Good Morning Friends,
The last several Sundays we have been exploring the components of the Apostles Creed in a series our pastor has entitled, “Keeping The Faith.” Today in advance of hearing the sermon, I offer my take on the bit of Jesus sitting on the right hand of God the Father to judge the quick and the dead. For clearly we have been judged, are being judged now and will be judged in the future. And I relate it to not just our personal salvation but our collective ones as a church. When your average unchurched person decides to go to church, that person is met with a bewildering array of different choices. There are so many different kinds of churches in our culture today, it can be very confusing trying to sort through them all. Churches come in different sizes. The average church size in America is 95 people each week in worship. Yet half of all church goers in our culture attend a church of over 1000 people. Churches also meet in different kinds of locations. Some churches meet in elaborate cathedrals, filled with artistic architecture. Others meet in storefronts or industrial parks. Still others meet in homes. Churches have different denominational affiliations. Some have words like Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Episcopal, Lutheran or Presbyterian in their name. Some are called community churches or neighborhood churches. Some tout themselves as non-denominational. Churches have different kinds of worship experiences. Some are very traditional and formal, while others are informal and often celebrative. Some use an organ and choir, others use a band. Some are conducted in a different language, while others use video clips. Of course, God can use them all, but I wonder when so many churches fail, What Are The Essential Characteristics Of The Church God Will Use In Our Lives To Help Us Finish Well?
Scripture: I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths. As for you, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am already on the point of being sacrificed; the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
2 TIMOTHY 4:1-8 (RSV)
Message: For sure one of the essential components to a deeper life with God is being part of a church. But I think that God works more productively though bodies of believers that exhibit certain characteristics collectively. Today’s scripture is first and foremost about how to be an effective pastor as Paul disciples, advises and instructs young Timothy, but it has a message for churches as well. In Paul’s message are five characteristics of the kind of evangelism for a disciple to make as part of their character. And the interesting thing is that they not only make for an effective minister and disciple but also the character of an effective church that is blessed to have God work in and through them. Let’s dive into today’s scripture. The first verse has the sound of a formal charge, much like the kind of solemn charge we might hear a pastor give a bride and groom during a wedding ceremony. Yet this formal charge is given to a young pastor named Timothy. This formal charge is made in the presence of God and of Jesus. This suggests that Timothy lives his entire life under the scrutiny of God. His life is on constant display before God, even those parts of his life that are considered private and hidden. God and his son Jesus Christ will one day judge the entire human race. So, this formal charge has a tone of both hope and warning. Hope because when we have trusted in Jesus Christ, we look forward to Christ’s future appearing and the fullness of Christ’s kingdom on this earth. Hope because Christ’s appearing will wipe away every tear and bring suffering to an end. Hope because Christ’s kingdom will bring an end to evil and hatred. But also warning, because on that day we will all be held accountable for how we have lived our lives. Warning because even though all our sins are forgiven through our faith in Christ, God still expects us to live in a way that honors him, and he will hold us accountable to living that way. Here we find our first characteristic. God uses people and churches that know they are accountable to God. What Paul says about Timothy as a church leader applies just as much to congregations. Every church will give an account of itself to God. Our ministry is on constant display before God, in the presence of God the Father and of Christ as well as the Holy Spirit. Nothing is hidden from God’s sight. You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can never fool God. When we know this, it causes us to conduct ourselves differently. Not that we won’t make our fair share of mistakes as a church. We are people who are often fallible and prone to weaknesses. But to know that we will stand before God for how we act as a body helps us continually strive to live in purity before God. God uses Pastors and churches that know they are accountable to God.
