Approved To God

The Scriptures call us to be diligent in presenting ourselves as approved to God, as workers who are not ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Open with us to 2 Timothy 2:14-19 as we consider these things together. What does that mean, and how does it work out in our lives?

Amen. Good morning! How are you all doing? Praise the Lord! That was awesome. Why don't you just take a seat for a quick second? I'm sure you noticed last week that we have a new addition to our team. We wanted to welcome him in a proper way—not just Anthony to our team, but also his lovely wife, Alma, and their little guy, Xander, this morning.

We want to welcome them the right way by saying welcome, but also by praying for them. So, we want to bring them up here. The worship team is going to gather, and some of our team pastors who might be in here as well are invited to come up. We just want to lay hands on them and lift them up to the Lord, welcoming them to our team and asking the Lord to pour out His Spirit upon them as they come here, moving from the Torrance South Bay Area to wonderful North County. I think it's an awesome place to move to.

Let's lift them up to the Lord. God, we thank You so much for Alma, for Xander, and for Anthony. Our ministry team here, our pastors, and our elders have been praying for a long time for You to direct us to the right person to fill this spot. We are thankful that You led us to Anthony and his family.

We ask, God, that You would pour out Your Spirit upon them as they start to get rooted here in North County. We pray that You would help them to become really connected to the body here at Cross Connection Church. Lord, we thank You for the friendship that has already begun. We pray that You would help them connect with people within the church and within the community, and that You would use Anthony to help us worship You better.

Ultimately, our desire is to honor and glorify You, to praise Your name. We thank You for the gifts, talents, and abilities that You have given to him, and we thank You for the rest of the worship team that is here.

With Him as well, we just want to worship You better. We know that You are worthy, so Lord, pour out Your Spirit upon them, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Welcome! We're so glad you're here. God bless you, guys.

Now, would you stand with me and take out your Bibles? If you don't have one, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will gladly bring you one. We're going to be in the New Testament book of Second Timothy. Open to about the end of your Bible and turn to the left; you'll find Second Timothy.

As you're turning there, I'm so glad to be back here in warmer weather. Although this is like Southern California cold, Southern California cold is a joke, just by the way. I go to this conference every year in January, and it happens to be in Minneapolis. I think they must get a really good deal on the convention center in the middle of January in Minneapolis. Normally, I go there, and it's like zero degrees, and that's cold. I have some clothing that can kind of handle that.

I didn't look at the weather report; I had no idea. I get on the plane, and we're flying there, getting ready to land in Minneapolis. There's this gal across the aisle from me, and she looks at me. I'm dressed like this, and she goes, "You have something warmer than that, right?" I said, "Well, yeah, I mean, I have a jacket." She goes, "It's going to be 50." Now, I don't even know what that's like, but when we came back, Garrett and I came back, it was literally 114 degrees warmer here, and it was 64 degrees here. It was really cold.

So, anyways, I'm glad to be back here. I don't know how people live there. You who came from the Midwest, God bless you! Isn't this much better? Much better! Amen! Praise the Lord.

Okay, let's look at 2 Timothy 2:14. "Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness, and their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past, and they overthrow the faith of some. 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, as we open the Scriptures, I pray that by Your Spirit, You'd open our hearts.

Hearts and our minds are prepared to receive from You Your implanted Word, which makes us wise to salvation. Not only does it make us wise to salvation, but it also continues in us a work of transformation and sanctification. God, would You use Your inspired Word to reprove, if necessary, to correct, if necessary, but especially to instruct us in righteousness, that we would be thoroughly equipped for every good work. The Scriptures say that You prepared good works for us to walk in before the foundation of the world, and this week You have good works for us to walk in. I pray, God, that You'd ready us for those things as we look to the Scriptures. Instruct and teach us, we pray. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all those agreed said, "Amen." You can be seated.

