Grace OPC Sewickley PA

Sermon Book: 2 Timothy

The Gospel as Scandal

This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “II Timothy” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, February 14, 1988.

About this sermon

The gospel was a real scandal and threat to the ancient world, and Rome and Athens objected to it in very different ways. Unbelieving Jews found Christ an affront to the law itself. Paul and Timothy refuse to be ashamed in the face of that real hostility.

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Sermon transcript

We are reading once more from 2nd Timothy, chapter 1. We are beginning with verse 3, and we will be reading through verse 14. I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day. greatly desiring to see Thee, being mindful of Thy tears, that I may be filled with joy, when I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith which is in Thee, which dwelt first in Thy grandmother Lois and Thy mother Eunice, and I am persuaded that is in Thee also.

Wherefore, I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, is prisoner. But be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God, who hath saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our words, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, whereunto I am appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher of the Gentiles. For the which cause I also suffer these things. I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed unto thee, keep by the Holy Spirit which dwelleth In all. And then from Romans chapter one. Verse sixteen.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God and salvation to everyone that believe to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Pray with me briefly now. Our Lord, the world is very much with us. And Lord, the world is so attractive. It will be by your word and your spirit that we are spared for Christ’s sake. Therefore, our God, may we be attentive to you, for we would have you speak to us. Your words to us, though they may be stern and hard, as well as encouraging, are our help. We pray, our Father, that we may behold made well by your word. Paul. Who wrote to Rome. I am not ashamed, now writes from Rome. I am not ashamed.

His circumstances change, his mind does not. His circumstances change, his message does not. Once he was free, but he advocated that bold confession of being a bond slave to Christ. Now he is in chains, but he boasts about a freedom for the Word of God. Speaking to Timothy in the second chapter, the ninth verse of that second letter, he says, the Word of God is not in prison. The circumstances change. to Rome, from Rome, at liberty in chains, in whatever state I am, I am not ashamed.” To the Romans, Paul had written, I am not ashamed of the gospel. His language here is very strong, stronger than we often realize.

Does he mean, as some have suggested, that the gospel for him is not a source of embarrassment, not a source of a red face, when he is called upon to give a testimony for Jesus in a public setting. How often we have heard this verse, the sixteenth verse of that first chapter of Romans, explained to us along these lines. Not that Paul was self-conscious. Not that he was crippled by embarrassment or hesitant because of the threat of a red face. But his words here are deeper, richer. They are better understood as an antidote an antidote to the world’s estimation of him and his message.

You see. To the world, the gospel is more than an embarrassment. It is a scandal. The gospel causes more than just a bit of self-consciousness. It is an out-and-out offense. It causes shame in the deepest sense of that word, and it brings shame in the eyes of the world to anyone who believes it, embracing that offensive doctrine. so offensive to the world. The gospel’s effect, therefore, is to bring about a public disgrace, not just a red face. A public disgrace through those who advocate it. Why is it that the world reacts in this way?

Well, it’s an old story, but one that bears repeating. You will notice how Paul continues that 16th verse in Romans 1. He connects the fact that he is not ashamed of the gospel with the fact that this gospel is the power of God. But you see, in the estimation of the world, there is nothing more pitiful more powerless, more outrageously weak than that gospel. Its message is predicated upon the personage of a dying criminal who is actually a king. Get serious. It is predicated upon a person around whom the most fantastic stories have now been constructed. The resurrection from the dead gets serious.

It has a message. that borders on the absurd faith in that which is not seen love for enemies. This message in all of its absurdity poses threat to revered institutions. You see, according to the world, This gospel, for all of what might be imagined its subtleties, its innocence, this gospel is attacking the very foundations of society, the canons of culture.

No society worth its salt can long endure an accommodation of this message. For no society can preach weakness and survive. Each society must have its eye trained upon the world, the operations of the world, its citizenry, bound to the world, a citizenry upon which you can count, because that citizenry, after all, loves the world. First, foremost, always. To the ancient world, then, this gospel is a moral, spiritual, social, political outrage.

The Roman world was not unlike the societies that preceded it. To be sure, Rome had adjusted and improved upon its most immediate predecessor, Athens, Greece. If Athens loved symmetry, form, beauty, and that truth born of an artistic, aesthetic, and logical balance, Rome had mastered administrative detail and equilibrium, pragmatic precision, and law born of the will to govern. Athens had been graced by a certain fragility, while Rome had come to view artistic delicacy as a diversion, a relatively unimportant decoration to the serious and difficult business, underline that, business of life. Greece may well have supplied a sensitive ardor, but Rome brought a rigorous order.

Yet both, despite the differences, were cut from the same fabric of all governments of this world. At their common grace best, they labored for a triumph of civilization against the encroachments of barbarism. They labored for a benevolent civility and propriety. They labored for a happy society. And both, despite their differences, cherished the same fundamental, if you will, ethical moral values. Athens may well have believed culture is its own best advertisement, Therefore, those who see it will most certainly embrace it. While Rome believed that culture must conquer, order must positively assert itself by force, and by force fiercely maintain its gain.

