The Essentials: The Word, The Faith and the Community
2 Timothy 3:16-4:8
All week, as I’ve been preparing this message for you, I have thought about my father who died 2 ½ years ago. He was a man who came to faith in Jesus in his 30s. He was spiritually growing and mentally alert up to the very end. But, at the very end, it was clear that his body was failing and that his end was near. We had a wonderful conversation on the phone not long before he died. I remember so well how, just before we hung up, he said, “Greg, just before we finish, there are a few things I want to say. First, I love you and am so proud of you, especially of your faithfulness to God’s Word. Second, I truly believe the Lord is calling me home and I am looking forward to it. I am excited about meeting the Lord face to face.”
This brings me to 2 Timothy, a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote when he knew, as he said in 4:6, “the time for my departure is at hand.” Throughout this series in 2 Timothy, Pastor Tim Peck, Dr. Washington and I have pointed out that the Apostle Paul’s last letter emphasizes the centrality of Scripture for the life of the individual Christian and the church. It does so from beginning to end. That point is summed up in 3:16-17:
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
What I want to do in this final message is to turn to the Apostle Paul’s very last words in his final letter. When we know we have little time, we usually speak about the things most important to us. I think that was true of the Apostle Paul. So, in the last chapter of his last letter, I believe Paul points us to the most essential matters that must be true in the life of every believer and every local church.
This chapter is easily divided into three clear sections -- each of which speaks of something that is essential to the life of a church. I believe that the essential matters Paul spoke of are still the essentials in the life of every follower of Jesus and every local church regardless of time in history or geographical location in the world.
Essential #1: When We Gather, We Must Take Time to Hear from Our Father. (4:1-5)
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word.
2 Timothy 4:1-2a
Why Should We Keep God’s Word Central? (4:1) God is here and Jesus is coming soon.
- 1 reminds me of a public speaker pounding on the lectern and shouting, “If you haven’t listened to anything up to now, listen to this!” The Apostle Paul here tells Timothy to open his ears to something that all Christians believe, namely, that God is present at all times – particularly in the gathering of His people. He says, “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus.” In other words, God is present among us now and he is the one we need to hear from. After all, Paul went on to say, when Jesus returns, he will judge both the liiving and those who have died. Therefore, when we gather, we should take time to ackowledge that God, the one before whom we will stand, is present here with us.
Do you believe that? – That God is present and that some day you will give account to him for your life? If you do, then you should also realize that when the Word of God is opened, you should be alert – turn off your phone and get focused -- be careful to hear and ready to respond.
What Must Happen When God’s People Gather to Worship? Preach the Word (4:2a).
With great passion, the Apostle Paul calls Pastor Timothy – and all who are called to open the Word to others – to make sure that, whenever God’s people gather, God’s Word will be procaimed. That’s what preaching is: The delivery of what God has revealed in Scripture -- about Himself, about the world, about human life and how we should live -- in such a way that people are called upon to respond to what God has said. Other things may happen in church – but this must happen.
Why must this be the priority? Because the Word of God is what people need the most. People can receive good advice from a therapist and good entertainment at the theater. But, when the church meets, good advice might come forth and it might be done in an entertaining way -- but the most important thing is that God’s message is at the center of the proclamation. When you go to church, you most need to hear a Word from God. Interesting anecdotes and entertaining stories can be a part of the message – but human beings need more than stories and jokes. We all need a message from God’s Word. Therefore, when you show up at church, whether you are a child, a student or a senior adult, you should show up with a deep desire to hear a message from God.
What Will a Message from God Do in Your Life? Correct, rebuke and encourage. (4:2b).
These three words, “correct, rebuke, and encourage”, are very important for what you should pray will happen in others when you teach the word – and that you should be praying will happen in your own life when you hear the Word of God proclaimed:
- When you are drifting into potential error, good preaching can correct you and guide your mind through the issue you are facing.
