The following is the third and final lecture on the pastoral epistles held at Truro Episcopal Church in Fairfax, Virginia. The speaker is the Reverend John W. Howe, director of Truro Church. Tonight's lecture is entitled, The True Minister of Jesus Christ. Let's have a prayer together. Heavenly Father, Jesus is indeed our morning Son. We would praise Him in the morning.

We would praise Him in the noontime. We would praise Him at night. We would enter Your courts with thanksgiving.

We'd go into Your gates with praise and joy and gladness of heart because of this Lord Jesus Christ. We thank You for the privilege of coming together tonight to open Your Word and we pray that You would reveal Yourself to us in it for His name's sake. Amen.

Amen. Turning to 2 Timothy tonight. I'm sort of sorry that we're doing this because we're running through it so quickly and it deserves so much better than we're able to give it in a single lecture.

In many ways, I suppose it's my own favorite and probably the favorite of many, many pastors because it speaks so clearly and so graciously to those in Christian leadership. We're calling this lecture the true minister of Jesus Christ. And just to recap where we've come in the last couple of weeks, we're talking about the true function of the church in 1 Timothy.

And we said the true function of the church is to guard the faith, or to keep the faith baby, to coin a phrase, to guard the truth, to protect the sacred deposit of doctrine which God has given us. We don't want to become academic in this exercise. It's not merely an intellectual exercise at all, but that by guarding the truth, our relationship with Christ himself is thereby protected.

We see the tremendous importance of doctrine. So the true function, or at least the true function being spoken of in 1 Timothy, is guarding, protecting, proclaiming the truth. Then we turn to Titus.

It doesn't come next in our Bible, but it does come next in chronology. It was written between 1 and 2 Timothy. And we talked there about the true power of the church.

Once again, our concentration was on the truth. The true power of the church is again the truth, this time manifested in the life of the church. The truth fleshed out, the truth lived out in the lives of Christian people.

This is the true power. It's not the ability to manipulate society, but it's the ability to manifest the life of God. We call the phrase, Be ye not only hearers, but doers of the Word.

When we are doers of the Word, when the Word is worked out in our life, that's where the true power of God is operative. So the emphasis of both these first two letters is the truth. First, guard the truth, protect it, and secondly, live it, manifest it.

Which is a lovely way of summarizing that phrase with which we began. Take heed to yourself and to your teaching. The two aspects of it, your teaching and yourself.

You are living out of the truth, what you say and what you do. Tonight, we come to the true minister of Jesus Christ. And I think, once again, we're going to see the same thing.

We're on very familiar ground. But we might begin with verse 15 of the second chapter. One of many definitions that we might give to the true minister of Jesus Christ.

This is in the form of a commission or a charge. Paul says, do your best to present yourself to God as one approved. A workman who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Timothy, do your best to present yourself to God as one who has his approval. A workman who has no need to be ashamed, who is able to rightly handle the word of truth. Again, the emphasis on truth.

King James Version of that, some of you may have memorized. Study, to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Like the emphasis there on study.

Do your best means study. It means other things as well, but there's a homework to be done. Do your best is not just grit your teeth and try to be a moral person, though it is that.

But it's specifically involvement with the Word. Study. Involve yourself in diligent, careful, disciplined study of God's Word.

That's how you become a workman who has his approval. This is what Timothy wants. This is what Paul wants for Timothy.

This is what any faithful Christian would want for himself. God's approval in his work. A workman who has no need to be ashamed.

No need to be ashamed. There's a tremendous passage. I want to just cross-reference here over to John's first letter.

The end of the second chapter. We'll come right back to Timothy here, but just get John's word on this same subject. Second chapter, verse 28.

And now, little children, abide in Him so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink from Him in shame at his coming. You know, I did a lot of traveling when I was in the prep school and college ministries. And one of the great joys of going off and traveling is always coming home again.

And the reunion, the great joy at seeing Karen and the children and trying to keep in touch while I'm away with phone calls and postcards and so on and looking forward to that moment when we're reunited. but it struck me many, many times supposing that whilst I was away she had been having some kind of an affair with someone. And when I come home what's her attitude?