But to both, they revered power and hated weakness. They loved convention, propriety. They hated scandal. they loved public decorum and the prosperity that decorum promised and they despised suffering both in the end possessed an iron fist. An iron fist they used relentlessly against any of.

Introduce. introduce Jesus. A crucified felon. A ridiculously resuscitated king. The herald of a kingdom no one can see. the Lord over a realm not of this world. Introduce Jesus into this setting and you have introduced foolishness. In the extreme. And the seeds of anarchy and Now, there was another society in that ancient setting. To the east, along the coasts of the Mediterranean, we find Israel. She was not outfaced, as the saying goes these days. She was not outpaced, as were the Gentiles, who were pursuing world dominion. These Jews were, I guess, what you might call, when compared with the Greeks and the Romans, aesthetically illiterate.

They pleaded for what they called the beauty of holiness, a transcendent moral excellence. Their eyes sought after their heart longed for Jehovah, whom they believed would intervene in the course of the events of this world in order to deliver them from Gentile insurgence.

They claimed a champion would be sent who would supersede David and Solomon. His appearance would end their shame. Underscore that now. His appearance would end their shame, their reproach. His reign, they believed, would inaugurate a world government emanating from Jerusalem. He would rule the earth, they said, with a rod of iron and administer justice according to the perfections of the law of Moses. But now, introduce Jesus. There comes this one. who preaches his gospel.

And to these Jews, in their estimation, they see nothing other in him than a stumbling block. For in him they perceive no power, no salvation, they perceive only the perpetuation of shame, of religious insult, an attack upon their identity and their hope. As with the Gentiles, this Jesus and his gospel epitomizes weakness. This Messiah is a pretender, a fraud. This Jesus is a failure. He brings no triumph. He only brings shame to those who are associated with him.

He is an affront to the law of God, and may well be a blasphemer, a tragic figure possibly, for whom the weak may weep. but hardly one whom the righteous and the pious may follow. So the Gentile sees the gospel as an absolute shame, and the Jew sees the gospel as an absolute shame.

But Paul says, I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to all that believe, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Ruth says, shame, and Paul says, I am not ashamed. The world says weak and worthless, and Paul cries out power. The world says emptiness, vanity, and Paul answers salvation.

How in the world is he able to say these things when the whole world has concluded. The constraint upon him is spoken of by him in the twelve verse of that second letter to Timothy’s first chapter. I know him whom I have believed. Now you see, Paul here isn’t speaking about some sort of mystical experience. He’s talking about a confrontation with one who is actually alive. I know him. He has appeared to me. I have seen him. The world has said he’s dead. Paul knows better. Jesus is alive. And because he is alive, he has turned this world, Gentile and Jewish, with all of their conventions, all of their assessments, all of their judgments, he has turned this world, their world, upon its head.

The world judges shame. Paul judges glory. What the world says is weakness, Paul says is power. What the world says is a scandal, Paul says is salvation. In his chains, put upon him, supposedly by the governments of this world, in his chains, Paul proclaims a liberty. And all of this is possible because death, you see, has been turned into life. Because of that, he is unable to view things the same. as the world. Paul is bold with Timothy at this point.

He tells him in the 10th verse of that first chapter, the appearance of our Savior, Jesus by which he means that appearance which has peaked in the resurrection life, glory, and power of Christ. The appearance of our Savior Jesus Christ has abolished death and brought to light life and immortality, and that has made all the difference, and therefore you cannot, you cannot trust the judgments of the world any longer. Be they Gentile or Jewish, for in the end, the Gentile and the Jew will do everything in his power to hold on to life on this planet. Everything.

Later, Paul will say to Timothy, the 8th verse of that 2nd chapter, remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, according to my gospel. He will speak to another congregation, the Corinthian church, along these lines. If Christ be not raised, you are still in your sins, and you are of all men most to be But because Jesus is alive, despite what the world says, because Jesus is alive, everything is turned topsy-turvy.

Paul, a prisoner in chains, is not ashamed. His weakness and his suffering for Christ have become a badge, a badge of heaven’s acceptance, even though they are the brand of the world’s disdain. And what of Timothy himself? He may be on the verge of rejecting this gospel because of its scandal and offensiveness. He may be at the point of rejecting that gospel for friendship with the world, but Paul tells him in that eighth verse, don’t be ashamed. even though the world says you must be if you hold to the gospel and to me. Don’t be ashamed, Timothy, because there is another world which sees our suffering as the power of God, our death as life, our foolishness as wisdom. And into that world of life and immortality We have been accepted, according to the purpose and the intention of God, by way of the risen, reigning Christ, that one in whom there is no shame.

Now, was Tennessee able to hear what Paul said? There is a later message about Timothy. It comes to us from the book of Hebrews. The 13th chapter. The 23rd verse. So writes now the author to the Hebrews. Take notice that our brother Timothy has been released. Timothy. Came. For Christ. Into. The world shouted shame. Confessed. I am not ashamed.

