2 Timothy 2:20

But in a great house, there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. Flee also youthful lusts, but pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. A servant of the Lord must not quarrel, but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, and in humility correcting those who are in opposition. If God perhaps will grant them repentance so that they may know the truth, they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

Father, as we open the Scriptures, Lord, it's my conviction that we are opening Scripture that is inspired by You. That's what we're even going to see when we get into 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 16. All Scripture is given by inspiration from You, and it is therefore useful for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness, so that the worker would be thoroughly equipped, ready for every good work. We want to be thoroughly equipped, and so we look to Your inspired word.

We pray that the same Holy Spirit who inspired this, Holy Spirit, would give us inspiration to understand it. Not just to understand it, but to make it part of our lives this week, that we would apply these things so that Your word would have its perfect work in us, and that we would be transformed by the renewing of our minds today. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all those that agree said, "Amen." You may be seated.

It is the task of every Bible student, especially those who will set out to preach or teach the things they have gleaned in their studies, to seek to understand what is often referred to as the authorial intent of the writer. What did the writer, in this case the Apostle Paul, intend for the reader?

Timothy, to understand, sometimes when you read through the scriptures, especially the New Testament letters, it can feel like listening to a one-sided conversation. The letters Paul wrote—13 of them in the New Testament—are examples of this. When you're reading through Colossians or Philippians, you only have part of the information. It's similar to sitting and listening to someone on the phone; you can see their facial expressions and hear what they are saying, but you don't know what the other person is saying. You have to piece things together.

As students of the Bible, when we read through a letter like 2 Timothy, we need to piece together the various things that Paul is writing about, particularly what Timothy is facing at the church he is pastoring and overseeing. Paul speaks to those specific issues. As we studied through 1 Timothy last year and are studying through 2 Timothy this year, we begin to see the fabric of the situation that Timothy was facing.

When we put these things together and spend time going through the whole of the New Testament, which is the last third of the Bible, we can understand what was happening in the early church 2,000 years ago. In this passage, we see that the author of this book, the Apostle Paul, has been in communication with the church at Ephesus. He visited the church somewhere in the early to mid-60s A.D., nearly 2,000 years ago. He had planted this church and pastored it for a while, so he knew them very well. However, when he arrived, he realized that the church was, if not in chaos, at least facing significant issues.

Every church has issues. We often like to call our sins and problems "issues." The church at Ephesus had some issues, and it's important for us to understand that every church has issues because every church is made up of people, and people have problems. We bring those issues and problems into the church, which means there is no perfect church. If you came to Cross Connection thinking you had finally found a perfect church, I assure you it is not perfect. The mere fact that you are here means we are all people in process, including your pastor and the other pastors.

We are grateful that God takes us in that way and works on us; we are all in process. Given this reality, I think it is important that we be gracious with one another, as we are all in process.

Shirts with big orange signs on them that say "Under Construction, Expect Delays" symbolize the significant problems that all of us bring into the church. We need to be gracious with one another. The church at Ephesus had its own issues. Paul arrived there somewhere in the early to mid-60s AD and observed the problems, but he couldn't stay. His time was short, and he had a series of tasks to accomplish in that limited period. He was on his way to visit another church, the church at Philippi, which was the capital of the region called Macedonia, not too far from Ephesus.

In hopes of addressing the issues at the church in Ephesus, Paul left Timothy behind. In his first letter, shortly after leaving Timothy there, Paul writes to him in 1 Timothy chapter 1. He says, "As I urged you, Timothy, when I left you there in Ephesus and went to Macedonia, remain there in Ephesus, that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine." This is important. It’s like hearing one side of a conversation and realizing that the issues at the church in Ephesus were likely due to bad teaching.

Paul emphasizes that he left Timothy in Ephesus to warn some individuals not to teach any other doctrine. The problems in the church at Ephesus could be traced back to this bad teaching. Often, when individual Christians or gatherings of Christians—what we call churches—do not align their practices and lives with the way God calls us to live in the Scriptures, it is because they have neglected or overlooked teachings related to sound doctrine.

Paul's first and second letters to Timothy highlight the importance of having a strong understanding of doctrine. However, it is not enough to simply understand doctrine; one must also practice it. Knowing what to do and not doing it is a problem. The Bible states that to him who knows what to do and doesn't do it, that is sin. Individuals or churches can fall into this pattern by failing to adhere to strong doctrine.

