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SERMON
In his last letter to Timothy Paul writes, "…everyone who wants to
live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and
impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived."
How does that make you feel? His words may not be particularly
encouraging, but they're undoubtedly true. You may have once thought
that being a Christian was a walk in the park – and at times, I'll
confess, it is. For those who have chosen to follow Jesus there is a
sense of utter well-being and peace that I've certainly known on
occasions. Other Christians will tell you the same thing. But I'm here
to tell you that, if you plan to make a serious run at living your
everyday life as a disciple of Jesus Christ, it will cost you, it's
going to hurt, and that is simply because of what we're up against.
Paul had just finished painting for Timothy a rather grim picture of the
society in which this young man had been called to minister. At the
beginning of chapter 3 this is what Paul wrote: "But mark this: there
will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of
themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to
their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving,
slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,
treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of
God – having a form of godliness but denying its power." That is how
things are bound to be, says Paul; and because of that, Christians will
face some "terrible times" in the last days.
Allow me a couple of brief observations about that passage. When Paul
talks about "the last days," some people assume that he is talking about
the crisis time immediately preceding Jesus' return. But it seems to me
just as likely that he's using that phrase the same way Peter used it in
his Pentecost sermon when he quoted the prophet Joel: "In the last
days, God says, I will pour out my spirit on all people." (And,
of course, that is exactly what God did.) Or look how that phrase is
used in Hebrews 1. "In the past God spoke through the prophets, but
in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son." In both
cases the phrase "the last days" refers to the present. That is, it's a
shorthand way of speaking about the days between Jesus' first appearance
and his final one.
To me, that makes more sense. Rather than seeing the phrase "the last
days" as a reference to some future time, or a sign that Jesus is about
to return, what Paul describes here is a recurring reality for all
Christ's followers in all times and places. Remember what Paul
goes on to say in vs. 12. "…everyone who wants to live a godly
life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." Of course, Jesus
said the same thing to his disciples: "No servant is greater than his
master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also." That's
the way it's bound to be.
That raises a troubling question. Assuming Paul's assessment is correct,
why are Christians in America generally so comfortable? Why are we so
accepted, so well received? I can think of only two plausible
explanations. Either we live in a Christian culture that shares our
values (and therefore naturally supports our agenda) or we have
accommodated ourselves to the values of a largely non-Christian culture
(and therefore we don't rub them the wrong way). Folks, much as I love
my country, I simply do not find compelling evidence that we live in a
Christian culture. I suspect we Christians, at least in America, are as
comfortable as we are because, in many ways, we've allowed ourselves to
be tamed by our culture, we have adopted many of its values, and we have
done it more than we realize or want to admit.
According to Paul, the reason Christians will be persecuted in these
troubled times is not because people hate Christians. It's because our
values stand in opposition to the prevailing values of the culture we
live in. And because that's how it is, non-Christians, without any
deliberate malice (I mean, they're not out to destroy the Christian
faith) but without even thinking about the consequences, will create a
moral climate that causes all kinds of trouble for those who are trying
to live their lives in obedience to the Lord Jesus.
In short, you and I are forced to choose between serving Christ and
serving culture. And despite what you may have been told, that choice is
not always an easy one. The fact is that we are beset with all sorts of
pressures to conform to values that obedience to Christ simply will not
allow. So when, in faithfulness to Christ, you make those unpopular
choices – when you say, "Here I stand" – you might as well count on it:
you're going to provoke a reaction from others; and it isn't likely to
be complementary. You're going to have problems.
So, in this last letter that he will write to Timothy (and perhaps to
anyone else, for that matter) Paul goes on, beginning at verse 10, to
give this young man some very practical advice on how to keep his
balance as a follower of Christ in troubled times. But notice how he
does it. Paul models the kind of advice that carries weight when given
to people who are facing trouble. He doesn't wax theoretical or spout
platitudes. Before anything else, he simply speaks out of his own
experience.
In verses 10-11 Paul reminds Timothy of the troubles he himself has been
through. And it's not as though Paul were boasting about what a martyr
he's been. He is simply reminding Timothy of two things: first, that he
knows what he's talking about; and second, that in all the persecutions
he has faced, God gave him the strength not only to endure the trials,
but to come out stronger on the other side. When you think about it,
you're more likely to be encouraged by advice from someone who's been
through the very thing you're facing. So Paul first reminds his young
friend that he knows first-hand about God's faithfulness in troubled
times.
Then Paul does something quite unexpected, and it fascinates me. He
seems to invite a perplexing question, but then ignores it. In verse 12
he says that everyone who tries to be godly is going to suffer for it,
and that evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse. Why is that?