Rather than running to greet me with joy she shrinks in shame. There's been a lack of fidelity there or it might be the other way around. I might have been doing that while I was away.

Instead of the joy of reunion is a shrinking from each other in shame. I think this is the image here. Abide in Him so that when He returns, when He comes back, we can greet Him with joy.

Great joy of reunion. And not shrink from Him in shame for our infidelity, wherever it might be. So Paul's word is studied to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that doesn't need to be ashamed.

he's going to come back and we're going to greet him we're going to have to face him we're going to have to give an account and we're charged here to handle the word of truth rightly so we see that the word then is the basis of everything 1st Timothy it's the basis for establishing the church Titus it's the basis for correcting the church and here in 2nd Timothy it's the basis for maintaining the church. I want us to turn to the end of the third chapter, 2 Timothy 3, one of the most famous verses in the Bible, verse 316. The view of the New Testament of itself, the view of Scripture of itself.

All Scripture, all Scripture is inspired by God. that word inspire has the same root as respire or respiration that could be translated God breathed all scripture is breathed by God comes through human agents but it originates with God scripture is God breathed and we remember that part of it I think but it goes on to say something more it tells us not only the origin of scripture not only the authority of Scripture, that it comes from God Himself, but it tells us the purpose of Scripture, a fourfold purpose here. It is profitable for, number one, teaching, two, reproof, three, correction, and four, training in righteousness.

This is what God has given us the Scripture for. for teaching, for telling us the truth that we would test everything by the Word of God. What is the basis for our teaching?

What the council has said, what the bishop has said, what the prayer book has said, what the latest theologian has said, what our experience has said, what our rationality has said, what three out of five doctors surveyed have said. Scripture is for teaching. It's the basis by which we test everything else.

The word canon, C-A-N-O-N, means standard. It's the rule, it's the yardstick by which we measure everything else. That's positively.

Negatively for reproof. Having told us this is what God says, and we go on to the much harder business, you're wrong, or that's wrong. That opinion is wrong.

That activity is wrong. How do we know? Because it contradicts what God has said.

Scripture's purpose is not only to tell us what's right, but to bring us up short where we've gone wrong. Thirdly, it doesn't leave us there for correction. Not just a word of rebuke and saying you're wrong, but here's how to get right again.

Here's how to straighten out the mess you've fallen into. And even that isn't enough. He goes on to say, and for training in righteousness.

So it's not just saying, there's the way to go, now go. But for enabling us, step by step, to ingrain into our habits and personality God's standards and God's pattern and God's character traits so that they become second nature. And that's what he goes on to say.

That the man of God, that the woman of God, that the child of God may be complete. Equipped for every good work. Many of us have memorized the first part of that passage.

All scripture is inspired by God. But it's important that we see the purpose of it. That we might be completely equipped for every good work.

So it's not only our heads that are being educated, but it's our very lives. Here's Paul's commission to Timothy. Study to show yourself a workman approved unto God who doesn't need to be ashamed, who rightly handles the word of truth.

Why? Because it's with this word, it's by this word, that absolutely everything of relevance in the Christian life unfolds. Our teaching, our reproof, our correction, our training in righteousness.

Our complete equipment. Our complete equipment. And those of you who were here way at the beginning of my stay at Truro, you remember we did Ephesians together.

And we saw that the purpose for which God has given leaders to the church is the equipment of the saints for the work of ministry. Remember that phrase in chapter 4. The equipment of God's people.

It's not that the minister is to minister and the congregation is to congregate. But that the minister is to equip the congregation to minister. Now what's their equipment?

The Word of God. So Timothy is to rightly handle the Word of God because that is the equipment for every good work. We see the absolute centrality of the Scripture.

The Word is the basis for establishing the church, for correcting the church, for maintaining the church. We can't get beyond it. We dare not depart from it.

The story of a man who preached the same sermon two weeks in a row. A couple of people noticed it. Most people didn't. They came out and shook his hand.

