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"Cut It Straight!" • 8.7.16 • Calvary
Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
- Paul has just shared the stanza of an early
church hymn stating that faithful Christians would reign with Christ, while
unfaithful Christians would find Christ faithful to Himself.
- A promise and a warning. For those who are
faithfully charging ahead, despite the circumstances, holding fast on to their
faith, God promises a reward and that's a comfort.
- Unfortunately, there were others who were
letting the day and the cultural pressure dictate and redefine their brand of
faith in the face of expediency. They wanted to save their life, not lose it!
- Paul will not let his disciple loose. For the
sake of the church, for the sake of their souls, Paul continues to charge
Timothy with the work that he must attend to. Verse 14.
Text
•
II Timothy 2:14 : "Remind them of these things,
charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the
ruin of the hearers." : Timothy's main purpose as a
Pastor was to serve as a living reminder of Kingdom realities.
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He was to keep making the doctrines of God and the responsibility of God's
children a matter for their current attention!
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Timothy is to charge, command, to present a formal witness to this congregation
before the Lord. God is witness to this. He calls you to live before Him to
please Him.
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Timothy witnesses before the people, on behalf of the Lord, letting them know
that fighting over words was a waste of their time!
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This isn't the first time that Timothy has been told this. This is a virtual
repeat of I Timothy 1:4-6. There
were still people who wanted to doggedly concern themselves with useless
minutae!
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Paul isn't averse to responding to questions. Paul objects when the questions
are unanswerable and the petitioner simply wants to win a fight!
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That type of scenario isn't worth Timothy's time and it's not helpful to the
hearers to "talk it out"! In fact, it's ruinous! The KJV and several
other translations use the word "subversion."
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To spend time with such things deliberately weakens individual Christians and
corrupts them. They believe that they are getting smarter and being built up
when they are truly being ruined.
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Paul word seems to be much more pointed, as he employs the Greek word for
"catastrophe!" It's spiritual disaster for people to contend over
debatable material. Verse 15.
•
II Timothy 2:15-18 : "Be
diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and idle
babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. And their message will spread like
cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, who have strayed concerning the
truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the
faith of some." : "Be diligent." This
same word is translated "endeavor" and "do your utmost" in
other places.
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It relays the concept of careful, deliberate, detailed work. It is a matter of
personal exertion with an eye toward a pending examination.
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Timothy is going to present an exhibit, the value of which is determined by the
Lord. Timothy is working to present something that has genuine value as
conceived of by the Lord.
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Let me remind you again: You are going to present yourself to the Lord of the
Universe! Consider all of your activity in the light of His judgment!
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Could it be that Timothy was more concerned with his contemporaries' opinion of
him? Whether or not that is the case, let it not be the case with you!
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God is the Architect, the Critic and the General Contractor! Timothy is the
workman, the laborer, that must give an account to the One who has hired him.
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If he works correctly, with careful, surgical precision, he won't need to be
ashamed or fear the day of inspection! Why not?
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Because he will have rightly divided, literally, "cut straight" the
word of truth. That is the work that he is to do before the Lord.
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Can you imagine a carpenter who didn't prepare perfectly cut wood? A farmer
with crooked rows? I heard a Pastor mention this week that even heart surgeons
cut straight to ease repairs!
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What is Paul's meaning? First, the word of truth is to be prepared accurately.
I might also mention that one must do this sequentially in order to give out
what God desires proportionately!
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I have not moved on this position. God has laid out a menu for His people. It
contains His truth. As a Pastor, all I do is expose it to you, one verse at a
time. This is how you feed.
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Because you are not my sheep, I am determined not to give it to you in the
proportion that I deem important. I divide it out to you in the proportion that
God has laid out for you.
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How many churches are living under the load of weeks of teachings upon one
subject which the Pastor is comfortable teaching? What about all that he is not
comfortable teaching?
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Sequential expository teaching is the best way to ensure that a Pastor is
rightly dividing God's truth for God's people. This is true in a time of peace
and especially true in a time of persecution!
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Remember that persecution is a continual threat to Timothy's life. Aren't there
more important things to consider? The fact that Paul mentions it here tells us
that there isn't!
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The accurate teaching of God's truth holds the greatest importance especially
because persecution might take Timothy away soon!
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He needed to be a skilled workman producing authentic, sharply cut material to
not be ashamed, but also that the people he passed the Word to, wouldn't receive
an inferior product!
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The second consideration is the implicit thought that some would be ashamed
because they did not provide an accurate portrayal of God's truth!
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In fact, may I say, that some are much more interested in peddling their own truth
and dragging God's Name into it by utilizing only selective parts of His Word!
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In Paul's day, he might have called that practice "profane" and
"idle babblings." These are common and empty, useless, bits of banter
mixed in with a little Bible! Timothy is to shun this activity.
