Onesiphorus, Who Held No Office

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 21, 1988.

Sermon transcript

We are in Paul’s second letter to Timothy, first chapter, verse six to the end of the chapter. This is second Timothy one. Versus six and following here, the word of God. 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 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 witch 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. Oltrast 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 you.

This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me, of whom are figilists and homogenies. The Lord did give mercy on to the house of ownership on a separate for he off refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chain. But when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently and found me the Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day and how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus. Thou knowest very well.

And then from the fourth chapter. but unto all them also that love is appearing. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Paul. Has been taken. To Rome. As the prisoner. Of the war.

Paul wants Timothy. to come to Rome as the prisoner of the Lord. For Paul, being taken to Rome as the Lord’s prisoner has meant suffering. For Timothy, being called to Rome by Paul as the Lord’s prisoner will mean suffering. But it isn’t that suffering in Paul’s case began for him when he was arrested in Asia and extradited to Rome.

By the same token. Neither should do Timothy’s suffering begin for him. When he arrived. Suffering has been part and parcel of Paul’s service for Christ. Timothy knows this quite well. And Paul, as if Timothy had forgotten, reminds him of it. You followed my persecution, Paul writes in the third chapter of his letter the ninth verse. You followed my persecutions, my sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra. And Timothy is also aware of sufferings Paul has endured at the hands of some in the church. You are aware, Paul writes, that all in Asia turned away from me, including vigilance and her margin. The fifteen verse of that first chapter.

Now, Paul wants Timothy to remember these things, not because he wishes to make something out of himself. But because he wants Timothy to realize that his calling to is one of suffering for the gospel sake. But, you know, do you not, by now, that this is precisely where Timothy is having his problem. In fact, Precisely at this point, Timothy is stumbling, falling, falling headlong. Suffering and its prospect, not very attractive. Suffering and its prospect seem to be a terror to Timothy. But, as Paul is reminding him, Timothy is allowing certain things, very important things, to slip. He is losing his grip upon the nature of his calling, the character of his ordination, and the character of that gift of the Spirit that has been given unto him. six of the first chapter. Surely Timothy.

That spirit. That spirit that we have received is not a spirit of fear. Rather, ours is a spirit of power. The power of God God himself present with us in the face of our fear. Ours is a spirit of love. Don’t you know that, Timothy? Whereby, for the sake of the God we love and those whom we love in his name, we are willing to face any fear, all threats, and each indignity. And surely, ours is a spirit of discipline. Ours is a spirit of discipline, and of a sound mind, of balance and good judgment, so that In the face of intimidation, we don’t panic, become irrational, or simply turn our backs on our calling because of the distress that has come to us. All of this, then, in the seventh verse. This spirit of ours, Timothy, is the spirit of the Lord Jesus, whose testimony in and through suffering is perfect.

According to the power of God, for the sake of his love for the Father and for us, and without wavering, he underwent all the miseries of this life, the wrath of God, and the cursed death of the cross. He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we, through him, might become the righteousness of God.

He endured the cross, despising the shame, so that you and I might not be ashamed in our sufferings, but rather glory. Therefore, Timothy, Don’t be ashamed of Christ’s testimony of Christ’s suffering. And don’t be ashamed of me, his prisoner and my suffering. Jesus Christ and I may be a scandal to the world, but we are not a scandal to have. And God forbid that we should be a scandal to you.

Join me, then. You being my beloved son in the faith, whether there in Ephesus, where you currently pastor or here when you come to Rome, join me in suffering for the gospel. All of this in verse eight. And what a gospel it is. Don’t you see? It is the divine antidote. To all of your fears. Your fears may cripple you. But the gospel is the power of God to release you.