The opening words of the passage before us today are "remind them," so a little reminder is in order regarding where we are in the Scriptures today and why we are in this passage. We should not just arbitrarily flip through the Bible, find a passage, and say, "Okay, let's go there." We were in Second Timothy, the book we are studying through, back at the end of October. We took a little detour through the holiday season and the beginning of the year. We talked about Christmas and purpose as we moved through the Scriptures over the holidays and into the new year.

Now we are coming back to our study in Second Timothy, and I have been looking forward to getting back to this passage of Scripture. Although I will confess that I strategically skipped the last passage last week and asked Pastor Mark to teach it, he did a great job, by the way. I listened to it, and it was good. If you weren't here last week, you should check out the message.

Coming back to the book of Second Timothy is where we are in our journey through the New Testament. We began this journey 11 years ago at the end of November in 2008, going through the New Testament, starting with the book of Acts. We have been chronologically going through the entirety of the New Testament, and we are almost done. We have Second Timothy to finish over the next month and a half to two months. Then, as we move through the rest of this year, we will go into the final three books that we haven't studied in the New Testament, which are the letters of John: First, Second, and Third John. After that, we will look at some other things in the Old Testament.

As we go through the Scriptures, it is our method here at Cross Connection to go verse by verse, chapter by chapter.

We believe that the whole of the Bible is inspired by God, and it is useful for us to go into these things and consider them together. Now, why is Paul writing the things that he is writing here in this passage in Second Timothy? I have called this series that we began last year "Last Words" because it is believed by Bible scholars, commentators, and teachers that this is the last letter that Paul the Apostle wrote.

Two thousand years ago, he was a very prolific writer of New Testament scripture. A third of the New Testament is written by the Apostle Paul, comprising 13 different letters. We have gone through 12 of those so far, and we are making our way through this last one. This is believed to be the last words that the Apostle Paul wrote before his death. He died, it is believed, around the year 66 AD, and he died as a martyr for the Christian faith.

The government of the day, specifically the Roman Empire under the emperor Nero, did not like what was happening with these Christians. Nero actually used them as a scapegoat to focus public opinion against them, targeting the leaders of this movement. One of those leaders was Peter the Apostle. By the time Paul writes this, it is very likely that Peter has already been put to death. He was crucified, it is believed, around the year 64 or 65 AD. Peter did not consider himself worthy to die in the same way that the Lord Jesus died on the cross, and so tradition holds that he requested to be crucified upside down. If you ever see any Renaissance paintings depicting an individual crucified upside down, that is Peter.

By this point in time, it is likely that Peter was gone and dead. Paul is in prison, knowing that his time is short. He is finishing up and writing his last words to those he had raised up in the ministry. We have these three letters to Timothy: First Timothy, Second Timothy, and we call these the Pastoral Epistles because Paul is writing to Timothy and Titus, two pastors he had discipled and raised up in the ministry.

He knows that time is short. If you turn just one page to the right to chapter 4, you can see in Second Timothy chapter 4, verse 6, Paul says, "For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand."

It is a really pressing, distressing, and depressing situation to be in prison. That's where Paul was when he wrote this, facing potential execution. His time of departure was at hand, and you would think that he must be totally depressed. However, look at what he says in the next verse, 2 Timothy 4:7: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not to me only, but also to all who have loved His appearing."

In another one of Paul's letters, which he also wrote while in prison, the book of Philippians, he states, "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." This is the wonderful joy and hope that Christians have. This life can be very wonderful, but sometimes people go through distressing and difficult things. However, this is not all there is; that is what Christians believe and hope in. We have a life beyond this life, which is far better. Paul would say, "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

So, even though he was in a very depressing situation, he still had hope and joy, despite the weight upon him. Being Paul's last words, he was driving home some important truths. If you knew that your time was short and that you had very little time left, how might that affect what you would say to those whom you love? That is exactly who Paul is writing to. He is writing to those he loves, specifically to Timothy, whom he refers to in another place in the New Testament as his son in the faith.