This is the issue Paul identifies in Ephesus. He leaves Timothy there, whom he had trained and discipled for about 15 years at that point. He trusts him and refers to him as his son in the faith. Paul tells Timothy, "I'm going to leave you there to put these things in order."

Now, there's a problem that is specific to Timothy. At this point in time, he is probably in his mid-thirties, around 35 years old, maybe a little older. This was a challenge in that day because of the culture. While we don't necessarily have this issue in our culture today, in the culture that Paul and Timothy were ministering in, and in many other cultures around the world, we sometimes refer to them as honor and shame cultures. Some of you may have come from honor and shame cultures, which are different from American culture. In those cultures, youth is often looked down upon.

It's interesting to note that in America in the 21st century, if you are a 29-year-old in Congress, you are often viewed as one of the most important people on the planet. We have kind of swapped these perceptions around.

To be 35 years old and a leader in the church was a challenge for Timothy. It is very likely that there were people in the church who were older than him. In that culture, those who were older were more valued and respected. Because Timothy was younger than some in the church, he would have been looked down upon. Paul, on the other hand, did not face this situation. He was about 25 years older than Timothy and was the one who established and planted the church there.

We know this because Paul encourages Timothy in his youth to be an example. In 1 Timothy 4:12, he writes, "Let no one despise your youth." The reason Timothy is told this by Paul is that he is facing this problem. We are hearing one side of the conversation and piecing things together. Paul continues, "But be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, and in purity." He instructs Timothy to give attention to reading, to exhortation, and to doctrine.

Paul emphasizes that Timothy must set things in order in the church. He needs to correct wrong doctrine and continue to teach sound doctrine. Paul sends these letters to encourage Timothy, but they also serve as an exhortation to the church. It is very likely that when Timothy received the first and second letters, they would have been read corporately to the larger church body, or at least to the leaders of the church in Ephesus. They would have heard what Paul was saying as encouragement to Timothy, but also as an exhortation to the church to address the issues and problems that the church in Ephesus was facing. These issues were to be dealt with based on solid, sound doctrine.

As we go through First and Second Timothy, we begin to realize that Timothy faced significant challenges. The church was dealing with false teaching and bad doctrine. Additionally, Timothy was younger than some of the people in the church, which already put him in a difficult position. It becomes clear that Timothy also struggled with a confidence problem; he seemed to be a bit timid. In light of this timidity, Paul encourages him to be strong, to be strong in the Lord, and to stand firm on primary doctrine and preach those truths.

As you read through First Timothy and Second Timothy, it becomes evident that there is at least one individual who is a primary problem in the church, possibly more. However, one person is mentioned in both letters as being particularly problematic: Hymenaeus. We encountered him last week in the text, and he is mentioned in First Timothy chapter one and again in Second Timothy chapter two. Hymenaeus appears to be the main figure in the church promoting doctrine that is not in line with what Paul had taught as sound doctrine.

From what we can piece together, Hymenaeus is likely respected in the community and the church, probably older than Timothy. This makes it even more challenging for the timid Timothy to confront him. There are also two other individuals mentioned: Alexander and Philetus. We do not know much about them, but it is clear that they were issues within the church as well. Paul is addressing specific problems that he had local knowledge of at the church in Ephesus.

Even though these are specific issues in a specific church from 2,000 years ago, the problems Paul addresses have general applications for us today, even though we live in a different time and place. The specific problem Paul is addressing relates to the church issues in Ephesus and any church. This is highlighted in Second Timothy 2:20, which states, "But in a great house, there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor."

As Paul often does in his writing and teaching, he uses word pictures to explain the concepts he is trying to convey.

He uses these metaphors. There are three of them in this verse. First, we have a great house; second, we have vessels of honor; and third, we have vessels of dishonor. As you read through the text, you can determine what he is talking about. What is the great house? What are the vessels of honor? What are the vessels of dishonor? The best understanding of this seems to be that the great house is the church, and the master of the great house is God.

There is disagreement among commentators on whether the great house refers to the church or the world, leading to some conflict. Charles Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers, comments on this text, stating that the apostle compares the church to a great house. He is sure that he is not speaking of the world. On the other hand, another Bible teacher, John Chrysostom, argues that Paul is not speaking of the church but of the world at large. Thus, we have two teachers in conflict: one says the great house in this passage is the church, while the other says it is the world.

There are reasons why they come to different conclusions, but it seems logical, based on the context of First and Second Timothy and the issues Timothy is facing, that the great house in Second Timothy chapter two, verse 20, in this word picture, is the church.