For I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him unto that day. So may it be for each one of you. Father, may we hear the message and though the world hates it, may we love it and hold on to it for all that we are worth. Even though the world decides that we are a scandal to it, We know that we are not a scandal to you. And though we must go outside the city of this world bearing the reproach of Christ, we know that we are accepted with you. For we are not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Father, give each one of us strength that as the world tugs at us, as it would seduce us, as it would claim to be our friend, may we hold fast to the one who truly is our friend and be content to do that until the end.

The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

February 14, 1988
Jew and Greek United in Timothy

This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “II Timothy” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, January 10, 1988.

About this sermon

Timothy was half Jewish and half Greek, and he embodied the union of Jew and Gentile in Ephesians 2:11-16. Paul’s imprisonment and journeys, and the differences between his two letters to Timothy, set the scene. The charge ‘Be not ashamed’ draws its force from that embodied union.

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Sermon transcript

This morning, our scripture reading begins in 1 Timothy 3 at verse 14, and we will be reading some verses from 2 Timothy. This is 1 Timothy 3, beginning with verse 14. These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly. But if I carry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles believed on in the world received up into glory. Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devil speaking lies and hypocrisy and having their conscience seared with a hot iron forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from these which God have created to be received with Thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth for every creature of God is good and nothing to be refused if it be received with Thanksgiving for it is sanctified by the Word of God and prayer. If I put the brethren in remembrance of these things. Thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.

But refuse profane and old wise fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little, but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that is now, and of that which is to come. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all exception. Therefore, we both labor and suffer reproach because we trust in the living God, who is the savior of all men, especially of those that believe these things command and teach with no man despised by you.

But be thou an example of the believers in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Meditate upon these things. Give thyself wholly unto them. that by profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself and unto thy doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee.” And then from Second Timothy, chapter one, verses three through eight. Second Timothy, one, three.

I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy. When I call to remembrance the unfamed love that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother Eunice, And I am persuaded that is in thee also. Wherefore, I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner. be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God. Pray with me briefly now. Today, our God, as the sun’s rays strike the earth, also the rays of the Son of God strike it too. Your word comes forth concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, that he is the way, the truth, and the life. We pray, our God, that your servants called of you and equipped by your spirit, may speak powerfully and adequately that word, so that all hearing may fear, all hearing may believe and trust in the living God. We pray this in Jesus’ name.

Amen. We have now been reintroduced to the pastoral officials. Those letters of Paul written to pastors. One letter written to Titus serving where he serves a church on the island of Crete and two letters to. Dear son in the thing. Pastors where. At the church in. The pastoral epistles then of all three in number. One to Titus two to Timothy. Our objective is to study Second Timothy. And in order to prepare ourselves for that we have reintroduced ourselves to this figure. To this personality. To Timothy. This young pastor. We have said of Timothy.

He was a citizen of Lystra. Lystra being one of those cities in the southern provinces of Asia Minor or present-day Turkey in the Mediterranean world. Timothy, a citizen of the village of Lystra, also a convert of Paul, most likely converted during Paul’s first missionary journey. But we also noted that Timothy is a complex figure. Hope you’re picking up on these here citizen convert complex.

He is a complex figure. Remember what we read concerning him at the opening of act sixteen. He had a Jewish mother Apparently a Jewish grandmother, well-versed in the faith they were, and they instructed him well. Nevertheless, he had a Gentile, a Greek father. And when Paul found him again on his second missionary journey, Timothy was still in a state of uncircumcision, for he had not been welcomed into the fold of Israel, despite his Jewish grandmother and Jewish mother. So, he is a complex figure.

And finally, we said that Timothy was a companion of the Apostle. One who, during that second missionary journey of Paul, began to travel with the Apostle and became very useful to Paul in his ministry. Now, we made some other observations about him as well, and I have already alluded to one of them, and that is the way in which all repeatedly refers to this young man.

It’s not as if Timmy was Timothy was anyone. It’s not as if he was just another one of the members of the church or just another pastor. Someone else helping Paul. For Paul has a special way of referring to him, he calls him my beloved son. Note that description at the opening of the second letter to Timothy, the second verse of that first chapter. To Timothy writes Paul, my beloved son. Well, there’s a world to be expounded. in that description. This young. And in time. We’ll be dealing with that. But remember also.

The other facet of Paul’s treatment of Timothy. And this we derive from our consideration out of chapter two in Ephesians, that glorious chapter that talks about the tearing down of the middle wall partition between Jew and Greek. And how in Timothy, it’s as if you have in one person, one man, a walking illustration of that text.

Well, of course, Paul is talking about the Lord Jesus Christ, that it is Christ. It is Christ who is that one in whom the middle wall of partition is torn down between Jew and Greek, but here in Timothy you have one who is known both sides, both sides of the culture, both sides of the world, both sides of humanity, raised by Jews yet of Greek. And as he travels now with Paul, he becomes a walking visual aid. of the gospel. What is the power of the gospel?