Timothy had been with the Apostle Paul for the better part of the last decade and a half—about 15 years. Paul and Timothy met when Timothy was in his late teens, and he took Timothy along with him on his second missionary journey, as recorded in the book of Acts, chapter 16. Timothy was there with Paul as he entered early adulthood, growing as Paul raised him in the ministry, discipling and training him. They were very close.

Now, Paul leaves Timothy in Ephesus to oversee and pastor a church that Paul loved. Not only is Paul writing to a guy he loves—Timothy, who is like a son in the faith—but he is also writing to a church that he loved: the church at Ephesus. Paul planted that church and, for a time, pastored it. He had written letters to that church, and now he leaves Timothy there to continue the work.

The church is a place where the minister speaks to the people, and in this context, Paul is giving his final words. He presents these words as a reminder. When someone is sharing their last words, they are likely not introducing new information; instead, they are reiterating what is truly important. Paul reminds Timothy, and as you read through Second Timothy, you see that these words are filled with strong, emotionally motivated final messages to the pastor and the church at Ephesus.

Paul instructs Timothy to remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words that bring no profit and lead to the ruin of the hearers. He is returning to themes, teachings, and principles that he has already taught Timothy, emphasizing that this is not new information; it is a return to the basics.

This approach is not unique to Paul. The Apostle Peter, as he neared the end of his life, did the same thing in his last letter. You can note this in Second Peter. Peter wrote two letters in the New Testament, and in Second Peter chapter 1, he states, "For this reason, I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know them and are established in the present truth." Even though the recipients of his letter were already familiar with the teachings, Peter felt it was important to remind them again and again.

He continues in Second Peter 1:13, saying, "Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, this body, to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that shortly I must put off this tent just as the Lord Jesus Christ showed me. Moreover, I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease." When Peter was nearing the end of his life, he emphasized that it was not a worthless aim to remind them of the basics and to reiterate his message one more time. Paul is doing the same.

This leads us to point number one on our outline: in our forgetfulness, we need repeated reminders. I don't know about you, but I am terribly forgetful. Are there any terribly forgetful people here? Be honest and help me out. Okay, good, I'm not alone in this. Some of you might think that because you come here on a Sunday and hear me share verses from memory, you are fully equipped.

I think, man, that guy's got a great memory. No, I'm totally forgetful—totally forgetful. You can ask my wife; she'll tell you I'm totally forgetful. I need constant reminders. It's so bad that I have reminders on my phone. I've got this little lady's voice on my phone that I talk to, and I say, "Remind me of this" and "Remind me of that." I have reminders on my phone at various times of the day and various days of the week, all the time.

For example, I have a reminder on my phone to remind my children to shower. I'm not kidding. I have to have my phone remind me to remind them to do something that they'll forget to do, but I'll forget to tell them to do it unless I have a reminder. I even get it on my watch just in case I don't have my phone. It buzzes and says, "Oh yeah, you need to shower."

I have a reminder on my device to remind me to go to bed because I forget. I get into these routines where I'll just start reading and reading, and then it pops up on my iPad that I'm reading on most of the time. It says, "Go to bed." Oh, that's probably a good idea; I should probably do that. I have a reminder to tell me to put water in the pool. I have a reminder to tell me to remove lint from the lint trap on the dryer because I won't do that. I've already destroyed one of those dryers, and I don't want to do that again. So, I have reminders for all these things because I'm super forgetful.

I was with a friend in Germany a couple of years ago at a conference I was attending. We were driving in Germany, which is kind of fun if you've never been there. We were driving in his nice Audi, talking about cars. He's a big-time car guy. Somehow, we got on the topic of oil changes, and he said, "You Americans and your oil changes. There's something weird about you Americans with your oil changes."

I asked him what he was talking about, and he said, "You guys think you have to change your oil like every 5,000 miles." I replied, "5,000 miles? My dad taught me to do it every 3,000 miles." He said, "No, no, no. In Germany, we don't change our oil until we reach 20,000 kilometers, which is 12,000 miles."

