SSL 9 - 2 Tim. 2:14-26
LAST WEEK: In 2 Tim. 2:1-13, the theme of the lesson was suffering and enduring, specifically, the hardships one might be forced to endure for the sake of Christ Jesus. Paul discussed a series of examples that Paul tells Timothy to consider, among which included soldiers, athletes, farmers, Jesus Christ, and then Paul himself. We boiled the lesson down to four broad points of application: 1. Making disciples isn't a one time thing but a multi-generational process. Making disciples isn't a just a one-time thing but a multi-generational process, reaching and teaching others who will keep on reaching and teaching others, etc. 2. In Paul's examples comparing the Christian life to a soldier, and athlete, and a farmer, all three of them required perseverance in order to succeed. In the same way, Christian ministry, in whatever form it takes, will involve commitment, effort, patience, and suffering. 3. The only thing that can "imprison" the Word of God is our silence. Providing to us a great example even while imprisoned and facing death, Paul was communicating God's truth to Timothy and other early churches, and his words of truth ultimately became part of the NT, so that it is still impacting lives all over this world. 4. Following Paul's example, we must "endure" because of the certainty that through our efforts to share the Gospel, God will save some. In simple language, Paul endures-and so must we-because of the certainty that through his-or our-efforts to share the Gospel, God will save some, that is, "those who are chosen (v. 10b)."
THIS WEEK: In 2 Tim. 2:14-26, Paul gives Timothy instructions on leading other believers. Two important themes here are avoiding pointless bickering and holding to sound biblical teachings. Arguments over non-essential issues quickly turn into feuds, poisoning the body of Christ just as gangrene attacks the physical body. Paul names specific false teachers, but brings a note of compass-sion. Here, he reminds Timothy that gentleness and patience are key. After all, those who do not believe are not our enemies: they are those we are trying to rescue from the control of the Devil!
Read 2 Tim. 2:14-19 - AN UNASHAMED WORKMAN
14 Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers. 15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. 16 But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, 17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some. 19 Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness."
v. 14a: "Remind them of these things" - The "them" to be reminded are: (1) those who are being persecuted, not to give up but to endure; (2) those who are be deceived by the false teachers, to not turn from the truth that is in Christ; and (3) those who have fallen away, to turn back in repentance and confession. "These things" are the four conditional "ifs" of vv. 11-13: "For if we 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, for He cannot deny Himself." Explanation: (1) Because we died with him (several interpretations of "died") we are assured that we will live with Him" eternally; (2) Our eternal reward for endurance will be to reign with God in heaven. (3) a person who denies Christ-has not repented and confessed Jesus as Lord-will be denied heaven; and (4) even if a believer has abandoned the faith-"i.e., faithless," God hasn't abandoned him.
v. 14b: "and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers" - Paul commands Timothy to confront these false teachers, to expose and condemn their gross distortions of the true Gospel, and not to wrangle, in short, not to get into meaningless arguments about it but tell them straight out to STOP! They pretend to be scholars, to know what they're talking about, but they are liars, deceivers. This is what drives cults like Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormonism, and others. They all contradict Rev. 22:18-19.
v. 15: "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth" - The word "diligent" (Gk. spoudazó) means to apply yourself with intensity. "Accurately handling" (Gk. orthotomeó) literally means to cut straight, in the context of a carpenter who makes a perfectly true cut. For preachers and teachers, this means serious preparation, understanding, and importantly, enthusiasm for Biblical truth. I agree with J. R. Cousins-that good teaching should be thought-provoking and not merely instructional. And as to not being "ashamed," I am "honored" that God puts words in my mouth when I study and prepare.
v. 16: "But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness" - While Timothy is busy studying and preparing to teach, Paul warns him to avoid the trap of allowing himself to be taken in and distracted by "worldly and empty chatter." This can be categorized as human ideas, opinions, wisdom, values, politics, etc. that have no relevance or authority in the simple truth of God's word. One modern example of this is the so-called "social gospel"-where churches and Christians become almost entirely focused on social problems while virtually ignoring the important doctrines of sin, salvation, heaven and hell, and the future kingdom of God. Churches that have gone down this road really are no longer functioning as churches in the Biblical sense of the word.
v. 17-18: "and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some." - "Gangrene" (Gk. gangraina = an eating sore) is an infection of the flesh that spreads and kills other flesh. False teaching and doctrine have the same affect: it spreads like an infectious disease and takes over an unsuspecting audience. Paul tells Timothy It must be exposed and stopped before it takes hold. The two mentioned by name, "Hymenaeus and Philetus," the first already identified in 1 Tim. 1:20, are reported to have taught that they were already in God's millennial kingdom and that there was no resurrection to come, when Paul's teaching had made it crystal clear that the bodily resurrection of Christ and the future bodily resurrection of the church are foundational doctrines of the faith.
v. 19: "Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness" - when Paul says "Nevertheless," he means that in spite of false teachers like the two mentioned above, the firm foundation of God, which is the church, still stands, with its "seal" (= God's inscription of ownership). This is the "invisible" church. False teachers may do great damage to a church from the inside and persecution will attack the church from the outside, but the church is built on the faithfulness of God, who knows those who truly belong to Him, and He will never fail His people.
