Wednesday, August 31, 2016

You Will Do Great Things! (RP1)


(Audio version; Music: "Take This City" by: Everfound and "Touch The Sky" by: Hillsong United)








Introduction

It’s been almost thirty years now since I first met my good friend, Bob, at the prestigious facility where we both worked. Bob is almost fifteen years older than I am and held the top management position while I was making sure the bottom of the ladder didn’t get lonely. For whatever reason, he took an interest in me and over the years trained me and taught me and kept promoting me until I held the position that was second only to him. I had never had anyone in my life that encouraged me the way Bob encouraged me. What was most important to me; what drove me was that Bob believed in me. We became great friends and remain that way to this day. When Bob moved on to a much-deserved senior management position with another company, I moved into his position. Although Bob was no longer there, his belief in my ability to do the job was by then deeply rooted in my life. Over the last two decades, I have gone on to start and operate two of my own companies, complete graduate school, begin this ministry, and begin my doctoral studies. My point in telling you this is not to try to impress you in some way. Instead, I want to establish a stark contrast to the way I was raised. When I was growing up, my father often reminded me that I was “worthless” and a “dumb jackass.” As a result, achieving and risking were not part of my character. However, Bob thought highly of me and believed in me and along with the encouragement of my amazing wife was used by God to guide me along the path to this point in my life where I have the opportunity to offer encouragement not only to my own children but also to countless people around the world through this ministry. I am so very thankful for Bob and his encouragement because I know how powerful it has been in my life.

The idea of “belief” is not foreign in the Bible. I know that I’m stating the obvious but “belief” in God is the central idea of the Bible. But what if told you that “belief” is reciprocal between us and God? I know some of you are frowning right now but just stay with me for a bit and I’ll try to explain. We “believe” in God; put our “faith” in Jesus because of who He is and what He has done in us, to us and for us. But doesn’t God believe in us in a certain respect? Didn’t God say that He has prepared great works for us to do (Eph 2:10)? If so, then that must mean that God “believes” we can accomplish those things. Can you imagine God saying: “___________ (insert your name) I believe in you!” Wow! Is there anything you couldn’t accomplish? I mean, the Creator of the universe believes in you! That’s almost too hard to fathom, but I’ll let you in on a little secret—God does this all the time, it’s just that we’re not always listening well. I believe God says to those who seek to be faithful and obedient to Him: “I believe in you! You Will Do Great Things!

Subject Text

John 14:12-14

12I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Context

            It appears from the context that Jesus is speaking these words during His last meal with His disciples. Chapter 13 tells us that it was the evening before the Passover Feast and that Jesus was preparing His disciples for His departure. This is important in light of Jesus’ words to His disciples in our Subject Text. The disciples were witnesses to all of Jesus’ miracles—the exorcisms (Mt 12:22-23; Mk 9:14-29; Lk 8:30-39), healings (Mt 8:5-13; Mk 7:24-30; Lk 17:11-19; Jn 9:1-41), resurrections (Lk 7:11-17; Mk 5:21-24, 35-43; Jn 11:1-44), overturning the laws of nature (Mt 15:32-39; Mk 11:12-14; Lk 5:1-11; Jn 6:16-21). Why is this an important point? Because Jesus uses the evidence of His miracles to convince His disciples of the truth of His teachings and to prove that He is “The Way and Truth and the Life” and that “No one” gets to the Father unless they go through Him. Jesus has drawn a line in the sand with these words. The Way to ultimate Truth; the Way to eternal Life; the Way to the Father, is not by keeping the Law perfectly; not by being a good person; not by going to church; not by giving money; not by anything we do. The Way is a personal relationship with Jesus! “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).” Can you imagine what is going through the minds of the disciples at this point? They are replaying all the miracles now in the context of Jesus claiming to be one with the Father in the verses leading up to our Subject Text so that when Jesus gets to our Subject Text and says “You Will Do Great Things!” they had to be staring at Him in disbelief! The Lord of all creation; the Healer; the Giver and Sustainer of life; the One who walks on water, believes in me! Their heads had to be swimming by this point. Let’s look at our Subject Text and try to hear what they heard in Jesus’ words.

