Living without Shame
2 Timothy 2:14-26
Turn to 2 Timothy 2. Let’s pray before we begin this passage by Paul, something that has so much here for all of us. Father, we come again humbly to Your Word this morning, trusting that You would open up for us things that we need to understand. Maybe some things that we need to change and things that we need to be reminded. So, again, we ask that You turn us aside from thoughts and distractions, and with a single focus, discovering what You would have for us this morning. And we ask this in the name of Your Son, amen. In our 2 Timothy 2 series Paul has already instructed Timothy to not live in fear, reminding him in chapter one that his life is too purposeful, that God has placed each of us here for a reason. Therefore, we do not want to be hesitant about our placement and purpose. As in reality times when we might even complain about such things as our government or our current situation, we may be suggesting that we are dissatisfied with God. For He is the One who has placed us where we are. I suppose a better response is, Lord, how can I be used, in other words, what is my purpose within the circumstance You have placed me?
Then in chapter two, of course Paul instructed Timothy to live with endurance, teaching Timothy to learn, train, teach, be willing to suffer, and to be focussed. For this life in Christ is such a worthy, glorious life, as Paul reminded Timothy to instruct as the teacher, to battle as the soldier, to run as the athlete, and to work hard as the farmer.
Now this morning look with me at 2:24, “Remind them of these things, solemnly charging them in the presence of God.” What an opening statement to this section! Two great words here, the first is remind, as much of preaching and teaching is not always something new, but often the purpose of preaching is “reminding” people of what they already know. Because we need that. That is one of the great needs of meeting together on Sundays is being reminded of the great truths of Scripture, or I like to say being re-reminded of truth. Rick Baker, my pastor when I was younger, said that Sundays readjust, realign, and reaffirm my right affections about God. In other words, proper instruction, teaching, and preaching rests or points my focus and mind on truth. Also, in line with this is Paul’s instruction to Timothy of “charging” them in the presence of God. I love that, charging them, a word that means to “testify to these things.” To be able to testify to the very truth that you claim. To live out a testimony both in words, but also in action. In other words, the words which you speak, is the person you are. So, Paul is going to lay-out for Timothy in these thirteen verses “living without shame for the Christian is called to an honourable life.”
Now I want to give you some structure to this passage, we noticed last week in 2:1 for the need to be strengthened in Christ Jesus. You and I as believers are “in Christ.” The importance here of understanding that we have been called by Christ. That’s why we have a purpose as we have been called to purposefully do something. I believe many Christians go their whole lives without realizing this, thinking that they came to Christ, but miss that they have been called by Christ. Paul said make your calling and election sure. He wasn’t merely saying to make sure you are a Christian, but he was saying that we need to be certain of what God has called us to do. To become a believer with the intent of getting fire insurance to stay out of hell, that is one of the many benefits of Christianity. But the glory of Christianity is knowing that we live with purpose. This is why Paul could say to Timothy that you do not need to fear or bemoan your situation, for you have been called for this purpose. Brother and sister in Christ, you have been placed where you are as a calling from the sovereign God of the universe, and though the Bible teaches that we receive Christ as Saviour and Lord, we need to emphasize that when we come to Christ, we need to understand that we have been called, and therefore, called for a purpose. And in this section, Paul will take this another step.
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”
2 Tim 2:15 (LSB)
This is part of the transition from the knowledge of being called by God to understanding that we have been called to do the works of God. Do you see the importance of understanding that God has called you for a purpose, because if you miss that, you do not understand the need to become a “worker” of God. Paul said:
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
Eph 2:10 (LSB)
Works that the Bible teaches have been prepared in advance for us individually. And this responsibility to move towards the works of God is so vital so that we are, end of verse 21, “useful to the Master, having been prepared for every good work.” Do you see the transition, called, to do the works of God, so that we may be useful to the Master. And there is nothing wrong in taking a deep breath at this point and wonder what the Lord would have me do. The key, however, is that you understand that progression, as there is no such thing as a Christian being called to heaven, but without a calling to the purposes of God. And this is for every Christian, no matter where we are in our walk with Christ, there is always the need for us to stretch and grow and to deepen, yet moving ahead in Christ is always a challenge for any of us. So, what I wish to do this morning is to help us see from this passage the key elements in this transition from calling, to the works of God, to becoming useful to the Master. And part of this transition is expressed by Paul.
“Now flee youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, with those who call upon the Lord with a pure heart.”