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In today's world, this sort of activity would include Bible codes, movie
reviews or series of sermons based upon responses to celebrities!
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Why do people focus on these things in the church? Why do you and I hunt for
unhealthy snacks? We aren't properly filling ourselves with the good stuff!
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People bring their fascination and idolatry into the church to sanctify it,
believing that they are becoming more holy as a result, but the opposite is
true! It only brings an increase in ungodliness!
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"Ungodliness" refers to a lack of consideration for God, in that
there is a distinct ignoring of what God would desire or require of a person.
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When God's church isn't fed from a diet of scripture, accurately apportioned,
those who hear these things will be increasingly ingnorant of God's desire for
them and thus become more ungodly!
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Does it matter what a person preaches so long as it's from or out of the Bible?
Yes! It matters if you want to see a congregation concerned with godliness!
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Not only does it issue in
ungodliness, but it spreads like gangrene in the body of Christ!
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The word "cancer" in the NKJV misses it here. Cancer is something
that is alive which eats away at living tissue. Gangrene is death spreading via
a lack of blood supply.
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The truth slowly, imperceptibly moves across a congregation. False teaching
however, spreads rapidly! Hymanaeus and Alexander were men who propogated these
errors.
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These are the two men that Paul "delivered over to Satan" in I Timothy 1:20. How did their fall
begin? Did they just make a sharp left turn? Not at all.
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Paul tells us that it involved swaying or deviating from the truth. Most
believe that they fall into the truth and then they are simply safe in that
path. Wrong! A believer keeps themselves in the truth!
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They are constantly calling upon the Holy Spirit to lead them into all truth!
These men had been aiming at the truth, but found themselves far from it when
they changed their direction!
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The word "swaying" indicates a subtle movement away, issuing from a
lack of attention or perhaps concern for the truth.
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Their error began with the central Christian doctrine of the resurrection. They
were responsible for teaching people in the body of Christ that the
resurrection had already occurred.
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This doesn't refer to the event of Christ's resurrection, which had already
occurred, but the bodily resurrection that all believers will receive in the
Millenium.
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They may have agreed with the Gnostics, who rejected the notion that the
material universe could be redeemed. Therefore, the resurrection was, in their
thinking, a spiritual event.
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Spiritualizing the scripture is a poor way to divide God's truth, as it makes
certain passages meaningless and endlessly subjective to the teacher's whim!
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This was overturning some in their faith. It upset and undermined the faith of
those who listened! Timothy must have wondered about how that affected God's
Kingdom. Paul answers that.
•
II Timothy 2:19 : "Nevertheless the solid foundation
of God stands, having this seal: 'The Lord knows those who are His,' and, 'Let
everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.'" : I like that word "nevertheless." It's true that there
are false teachers and they do have the ability to undermine the faith of those
who aren't careful.
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They cannot do a single thing to change the truth of God! The solid foundation
stands!
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The picture here is of a foundation stone on a building. Upon it, Paul sees the
inscription: "The Lord knows who are His!" A person can claim all
day, every day that they know God.
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They can compound this with a statement declaring that they are speaking for
God. But the foundation of the Kingdom is that God knows who are His!
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Many see this as referring to Moses' words to Korah in Numbers 16, when he said that the Lord would show who was His
servant. (Numbers 16:5)
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At the judgment, Christ's words are not, "Depart from me. You never knew
me." They are, "Depart from me, I never knew you!" His knowing
and approving of You is the issue to consider!
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The second inscription points to the character of those who will be in heaven.
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"Let everyone who names the name of Christ." Everybody who identifies
themselves as Christian, must necessarily flee from deeds which stand in
violation of the righteous Judge of heaven!
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There is an understanding here of the person who claims to represent Christ.
That is what every Christian claims. They are "little Christs." Christ
is living His life through us by His Spirit.
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Therefore, one who makes that claim must make a decision once to depart from
iniquity and then remain in that condition. These men couldn't make that claim.
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The fruit of their confession led to their sinful activities. Their vain
babblings issued in increasing ungodliness, beginning with them! This is a
cause for great concern.
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Paul is talking about people within the church who had strayed doctrinally and
whose life was moving toward immorality! Paul hears Timothy's heart and
explains in verse 20.
•
II Timothy 2:20-23 : "But in a
great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and
clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses
himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful
for the Master, prepared for every good work. Flee also youthful lusts; but
pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of
a pure heart. But
avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife." : In every large home, there is the fine china and the everyday
silverware.
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Some utensils were reserved for honorable occasions and special visitors. The
rest were used for daily and frankly, filthy activities. In God's house, the
same is true.
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God's house is great because it belongs to Him and there are all sorts of
vessels. The ones that are useful to Him are the ones that determine to rid
themselves of personal defilement.
