixed once for all; and on it are two inscriptions carved first by Moses and renewed by Our Lord: one tells of God’s knowledge, ‘The Lord knoweth them that are His own’; the other of man’s duty, ‘Let every one who worships the Lord depart from iniquity’ ”
-Are you truly God’s child?
-Are you departing from iniquity, or do you love to cling to your sin?
Vs. 20-21
-Paul paints a picture, how in a big house, there are many different kinds of vessels
-There are super fancy and expensive ones, some made of gold and silver!
-And there are others made of wood and clay
-And we understand this!
-You may have some plastic or styrofoam cups at home, and then you may have some china or some nicer glass cups
-Some are used for honorable use
-Back then, this would probably entail the use of serving a big meal when others come over
-And some were for dishonorable use, such as for garbage or even for carrying human waste until it was disposed of
-There’s good news!
-Paul tells us that we can cleanse ourselves from a vessel of dishonor, to one of honor that can be used greatly by God!
-now this is an incredibly interesting verse!
-Now, I believe this is speaking to Christians here
-I don’t believe this is referring to salvation, someone getting saved
-Although application could be made this way, it seems in the context of the following verses, that this speaks to a Christian being useful to God
-And Paul is going to show in the next few verses how a Christian can be useful to God
-Now, we are sanctified by God’s work within us (Phil. 3:12-13)
-it’s not a pull yourself up by your bootstraps kinda thing
-But there is a sense in which we can choose to submit ourselves to God and be used by Him
-Did you know that you can be useful to the Master??
-Every single one of you who is a Christian, whether you are a teen, a mom with young children, a senior citizen in your 70’s, God can use you!!
-Don’t ever think that you are not able to be useful to the Master!
-We can be prepared for every good work!
How can that happen to me??
Paul is going to tell us?
Vs. 22
-Flee youthful lusts!
-Run away!
-This includes sexual passions, as well as just immature desires
-Flee from the love of money
-Flee from immoral desires
-Flee from the temptations to speak your mind when you shouldn’t
-Flee from these things!
Instead, run toward these other things!
-pursue righteous living and righteous words and righteous thoughts
-Pursue faith! Grow in your faith in God and His Word!
-Pursue love! Seek to love your spouse, your children, your church family, and unsaved people around you!
-Pursue peace!
If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
-Pursue these things, along with your brothers and sisters who do the same are seeking to do the same!
-We are meant to pursue these things in community
-I’m very thankful for those who have decided to be a part of our accountability group at church
-We’re just seeking to hold each other accountable when it comes to bible reading, faithfulness to church meetings, discipleship, bible study, and things like that
-We’re not perfect, and there are many who didn’t get all these things done last week. But we’re seeking to!
-We must pursue these things with our brothers and sisters in Christ!
-Are you doing this with your spouse?
-Do you have other Christian friends who are encouraging you and holding you accountable to truly seek Christ?
-This is why discipleship and godly mentoring is so important!
Vs. 23
-Are you seeing a pattern with what Paul is saying?
-Does this look familiar?
-ignorant disputes and arguments, like the ones that have been spoken against in this chapter several times already are not helpful!
-Useful Christians do no get into foolish and ignorant disputes
-They are not argumentative
-That is characteristic of immature Christians, not useful mature Christians
How is a useful Christian supposed to act towards unsaved people?
Vs. 24-26
-The term, the servant of the Lord was very fitting for a Christian leader like Timothy
-this is what ought to characterize your pastors especially and other Christian leaders, but is very applicable to all Christians
-Must not quarrel, but be gentle to all
-Don’t be argumentative towards unsaved people
-You arguing with your unsaved friends on facebook over politics is not helpful to you or them
-it does not make Christ look beautiful
-This is not what useful Christians do
-They are gentle
-Are you gentle with unsaved people?
-Are you gentle with the waiter or waitress who isn’t doing a good job?
-Are you gentle with that driver on the road going too slow?
-Are you gentle with that customer service person who’s trying to help you with whatever problem you’re facing
-I’m not a very gentle person
-Well you need to repent of that
-What you mean when you say that is that you’re not a Spirit-filled person, because gentleness is a fruit of the Spirit
-Grow in that by God’s grace
-Be useful to Him
“able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition”
-Some of you may struggle with the opposite!
-You may be so timid and non-confrontational, that you don’t confront or correct people when sharing the Gospel
-The Gospel is confrontational, and sin must be confronted in order for someone to come to Christ in repentance and faith
-We are to be patient and be humble, but we are to correction those in opposition
why?
“if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will”
-Is this not a heart-wrenching verse??
-Why should we go through such lengths to be so kind and gentle to unsaved people?
-So that God would grant them repentance like He granted it to you!
-I sometimes hear Christians say something like this whenever someone was rude to them
-They’ll say “man, that person was lucky that I’m a Christian”
-No! You’re lucky that you’re a Christian!
-The only difference between you and that person is that God has granted you repentance in His mercy and grace!
-And we must be kind and gentle and confront sin so that God would grant that same gift to others!
-They’re captives!
-They've been trapped by Satan, being prisoners to do his evil will
-In order to be useful Christians, we’ve got to get our eyes off of ourselves and see our neighbors and people around us for what they are: lost and going to hell unless someone presents the truth of God with the love of God so that God grants them repentance
a poem by Beulah Cornwall
The Master was searching for a vessel to use;
On the shelf there were many - which one would He choose?
Take me, cried the gold one, I'm shiny and bright,
I'm of great value and I do things just right.
My beauty and luster will outshine the rest
And for someone like You, Master, gold would be the best!
The Master passed on with no word at all;
He looked at a silver urn, narrow and tall;
I'll serve You, dear Master, I'll pour out Your wine
And I'll be at Your table whenever You dine,
My lines are so graceful, my carvings so true,
And my silver will always compliment You.
Unheeding the Master passed on to the brass,
It was widemouthed and shallow, and polished like glass.
Here! Here! cried the vessel, I know I will do,
Place me on Your table for all men to view.
Look at me, called the goblet of crystal so clear,
My transparency shows my contents so dear,
Though fragile am I, I will serve You with pride,
And I'm sure I'll be happy in Your house to abide.
The Master came next to a vessel of wood,
Polished and carved, it solidly stood.
You may use me, dear Master, the wooden bowl said,
But I'd rather You used me for fruit, not for bread!
Then the Master looked down and saw a vessel of clay.
Empty and broken it helplessly lay.
No hope had the vessel that the Master might choose,
To cleanse and make whole, to fill and to use.
Ah! This is the vessel I've been hoping to find,
I will mend and use it and make it all Mine.
I need not the vessel with pride of its self;
Nor the one who is narrow to sit on the shelf;
Nor the one who is bigmouthed and shallow and loud;
Nor one who displays his contents so proud;
Not the one who thinks he can do all things just right;
But this plain earthy vessel filled with My power and might.
Then gently He lifted the vessel of clay.
Mended and cleansed it and filled it that day.
Spoke to it kindly. There's work you must do,
Just pour out to others as I pour into you.