Paul has just gotten finished telling Timothy that despite the fact that he was abandoned in Rome – that there were a few – like Onesiphorus, who were a great comfort during hard times. Now he takes it one step further – be strong yourself, and look for people you can trust – then pass on good doctrine to them.
This chapter is all about handling yourself as a Christian – and especially as a leader.
- Don’t give up under the struggle, but press on
- Don’t give up on God’s Word – and its power
- Keep up the task of gently telling people God’s truth from the lie
- Keep away from endless arguing
- Keep away from easy pleasure – stick close to the One who is righteous
1 You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. 3 Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs — he wants to please his commanding officer. 5 Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules. 6 The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. 7 Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.
(1) Given the struggles facing Timothy – and the aloneness he felt – it might be easy to develop the “Lone Ranger” type of attitude – the Clint Eastwood syndrome. That is – “I’m tough as nails and I work alone.”
Paul wants him to be strong – but in the “grace that is in Christ.” Be strong in the gospel – that the unmerited favor of God rests on men through what Jesus did, not what we can do. Keep telling people about God’s love – no matter how they treat you.
(2) Instead of focusing on the ones causing the problem, look for people you can trust, then teach and disciple them. At one time the Lord shared that bit of wisdom with me – as I focused on some people who were causing all kinds of problems and bringing all kinds of false accusations against me. Instead as I focused on what was going right, and on those who wanted to focus on the Lord, an amazing transformation took place in me, and in those around me.
(3) So now Paul gives Timothy three analogies to encourage him to stay the course – even though the controversy wasn’t going to end. The soldier – the athlete – and the farmer.
The Soldier: knows he gives up personal autonomy and obeys his commanding officer. We belong to Jesus and are in a war for the souls of man – “you are not your own, but you were bought with a price.” So our job now is to please and obey Jesus. It also says not to be entangled in civilian affairs. It means to get so involved in something that you are unable to move. Don’t let life – or trouble – so consume you that you lose perspective on who you are and what your job is.
The Athlete: accepts the rules of the competition, along with the difficulties – no cheating or going around the way things are – suffering is a part of this reality.
The Farmer: you don’t get something for nothing – you have to plant, water, and weed before you can harvest. And you have to be willing to work hard – but – at the end a reward waits – even as we endure hardship we will also see a reward for our labor in the strength of His Spirit.
James 1:12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. 10 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.
No matter how much we suffer – we need to remember that after He suffered, Jesus conquered death and every thing put in front of the gospel. Even if we are literally or figuratively chained or undergoing trials – God’s Word is not chained.
Isaiah 55:11so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
So no matter how things look around us – God’s work will go on – and we will continue to work for God as long as He wants us to. If at some point he takes us out either by accident, illness, or age – so what? Do you want to stick around here longer than God wants you to?
11 Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; 13 if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.
This is possibly another example of a hymn – it’s mostly poetry – stating the gospel really – when we come to Christ we die with Him and are brought back to life – the word “endure” means to continue to put up with things despite difficulty – which is just what Paul is encouraging Timothy to do. So its if he is saying: “The bad stuff is worth it based on what is coming.” Mainly – that we will rule and reign with Jesus (Revelation 20:6). And that not believing in Jesus doesn’t make Jesus not true. “You can bet on this” Paul is saying. This should be our focus – not on besting each other at arguments:
14 Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.
The Apostle Peter said:
2 Peter 1:12-13 So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 13 I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body
It’s important for us to be reminded of what’s really important. Especially when we really start getting into theological arguments. What’s most important is the gospel – bringing people out of darkness and into God’s kingdom. Everything else – and I do mean EVERYTHING is secondary.
Besides, Paul says, excessive arguing over minutia doesn’t get you anywhere – but it can hurt your spiritual walk. Now, that is not to say that we shouldn’t study the Scriptures and look at the original meaning of words and have good discussions about them. But when it begins to draw off the truth of the gospel – watch out!
So now – this is one of the most famous of New Testament verses:
15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 16 Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. 17 Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. 19 Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness."
(15) “Study” the KJV says – but the Greek word means to be “zealous in ethical duties” – not to be studious. The emphasis is not on how much studying you do in the Word, but how you handle “the Word of truth.” “rightly divide” is a pretty good translation – the Greek for “handle” means “to cut straight.” We might say that the better you are able to cut straight to God’s truth in the Word – the more expertly you are able to handle this tool as a workman.
(16-17) I love this picture – avoiding these endless arguments that don’t show reverence for God – the word gives the idea of a continual action. It’s easy to get snared into this stuff – that’s what I think it’s important to always bring people back to focusing on God, their walk, and the gospel. Because otherwise it is like Gangrene. That is almost a transliteration of the Greek word: gang’-gree-nah. It comes from the word “to gnaw” and gives the picture of an open sore that eats away at the healthy flesh around it. The more you focus on the non-essentials – the less healthy a Christian you become.