2 Tim 2:22 (LSB)
This movement from youthful lusts or passions to pursuing righteousness and the importance of this is that there can be a danger in desiring to be part of the work of God, while ignoring the need to move from youthful passions. So, this morning I want to give you three areas which Paul clearly defines for Timothy and for us. Three areas that Paul charges Timothy, knowing that Timothy has been called by God, equipped to do the works of God, and becoming useful to the Master. Vital areas of our lives that we will need to address if we are going to live without shame for the Christian is called to such an honourable life. Areas that we will need to focus on.
- A Clearer Understanding (vs 14-18)
Part of our preparation for ministry and part of our spiritual maturity is that we have a great appreciation, knowledge, and dependency on truth.
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”
2 Tim 2:15 (LSB)
The battle between the church and Satan centres around truth. As God is truth and He cannot lie and Satan (John 8:44) is a liar and the father of lies. So that truth is a battleground between the church and Satan. So, when we align ourselves with God, we too speak the truth. Therefore, we should become naturally submissive to the truth of God’s Word. And therefore, we do not want to apologize for being people of truth or declarers of truth, for if falsehood offends God, it should also offend us. So, we should be alerted to such things as the world’s thinking on issues. Many of you may have seen the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, as much of it was a complete perversion. But I would also suggest that this is not to be the Christian’s real focus, for many such things would have gone on in Timothy’s day. And certainly, the church at Ephesus would have been surrounded by sinful lifestyles.
Yet Paul’s focus is always that the Christian would not be sucked into such a lifestyle, but also, that the Christian would accurately handle the word of truth. And this phrase “accurately handling” or “rightly dividing” means to “cut straight,” the Greek word is orthotomeo. As an orthodontist straightens a person’s teeth. Orthodoxy is teaching that correctly aligns or is straight with the Scriptures. That is what we mean by true orthodoxy, or to say someone is orthodox in their teaching. This ought to be the strength of the church, that over long periods of ministry and teaching, that the church is gaining a greater understanding of true orthodoxy. And the reason I have entitled this a “clearer understanding,” is because this must be the goal of every believer. And to continue to practise proper orthodoxy, a Christian, church must not only teach the clear truth of the Scriptures, but there are also times when the church needs to say this is wrong or this is in error, and this is obviously Paul’s concern with Timothy. And the advantage of right teaching is that it directs right thinking and ultimately right choices, which acknowledges that truth needs to be both known and accepted. Notice:
“But avoid godless and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, and their word will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some.”
2 Tim 2:16-18 (LSB)
There is not much information given regarding this issue with Hymenaeus and Philetus, but what we do see in this reference is the great importance placed upon Timothy having to address this issue in the church at Ephesus. In fact, the name Hymenaeus is mentioned in 1 Timothy 1:20, and because of his rather unusual name, some believe him to be the same guy who was causing problems earlier, leading us to think that maybe he was not dealt with then, and therefore is still causing problems in this church. See, the point is this, truth matters because ultimately our life choices will determine if we are convinced of the truth. And there are many good churches that are not afraid to preach the truth, but the greater challenge is that a church would be convinced of the truth, which will ultimately show in its decisions and direction. There is a constant cry within churches and a constant cry from the culture to let go of truth. Yet this growing need to be completely convinced of everything the Bible teaches was obviously a major issue for Paul in his instruction to Timothy. To have a “clearer understanding,” that should be the desire of each of us, so that we would better know that yes this is true, and this is a lie or this is not wise. Secondly:
- A Cleansed Heart (vs 19-21)
The importance of cleansing to the Christian pastor or elder, church leader, Christian parent, or Christian young person is also certain. This is to be the result of the clearer understanding, in other words, to know truth without a heart change has no place in the believer’s life. And this issue of cleansing is all over this section by Paul as well, and Paul’s stern words reveal this.
“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 depart from wickedness.’ Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of clay, and some to honor and dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, having been prepared for every good work.”
2 Tim 2:19-21 (LSB)
Paul says that he stands on the firm foundation of God. This is going beyond the right understanding, as this is the sober understanding that if my life is built on the foundation of Christ, then I must realize the seriousness of living in a way that matches who I claim to be. That Lord, I would flee sin, that I would hate the things that God hates. Jesus said in Matthew 16:18 that upon this rock of Christ, He would build His church. Therefore, this is what you and I stand upon as part of His church. So, this is no small matter, as the message of the Scriptures is that “everyone who names the name of the Lord is to depart from wickedness.” And this major work of God in the believer’s life begins at salvation and carries through to the sanctification of the believer. Obviously, we know it is not enough to know the truth, but it must be accepted and acted upon.