Now, here is the challenge: in the great house that is the church, there are vessels of honor and vessels of dishonor. So, what are the vessels of honor, and what are the vessels of dishonor? When we look at the next verses, it becomes clear. A vessel of honor is an individual in the great house of God who is useful to the master, useful to the Lord. Conversely, a vessel of dishonor is an individual in the great house of the church who is problematic.

This confronts us with a reality about the church of God. Point number one on your outline: God's house can sometimes look like the house of a hoarder. Maybe you've seen that show.

I think I saw one episode of "Hoarders" one time. I couldn't watch anymore because it was too distressing for me. I'm not a clean freak, but I watched one episode, and it gave me heart palpitations.

God's house, the church, can sometimes look like the house of a hoarder. What I mean by that is it can be cluttered and filled with junk. Now, some of you right now might be crafting a text message saying, "Oh, come on, pastor. You can't possibly say that there's junk in God's house, in this great house." You're right; I'm not saying that. Paul did. So, text Paul, okay?

There is a great house, and there is a master of that great house—God. There are individual vessels in His great house, which are the people that occupy it. Some are vessels of honor, like gold and silver, while others are vessels of dishonor, referred to as wood and clay. You might ask, "Is he really saying that a vessel of dishonor is junk?" Well, understand this word "dishonor." It's used in other places in the Bible and is sometimes translated as dung or excrement. That's just a nice way of saying "crap."

Now, I'm going to get text messages about this. So, listen, there is junk that sometimes finds its way into the great house of the great master, and Timothy is dealing with cleaning out the junk. He is like the organizer who comes into the house of the hoarder and says, "We've got to deal with this through right doctrine."

I get it; that doesn't sound good. The way Paul says it sounds much better in the King James Version than it does in the Miles to Benedictus version. But when we peel back the layers and see what's being said here, it's pretty striking.

It should go without saying, but it probably needs to be said: there are people in the great house of God who are not Christians. There are people who find their way into the church that don't have honorable intentions or lifestyles. They would be accounted as dishonorable vessels.

Now, we can be bothered by this reality, or we can recognize it for what it is: that God welcomes into His house people of every sort. Let me just say, that's good news. God welcomes into His house people of every sort. It's really good news because it reveals the nature and heart of the master of this great house.

He is gracious and hospitable. He welcomes into his house individuals that, if they came to your door, your wife might look at you and say, "Really?" It's interesting because the church is referred to as the bride of Christ. There may be times when God accepts certain people into His great house, and we look at Him and think, "Really? You really want that one here?" But yes, He does, because God is gracious.

In the previous section, if you were here last week or checked it out online, we saw that there are profane and idle babblings spoken within the church. Who is speaking these profane and idle babblings? They are the profane and idle babblers who have found their way into the church. Hymenaeus, Alexander, and Philetus were a part of the church, and sadly, their message can sometimes begin to spread like cancer, leading people toward ungodliness.

Now, does that say something about the great house or the solid foundation? Is there something wrong with the great house or the solid foundation? No. The previous verses in Second Timothy chapter two, verse 19, talk about the solid foundation of God. There is this solid foundation of God, and then there is this great house, God's church, built upon that solid foundation. So, what is the solid foundation? It is Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The church is built as a great house on top of that solid foundation.

Now, because there are dishonorable vessels inside that great house, does it diminish the greatness of the house or ruin the solid foundation? No, but it does say something about the owner of the great house. It indicates that He is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance. He is a good, gracious master of the great house. Amen.

What should be the response of the occupants, the vessels? Whether they are vessels of honor—most of us would like to say, "That's what I want to be, a vessel of honor"—or vessels of dishonor, which most of us probably think, "Well, that's not me; that's somebody else." There are these occupants in the great house. What should be the response of those occupants, these vessels, to the graciousness of the great master of the house?

Well, look at what he says in Second Timothy 2:21. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, which is dishonor, he will be a vessel of honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.

When you are accepted into the house of the great Master, He accepts every kind. He gives this great call to all to come, and you may come into this great house. You might be one who has a dishonorable lifestyle or dishonorable intentions, and yet He accepts you into His house. Even though there might be some who say, "I don't know if you should have that one in the house," He accepts you.

What should be your response to the graciousness of the host, the owner of the house? It should be a desire to cleanse oneself so that you can be sanctified and useful for the Master.

