Communicable Faith

You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops. Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things. (2 Timothy 2:1-7)

The gospel was never meant to travel in the bloodstream—it must be spoken, handed down, and entrusted to the next generation.

One Generation Away from Extinction

On March 30, 1961, an up-and-coming politician and former actor named Ronald Reagan gave a speech before the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce. Near the end he spoke words that have hung in the culture ever since: "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. The only way they can inherit the freedom we have known is to fight for it, protect it, defend it, and then hand it to them with the well-thought lessons of how they in their lifetime must do the same."

Those are powerful words, and I think what is true of freedom is clearly true of faith. Faith and the church are never more than one generation away from extinction. Faith is not passed from generation to generation in the bloodstream. It is not a genetic trait, though I'm certain some of you wish it had been passed down to your own children that way. Faith needs to be handed down, and the church needs to be handed off.

Paul, Generation One

The Apostle Paul understood this clearly. He was generation one in this move of the church, though he was not part of Jesus's close circle during His earthly ministry. In fact, Paul was opposed to the work of Jesus—even after the resurrection and ascension he opposed the mission. But by direct revelation, as recorded in Acts chapter 9, Paul, formerly Saul, encountered the risen Jesus, who called him to this mission.

That mission—the commission Jesus gave His disciples—boils down to three major statements. In Matthew 28, the Great Commission: go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. In Mark 16:15, more succinctly: go and preach the gospel to every creature. And in Luke 24:46, that repentance and forgiveness of sins would be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

What is the gospel? That Christ died on the cross, was buried, and rose again the third day, and that we are to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins in His name to all nations, then make disciples and teach them to observe everything Jesus commanded. Paul took this seriously. He traveled throughout the known world preaching the gospel and making disciples, spending every waking moment from Acts 9 onward making Jesus known. He saw it as a race, run in such a way that he would obtain the prize.

The Handoff

Now he is coming to the end of the race, and he knows it. Just a few pages to the right, in 2 Timothy 4:6, he writes, "For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." Paul writes this letter about A.D. 66. He can see the tape in front of him.

But the end of his race is not the end of the race as a whole. I never ran track—in high school I thought running was the worst thing on the planet—but I know enough about relay races to know they are won or lost in the handoff. Paul knew it too. He had done such a good job raising up churches and leaders that he had many runners: Luke, Titus on Crete, Gaius, Priscilla and Aquila. But chief among them was Timothy, one of the next lead runners. Paul writes to encourage him as he gets ready to take the baton.

Opposition in the Race

This race is not without opposition. From Genesis to Revelation, you discover there is opposition against the work of God. It shows up distinctly in Genesis 3 with the serpent who deceived Eve, and in every successive chapter. In Paul's day the opposition manifested as violence, persecution, and suffering. Paul is in prison—not for any real crime, but for being a witness of Jesus Christ. The next thing on his timeline is a trial that won't go well, then execution. Peter had already been crucified in Rome around A.D. 64 or 65. Paul would be beheaded near the end of A.D. 66, probably not long after writing this letter.

That suffering weighed heavily on the church and on Timothy, the next runner. Like most of us, Timothy did not want to suffer—I do a lot in my life to avoid suffering, and I suspect you do too. In 2 Timothy 1, two men, Hermogenes and Phygelus, are named as having opted out. Timothy was given to timidity and fear. That's clear in the way Paul writes: across the ten chapters of 1 and 2 Timothy, at least 25 times Paul encourages him to be strong.

Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:6-7)

Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. (2 Timothy 1:13-14)

Called, Gifted, and Empowered

So in chapter 2 verse 1, Paul says, "Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." Timothy, God has called you, gifted you, and is strengthening you. And I don't think this exhortation is for Timothy alone. God has called, gifted, and empowered us for His mission in the world—the same way He called and gifted Timothy, Peter, Paul, Bartholomew, Thomas, and all the forefathers of our faith.

So often when we are presented with this call we feel feeble, inadequate, foolish. It manifests as fear and feebleness and foolishness. We're coming into the holiday season; maybe you have a brother, an aunt, a grandparent, or a coworker who is antagonistic to faith, and every conversation comes around to the supposed stupidity of Christians, and you find yourself tempted to just close your mouth. That's normal—and here's why.