I suspect all of us have wondered why good people have to suffer, while
the nasty ones actually become nastier (and often seem to get away with
it). Why is that? Well, even though he had raised the issue, evidently
it was a question that Paul wasn't interested in answering.
In fact he ignores the question and seems to encourage Timothy to do the
same. First he tells Timothy that bad things happen to good people and
good things happen to bad people. Why? Well, apparently it's immaterial.
He simply says to Timothy, in effect: "That's life!" Then he
writes, "But as for you…" Now, what's going on here?
I think there's a valuable lesson to be learned here on what we are to
do when faced with a perplexing, perhaps unanswerable question. Paul's
advice to Timothy under such circumstances was to go back to the basics
in his own experience. "But as for you," he said,
"continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because
you know those from whom you learned it…"
I have a confession. At times I enjoy debating obscure theological
questions for which there are no clear answers. But I fear those of us
who do that often have the perverted notion that, if we sound
sufficiently erudite, others will assume we actually know what we're
talking about – that we are wiser than we really are. Too often, I fear,
we succeed. We delude not only others, but ourselves as well. Paul
wanted to protect Timothy, so at verse 14 he wrote to his protégé,
"But as for you… Don't play those games. Stick to what you know
from your own experience to be true."
The point is this: Just as there were false teachers in Timothy's church
at Ephesus who got into what Paul called "foolish and stupid arguments,"
so there are false teachers who make trouble for Christians in every
age. They prey upon those who seem to be forever in search of an
intellectual idol. They victimize those sorry idealists whom Paul
described earlier as those who are "always learning but never able to
acknowledge the truth." Paul says to Timothy, "That's a dead
end."
There are those teachers who love to expound their philosophies; who
want you to believe that their lofty sounding ideas are infinitely more
important than your own personal experiences. To which Paul would reply:
"Horsefeathers! Timothy, don't get hooked by that kind of thinking.
Whenever you encounter that sort of intellectual snobbery, ask yourself
this one question: ‘What do I know to be true from my own experience?'
If you focus on that one question, you won't go far astray. You know
what is true, Timothy. And why do you know that it's true? Because you
know those from whom you learned it, and you know that they are
trustworthy."
That's what Paul was saying to Timothy in verse 14: "…continue in
what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know
those from whom you learned it." Paul said the same thing earlier in
this letter about his own faith. He wrote: "I am not ashamed, because
I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to
guard what I've entrusted to him…"
It's reassuring to know that something can be true simply because it is
objectively true. In other words, something can be true whether you
believe it or not. But the marvelous thing about how faith works is
that, often, you become convinced of just how true something is because
of the integrity of the one who taught that truth to you.
Case in point: Paul goes on at verse 15 to remind Timothy how those who
loved him had nursed him on the truth. From the time he could barely
talk the Scriptures had been fed to him. I hope you know what an immense
blessing it is to have known from infancy the word of God that makes you
wise for salvation. I know that my grandchildren are getting that kind
of nurture. I was talking recently with my four-year-old granddaughter,
Kate. She told me that she had just asked Jesus to live in her heart.
That child will always know who she is and to whom she belongs. I beg of
you, don't ever underestimate the huge importance of teaching the truth
in God's Word to your children. Paul reminds Timothy that he had that
same blessed advantage.
Then Paul adds this deceptively simple statement: "All Scripture is
God-breathed…" How God managed to breathe his eternal truth into the
writings of some very time-bound characters is a mystery we're not going
to solve this side of heaven. We simply affirm that it's true. We face
the same sort of mystery in the person of Jesus Christ. We affirm that
he was both thoroughly human and yet wholly God. How do you explain that
mystery? Nobody can – not fully. And yet neither the Word of God
incarnate nor the Word of God written requires our logical proof to
establish their authority. As far as I'm concerned, I would rather trust
Jesus and the Scriptures than my theories about either one.
But it's what Paul went on to say about the Scriptures that captured me:
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful…" Evidently
Paul's passion is not only for what the Scriptures are, but for
what they can do. They can teach, rebuke, correct, train in
righteousness. But why? So we can all be really well-adjusted
Christians? No. Paul says that the Scriptures do all that "so that
God's men and women may be thoroughly equipped for every good work!"
God expects you to not only believe his word is true, but let it equip
you to live in a way that proves it to be true.
In summary, it's as though Paul were saying to Timothy (although I hope
you'll take his advice personally): Let me give you some advice on how
to keep your poise in troubled times. When times are tough, remember
this: you are never alone. When you stand for Christ, you are standing
in the company of countless brothers and sisters who have also kept the
faith when it wasn't popular. Just make sure that if you're persecuted,
it's because you're standing for what you know to be true. And you know
in your own experience what is true. God's Word is utterly reliable. And
of this much you can be absolutely certain. No matter how tough things
get, God will see you through. You have his Holy Word on it.
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