2 Timothy 2:14-26
Doing your best
What is that you are working hard at? What are you be diligent about? What are you putting your greatest effort into achieving? What are you eager for?
- Work?
Do you do your best at work? Are you working hard to get through your work and get everything (well as much is humanly possible) done? Do you do your best to get through the volume of work that you are expected to get through each week? How do you know when you’ve done your best? Does someone tell you or do you decide?
- Home?
Do you do your best at home? Is it for you about being a great dad or mum or great husband and wife? Are you doing your best to give your children what you think that they need? Would like them just ocassionally to tell you what a good job that you are doing? I wouldn’t hold your breath especially when it comes to kids, they just kind of expect for you to be all about them! Maybe, you might be doing your best to care for an elderly parent or another member of the family, but even they might not always be happy with what you are doing for them.
- Life?
Do you do your best to just look after yourself and enjoy what you have? You want to enjoy life, so that you can appreciate what you have. Maybe it is your own approval that you are looking for.
What are you diligently working at and whose approval are you seeking? In the reading today the apostle Paul told Timothy to do his best to be the sort of worker that God approves of and who doesn’t need to be ashamed.
2 Timothy 2:15
15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman [NIV 2011= worker] who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. [1]
I want to suggest to you today that God’s approval is the only approval that really does count in life. One day you and I will stand before our God and we will give an account of our stewardship of our lives (see the parable of the talents, Matt. 25:14-30). On that day we don’t ashamed.
Today/tonight we want to look at the specific instructions given to Timothy about doing his best to be the sort of worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. In Timothy’s case he was a servant of the gospel, a preacher and teacher of the word. We might not be a preacher or teacher of the word, as Timothy was (see 1 Timothy 4:13), but there are things here that all the servants of the Lord can take note of and learn. Today/tonight we will look at the last twelve verses of chapter 2 loosely following the paragraph divisions[2]. We are going to look at these three sections today under three headings:
1) The unashamed worker (verses 14-19)
2) The instrument for noble purposes (verses 20-21)
3) The faithful servant (verses 23-26)
1) The unashamed worker
In verse 15 Paul urges Timothy to do his best to present himself to God as one approved, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed when one day he stands before the Lord.
2 Timothy 2:15
15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman [NIV 2011= worker] who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
- They correctly handle the word of truth (v15).
The last part of that verse is really the task that Timothy had been called to do. He was to correctly handle the word of truth. Paul literally referred to “cutting straight the word of truth”. This is the only place in the NT to use such an expression and there is a lot of discussion around what this means but they all come back to the idea that as a preacher and teacher of the word Timothy was to correctly handle the word of truth which is what this paragraph is dealing with.
- They remind God’s people of the truth (v14)
The first thing that we notice is that the unashamed worker keeps on remind God’s people of the truth. Having reminded Timothy of the truth, in verse 14 Paul told Timothy to keep reminding them of these things. The people Timothy was to remind of these things would have been the believers in Ephesus where Timothy was at the time. The things that Timothy was to remind them of were all the things that Paul had himself just reminded Timothy about- the trustworthy saying and the nuggets of gospel truth that had already been embedded within chapters 1 and 2. Paul told Timothy to keep reminding the people of these things.
- They are to be like a broken record
When I was growing up sometimes, I could be quite insistent when I wanted something. I would pester my parents going over and over the reasons why I really needed what obviously they thought I really didn’t need. They would sometimes say to me that I was sounding like a broken record. They were referring to a record with a scratch that keep jumping back and playing the same track over and over again. This is what Timothy was to do. He was to be like a broken record as far as the truth was concerned – always reminding people of what they believed. He was to keep reminding the believers off these things because we all so easily forget (see also 2 Peter 1:12-13).
- We need reminding because we forget so easily
We can forget sometimes because of the everyday nature of life with its million and one things that we must get on and do. We just have so many other things going on around us that we lose sight of what it is that’s important. We can forget sometimes because we give in to our fears and we allow them to grow larger and fill our minds rather than reminding ourselves of God’s promises. At other times we forget because of our fallenness and we listen to the voice of our own sinful desires and we let other things get in the way. We all need to be reminded of the word of truth that calms our fears and that comfort us in our sorrows and strengthen us in our weakness and restores the broken hearted. This is what one who correctly handles the word of truth does – they keep on reminding the people of God of the truth[3].
- They steer people away from talk that would lead them astray.
The unashamed worker firstly reminds people of the truth and secondly, they steer people way from all sorts of talk that would lead them astray. Like a shepherd they watch over the sheep to keep them safe from wolves. In verse 14 Paul went on to tell Timothy to warn the same people against quarreling about words.
2 Timothy 2:14b
Warn them before God against quarrelling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.