When I heard that, it lifted a weight off my shoulders because I constantly forget to change the oil. I know some of you here are probably totally disgusted right now, crafting emails about how you have to change it. So, 12,000 miles—I'm talking about really 12,000 miles. Now, listen, I don't wait until 12,000 miles, but there are many times when I think, "Oh, I need to change the oil," and I look at it and go, "Oh, no big deal."

I'm at 7,000 miles; no big deal at all. Some of you are disgusted, while others are thankful because you're at 7,000 miles too. We are forgetful, and if I didn't have a wife to remind me, I would probably forget that I have children. I'm not that bad most of the time, but I need repeated reminders. Paul says to remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord. He says this because he knows that we are prone to forget, and since we are prone to forget, we need perpetual reminders.

Paul instructs us to charge them with these things before the Lord. The New American Standard Bible says to solemnly charge them in the presence of God. We need that reminder. As a side note, I think one of the reasons it's so important that we become a people who are accustomed to reading the Bible regularly on our own is that we should read through the Scriptures daily. We should remember the Scriptures so that we can think on them and know them, because we will forget very quickly.

Paul emphasizes the importance of reminding them of these things, charging them before the Lord. He solemnly charges them in the presence of God, invoking God as a witness over this charge. Paul likes this construction of charging them in the presence of God. He used it in 1 Timothy 5:1, where he says, "I charge you, Timothy, before God and the Lord Jesus Christ." To give even more emphasis, he adds, "and the elect angels," calling heaven and angels to watch and witness over this charge.

He commits this charge to Timothy in the presence of God, urging him to observe these things and to do so without prejudice or partiality. In 1 Timothy 5:11, he charges Timothy again, and in 2 Timothy 4:1, we will see it again in a few weeks when we get to chapter 4. There, he says, "I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom." He calls Timothy to account before God, who is not only our witness to this charge but will also hold us accountable. God will judge the living and the dead at His appearance. These are really strong words—these charges that Paul gives to Timothy.

Is this all about? Well, he's putting Timothy and the church into account before God, keeping this exhortation, this charge that he's going to give. One commentator on this says pastors are to keep reminding their congregations of the truth of Scripture, the nature of God, and the demands of a life that is lived before God. The task is never complete; we have to continually be reminded of these things.

Now, you could make the case, as you go through these three exhortations or charges that I just referenced—1 Timothy 5:11, 2 Timothy 4:1, and this one here in 2 Timothy chapter 2—that two of those, chapter 5 of 1 Timothy and chapter 4 of 2 Timothy, are directed at the pastor, the leader. "I charge you, Timothy." But this one here is very clearly given to just the general Body of Christ. There is a charge here for all of us. If you're a follower of Jesus today, if you're not a follower of Jesus, become one. But if you are a follower of Jesus, this charge is for all of us, and we are accountable to God. That means that one day we may very well give an account to God for how we accomplished this, how we fulfilled this charge.

So, what is the charge? Well, he says, "I charge you to not strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers." It is a fact that we can easily fall into the trap; we can easily succumb to the temptation to become a people who are fixated upon things that are ultimately unhelpful. Paul is seeking to deal with that danger that lies in each one of us.

Now, it becomes clear as you read through 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy together that when Paul is giving this kind of charge about this very issue, he is speaking with local knowledge of a specific situation that was happening at the church at Ephesus. Though there is a specific situation, a problem that was occurring in the church at Ephesus, there is a general problem that exists in virtually every church that this exhortation speaks to. However, there was some sort of local knowledge that Paul speaks to and gives this exhortation. It seems that there was some, or one—we're going to see that there are more than one—but there were those that were a part of the church.

