Title: Freed by the Word we Strive For
Text: 2 Tim 2: 19-26
Date: December 4, 2014
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
2 Timothy 2: 22:
Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with
them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23: But foolish and unlearned
questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. 24: And the servant of
the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, 25: In meekness instructing those that
oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the
acknowledging of the truth. 26: And that they may recover themselves out
of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
Sometimes,
a true believer finds himself in need of repentance. Sometimes, it is because
he has become ensnared, striving over the very word, he is trying to defend.
Then by God’s grace we are “Freed by the Word we Strive For.” As the Holy
Spirit used the apostle Paul to instruct Timothy, he declared some things of
utmost importance for every preacher, even every witness of God, to
remember.
FLEE
First,
we are told what to flee and what to follow after. He says, “Flee also youthful
lusts.” (1 Tim 2: 22) It is true that
those given a new heart by God’s grace will flee youthful lusts such as: sinful
thoughts and deeds, uncleanness, and worldliness. But remember, the key to
understanding scripture.
First,
who is speaking: the apostle Paul. Secondly,
to whom is he speaking: to Timothy, a young preacher. And we can apply this to
each believer because every believer is a witness of Christ to one degree or
another. Thirdly, what is the context:
he has been speaking about not striving with men over the gospel, especially about
unprofitable, unanswerable things.
2 Timothy 2: 14:…strive not about words to no profit, but
to the subverting of the hearers….16: But shun profane and vain
babblings:
It is
profane and vain if it is not according to the word of God. He does not say
repeat their babblings or engage men about them. He says shun profane them.
2 Timothy 2: 16: for they will increase unto more
ungodliness. 17: And their word will eat as doth a canker:
That is God’s word on what the end will be. He
goes on to remind us
2 Timothy 2: 21: If a man therefore purge himself from these,
he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and
prepared unto every good work.
We
should avoid getting into strife and debate about errors and heresies or we
will be found to be like the men who promote them. If you wrestle a skunk, you
may win. But you will end up smelling like a skunk.
So in
the context, the youthful lusts we are to flee are the lusts involved with striving
to make men understand, and especially over vain babblings. It does not have to
be a young man who pursues “youthful lusts.” But when a problem arises young
men are quick to speak up, to strive with their own wisdom and strength, to
become ruffled, or to get hot under the collar. The Holy Spirit of God says
through Paul, “Flee youthful lusts!”
Brethren,
we have to remember, each of us as believers still has a deceitful heart in our
old man of flesh. It is possible for a believer to begin seeking the glory of
God but end up seeking vain glory; begin seeking glory and praise be given to
Christ alone, but end up lusting after applause for ourselves; begin seeking
for Christ to have all preemience but end up turning all eyes away from Christ
to us. He says, “Flee these lusts!”
FOLLOW
Then he
tells us what to follow, “but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with
them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” (2 Tim 2: 22) Christ is the
person of each of these graces.
“Follow
after righteousness.” Christ our Righteousness. Christ is the Head of his
church. He knows them that are his. He taught us to never try to separate the
wheat and the tares. He calls strife and debate and youthful lusts iniquity.
But to follow him, obey him and wait on him is to follow after righteousness.
“Follow after faith.”
Do we believe our Savior is Faithful to accomplish God the Father’s will
for his people? He fulfilled the law by his faithfulness, justified us by his
faithfulness, declared God just and Justifier by his faithfulness. He is
faithful that promised. Do we believe Christ is Sovereign, ruling all men and
all things for the good of his church? Do we believe Christ has put his pastor
in place? And Christ ministers to us through the gospel? Do we believe Christ
has power to instruct his child in the heart? Then the Holy Spirit says, “Who
art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or
falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.” (Ro
14:4)
“Follow charity.” “Knowledge
puffeth up, but charity edifieth. And if any man think that he knoweth any
thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. But if any man love God, the
same is known of him.” (1 Cor 8: 1-3) Listen to how important love is and what
love does, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not
charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though
I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all
knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and
have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the
poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it
profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity
envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave
itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all
things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be
prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease;
whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.” (1 Cor 13: 1-8)
Christ
is Wisdom. There is none so wise as our Redeemer. He is the Wisdom and Power of
God! And Christ is also preeminent Love. He is the Love of God. What did
preeminent knowledge, together with preeminent love do toward needy sinners? He
was firm to those who were in vain religionists. But he was so tender toward
his people who were sincerely learning of him. He fulfilled this prophecy, “He
shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A
bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he
shall bring forth judgment unto truth.” (Is 42: 2-3)
“Follow after peace.” Christ is the Peacemaker. God and
his people were divided—our sins separated us from God. Christ came as the only
Mediator between God and men. He took all the sins of his people on himself.