Why it brings you and Greek together as if they were one. Well, we have reintroduced ourselves to the past rules and we become reacquainted with the figure of Timothy. This morning We want to consider two further questions that relate to our introduction to Second Timothy. Answers to these questions will help us in our understanding of the progression of the early church and of our understanding of the setting of Second Timothy. within the early church.

Now, it’s probably been a long time since you reviewed the missionary journeys of Paul. There may have been a time that you had memorized them. Some of us who attended Geneva College, when I was there, it was Bible 202, Acts and the Epistles, it was called, and we were obliged to memorize the missionary journeys of Paul and know all the things where Paul. That’s all I remember from college. Because I could remember it, I decided to become a preacher.

Our first question Our first question then is. How do Paul’s letters. Fit into the progression of the early church, or more specifically. How do they fit into what we know about Paul’s missionary life as it is recorded for us in the book of the. It is to the acts that we turn when we. think through and rehearse for ourselves the missionary journeys at all.

But where do the letters to Timothy fit in the story that is given us there in. Well, if. If all that we had was second Timothy, this might appear to be a very easy question. You might know the circumstances if you have read through second Timothy recently, you know, some of the flavor of it, but take stock of that eight verse, the one we read this morning in the first chapter. Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me.

His prisoner. There’s the key. There’s the key. Then, if you drop down to verses sixteen and seventeen, you hear Paul saying this, “…the Lord grant mercy to the house of Anisiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains.” Prisoner, chains. But when he was in Rome, it seems that Paul was in Rome, “…this fellow sought me out and found me.” Paul is in Rome, but he is not at liberty, he is in chains, he is a prisoner. A testimony of this to this continues. You might note, for instance, verse nine of the second chapter, for which I suffer hardship, he writes, even to imprisonment as a criminal. He’s been charged with criminal activity.

But the Word of God is not imprisoned, he writes. and then over to the glorious. I don’t know whether there’s more glorious chapter than this fourth chapter of Second Timothy, but you look at it and here it is. Verses six through eight for I am ready to be poured out as a drink offering the time of my departure has come. He I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day. And not only to me, but also to all who have loved his appearing. The time of my departure has come, he writes. And then down to verse sixteen. At my first defense, no one supported me. Get the picture? At my first defense, no one supported me, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them.

But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me in order that through me, the proclamation might be fully accomplished and that all the Gentiles might hear. And I was delivered out of the lion’s mouth. The Lord will deliver me from every evil deed and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. to him be the glory forever and ever.

Well. Sort of sweeps you along doesn’t it. But you get the picture. Paul is in chains he is charged with criminal activity the time of his departure has come he is already stood before the Roman tribunal once and the second part of the trial the conclusion of it is imminent. That’s the situation, but. If all we have is second Timothy, it seems that. What we read here fits in well with what we read in the Book of Acts, because you remember how that. All has been taken. From Jerusalem. They set sail across the Mediterranean. He has been taken. because of accusations from the Jews by the Romans now and he is to stand trial. In Rome. So you see some have surmised that.

Second Timothy then fits well into what we have read in the book of Acts. And all is well all the pieces it all the loose ends tied together but then. Then we first Timothy. and first Timothy, we find that none of the pieces that. For instance, in first Timothy, you’ll note in the first chapter, Paul says this in the third verse, as I urged you, Timothy, upon my departure from Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus in order that you may instruct certain men, not just not to teach strange doctor. Well, We take stock of what is said here in first and then we go back and we look at the Book of Acts and we find out nothing in the Book of Acts that corresponds to what is written before second Timothy. So first Timothy doesn’t fit second Timothy doesn’t fit either and the imprisonment that spoken about at the end of the Book of Acts is not the imprisonment Paul speaking about in second Timothy.

So what we do. Well, we know what some liberals have done. They decided that Paul didn’t write either first or second Timothy. But these letters were written by somebody who wanted to pass himself off as Paul. With the authority of Paul. In the early church. Well, we don’t buy that for a minute, of course. But what do we do? What do we do?

We conclude, as most conservative Bible students have concluded, that there is much to Paul’s life that we are not told about in the book of Acts. In fact, the book of Acts is not intended as a biographical treatment of the life of And the objective in Acts is not to give you a thorough, comprehensive account of his missionary activities, nor even a complete view of his life activities. The intent of the Book of Acts is to get you to Rome with the Gospel. And Paul serves the purpose of that within the economy of Luke, who wrote the Book of the Acts. But did Paul’s life end when he arrived in Rome in the setting that is described at the conclusion of the Book of Acts?

Most conservative Bible students have concluded no, but Paul had much more to do and did it. Yes, there was that imprisonment spoken of there in Acts 28. but it had a favorable ending. Paul was acquitted, he was released, and he went on to preach for three or more years. He preached in Gaul. Do you know where Gaul is? All Gaul is divided into three parts. All right. Modern-day France.

