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, April 17, 1988.

Now scripture begins with a reading from Genesis chapter 11. Genesis chapter 11, the first nine verses. And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech. And it came to pass as they journeyed from the east that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there.

And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick and burn them thoroughly. And they made brick for stone and slime had they for mortar. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower whose top may reach unto heaven, and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the children of men builded. And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one. And they have all one language. And this they began to do, and now nothing will be restrained from them which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down.

And there confound their language that they may not understand one another’s speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from fence upon the face of all the earth, and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babylon, because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth, and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.”

You will read from verse fourteen to verse twenty one. These things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the heroes. Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun provain and vain babblings, for they will increase unto more ungodliness, and their word will eat as doth a canker. Of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus, who concerning the truth have heard, saying that the resurrection is past already, and overthrow the faith of some.

Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal. The Lord knoweth them that are his. and let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. But in a great house there is not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some to honor and some to dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor sanctified and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work. Our Lord, it is well that every servant of yours who proclaims the word remember that he is but a servant, and that your glory is foremost, that the well-being of your people is at the heart of the ministry of the word. Therefore, Lord, may your people be encouraged by the preaching of the word today and may you in fact strengthen them so that they in service to you would be all that you have intended them to be. We pray this through Christ. Amen.

There are only two building enterprises. There are only two building enterprises. One building enterprise is that which concerns the city of man. The other is that which concerns the city of God. The city of man. It has its foundation in man. It is a house built, an edifice constructed upon sand. Its strength no greater than the word of man himself.

The city of God, however, has its foundation in and from God. Here is a house, an edifice built upon the rock, as sure and as certain as God’s word. that city of man has expressed itself variously throughout history. We see occasions of its formulation even in the scriptures as it rises up in opposition to God himself. I suppose that the city of man has a clear foundational and fundamental expression in the story that we have read in Genesis 11. The story of Babel. Over against this expression of the city of man, there is in time expressed in the world that work of God is building enterprise where love and obedience to God is demonstrated. We see it principally in the Old Testament in the construction of the tabernacle under Moses and Aaron. and in the construction of the temple under Solomon, the son of David.

When we move into the New Testament, this city of God, this edifice that has its foundation in and from God, is seen all the more clearly. For from the New Testament, it becomes plain to us that the fullness of the building enterprise of God is now at hand. It is accomplished in and through Jesus Christ, for by him there has been prepared for us, the people of God, an eternal and heavenly dwelling. Yet, while God is in fact building for us this eternal and heavenly dwelling, there is a visible manifestation of that dwelling in the world, and it is localized in the Church of Jesus Christ. So when we speak about the city of God, or the foundation of God, as Paul speaks of it in 2nd Timothy, We have in mind the sweep of God’s activities by which he is bringing to expression his work, the end of which is a habitation for his people.

The end of this enterprise by God. is, of course, glory. It is a dwelling place, the dimensions of which and the particulars of which exceed our wildest dreams. It is a region of perpetual delight and joy, blessedness to the full, a habitation that is unthreatened by sin, corruption, death, diminishment, or end itself.

On the other hand, Babel stands as a monumental warning to man and his pretense The end of the city of man, the end of that foundation that is found with him and for his sake, the end is ruination, destruction. Babel lies in ruins, and her leaders are scattered in confusion. What was intended as a monument to the unity of man’s enterprise, what was intended as a monument to man’s ingenuity, his strength, his power, his importance, is now a witness to chaos and to the calamity of man’s foolish errors. But while the tower, the proud tower, lies in ruins, the spirit of that tower lives.

It lives in such a way that in its pretentiousness, it even sets its sights upon the city of And if we think, then, of the church of Jesus Christ as the visible manifestation in the world of the city of God, then Babel sets the church of Jesus Christ in her sights. The spirit of Babel lives.

She comes with the boast of clear speech, as if God’s curse had not occurred, as if there had been no confusion at all. She comes as if with clear speech to make her point, to prosecute her case. She enters into the Church of Jesus Christ with promise. She makes her stand. Her boast is communicated through her leaders. Her leaders seem articulate, well-versed, quite competent.

Who could argue with the servants of Babel in Israel? Moses, the meekest man in all the earth, with his brother Aaron, stands before the congregation and prosecutes the case of the city of God. But there is a Levite who feels left out. His name is Paul. He joins forces with two sons of Reuben Nathan and a Byron. And who is Reuben? Why? That poor son of Jacob, who was first born but lost everything because of his indiscretion, will now this come a time for him to regain it all. Two sons of Reuben and this son of Levi stand before Moses and Aaron.

They prosecute their case now, and it seems so logical. Aren’t all of God’s people priests unto the Lord? Who do you think you are that you have some sort of special measure of the spirit? Why do you set yourself apart? Isn’t God in the midst of the assembly? aren’t we all the same? Why they sound like good Protestants. Moses falls down on his face He recognizes that this clear speech isn’t clear at all, it’s just the babblings of babble.