Point number two on your outline: God accepts us as we are, but expects that we do not remain that way. The one who enters into the house of the great Master on this solid foundation, even though their life is not in order and everything is not perfect, begins to comprehend the grace, mercy, and compassion of God. The one who understands that grace, mercy, and compassion begins, by a work of God's grace, to desire to become set apart.

That is what the word "sanctified" in verse 21 means: set apart, hallowed for the Master's use, to be useful to the Master. I am in this great house. There are these wonderful vessels of honor, gold and silver. I want to be that one useful for the Master's use as a vessel of honor.

So how do I become a vessel of honor? Once graciously accepted into the great house, how do we become those vessels of honor? He says, "Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from the latter," from a dishonorable outlook, behavior, or whatever it may be, "whoever cleanses themselves, that person can become a vessel of honor that is useful, prepared for every good work."

Well, that brings up an important question: How do we cleanse ourselves? He says, "Whoever cleanses himself becomes useful to the Master, ready, prepared for..."

Every good work begins with a question: How do we cleanse ourselves? In Second Timothy, chapter two, verse 22, it says, "Flee also youthful lusts, but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the name of the Lord."

In the previous section that we finished up with last week, we looked at Second Timothy, chapter two, verse 19. It states, "Nevertheless, the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: The Lord knows those who are His, and let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity."

God accepted you into His great house, His church, when your life was not in order. Some of you remember that really well. He brought you in, and there may have been some people who looked sideways at you when you came in, thinking, "Whoa, that one doesn't look honorable. That's like a clay vessel over there." But the gracious host, the owner of the house, accepted you into His house.

At a certain point, God's word, by His Spirit, began to do a work in your heart. You named the name of Christ and said, "I want to put my trust in Him." He forgave you of all your past mistakes. Now that you have named the name of Christ and He has forgiven you, what do those who name the name of Christ do?

Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity and begin to walk in a different direction. This is called repentance. Repentance is turning away from your old pattern of life, thinking, and speech. It involves turning away from those things and turning towards something new. It is fleeing the old life that is dominated by youthful lusts.

The word "lusts" refers to intense, inordinate cravings for things that are youthful. It encompasses the carnality of youthfulness, the things that your flesh, my flesh, and all of our flesh deeply crave—whatever those things may be. When you are immature and untrained, if you were just left to your own inhibitions, what would you do? Probably not so many good things. If you just left yourself, what would you seek after? The deep craving for passion, pleasure, power, possessions, and position—people are seeking after that.

Now, the frightening thing is that in 21st-century American culture, we are saying just go for it, live it up, and go after whatever your heart desires.

That's bad counsel, like really bad counsel. Why is it bad counsel? Because it sounds really great to your fallen flesh. However, as you look into the Scriptures, you begin to realize that the heart of man is desperately wicked. It is out of the heart that proceed all kinds of wicked, vile things: envy, anger, murder, adultery—these things come from the heart. Jesus said in Mark chapter seven that they come out of the heart.

If you're being told by culture to just follow your heart and do whatever your heart desires, that's bad counsel. Some of you did that for five, ten, fifteen years or more. Where did it get you? Ultimately, hopefully, it brought you to a place of brokenness, and you came in as a dishonorable vessel into the great house of God. God said, "You're welcome here." But when He welcomed you by His grace, He did not intend for you to stay that way.

He says, "Everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity; flee youthful lusts." In place of that, pursue four things: pursue righteousness, which means pursuing what is right before God. You only begin to discover what is right before God when you dig into His revelation and see what is right. Pursue what is right, not what is expedient.

Culture constantly tells us to do whatever we have to do to get ahead, to pursue what is expedient, even if it's unethical, immoral, or illegal. This is bad counsel. Instead, He says to pursue righteousness, pursue faith—a trust in God and a faithfulness to God. Pursue love, the kind of love described in the New Testament, particularly in 1 Corinthians 13—a love that is patient, kind, content, humble, and polite. Pursue these things. Pursue peace.

The privilege of usefulness is linked to the pursuit of godliness. God accepts all as they are by His grace into His great house. Through His word and by the working of His Spirit, He begins to transform us to the point where we desire to be a vessel of honor in His house, useful to Him. The privilege of usefulness is indeed linked to the pursuit of godliness.