All our wrongs and injustice and iniquity, all our hardness, our being puffed
up, our vain ways is the sin Christ bore. He said put it all on me and lay it
all to my charge. Christ bore the just penalty his people deserved. He stepped
in the gap and drank up the fierceness of the wrath of God toward his people
for our vain knowledge, vain righteousness, our vain teaching, even all our
vainness. Doing so, Christ reconciled his people to God. He made peace between
his people and God. Now, he says he is our Peace. And that is how you follow
after peace. So now follow after peace. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they
shall be called the children of God.”
With
whom does he say do these things, “with them that call on the Lord out of a
pure heart.” Are they sinners? Yes. Will they err? Yes. But have they been
given a pure heart by God’s grace? Yes. Do we doubt them when they err? Do we
want God doubting us? No. There are plenty of folks outside of the church who
strive against us, who doubt us, who would kill us if they could. Isn’t that
enough without us striving and dividing with our brethren within?
THE WORD OF GOD ONLY
Secondly,
he tells us we must stay out of the way and use the word of God alone, “But
foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. And
the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt
to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves.” (2
Tim 2: 23-25)
The
purpose for God’s preacher not striving, for being gentle, patient and meek is
so that God’ word take center stage. We never want to convince men to believe by
our wisdom.
1
Corinthians 2: 1: And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency
of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. 2: For I
determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him
crucified. 3: And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much
trembling. 4: And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words
of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 5: That your
faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
We
must be “gentle” because the gospel is offensive enough. God sovereignly
chooses whom he will and passes by whom he will is offensive—it takes away
man’s choice. Christ perfected his people by his own obedience and blood; this takes
away man’s righteousness which is of the law. The Holy Spirit regenerates and
sanctifies his people, making us fit to be partakers with the saints in glory
from the first hour we are sanctified; this takes away man’s works for making
himself more and more sanctified and holy. The gospel declares no man can do one
thing to save himself. But salvation is of the Lord. And that is
offensive. Paul said if I gave men one
thing to do then I would not suffer. If Paul gave sinners something to do to
save themselves then the offense of the cross would cease, “And I, brethren, if
I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence
of the cross ceased.” (Gal 5: 11)
We
must be “patient” because God works in his time, not our time. Natural men
cannot believe, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of
God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Cor 2: 14) Only God can reveal Christ in a sinner and
God does so in his time, “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my
mother’s womb, and called me by his grace.” (Gal 1: 15)
We must be “apt to teach” because God does this work
through the preaching of the gospel alone. But it is not by wisdom of words, by
striving and debating with men. Paul said,
1
Corinthians 1: 17: For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel:
not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none
effect. 18: For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness;
but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. 19: For it is written, I
will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the
understanding of the prudent. 20: Where is the wise? where is the
scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish
the wisdom of this world? 21: For after that in the wisdom of God the world by
wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save
them that believe.
We must use “meekness”, chiefly, toward Christ and also
toward our fellow believers and unbelievers because when men oppose us they
oppose themselves, “In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves.” (2
Tim 2: 25) But if we strive, rather than being gentle; if we strive, rather
than trusting the preaching of God’s word; if we strive, rather than being
patient, if we strive, rather than being meek then we are proud and leaning to
our own wisdom and strength. Understand,
this is so when we speak to those who believe the gospel but are in error, the
same as when we speak to those who are yet unbelievers.