Nice sermon, pastor. Third week, he preached the same sermon again. Three or four more people say, boy, that sounds awfully familiar.

By the fourth week, it was beginning to buzz through the congregation. This guy only has one sermon. Fifth week, they sent a delegation.

How come you're preaching the same sermon five weeks in a row? He says, when you respond to this one, I'll go on to another. one way that we could summarize or get a handle on 2nd Timothy would be to look at a fourfold charge that Paul gives him this is somewhat arbitrary but I think to a very real extent it ties together the overarching theme of the whole book with four aspects of what Paul is commissioning Timothy to do.

One from each chapter. Chapter 1, verse 14. In an almost word-for-word repetition of what we've already seen in 1 Timothy and again in Titus, here he says, Guard the truth that has been entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.

Guard the truth. You're to protect it. You let go of the Word, you've lost everything.

You may go for one generation on the residue of high standards. But if they're not rooted in salvation truth, you won't go a second generation. I think we've seen that in our lifetime, in many of our lifetimes.

It used to be said that our grandparents knew everything that was in the Bible and basically believed it. Our parents knew nothing that was in the Bible and disbelieved all of it. Most of our parents were men and women of very high moral standards as a residue from the grandparent generation.

But it doesn't carry over a third generation. And you can see that over and over and over in the history of the church. Where the gospel is proclaimed clearly, the second generation will have high standards of morality.

it won't carry over a third time guard the truth we don't want just good people we want men and women who have been saved secondly, second chapter take your share of suffering as a good soldier of Jesus Christ verse 3 dropping down to verse 8 remember Jesus Christ and verse 9 as preached in my gospel the gospel for which I am suffering and wearing fetters like a criminal. Take your share of suffering for the gospel, this same gospel which I'm preaching and for which I'm suffering now. This is a tremendous challenge that Paul gives to Timothy.

It comes up several times in this letter. He challenges him to be willing to suffer and eventually says in the fourth chapter, All who would live, no, in the third chapter, sorry, verse 12, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted one way or another. An echo of Jesus' own statement.

If they persecuted me, they will persecute you. The servant is not above his master. Beware when all men think well of you, he says.

And so Paul gives this challenge. Timothy, be willing to put yourself on the line. Take your share of suffering.

Now, that doesn't mean go out looking for it, inviting it in some kind of masochistic way. But if it comes, don't shrink from it. It's part of the territory.

Don't be surprised if it comes. And he gives him a series of illustrations here about priorities. No soldier on service gets entangled in civilian pursuits.

Why? his aim is to satisfy the one who enlisted him. Changes the image.

An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It's no good to cut across the track. You've got to go all the way around if that's the way the course is laid out.

You might get there first, but you're going to be disqualified. It's a matter of priorities. And then again, it's the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.

You want an abundant harvest? You've got to get out there and work for it. Where are your priorities?

And so he's calling upon Timothy to be willing to receive the bad along with the good. That's the second part of the charge. Down in the third chapter, verses 13 and 14, while evil men and imposters will go on from bad to worse, deceivers and deceived.

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. You're going to see a degeneration around you, a falling apart of things, a lack of fidelity, an apostasy, evil men going from bad to worse, but as for you. You see that sharp contrast.

Don't you go along. Don't go on that slide with them. As for you, continue in what you've learned and believed.

And then fourthly, in the fourth chapter, I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, dropping down to verse 2, preach the Word. Be urgent in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort.

Be unfailing in patience and in teaching. Or in short, the charge of Paul to Timothy is guard the gospel, suffer for the gospel, continue in the gospel, and proclaim the gospel. You see that the whole letter has as its theme the word of God.

The function of the church is to keep it. The power of the church is to manifest it. The minister of the church is to handle it rightly.

the church is to keep it to guard it, to protect it, to proclaim it the power of the church is to manifest or exhibit or see it worked out in practice and the minister of the church is charged with handling it rightly rightly dividing the word of truth guarding, protecting, proclaiming, suffering for continuing in and preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ this is the great theme of this letter I want to drop back just a little bit and review the situation we somewhat anticipated this in the first lecture when we talked about 1st Timothy this is the last thing that Paul wrote the last thing that we have existent at least Paul is about to be martyred since he wrote 1st Timothy he's been thrown into prison again probably it's 67 or 68 AD It's very near the end. This is the aged apostle. He considers his life over.

