Our Call to Be Faithful With The Truth

Transcript

GRM 975
1/7/2007
Our Call to Be Faithful with the Truth
2 Timothy 1:13-2:3
Gil Rugh


We anticipate, begin a new year. Just what is the focus of our church as we begin a new year? And what has God called us to do this coming year? And I was reminding myself He's called us to do the same thing that He has in each of the past years. It will be a call to be faithful to Him and to His Word. I really think the biggest challenge for our church and for any Bible believing church today is to remain faithful to the truth that God has entrusted to us. I was listening to a seminary professor in a message he gave as part of a series that I'm listening to. And he was making the observation that he is almost overwhelmed, these aren't his exact words, but almost evangelical school that he can think of is being infiltrated and undermined by a teaching that weakens the scripture and turns the attention of God's people away from His Word. The church has adopted, to a large extent, the thinking of the world. It is a growing event. As we talked about years ago, the issue of psychology and the Bible where the church's attention got turned away from the Bible as sufficient for God to do His work in dealing with sin in our lives. And we move on to man's ideas in seeker mentalities, and instead of a focus on the Word of God, we have focus on man's ideas to build the church. And then we move into what is called the emerging church, the thinking of the day adopted by the church that there is no absolute truth, that there is no truth that is settled and sure. And what irritates people so much today is when you tell them that this right and this wrong. There is truth and there is error. And so now we have a method of interpreting the Bible today that says it shouldn't be interpreted literally, historically, grammatically. I'm talking about within the evangelical world. I'm using that term the evangelical world, although I do not believe promoters of this are truly Bible-believing Christians, truly saved men. We'll see that as we move through what we're going to look at in the Word.

But the church has been infiltrated by this thinking. Now even those who profess to be believers and even some believers are becoming confused and wondering whether it's too narrow, too close-minded to think that we have the right interpretation of the Bible—there are a variety of interpretations. One of our students is off at a Christian school and was relating to me recently about what they had been challenged with. This teaching had infiltrated the school where they are, and they said, you know I was told by this person that you need to broaden your horizons, don't be so narrow. You know you've left Nebraska, now you can learn to think on your own. But really the Word of God is the same whether you're in Nebraska or Pennsylvania or California or North Dakota or anywhere in the world.

We're going to start out in Psalm 119. I just want to read a few verses here, then we'll move to another passage to look at. Psalm 119. I want you just to underline or mark three statements here, if you don't already have them marked in your Bible. Psalm 119:142, look at the second statement, your law is truth, your law is truth. I want you to note that truth exists of an objective reality outside of ourselves. It's not truth because I see it as truth, it is something objective, outside of each one of us. It is God's law that is truth. Look down in verse 151, the second statement, all your commandments are truth. Look down at verse 160, the sum of your Word is truth. We have God's truth. It is truth because God has said it. It is to be understood as He meant it when He said it. You understand that we make it meaningless if we say, well, it's truth but each of us has our own understanding of what truth is and what truth means. No, it is God's truth, and it means what He says, not what I might want to read into it or I might want to make it say. The statement, your law is truth, all of your commandments are truth, the sum of your Word is truth, they are propositions that we can understand. And furthermore, they don't change.

You're in Psalm 119, we'll just stay here. Look at verse 152, of old I have known from your testimonies that you have founded them forever. Your commandments which are true, they are God's testimony, what He has said, and they have been founded forever. Look at verse 160 again, the sum of your Word is truth, and everyone of our righteous ordinances is everlasting. Back up to verse 89 of this same Psalm, Psalm 119::89, forever oh Lord, your Word is settled in heaven. Men on earth think they can make adjustments, make changes, well it meant this then, but it means something different today. It is settled in heaven, it is unchanging. The attitudes and actions of men do not alter the Word of God. It stands as God has said it.