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That is cleansing myself from the "latter." Iniquity. At that point,
you and I are vessels for honor, set apart and useful for the Master, ready for
every good service that God intends for them.
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What does Timothy or any servant of God have to purge from their hearts? Paul
furnishes the practical example of youthful lusts.
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Paul yells his command to Timothy: "Run away. Escape from desires that are
particular to a young person.
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Generally, we ascribe the word "lust" simply to a sexual context and
in our age, it is fair to major upon that topic. However, greed, avarice and
worldly ambition are just as important to avoid!
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The word refers to a longing for that which is forbidden. That may be a sexual
desire outside of the bounds of a heterosexual, monogamous union.
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It may also refer to a job that takes you away from spiritual nourishment or
that compromises your ability to practice your faith fully!
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It might particularly be a desire to fight with those that are seeking to fight
about non-essentials. Flee from that for the purpose of capturing something
much more worthy!
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Pursue with every intention of capturing, these facets of godly character. A
life that is right before God. Faith in Christ and a consequent reliability
before His people!
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Love and peace from God and between His people. Do this with all who are crying
out to the Lord for His intervention! Do this with them! Don't miss that very
important concept.
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Timothy is not to be isolated away from God's people. He is to pursue a godly
character among, with, the rest of those that are doing the same!
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Our culture idolizes independence and many seek to make the church a sanctified
version of their own cultural experience. But the church is meant to be an
interdependant organism.
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We are not to be divorced from one another. We are to have fellowship together,
to share in the struggles and the victories that are unique to a Christian
life!
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Look for people who cry out to God with a whole heart and be among them as a
matter of practice! That's why you and I come together to worship and
fellowship!
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At the same time, we aren't to come together for contention! As much as Timothy
was to pursue Godly things, he was, with the same zeal, to avoid foolish and
ignorant disputes!
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There isn't an easy way to say this. Paul tells him to refuse to give any time
to stupid arguments that come from foolish ideas. They can only bear the rotten
fruit of controversy!
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We all want to be nice to one another, but when a person will not stop moving conversations
toward certain unanswerable topics, Paul says it's best to avoid them!
•
II Timothy 2:24-26 : "And a
servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach,
patient, in
humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them
repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their
senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to
do his will." : Timothy was the Lord's
servant. Making room for fruitless debate would compromise his position among
the people of God!
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He was not left there in Ephesus to fight with people. He's to be the model of
gentleness, an affable person. He'll have his moments, but generally, he's good
natured.
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His primary skill should be an aptitude for teaching God's people. That may
necessarily mean that he's to be the first example of a person who endures the
wrongs of people!
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Imagine what the response would from a congregation that wanted the latest and
greatest cultural trend to be their diet and Timothy says, "We left off in
this verse, let's pick it up!"
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When they revolted, he was to take it in stride. When they opposed him, he was
to respond with a firm, but gentle spirit. Why? Because a harsh spirit would
cut off the opportunity.
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When Timothy acts gently, he leaves the door open for the people who have
embraced error to potentially experience repentance. It's possible to return,
to have a mind change.
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If that happens, it's not Timothy's arguing that will do it, but the God that
Timothy represents!
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A Pastor who is harsh and every bit as stubborn as the one who opposes truth
may win a few debates, but he will not likely have won many souls!
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The Apostle lets Timothy know that those who are opposing truth are not simply
in error.
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Their hearts are turned from the Lord and are in sin. Without God's assistance,
they will not turn from their way of thinking to acknowledge the truth.
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His hope is that they might recover their senses. Could it be that God would
bring them back to a right mind? So many of them feel that they are free. They
know the real truth.
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They have the right knowledge. They have the true understanding. What they do
not know is that they are in the trap of the Devil himself!
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Far from being free, they are his captives and as such, must do his bidding!
Timothy, take their abuse, gently correct and pray that God delivers them!
Conclusion
- If you have
ever wondered why I am so staunch when it comes to sequential expository
preaching, let this passage and what it teaches stand in your memory.
- If there are
two paradigms at work, they are cultural cries of the day, versus the age
defying Word of God. You can hear the negative results of the former in this
passage. Let's compare.
- Cultural
exposition yields no profit to the hearer, ruining them. The Word of God brings
profit to the hearer, building them up in Christ. (v.14)
- Cultural
exposition results in increasing ungodliness and subversion of the faith. The
Word of God brings godliness to the center and strengthens our faith! (v.15-18)
- Cultural
exposition allows the possibility for unholiness. The Word of God cleanses a
soul and makes it fit for the Master's use! (v.19-21)
- Cultural
exposition generates increasing strife. The Word of God promotes peace with God
and men! (v.22,23)
- Finally,
Cultural exposition leads people into the snare of the enemy. The Word of God,
gently applied, leads people into freedom with Christ! (v.24-26)
- There is
nothing better than the Word of God!
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