But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world, and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are. (1 Corinthians 1:27-28)

Why? "That no flesh should glory in His presence." So if you feel foolish, feeble, and fearful—that's good, because it's more likely God will get the glory for anything good that happens in your life for the cause of Christ. Paul knew this. He called himself the least of the apostles and the chief of sinners. He understood that in himself he was nothing, and that's the right place to be, because God's strength is perfected in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). When we feel insufficient, I'm brought back to the first verses I memorized: "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God" (2 Corinthians 3:5-6). And before Jesus ascended He said, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me" (Acts 1:8).

Equipped by Leaders for the Work of the Ministry

God gifts us, calls us, empowers us by His Spirit, and then places us within the church under leaders for a specific purpose.

And He gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-12)

There's a common misunderstanding—understandable when you look at the last twelve to fifteen hundred years of church history—that the work of the ministry is done by the ministerial class. But that is not what the text says. God gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip the saints to do the work of the ministry. Who does the work of the ministry? The church. And the church is always one generation from extinction; it is more likely to fail if the leaders don't equip the saints to do that work. So even if you feel unequal to the task, God has called you, gifted you, supernaturally empowered you, and placed you in a church to be equipped. Therefore, be strong by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

The Marching Orders: 2 Timothy 2:2

All of that brings us to verse 2, the focus of our study. I said last week we'd get past one verse; once I started studying, I realized we wouldn't.

And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. (2 Timothy 2:2)

This is the church's marching orders—how God plans to see the work continue and spread. It is passed and handed down from generation to generation. Think back to the beginning. Jesus was crucified, buried, rose on the third day, walked the earth forty days, then ascended, telling about 120 followers to wait for power. Ten days later, in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit was poured out with a sound like a rushing mighty wind, and they began to speak forth the glories of God. That 120 became 3,000, then 5,000. Fast-forward 2,000 years and there are 2.1 billion people on the planet who identify as followers of Jesus Christ. How does that happen? It's amazing.

Our Faith Must Become Our Witness

Our faith must become our witness. What do we believe about Jesus? That 2,000 years ago God came in the flesh in the man Jesus Christ, lived a perfect life, performed miracles, preached repentance for salvation, died on a cross as He prophesied, and rose again as He prophesied, seen by witnesses. That's what we believe—we speak it in creeds, catechisms, and hymns. But that faith must become witness; it has to be spoken.

Our culture tells us faith is a private thing—for your heart, your home, your church gathering. Some antagonists, like Richard Dawkins, even say handing your faith to your kids is child abuse. But that is in conflict with Christ, who said, "Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations." That is public. There is no spontaneous generation of salvation.

If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved... For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?... So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:9-17)

We live in a culture increasingly classified by sociologists as the "nones"—N-O-N-E-S—those with no religious affiliation. You likely know many of them. Faith comes by hearing; the gospel does not spread unless we speak. People love to quote, supposedly from Aquinas, "Preach the gospel at all times, and when necessary use words." But it is always necessary to use words. The hope is that your works back up your words, but the gospel must be spoken.

Five Generations in One Verse

Jesus knew this, so He called, gifted, equipped, empowered, and commissioned His followers—Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Paul. They ran faithfully in their generation, and now in A.D. 66 those men are starting to die. Ten out of ten people die—sorry to break it to you on a Sunday. They understood their time was short, so the message had to be passed on. Timothy, the baton is yours.

In this one verse there are five generations. The first is implied: God delivered the message to the disciples; Jesus delivered it to Paul; Paul delivered it to many witnesses including Timothy; Timothy and those witnesses deliver it to faithful individuals; and those faithful individuals deliver it to others also. That is how the church went from 120 in an upper room to 2.1 billion, and it must continue. There are unreached peoples everywhere—every newborn baby is an unreached person. We are on a mission for God. You can buy some Ray-Bans and black clothes if you want, but you're on a mission from God to fulfill this commission.

The fact that I'm here is because Pastor Pat Kinney, the founding pastor who pastored this church for 27 years, delivered the message to faithful individuals who would teach others also. And there's probably some kid in the fourth grade right now who will take my job someday—praise God, because I'll die someday too, hopefully a long way off.

What Was Committed to Timothy

What did Timothy receive from Paul? First, the gospel.

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

More than 500 witnesses saw Him alive. Timothy received the gospel, the doctrines of Jesus and the apostles ("teaching them whatever I commanded you"), and an imitable way of life—Paul routinely said, "Imitate me as I imitate Christ." So we must become witnesses of the message and the power of the gospel. The message is clear: Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day. The demonstrable power is how that message has transformed your life. This room is full of people who have been so transformed that those who knew you five, ten, thirty years ago look at you now and say, "You're not the same person." They can't put their finger on why. It's the power of the gospel demonstrated in your life.