We see in chapter 4, starting with verse 6, I am already on the point of being sacrificed. The time of my departure has come. He looks back and reviews his life and he says, I have fought the good fight.

I have finished the race. My work is over. I have kept the faith.

And he's already anticipating his reward. 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.

Praise God. It's a wonderful note of victory that is sounded throughout this epistle. And it's all the more poignant when you realize that Paul's martyrdom is right around the corner.

You've got to picture him in some underground prison, probably with no light, very ill-treated. He says he's in fetters, he's in chains, as well as being imprisoned. And he knows that right around the corner at any moment, the sword of beheading awaits him.

And against that backdrop, we don't hear him complaining, we don't hear him lamenting, we hear him praising God and looking forward to victory. And this victory comes over and over again. It's tremendous.

Right at the very outset, verse 1, Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise, not just the offer, doesn't just offer life, but the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus. Verse 10, God has now manifested through the appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ, this grace, this salvation, He's manifested it through the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ who abolished death. Isn't that fantastic?

I'm about to die and I'm testifying to you of a Savior who has abolished death. That doesn't mean people don't die. They die.

Paul is anticipating his death. But he's looking at a Savior who has utterly emptied death, so that it's a doorway. You just walk through it to life.

And he goes right on in that same theme. For this gospel, I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, and therefore I suffer. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, And I am absolutely sure, King James says, I am persuaded that He is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.

Notice the footnote, if you have an RSV. That phrase is, I think, deliberately ambiguous, and it can equally be translated, what I have entrusted to Him. You see that footnote there?

Again, King James says, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day. I don't think it matters too much which way you read it. The point is, Jesus Christ guards and protects and keeps everything that is His.

Whether He's entrusted it to us, ultimately, the safety still is His. Or whether it's what we have entrusted to Him, He's able to keep it, to guard it. So we're to guard the truth.

Because the truth is that He guards us. And He protects us. And He protects our very salvation.

I've put my life in His hand. And humanly speaking, I'm about to lose it. But I am absolutely persuaded that when that happens, I just go through the gate to larger life.

this is what he says in Philippians doesn't he whether to stay here or to depart I don't know which is better he says I'd really rather go and be with the Lord but for your sake I know I've got some work to do here now the work is over and he's just looking forward to that day in the second chapter verse 12 in the midst of one of these sure sayings these faithful sayings lovely saying, a rather remarkable one. This probably was a hymn. Probably was sung.

Starting with verse 11. If we have died with Him, we shall live with Him. If we endure, we shall reign with Him.

If we deny Him, He will deny us. If we are faithless, He will be faithless. isn't that interesting tit for tat tit for tat whoops if we are faithless he remains faithful for he cannot deny himself so this exhortation to hang in there to be faithful to die with Him, to endure with Him, not to deny Him, not to become faithless.

Because He is absolutely consistent. And He will remain faithful to Himself. This note of victory all the way through.

Down in verse 19 of chapter 2. God's firm foundation stands bearing this seal. The Lord knows who are His.

Here's Paul on the verge of martyrdom, having gone through intolerable suffering, seeing the situation on all sides degenerating and falling apart. One has the sense that the church in Ephesus and the church in Crete are in real trouble. Already those in leadership in the church are going in and sowing seeds of dissent and heresy and immorality.

And yet Paul is sounding a note of victory. I know whom I have believed. And I'm absolutely persuaded that he's able to keep that which is his.

He knows who are his. Let me put a footnote on that. That's kind of an interesting thing.

There are, again, some faithful sayings, some sure sayings. He brings two things together in verse 19 here. On the one hand, the Lord knows those who are his.

And then he goes on, and let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity. Two things. Who we belong to and what kind of a life we're to lead as a result.

See that? If we belong to Him, then we're called to an obedience. A high standard.