- When you are tempted to walk away from God, the Word can confront, rebuke and re-direct you back to God.
- And, when you go to church worn-down because of ongoing struggles and you feel discouraged, an apt message from God can encourage you to go on.
To all who are here who are pastors or who teach children, students or adults in your church, the instructions about how to preach and teach at the end of v.2 are so insightful. Do it 1) with “great patience”. Don’t get frustrated with your people when they seem bored or unresponsive. Love them. Want the best for them. Be as patient with them and God is with you And, do it 2) with ”careful instruction”. Be the best student of the Word that you can be. Prepare as fully as you can. Then, teach the Word and let the Spirit of God do his work. He will do more through the Word than you will know – more than you might even imagine.
What Should You Expect When the Word is Central in your Worship? (4:3-4) The time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine... (4:3-4).
When I read vv.3-4, I think it sounds as if Paul here is speaking about the church in the 21st C. Paul foresaw a day in the future in which people would no longer put up with God’s message being delivered with “careful instruction” in the church. Why? Some will find its message unpalatable at times and and other will say its irrelevant. The Bible tells you to keep studying the Word and proclaiming how it applies to the things happening in the world. Don’t be surprised when some “will not put up with sound doctrine.”
There is a phrase in v.3 that I dare not ignore, i.e., that people will flock to those who”give them what their itching ears want to hear.” The phrase, “itching ears”, has to do with the love of sensational things. The Bible isn’t saying that we should not care about what people want to hear or what they feel they need. What it is saying is that this cannot be the main thing that directs our preaching. We must always start with what God has said we need. When you rightly understand what God’s Word says, then I believe you will find it speaks to the deepest needs of people.
So, I encourage you always to start with God’s Word. Seek to understand it’s message. Then prayerfully consider how it applies to the situation in people’s lives to day. And then, preach or teach it as compellingly as God gives you the ability. The first essential matter that must be true of every church is that God’s Word will be opened and preached.
Essential #2: We Must Respond to God’s Word with Faith and Confidence in Our Lord. (4:6-8) … the time has come for my departure… Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness...
This is a very personal section in which the Apostle Paul applied the Word of God to his own situation. Paul had faced many challenges throughout his life and ministry -- shipwrecks, beatings, imprisonments, rejection, etc. But, as he wrote 2 Timothy, he was facing what most consider to be the most challenging dimension of human experience, i.e., his imminent death. In these three wonderful verses, Paul gave us two biblical perspectives on dying that set the person who trusts Jesus apart from others in this world.
Perspective 1: Death as an Act of Dedication I am already being poured out like a drink offering.
This language of drink-offering is from Numbers 15:1-10. It referred the time in which wine was poured out in a burnt offering or peace offering being made to God. All the wine in the flask was to be poured out. So, what Paul meant when he referred to his dying as an offering is that he viewed the days ahead of him as an opportunity to give himself and whatever happens fully to the Lord.
This gives us deep insight into how a follower of Jesus should face any hardship that comes our way – even one as tragic as a message that you have a terminal condition. How should we walk through such times? The Bible teaches that we need not wallow in self-pity. We need not seek frantically for miracle cures or escapes. God may do a miracle and we can certainly ask him to do miracles to his glory. I have experienced them myself. But, learn from the Apostle Paul. He saw his hardships as providing opportunities to show anyone who watched him that his whole life – in good times or bad – was committed to the Lord.
2 Timothy 4 is a passage that has spoken to me directly to me in times of my life that seemed like tragedies – like a cancer diagnosis or the news that my brother was killed by a drunk driver. In such times, the question I ask myself is whether I will trust the Lord. This isn’t easy. I’ll confess that! It’s especially hard for “self-sufficient people” to say, Iam ready to trust whatever the Lord wants in this situation. It’s natural for us to think, “I can handle this myself.” Well, sometimes there are things we cannot handle. In those times, we are left with whether we are ready to trust Jesus like a child sometimes has to trust its parents. There is a conscious choice to be made -- to trust him or not to trust him. Here’s my testimony: I have always found the Lord to be worthy of trust.