Text Analysis

12I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

            Everything about our Subject Text can be desperately confusing beginning with v. 12. Jesus says if we have faith in Him then we will be able to do what He has done. But He doesn’t stop there. No, Jesus goes on to say that we will do even greater things. Let’s see…we just reviewed Jesus’ miracles and His claims about Himself in relation to the Father. So what are these “greater things” Jesus is referring to? Well it’s not really as mysterious as it seems but let’s look at the first part where Jesus promises that His disciples will do what they saw Him doing. We don’t have to read too far along to find the fulfillment of that promise. The disciples, like Jesus, performed miracles: Exorcisms (Acts 16:18); healings (Acts 3:7-11; 5:12-16; 14:8-18, etc.); resurrections (Acts 9:39-42; 20:8-12); overturning the laws of nature (Acts 4:31; 5:19; 12:10; 16:26, etc.). Whether or not, in our cynical state of enlightenment, we are able to recognize miracles in our present age, we must admit that the Scriptures affirm Jesus’ promise to the disciples that they would do what they saw and understood Him to do. Having established that, we can move on to Jesus’ other promise that the disciples would do even “greater things.”

            What could be “greater” than relieving someone of their demonic possession? That depends on who you ask—If you ask the person possessed or the people who had to endure that person, nothing could be “greater.” But would Jesus agree? What could be “greater” than curing someone’s infirmity? That depends on who you ask—If you ask the person who received their sight or hearing or ability to talk or if you ask the person who is no longer sick, or the people who care for those who are infirm, nothing could be “greater.” But would Jesus agree? What could be “greater” than raising someone from the dead? That depends on who you ask—If you ask the person raised from the dead or the survivors, nothing could be “greater.” But would Jesus agree? What could be “greater” than being able to manipulate the laws of nature? That depends on who you ask—If you ask the person who could steer severe weather away from your home and the home of others that might be injured, nothing could be “greater.” But would Jesus agree? I’m purposely being redundant in order to illustrate a point. Jesus and his disciples performed all these miracles and many more yet people continue to be possessed by demonic forces; people continue to suffer with cancer, birth defects and every other unimaginable infirmity; people continue to die at all ages and people are still devastated by horrific natural disasters. So perhaps we should reconsider our understanding of the general purpose of these and other miracles. Perhaps we should begin to understand them as markers or signposts directing us to something else; something “greater.” Perhaps we should begin to understand them as a reminder of the way things should have been and will be again someday; maybe they are a reminder of something “greater.” What if the “greater” thing that Jesus was referring to has been staring us in the face the whole time? Pick the greatest thing that Jesus ever did—could that be the “greater thing” that Jesus was talking about? I don’t know what you picked as the greatest thing Jesus did but I picked Jesus’ greatest work as making it possible for me to be reconciled to God for eternity. If the “greater thing” Jesus’ wanted to do was to do more miracles then wouldn’t that have been His preeminent instruction to His disciples? Go and do miracles! I would think so, but it wasn’t. Instead, what was Jesus’ primary instruction to His disciples? You can find it at the end of Matthew’s gospel:

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age (Mt 28:19-20).”

Do you remember what this is referring to? It is best known as “The Great Commission!” Could this be the “greater thing” that Jesus was referring to? I believe it is! “Is the point in view not rather the conveying to people of the spiritual realities of which the works of Jesus are ‘signs’? All the works of Jesus are significant of the saving sovereignty of God at work among humankind through the eschatological Redeemer. The main reality to which they point, and which makes their testimony a set of variations on a single theme, is the life eternal of the kingdom of God through Jesus its mediator.”[1]