And he goes on to illustrate that in the final paragraph of chapter 2. In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and earthenware, some for noble use, your best china, for special company, you see, and some for ignoble, everyday family stuff, in fact, for taking out the garbage. Again, two questions.

Are you for noble use or ignoble? That's one question. What sort of use?

But a more basic question, whose vessel are you? there are two things here the Lord knows those who belong to him those who are his who do you belong to whose vessel are you but then secondly let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity be for a noble use not just for an ignoble and so he calls upon Timothy to consecrate himself if anyone purifies himself from what is ignoble he will be a vessel for nobles use, consecrated, useful to the master of the house, ready for any good work. So shun youthful passions, aim at righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with all those who call upon the Lord from a pure heart.

This is Paul's situation, about to die and sounding a note of victory. Timothy, on the other hand, we discover to be a very weak young man in some ways. We already saw in the first book to Timothy that he is relatively young.

Back in 1 Timothy 4 and verse 12, it says, let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example. And here again in the second book, chapter 2, verse 22, shun youthful passions. He's a young man to be entrusted with this kind of leadership.

He's a man prone to illness. Again, back in the first book, chapter 5, verse 23, Paul mentions his frequent ailments. He doesn't specify what they are.

Perhaps there is frequent stomach trouble. He says, no longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach. Not a lot of wine.

Little wine. but he's a man of sickness of illness and here as we come into 2nd Timothy we find that he's a man of great timidity and really in one sense the whole book is an exhortation to overcome that timidity that potential for cowardice so we read in verse 6 hence I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power and love and self-control.

He evidently shrank from some of the difficult tasks. Paul had to prepare the way for Timothy's ministry when he went out on visits. We remember back in the letter to the Corinthians, Paul has to write ahead and say to them, And when Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you.

Let no one despise him. Paul's word to the Corinthians. Several times here in this letter, Paul has to exhort him to take his share of suffering.

Not to be afraid or ashamed, for God has not given us a spirit of cowardice. Notice how this word shame or ashamed appears over and over again. Verse 8, chapter 1.

Do not be ashamed, then, of testifying to our Lord. Verse 12. Therefore I suffer as I do, but I am not ashamed.

Verse 16. He speaks of a man named Onesiphorus. And he says, he often refreshed me.

He was not ashamed of my chains. There's a shame connected with identifying yourself with Paul in prison. So don't be ashamed of me, he says.

Don't be ashamed of testifying to the Lord. Don't be ashamed of the Lord Himself. Chapter 2, verse 15.

We've already seen a workman who doesn't need to be ashamed. John Stott has the comment, these are three main ways in which Christian people are tempted to feel ashamed. Number one, of the name of Christ, to whom we are called to witness.

Two, of the people of Christ, to whom we belong if we belong to Him. And three, of the gospel of Christ, which is entrusted to us to spread. Indeed, he says, if this were not a common temptation to man, the Lord Jesus would not have needed to issue the solemn warning for whoever is ashamed of Me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of Him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.

And so we've seen this theme over and over again. We see it in the words of Jesus. We see it in John's letter.

Abide in Him so that when He appears, we may greet Him with joy and not shrink back in shame at His coming. And here, Paul is exhorting Timothy over and over again, don't be ashamed. and I suspect we may need to hear that word don't be ashamed don't be ashamed of being identified as a Christian don't be ashamed of the name of Jesus Christ don't be ashamed of the funny labels that they'll throw at you used to call me John the Baptist when I was in college the God Squad and the Christian Mafia and all those kinds of names right?

you've had it fundamentalist and on and on and on names don't be ashamed of the people of God. I think it's God's plan more often than not to put us alongside of other Christians who we think are absolutely obnoxious. And we're ashamed of being identified with them.

And I've seen this on campus after campus. Kids who have gone off and they go to the fellowship group and they look around them and there's nobody that stacks up. And they're ashamed to be identified with that group.

And that's God's purpose. Because the very fact that they irritate us points the finger at some area where we have to grow. And we're not going to grow unless we're irritated at that point.

