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2 Timothy – Gospel Passion and Urgency Resounding Out of a Roman Dungeon! (5 of 9)
2:15 – Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:14-26
The focus shifts from Paul calling Timothy (and us) to boldly face the external threat of persecution to boldly meeting the internal threat of the spread of errors that lead away from the truth. In this passage the challenge of false teaching arises within the church.
Acts 20:29-30 (ESV) –
“I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.”
Timothy was to address the influence and spread of dangerous teachings within the church. Bad beliefs lead to bad living because the way we live tells the truth about what we believe. Timothy was to address this threat with the goal of seeing people repent and escape the snare of the Devil. A distinction is made between the false teachers and their victims.
2 Timothy 2:14-19 (ESV) –
“Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”
1. False teaching has been and continues to be a serious threat.
2 Timothy 2:14 (ESV) –
“Remind them of these things...”
2 Timothy 2:11-13 (ESV) –
“If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful...”
Paul calls Timothy to remind everyone of the importance of perseverance on the one-hand and on the other of the consequences of rejecting Jesus Christ.
False teaching leads to immoral living because what we believe determines how we live. The popular line of thinking that claims – It doesn’t matter what you believe, it only matters how you live... is nonsense.
We’re to hold tightly to the Gospel and to continue guarding it. Instead of quarreling about words, Timothy is to preach and teach the Gospel, to hold tightly to the truth. As a result of correctly handling the truth he would not need to be ashamed before God.
2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV) –
“...rightly dividing the word of truth...”
2 Timothy 2:15 (ESV) –
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”
People were becoming ensnared by false teaching championed by Hymenaeus and Philetus.
1 Corinthians 15:12-14 (ESV) –
“Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.”
1 Timothy 1:19-20 (ESV) –
“By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.”
2 Timothy 2:19 (ESV) –
“But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”
The seal in verse 19 ought to provide tremendous encouragement.
2 Timothy 2:19 (ESV) –
“The Lord knows those who are his...”
John 10:14 (ESV) –
“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me...”
2 Timothy 2:19 (ESV) –
“Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”
If you’re going to name the name of the Lord you must turn away from sin.
1 Timothy 3:15 (ESV) –
“...if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress [foundation, NIV] of the truth.”
God’s foundation stands firm despite the onslaught of the lies of false teachers. False teaching will not stop Jesus’ Church. We’re pointed to security and assurance (ESV, vs 19) – The Lord knows those who are his...
Are there similar problems today? YES! I’ll share several examples and as I do ask – Do I see how each of these errors produces devastating results?
2 Timothy 2:15 (ESV) –
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”
This is what all of us should aspire to and demand from Christian leaders. All of us have the responsibility of holding our leaders accountable.
We need to be aware and realistic but don’t panic, remember (ESV, vs 19) – The Lord knows those who are his…
2 Timothy 2:20-21 (ESV) –
“Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.”
An analogy of different kinds of vessels found within a home. The word vessels can be alternatively translated articles or utensils.
2 Timothy 2:20 (ESV) –
“Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable.”
If you want to be a good and honorable vessel then cleanse yourself from the influence the false teachers! The process of flushing out false teaching is good for the church, it strengthens it. Doctrine is often learned and appreciated the most in the context of correcting error.
2 Timothy 2:22-26 (ESV) –
“So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.”
2. The goal of our response to serious error is repentance.
2 Timothy 2:22 (ESV) –
“So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”
Righteousness, faith, love and peace is a summary of what a Christian life ought to look like.
1 Timothy 4:12 (ESV) –
“Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”
2 Timothy 2:23-24 (ESV) –
“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...”
A quarrelsome person is not mature and ready to be a leader.
1 Timothy 3:2-3 (ESV, emphasis mine) –
“Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.”
Titus 1:7 (ESV, emphasis mine) –
“ For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain...”
Timothy is to gently and with kindness instruct his opponents in the hope that they will come to their senses, repent and acknowledge the truth.
1 Peter 5:8 (ESV) –
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
All of us are to lovingly seek to rescue people from false teaching and dangerously wrong ideas that have entrapped them. The goal of gentle and bold correction is not to destroy someone but rather their salvation. We want them to change their mind.
2 Timothy 2:24-25 (ESV) –
“And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth...”
A shepherd seeks to firmly but gently rescue any sheep who wonder off into danger but if a wolf shows up, a shepherd isn’t gentle.
If you have questions and you’re searching for the truth, the church must be a safe place. This is very different than allowing those opposing the Gospel to lead people astray. We handle false teachers differently than those ensnared by them.
Those who are victims of false teaching should be gently and lovingly corrected, our prayer is that God would lead them to repentance, to a change of mind, to the realization – I was wrong...
We’ve learned how Timothy was to address the influence and spread of dangerous teachings within the church. Bad beliefs lead to bad living because the way we live tells the truth about what we believe. Timothy was to address this threat with the goal of seeing people repent and escape the snares of the Devil. A distinction is made between the false teachers and their victims.
Let’s commit with God’s help to (ESV, vs 15) ...rightly handling the word of truth...