Timothy was pastoring in the city of Ephesus, where people were striving about words. The term "striving about words," when broken apart in its original Greek components, literally means "sword fighting over words." While they weren't literally taking out swords and fighting each other over words, sometimes people communicate in a way that becomes very divisive and defensive regarding the things of the Bible within the church. This is a danger that Paul warns us to be on guard against.

In another place in Scripture, Hebrews 4 states that the word of God, which is the Bible, is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. Since it is a sword, referred to as the sword of the Spirit in Ephesians 6, sometimes Christians think they need to engage in "sword drills." How many of you were in children's ministry and remember the activity called sword drills? It was a way to get to know your Bible. If anyone knows this, a Christian certainly does. They would say a verse, and the first person to find it would win. Does anyone know what I'm talking about, or is this totally unfamiliar? Some of you do, all right, good.

Or maybe you were part of Awana and memorized Scripture for that purpose. However, it seems that many people participated in these activities so they could fight each other with the Bible. We often become very skilled at arguing with other Christians about biblical interpretations. I know none of you have ever done that, but I could certainly be guilty of it.

Paul emphasizes that we need to be careful about this. It is fascinating because, in the midst of this exhortation, he instructs us to "rightly divide the word of truth." We must be a people who know the Bible, use the Bible, and rightly divide the word of truth to understand it. However, this exhortation is sandwiched between two other warnings: first, not to strive about words to no profit, which can subvert the hearers or bring division; and second, to shun profane and idle babblings.

It is intriguing that there is an exhortation for Christians to know the Bible, but on either side of that exhortation is a caution against arguing about it. There is a fine line between becoming a really good student of the Word and engaging in fruitless disputes.

The Bible is good and important, but we must be careful not to bludgeon people with it. There has to be a balance. As a pastor raised in a solidly Bible-focused Christian tradition, I have been part of churches connected with Calvary Chapel and now the Southern Baptist Convention. These are very Bible-focused churches that emphasize the whole counsel of God, digging into Scripture, and what we call inductive Bible study and expositional Bible teaching. We are Bible people here at Cross Connection Church.

However, there is a danger in being Bible people in this way. We can begin to strive and battle with others over obscure meanings and pet interpretations of words and phrases taken out of context. Sometimes, these interpretations are not necessarily essential points of truth. They may be points of truth, but not essential ones. This danger can lead us to develop high-sounding theories about Christianity until our faith sounds more like a vague philosophy than a way in which we ought to live.

I must be candid: the conference that Garrett and I attended last week devolved into arguments over finer points of doctrine. There is a fine line between rightly dividing the word of truth and striving about words to no profit.

This brings me to point number two: we need to be gracious in our division of the word so as not to bring division in the church. This is really important. We should be committed to rightly dividing the word of truth, being diligent to be approved unto God as workers not ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. However, we must also avoid striving about words to no profit. There has to be a counterbalance.

We need to be gracious in our division of the word to prevent division in the church, which is very difficult. Church history bears this out. For the first 1,500 years of church history, as you study it, you find that the church was pretty united.

The split that took place during the Protestant Reformation is significant and important, especially regarding what are called the five Solas of the Reformation: Sola Scriptura, Sola Gratia, Faith Alone, and Christ Alone. These concepts are crucial to understanding the Reformation's impact. However, since the Protestant Reformation, which occurred over the last 500 years, there have literally been tens of thousands of divisions within the church. This has resulted in a multitude of different groups.