This is why Paul would write to Timothy in First Timothy four, verse seven. He said, "But reject profane and old wives' fables and exercise yourself towards godliness." I have to be really candid with you: I don't really like the word "exercise." Does anyone else get an amen? I realize the importance, but I don't like exercise. Exercise implies work and discipline. Let's just be really candid—my flesh, your flesh, does not like work and discipline.

But Paul says to exercise yourself towards godliness. In First Timothy four, verse eight, he continues, "For bodily exercise profits little." There is some profit in bodily exercise, and I love the fact that he says it profits little. However, godliness is profitable for all things, having the promise of a life that now is and of that which is to come. Godliness is profitable in this life and in eternity.

So Paul says to Timothy, "Exercise yourself towards godliness," because the pursuit of godliness makes us useful to the Master. I want to be sure that I make it very clear that while I am promoting a discipline, an exercise, and a pursuit of godliness, I believe that we are saved by grace through faith, and that not of yourselves, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

I don't want there to be any misunderstanding that it might be thought I am promoting work salvation. I'm not. What I'm saying is that the gracious Master of this house, the Church of God, accepts us by His grace, and by His grace, He wants to transform us. But that transforming work is as much His grace working in us as it is our working it out.

While we are transformed by the gracious power of God, we have to pursue godliness so that we would work out our salvation with fear and trembling. My favorite passage in the Bible is Philippians chapter two, verses twelve and thirteen: "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to do His good pleasure." So you are working, and God is working and enabling your work.

These things go together. This is why I so often return to the fact that God's sovereignty works with human responsibility. Some people want to put everything on God's sovereignty and say, "Well, if I'm going to change, God's going to have to do it." I say, "No, you're going to have to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." God is already doing His work. He graciously accepted you into His house when you were a dishonorable vessel, but He wants you to become a vessel for honor.

That's why in the New Testament, even though we know we're saved entirely by grace through faith and that not of ourselves, there are 1,050 commands—1,050 imperative verses to Christians saying, "Do this." I was at a conference a couple of weeks ago, and someone mentioned the commands of God. So, I went on Google to find out how many imperatives are in the New Testament. I found a document that's 47 pages long, listing 1,050 verses with imperatives and commands for you and me to live out, to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, knowing that God enables and empowers our obedient pursuit of godliness.

But we have to work it out. When we say that God is sovereign and powerful, we cannot opt to do nothing and say, "Well, if He wants me to change, He's going to have to change me." I cannot tell you how many times over the last 20 years I have had conversations with Christians who say, "Well, if He wants to change me, He's just going to have to change me." I respond, "No, He accepted you as you are into His kingdom and into His house. Now He says, 'Walk in righteousness.' He'll enable you and empower you to do that."

Just like when Jesus met the man with the withered hand at the synagogue in the town of Capernaum, He said to this man, "Stretch forth your hand." He gave him the power in the moment to do it, but that man had to stretch forth his hand and realize that God's power was abiding upon and in his life.

So, we are not saved by good works, but we are saved for good works. For by grace you are saved, as stated in Ephesians 2:8, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. He did not save you because you did a whole bunch of really good things, but now that He has saved you, He desires that you would be a vessel of honor, useful for Him and for good works. This is what He desires to see accomplished in our lives.

And so he says in Second Timothy 2:23, "But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife." Returning to the theme of the previous section that we looked at last week, Paul emphasizes the importance of avoiding foolish and ignorant disputes, just as we shun profane and idle babblings.

We are in this great house of the great Master, and in this house, there are vessels of honor. These are those who are pursuing righteousness, faith, love, and peace, empowered by God. However, there are also people who are not pursuing these virtues and remain in their dishonorable state. The problem is that, because we are in this mixed multitude, some may begin to follow those who say, "Oh, it's all of grace. You don't have to do anything." Their vain and idle babblings lead to disputes. Paul warns us to avoid foolish and ignorant disputes because they only cause strife.

Point number four: waste no time with disputes that cause strife. In the last chapter of the first letter that Paul wrote to Timothy, in First Timothy 6, Paul states, "If anyone teaches otherwise" (verse 3) "and does not consent to the wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which aligns with godliness, that person is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words which come from envy and strife, reviling, evil suspicions, and useless wranglings. These are men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such, withdraw yourself."

It may seem rude, but the more time that goes by, the more I've learned the wisdom in simply saying, "I don't have time for this," and walking away when someone wants to dispute over something ultimately not worthwhile. Why? Because the servant of the Lord, as stated in Second Timothy 2:24, "must not quarrel, but be gentle to all, able to teach." This means being able to convince, rebuke, and exhort with all long-suffering, which we will look at in Second Timothy 4:1-2. A servant of the Lord, one who is useful to the Master, needs to be gentle and not quarrelsome, but able to convince, rebuke, and exhort from the Scriptures.