The Chief Qualification: Faithfulness

Paul says, "Commit these to faithful men." In this simple statement is an important truth: the chief qualification for service is faithfulness. It's not ability—it's availability and dependability. The availability and dependability to take responsibility under accountability before you ever get to ability. "It is required in stewards that one be found faithful" (1 Corinthians 4:2). In Matthew 25 Jesus promises reward for faithfulness: "Well done, good and faithful servant... enter into the joy of your Lord." The number one thing I look for in servants is faithfulness—do they show up?

This does not negate ability—Paul says "faithful men who will be able to teach others also." But the chief ability is the ability to show up. Now, "able to teach" is the part that trips people up. About 96.7 percent of you—most statistics are made up on the fly—are saying, "Well, that's not me. I'm out. God hasn't called me to teach." Not so fast. By the very fact that He has called you under the gospel, God has called you to be His witness, to share the good news of what Christ has done in you.

You may say, "I can't teach." I said that too. As a sophomore in high school I had an inkling God might someday ask me to teach the Bible, so I signed up for speech class. You know what I learned in speech class? That I'm not a public speaker—which is what a lot of people learn in speech class. By God's grace it was a one-semester class, and I barely made it out. I thought, "I'm never doing that again." But God has a sense of humor; I think He had me take it just to show me I couldn't do it.

At nineteen—almost twenty years ago this February—I stood up about sixty feet that way before a group of junior high students, some of whom still attend this church as adults and serve on our staff. "Open your Bibles to Galatians." I still have the notes; I looked at them last night, and they're terrible, capital T. By God's grace it wasn't recorded. I was sweating profusely, my voice shaking, and I thought, "This is not for me." Yet God says, "I determine what's for you and what's not."

God Is Calling Me

So, point four, write it like this: God is calling me to step out in faith to serve Him as a witness. Write "me," not "you," so when you look at it later you'll say, "Oh, that's for me." The church is never more than one generation away from extinction. The awesome thing is that Jesus said, "I will build My church, and the gates of Hell will not prevail against her." He will sustain His church—He has for 2,000 years—but He sovereignly chooses to use the responsibility of individuals to fulfill His mission, as foolish as that may sound.

I believe God is calling many of you to step out by faith, and here's what I've discovered: every time I step out by faith, God steps forward to give the empowering to do what He's calling me to do. It's not by might nor by power, but by His Spirit. We can do all things through Him who gives us strength, and He works in us both to will and to do His good pleasure. Years later, I can't think of anything I'd rather do than stand and speak forth the Word of God. That's a transformation of the gospel.

That step of faith might be serving in one of our children's ministry classes. You may say, "I could never do that." In and of yourself, you can't—but God is calling you, and we need your help. In a recent board meeting we noted that 65 percent of those serving in our children's ministry are 44 years old or older. It needs to be handed to the next generation. We need people my age and younger to step up and teach there. Having taught younger kids, I can tell you they don't like my teaching as much as they'll like yours—I teach a little over the heads of seven-year-olds, and for some reason they just don't get it.

Our faith must become communicable. We need people in every area of ministry, especially in the children's ministry, where a whole group of kids—your kids, grandkids, nieces, and nephews—need the gospel. If you make yourself available, God will give you the ability. So this week I pray you won't be able to forget point four: God is calling you to step out.

Closing Prayer

Father, we thank You for the calling You give. It's amazing, because You call people who are foolish and feeble and afraid—the weak, the beggarly, the untrained, the unlearned—so that You can show Yourself mighty on their behalf, and that we can experience Your strength being made perfect in our weakness. God, I pray right now there are men and women standing here whose hearts You are moving to serve. Move it from their hearts to their feet, that they would step forward by faith and say, "I want to help. I don't know how, I don't know where, but I want to help." Lord, draw people to do just that, and with that calling give Your empowering and strengthening, so that we would share the good news of who You are with those we meet. And it may not be a ministry here—You are calling every one of us this week to interact with people at work, at school, in our neighborhoods, and with our children, to share the good news of who You are. Because as much as we'd like it, our faith is not a contagion passed by contact in the air. God, help us to be those who speak forth the good news of who You are. Enable Your people, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.