Somebody prays for patience. Lord, give me patience. How is God going to give you patience except by putting you alongside of somebody who makes demands upon you that continually irritate?

You know, if the guy was just catering to all your whims, you'd be completely relaxed. You'd have no need for patience. You pray for patience, you better duck.

Don't be ashamed of the Christian people that God puts you alongside of. And don't be ashamed to suffer. The embarrassment, the embarrassment, the persecution that we have is so trivial.

It's like those little gnats in the middle of July. I mean, if there's any shame, we should be ashamed to call that persecution. That somebody calls us a silly name with tongue in cheek.

Brothers and sisters in Romania and Hungary and Russia and China. Being tortured and right now having drugs pumped into their arms. That destroy their minds.

Because they're Christians. So Paul says don't be afraid. Don't be ashamed.

This is Timothy. Young in years, frail in physique, timid in disposition. Called on by God to exercise exacting responsibility.

Well beyond anything that He is naturally equipped to do. I suspect that may be your situation. It certainly is mine.

Called upon to exert leadership and ministry beyond any natural talent for it. God is going to stretch every Christian who's willing to be stretched beyond his own abilities. John Guest used to say, You know, I can't wait until the day I find somebody who is absolutely and totally inept in his own personality.

Because then God can really do a miraculous work. Trouble is that so often we see people who are operating off the surface of their personality. They do have some strengths.

They do have some talents. And we play from strength, don't we? And yet Paul's testimony at the end of 2 Corinthians was, when I am weak, then I am strong.

Because the power of God is made manifest in my weakness, not in my strength. And Paul says, I won't boast of my strength. If I boast at all, I'll boast of my weaknesses.

and then guest would finish up his sermon and he'd look over at me and he said I may have found one Timothy had a number of things going for him it wasn't all weakness had a number of very powerful things going for him he had a godly upbringing verse 5 I'm reminded of your sincere faith A faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice. And now I am sure dwells in you. Godly women.

We don't know when they were converted, if they were converted prior to Timothy or simultaneously. Maybe they were faithful Jewish women who were instructing him in the Scriptures long before any of them heard of the Gospel. Maybe they came to faith before he did and immediately began to try to inculcate that in him.

but how many of us have faithful mothers and grandmothers and other relatives who are praying for us and helping us along the way he has secondly the powerful powerful help of Paul's friendship which is implicit throughout the whole book starts at the very second verse to Timothy my beloved child we've seen the warmth of his relationship verse 4 as I remember your tears presumably when they last parted. Tremendously warm father-son relationship. And Paul describes himself as what Eric Erickson would call an adult guarantor.

An adult guarantor. Someone who embodies a living manifestation of the thing we would long to be. In chapter 3, we've already seen the commission.

Verse 14, But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed. And then he goes on to say, Knowing from whom you have learned it. And how from childhood you've been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to instruct you for salvation.

Knowing from whom you've learned it. Now I'm sure that includes Lois and Eunice. But principally that's a reference to Paul himself.

You see that developed in just the preceding few verses, starting with 10. You've observed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions, my sufferings, what befell me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra, what persecutions I endured, and yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Isn't that fantastic?

My life is an open book to you, Timothy. Look into it. Read it.

And follow the example. Again, I wonder how many of us would dare to say that to anyone else. John Stott wrote of himself.

He said that the man who led him to Christ, the young boy, wrote him letters of encouragement every week for seven years and has prayed for him daily right up until the present time. That's investment. That's the kind of thing Paul says I've invested in Timothy.

It's what he dares to say to the Philippians. What you have seen and heard in me, do. Presents himself as an adult guarantor.

I had a college advisor when I was in the InterVarsity Fellowship at the University of Connecticut. And when I went back for a 10-year reunion last summer, that he called, he sent out a letter inviting us to come back to his home for a reunion. And in the letter he told us that those who were being invited were really his prayer list.

That he's prayed for us every single day since we went through the University of Connecticut. Timothy has that going for him thirdly he has a gift of the Holy Spirit verse 6 hence I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands an ordination gift it was referred to back in 1st Timothy that he was ordained in the presence of many witnesses set aside for the cause of the gospel And there's a gift. We don't know what it is.