Doctrine in humility involves correcting those who are in opposition. Why? If you note this, underline it: if God perhaps will grant them repentance so that they may know the truth, that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive to do his will. This is striking. There are people within the church who have been ensnared by the enemy and are being used to do his will within the church. Jesus refers to them as wolves in sheep's clothing. Paul refers to them as false prophets. Peter refers to them as false teachers. Jude talks about them as well.

In the same way that Jesus said in Matthew chapter seven, verses 16 and 20, you will know false teachers by their fruit. You will also know how to identify those who are good teachers by their way of life. They are gentle, not quarrelsome, patient, and correct those who are in opposition with humility. He says those are the ones that are imitatable; follow after their pattern. However, recognize that there are others within the church who need to come to repentance.

Those vessels of honor give forth the word of God, teaching the scriptures so that it may bring that person to a place of repentance, that they would know the truth, come to their senses, and be transformed. Why does God allow for there to be some vessels of dishonor in His great house? Because it is His desire that through the clear instruction of the scriptures, the work of the Spirit, and the fellowship of the body of Christ, they would come to their senses, repent, know the truth, and walk in righteousness.

Point number five: God is an expert at making dishonorable vessels into display pieces. This is the beautiful, wonderful reality of the grace of God at work in people. You see, there is not a single person in this church who came in as an honorable vessel. We all came in as dishonorable in our lifestyle, thoughts, and intentions. We all came in as dishonorable. And the great master, the gracious great master of this great house said, "You're welcome to..."

Come in. He did that because He is the master craftsman, the master worker who takes what is crooked and makes it straight, who takes what is broken and makes it into a glorious piece to bring glory to the master.

So Paul says, it's an amazing thing to the church at Corinth. He says, God has taken us and made us a spectacle to the world. He reforms and reshapes our lives to bring glory to Him. And here's the amazing thing: there are many in this church who came in as dishonorable, broken vessels, and God has transformed you to the point that people who knew you in your prior state look at you and say, "You're not the same. What did you do?"

You can't say, "Well, I downloaded this really good self-help book on Kindle, and it totally transformed my life." You can't say, "I took this ROP class that they offer to make myself better." No, none of that. You say, "God has transformed my life." And what does it do? It glorifies His grace and His power because He is an expert at taking dishonorable vessels and turning them into pieces of honor in His house on display.

This is why I think it's so important: Paul's exhortation to the church at Corinth is to judge nothing before it's time. Judge nothing before it's time. It's easy as a pastor or leader to look at certain people and think, "Oh gosh, you sure God wants that person here? Oh my goodness, I don't think they're ever going to get their act together." Judge nothing before it's time because He is a master at work.

Amen. Would you stand with me as we close in prayer? God, I thank You that this is a church filled with a whole bunch of dishonorable vessels that You have welcomed by Your grace and are transforming into those earthen vessels that carry forth the glory of Your gospel. We get to bring forth the glory of the King of Kings into this world. It's not our glory; it's the glory of You who transforms us. You are the potter, we are the clay, and You are molding and making our lives into something useful for You, the master.

You take this broken, dishonorable thing that we are when we find ourselves coming into Your house, maybe because someone invited us or maybe because we just drove by and saw this place and wondered what was going on there. We come in, and You welcome us in. By Your grace and by Your mercy, You want to work a work of transformation.

Jesus, You said that when we confess our sin, You are faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. So, God, as we stand here right now, if there are things in our lives that are not bringing You honor and making it so that we are not useful, would You identify that by Your Spirit? Just point it out to us, whatever it is right now. God, bring us to the place where we would offer that to You and say, "God, would You take this away? I don't want to walk in this; I don't want to live with this any longer."

And Lord, through confession, You are faithful to forgive and to cleanse. God, thank You for Your forgiving grace. Thank You that You are the one who is able to remove from us all the dead works so that we can display Your glory in this world. God, forgive and cleanse, and help us to turn away from those things and walk with You in Your grace.

Lord, we rejoice that You are the one who makes those things that are dishonorable into vessels on display for Your glory. God, do that with our lives, we pray. Make us useful, we ask. For we pray it in Jesus' name, and all those that agree said, "Amen."