Look at this way – the human brain needs 40 essential micronutrients to do well. That’s not really very many compared to all the elements out there. But if even one is deficient, it can cause mental illness, violent outbursts, and the inability to get along. They did experiments with prison inmates – and found that when they gave the most violent a special vitamin/mineral/fatty acid concoction then the whole prison did better – because these most violent were ring leaders, and most lacking of one or more of these 40 essential micronutrients.
So for us – if we focus away from the essentials of the gospel we become spiritually deficient and unhealthy and unbalanced. These two guys he mentions – Hymenaeus was also named in 1 Timothy – Paul had handed these men over to Satan- like cutting off a Gangrenous limb because what they were saying was harming the faith of others.
(18) Having been raised in Greek philosophy – that the spirit was immortal and the body evil – they combined that with Christian doctrine of resurrection. They taught that once someone became a Christian that was the only resurrection they would see.
(19) God is ultimately in charge of the church – not Timothy. But it is important that the people in Ephesus turn away from the dangerous and cancerous bad doctrine.
20 In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. 21 If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
Without going into a lot of detail – probably the best way to think about these verses is that everyone is not at the same level of spiritual development – and thus usefulness to God. But if you avoid bad doctrine you will be more likely to grow spiritually and be more useful. Filling your mind with garbage will make it difficult to “rightly divide” the Word and focus on the essentials.
So as he was thinking of “cleansing” Paul has some specific words of encouragement for Timothy:
22 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. 23 Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. 24 And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. 25 Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26 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.
There is actually a connector that doesn’t appear in the NIV or King James – the word de in Greek – which can mean “and, also, moreover, etc” So in order to be a vessel used for noble purposes – these are the things Paul wants to call to Timothy’s attention.
These involve the way Timothy was to live his life – and the way he was to interact with others.
1. Lifestyle
“Flee” means to “run away” or “escape” and specifically lusts or desires of youth. He doesn’t say to walk slowly away from, or avoid if you have nothing else to do, or most of the time – flee means to flee – headlong rushing away from with all of your might.
He says flee the “evil” desires of youth. Not everything a young person desires is evil. Often a young person has a zeal and energy that we can all catch. They also have a purity of motive and singleness of goal and a devotion to the Lord that is encouraging to us jaded “olders.”
But youthfulness can also bring with it impatience, contentiousness, favoritism, egotism, intolerance, etc. Instead of excited, a young person can come across as brash and rash.
“youthful lusts” can also mean sexual temptations – youthful hormones can steer a young person in the wrong direction. Timothy was to run away from these things.
And he was to run towards: righteousness, faith, love, and peace. It means that Timothy should pattern his life and character after the Lord – plain and simple.
But Timothy was not to go it alone – he was to join with others who also pursue these things with a pure heart (contrary to the bad motivations of those who were spreading filth in that church).
2. Relationships
Timothy was to act a certain way towards everyone – not arrogantly pushing himself around – but gently instructing others – kind, able to bring the truth out of the Word, not resentful – it’s a unique word that means the ability to endure any hardship without complaining.
Timothy wasn’t supposed to get in the trenches with those who brought another gospel – but instead be a herald of the truth – and bring it with kindness, gentleness and diplomacy.
Instead of blowing the opposition apart – this kind of behavior could eventually see them come to their senses and turn. But if Timothy has burned every bridge, how can they come back into fellowship? Always leave room for the opposition to the truth to come around and for relationships to be restored.
Finally I want to focus on that last verse: escape the trap of the Devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
“Escape” in verse 26 means to become sober. In a way then, the Devil brought these men a powerful intoxicant in intellect, pride, wealth, power over people. Truth is a great sobering agent.
But until then – while they think this is all on their own – they are actually pawns of the Devil.
Once Satan has lost a person to the gospel is greatest weapon against the church is to get its members to turn on each other. Division and dissention do more damage than frontal attack any day.
How do you know if you are a pawn of the Devil instead of an instrument of the Lord? Check out our study in 2 Corinthians chapter 2:
http://www.livingwatersweb.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=54&Itemid=101&TapeNumber=2003-033
Here are a few tips:
- It’s all about me vs it’s all about Him
- The fruit in myself and other’s lives is rotten
- I find myself arguing a lot more than agreeing
- I avoid reading the Bible because it makes me uncomfortable
- I’m often at odds with the leadership of my church
- I’m unteachable
Let’s set our hearts to being gentle teachers of the truth, always seeking to become more like Jesus, and less like what we were.
For an audio copy of this message and other Bible studies go to: www.CalvaryChapelNewberg.org.
