(Audio Version; Music: This Love I Know--by RMC Worship & Richie Fike--WorshipMob--Real Live Music)
Introduction
One of the things that really irritated Jesus was when
the religious leaders engaged Him with ulterior motives by trying to trick Him into
saying something they could use against Him. It infuriated Jesus when the
religious leaders put on a pretentious show for the people or when they used or
manipulated the people to advance their agenda of building and maintaining their
wealth and power. On one of the many occasions when Jesus condemned the
Pharisees and teachers of the law, he said: “Woe to you, teachers of the law
and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look
beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and
everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as
righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness (Mt.
23:27-28).” Jesus hated hidden agendas. Not because He could be deceived but
because He knew that the people could be deceived and would inevitably be hurt
by the hidden agendas of the religious leaders. The religious leaders were
taking advantage of the people and Jesus spent much of His ministry exposing
them. The deception wasn’t something that happened all at once but gradually
over an extended period of time. But Jesus wanted the people to understand that
God isn’t interested in popularity or outward appearances, He’s interested in What Lies Beneath.
“Agenda” can be defined benignly as a list of items to be
discussed at a meeting or plan of things to be done or problems to be
addressed. No problem so far, right? However, it is also defined as the
underlying intentions or motives of a particular person or group. This is the
one that causes trouble for so many people especially religious leaders. Now
don’t misunderstand me, everyone has an agenda of some sort. If anyone ever
tells you that they have “no agenda,” I promise you they’re lying. Everyone has
an agenda. What we need to figure out is What
Lies Beneath a person or group’s agenda. Sometimes an agenda is perfectly
harmless and even beneficial but sometimes What
Lies Beneath an agenda can lead people down the road to destroy themselves,
physically, mentally, and spiritually. Let me show you what a destructive
agenda looks like in the Church.
My daughter, Elizabeth, is majoring in applied health on
her way to medical school but she’s also minoring in biblical studies. Part of
the deal I made with her before she went off to college is that she would pay
for the text books related to her major and I would pay for the text books
related to her biblical studies provided I got the books when she was done. Last
semester I got the small stack of theological books Elizabeth finished using
for her classes. One of the books was Struggling
with Scripture. It’s 69 pages long and written by Walter Brueggemann,
William C. Placher, and Brian K. Blount. However, I want to focus primarily on
the section written by Walter Brueggemann. Throughout the section he wrote, he
focused on the belief that no one can be absolutely certain of all the things
the Bible seeks to teach us. He goes on to say that we must always be prepared
for the Spirit to teach us something new. Furthermore, Brueggemann believes
that we must use our imagination to open our minds to possible new meanings of
the text. Throughout Brueggeman’s writing he kept using the example of the
church’s historical teaching on homosexuality to make his point. I disregarded
it at first but by the end of his section, something was nagging at me that I
couldn’t put my finger on when he wrote: “What if liberals and conservatives in
the church, for all their disagreement, would agree and put their energies to
the main truth against the main threat? This is not to sneak in a victory about
gays and lesbians for anybody, but to say that the issues before God’s creation
(of which we are stewards) are immense; those issues shame us in the church
when our energy is deployed only to settle our anxieties…Recently, an Israeli
journalist in Jerusalem commented on the fracturing dispute in Israel over who
constitutes a real Jew—orthodox, conservative, or reformed. And said he about
the dispute, ‘If any Jew wins, all Jews lose.’ Think about it: ‘If any
Presbyterian wins, all Presbyterians lose.’”[1]
Wow it sounds so great doesn’t it? It sounds like something everyone could
rally around and agree on. It sounds exactly like something everyone wants to
hear. However, I began to wonder what Brueggemann would consider to be the
“main threat” that Christians face. I couldn’t leave that nagging feeling alone
so I did a little research into Walter Brueggemann and here’s a bit of
information that you might not know. Brueggemann is the Old Testament professor
at Colombia Theological Seminary (CTS). Do you know anything about Colombia
Theological Seminary? They are affiliated with the Presbyterian Church USA
(PCUSA). Are you seeing the agenda yet? Brueggemann wrote the section of the
book attributed to him back in 2002 and has since retired from teaching at CTS.
Now if we fast-forward 12 years to the year 2014 we learn that the PCUSA
General Assembly voted to allow their churches to perform same-sex marriages.