It may be a general gift of the Holy Spirit, a gift of leadership. He goes on to say, you've not received a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and self-control. Many have thought it was the gift of evangelism because in the fourth chapter it says, verse 5, as for you, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, and so fulfill your ministry.

As we looked at the several studies on the Holy Spirit, we saw that theme that when God calls somebody to do a work for Him, He equips him to do it. He anoints him to do it. And so there's this exhortation, don't be afraid, don't be ashamed, put yourself on the line, guard the truth and be willing to suffer for it.

But He's not calling upon Timothy to do this out of his own self-effort. He's calling upon him to allow the Spirit of God that indwells him to manifest himself. I don't think we should read that verse as if the gift has completely died out.

Rekindle in the sense of relay a fire which has gone dead. It also has the sense of stir up. Stir up that which is there.

Let it blaze. That which is already there, let it be released. So he has at least these things.

A godly upbringing. the powerful witness of an adult guarantor his Christian friend Paul his ordination gift fourthly he has the ability to exercise self-discipline as we've just seen and fifthly especially he has the scriptures knowing from whom you have learned it and how from childhood you've been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. So Timothy's great challenge then is to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

As he puts it in chapter 2. Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus and to resist the temptation to be ashamed. I want us to look at one more thing before we quit.

The situation of the church as described in the third chapter. It's probably a familiar passage to you. It's often read to show in a kind of shocking way that Paul could anticipate the headlines of our daily newspaper.

People have pointed to this to see a fulfillment in our generation. Understand this, that in the last days there will come times of stress. For men will be lovers of self, Lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman.

He just goes on and on and on. Implacable, slanderers, profligates, fierce, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit. Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.

Tremendous, scathing denunciation of the surrounding world. The thing I want us to see is that this is not merely a description of the secular world, but it is explicitly, shockingly, and tragically a description of the church itself. And he goes on in the next phrase to say, verse 5, holding the form of religion, but denying the power of it.

Avoid such people, for among them are those who make their way into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and swayed by various impulses, who will listen to anybody and can never arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Then he has this very strange phrase, As Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of corrupt mind and counterfeit faith. but they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.

Anybody know what that refers to? Do you look up many? That's right.

Good for you. You can't find their names in the Old Testament, Jannes and Jambres. They're not specifically mentioned.

but Jewish tradition identifies the Egyptian sorcerers or wise men or magicians that we find in the book of Exodus by these two names. It's called a Hebrew targum on Exodus 7-11 which has nothing to do with our 7-11, I hope. I'm not sure.

The Jannies and Jambres then are the traditional Jewish names given to the Egyptian sorcerers. And you remember the story that Moses was given a number of miracles by God to demonstrate that he was in fact sent from God. So he was supposed to throw down his staff and it would become a serpent, pick it up again and it becomes a staff and various other things that he could do.

And you go back and read in Exodus chapter 7 and Pharaoh keeps saying, oh, that's nothing. My magicians can do the same thing. And they duplicate these mighty works one after another.

Not quite. Moses turns out to have a couple of cards in his deck that they don't have. But nearly.

And when you see that, it sheds a tremendously shocking new light on this paragraph. Because what he's now describing are not simply secular figures out there in the world opposing Moses, but he's describing men who have all the trappings of religion. Who are able in fact to duplicate to a certain extent the work of God.

but who are doing it either by human cunning or by demonic power. So that what's being described here, you see, is the epitome of those holding the form of religion, but denying the power of it. Those having a counterfeit faith.

Who's he describing? Not secular men out there. but the leaders of the church masquerading as those doing the works of God but in fact doing them either by human ingenuity or by demonic influence.

Doesn't that one send chills up your spine? It does me. And Paul's word to Timothy is avoid them.

What are you supposed to do about it? Avoid it. Avoid such people.

It's a tremendous contrast, therefore, between chapter 2 and chapter 3. I'd say this is the guts of the letter. Look in chapter 2, just for a minute here, in closing, at verse 14.