And you remember what said by Paul, when he’s writing to the Romans, he says, My hope is to preach not only in Rome, but in Spain. And many conservative Bible students have said he did nothing less than that. He preached in golf, he preached in Spain, and then he returned to Ephesus and he left Timothy, who was accompanying him. in Ephesus and went to Macedonia, just as is said here in first Timothy one verse three. He went to Macedonia and then from Macedonia he traveled southward to the island of Crete and he preached there, thus laying the foundation for his for his letter to Titus. Then he went back to Ephesus and from there he left for Rome By way of my leaders and island off the coast, he went and visited Corinth and finally he arrived in Rome where he was arrested. And tried. And executed. By you. We all know about you.

Now this is the general outline. Of the concluding days. the latter years of the Apostle Paul, and I judge it a most satisfying reconstruction. Given the details that we are. Out of the pastoral epistles. Out of first second Timothy and Titus. All right. Well, we answered that first question where do these letters fit in the progression of the of the early church in the missionary life of the Apostle Paul.

That brings us to a second question, and I hope to deal with this briefly. What we might ask is the progression. Observable to us as we move from first Timothy to say. Now we’ve observed the setting for the epistles generally now what is the development or the progression as we move from first Timothy to second.

There are many things that are similar. As you read through them, it sounds as if one might well pass for the other. There may have been as many as three years separating, but it seems as if maybe Paul has the same problems that he’s addressing with. He’s addressing Timothy. He’s speaking about that are important for Timothy in his ministry.

But at the same time, we are observing a similarity between the two. There are some marked differences. There are some marked differences in tone and style and in content. 1 Timothy, for instance, is preoccupied with the matter of how one might behave themselves, conduct themselves in the house of God.

That’s why we read 1 Timothy 3.15 this morning. the key verse for first Timothy. Now it’s important for Paul to speak about that to Timothy, because the order of the structure and behavior of many within the Church of Christ was being threatened. It was being torn apart. And the description of how is evident to you from what you read in that fourth chapter.

False teaching had come in And the tragedy of the false teaching was not only the fact that there were false teachers who were getting a hearing in the church, but Timothy himself was at the point of being seduced. Timothy. Was liable to be swept off his feet. Or run through the description of that false doctor. It’s horrifying. Men who forbid marriage advocate abstaining from food. Men who are experts in bodily discipline. This has to do with their ascetic practices. Men who, in the end, don’t understand the nature of the gospel have set their sights upon things that are observable in the world, like meat, food, what to touch what not to.

Reintroduction of those things that were known to Timothy, because of his training in the Jewish faith. But Paul is warning Timothy, not simply because of the teachers, but because of his own weakness. What we are interested most, then, is in What we are interested most in is the progression in Timothy from first Timothy to second. What was happening to him?

Do we surmise that Timothy listened to Paul and that he stood up before the threat and did well to the honor of his price to the honor of the gospel. That’s a fair estimate, I believe. Timothy, in hearing the letter, receiving it from Paul, regained his balance and stood his ground. But having done so, what happens? Well, it’s not as if the false teachers went away. Timothy, however, has developed a certain immunity to them, a strength with regard to them. He is continuing to stand his ground as we move into second Timothy, but there’s something here that has taken place in Timothy.

Notice what Paul said when I returned to that eight verse. that eight birth of the first chapter of Second Timothy. Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me is prisoner. Timothy had stood his ground and the church had stabilized. It had stabilized to such an extent that life within it for this pastor had become quite comfortable.

But into that comfortable setting, there comes news of an apostle, his father in the faith, who is being persecuted and is at the point of execution because of his stand for the gospel. Timothy is comfortable in Ephesus. Paul is about to die in Rome. And the son, in his comfort, is embarrassed.

The problem, therefore, that arises for Timothy is that it is common to the church that is achieved a certain amount of security, stability and comfort. And nothing can upset those things, that security, that comfort, that stability, like persecution, like the threat of death. Like the introduction of the offense of the gospel, like the introduction of the cross back into the message. Why? What is it that you thought you believed in, Timothy? Was it not a Christ who was crucified? Was it not a Christ who suffered? How can you separate yourself from Him and still claim your position? How can you be ashamed of me and not be ashamed of Him?

And notice how many times Paul uses that word shame or a shame there in verse eight. He uses it. He uses it again in verse twelve. For this reason, I also suffer these things, but I’m not ashamed. He writes, and then in a verse we’ve already read, verse sixteen, speaking about the house of the forest.

We often refresh me and was not ashamed of my changes. If an example to Timothy and note that great birth that often quoted in the second chapter of the fifteen birth be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling the right to work through. And then note the capstone in the twelfth verse of the third chapter, not using the word of shame, but certainly the idea is present for indeed writes for all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, and that is exactly what Timothy forgot. A comfortable life in a comfortable setting in a comfortable church. It couldn’t be any better. My what a life that calls in chains for the sake of Christ, and he’s about to die. Now, what’s that to you, Timothy? What’s that to you? Are you offended by me? Then you’re also offended by our Lord. for was not his end shame, and persecution, and death.” How beautifully Paul expresses it.

Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me, his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God. Not only is this gospel, then, one that introduces you to a cross, it introduces you to the power of God that is found in the risen Christ. through whom we are made alive forevermore.

Let’s pray. O Lord, may we never recoil from your son or his cross, nor recoil from your servants who for his sake suffer and are persecuted, even though that may be an indictment against our comfort and the enjoyment of that comfort and security. We have. Lord. May it never be. That you take from before our eyes. The cross of our Lord.

And father teach us how this cross is our glory, and how in the end it becomes the avenue by which your power is made plain. We pray our God for the Timothys of the world, the Timothys in the Church, that they would not be ashamed of the testimony of the gospel. More of those who are in prison

The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

January 10, 1988
Timothy’s Conversion, a Resurrection

This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “II Timothy” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, January 3, 1988.

About this sermon

The pastoral epistles speak to every believer, beyond those in office, and they reveal a real intimacy between Paul and Timothy. Timothy’s conversion was a kind of resurrection, a living example of the gospel’s liberty. What happens to one convert shows what happens to the whole church.

More sermons from 2 Timothy · Browse all sermons

Sermon transcript

in the book of Acts, chapter 16, reading the first three verses. Then came forth Derbe and Lystra, and behold, a certain disciple was there named Timothy. the son of a certain woman who was a Jewess and believed, but his father was a Greek, which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. Him would Paul have to go forth with him and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters, for they knew all that his father was a Greek.”

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus. To Timothy, my dearly beloved son, grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience that without ceasing I have remembrance of Thee in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see Thee, being mindful of Thy tears, that I may be filled with joy. When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in Thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother Eunice, and I am persuaded that it is in thee also. Wherefore, I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God, who hath saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.” but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and has brought life and immortality to life through the gospel, whereunto I am appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher of the Gentiles, for the which cause I also suffer these things. Nevertheless, I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed. and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus, that good thing which was committed unto thee, keep by the Holy Spirit which dwelleth in us.” from Ephesians, briefly, chapter 2, verse 11 through verse 16.

Therefore remember that ye, being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hand, that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenant of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now, in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ, for he is our peace, who hath made both one and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us.” having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances, for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace, and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby.”

Your word, O Lord, is a light to our path. It is a lamp for our feet. And Father, we would have your word before we would have the words of men, for by your word we are given life and eternal life. We ask you, Lord, that our souls might feed well upon your word this day and bring to our mind those things that are so vitally important to us and the well-being of our souls. We pray it in Christ’s name. Amen.

It has been five years since we were in the pastoral. Believe it or not, it was five years ago that we completed our series on 1 Timothy, the first of the pastoral epistles. You know the pastorals. They are those letters written by Paul to pastors, specifically to Timothy and Titus, and thus far we have considered 1 Timothy And now we begin a consideration of second Timothy. You might be wondering once more, well, what’s the relevance of this beyond the point that, of course, second Timothy with the other pastoral appears in Scripture and is there for our profit.

But you’re thinking these are letters written to pastors. of what significance, then, are they to me? I’m not a pastor. I’m sitting here in the pew. These letters obviously are not relevant to me. Well, I think you realize that pastors are not to be considered in abstraction. They are not to be considered in a disassociated fashion, that is, disassociated from congregations, for pastors pastor. They pastor flocks, they pastor congregations, churches, and these men to whom Paul writes, they too are ministering to flocks. Timothy, where does he serve? Where did Timothy serve? He served at Ephesus, not without reason. We have read from the epistle to the Ephesians this morning. He was the pastor at Ephesus. Titus, you might know, was the pastor in Crete, pastor of a congregation there.

But not then just the pastor. But two congregations, and that’s the way in which Paul intended it anyway, for when he wrote to the ministers, he expected that his letters would be read by them to their people, and that their people would profit from what he had written. So then, pastor and people, minister and flock. But there’s a further relevance, of course, to the pastoral and to second Timothy.

You may recall that back in nineteen eighty two when we took up first Timothy, we did so in connection with elections that had been held or were to be held in our congregation. Elections for ordained officer. and so it is here when we return. We in this congregation have just experienced an election, and we have officers elect, poised, and ready for ordination, and we do well to think about the structure of the church. We do well to think about the nature of office in relationship to that structure the form and ordering of the church. Now I know that invariably what happens when we come across this matter of structure, order, and office is that we tune out. It doesn’t interest us very much unless we are officers, officers in training, concerned ourselves how we might function in office.

But let me suggest to you that our forefathers in our Presbyterian faith held that this whole matter of structure and order and office was essential to the right preaching of the Gospel. They were as adamant about the nature of the office of elder, for instance, as they were with regard to the integrity of the Gospel and the fact that Jesus had died on the cross to bear sin and had been raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures, for our justification. Structure, order, and office That whole complex was a matter of great importance to our forefathers in the faith, and it remains a very important issue for us today, and I think that that is evidenced by the fact that the Church is sadly crumbling for lack of attention to these details. pastors, people, structure, order, and office. But are the pastorals, after all, simply pieces that appear in the New Testament because of their administrative value, as if they were a manual written down by Paul for the sake of administering the church? Not at all.