We have much nonsense rattling around the church wondering, how can we reach the people of our day. You know we live in a postmodern day, and people don't see truth like we see truth. And I'm not saying there is not a place for us understanding the thinking of the day in which we live. But you understand that God's Word is truth. What we just read in Psalm 119 was true when it was written 3000 years ago, it's true today. And furthermore, it hasn't changed so it is settled in heaven. We get caught up in thinking, well we can't reach our culture, the boomers, the busters, the Xers, the Yers, the Uers, the whoers. I mean, we have to know how to make the changes and reach them. You know what they need? Truth, unchanging truth. We think we become like them and begin to redo the Word the way they think and now we'll be effective reaching them. We need to understand the Word of God is truth, it is forever settled in heaven. Nothing I can do can change it. I can corrupt it in my teaching, but it stands settled in heaven. I will be accountable to it as God has given it, not as I have changed it, because He is God and I am not. And He says it's forever settled in heaven. So it means the same thing today as it meant 1000 years ago, 2000 years ago, 3000 years ago. There is no change.

With that in the background, come over to I Timothy. And you might want to jot down John 17:17. In Jesus' high priestly prayer, He's praying to His Father shortly before His crucifixion, He said in John 17:17, your Word is truth. You'll note, Jesus saw no change, no difference, and any time He handled the Old Testament scriptures He handled them as though they meant the same thing they had meant when Moses spoke it and wrote it, and when Isaiah spoke it and wrote it. Because that Word is truth, settled truth. In I Timothy 3:15, Paul is writing to Timothy, so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. We've studied this passage on different occasions. The church is the pillar and support of the truth. This is God's intention. During this day in which we live, we call it the church age, it began in Acts 2 and continues on and will continue until the rapture of the church. During this time the church is entrusted with God's truth. That's why God has brought together this church and other Bible-believing churches, to be the pillar and support of the truth. Now knowing that, if you were satan, determined to do all you could to undermine the work of God in the world today, what would you do? You would attack the church's stand for the truth. If the church no longer stands for the truth, is no longer the pillar and support of the truth in the world today, who is? It won't be the Kiwanis, it won't be the United States government. That's not God's plan. I'm not belittling other organizations, but God has determined it is the church that is to be the pillar and support of the truth, the place where the truth is proclaimed, where the truth is defended.

Turn over to II Timothy, where I want to focus our attention today. I want to focus our attention on three commands that remind us what our responsibility is as the church of Jesus Christ, as the household of God in regard to the truth. If we were going to look at the past year we would measure whether we have been faithful and effective on how we have measured up to what is required here. As we anticipate the coming year I would want no one to be confused about what we are about as a local church. What are your plans for the coming year? What are you going to do this year? Well there are some things we will do that we haven't done before, there will be adjustments and details, but everything is related to one central responsibility. This place is the pillar and support of the truth, we are all about God's truth. Everything we do comes back to the issue that God has spoken and the church is the pillar and support of that truth. This is the place you come to hear God's truth, this is where you come to learn what God has said. We go out into the world, we go out to live this truth and share it with others.

Three commands are given to Timothy in II Timothy, the section I want to look at, beginning with verse 13. There are more commands, but I want to look at three specific commands, and then we will put it in the broader context to see the challenge that is really there for us. Now this is Paul's last letter, he's writing as a prisoner in Rome, he's writing with the awareness that this trial will culminate in his death. The process is already under way, he says later in the letter, that will culminate in my death. I am already being poured out as a drink offering. He has no misunderstanding, God has made it clear to him, you are now in Rome to die. So here he wants to make clear to Timothy what his responsibility is and what the church's responsibility is, and the Spirit of God is using him as the spokesman to us today—our responsibility to the Word.

First, verse 13, the command is retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me. And the verb there that is given as a command is the word we have, retain, retain, hold on to, fasten on to. First responsibility of Timothy is to have a good grasp on the truth, the standard, the pattern of sound words. We picked up the title for our expanded ministry with our tapes and so on, booklets from this expression. Sound words. The word translated sound is the word healthy. We get the word hygiene from this word in English. Healthy words. Retain the standard of healthy words. In other words, this is the truth that produces health, spiritual well-being, it brings salvation to a sin-cursed soul, it brings spiritual development and maturity to a newborn baby in Christ. The sound words which you have heard from me. Timothy, you hold on to that, you retain it. First thing we have to do is have a good grasp of it in our possession, and we are to be faithful with the Word.