It says, Remind them of this, and charge them before the Lord to avoid disputing about words which does no good but only ruins the hearers. Remind them of what? Remind them of this faithful saying all the way back really to verse 10 that I endure everything for the sake of the elect that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus which goes with eternal glory.

Be willing to endure everything and anything. Take your share of suffering. Remind them of this.

Question. Who is the them? Who is the them?

Who? No. Counterfeiters don't come up until chapter 3. The believers.

What believers? What's the them refer to? What's the antecedent?

No. No, it's not the elect. You haven't gone back far enough. that goes no no goes all the way back to verse 2 this is typical of Paul's writing it's the most frustrating thing if you ever tried to diagram Paul's writing you'll go bananas goes all the way back to verse 2 what you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men that's the them remind the faithful men of this.

So all this elaborate description then of I endure everything for the sake of the elect and if we have died with Him we shall live with Him and if we endure and so on and so on and so on. Remind them of this. See chapter 2 is an elaboration of Paul's commission to Timothy to be investing himself as deeply as can be in faithful men.

to take his leadership seriously, and as we said in the very first lecture, to be passing on to another generation that which God has entrusted to us. To pour yourself into these faithful men who will be able to teach others also. And then chapter 3, you see, begins with the word, but.

See, in the sharpest contrast to chapter 2. But, understand this, that in the last days there are going to come some who appear to be leaders, who are in fact phonies, and what you're to do with them is avoid them. See the contrast.

Find the faithful men and pour yourself into them as fully, as deeply as you possibly can. Reproduce in others what I've tried to reproduce in you, Timothy. give yourself unspentingly the leaders are to equip the saints for the work of the ministry to handle the word of truth pour yourself into those who are faithful and those who are counterfeit avoid that's the message of this final letter from the pen of Saint Paul so he comes into the fourth chapter and he says, be urgent.

Be urgent. Urging. Be urging people.

Urge people. In season and out of season. Whether it's convenient or inconvenient.

Whether it seems the right time or a very awkward time. Preach the word. Be urgent.

In season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, and exhort. We saw almost the same thing in Titus, didn't we?

Chapter 2, verse 15. Declare these things, exhort, and reprove with all authority. Declare, exhort, reprove.

Here we have convince, rebuke, exhort. This is your commission, Timothy. Convince.

Convince. Master the arguments. May I challenge you to do that?

You know the questions that non-Christians raise. How can a good God allow so much pain and suffering in the world? Questions of miracles.

Questions of angels, demons. Questions of the resurrection. Questions of the authority of Scripture.

Questions of the sincere Buddhist. What about all the good people who have never heard of Christ? master the arguments be prepared to convince if you don't know the answers go find the answers read the books get a book like Know Why You Believe by Paul Little or Evidence That Demands a Verdict memorize it do your homework convince rebuke much harder be prepared to risk the friendship for the sake of the friend to hold somebody to God's highest out of love even though his initial reaction may be anger and bitterness and he'll run around bad mouthing you all over town that happens to me and more often than not when all is said and done the person who's run around doing the bad mouthing comes back and says thank you Thank you for loving me enough to hold me to God's standards.

It's a tremendous reward. And exhort, exhort, hold up the tired hands. Support the weak knees.

You know that reference from the Old Testament, Exodus chapter 17. Moses is told that if he holds his staff up, standing there on the cliff overlooking the battle, the Israelites will win the day. and he holds his staff up but the day grows long and he grows weary and every time the staff starts to go down they start to lose.

So the Lord sends Aaron and Hur to come and prop him up and they hold his arms up so he can hold his staff up and they support his trembling knees so that he can remain standing and while he stands Israel wins. We need that, don't we? the rest of chapter 4 is Paul's testimony to those who have held up his drooping arms and weak knees Jesus himself apparently needed somebody to hold up his arms in the garden could you not watch with me for just an hour this is Timothy's commission convince, rebuke, exhort.

Handle the Word rightly. Guard it, protect it, embody it, live by it, proclaim it, and pass it on to faithful men who will be able to do the same with still others as well.