Now look at verse 2. This verse contains five commands, but the primary command is for Timothy to preach the word. Clearly “the word” here refers to the Gospel of Christ, the holy scriptures, the Word made flesh. As a faithful disciple, Timothy is to proclaim the meaning of the message to others and in particular bodies of believers during the critical time in which he lived. The rest of the commands and phrases in the verse describe exactly how Timothy can do this. To convince, rebuke, and exhort…. with patience. But the main command is to proclaim the word. And what Paul says about Timothy as a minister applies just as much to churches and the lay people in the congregations. God uses churches and people that are committed to communicating the whole Gospel not just those parts that are interesting and appealing but also those parts that are difficult. Many churches today don’t share this commitment to communicate the whole Bible. Today’s scripture is not in the lectionary readings which typically are the foundation for these devotionals. Some churches think they have to avoid certain parts of the Bible if seekers are present in their services. They’re afraid parts of the Bible might be offensive to seekers. They’re right. But I find that most unchurched people would rather you tell them what the Bible says instead of telling them what you think they want to hear. The Holy Spirit comforts and convicts. We must never forget the goal and that truth endures. If seekers are really interested in knowing what the Bible says, they need to be told. They may not agree with the Bible, but they need to have an honest answer. We need to be committed to sharing what we believe in the Bible, even those parts that make us uncomfortable. Now let’s take a closer look at how to do this from this verse. We are to communicate the Bible persistently. The command to “be prepared in season and out of season” focuses on persistence. This means to communicate the message led by the Spirit when it is convenient to us and even when it is inconvenient. We are to communicate as best we can even if it is not our gift.
We are also to communicate with specificity the message of the Bible. The word “correct” here means “to show someone what they are doing is wrong.” Paul is telling Timothy that he needs to exercise his ministry in the scripture that has been fully guaranteed by virtue of it being inspired by God. This can only be done when we communicate the Bible in very specific ways with clarity of what is right and what is wrong. To fulfill the ministry to which we have been called we also need to communicate the Bible prophetically. Paul undoubtedly believed that he was living in the apocalyptic times and as the first letter to Timothy makes clear, those times would be filled with false teachers that were led by demonic control. This is what the word “rebuke” refers to. The word “rebuke” means “to express strong disapproval about something.” Now by the phrase “prophetically” I don’t mean making predictions, but I mean that certain parts of the Bible will go against the grain of our culture’s value system. For instance, our culture glorifies the pursuit of materialism, and the Bible clearly condemns this as contrary to God’s intention for our lives. We need to be courageous to communicate scripture clearly and as a whole, including those aspects that disapprove of our culture’s values. We also need to communicate the Bible expectantly. This is what the word “encourage” refers to. This word means to expect people to respond to the message. This is why we, at the Moorings Presbyterian Church, have a strategic plan of Bible studies and small groups, where members try to live out the Bible’s teaching in their lives. We also need to communicate the Bible patiently. We find this in the phrase “with great patience.” Sometimes we can be tempted to give up on people when they do not get it the first time. We can get irritated when people don’t respond to a biblical principle the first time they hear about it. But instead of giving up on people or resorting to manipulation, we need to communicate the Bible patiently, with gentleness and hope, knowing that some people take longer to get it than others. People have different needs, and the church needs to respond appropriately. Some churches are strong in correcting and rebuking, but weak on patience, so they blast people with guilt. They start to use the Bible as a club rather than gently and compassionately communicating the Bible. Unfortunately, some churches have such great patience that they never get around to getting to the point of making disciples. There needs to be a gentleness in the message, but it needs to be strong and clear as well with outcomes expected because of the critical nature of our time, and the reality that the cost of failing is severe. Finally, we need to communicate the Bible intelligently. This is what the phrase “sound teaching” refers to. We communicate the Bible intelligently when we not only show people what the Bible means and how it applies, but also why the Bible makes the claims that it does. Far too often people don’t use their minds when it comes to reading and communicating the Bible. They are afraid that thinking deeply is somehow unspiritual, forgetting that the Bible tells us to not only love God with all our hearts but also with all our minds. Every member of a church needs to be ready to communicate not just bits and pieces of the Bible but be committed to learning the whole message and how to convey it intelligently. Now look at verses 3 and 4. Paul knows that the human heart resists truth when it causes discomfort. He knows that we tend to use religion to justify our own wants and desires. He predicts that a time is coming–a time that had already started in New Testament times–when people wouldn’t want sound doctrine. This phrase “sound teaching” is used four different times in 1 and 2 Timothy, and it literally means “healthy teaching.” It refers to accurate teaching about God that promotes spiritual health and growth in our lives. Sound doctrine is teaching that accurately portrays what the Bible says. But some people will instead surround themselves with teachers who instead tell them what they want to hear. They’re like people with itching ears, looking for a teaching that soothes the itch and makes them feel good. The reference to “itching ears” suggests that this is teaching that tantalizes their curiosity with golden nuggets of insight. But these teachers turn them away from the truth about God, taking them down a path of mythology and fable. In 1 Timothy, you can read about the false teaching plaguing the Ephesian church for they were involved in speculation about myths. A myth is something that simply isn’t true, and these teachings that tickle ears are tantalizing but untrue. The third characteristic is that God uses churches and people that refuse to cater to people’s selfishness.