There is a great old joke by a comedian named Emo Phillips that humorously illustrates this point. He recounts a story about walking along a bridge when he came across a man getting ready to jump. He said to the man, "No, don't jump! God loves you!" The man turned to him and replied, "I used to believe in God." Phillips then asked, "Really? Were you a Jew or a Christian?" The man responded, "I was a Christian." Phillips said, "Me too! So, what franchise of Christian were you?" The man replied, "I was a Baptist." Phillips said, "Me too! Were you Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?" The man answered, "I was Northern Baptist." Phillips continued, "Me too! Were you Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?" The man said, "I was Northern Conservative Baptist." Phillips responded, "Me too! Were you Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist or Northern Conservative Reformed Baptist?" The man replied, "Northern Conservative Fundamentalist." Phillips said, "Me too! Were you Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist of the Great Lakes region or of the Eastern region?" The man answered, "I was Northern Conservative Fundamentalist of the Great Lakes region." Phillips then asked, "Were you Northern Conservative Fundamentalists of the Great Lakes region of the Council of 1879 or of the Council of 1912?" The man said, "Council of 1912." Phillips concluded, "Die, heretic!" and pushed him over.

We laugh at this joke, yet many of us have had similar experiences. You might be at Starbucks, talking to someone waiting for their overpriced coffee, and discover they are a Christian too. You ask, "What church do you go to?" and the conversation unfolds from there.

Oh really, I'll just take my latte and leave. I can't be around you. We fall into this, and most often the differences that divide us are inconsequential and non-essential. Yet, we take what is non-essential and say that it is essential, and inevitably, we are wrong. Paul is guarding against this.

At the same time, he is saying we need to rightly divide the word of Truth, and we need to be clear when people are in error. However, we have to be very gracious. There is some delicate walking softly that we have to do in this area, so we need to be careful.

Let's look at what he says in verse 15, which is a very important verse in Second Timothy: "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God." Would you circle the words "to God" in your Bible? "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of Truth."

Point number three on your outline: make sure your divisions are based upon Scripture rightly divided. To rightly divide Scripture takes work; it takes time. Make sure that your divisions are based upon Scripture rightly divided. The Bible is filled with doctrine, another word for teaching, and it is important that a Christian understands the teaching of the Bible, knows what we believe, and knows why we believe it. I think that is very, very important.

That is why we spend the time that we do going through the Scriptures in the way that we do. We believe this is valuable; it is not time not well spent. The Bible is filled with doctrine and teaching, but not all doctrines and teachings are essential. Not all doctrines and teachings are the same in their weight, if you will. They are still important, but there are some that we would say are essential, and there are others that are kind of on the periphery.

There are primary, secondary, and tertiary doctrines. We have a way of taking what is tertiary, kind of third down the line, and making that the most important thing. Most of the time, that is where churches and Christians divide. Now, I'm not making a pitch for just a...

Global ecumenicalism suggests that everyone is going to heaven, but there are some clear divisions in essential areas of doctrine. These essential areas include the deity of Christ, the sufficiency of His death, and the veracity of the Resurrection. The Gospel states that Christ died for our sins, making it crucial to understand these doctrines. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15, emphasizes that if there is no Resurrection, we are all dead in our sins. Therefore, the deity of Christ, the sufficiency of His death, and the veracity of the Resurrection are essential for salvation.

Salvation by grace alone through Christ alone is also an essential doctrine. When someone knocks on your door on a Saturday morning claiming to be from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or the Watchtower Society, it is important to recognize that they do not believe in these essential truths: the deity of Christ, the sufficiency of His death, the veracity of the Resurrection, and salvation in Christ alone. This creates a clear division.

On the other hand, there are non-essential doctrines—teachings that are important from the Bible but not essential for salvation. These include eschatological interpretations, which pertain to the end times. We often see divisions among Christians regarding these issues. For example, when asked if they believe in the second coming of Jesus, one might respond affirmatively, but then the conversation can lead to questions about whether they are premillennial, amillennial, or post-millennial.

Some may even inquire if one is a pre-tribulational, mid-tribulation, or post-tribulation premillennialist, or if they subscribe to pan-tribulation beliefs. For those unfamiliar with these terms, it can be quite confusing. Sometimes, pastors are concerned about how to navigate these discussions, as they know that someone might become upset if they do not align with a specific eschatological position.