Back up to I Timothy 3, Paul's first letter to Timothy. Concerning the deacons and the qualifications for deacons, one of the qualifications is a man to be considered for deacon must, I Timothy 3:9, be holding to the mystery of the faith. That word translated holding is a form of the same verb we have, retain in II Timothy, the passage we're looking at. Holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. Men who would serve as deacon must have a good grasp on the truth that God has given. Turn over to Titus, just after II Timothy, Titus 1:9. Here we're talking about elders, men who would serve as elders in the church, spiritual leaders and overseers of God's people. They must be one holding fast, there's our verb again, translated repaying when Paul instructs Timothy. Holding fast the faithful word, which is in accordance with the teaching. They don't create new doctrines, they're not _______ with new ideas. They are to be holding fast to the faithful truth, the Word that has been taught to them by the apostles and prophets. So that you'll be able to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict. You cannot be faithful to the Word unless you are doing both—exhorting in sound doctrine and refuting those who contradict. We have people who think, I just want to be part of a positive ministry. There's enough negative in the world, let's focus on the positive. Well that may sound logical, but I'd say the church is responsible to do what God says we are to do. And we are to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict. Why are you always attacking people? Well there are too many people who contradict the Word of God, what am I supposed to do with them? If I cease refuting them, then you ought to come up to me and say, why aren't you doing what the Word of God says you are to do anymore? Because as an elder you don't just exhort us in sound doctrine, you also refute those who contradict. Why don't you ever refute those who contradict? I know what it does. Then you go out and your friends say, that's the church where they think they're the only ones right. We don't think we're the only ones right, but we think we're part of the group that is right, because we believe the Word of God and its truth, right? If you believe the Word of God you're right, aren't you? I mean, God is always right, isn't He? You're still there, I see some heads going. Some of those heads were going before I asked the question.

So we have to be holding fast the Word. That's foundational, to have a grasp on the Word. That's why I'm here teaching you the Word of God, that's part of my responsibility. So you can have a grasp on the truth, be holding onto it, not let go of it. Same idea with a different analogy when Jeremiah said and wrote in Jeremiah 15:16, your words were found and I did eat them, and your words became to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart. For I am called by your name, oh Lord God of hosts. Your word when it is taken in became part of my life, I must hold onto it, have a grasp of it, not blown about by every new idea that comes down the pike, every new doctrine that's offered to the church. Oh I wonder if it's ............. No, I'm holding on to the truth. I mean this has to be precious to us. Would you die for it? I like to read the account of different martyrs down through church history, not because I'm morbid, but because it reminds me people die for the truth. I must hold onto it, be sure that I am settled in the truth. Timothy, retain the truth, hold it fast. That's your first responsibility, first command. If the church is going to be the pillar and support of the truth, we have to have a grasp on the truth.

Come back to II Timothy 1. The second command to Timothy is in the next verse, guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us the treasure which has been entrusted to you. That first word translated guard is given as a command. Guard the treasure which has been entrusted to you. That word translated guard means to protect it from any loss, any damage, any change. Interesting words here. The expression at the end of verse 14, the treasure which has been entrusted to you, is literally the good deposit. Guard the good deposit. So we've translated it, the treasure which has been entrusted to you and that gives you the idea, but it's literally the good deposit. You understand what a deposit is. You go to the bank, you make a deposit. The bank is responsible to guard your money, to protect it, to keep it. That's why you don't put it under your pillow. If you put your money under you pillow it may get stolen, may get lost. But you put it in the bank, they are to protect it, to guard it. I don't want to go back and say, I want to withdraw my money, but I only get part of it back. I say, where's the rest of it? We don't know. You're responsible to know, I deposited it with you. You see now what Paul is telling Timothy. He has a responsibility to the truth, he is to hold it fast and then he is to guard and protect it from any alteration, any change, any additions, any subtractions. Guard the Word. Paul is passionate about this.

At the end of his first letter to Timothy, I Timothy 6:20, oh Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. There's that word entrusted. Guard what has been deposited with you. Timothy's responsibility, why? You know what's going on already while Paul is still living? Avoiding worldly and empty chatter, the opposing arguments of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith. In recent weeks I've been reading much material on new things coming into the church like the emerging church and the things they are promoting. And men with all their wisdom, so-called knowledge, understanding the postmodern world, and attempting to lure the church away from faithfulness of devotion to Christ, by faithfully holding to the truth, guarding the truth. Already, Paul says, even as he writes to Timothy, some have professed to come into better knowledge, or complete knowledge, better understanding and they have gone astray from the faith. You know once you leave the truth, there is no other place to go but to error. Worldly, empty chatter, that's all it is, once you turn away from the truth as God has given it.

