“Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that
are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through
the Holy Spirit who lives in us, that good thing entrusted to you.” (2 Timothy 1:13-14 HCSB)
The
Bible we read may have a leather cover, worn with use and the pages yellowing
with age. It might even be a paperback,
when new, it was purchased for a few dollars and now, tattered by time, could
not even be sold at a second hand store.
But I am telling you that Bible you hold is truly a treasure—the
treasure of truth.
The Psalmist declared, “Since I love Your commands more than gold, even the purest gold,” (Ps.119:127) and that
speaks of Scripture’s inestimable worth.
The value of something is determined primarily by two
things: what someone is willing to pay for it and what is received from
it. We often take our Bibles for
granted, not considering the suffering and blood that many have gone through to
make this Book available. Its message has been written in the crimson ink of
martyrs’ blood—and still people die for it today. This Book is of infinite worth for it
contains eternal wealth—the message of salvation! “For whoever wants to save his life will
lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me and the gospel will save it. For what does
it benefit a man to gain the whole
world yet lose his life?” (Mark 8:35-36)
Paul is reminding Timothy of this. The text we focus on today is from the final
letter of the Apostle Paul, who will soon die for his faithfulness to the
truth. He will testify, “I have kept the
faith.” (4:7) He had been entrusted with
a sacred stewardship of Scripture and now will challenge another—his young
protégé, Timothy—to be faithful to the Word of God, also. Timothy was being
handed the torch of truth, which has been passed from runner to runner across
the centuries, and now has been thrust into our hands. Will we carry that light, and then as we
complete our leg of the race, relay it to the next generation?
If we are to do so, then there are several elements of
this stewardship that we must understand and apply. The first one concerns GROUNDING IN THE TRUTH as underscored in 2 Timothy 1:1-5.
“clearly recalling your sincere faith that first
lived in your grandmother Lois, then in your mother Eunice, and that I am
convinced is in you also.” (v.5)
Paul can identify Timothy’s faith as genuine because
it rests upon the solid ground of truth.
Observe that it is UNFAILING IN ITS TRUSTWORTHINESS.
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, for the promise of life in Christ Jesus:
To Timothy, my dearly loved son.
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ
Jesus our Lord.” (v.1-2)
We stand upon the promises of God. Paul speaks specifically of “the promise of
life in Christ Jesus.” God cannot lie.
He never deceives. He is never
mistaken. He always delivers, for there
are no unforeseen circumstances that would prevent Him from keeping His word.
The dearness of Paul’s love for Timothy expressed here
was rooted in the depth of God’s love for Timothy. This is an incredible fact taught in the Word
of God: “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”
Flowing from that fountain of love are rivers of grace,
mercy and peace. These are provided in
salvation.
The
ground of truth is solid, for it is not only unfailing in its trustworthiness,
it is UNCHANGING IN ITS TRANSMISSION.
“I thank God,
whom I serve with a clear conscience as my
ancestors did, when I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day. Remembering
your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy, clearly
recalling your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois, then
in your mother Eunice, and that I am convinced is in you also.” (v.3-5)
The
revelation of God had been given to the nation of Israel
Our
stewardship of truth requires its unchanging transmission to our youth! If we fail here, we fail completely! If
someone comes into the Trauma Unit of the ER, bleeding to death, everything
else becomes a secondary priority. This
is an evangelical emergency! We are hemorrhaging
young people in church life today. The problem
starts in the home, for God has given the parents the responsibility to
transmit the truth to their children as Lois and Eunice did, but that is not
helped by the church’s failure to train parents and support them! Then, what about those who come through our
doors from broken homes or unbelieving parents?
Our ministry requires a passion to reach the next generation as Paul
evidenced here.
Go
to many a Baptist church today and you will find the patient is dying. All you see are a small number of
white-headed people, their numbers declining with diminishing health and
advancing age, where there are dramatically more funerals than baby dedication
services. That is a failure in
stewardship of Scripture. We have not
grounded young disciples in the truth.
When
there is grounding in the truth, it should lead to GROWING BY THE TRUTH as described in 1:6-12.
“Therefore, I
remind you to keep ablaze the gift of God that is in you through the laying
on of my hands.” (v.6)
The fire had been ignited in Timothy’s soul, and
now needed to be stoked into a blaze. To
change the metaphor, once the seed of truth has taken root in the soil of our soul, we must
cultivate that truth so we grow and become fruitful.
Paul
was an example of this. He was converted,
then called and then committed to the task—eventually consumed by it. Timothy is to follow that same model. There are four components listed here.
The
first is to have A PASSION FOR GROWTH, “keep ablaze the gift” (v.6). Passion
fuels our growth. There is always a
danger that the fire will go out. Tend
the fire of your devotion! It is what we
literally do on a cold winter day as the fire begins to diminish in the
fireplace. We take a poker and stab and
stir up the logs so that they flame up again.
Paul
tells Timothy to do this.