I would suggest that most of our sin is done not because we did not know what to do. Now there may be times when this is the case, but for the most part, our sin is in direct contrast to what we know. Which brings us to the point of the need to be teachable when being exposed to the truth, for a teachable spirit desires to know the truth and to be led by the truth. As many may attend Bible classes or small groups, and talk about a lot of different things, only to allow the truth to fly over their heads, or to continue to sin though they know it is wrong. Some people may give an opinion on a passage and theologically they may be completely correct, but the truth is far from them as they have no intention of living that truth out. Yet a true teachable spirit is far more than giving an opinion or having the correct answer, it is sincerely asking what a passage might mean and being obedient in faith to that truth. See, there is no shame in not knowing something of the Scriptures or trying to work through a difficult passage. But there is shame in not studying the Scriptures or searching the Scriptures or having a teachable spirit in obedience of the Scriptures. And the point here by Paul is that everyone who stands on this firm foundation lives in a way that declares this standing. This is one of those truths in the Scriptures that present a sovereign perspective as well as a human perspective. John MacArthur said this:
“From the divine perspective, it is His sovereign election of ‘those who are His,’ and from the human perspective it is the righteousness of the faithful believer, the one ‘who names the name of the Lord’ and abstains ‘from wickedness.’”
John MacArthur, 2 Timothy Commentary 86
Paul is using an example here of various vessels in any household. Some vessels which he calls vessels of honour, are those things that are used for eating and serving food, while other vessels or containers would be used for trash or garbage.
Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, having been prepared for every good work.”
2 Tim 2:21 (LSB)
Really in this analogy Paul gives states that whatever vessel you are, if it is cleansed it will be made honourable and set apart for the Master’s service, and therefore, the heart, the goal, and the desire of the true believer is to be a vessel that is fit for the Master’s use. Do we see here again that the calling of God on our lives? That my salvation is not merely that I gain heaven, but my salvation involves a calling on my life to be a vessel that is usable by God. And the question is, is that my desire? Is part of my prayer each day? O Lord, would you use me for Your glory today?
So, what kinds of things need cleansing in my life? Well, the text uses the term “wickedness” or iniquity. This is a Greek word adekea, which is any kind of unrighteous heart. It not only pertains to the act itself, but also includes the motive or condition of the heart. Therefore, it really cuts to the core. Paul later (vs 22) says to Timothy to flee youthful lusts or passions. Again, not just about outward sin, but the sin within. What are youthful passions? Well, this could include many sins of the heart, lust for sexual sins, but it can also mean more than that. A lust for things, lust for power, jealousy, pride, a desire to argue, or being overly assertive. And the reason these are called youthful lusts or passions is not that they are in young people more than older people, but this is where they begin, that as we grow older, the sin that we were born with, begins to grow and show itself and flow out of us as we grow out of our childhood.
And (vs 21) the Legacy Standard Bible and New American Standard says that if anyone cleanses himself from these things. Therefore, I believe the cleansing here includes not only from iniquity, but also, from the sin of not honouring the Word of truth. In other words, the cleansing process includes both right living and right thinking, as not only can our sin and emotions tend to take us all over the place in our choices, but sometimes our sin and our emotions can steer us all over the map in what we believe. Where God’s roadmap and God’s purpose for us can be completely neglected as we can be tossed and turned by secular thinking and by our sinful hearts.
So, Paul would say to us, would you get that sin out? Would you get that wrong thinking out? You need to cleanse that sinfulness and you need to cleanse that kind of thinking. And to be a useful vessel, there needs to be that flow from Timothy cleansing himself from youthful lusts to pursuing righteousness. This seems to be Paul’s non-negotiable directive. The Christian must think of himself as working for the Master. That as we go to a secular job we may go in at eight until five, or some of you go in at 6pm and work to 6am, in other words, you at that time are working for your earthly employer. But the Christian is working for Christ always, the perfect Master, and the benefits of Christianity and hard work bring great joy, and the assumption of the Christian worker is that he would strive for a cleansed heart and is eager to repent when he does wrong to disobey his Master. And the final thing that Paul mentions to Timothy that is vital when transitioning from being called, to do the works of God, to becoming useful to the Master; along with clarity of truth and cleansing is:
- A Godly Character (vs 22-25)
“Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s slave must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition.”