I don’t think this is a warning to believers never to debate or disagree about anything, but rather a solemn warning to avoid becoming preoccupied with the sort of talk that Paul refers to as “godless chatter” in verse 15. The problem in Ephesus was that the false teachers loved meaningless talk that wasn’t based on the truth and which only led people astray (see 1 Tim. 1:6). Paul said that these people wanted to be teachers, but they didn’t know what they were talking about (1 Tim. 1:8). Joining in their endless debates wasn’t helpful. Timothy was also to avoid this sort of talk because it doesn’t lead people to God but only leads to more ungodliness. Paul warns against indulging in such teaching. Paul in says in verse 14 that this sort of quarrelling about words leads people into ruin and in verses 17 he argues that it spreads like gangrene through the body of Christ.
2 Timothy 2:16-18
16 Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. 17 Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some.
Giving a lot of air time to false teachers with their speculative teaching that is detached from the word of God only ends up ruining people and spreading like gangrene. Paul mentioned Hymenaeus and Philetus who had wandered away from the truth (literally = missed the mark) and had already destroyed the faith of some. We need to have nothing to do with those who make themselves out to be teachers and love to talk but whose teaching doesn’t accord to the sound teaching of the gospel.
Preachers and teachers must be people who correctly handle the word of God. They need to be reminding us of the truth and steering us away from the teaching that missing the mark as far as the truth in concerned. No other quality in a pastor can make up for missing the mark as far as the truth is concerned. We see this time and time again because their teaching spreads like gangrene and ends up ruining those who listen to them. We need teachers to be reminding us of the truth and we need to be reminding one another – we are to be people who are speaking the truth to one another in love (see Eph. 4:15)
2) The instrument for noble purpose
In verses 20 to 22 Paul moves from the unashamed worker to describe the person who is useful to the Master. He writes such a person will be an instrument (or a ‘vessel’ in some translations) for noble purposes. I just want to spend a little time looking at what it means to be a noble instrument used to honor the Master[4]. Paul makes his point by using the image of a great house that has lots of articles or vessels in it
2 Timothy 2:20-21
20 In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. 21 If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
- They cleanse themselves from these things
As servants of the Lord we are to be instrument for noble purposes, holy and useful to the master. Paul here literally says that if anyone cleanses himself from “these” (this is the literal rendering of the Greek) he will be an instrument for noble purposes, holy and useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. The question is what are these (things) that verse 21 refers to? Our NIV Bible refers to “the later” believing that the apostle is referring to the articles for ignoble purposes. John Stott believes that this is reference to the false teachers and their teaching and way of life. It may well include those things but I kind of think that it could go back to the inscription mentioned at the end of verse 19.
- They turn away from wickedness
I skipped over verses 19 to 20 in my haste to get to the second point. In these two verses Paul reassures the believers that despite some who have wandered away from the faith the foundation on which everything is built stands firm. Most commentators think Paul is talking about the church, but I’m inclined to think that he is talking about the foundation which is Christ Jesus. Paul told the Corinthians that he had laid a foundation as an expert builder and wrote that no one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid which was Jesus Christ (see 1 Cor 3:10-12). The church stands firm because he is God’s solid. Paul talks about this foundation being sealed with two inscriptions. The first inscription reminds believers that the Lord knows exactly who are his. We don’t always know – we don’t get to see people hearts. We can only see the outside so it always hard for us to be certain. For instance, Hymenaeus and Philetus at one time must have looked like servants of the Lord and while Paul and Timothy might have been surprised by their defection the Lord always knew who were his. The other inscription tells us what we can know which is that everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.
I believe that this is what Paul is talking about when he says if a man (meaning anyone) cleanses himself from these things. I think that he is referring to the wickedness and ungodliness of those who wander away from the truth that he has been describing in the previous paragraph. This is what make us unfit for noble purposes. Verse 22 really spells out for Timothy what he is to do to cleanse himself.
2 Timothy 2:22
Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
- Flee evil desires and pursue godliness
If Timothy was to be an instrument that was holy and set apart for the Master then he needed to flee the evil desires of his youth and instead pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace. He was to run away from those ungodly desires that he would experience as a young man and run after godliness. You see just being able to talk the talk wasn’t enough. He needed to walk the walk as we all do. Of course, we cleanse through the blood of Christ – his death for us brings forgiveness, but we are called to keep putting off the deeds of old life. As Paul told Timothy in the previous letter, he was train himself to be godly (1 Tim. 4:7). God’s people have always been called to be holy like God is holy.
- This is your calling and mine
We all need to turn away from wickedness if we are to be instruments for noble purpose, who honor and are useful to our Master. This is something we are all meant to be doing. Timothy isn’t told this because it only applies to preachers and teachers like him, but he is to do this along with those who call on the Lord out of pure heart.