13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

            Although we have perhaps established some clarity to v.12, we’re now left trying to understand vv. 13-14 which can be even more confusing. Jesus says that He will do anything for us that we ask in His name. Ok by show of hands, how many of you have tried this and failed? Yeah, me too! It seems so easy doesn’t it? Just pray for something, throw in the words “In Jesus’ name” at the end and: Poof! Stand back and watch the miracles happen! Except when you’re sitting at the bedside of your child who has cancer, there’s no: “Poof!” Only sickness, pain and sorrow. When you’re standing over the grave of a loved one, there’s no: “Poof!” Only grief, anger and loneliness. We pray for a child addicted to drugs and living on the street to be healed and come home but it doesn’t happen. We pray that our marriage will be healed and our spouse would love us the way they once did, but it doesn’t happen. We pray that our lessons and classes would be easier, but it doesn’t happen. We offer countless prayers “in Jesus’ name” that are never answered. So we think we’re left with only one of two options: Either God won’t answer our prayers or He can’t. But what if it’s not that easy? What if it’s not “either/or”? “To pray ‘in Jesus’ name’ is to pray in union with Jesus’ person and purpose because the ‘name’ of a person symbolized his essence and destiny.”[2]

During Jesus’ time, officials and wealthy landowners would send representatives to do business on their behalf. In the process of doing this business, the representative represented the official or landowner’s name as though the official or landowner had themselves been involved in the business dealing. As such, the representative wouldn’t or couldn’t do something contrary to what the actual official or landowner would or could do. It’s kind of like this when we pray “in Jesus’ name.” Let me illustrate: What if we prayed, “in Jesus’ name,” to be able to break the law without being caught? When the prayer goes unanswered, is it because God can’t or won’t answer? Neither and both! It’s because the prayer misrepresented the name of Jesus. A prayer was made in the name of Jesus that Jesus wouldn’t have made! This illustration is rather obvious but the same principle applies to all prayers offered “in Jesus’ name” even if they seem completely legitimate. God hears all prayers but answers those that are in accordance with His will whether we think it’s fair or not. Ultimately, all answered and unanswered prayers will serve to bring glory to God at all times.

What then does it mean to pray in the name of Jesus? “This is not some magical formula. It signifies that the suppliant takes the posture and attitude of Christ toward God and toward the world. To pray ‘in his name’ is therefore to pray in a manner consistent with our new identity effected by the reconciliation of God and humans in Jesus Christ. That is to say, the use of Jesus’ name in prayer is effective not as some sort of password that can be used indiscriminately by every petitioner. It is only effective to pray ‘in Jesus’ name’ if we are truly living in the name of Jesus. This phrase, then, has more to do with the identification of the person who prays than it does with right methods or conditions of prayer. Such prayer guards against a misreading of God’s nature and will, and saves prayer from human selfishness and presumption.”[3]

            So are these verses bound together in an unbroken circle that includes the “greater things” of spreading the Gospel message and praying in Jesus’ name to be able to do the “greater things” of spreading the Gospel message and nothing else? Are all other prayers offered in Jesus’ name, if they do not have the fulfillment of the Great Commission in mind, irrelevant? Yes and no. Sorry, I wish it were that basic but the two are bound together in the everyday life of believers in ways we don’t always realize. “Yes,” because spreading the Gospel message is always the “greater thing.” “No,” because we don’t just pray “in Jesus’ name” for the opportunity to do the “greater thing.” We pray for many different things yet God always seems to use our various prayers to accomplish the “greater thing” anyway. Let me try and illustrate.

During the 2nd century AD, the Roman Empire experienced what some believe was the first recorded appearance of smallpox in the west. The pandemic was so devastating and widespread that it is reported that at least one third of the empire’s population died over a fifteen-year period. At its height, it is reported that as many as 5,000 people were dying each day. In the midst of this, unbelievers who could, were fleeing the empire while Christians remained behind to care for the sick and dying at the very real risk of being infected themselves. Dionysius wrote:

“Most of our brother Christians showed unbounded love and loyalty, never sparing themselves and thinking only of one another. Heedless of danger, they took charge of the sick, attending to their every need and ministering to them in Christ, and with them departed this life serenely happy; for they were infected by others with the disease, drawing on themselves the sickness of their neighbors and cheerfully accepting their pains. Many, in nursing and curing others, transferred their death to themselves and died in their stead…The best of our brothers lost their lives in this manner, a number of presbyters, deacons, and laymen winning high commendation so that death in this form, the result of great piety and strong faith, seems in every way the equal of martyrdom.”[4]