2 Tim 2:22-25a (LSB)
Look at the kind of character that Paul encourages in Timothy: faith, love, peace, purity, able to teach, patience, and gentleness. Not only a running from sin, a cleansing from sin; but also, a building into our character. And the idea here is that these are things that are not part of us as humans, but they are character qualities that must be pursued. These are qualities that we must go after and this pursuit must be sincere, as they are a result of calling on the Lord with a pure heart. Time does not permit for me to teach on each of these at great length, but I want to say this, and I want to zero in a little bit on family. Sometimes as parents we want to find answers to the how to questions, or which way questions, or when questions, or what should I do in this case questions, the how late questions, which school questions, what to watch questions, and the where to go questions. And those are all good questions, and they are all very important questions when raising our children. But here is the problem. The Bible does not give us any specific answers to any of these questions. Now the Bible certainly gives to us a great deal of wisdom to help us answer many of these questions. But sometimes it is far easier to focus on these kinds of questions, because it allows us to sit back at night and think, I made all the right decisions today.
But let me share with you what is much, much harder, and it is exactly what Paul shares with Timothy. Imagine if Paul wanted to make an easy fix in the Ephesian church ministry, he could have said, “Timothy, I want you to do this about this problem, and to decide this, about this issue, and here is how to fix the problem over here. And Timothy would have likely thought thanks Paul, those are some helpful tips in sorting out some of the problems at the Ephesian Bible Chapel. But what does Paul share with Timothy to help him in his ministry? He challenges him to flee youthful lusts and to add character to his life. It would like having some issues at home with your family, or some problems with your marriage, or maybe some conflict at the workplace, and we asked Paul what should we do. And he gives no clear advice how to solve any of these problems, but he would ask, how is your faith doing? What about your love and your peace with God? Are you fighting with people Timothy? Or are you teaching them, are you showing them patience? Oh, and by the way, Timothy, are you correcting your opponents with gentleness? And Timothy was probably thinking as he was reading Paul’s letter, Paul, I don’t need to know how to act, I need to know what, what to do!
So, let’s just look at one of these. Do you know what the Bible says about gentleness? Paul spoke of it in 1 Corinthians 4:21 about a spirit of gentleness. And he said that he pleaded with the Corinthians (2 Cor 10:1) by the gentleness and forbearance of Christ. Paul also listed the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal 5). He spoke about restoring a sinful brother with a spirit of gentleness (Gal 6:1). He said to bear with one another with all humility and gentleness (Eph 4:2). He told Timothy in his first letter to pursue gentleness (6:11). And even old bumbling Peter, gave the importance of defending the faith in 1 Peter 3:15, and be ready if anyone asks you. But he said this, do it with gentleness. Where’s the verse in the Bible that says I can get mad? Where is the permission to fly off the handle, there must be a verse somewhere? Do you hear what Paul is saying? That within our homes, the rules, the directions, the guidelines, what needs to over-ride that Mom and Dad is a pursuit of godly character in your own life. Much can be accomplished in a home that is characterized by peace, gentleness, love, and patience. Now I want to say that gentleness is not backing down in addressing an issue, but it does determine how an issue is addressed. William Mounce said this:
“A strong rebuke, if given with gentleness, is most likely to wound deeply: for it is possible, indeed it is, to touch more effectively by gentleness, than one overawes by boldness.”
William D. Mounce, Pastoral Epistles 535
In other words, more effective than a quick yelling at someone is to gently address the situation in love. And I do not want to overstate gentleness from this passage, as Paul emphasizes several character qualities, peace, love, purity, and patience, along with gentleness; as the message here is that much of our example, arguably the greatest influence we have, is that of character. And Timothy was expected to act this way with his opponents, therefore, surely, we can act this way with those we love within our homes. Church family, in all your decisions, direction, and ministry, families, don’t ever miss the importance of the quality of our character, Paul didn’t. In many of our counselling seminars we are often looking to know what to do. Whereas the greatest emphasis in the Bible is how to act, and Paul’s focus here is that the higher the character, the more usable the vessel. I believe we can read Paul wrong at times. For if I was asked about Paul, I think I would be quick to say that he is brilliant, intelligent, and that he knew his theology. And I would probably be right. But I am not sure I would place up there, the fact that Paul was a great man of godly character. We tend to divide these two things: spiritual knowledge and godly character. Paul teaches that they are both paramount.
If you are a believer this morning, you have been called by God, and the challenge is to become a faithful worker, who is becoming useful to the Master. And you are moving from sinfulness to righteousness by the grace of God in your life, which includes all three things: convinced of the truth, cleansing from sin, and quality of character. And the emphasis is far more on character than the gifting. So that the best musician is the godly musician. The best nursery worker is the godly nursery worker. The best church leader is the godly church leader. So that whatever we have been called by God to do or however we have been gifted, we are able to serve Christ “without shame for the Christian is called to an honourable life.” Let’s pray. “For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus, for a purpose, every good work, which God prepared in advance.” Father, for what we know not, teach us. For what we have not, give us. And for what we are not, make us. And all God’s people said, amen.