Look over in II Timothy 4. The time will come, verse 3, when they will not endure sound doctrine. There's our word sound. Healthy, healthy teaching. The word doctrine is simply the Greek word teaching. The time will come when they will not endure healthy teaching. Who will not? The unbelieving world has never put up with it. You know what he's talking about? The church, professing believers. The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. So they won't go to church anymore. That's not what he says. But wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths. Where can you go once you turn aside from truth? You turn aside to myths, to errors, to the empty musing of so-called intellectual people, who supposedly have greater knowledge than God on how to reach our generation. Isn't it sad? Paul tells Timothy, the time is going to come when they won't want to hear healthy teaching, they won't want to hear good teaching.

Over the holidays we have people come back from many places visiting family and friends, and always great to see them and hear what they're doing. And you know a repeated refrain I hear? You know we've been going to a church for some time, the people have been gone a while, and for some time we went to this church, the pastor was teaching the Bible, but there has lately been a change. There is no longer the teaching of the Bible going on. Some have even talked to their pastor about it. I wonder if I'm just getting a narrow line and then I'm reading this week a man who travels and speaks often, and he says, you know what? Every place I go I'm hearing the same refrain. Some people have been in churches, for some reason our church doesn't teach the Bible anymore. We used to be a Bible-teaching church, but now we don't emphasize Bible teaching. What is happening? You know, is there an erosion going on where you have a vicious cycle, where people won't endure, won't put up with healthy teaching. They want to have their ears tickled, so pretty soon I'm trying to figure out as the teacher of the Word what you want and what will please you so you will come back and bring your friends. Because the mark of success, of course, is big, right? And pretty soon the Word of God is not being taught. But we are a flourishing church. You might call it Laodicea, ignorant of how wretched our condition really has become. So important that we guard the truth.

Back up to Acts 20, just after the gospels. And Paul is meeting here with the elders, the spiritual leaders of the church at Ephesus. That's of particular interest to us, because you know where Timothy is when Paul writes his letters to Timothy, I and II Timothy? Timothy is at Ephesus. In Acts 20 Paul is having a meeting with the spiritual leaders, the elders, from the church at Ephesus. And note what he tells them. He says he is free from the blood of all men, verse 26. The reason, verse 27, I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. Now note what he tells them in verse 28, be on guard. Remember what he told Timothy? Guard the good deposit. He tells the elders here, be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. The church does not belong to me, it does not belong to you. It belongs to the living God who purchased it at the price of the death of His own Son. We don't have meetings together to decide, what would you like, what would I like. This is God's church, He tells us how it is to be done.

I know, verse 29, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. We're not talking about pagans out there in the world around the church, we're talking about those who infiltrate the church under the guise of being believers, bringing truth. I've been reading much about the emerging church. I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would think men promoting that doctrine were truly born again men. Right now the big issue for them is reconsidering, and basically denying the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ. They distort and mutilate the Word of God and then say, we're fellow Christians. What kind of fool do you think I am? When a wolf takes on sheep's clothing, he's still a wolf, right? Savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock, from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things. Why do they do this? To draw away the disciples after them. I mean, that's the validation of God's seal of approval on my life, isn't it? That I gather a following, and the bigger following, the more God is pleased with me. That's not the measure that God is measuring me by, measuring us as a church by. It's faithfulness to His truth. Therefore be on the alert. What did Paul do the three years he spent in Ephesus? Remembering that night and day for a period of three years I didn't cease to admonish each one with tears. And now I commend you to God, and note this, and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