TRUTH 1: False teaching and doctrine can spread like gangrene. Gangrene is an infection of the flesh that spreads and kills other flesh. False teaching and doctrine have the same affect: it spreads like an infectious disease and takes over an unsuspecting audience. When discovered in a church, it must be exposed and stopped-i.e., cut out like gangrene-before it infects the church.
TRUTH 2: Any church must be built on the firm foundation of God. This is the "invisible" church. False teachers may do great damage to a church from the inside and persecution will attack the church from the outside, but the church is built on the faithfulness of God, who knows those who truly belong to Him, and He will never fail His people. Jesus said, "on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Mt. 16:18).
Read 2 Timothy 2:20-26 - VESSELS OF HONOR AND DISHONOR
20 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. 21 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. 22 Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23 But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. 24 The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, 25 with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.
v. 20: "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 " - Continuing the church metaphor of v. 19, Paul now moves from the solid foundation-the "invisible church"-to the its contents-the "visible" church. First, he describes it as a "large house" because of (1) Who it belongs to-God; (2) the divine architect who designed it-God again; (3) the great cost it took to build it-Jesus' life; and (4) its importance as the center of God's plan for humanity. The gold and silver honorable vessels and the wood and earthenware dishonorable vessels are the people who makeup the visible church. There have been varying interpretations of this analogy, but here's the easy one: The honorable vessels are born-again believers who serve faithfully in the church and the dishonorable vessels are unrepentant sinners like the false teachers.
v. 21: "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." - "these things" refer to the heresies of the false teachers. Paul is saying that if these unrepentant sinners-people deceived by false teachers or even the false teachers themselves-will "cleanse" themselves of their false beliefs (i.e., confess their sin before God) and accept the true Gospel, they will convert themselves to honor-able vessels who are "useful to the Master, prepared for very good work." Keep in mind that God can save anyone He chooses to. Paul certainly knew this first hand.
v. 22: "Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart" - Here, Paul shifts gears and tells Timothy that he must also flee from the sin of his own flesh. The word for "lust" (Gk. épithymia) means a strong desire. While modern usage usually relates to sexual desire, the Greek word doesn't carry this connotation. Most likely, Paul is referring to the passions of a youthful mind and ego that Timothy would need to keep under control, especially in terms of patience and restraint. In telling Timothy what to "pursue," Paul reminds him that cleansing isn't just avoiding the bad things but putting in practice actions that show godly character-righteousness, faith, and peace-and doing it in fellowship with other believers, in other words, don't isolate yourself.
v. 23: "But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels" - Here, Paul reiterates what he said about "empty chatter" in v. 16. The false teachers-the ones of Paul's day and all of the religious debates we hear today-are pointless word games that have more to do with what is popular than what is true. If you allow yourself to be drawn into one of these debates you're only going to get angry and might even say something that's not nice. Avoid them. This is not the same as talking to a confused and unbelieving person who wants to know the truth.
v. 24: "The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged" - As a pastor, Timothy is a bond-servant (slave) of Jesus Christ. A pastor's job is to resolve conflict, not create or enlarge it. And being "kind," often means being nice to people who don't deserve it. This is on point with Proverbs 15:1: A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger. The point is that a true servant doesn't care about winning arguments and proving his point just so he can be right but is far more concerned for souls. And likewise, the ability to point people toward Biblical solutions to problems is a vital teaching skill for a pastor.
v. 25: "with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth" - In this context, "those who are in opposition" refers to unbelievers who do not have knowledge of the true Gospel. Today we would think of them as secular humanists (i.e., atheists or agnostics) who oppose the church and its beliefs. Here, Paul emphasizes the importance of not dealing with them harshly or arguing with them but correcting them in a spirit of gentleness. It's ultimately up to God to convict them of the truth.
v. 26: "and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will" - Although the fall of man in Gen. 3 had a damaging effect on human reason, salvation by faith imparts the ability to begin to see reality-i.e., the truth about God. The type of "snare" Paul referred to was something used to lure an animal into a trap with bait. In the same way, the devil tempts unbelievers with "bait" to keep them trapped and away from the freedom that Christ brings. The unbelievers here aren't pictured as enemies but as prisoners, people who have no spiritual power over the devil and are therefore his "captive." As believers, we are expected to share the Gospel with and show them Christian kindness, knowing that God can save them. As Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (Jn. 10:10).
TRUTH 3: In Paul's analogy of the vessels, the "visible" church consists of honorable people who are born-again believers and dishonorable people who are unrepentant sinners. In the context of the lesson, the "dishonorable vessels" were the false teachers and their followers. Yet, Paul went on to say that if these unrepentant sinners-people deceived by false teachers or even the false teachers themselves-will "cleanse" themselves of their false beliefs (i.e., confess their sin before God) and accept the true Gospel, they will convert themselves to honorable vessels who would be then be "useful to the Master, prepared for very good work." Keep in mind that God can save anyone He chooses to. Paul certainly learned this lesson first hand on the road to Damascus in Acts 9.
TRUTH 4: Christians shouldn't see unbelievers as enemies but as prisoners. These are people the devil has snared with bait to keep them away from the freedom that Christ offers. Sadly, they have no spiritual power over the devil and become his "captive." As believers, we are expected to share the Gospel with and show them Christian kindness, knowing that God can save them. As Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (Jn. 10:10).
