Christian Leadership #5:
“A Christian Leader…Teaches the Truth”
2 Timothy 3:10-4:5
Opening Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you are the Living Word and the Way, the Truth and the Life; show us now, by your Holy Spirit, how that truth is communicated to us through your written word and then how that truth is to be taught, that through you as our way we may live out the life you have won for us, to the glory of God the Father. Amen.
Introduction
Last week, in our sermon series from Paul’s second letter to his young disciple Timothy, we saw that “A Christian Leader…Steers a Straight Course.” We saw that steering a straight course requires, above all, teaching the truth: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). This week we are looking at the truth that Timothy is to handle correctly as we look at “A Christian Leader…Teaches the Truth.” We will look, first, at what Timothy is to teach and then how he is to teach it. We remember that this series is to help you in the months ahead as you embark upon the discernment process for a new leader. So, at the end of each section, I note, as I have done in the previous sermons, some points to ponder in your search – these are not only for those with the direct responsibility of making the selection but to all members of the congregation because, as the letter shows us, you each have role in preparing for and receiving your leaders.
What to Teach
a. God’s truth is embodied truth: Before we look at “what to teach” we note that, above all, God’s truth must be embodied – it is not merely “book learning,” it is “life-lived.” This, of course, is why Jesus is called the “Word of God…full of grace and truth” and he refers to himself as the “way, the truth and the life” (John 1:14; 14:6). Jesus is the truth of God lived out – the technical term is “incarnated.” In the same way, although imperfectly, we are to embody God’s truth. So Paul begins this section by once again using himself as a reference point for Timothy in his ministry: “You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings” (2 Timothy 3:10). Paul is that embodiment of truth for Timothy – not only through what he taught but by how he lived. Timothy would also have seen this truth lived out in his family setting as we noted in chapter 1 which Paul again refers to here: “Continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures” (verses 14-15). All this should remind us that teaching and living are completely intertwined.
Now, it is popular today, in reaction to so much detachment and hyper-analysis in our culture over the past two hundred and fifty years, to focus on living out the faith rather than speaking it – many people quote St. Francis of Assisi as saying “Preach the gospel at all times; when necessary, use words.” Well, it’s a helpful reminder that the faith must be lived out but apparently St. Francis never actually said it and he was known for his great preaching and teaching! #1 Jesus’ life is essential to the gospel but so is his teaching – you can not divorce one form the other. They are like the two blades of a pair of scissors or two wings of a bird. You must have both life and teaching. We saw last week how bad teaching and unholy lifestyle went together and Paul echoes that again here: “Evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” (verse 13) – wrong-doing and wrong teaching are inextricable linked. The reverse is also true, so Paul goes on to the truth that Timothy is to teach and live out. (His references to suffering and persecution we will look at next week.)
b. God’s truth is conveyed in the Scriptures: The truth that Timothy is to teach is focussed in the Scriptures – the Bible. Paul is absolutely clear: contrasting Timothy to the false teachers, he says, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures” (verses 14-15). The Scriptures are at the core of what Timothy has learned and is to teach. Now “the Scriptures” referred to here are, of course, the Old Testament, which Jesus fully endorsed. However, we can extend this to include the New Testament. Jesus told the apostles that they, too, would communicate the Word of God. In John 16 he said: “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth…he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:13-14). It is in the New Testament that we have enshrined the authoritative teaching of the Apostles, so Paul’s comments here about Scripture apply equally to the whole Bible.
c. The Purpose of Scripture: Paul now moves on to describe the purpose of Scripture as the dynamic means of God’s communicating his truth to us so that we may live out the life he has designed for us: “The holy Scriptures…are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (verses 15-17). He tells us four things the Scriptures do for us: they lead us to salvation, they reveal the mind of God, they are used to transform our lives; and they equip us for good works.
1. To lead us to salvation: Paul says the Scriptures are able to “make us wise for salvation” (verse 15). The Bible is not primarily an academic book, to give us information or theological ideas – it is for our soul’s health, our restoration to God. This doesn’t happen through morals or ideas, but through faith in a person – we are made “wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” The written Word is to bring us into contact with the living Word.
This written Word comes in many different shapes and forms - history told in a way to reveal deep lessons, law codes embodying important principles, poetry expressing God’s longing for us and our emotional response to him – but the central figure of the Bible behind all of the stories, laws, and poetry is Jesus. In Luke 24, on the evening of the first Easter Day, Jesus said, “Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” (Luke 24:44). We see this from the opening chapters of Genesis where God tells the serpent “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he (i.e. Jesus) will strike your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15) through to the end of Revelation where Jesus affirms “Surely I am coming soon” and John replies “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20). John tells us that he wrote his Gospel “so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:31). We need rescuing from sin and brokenness and the Bible tells us just how God has promised this and fulfilled it in Jesus. The Bible makes us wise for salvation in Christ Jesus.
2. To reveal the mind of God: The second thing the Bible does is to reveal to us the mind of God. It says that “all scripture is God-breathed” – it comes from the very being and heart of God. In other words, the Bible gives us God’s point of view. In Isaiah 55, God says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9). Our self-centredness has clouded our thinking and corrupted our culture. We need to see things from God’s perspective – the values he places on people, possessions and processes. Paul tells us in Romans 12, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God” (Romans 12:2) Our minds become renewed as we soak up the Bible which gives us the reliable, authoritative mind of God.
Now the fact that the Bible is inspired does not mean that it all has equal weight – we find there everything from genealogies to the crucifixion. Different parts impact our lives more than others, but all are necessary. A helpful analogy to understand this comes from our own lives – we have many activities, all the way from brushing our teeth in the morning to getting married – not all have equal importance but all have a place. We need the whole of Scripture to see the whole mind of God, so a complete and steady diet is necessary. Read and study God’s Word day in and day out in order to reprogramme your minds to be in conformity with His mind.
