“Passing On The Torch”
A Study of 2 Timothy
Sermon # 5
“Survival Techniques for Living in
Perilous Times.”
2 Timothy 3:10-17
Several years ago Francis Schaeffer wrote a
book entitled “How
Should We Then Live?” in which he
analyzes the
breakdown of Western civilization. The only viable alternative, he says, is living by the
Christian ethic, acceptance of God's revelation, and total affirmation of the Bible's
values and meaning.
That is the core
of what Paul tells Timothy how the Christian was to face the challenges posted by living
through “the perilous times” that he told him were coming.
One of the on going
problem of our age is that people welcome comfort and convenience over conviction and
confession. People go from place to place because they prefer to hear something that makes
them feel good, to being confronted with the truth. The problem is not in the content of
God’s word but in the complacency of the listeners.
In verses ten through seventeen Paul gives
Timothy three survival techniques for living in perilous times that we all need to
remember.
THE FIRST
SURVIVAL TECHNIQUE IS, DON’T BE MISLED. (vv. 10-13)
“But
you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering,
love, perseverance, (11) persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at
Iconium, at Lystra--what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered
me.”
Paul tells Timothy
“you have carefully followed” the details of my life. He says “follow my
model – do as I did.” It takes real
confidence in his life to say this, for if Paul is less than he claims no one is in a
better position to know that than Timothy.
Paul’s Transparency. (v. 10)
“doctrine,
manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love…”
First,
he says look at my “doctrine” (v. 10) – What he has taught. The reason Paul lived
the way he did was because of what he believed.
He also says examine my “manner of life” (v 10) –
How he has lived. One of the marks of
a godly life is that they have nothing to hide.
He holds forth his
“purpose” (v. 10) – What his goals have been. We need to live lives of
purpose. One of Charles Schulz’s Peanuts cartoons captures the problem. Snoopy is
coming to terms with the fact that his life lacks purpose. Linus had just thrown a stick
for Snoopy to retrieve. His first instinct was to do what he was accustomed to doing
– chase the stick. But he paused for a few moments and decided against it, thinking, “I want
people to have more to say about me after I’m gone than ‘He was a nice
guy…. He chased sticks.’ ” Paul had great singleness of purpose for
his life in Philippians 3:13-14 he stated, “… but
one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those
things which are ahead, (14) I press toward the goal for the prize of the
upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Paul
never lost sight of his goal which was to live in such a way as to please his Lord.
Next Paul hold forth his “faith” (v. 10) the
Greek word (pistis)
is perhaps better rendered “faithfulness”
here. Paul does not seem to be holding forth the components of faith here so much as his
(and others) faithfulness living out the
faith they professed.
Paul also addresses his “longsuffering” (v. 10) which really speaks of his patience especially patience with people. Sometimes it is hard to be patient
with people. I have found that not everybody is as lovable, gracious, sweet and easy to
get along with as I am!
Paul
next list the virtue of “love” (v. 10) (agape) the self-giving love that sought first
the welfare of others. This kind of “love” is so important that the Apostle John says in 1
John 4: 6-11, “Beloved, let us love one another,
for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
(8) He who does not love does not
know God, for God is love. (9) In this the love of God was
manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we
might live through Him. (10) In this is love, not that we loved God, but that
He loved us and sent His Son ??to be the propitiation for our
sins. (11) Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought
to love one another.”
Paul then moves from his transparency to
his Tenacity. (vv. 10c-11)
“perseverance,(11)
persecutions, afflications”
Paul first speaks of his “perseverance” (v. 10) which speaks of his endurance. Paul has been willing to
continue to minister even when discouraged and disheartened. Earlier he spoke of being
patient with difficult people here it is enduring difficult circumstances.
Thinking of quitting
reminds me of the story I heard about how “One day a
farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the
farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally he decided the animal was old and the well
needed to be covered up anyway, it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey; So he
invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began
to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried
horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement, he quieted down. A few shovel loads later,
the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw. With every
shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake
it off and take a step up. As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top
of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed
as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!”
The “perseverance” that Paul demonstrated is not quitting
when the pressures get rough, but this is not just a grin and bear it stoicism but rather
a confidence that God is still in
control.
We might think that a person who lives their
life (as Paul did) with the right doctrine, with the right manner of life, purpose, faith,
longsuffering and love would be loved and accepted by everyone – but such is not the
case.
Paul tells us in verse eleven that
he underwent “persecutions” - notice that it is plural.
Paul certainly knew what it was to suffer persecution as he reveals in 2 Corinthians
11:23-28, “… in stripes above measure, in
prisons more frequently, in deaths often. (24) From the Jews five times I received
forty stripes minus
one. (25) Three times I was beaten with
rods; once I was
stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; (26) in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils
of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen,
Paul reminds Timothy in verse thirteen,
“But
evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” It
may seem that evil doers are forever prospering there limits to how effective this imposters can
be.