It is the confusion and the chaos from that ancient city still living on. It is intruding itself upon the city of God, the order of which is given from heaven. He arises. He says in the morning, you’ll come. The Lord knows. Those who are here. The spirit of Babel lives.

And it lives, especially in the articulations of those who are leaders for that city, and they come prosecuting their case, and they sound so sensible. Is the church in Ephesus a very articulate man by the name of pioneers is prosecuting the case for a theology in which the resurrection has already occurred. Paul, however, is equated to this man’s words, as articulate as they are, with vain babblings. You hear the echo of Babel in that, don’t you?

But that’s not all. He then turns on Hymenaeus and Philetus so that he might encourage Timothy and all those who might yet stand for the truth. And he says, the foundation of God standeth sure. And on its cornerstone, it bears the seal, the Lord knows those who are his.

And this is stealing a chapter right out of the book of Numbers. Babel comes in, and the confusion and chaos follows. Night all sound very good, but in the end it proves to be confusion. It is the undoing, or the would-be undoing, of the city of God. It’s not just the vocabulary. It is the life as well. These leaders from Babel claim that they are known by God and their approach to life has his imprimatur.

Yet, as you observe them, they become the advocates of every kind of depravity. Every kind of deviation from the truth, every desertion of godliness imaginable. Paul goes on to match that one seal spoken of on the cornerstone of the foundation of God. He goes on to match it with another statement, which says, Let everyone who names the name of Christ abstain from wickedness.

Babel, of course, you know, takes form and shape again. In time, it becomes known as Babylon, the city of man personified. And how is that city viewed in the book of Revelation? Not just as a city filled with apostasy, that is, wrong belief, but a city filled with every kind of immorality imaginable. The foundation of the Lord stands sure. The city of God is ultimate and eternal, and she shall prevail.

There is a large house. In the large house there are vessels of gold and silver. There are also vessels of wood and earthenware. some to honor and some to dishonor. The spirit of Babel would tell you that really the valuable vessels are those of wood and earthenware. The vessels that are worthwhile are actually in fact the vessels that they mark out. And these vessels are vessels of dishonor, because they are the vessels that have imprinted upon them the name of Babel itself.

Leaders, then, for the city of God, standing over against the leaders of the city of man, How is it that they are to live? What are they to say? What are they to do? They are to cleanse themselves from these vessels of dishonor. These vessels of dishonor are a contagion, a disease, infectious, and they will corrupt. Where does the church stand? The visible manifestation of the city of God in the world. Where do her leaders stand?

In many instances, the leaders come to the people with fine speech. They come with a well-developed program. they come giving you promises of glory promises that are calculated to appeal to your ego that in fact you will be made important by your adherence to their philosophy and their doctrine. Though they sound as clear as a bell. They are babbling worthless worldly words. And in the end, the message that they preach will fall to the earth. The Church is in fact now facing a severe crisis. How we progress from a principle of doctrine to open acts of immorality, justifying them in keeping with the theology of the city of Adam.

For instance, does it matter that God created man? Does it matter that you hold to the truth of the biblical account of creation? Does it matter that you perceive in that story of creation an order? An order which is essential to the biblical message? Does it matter? that you hold to a doctrine which says to you that man was created first and woman was created from man. Does it matter? What if it doesn’t? What if it doesn’t matter? As many leaders in the church now are telling us, it doesn’t matter.

Attack the order of creation at that point. What happens at other points? If you destroy the distinction between male and female in the creation, what other distinctions are then put in the balance? Is it any wonder that in those denominations where the doctrine of creation has fallen, that we now observe the most energetic efforts with regard to the destruction of distinction between the sexes altogether. Is it any wonder that where the doctrine of creation falls, that homosexuality rises? The spirit of Babel lives, and there are many in the Church today who are Babylonians. Now this passage that we have in front of us is about leaders in the Church. What is a leader to do?

He is to cleanse himself. from the dishonorable. That he might be. A vessel for honor. One sanctified useful to the master. Prepared for every. Good work. And as it is for the leaders, no less for the people. That you also. may purge yourself of the spirit of battle, which surely spells destruction, not glory.” Well, the foundation of God stands pure. The Lord knows those who are Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from evil. Honor God. The sound. May well be clear, the words well formed for the argument well presented.

But the Apostle Paul is not deceived. He sees it only as a wrangling about words, vain babblings, ungodliness abounding. For surely the spirit of Babel lives, it lived in the church at Ephesus, and it was to be resisted. It lives today. It is to be resisted no less now. May I please you, Lord, to make your church strong, that she may after all reflect the glories of the city of God, for surely she is to be that manifestation of the eternal dwelling where you meet with your people and abide with them forever.

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.