Turn over to the book of Jude. There are other verses, but we'll just jump to Jude, all the way back, just before Revelation. And Jude says you know I was planning to write to you a letter about our salvation and the salvation that we share together. But the Spirit moved upon him and so in verse 3 of Jude, I felt the necessity to write to you, appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith, which was once for all handed down to the saints. The faith, the truth, the Word of God, I was burdened to write to you that you contend earnestly for the faith, which was once for all handed down to the saints. This attempt to alter the Word of God, to change it, to corrupt it, to say we have new understanding today. We understand now there is creation genre literature and apocalyptic genre literature, and we interpret that differently. It's all the supposed knowledge of man and his attempt to corrupt, distort, and ultimately destroy the Word of God. What are these believers going to contend for? The truth as they understand it? No, the truth that has once-for-all been handed down to the saints. Why do they have to do this? For certain men have crept in unnoticed. What do you mean, unnoticed? They weren't recognized for what they were, they were accepted as the genuine article, true believers, teachers who had something we needed to learn. Those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Peter wrote the same thing in II Peter 2:2, that teachers would come into the church to deny our only Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. How do people come in? You know some doctrines are fuzzy and they can be “fuzzed up” maybe I should say, fogged up, blurred. And people get confused. How do you get confused and not recognize when somebody is denying our only Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. And then I read people that are popular in the evangelical church today denying the substitutionary atonement of Christ. And they're getting a hearing. And even people who think they're wrong are referring to them as fellow-Christians, when James says they have been marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons. How can the evangelical church begin to think that those who deny our Lord Jesus Christ and His substitutionary atonement are fellow believers. And your kids going off to college, and even Christian colleges, are being taught this stuff.

One of the leading evangelical seminaries, and I have benefited much from their writings, reading a man who has been involved much there. He says when the elderly professors die off, that seminary is gone. The quotes from men that are there today are appalling. Men are going there to study, supposedly they are going there to be taught the Word of God so they can stand for the truth. They are going there to be taught the knowledge of men so that they can corrupt the Word of God and lead the church away. These are serious matters, you know you just can't avoid it. You are in the battle if you are a believer, you are part of the church, part of the pillar and support of the truth. We must guard the truth.

While we are this far back you may as well go all the way to the end of the Bible, the last chapter of the last book, the last verses. You can't get anymore last than that. Revelation 22, we're going to pick up with verse 18. You know one of the ways they corrupt the Word of God is they sound so intellectual. If you watch something on the history channel about the book of Revelation or Armageddon, this will come up because they'll interview these men. And they'll say, well you know the book of Revelation is apocalyptic genre. That's impressive—apocalyptic genre. Genre, wonder who they are. Well you know what they do is take secular literature that is very fanciful, they say that's the kind of writing the book of Revelation, so it's all part of apocalyptic literature. The Apocalyptic is taken from the words of the book of Revelation, the apocalypse of John. And so it is never intended to be interpreted literally. They read Revelation 22:18, this is true of the book of Revelation, you get an idea of what God means about His Word completely. I testify, this is Jesus Christ, the risen Christ speaking. I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book. The words of the prophecy of this book. If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book. If anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life, from the holy city which are written in this book. That's serious business. You better not add any words to this, you better not take any away. If you do, you are going to hell. Couldn't be any clearer. Won't have part of the tree of life, won't have part of the New Jerusalem, you're going to hell. You can't add to the words, you can't take away. When I read a man who is corrupting the Word of God, that doesn't mean that someone can't have a different interpretation of a passage. The person who is corrupting the Word of God, I cannot accept that person as a believer. Oh but I've trusted Christ. Then you go on to corrupt the Word of God and I'm supposed to be deceived? It's like my sitting there when a man is in my house and he say, I'm your friend, I've come to help you. And he has a big pillowcase and he's throwing all my possessions into it. I really like you, I like your house, and I'm going to make it look better. Keeps throwing my stuff in. And I'm supposed to say, oh, well, he said he likes me and he's going to make my house look better. You say, what kind of idiot are you? People are always being taken in with scams, give me your money and I'll make you a hundredfold. You say, why would anybody believe that? Then I say, here we have the Word of God and we have ___________________.