For as much as he’s concerned about the administration of the church, there is breathing throughout these letters, and specifically in 2 Timothy, there is breathing throughout that spirit, that spirit of extreme intimacy. and intimacy that we observe in Paul in his relationship with Timothy, this one that you note in the second verse of the first chapter, this one that he calls my beloved son.

I don’t think that there is any description more endearing than that. Now, I will say as an aside, I don’t mean to develop this this morning, but just for your own reflection, where do you think, where do you think Paul got those words? From where did he derive those specific words that he now applies to Timothy, my beloved son? You think about it. You think about it. You see, it is in light of your conclusion with regard to those words that you now make your assessment concerning the seriousness and the depth of that intimacy in the relationship between Paul and Timothy.

So not just a mandrel about administration. These epistles are filled with the heartbeat of an apostle who loves the ones to whom he writes, with a love that is as deep as the oceans and as high as the heights of heaven. our return, then, to the pastors. And as we do, it’s well that we, in this first message, reacquaint ourselves with Timothy. Reintroduce ourselves to this young pastor. Who is Timothy?

Well, first of all, he is a citizen of the village of Lystra. Do you know where Lystra is? If you have a map in the back of your Bible, you may want to check it out. It was a small village not far from the southern coast of ancient Asia Minor. In the southern provinces there, there was a plateau. On that plateau there were many villages, and Lystra was one. It is a village which is particularly unspectacular. And when you find that out, reading something about the archaeology of the first century, you’re somewhat amazed. You’re even more amazed when you are acquainted with contemporary theories of missions and evangelization.

Because now we’re being told by our mythologists and by our evangelists and by our evangelism experts that the methodology of the Apostle Paul was always, invariably, to go to the great urban centers. That is nonsense. And that the constraint that was on the Apostle in his movement, in his missionary journeys, was the potential for mega-growth. And that, too, is nonsense.

What was it that drew the Apostle Paul to the city of Lystra on his first missionary journey. Well, it obviously wasn’t the size of the town. It was the fact that in that town there was a synagogue, that in that town there were some people who were well-versed in the scriptures of the Old Testament, who were acquainted with the covenant, and that’s what drew the Apostle Paul to that city. as unspectacular as it was. So Paul comes to Lystra on his first missionary journey, this journey taking place approximately fourteen years after the death and resurrection of Christ. He had come there after having visited some other villages in the region anti-occupied city and then down to Iconium and then comes to this town of Lystra. When he enters the village, he meets a man who was born crippled and he heals him.

The consequence of that was that he and Barnabas, the one who was traveling with him, were worshipped as God by the Gentiles. They put the Gentiles off, preach to them the gospel, end up in the synagogue, proclaim the gospel there. They are first welcomed, but then the Jews are hardened, and they turned against them, and Paul was taken outside the gates of the village and stoned. He was left for dead. But he survived, as you know. He survived well enough to engage in two other missionary journeys, and even visit the city of Lystra later on, on the second journey.

There are indications that during this first visit to Lystra, Timothy was converted, so not only is Timothy a citizen of Lystra, he is a convert of Paul. Very likely converted during that first missionary visit, and very possibly a witness to Paul’s sufferings, even the stoning which Paul endured. But at any rate, By the time Paul returns, and you have the account of his return in Acts 16, and that’s why we read that passage this morning, by the time Paul returns, Timothy is described as a disciple, one who is devout.

And his mother is described as a believer, also devout. Now, it’s at this point that we are introduced into the complexity of the character of Timothy. We are told, for instance, that his mother, we find out from 2 Timothy that her name is Eunice, that his mother is a Jewess, thus forming the one side of the complexity of his character and personality. His mother and very likely his grandmother, her name being Lois, they were Jewesses.

And we are told also that they were faithful in the faith. Now, I know that there is a great deal of argument as to the significance of what is said in verse 5 of that second, verse 5 of the second letter to Timothy, its opening chapter. Paul writes, for I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well. It used to be that most commentators concluded that the reference there to the sincere faith was to Christian faith, but it seems that there has been a shift in the assessment of commentators, so that now they relate what is said in verse five to what is said by Paul about himself in verse three, that he has served with a clear conscience in the way in which his forefathers did, thereby making reference to the faithfulness of Jewish piety and godliness. The suggestion then being that Timothy’s grandmother and his mother were faithful Jews, devout.

And this is reinforced by what we read later on in 2 Timothy 3.15, where we are told that from his earliest days he was schooled. He was schooled by these women in the scriptures. He was taught the scriptures from his childhood. And he was even taught and instructed in the hope of those scriptures, those Old Testament scriptures.