Nevertheless, the mortality rate for Christians was far lower than that of unbelievers because Christians cared for Christians and others who grew sick until they grew strong enough to care for themselves while unbelievers cared only for themselves until they were too sick and weak and would eventually die. Dionysius continued: “The heathen behaved in the very opposite way. At the first onset of the disease, they pushed sufferers away and fled from their dearest, throwing them into the roads before they were dead and treated the unburied corpses as dirt, hoping thereby to avert the spread and contagion of the fatal disease; but do what they might, they found it difficult to escape.”[5]

So what, I’m sure you might be wondering, does this have to do with our Subject Text or your everyday life? I’m getting to it. I surmise that it is quite likely that these Christian caretakers prayed for healing for those who were in their care. In fact, we shouldn’t be surprised if they offered those prayers in Jesus’ name. Not all survived but many did. So what was the point then? How does this relate to the “greater thing” Jesus was referring to? “For one thing, if, during the crisis, Christians fulfilled their ideal of ministering to everyone, there would be many pagan survivors who owed their lives to their Christian neighbors. For another, no one could help but notice that Christians not only found the capacity to risk death but were much less likely to die.”[6] The result of these actions by Christians during this particular crisis was instrumental in the significant expansion of Christianity during and after those years of disease, death and restoration. Ultimately, the “greater thing” was accomplished even if that was not the overall objective of the caregivers. Those believers cared deeply for the health and welfare of those who were sick and dying and that was a great thing. But the “greater thing” was that some of those who became well (and maybe even some of those who didn’t) through the care and prayers of believers became Christians themselves.

Simple, everyday Christians were instrumental in making that happen! If I have established that this is the “greater thing” Jesus was referring to then it is truly amazing that He “believes” in us enough to include us in the process. It is no small matter to encourage someone to do great things and this is exactly what Jesus was doing with His disciples and what countless Christians do every day with believers and unbelievers alike. With the exception of convincing someone that they are loved, I’m not sure there is anything more powerful than the encouragement of hearing the words, “I believe in you! You Will Do Great Things!

Application

            Like most of his friends, Alfred grew up in a home without a father and was raised by his mother. His passion in high school was to play in the marching band. However, he was big and strong even for his age and his high school football coach eventually convinced him to give up marching band and try out for football. In a very short time, Alfred became a star high school football player in Houston, Texas who caught the eye of many college football scouts. He eventually agreed to play college football at the University of Colorado. Alfred was recruited by then head football coach, Bill McCartney. Well actually, according to Alfred, McCartney recruited Alfred’s mom by promising her that he would take care of her son.

 Alfred tells the story that he didn’t really take his opportunity to play college football very seriously and like many 18-year olds, he took his talents for granted. After some time, Coach Mac (as everyone affectionately knows him here in Colorado), a devoted Christian, took Alfred aside to speak with him privately. Alfred says that Coach Mac looked him in the eyes and said: “Alfred, I believe in you. You are going to be a great football player.” Alfred recalls that this singular event spoke to the very core of his being. People had simply used his skills to accomplish their goals but this was the first time someone believed in him for his sake. Alfred Williams went on to be a consensus All-American in 1989, a unanimous All-American and Butkus Award winner in 1990. He was the captain of the 1990 University of Colorado National Championship Team and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010. He was drafted 18th overall in the 1991 National Football League draft out of 334 players drafted that year. He was selected as an All-Pro defensive end in 1996 and was an instrumental part of the Denver Broncos championship football teams of 1997 and 1998. Of the countless stories Alfred has shared about his career, being told that someone believes in him and believes he will do great things, he says, was the transformative event of his life.