One of the leading writers, someone in the emerging church because I've been reading about that, and it's what is pervading the church today, he says I'm not even convinced of what I'm convinced of today I'll be convinced of tomorrow. Now that's really somebody I'd like to follow. I'm not even really convinced of what I'm convinced of today I'll be convinced of tomorrow. But that kind of thinking is pervading the church of Jesus Christ today, pervading our Christian colleges, pervading seminaries. What happened to the truth of God, that it's forever settled in heaven? You know once you lose your grasp and hold on it, you can no longer stand to protect it and defend it. We are adrift, at the mercy of the thinking of men. Then of course, what do we do? Well the church has to do something, so now we're going to take care of poverty, now we're going to deal with AIDS, now we're going to help the literacy. Because now maybe we're in the kingdom. And everything becomes blurred. You have to do something, the church is here, people want to be religious, they want to have their ears tickled, and aren't you concerned that maybe the people are dying of AIDS? We ought to do something about AIDS. And isn't poverty terrible? I just got in the mail today from a man I've met with many times, and organization he's been part of, supposedly reaching cities for Christ. And it's all about dealing with poverty. Whatever happened about biblical truth, biblical truth? If the church isn't the center of biblical truth and proclaiming biblical truth and defending biblical truth, who is in the world? The devil would be happy for us to become a center of dealing with poverty. We say, oh don't you think poverty is serious? I think it ought to be dealt with. Not by the church. You don't think AIDS is a catastrophe? I think it's a disaster, but not nearly as important as proclaiming the truth, proclaiming the truth. Unregenerate men can deal with poverty, unregenerate people can help with AIDS, but only the church can proclaim truth.

We have been entrusted with truth, we have to guard it. I know about our reputation, I know what people think about us. Oh they're narrow, oh they're always right, oh they're the only ones. I believe the scripture is always right. I am right when I agree with the Word of God, I am wrong when I don't. Anyone who agrees with the Word of God is correct. Oh that's your interpretation. Well let's read it. We just read verse 18, everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book. That's pretty clear to me, I take it at face value. I don't say, well that's apocalyptic genre, you know we don't take these things literally. I take them literally, face value. That's what it says, that's what it means. That's how Jesus Christ took every passage in the Old Testament He dealt with, the way the New Testament writers used the Old Testament. That's the only way we can communicate, assume that people understand our words and take them at face value. We met here today for a service. Why? Because we had an appointed time. Nobody said, I wonder what he meant when he said church will be at 10 o'clock. Ten o'clock, that's sort of cryptic. Maybe we ought to search through all of history and find out 10 o'clock, wonder what happened at 10 o'clock. I mean, there is no end to it.

Come back to II Timothy 1. You have to have a grasp of the Word, that's why the devil's starting point is moving the church away from teaching the Word of God. Then they no longer have a grasp of it, they no longer retain it for themselves, hold onto it, hold it fast. And if they don't have that grasp on it, how are they going to guard it? They are not for sure what it says, so they're saying, well we shouldn't be too dogmatic and be sure, because now we're in doubt, we're not sure. So you can't guard the Word and

protect it from corruption. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to understand how the enemy is going to attack.

And if we don't have a grasp on it and then stand and guard it, we can't do the third command in II Timothy 2:2, the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. We are to pass it on. And you'll note that word entrust. Entrust, that's the command. The three commands we've focused on are retain in II Timothy 1:13, guard in II Timothy 1:14, and then in II Timothy 2:2, entrust. That word entrust was used up in verse 14, the treasure which has been entrusted to you. I noted the literal translation of that is the good deposit. It's the word deposit. Deposit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. You know what? My bank over the years has changed about three times. One bank takes over another bank, takes over another bank. You know how it is. But you know what? My deposits with that bank were to stay the same, they were passed off from this bank to this bank, but just because it's a new bank didn't mean now they could do what they wanted with my money. They were to guard that deposit and pass it on. The bank that I had, had to pass that deposit on or they would be liable.

So you see what we do, now. We entrust, we deposit what has been deposited with us to other faithful men, and they will teach the Word, that's how we deposit it, to faithful men. Not everybody in the church would be included in that last part of verse 2. Within the church, those who have the gift of teaching, and there won't be a lot of those. James 3 says, not many of you ought to be teachers, for they will incur a stricter judgment. The thing that causes me great concern, great godly fear is James 3:1, don't be many teachers for you will incur a stricter judgment. I have to give an account of how I handle the Word, how I teach you the Word. Was I faithful to the Word? But Lord, I thought this would be more effective. He didn't ask me to think and come up with another, better plan. Were you faithful with what I deposited with you?