Well, that’s the one side of the complexity of Timothy’s character, his personality. But then, as we flip back to Acts 16, we are told there that his father was a Greek, and obviously an unbelieving Greek. And because of this, Timothy was never circumcised. He was never recognized as a full Jew. In fact, he was denied right. Within the associations of the Jew, despite his mother, despite his grandmother. Timothy. Timothy, then. Is the child of a mixed marriage. Now you might be asking yourself the question.

How can we on the one hand say that this fellow Timothy has a devout mother, a devout grandmother on the Jewish side, but yet has a pagan father? Does a devout Jew marry a Gentile? Does a devout Jew marry an unbelieving pagan? An uncircumcised pagan? Well, it is that question that has been the stuff of novels and great melodrama.

How is it that Eunice, Timothy’s mother, came to be married to this unbelieving Gentile? Well, you know, some have said, that the Jews weren’t especially particular in those days. I can’t believe that. At least if they are considered to be faithful in the way in which Paul describes Eunice and Lois here in 2 Timothy.

Others have said, well, it’s obviously a case where this girl, Eunice, in her younger years She became rebellious, and she decided for a time to throw off the faith of her heritage, to abandon her Judaism, and to pursue out of her rebellion a relationship with an unbeliever. Well, that could be true, and we certainly know any number of cases in which that has been the course of action unfortunately. A course of action which it seems that Eunice repented of later and regretted it. Or was it that she was a young Juliet and for the sake of love she cast over everything including family to pursue her love.

Well, I don’t think so, because I don’t think any of these suggestions that have been made with seriousness fit what we read from Paul concerning Eunice and also the environment in which she was raised by her mother, Lois. The ancient world through which we are strangers was a very complex world. Do you realize that in order to save your life, you may well have to marry someone that you had no business marrying at all? Do you realize that for the sake of economic survival, bread on your table, you could be forced into a situation in which you had no alternative? Now I’m conjecturing, I realize that, that it could very well be that that was the case. Her devotion remained. Her faithfulness was consistent. She loved God. The pressures were brought to bear upon her and her family, and she had no alternative. And thus, she finds herself in a marriage with an unbelieving Gentile. And one who seems to be quite adamant about his unbelief, seems to dominate the relationship quite well. The boy will not be circumcised. So Timothy is denied the sign of the covenant.

All right, a citizen of Lystra, a convert of Paul, a complex figure. But it is into this circumstance which seems utterly impossible. The faithfulness on the side of Timothy’s mother and grandmother, the unfaithfulness on the side of the father, he, as it were, looking at two worlds and welcomed in either. Really? Welcomed in need. For in the end, he’s neither Jew nor Gentile. But here comes Paul, striding through the ancient world with a message of liberty and hope, the message of the gospel.

And that’s where it comes to this family. And suddenly it doesn’t matter whether you’re circumcised or you’re not. In fact, it doesn’t matter that the believing parent in your family is the mother. A figure who in the ancient world mattered little or nothing at all, for no one inherited their patrimony through their mother, especially in Israel. that now the gospel breaks in upon a little, obscure, unspectacular village in Asia Minor, and liberty explodes. And it’s as if this boy comes to life. Nothing could have been more grand, nothing more glorious. It’s as if he has life from the grave. Born again.

Timothy, citizen of Lystra, convert of Paul, complex figure and finally companion of the Apostles. We read in Acts 16 that Paul wants him to go with him. But then you see what Paul does. He takes this fellow and he has him circumcised as if acting as father on his behalf. to see why Timothy is the beloved son. He has him circumcised, not because circumcision means anything, but because now Timothy is a testimony to the fact that the circumcision in the end doesn’t mean anything. The young man is ordained. He’s recognized his gift But this figure, now accompanying Paul on his missionary journey, becomes a living sermon, an exposition in the flesh of that passage that we read in Ephesians 2. That one in whom the middle wall of partition, as it were, has been torn down, for he has been both uncircumcised and circumcised. He has been both Jew and Gentile. He is one new man in one body declaring in his person the gospel for everyone to see. Paul takes him around with him as a living visual aid. As a living, walking visual aid.

Jew, Gentile, the most extreme of the divisions in the world, and that resolved in and through Christ. Made obvious to us in what Christ has done in and through Timothy. But if the most extreme of divisions is resolved, the division between Jew and Gentile, what of the lesser divisions that arise within the Church? For Timothy will not only be illustration, the usefulness of which is medicine for the divisions that exist between Jew and Gentile. But his presence and ministry will mean healing in congregations. What Christ accomplishes in him, he also accomplishes in us. So that partitions are dissolved and peace reigns.

Let’s pray. O Lord, there couldn’t have been one better fit or suited than Timothy. And so he becomes an illustration, a living, breathing illustration to the ancient church concerning the significance of Christ. How would he appear to those congregations in which he served, especially the church in Ephesus?

Again, divisions threatening, will they not be dissolved through Christ? that one who brings together from among all the tribes and peoples and tongues one people for himself, serving him in gladness beneath the umbrella of his peace. Lord, we pray these things in Christ’s name. Amen.

The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

January 3, 1988