Has
the fire of your passion for the Word of God grown cold? Do you find the Word of God as delightful and
desirable as ever? David said it was
sweeter than honey out of the comb. May
God keep us passionate in pursuing truth!
I have been called of God to jab you with the poker through preaching—I
pray it is working!
Then
we find there will be A POWER FOR GROWTH.
“For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment. So don’t be ashamed of the testimony about our
Lord, or of me His prisoner. Instead, share in suffering for
the gospel, relying on the power of God.” (v.7-8)
Timothy had a struggle with timidity. Truth would stiffen his spine and stabilize
his steps. It would drive away fear and
supplant it with faith. It would produce
the fruit of power, love and sound judgment.
This would lead to reckless abandon to Christ. Paul set this pattern. He was writing from a prison cell, on death
row, for the testimony of truth. He
underlines how he was able to stand, “relying on the power of God.” That same power is available to us. It sustained Paul and it would sustain
Timothy and we will discover it will sustain us.
There
is also A PURPOSE IN GROWTH.
“He has saved us and called us with a holy calling,
not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.
This has now been made evident through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who has abolished death and has
brought life and immortality to light
through the gospel.
For this [gospel] I was appointed a herald, apostle, and teacher”
(v.9-11).
Did you notice the word “purpose,” conveying that God
had a purpose in saving Paul? We are
told that purpose in verse eleven, “appointed a herald, apostle, and teacher.”
Paul was saved to serve. He speaks of it
as being designed in eternity “before time began,” yet manifested in
history.
You are not an accident—God has a purpose for your
life—and I would suggest it is to bear witness Christ for one thing. We grow in Him in to go for Him.
Further,
we find A PERSISTENCE IN GROWTH, “and that is why I suffer these things.
But I am not ashamed, because I know the One I have believed in and am
persuaded that He is able to guard what has been entrusted to me until that
day.” (v.12)
We
can persistently be faithful to God because He is persistently faithful to us! Our commitment is connected to His
commitment. We entrust our souls to Him
and He then will entrust a stewardship to us.
How
long must we be faithful? When is the
work done? Not, “until that day”—the day we stand before Him at the end of time
and give account. Then our labor is
ended and we rest. Our growing has
reached its goal, for we will be made like Christ whom we then see face to
face. It is then we hear those precious
words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Grounding
in the truth and growing by the truth calls us to stewardship and the GUARDING OF THE TRUTH as demanded in 1:13-15.
“Guard, through the Holy Spirit who
lives in us, that good thing entrusted to you.” (v.14)
Someone
will always try to steal your treasure.
Riches must be guarded. The devil
is a thief. Cry out, “Stop thief!”
So,
we have TRUTH TO HOLD FAST.
“Hold on to the
pattern of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith
and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through
the Holy Spirit who lives in us, that good thing entrusted to you. This you know:
All those in Asia have turned
away from me,including Phygelus and Hermogenes.” (v.13-15)
Greek
scholar, Kenneth Wuest, has commented: “Particular
words are to be retained and used so that the doctrinal statements of the truth
may remain accurate and a norm for future teachers and preachers.” This is “the pattern of sound teaching.”
We would call this
systematic theology and doctrinal confession. Don’t let it slip! Engrave it on your heart and educate the
young— both those who are young in age and in faith.
The
truth is a TREASURE TO KEEP SAFE, ““Guard, through the Holy Spirit who lives in us, that good
thing entrusted to you.” (v.14) The Spirit of truth will help us preserve the
truth. He is its source of the truth and
He safeguards the truth. He functions as
a kind of spiritual radar within the child of God sounding an alarm when error
is detected.
John describes this ministry of the Spirit as a sacred
anointing, “I
have written these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. The anointing you received from Him remains
in you, and you don’t need anyone to teach you. Instead, His anointing teaches
you about all things and is true and is not a lie; just as He has taught you, remain in
Him.” (1 John 2:26-27)
When
the alarm goes off in our heart, we must loudly sound it with our lips. There are those who are not trained in detecting
error so easily due to their immaturity.
“But solid food
is for the mature — for those whose senses have been trained to distinguish
between good and evil.” (Heb.5:14)
If
we aren’t faithful to guard this treasure, we will answer to God! It is His truth and we are accountable for
how we handle it.
This
means also that there is TREACHERY TO BOLDLY CONFRONT, “This you know:
All those in Asia have turned
away from me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.” (v.15)
These
false teachers were called out. We shy
away from that today—to our shame. In our
society where syncretism flourishes and the great doctrine of political correctness
is the one creed, the church has lost her voice in speaking out against heresy.
No
one likes to have the sharp scalpel of truth to cut away at them. They will howl, but heresy is a cancer that
kills churches. It is a malignancy that
never gets better, and must be excised.
This is our stewardship of Scripture.
It is our duty to safeguard the treasure of truth.
God
has promised to preserve His Word. He
will do so. Even in the darkest hours of
apostasy in church history, there has always been a remnant that held to sound
doctrine. These will be rewarded in
“that day.” May we be in that number and
not as those who, “turned away.”
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