            We won’t all have the opportunity to encourage a football champion but that shouldn’t stop us from encouraging the people in our lives that we believe in them. This is not just a matter of words. This is a process of being deeply involved with people so that your words of encouragement carry weight in their lives. Let me just add a few practical suggestions to help you in this regard. First, if you come across someone who is an encourager in your life, hold fast to that person and don’t let go because those people are few and far between. Then, if you have been the beneficiary of encouragement, cultivate a relationship with someone in need of encouragement and be the person in their life to lift them up and inspire them to do “great things.” Additionally, move outside your own age demographic. If you are young, find someone older than you are to encourage. At times, older people require more encouragement than do younger people because older people, at times, believe their value has diminished. If you are older, find a young person to encourage. You know very well how discouraging life can be. Be there for a young person so when the difficulties of life begin to wear away their confidence. You can be there to lift them up and encourage them to do “great things.” If Christ believed in us to do “greater things” than he did, it is incumbent on us to regularly encourage those we are in relationship with by telling them, “I believe in you! You Will Do Great Things!







[1] George R. Beasley-Murray, John, Word Biblical Commentary, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999), p. 254.
[2] Bruce Barton, Philip Comfort, Grant Osborne, Linda K. Taylor, and Dave Veerman, Life Application New Testament Commentary, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001), p. 436.
[3] Walter A. Elwell, ed., Baker Theological Dictionary of the Bible, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1996), p. 624.
[4] Rodney Start, The Rise of Christianity, (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1996), p. 82.
[5] Ibid., p. 83.
[6] Ibid., p. 90.

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Scratch Their Itching Ears (RP1)


(Audio version; Music: "My Everything" by: Owl City and "More And More Of You" by WorshipMob)









Introduction

            In a little less than three months we will elect a new President of the United States. If you’re a political junky, election cycles energize you. If the government is your end all and be all; your savior, then political cycles are probably very stressful for you as you see the possibility of your hopes and dreams either being fulfilled or dashed depending on who is ultimately elected. For those of you who are like me, I hate political cycles. I understand the role government is intended to play in our society but government corruption seems to be so rampant that it’s difficult to take anything serious that comes from someone involved in our federal government. And the election cycle simply highlights the corruption and lies. In case you haven’t noticed, some politicians and candidates get away with saying anything they want because their sycophants want to hear it—whether it’s true or not. If you’re not sick of all the political rhetoric yet, give it another 60 days or so and you may very well be by then. And if the politicians and the candidates running for office don’t make you crazy by then, their friends in the media will gladly tip you over the edge with their obvious political bias as they hide corruption and perpetuate lies.

Many of you know me well enough by now to know that I am not in the habit of pandering to the events of the day in order to entertain anyone—I’m not in the entertainment business. However, sometimes leaders generally and religious leaders more specifically say things that compel me to say something (also, keeping my mouth shut is not one of my strengths). I’ve grown accustom to sleazy politicians pandering for votes using cheap fabrications and misinformation. The tactic is old, tired, and childish and really only works on those who are unable or unwilling to think for themselves. I can usually laugh that sort of stuff off as business as usual. However, when religious leaders attempt to do that in God’s name, I refuse to let their fabrications or misinformation go unchallenged. A while ago, I read something in support of a particular position held by one of the two political parties from Archbishop Desmond Tutu that I’d like to share with you. Here’s what Archbishop Tutu said: “I can’t for the life of me imagine that God will say, ‘I will punish you because you are black, you should have been white; I will punish you because you are a woman, you should have been a man; I will punish you because you are homosexual, you ought to have been heterosexual.’ I can’t for the life of me believe that is how God sees things.” The purpose of this writing is not to teach what the Bible says about homosexuality. I’ve done that in other lessons and you can search the website archive to find them if you are interested. For the purposes of this lesson, I will simply stipulate that the practice of homosexuality is consistently condemned in the Bible as an abhorrent behavior most often described, in both the Old and New Testament, as either detestable or indecent (cf. Lev 18:22; Lev 20:13; Rom 1:26-27). However, race and gender are morally neutral whereas sexuality is not.