Take for instance, a believer who thinks we ought to use
wisdom of words when speaking to unbelievers—to tone down the gospel, to take
the edge off. He is in error. He is not obeying this very word of God. But if I
oppose him and strive with him trying to make him to understand the truth,
rather than trusting Christ to teach him through using my pastor, preaching the
gospel to him, then I have fallen into the same error as my erring brother. Sometimes,
a true believer finds himself in need of repentance. And sometimes, it is
because he has become ensnared, striving over the very word, he is trying to
defend.
ONLY GOD GRANTS
REPENTANCE
The reason we must use the gospel alone is because only
God gives repentance, “if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging
of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of
the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” (2 Tim 2: 25-26)
Lost
sinners no matter how religious or true believers who have fallen into
error—both are the snared captives of the devil. The devil can only do what
Christ permits him to do. But when
sinners are captive we have no ability to free ourselves. The only way they will be freed is if God
give them repentance.
What is
repentance? Repentance is a change of mind so radical that it makes the sinner
renounce and forsake all his former religion which he thought was gain or all
his former error that he thought was right. At the same time, repentance makes
the sinner put all confidence in Christ alone.
Before
God gave him repentance, Paul thought gain was the religious ceremony his
parents performed upon him when he was an infant, the stock and tribe he was
from, his religious denomination, his obedience to the law, and his religious
zeal. While that was the case, he
opposed Christ and every minister of the gospel. It was all he could do. He thought he was right. But after God
granted Paul repentance, he renounced those things as dung, counting it all
loss, that he might have Christ.
Philippians
3: 3: For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice
in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. 4: Though I might also
have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he
might trust in the flesh, I more: 5: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock
of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as
touching the law, a Pharisee; 6: Concerning zeal, persecuting the church;
touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. 7: But what things
were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 8: Yea doubtless, and I count
all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but
dung, that I may win Christ, 9: And be found in him, not having mine own
righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ,
the righteousness which is of God by faith: 10: That I may know him, and the
power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made
conformable unto his death;
How did
Paul have this repentance? Christ sent Ananias to him and to tell him what
Christ had done for him. But remember Ananias did not want to go. He was afraid
of this man. But the Lord told Ananias to trust the Lord—to not strive, to be
patient, and meek toward the Lord, to go and teach Paul the word that Christ sent
him to declare:
Acts 9:
15: But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me,
to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: 16:
For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake. 17: And
Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said,
Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way
as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be
filled with the Holy Ghost. 18: And immediately there fell from his eyes as it
had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.
Christ granted him repentance through the word delivered
by Ananias. So having experienced this power of God through the gospel, Paul
taught Timothy to preach the word and wait on God. He said in another place.
2 Corinthians
4: 1: Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we
faint not; 2: But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking
in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation
of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of
God. 3: But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4: In whom
the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest
the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should
shine unto them. 5: For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and
ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6: For God, who commanded the light to
shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of
the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7: But we have
this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of
God, and not of us.
How
come, you and I who have been granted repentance sometimes find ourselves
striving with men who oppose us? Even
striving over the Power of Christ to work this work through the clear preaching
of the gospel? How come when we do, we
end up in all sort of ungodliness, division and it is like a cancer is eating
us away? It is certainly not because
Christ has let go one for whom he died. But sometimes, when we turn from Christ
and strive with men, Christ allows Satan to take us captive at Christ’s will,
that Christ might set us free through the preaching of the gospel—just to remind
you believer that repentance is granted through Christ’s word not through our
striving. As much as we might like to free an unbeliever or free an erring
brother, as much as we might like to give them this change of mind, only God
can. God grants repentance one way,
through the declaration of the gospel.
Therefore,
“the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all, apt to teach,
patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves, if God
peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And
that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken
captive by him at his will.”
Amen!