THE
SECOND SURVIVAL TECHNIQUE IS, DON’T BE DISTRACTED. (vv. 14-15)
“But
you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from
whom you have learned them.”
The theme of the whole section is found in verse
fourteen when Paul tells Timothy “But as for you continue
in the things you have learned.” He emphatically states
“but as for you” the central imperative is “continue.” Perhaps Paul remembered the words of Jesus
in John 8:31 Jesus says, "… If you abide in My
word, you are My disciples indeed.” He
says, “Timothy you must not allow yourself to be
distracted.” Timothy must continue in the things he has learned and be
assured that they are trustworthy because of whom he has learned them from.
There are a couple of
factors that aided Timothy acceptance of the facts of the Gospel. First, Timothy received
the Scripture through certain loved and trusted people, “…knowing
from whom you have learned them.” Belief is easier if the facts of the Gospel
are transmitted to us through people we trust. In Timothy’s case it was his mother Eunice and his grandmother, Lois, (2 Tim 1:5) who were the
early channels by which he was taught the Word of God. Paul recognized there is powerful
link between remembrance and continuance. Timothy is encouraged to continue as he remember
those who have been instrumental in his coming to faith. If there have been those who have
been instrumental in our coming to faith or growing and maturing in faith, taking the time
to remember their investment in our lives is an incentive to not give up or give in.
Secondly, Timothy had
the advantage of receiving the Scripture at a very young age. In verse fifteen Paul
reminds Timothy,
“and
that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures…” We don’t need to miss the truth
presented here that childhood is a wonderful time to get the truth of the Scripture into a
young person’s heart. That is the whole reason we
start the Awana program with 4 year olds.
“The current study by
George Barna indicates that nearly half of all Americans who accept Jesus Christ as their
savior do so before reaching the age of 13 (43%), and that two out of three born again
Christians (64%) made that commitment to Christ before their 18th birthday. One out of
eight born again people (13%) made their profession of faith while 18 to 21 years old. Less
than one out of every four born again Christians (23%) embraced Christ after
their twenty-first birthday.” [www.barna.org. – BarnaUpdate – “Evangelism Is Most
Effective Among Kids.” - October 11, 2004 ]
The training in Scripture that Timothy had
received was crucial because (v. 15b) the Scriptures alone, “… are able to make you
wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
The authority and trustworthiness of
Scripture rests in the fact that (v. 16) “All Scripture is
given by inspiration of God….”
We speak of a lot of things being
“inspired.” For example we may say, the writings of William Shakespeare were
inspired. And there is little doubt that Shakespeare wrote wonderful plays. But the
Biblical writers were not inspired in the same way as Shakespeare. The word translated “inspired” (v. 16) literally a compound word meaning
“God-breathed.” Shakespeare
and others may have written wonderful works but the Biblical writers, wrote down the very
words of God.
This leads us to the
question, “Then
what role did the human writers of the Bible play in their transmission of God’s
message?” Although the Bible does not tell exactly how God inspired its
writers, it was certainly not in a mechanical way. They were not totally passive, as those
whose hands move automatically in an unconscious state. Their distinctive ways of writing
stand out, as in the writer of each of the four Gospels makes account distinct. What we do
know for certain that the Scriptures originated with God and that the writers were
“moved” or carried along by the Holy Spirit as they recorded God’s message.
As Peter declares in 2 Peter 1:20-21 says, “knowing
this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, (21) for
prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by
the Holy Spirit.”
When it comes to
Scripture there are several views of inspiration. There are those hold to Partial Inspiration. That is the Bible is
not all inspired but it does contain the
word of God. A very crucial problem with this view is that someone is left to determine
what is, and what is not the Word of God.
Conservative Bible
believing scholars hold to Plenary
Inspiration that is that the inspiration of scripture is full or complete.
THE THIRD
SURVIVAL TECHNIQUE IS, DON’T STOP SHORT (vv. 15-16)
Verse sixteen
(v. 16b) continues by telling us that the Word of God “…
is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
When it says that the word of God is “profitable,” it means
that it is literally useful or beneficial. It’s
usefulness is outlined in four areas:
(1) Doctrine
– What is right.
(2) Reproof –
What is wrong. (conviction and
confrontation)
(3) Correction
– What we need to do to get right.
The New Living Translation of this portion of the verse is “It
straightens us out.” The theme is Restoration.
(4) Instruction in
Righteousness – What to do to stay
right. The word translated here as “instruction” (epanorthosin) is translated in Ephesians 6:4 as
“training” and in the KJV as “discipline.” The concept of discipleship
is about teaching the believer what it means to be a child of God, and how to live
accordingly.
The end result of fourfold use of the
scripture is given in verse seventeen, “that the man
of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The aim of Scripture is to equip the man or woman
of God for useful service to God.