But that’s not the point of this particular teaching. Let me ask you a question: What sounded more pleasant to you—what Archbishop Tutu said about homosexuality or what I just said about it? And that’s the point of this teaching! There are Christians who will read my words and be fuming with anger even though the words are not my own but instead come directly from God’s Word. The same Christians who are angry with me read the words of Archbishop Tutu and praise his wisdom even though his words are at best grotesquely misleading and at worst flat out untrue. However, many people are itching to hear what they want on that particular subject and the Archbishop is scratching that itch! But Archbishop Tutu isn’t the first to Scratch Their Itching Ears.

            This happens in our churches more often then you might think. A number of years ago, my family and I attended a local church led by a pastor by the name of Gil Jones. I wouldn’t normally us his real name in a lesson but when you read the article that was written about him that I include as a reference below, you’ll understand why using his name for privacy purposes is irrelevant at this point. Also, I want to warn you in advance that the article contains sexually explicit material and profanity.

Anyway, Gil was energetic and charismatic. He was creative and a great orator. His message was pretty simple—We’re all sinners in need of God’s grace. And his preaching reflected that sentiment and the people loved it. It was all grace all the time because sin was an unconquerable inevitability. Seven years after we first started attending, we finally learned why he was so personally adamant about unconditional acceptance of sinners—he was having multiple affairs with women in the church. At the time he was married with four small children. Not surprisingly, the church leadership asked him to step down. Gil eventually left and became the pastor of another church in Denver where he did the same thing. The church leadership there asked him to step down as well. A number of his friends from that church encouraged Gil to start another church, which he did. His appeal to his friends was that he was “just like them.” In other words, he understood about their sins because he was engaged in them as well. Not surprisingly, he did the same thing at that church by having an affair with multiple women from the church. One of the women he had been sleeping with said, “He basically set up a church around his being able to behave badly.”[1]

So, which message is easier to hear: No one has the right to judge you because we are all sinners; or, You can’t have a sexual relationship with someone you’re not married to and you certainly can’t have a sexual relationship with someone other than your wife once you are married? Well the message that Gil preached was the first one because he didn’t want to be confronted with the truth of the second one. The people loved his massages because it made them feel good about their own sins. His messages served to Scratch Their Itching Ears.

Subject Text

            2 Timothy 4:1-5
           
           1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

Context

            This letter, known as one of the Pastoral Epistles, contains some very important lessons from Paul. You see, this letter was written by Paul from a Roman prison while he was awaiting his execution. There’s something about people condemned to death—they seldom mince words and Paul was no different. There was an ever increasing danger to the young Church that Paul was constantly battling in addition to outright unbelief: “They were increasingly endangered by a judaizing-gnostic countermission that included church leaders and probably coworkers. Some house churches were ravaged and near collapse.”[2] Paul’s letters to Timothy were not only intended to instruct but also to encourage Timothy to always be prepared to faithfully and diligently carry out his calling and to persevere in the face of coming hardships. Paul anticipated that there would be some who would abandon their faith. The Pastoral Epistles “Anticipate such behavior ‘in later times’ (1 Tim 4:1; cf. 2 Tim 3-4).  But they already know of false teachers who have ‘missed the mark with regard to the truth/faith’ and who ‘upset the faith’ of some in the church (2 Tim 2:18; 1 Tim 6:21). Some ‘will depart from the faith’ ( 1 Tim 4:1) and ‘will turn away from hearing the truth’ (2 Tim 4:4). Departure from the faith comes from accepting ‘teachings of demons ’” (1 Tim 4:1).[3]

Text Analysis

1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

            It is important to remember in vv. 1-2 that Timothy is Paul’s protégé and here we see that Paul is passing the torch on to Timothy to continue Paul’s work. The Greek that translates: “I give you this charge” is a technical term that has multiple meanings including the term for the official transfer of office. This is a solemn moment as Paul organizes his affairs in anticipation of his imminent execution. Paul invokes the witness of God and Christ in the deed with the reminder to all of the things to come. That Christ will return in the final days as the ultimate Judge of all things and the establishment of the Kingdom. “All of v. 1 is thus a shout to lean into God’s certain future that is even now becoming present. But the commission still needs to be filled out in practical terms.”[4]