3. To transform our lives: The third purpose of Scripture is to transform our lives. It helps us put what God thinks into practice. It is useful for “teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (verse 16).
- teaching: The Bible teaches us by showing what is right to believe – who God is, who we are, and God’s love and purpose for us. The psalmist declares, “Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things” (Psalm 98:1). We need to know what things God has done. Faith is based on facts; we need to know the facts. Paul stresses this when he warns Timothy a few verses later that “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. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4). People are so desperate for guidance that they are turning everywhere but the Bible – to astrology, New Age, and the occult. There is a story of two boys who were discussing the occult and one asked the other “Can people predict the future with cards?…My mother can…Really?…Yes, she takes one look at my report card and tells me what will happen when my father gets home.” It is not the cards but the Bible which teaches us what is right.
- rebuking: The Bible also rebukes us – it shows us what is wrong. It is called the “sword of the spirit” (Ephesians. 6:17) which “is living and active…piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). The Bible lets us know what sin really is. God uses the Bible to convict us; be open to hearing it, be humble before it. One of the most surprising moments of my life was when I was about to do something wrong and a verse of Scripture telling me so flashed right into my mind. The Bible is useful for rebuking us.
- correcting: Once it rebukes us, then it corrects us – to show us how to get back on the right track. God doesn’t leave us in the dark. In Ephesians (4:26), I am told “In my anger I must not sin” and that the way to prevent that is not to go to bed angry, thus nursing a grudge and letting it fester. Be attentive to God’s word to you. The Bible is useful for correcting us.
- training in righteousness: Once we are corrected and back on the path, the Bible shows us how to stay on it – it “trains us in righteousness.” Again, from the same chapter in Ephesians, after being corrected about anger, I am exhorted to build others up with my words and to be kind, compassionate and forgiving. (Ephesians 4: 29, 32). Embrace God’s instruction. The Bible is useful for training us in righteousness.
The Bible teaches me how to live out life as God designed and won it in Christ; it rebukes me when I stray, corrects me from my waywardness and keeps me on the path. This is the third purpose of the Bible – to transform our lives.
4. To equip us for good works: But there is one last and key purpose of the Scriptures for us, that “everyone who belongs to God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (verse 17). Here we return to the fact that teaching and living are inextricably combined. The Bible is not for the “armchair Christian,” just to enrich our minds of for inner strengthening. It is meant to lead us to action and involvement with others in God’s world. God uses the Bible to give us incentive, encouragement, courage, and strength to do good work. It is interesting that where societies have allowed the Scriptures to be their foundation, there has been great social advancement and transformation. Much of the social progress of the past two hundred years is a direct result of the activity of people who read, upheld and lived out the Bible; for example, the abolition of slavery (William Wilberforce), prison reform (Elizabeth Fry), Medicare (Tommy Douglas), and human rights (Martin Luther King). Let the Bible transform how you relate to others and serve in the world.
Points to Ponder:
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Ensure your leader knows that teaching and living God’s truth are inextricably combined.
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Choose a leader whose teaching is based on the Scriptures – who knows those Scriptures and loves them.
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Choose a leader who knows the purposes of Scripture – to lead us to salvation, to reveal the mind of God, to transform our lives; and to equip us for good works.
How to Teach
We will close our sermon with Paul’s exhortation to Timothy as to how to teach God’s truth: “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: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction…keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:1, 2, 5). The core of all this is that Timothy is to “preach the word” (verse 2) which is further refined as to “do the work of an evangelist” (verse 5). This is not simply teaching, but proclamation with a view to transformation. Truth is to be embraced. This is at the heart of Paul’s call to Timothy to “discharge all the duties of your ministry” (verse 5). Unfortunately, “to preach” has become a negative concept – “Don’t preach at me!” This is unfortunate and is a reaction to abusive preaching.
Paul’s instruction that follows as to how to preach is a helpful corrective to avoid abuses. Timothy is to preach and proclaim:
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With urgency: “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” (verse 1) – the eternal destiny of Timothy’s listeners is at stake as well as God’s verdict on his ministry.
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With readiness: “be prepared in season and out of season” (verse 2) – the task is so crucial that Timothy must always be on duty and ready to share God’s word, whether or not it is convenient for him.
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With care and patience: “correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” (verse 2) – impatience with a congregation is the best way to give preaching a bad name! We are to win people over, not to browbeat them! In addition, care must be taken in preaching, not only in preparation and explanation, but also to ensure that all aspects of a person’s soul are addressed: correction or refutation appeals to reason; rebuke or censure appeals to conscience; and encourage or exhort appeals to will. #2
Finally, in preaching and in his entire ministry, Timothy is to practice steadiness: “keep your head in all situations” (verse 5) which Tom Wright translates, “keep your balance in everything.” #3 Knowing what is right to do and when to do it is to characterise his ministry. This is not easy and will mean that Timothy will have to “endure hardship” (verse 5), which we will look at in our final sermon next week.
Points to Ponder:
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Ensure your leader has the gift of preaching and teaching or is eager to empower others who do – preaching and teaching must have a central place in the life of a healthy congregation.
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Ensure preaching is done with care – to win over and not alienate and which appeals to the whole person.
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Ensure your leader is committed to the hard work and steadiness required in order to teach the truth.
A Christian leader teaches the truth.
Footnotes: 1. See “Christianity Today,” article “Speak the Gospel” by Mark Galli, posted 5/21/2009 on http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/mayweb-only/120-42.0.html 2. J. N. D. Kelly, The Pastoral Epistles. (London: Adam and Charles Black, 1963), pg. 206. 3. Tom Wright, Paul for Everyone: the Pastoral letters. (London: SPCK, 2003), pg. 108.