Do you call upon the name of the Lord? Then you are to make yourself useful to your Master by turning away from wickedness and growing in godliness. We are to learn to exercise faith in what God has said by obeying his words. We are to love others and put their interest above our own for this is how he has loved us and we are to live at peace with others. We are to be peacemakers for this what our God is like. This is the way that you and I prepare for whatever good work God has for us to do (see also Eph 2.10), whether at work or at home or down at the school. You are called to be holy and useful to the Master and you can’t be that if you continue in following your own evil desires – whether they are the desires of youth, the desires of the middle age or the desires of seniors. Train yourself to be godly and cleanse yourself – turn away from wickedness – flee evil desires and pursue godliness.
3) The faithful servant (verses 23-26)
Well this brings us to the conclusion of these words directed at Timothy but important for us all to understand. In verses 23 to 26 Paul sums up how the Lord’s servant is to faithfully conduct himself. As I’m running out of time, I just want to read out verses 24 to 26 and make two brief points about the faithful servant.
2 Timothy 2:24-26
24 And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. 25 Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
- They don’t quarrel but gently instruct
Firstly, the faithful servant doesn’t quarrel but gently instructs people. It isn’t about winning arguments. We don’t treat people as though they are the enemy that need to be defeated, but people who need to be saved from the real enemy. We understand their plight for we once all shared in it. They have fallen into the trap of the devil and they need to come to their senses.
The faithful servant of the Lord cares for them in the same way that his Master cares for those who are lost. He shows compassion. He is kind and gentle with us not dealing with us as we deserve and so are his servants. They don’t hold grudges. They aren’t resentful. They need to be able to teach because they must keep on patiently and gently instructing people all the while hoping that God will grant them repentance.
- They rely on God to do his work
The faithful servant secondly relies on God to do his work. They know that only God can work in the hearts of people and bring repentance. They understand the difference between their work and the work of God. They know the difference between what they can do and what only God can do. They know that quarrelling and trying to win arguments with people won’t save them. They know only can save them and so they gently instruct hoping that God will grant them repentance. The faithful servant humbly depends on God.
Do your best
Timothy is was to do his best to be a worker who didn’t need to be ashamed who correctly handled the word of truth – speaking and living it out. He was to be noble instrument, holy and useful to the Master because he was holy. As a preacher and teacher, he was to be a faithful servant who held out the truth and like the Master was kind and gentle. We need teachers who are like this who remind us of the truth and live it out because they exactly what we need to be doing. We must avoid those who with their many words only end up leading others astray.
I want to say that although you might not be a preacher or teacher, do your best to be this kind of servant – one that does not need to be ashamed. You too are called to be an instrument for noble purposes, useful to the Master. God has prepared for all us good work to do whether we be at home, at work, down at the school, or part of local footy club. But we will only be prepared for that work if we keep remembering the word of truth and living it out.
We need to flee
those evil desires that want to take over our hearts and control us. Instead, you
and I are to set our sights on being like Jesus. We are to pursue godliness. We
are to run after the right things in life which aren’t things at all but qualities
like righteousness, faith, love and peace. Sadly, often we are pursuing and
chasing after the wrong things because we haven’t been fleeing the evil or
wrong desires. Some desires are just wrong because we’ve allowed them to take over
our lives. We serve them rather than be a noble instrument that is useful to
the Master. What is to control us is that desire to be more and more like the
Lord Jesus so that we might be useful. Do your best, said Paul, to present
yourself to God as one approved, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed.
[1] Except where otherwise indicated all Scripture citations are taken from The Holy Bible: New International Version—Anglicised. (1984). (electronic edition). London: Hodder & Stoughton.
[2] In verses 12 to 19 Paul begins his explanation as to how Timothy was to do his best to be a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, who correctly handles the word of truth. In verses 20 to 22 he further explained how anyone could be an instrument for noble purpose that is “useful to the master” of the house. Then in the final verses of the chapter, verses 23 to 26 Paul has wrapped up these instructions telling Timothy the qualities that must be evident in the Lord’s servant.
[3] You know most of what we do as preachers and teachers is to remind God’s people of the truth that we have believed. We don’t come up with a lot of novel and new ideas. There is no novelty with the message for its one that has been passed down and entrusted to us by the apostles in the Scriptures. If you’ve got novelty, then there is cause for suspicion and cautiousness. It’s got to be the old story that we tell. Of course, we would all like to be telling the old story in fresh and interesting ways that engage the listener and do a good job of easing out what it means for us today. But still at the heart of what preachers and teachers like Timothy are called to do is to keep reminding God’s people of the word of truth, the sound teaching of the gospel.
[4] The word for noble and honour are the Greek words that are often translated ‘honour’ and ‘dishonour’.