The practical terms of ministry for Paul, and by extension for Timothy, are identified broadly as five elements: 1) Preach the Word; 2) Always be available and prepared; 3) Rebuke/correct; 4) Encourage; and 5) Minister with great patience and careful instruction. It is important to remember that these ministry elements are given to Timothy in the context of an oath. This is evident by the aorist imperative verb tense used. “Timothy is to preach the word. As it conflicts with the Ephesian heresy,[5] he will need to confront the false teachers and their teaching, rebuke those who will not listen to him, and exhort those who will listen and follow the true gospel…Timothy must have complete and total patience, and his teaching must inform his preaching, confronting, rebuking, and exhorting. While Paul is thinking of Timothy in this verse, what he says is true for all Christian ministers.”[6] There are many interesting Greek words found in this text but I’d like to focus briefly on one:  This is the word for “rebuke.” The word is used twenty-nine times in the New Testament but only once by Paul. It is an extremely strong word that is used by Jesus to rebuke demons. Paul tells Timothy in his first letter that demons promote false teaching. I’ll come back around to this at the end but remember where lies originate from and false teachings are nothing more than cleverly disguised lies.

3For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

Vv. 3-4 are at the heart of this week’s lesson. In v. 3 Paul warns Timothy of a time when people will reject proper and sound teaching. Actually, they won’t just reject sound teaching, the text says, “they won’t put up with it.” Instead, they will insist on surrounding themselves with teachers that will tell them what they want to hear. They don’t want teachers that will tell them the truth, they want teachers to make them feel good about themselves and the lives they have chosen to live. “In this case the problem is viewed more from the angle of weak, sinful believers who are willing to be duped. Paul describes those who have surrendered to worldly values and sinful passions of various sorts so much so that these things determine the kind of teaching they will listen to.”[7] Paul describes it as only wanting to hear what their itching ears want to hear. So they gathered about themselves only those who would Scratch Their Itching Ears! The term can be understood as a metaphor intended to “Depict an appetite for novelty that cannot be satisfied; the metaphor implies that the false teachers will ‘scratch’ (satisfy) the itchy ears for them.”[8] Or else it can mean “A pleasant tickling more than scratching of their ears.”[9] In either case, “This group has a curiosity so active and a craving for novelty so insatiable that they are driven to extremes without any discretion for judging between truth and error.”[10] As if rejecting sound teaching weren’t bad enough, they crave and pursue false teachings and myths instead.

5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

Our Subject Text ends in v. 5 with instructions and encouragement directed at Timothy. Clearly Paul envisages some difficult times ahead for Timothy when a clear and level head will be needed for his sake and for the Church’s benefit as well. Paul is certainly familiar with the difficulties and dangers that come with ministry—particularly since he is writing to Timothy from prison. Thereafter, Paul’s instruction to Timothy to “do the work of an evangelist” seems a bit out of place here only because it hasn’t really been included in any part of Paul’s instructions to Timothy previously in this section of the text. But remember that Paul is turning over the ministry to Timothy and Paul, more than anything else, was an evangelist. In fact, he was known as the evangelist to the Gentiles. Timothy needed to receive and carry this torch as well from Paul. Finally, Paul generally restates his charge to Timothy in his final statement. V. 5 draws a dramatic distinction between the behavior of those who are unfaithful and the faithfulness with which Timothy is to carry out his ministerial duties in service to those already a part of the Church as well as those who may yet become part of the Church.

Application

            I don’t know about you but when I read these verses I have to shake my head in amazement that the words describe, with frightening detail, the events of our own days. Charismatic leaders, especially religious leaders, can say virtually anything they want without question. Truth is irrelevant! People only want to hear what makes them feel good about what they think is true or about how they are living their lives. I have to tell you that I see this more and more every day and it breaks my heart. Let me remind you about a story from a long time ago. I’ll share the relevant part of the story:

            Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. (Gen 3:1-6)

Remember when I told you earlier where false teachings come from? Well here we have the father of lies doing what he does best—deceiving God’s followers! You might also note that Satan didn’t drag Eve kicking and screaming to the tree and cram the apple down her throat. No, I suspect her ears were itching and Satan was more than happy to scratch the itch.