Like Timothy in I Timothy 6:20, oh, Timothy, guard what has been deposited with you, and now deposit that with other men. And they can teach others, because they are faithful to the truth. And here we are, 2000 years after Paul writes this. How did it get here? Being faithful, passing it on, passing it on, passing it on. People dying for truth, dying because they will not relent and give up the truth. And now we have this movement infiltrating the evangelical church and it says, it's not sola scriptura, that was just the reformers who believed it was only the scripture that is our authority. But we not only have the scripture, we have church tradition and we have our own experience. And so we relate our stories and tell our experiences, and that's how we learn about God. And the Word of God just keeps getting pushed away and away. Now the church is about hearing about my story, my experience; hearing about your story, your experiences. And now there is a move to go back to the Roman Catholic mystics of the Middle Ages because they knew how to contemplate and enter into an experience with God. And now we're going to Roman Catholic mystics instead of the Word of God to find out about God. Where does it stop?


The Omaha paper yesterday had an article on how Protestants as well as Catholics are turning to the worship of Mary. One of the men quoted in the article was a professor at an evangelical school, he's written a book on how Protestants can learn to enhance their worship of God by including the worship of Mary. And he's an evangelical? I've used some of his commentaries. Once in a while he accidentally says something good. Now he's writing a book on why Protestants can enhance their worship by exalting Mary? Where does this stop? Where do we draw the line and say, we no longer consider you evangelical in the sense of a born again Bible-believing Christian. Because we're set up as judges? No, because the Word of God sets itself up as the judge. Remember I Peter 3, those who corrupt the Word of God do so to their own destruction. There Peter specifically mentions the writings of Paul. They distort the scriptures, Paul's writings as well as the rest of scripture. They do it to their own destruction. But somehow the church is to be timid and meek........... Well they say they're Christians, I don't think we ought to be judging them. Can't we just get on with what God has called us to do? Do we always have to be judging other churches and criticizing other people?

Well the Bible says that elders have to refute those who contradict the Word of God. That's the way it has to be. We have to entrust this deposit to the coming generation. What are they going to get from churches that are all over the map today? I wonder, what are these parents thinking. As far as I can tell the parents are believers, now they have their kids in these churches that are a mixture of all kind of mush and men's ideas, and that generation is growing up. Don't parents care their kids are going to go to hell? I'm dumbfounded that those who profess to be believers could become so totally confused. We end up that many of those were not believers themselves. This is a serious matter. I like to read, as I mentioned, the martyrs, the testimony of martyrs who died for the faith. You know they were worthy. I think about a lady, and she had like half a dozen kids, one by one they go to be burned at the stake. And each one, she's on the side cheerleading, don't recant, don't recant, don't recant. We think, oh, well, let's not argue, let's not criticize. People died, and we're more concerned about being right.

We have to have a grasp on the truth, we have to guard the truth, then we have to entrust it and deposit it with others. Faithful men will teach others also. That's the process. How privileged we are to be in that line. You ought to be thankful for those who are faithful by the grace and power of God down to this present day so that we have the Word of God.

Now let me put this in a broader context and we're done. Note the next command in II Timothy 2:3, suffer hardship with me. That same theme started up in verse 8, look at verse 8 of chapter 1. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me, his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel. That expression, join with me in suffering for the gospel is exactly the same word, really three words put together to make one word. In chapter 1 verse 8, join with me in suffering, and down in chapter 2 verse 3, suffer hardship with me. Join with me in suffering for the gospel. Here comes where the rubber meets the road. I want to have a good grasp of the Word, I want to guard the Word and stand for it and protect it and defend it, and I want to be part of that process of passing it on. You understand, there is no easy way to do it. It's a life of suffering, it will cost you, it will divide your family, it will cause friends and co-workers to misunderstand you, cause people to say things about you. Whether they are true or not, they will slander you, accuse you of being narrow, bigoted, intolerant. People that used to like you won't like you. You know the problem? Timothy is wavering, Paul has to tell him in verse 7 of chapter 1, God has not given us a spirit of timidity, cowardice. Verse 8, therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord or of me, his prisoner. Don't be ashamed, Timothy.