Now look at verse 5. This is a series of several commands, but I want to focus on the command to “do the work of an evangelist.” Now this does not mean Timothy should buy television airtime, get a haircut and start a TV ministry where he asks for money every seven minutes. The Greek word for “evangelist” was simply a word for “proclaiming good news.” Paul doesn’t want Timothy to be distracted from the main task of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with people. Paul knows all the problems in the Ephesian church might distract Timothy from this all-important task. I find it interesting that Paul doesn’t say, “Timothy, use your spiritual gift of evangelism.” Paul doesn’t care whether Timothy is gifted as an evangelist or not. Gifted or not, do the work of an evangelist, share the good news of Jesus Christ with people. Here we find the fourth characteristic. God uses churches and people that have an outreach focus. It’s really easy for churches to lose their vision for outreach. We can get overwhelmed with the needs of our “own” people; we can grow distracted. Even worse, we can grow indifferent to the plight of those who don’t yet have a relationship with Jesus Christ.
In verses 6-8 Paul shifts from talking about Timothy to talking about himself. Paul knows his death is drawing near. Like a wine offering poured out on an altar, his life is ready to be poured out. Like a ship ready to pull up anchor and depart on a journey, Paul is ready for his ultimate journey. As Paul looks back on his life, he has regrets, but he also has a sense of satisfaction. He has fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith. All three of these phrases are athletic terms used in the ancient Olympic games. “Fighting the good fight” referred to the wrestling competition in the Olympics. Like an Olympic wrestler, Paul sees his life efforts as being worth the battle. “Finish the race” refers to the footrace in the Olympics. Like a runner in a marathon, Paul has come to the finish line and completed the race. “Kept the faith” referred to Olympic athletes who competed fairly and in accordance with the rules. Paul has kept his faith in Jesus throughout his ministry and encourages us to join him on the platform to receive a crown for a job well done for we have fought the good fight, finished the race and kept the faith. Like Joshua following the battle at Jericho we have to press on to finish the task and not be complacent and comfortable until the work is completed. God uses churches and people that want to help others to finish well in the mission of Loving God, Loving Others and Making Disciples for the cause of Christ.
And So, we are to ask the Lord to help us be the kind of church God will use. We are to help each other to know that we are accountable to God and be faithful to communicate clearly and as a whole the message of the Bible patiently and persistently, we are to refuse to cater to people’s selfishness, we are to keep an outreach focus and help enable people to finish well. The most useful thing we can do in all of this as Christians is to share the Gospel, not from a position of moral superiority but with the passion of a sinner saved with the most exciting news that ever greeted the ears of people whether they are in the pews or not. The essential element of our highest hope is the proclamation of the word that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners and defeat death so we might share a faith that overcomes the world and its insanity. It is not surprising that so many people and churches start out strong in the Christian life. New Christians and churches are filled with enthusiasm and idealistic zeal. It’s contagious being around new believers. But life has a way of tempering that enthusiasm and sometimes killing that zeal. This is why so few people finish well as Christians. We lose our sense of vision, our excitement. We need to keep the faith and finish well.
Pray we love others as a matter of passing on who we are. Pray we become a body of believers that God uses. Pray we realize that we are accountable to God. Pray we be inspired and equipped for every good work. Pray we keep our priorities straight. Pray we have a focus on our love of Jesus and an outreach of love for others; Pray we refuse to be selfish. Pray we communicate the Gospel clearly, strategically and as a whole. Pray we are prepared to face rejection from people who do not want to hear the truth. Pray that we keep the faith and finish well
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 