That is how the church is run and governed. Do you hold to a Presbyterian model with bishops and elders? Do you hold to an Episcopal model with a bishop overseeing large sections of believers? Do you hold to a congregational form of ecclesiology? Again, some of you might be thinking, "I have no idea what any of this means." That's okay; you don't have to know that to go to heaven. Praise Jesus! You also don't have to know that to be a part of Cross Connection Church. We don't divide over these kinds of things. Amen?

We don't divide over quibbling issues like God's sovereignty and man's responsibility. That's a really big one in our day. Both are seen in Scripture, yet a lot of people divide over those issues. They say, "I'm of Calvin," or "I'm of Arminian." Issues concerning building architecture, worship styles, and ministry offerings also cause division among people. These are not essential for salvation, yet people get spun up about non-essentials.

Paul, in verse 16, says, "But shun profane and idol babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness." I will never forget a conversation I had one Sunday afternoon with a gentleman right after a service. He was arguing with me about soteriology—Calvinism and Arminianism. I knew full well that he was living in an adulterous relationship with a woman he had left his wife for. You want to argue with me about Calvinism? I think that falls into the category of idol babblings that increase unto more ungodliness. You shelter your ungodliness with an appearance of religiosity.

I was just reading last night in Matthew chapter 23. In this chapter, Jesus speaks to the hypocrites: "You hypocrites, scribes and Pharisees! You clean the outside of the cup; you're like whitewashed tombs, but you're full of dead men's bones. You pray in the marketplaces and on the street corners to look holy and to be seen by people, while you're conniving to kill the Messiah." That might be a problem.

But shun profane and idol babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness, and their message will spread like cancer.

In the original Greek, it literally states that it will spread like gangrene. Paul gets very personal here, mentioning Hymenaeus and Philetus as examples. He emphasizes that you do not want your name immortalized in Scripture as the person who has strayed concerning the truth. These individuals claim that the resurrection has already passed, and as a result, they overthrow the faith of some. This is a significant problem because it undermines the faith of others.

It is interesting to note that while I am making the case for being careful about how we divide and separate from others within the body of Christ, Paul is using very strong dividing language. There is a balance to be struck here, and one must walk a fine line.

Point number four is clear: do not be afraid to depart from those who are subversive and divisive. This is evident in Paul's teachings to Timothy and Titus in 1 and 2 Timothy, as well as in Titus. Paul makes it clear that you cannot be afraid to separate from those who promote teachings or ideas that spread quickly but ultimately infect and destroy. He advises avoiding worthless and empty talk that comes from these subversive and divisive individuals.

In his final words to Timothy in 2 Timothy, we see this theme reiterated. If you turn one page to the left to 1 Timothy 6:20, you will find the last verses of that letter. Paul instructs Timothy to guard what was committed to his trust. There is some discussion about what this trust entails—whether it is the gospel or the church. I would argue that it is both. Timothy is to guard the gospel and the church, avoiding profane and idle babblings, as well as contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge. By professing such knowledge, some have strayed concerning the faith.

Timothy must guard the church, as there are individuals who should be avoided. Paul wrote about these individuals not just to Timothy but also in Titus. In Titus 3:9, he advises to avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law, for they are unprofitable and useless. He instructs to reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition.

Admonition is necessary, knowing that such a person is warped in sin and self-condemned. That's a strong word: reject a divisive individual. It is one of the assignments of the pastoral office, the ministry of elders within the church, to guard the church from divisive, subversive, and disruptive individuals who are far more like wolves than sheep. They think they're sheep, but they go around ramming people.

Paul was so serious about this that he gets very specific. He identifies some individuals, one particular individual, Hymenaeus, was brought up in the previous book as well, in First Timothy. Paul says to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:20, "Hymenaeus, I delivered him to Satan so that he may learn to not blaspheme." Now that's heavy. Paul essentially said, "Satan, you can have that guy; take him out." I delivered him to Satan so that he might learn to not blaspheme.