So let me just say something to you from the deepest part of my heart—don’t be deceived! Please be willing to listen to the truth even if it is very difficult to hear and be willing to speak the truth even if it is very difficult to say. Don’t simply go along with what someone says just because it affirms what you believe or how you live. First see what God’s Word says and then think for yourself. I wish I could somehow convey to you how serious this matter is. My professors at Seminary used to say: “You have a duty as a follower to follow only the Truth even if it leads you to the cross and as a Pastor to teach only the Truth even if it means leading someone to the cross.” It won’t always be easy but sometimes we might have to have some very hard conversations with family and friends about the Truth of God’s Word. We must be willing to hear some very hard truths contained in God’s Word about our own lives and make the changes necessary to conform to those truths. The truth of God’s Word is life giving even if it leads to the cross.

Let me share an illustration with you about this principle that might help. I have friends who have a young son that was diagnosed with cancer in January 2010. Hearing those words from the medical professionals was certainly heart-wrenching but the hardest truths were yet to come when the doctors began educating them about leukemia and the grueling treatments that would be needed in order to save their son’s life. It was a long and difficult road that eventually led to remission of the disease. Now what do you suppose would have happened if the doctors and nurses didn’t want to tell them the hard truth that their son had cancer or what if they didn’t want a doctor or nurse that would tell them the truth about their son’s condition? Well you can guess that for yourself. So next time you hear someone like Archbishop Tutu invoking God to try to draw an analogy between, race, gender and sexual preference as though God does not make a distinction between things that are morally neutral and things that are not, ask yourself if that person is seeking to convey biblical truth or whether it’s someone who is out to Scratch Their Itching Ears!

***Warning***

            Let me please offer you a word of warning. When dealing with unbelievers, like Timothy you must first do the hard work of evangelism before trying to use the Scriptures to rebuke them. Remember that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to enlighten us and lead us to the truth. However, the Holy Spirit does not dwell in unbelievers so it is unreasonable to hold them to the same level of biblical understanding or ethical conduct as believers. If you don’t first lead them to Christ, you will only be beating them over the head with truths they don’t accept as true! This will not bring them closer to Christ but will instead drive them farther away. Don’t expect them to be clean before you bring them to the One who will “wash them white as snow” (Is 1:18). Don’t be afraid to associate with unbelievers or invite them into your churches. Unbelievers must hear about Jesus and see how he has worked in your lives. I’m not saying that biblical truth does not apply to unbelievers. I’m saying that the salvation of unbelievers should be the primary goal. Think about it, conformity to biblical truth for unbelievers (if that were even possible) in this life is irrelevant if they are lost forever. It would be like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic even while it sinks to the bottom of the ocean.


Programing Note

My next lesson will post on Wednesday August 31, 2016.




[1] Prendergast, Alan, “”There’s nothing holier-than-thou about Gil Jones,” Westword, August 22, 2013, Accessed August 13, 2016, http://www.westword.com/news/theres-nothing-holier-than-thou-about-gil-jones-5121710.
[2] Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid, eds., Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), p. 661.
[3] Ibid., p. 44.
[4] Philip H. Towner, The Letters to Timothy and Titus, (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI, 2006), p. 600.
[5] The Ephesian heresy was an aberrant form of Judaism combined with Gnosticism. It emphasized the Law but minimized Christ and faith. It taught the virtue of asceticism and denied the resurrection. It produced sinful lifestyles and was destroying the Church’s reputation in Ephesus.
[6] William D. Mounce, WBC Pastoral Epistles, (Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN, 2000), p. 573.
[7] Philip H. Towner, 1-2 Timothy & Titus, (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 1994), p. 205.
[8] Towner, The Letters to Timothy and Titus, p. 604.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Ibid., pp. 604-605.