Additionally, the General Assembly voted to divest itself of any financial
interests it held in Israeli companies as a show of support for Palestinians.
Not surprisingly, Brueggemann is also a vocal Palestinian supporter. Did the
light just go on for a few of you? I thought so. What seemed like such a
wonderful rallying cry of unification and a call to open-mindedness when it
comes to biblical interpretation was really an effort by Brueggemann (and no
doubt many others) to advance an agenda. For decades, Brueggemann and other
religious leaders of the PCUSA taught the things that people wanted to hear;
the things that sounded so unifying; things that seemed to make sense; things
that demonstrated open-mindedness and inclusion but what they really did was
they let the Devil in the door. I have no idea what Brueggeman considers to be
the “main threat” facing humanity but let me see if I can help the good
professor out since it’s the same threat humanity has been facing since the
beginning of time—Satan’s lies and his never-ending desire to separate us from
God. And nothing aids Satan more than religious leaders who are more interested
in being liked and popular than they are in telling the truth. Remember,
everyone has an agenda. Don’t allow yourself to be deceived by fine sounding
arguments from anyone. It’s your job to be sure you understand What Lies Beneath a person or group’s
agenda. Paul warned Timothy that a day would come when the people wouldn’t care
to hear the truth but instead would insist on teachers who taught them the
things they wanted to hear; the things that would make them feel good about
themselves and their lives—even if that meant condoning sinful behavior or
twisting the clear teachings of the Scriptures.
Subject
Text
2 Timothy 4:1-5
1 In 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: 2
Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct,
rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For 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. 4 They
will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But 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 of false teachings
surrounding 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 the truths of their faith and turn
to false teachings. 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]
As I said before, false teachings by religious leaders serve to let the Devil
in the door and leads to division in the Church.
Text
Analysis
For vv. 1-2, it’s important to remember 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 of the things that await us: 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 to Timothy that demons promote false
teaching. I touched on this earlier and I’ll come back to this at the end but
remember where lies originate from and false teachings are nothing more than
cleverly disguised lies.
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 that itch. 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.
V. 5
contains the closing 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, Paul 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
Charismatic leaders, in this case 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 should be
true so they can feel good about the sinful lives they are living or about the
sinful culture they want to be part of. I have to tell you that I see this more
and more every day and it breaks my heart when religious leaders advance false
teachings. Let me take you back to something I referenced earlier by telling
you 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 again 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 means the death of
certain long-held beliefs or sinful behaviors. Those hard truths might just
save us from destroying ourselves. 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 but he completed his final treatment in June 2013. With
his cancer in remission since early 2010, he’s now a senior in high school and
making plans for college![11]
Now what do you suppose would have happened if the doctors and nurses didn’t
want to tell his parents the hard truth that their son had cancer or what if
they didn’t want a doctor or nurse to tell them the truth about what it would
take to heal their son? Well you can guess that for yourself.
When I entered seminary, I thought I just needed to learn
the finer details of the Bible and I’d be properly equipped to be a pastor.
However, my professors did something I will always be grateful for: They
challenged my long-help beliefs and insisted that I always knew why I believed what I believed and that what
I believe must always be rooted in the truths of the Bible. They challenged me
to constantly examine the agenda of my ministry; what really motivates my
teachings; What Lies Beneath. I want
to challenge you to do the same about your life generally and about your life
of faith specifically. Have you been deceived by religious leaders who have
been telling you what you’ve been itching to hear; teaching you the things that
will help you fit in and live peacefully in a sinful culture; teaching you how
to ease your tormented conscience while continuing to live a sinful lifestyle?
Remember that everyone has an agenda—you do and so do I. The agenda for this
ministry can be found in the Mission and Vision statements at the top of the
website. What you don’t see is What Lies
Beneath: The desire to love God with my whole being and to love others as
myself. Are you willing to examine the agendas of your life; why you believe what you believe? Are you willing to do the difficult and sometimes
painful work of digging beneath your own agenda to reveal What Lies Beneath?
[1]
Walter Brueggemann, William C. Placher, and Brian K. Blount, Struggling with Scripture, (Louisville,
KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002), pp. 26; 28.
[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.
[11]
September is childhood cancer awareness month—pass it on!
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