Apparently, Hymenaeus didn't get the memo because he comes back again in Second Timothy. Now it's not just Hymenaeus; he has a cohort, Philetus. The message is cancerous, and it spreads. In Paul's first letter to Timothy and in his second letter to Timothy, it is very clear that Timothy was suffering from it. He was fearful, and I think that one of the results of Timothy being timid as a pastor in the church was that Hymenaeus in Second Timothy was still there.

So Paul has to say, "Listen, Hymenaeus and Philetus, these guys are cancerous. They need to be cut off, amputated from the church." I know there are one or two of you here who are thinking, "Wait a minute, hold on. I thought we have to love them." Yes, we do have to love them, but sometimes the most loving thing to do for the church is to say to that individual, "You're not welcome here."

I have gone so far as to hear that someone left and is now going to another church. I will call that pastor and say, "You need to..."

Know this: a person can be disruptive and divisive. This is the issue I’ve had. A number of pastors have said, "Hey, thanks for doing that. I appreciate it," because there are some people who will destroy what God desires to build up. You do not get to be a part of the church if you are divisive, subversive, and unwilling to repent. If you can repent, praise the Lord!

Paul, in 1 Timothy, says to rebuke them before the presence of all, that the rest might fear and give them the opportunity to repent. Hopefully, they will repent. But won't that potentially divide the church? And isn't such division bad?

Understand this: nevertheless, the solid foundation of God stands. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 16, "I will build my church." We are trusting that God is going to build His church, and He promises to build His church on a strong foundation. The strong foundation that He speaks of in Matthew chapter 16 is the essential truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. That is essential. Jesus says, "On this rock, Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. On that rock, that foundation, I’m going to build my church. The gates of Hell will not prevail against my church."

He who builds His church gave some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers for the equipping of the saints, for the building up of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God. This is Ephesians 4:11-13. He has given pastors, teachers, apostles, and evangelists to equip and to build up. Sometimes that building up means saying that a divisive individual is not allowed here.

Nevertheless, the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: the Lord knows those who are His. Let everyone who names the name of Christ, including Hymenaeus and Philetus, depart from iniquity.

Point number five: Christ is building His church on a strong and solid foundation, and that strong and solid foundation is only weakened by subversive and divisive individuals. Paul says, "Listen, remind them of these things, charging them with this truth."

Well, that was kind of heavy. How do we conclude from that? How do we, as individual Christians built up in the body of Christ, become...

We need to be strong in our faith and understanding, to be gracious, and not cause division over minor points and non-essential interpretations. However, we must be clear about what is right, necessary, and true. Verse 15 provides the answer: "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of Truth."

This instruction is not just for pastors and teachers; it is for the whole body of Christ. If you are a Christian, be diligent to present yourself as approved to God. We are approved before God on the basis of grace in Christ Jesus and His finished work on the cross. Yet, there seems to be another level of approval to God as we present ourselves to Him as those who are not ashamed, rightly dividing the word of Truth.

As we do these things, we become ready and able to be gracious on non-essential issues and to recognize what the essentials are. We need to be people who understand the Scriptures, having rightly divided them, so that we can be a strong Church glorifying to God.

The next section that we will get into next week talks about being vessels of honor, useful to the Master. Be diligent to present yourself as approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of Truth.

Would you stand with me as we close in prayer?

Father God, thank You for Your word. We pray that we would consider these things, think on these things, and that You would use them to bring transformation into our lives this week. God, help us to be gracious over these non-essential matters that have caused division in our families and among other brothers and sisters who may have once been part of this church but are now part of another. We often get so angry because they believe in some minor point that is not essential. God, help us to walk in grace towards those individuals while recognizing the points of necessity. Would You use us for Your glory?

Us as a light to our community. For a long time, Lord, I confess our churches have been more focused on arguing the finer points of non-essential truths than fulfilling the Great Commission. God, help us to be focused steadfastly on Your mission. In Jesus' name, amen. Let's sing.