And that’s what is happening in this text. Paul made a conscious choice while in prison and facing his death. His options: to face death with faith or to face it with anxiety. His choice: to trust God in the face of death just as he had in the times of his greatest triumphs. He decided he would show the world how a Christian dies – with confidence in the midst of death. He poured out his life fully as an offering to God.
And the second metaphor makes this decision even clearer.
Persective 2: Death as a Journey Home The time has come for my departure.
The word “departure” that Paul used wasn’t a common way to refer to death in his world. They used the word much like the way we do, i.e., of leaving one place or situation in this world to go to another. I think that the main point to us is that, for Christians, death is not an end but a departure.
One interesting use of this word “departure” was that it often referred to the launching of a ship. When the rope was untied and the anchor lifted, the ship could embark on its journey. It could depart. Paul had taken many journeys but he was convinced that the greatest journey of his life was just ahead. He would soon be traveling to his eternal home and into the presence of the Lord. And, you see in verses 6-8 that he was confident.
Let me speak to you about this pastorally. I am convinced that faith in Jesus should change our perspectives on everything in life. But perhaps the most dramatic difference faith in Jesus makes should be seen in the way you and I approach death. Do not miss the fact that, in these verses, Paul was not fretting about his upcoming funeral. He was looking forward to his future.
There is no religion or philosophy in the world that enables a person to approach an ending like death with such positive anticipation. Paul was a man who had come to an ending and was at peace. He looked back at his life in v. 7 and said, “My life in this world is nearly over. I have completed my work and kept the faith.”
And the optimism crescendoed in v.8, “Now, there is in store for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge will award to me on that day.” Notice Paul’s confidence -- “There is in store for me…the Judge will award to me.” I tell you: Here is a man who is assured -- eternally assured. The assurance is not in what he has done but in the one to whom he had committed his life and to whom he continued to commit his future.
And, this same confidence is available to all of us. It is not just for the great Apostle Paul. As he put it so marvelously: this confidence is for “all who have longed for his appearing.”
Here’s my point: If we are preaching the Word and living according to it (essential #1), then this should flow forth into a life of confident faith. When we are committed to Jesus, then confident, peace-filled faith should permeate our lives – no matter what the world throws at us. When Lake Avenue Church is preaching the Word and trusting Jesus, then peace and confident faith should be the trademark of this church, no matter what is happening in the world.
People may leave the church but God does not. Governments may oppress us -- but all authorities are all under God’s authority. Money may be in short supply -- but God will not leave his people lacking what is indispensable. This then is second essential: when the church gathers, we must renew our faith in God – and then leave our worship time confident of his sufficiency.
I will end there – though Paul gave a third essential in vv. 9-21. It’s about Christian community.
Essential #3 (for another day): Our churches must be a places where people love people. (4:9-21). Do your best to come to me quickly… Please, come before winter.
Paul was lonely, bored, discouraged and about to face an awful trial. He needed his church family to stand with him. Read it and you’ll be moved by his words. But, we’ll have to come back to that another day.
I’m sure you sense how much I love 2 Timothy 4. It is a great text for the life of every follower of Jesus and every local church in the world. When you attend churches anywhere in the world, you should expect to experience a wide array of differences -- language, worship forms, music styles, etc. But those things do not stand at the core of what a church must be. Wherever the church of Jesus Christ is found, these three “essentials” found in Paul’s last words, must be central:
- We must hear the voice of our Father when we come together. His Word must instruct us about how to think and how to live.
- When we hear that Word and obey it, our lives and our churches should radiate a confident and hope-filled faith.
- We must be people where people love and care for people -- as God loves and cares for us.
If you keep those three essentials are at the heart of your life and we keep them at the heart of our church your church, we will together, I believe, live well and we will bring glory to the Lord.