You say, wow, this is pretty strong language. How do you know that it's going to be that bad? You know where Timothy is? He's at Ephesus. Do you know where Ephesus is? It's in Asia Minor. Look down in verse 15, you are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, he was not ashamed of my chains. Timothy, don't you be ashamed. Verse 12, Paul says, I am not ashamed, now down in verse 16 he says Onesiphorus is not ashamed. But you know what? Most of those in Asia were ashamed. They didn't come out and say, oh we're rejecting the truth. They just came out and said, Paul has been in prison, you know he's so narrow, he's so hard lined, he allow no variation, he declared the Galatians cursed to hell because all they wanted to do was say believe in Christ, trust Him as the Messiah, as the One who died on the cross and was raised from the dead, and also you have to be circumcised. And Paul said you are cursed to hell. How can you deal with a man that is that narrow? I mean, let's face it, everywhere Paul goes, he causes trouble. I mean he only has to be in town a few days or a few weeks and you have a riot on your hands. That's no way to get the gospel out.
And so all in Asia turned away from me. Where is Timothy? He's in Asia and there is a mass defection, Timothy, don't you defect. The real bottom line is not the personality of Paul, the real bottom line is not the way he went about it. The real bottom line is being ashamed of Jesus Christ and His truth, the gospel of Jesus Christ. Don't you be ashamed. I'm suffering for it, I'm imprisoned and now, chapter 1 verse 12, for this reason I suffer these things, I am not ashamed. You know we don't want to have to suffer. That's true here. We don't want to suffer, we want people to like us, we don't want to be ostracized. I'm not saying we're the only church who believes the truth, that preaches the truth. Not the only church in this city. Praise God. But I have to deal with this church, it's the church where God has called me to pastor. Jesus said if they hate Me, they hate you. If they hate My Word, they hate you when you give them My Word. I mean that's just the way it is. Jesus said I didn't come to bring peace, I came to bring a sword. I'll divide your family. Read Matthew 10, we won't take the time to go there now. I'm going to divide parents from children. Consider the cost. I'm calling you to suffer. It's easy to get all excited and say, we're going to get a good hold on the truth, we're going to guard and defend and battle for the truth. And then we're going to pass it on to others faithfully, exactly as God gave it, exactly as we have it. But I'm going to do without suffering. You can't come up with Plan B. All who will live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution, Paul will go on to tell Timothy. You can't get caught up in this idea, there must be a way that we can go about this and people will like us.

I was recently talking with someone and they were talking about, was I concerned about our reputation as a church and why people say so many negative things. You know I would like to be liked, people don't think that's true, but I would. It's not the driving passion of my life, but we all like to be liked. Was I concerned that people said so many negative things? I said, I think it's a badge of honor, in one sense. If we've been here as a church for 40 years, proclaiming the truth and everyone thinks we're wonderful, we need to examine the message we have. You understand the devil doesn't love Jesus Christ, the children of the devil don't love Jesus Christ. Unregenerate people do not love truth, unregenerate people are not good people at heart searching, unregenerate people belong to the devil, live under his control, desire to do his will, are hostile toward God. And only the gracious intervention of God with His truth in a life makes that change.

So what do I anticipate for us for this coming year? My desire is that we will be a church that continues to hold fast to the Word, that we will guard the truth and protect it and defend it, and battle for it. And battle against those within the evangelical world who would attempt to infiltrate among believers and spread their ungodly doctrine. That we would faithfully teach these truths and deposit them to faithful men who will teach others also. And we would heed the command and count it a privilege to join in suffering for the gospel and to endure the loss of family, friends, reputation. And we do this not in our strength, but in the strength that He gives. II Timothy 2:1, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. II Timothy 1:8, join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God. This is not something that can be done in human strength, but divine enablement, we walk in His strength, draw upon His power. May God help us to be a faithful church in the year ahead.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for your grace. How honored and privileged we are to have received the deposit of your truth. Lord, it is a great privilege and it is an awesome responsibility. It is not ours to handle as we please, not ours to make adjustments and changes that we would think will make it more effective. It is our responsibility in faith and love to honor the truth, to hold fast to it, to guard it, and then to pass it on. Lord, may we count suffering a privilege. We've been given the honor of not only believing in Christ, but suffering for Him. Lord, give us a boldness, not a spirit of cowardice that does not come from you, but that spirit of power, of confidence, assurance, not in ourselves, but in you and in your truth. Lord, we area confident that your power, your strength is sufficient for the ministry you've entrusted to us. May we be faithful in these days until Christ comes. We pray in His name, amen.