Don’t you realize that by this gospel we have been saved, rescued by God Himself? Do you not realize that by this gospel we have received a calling, a holy calling from Him? from none other than God himself, a calling that ascribes to us a dignity and an integrity and honor and a standing before him. Not so that we might boast in our words, but that we might be a living evidence and testimony and witness to his eternal purpose, that we might be trophies to his grace. Our temporary suffering, Timothy, is not worthy of comparison with that honor that is ours by grace from Christ, even from before all time.

So we are understood to be. All of that in verse nine. What then? Are our fears. When seen in such light. Seen in the light of eternity. Or what are they when seen in the light of the actual appearance of Jesus himself? When we realize that his appearance has meant the abolition of death and the triumph of life and immortality for us. All that in verse 10.

Now, Timothy. I have been appointed for this gospel, and I have an appointment unto this gospel as a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher. This appointment I have is as a trust, for God has deposited with me this appointment for safekeeping. For the sake of this deposit, I am willing to suffer my present indignity, no, any indignity, for the sake of Christ. If you hesitate yourself, Timothy, if in your confusion you blurt out, why, Paul, why do you do this? Why, oh why, Paul, have you no shame in all this shame associated with you? Then I will tell you.

Because just as God has deposited with me my appointment, so I have invested in him my life. He expects me to guard his gift to me. He will keep assuredly my deposit with him. He expects me to fight the good fight, to finish the course, to keep the faith. But he has laid up for me the crown of righteousness. He will bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. Is it worth it, Timothy? Is it worth whatever you may be caused to endure? Isn’t the crown worth it? Isn’t your place in the heavenly kingdom worth it? Isn’t eternal life and immortality resurrection unto glory worth it? I ask you.

Well, then, you to run the race, you to finish the course, you to keep the faith in the face of all your fears before the threat of that suffering that you dread. Keep a firm grip on that deposit committed to you. The sound words, the gospel itself, which you heard from me. Verse thirteen. Guarded by God’s gift to you, that treasure committed to your care. Verse fourteen. Now you know that not all have. Not all have guarded the gift. not all part of the treasure.

Committed to their. For them to. My suffering was a stumbling block. Why. My suffering a stumbling block. No less the suffering of Christ it to. Because of my suffering because of the persecution I endured, because of my arrest in Asia, because of the scandal associated with me for the sake of the gospel, because of their fear that they too might suffer, they too might be scandalized. They withdrew from me.

Most notably. Vigilance. But if you need an example. I have one here for you. Oh, not a great. Not even a man that I can describe with the language that I reserve for you. A common man, a common individual, a layman, if you will. On a syphilis finding. Far from my beloved son in the faith, far from an ordained minister and ordained evangelist like yourself.

This man now becomes your instructor. Unlike you, Timothy, even though I love you dearly, unlike you, you being one who has not encouraged me in my present circumstances, my chains an embarrassment to you. But this man, he has refreshed me, and it has been a part of the way of his life. He refreshed me off.

And unlike you, Timothy, though I love you well, you have been ashamed of me, but he hasn’t. Does he see something then, Timothy, which you do not see? And unlike you, though I love you well, you have not eagerly sought me out, though I long to see you. But this man, this man sought me out, even though it was costly to him. He not loved like you, yet loves better than you.

Such is His love, born of the gospel. He then, as the ordinary Christian, He then, as the one who sits in a pew without office. He has guarded a simple deposit given to him and guarded it better than you can. And may it please the Lord. to guard him well, until the day of Christ.

Onesiferous can say better than you, Timothy, I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that. because he was never ashamed of my change. Timothy. I say it gently. What you should be in your ordination This man is without ordination. And though he has no special call. He has that call common to all. To serve the same. And he does it excellently. how he has performed. Why not only here in Rome, far away from you, where you can observe. But also, as you know, Timothy has an indictment against you. In fact. Paul has been taken to Rome as the Lord’s prisoner. Paul wants Timothy to come to Rome as the Lord’s prisoner, spurred on in his life and in his service by a common layman.

One unordained who becomes instructor to the ordained. One who is not a teacher who becomes a teacher of the teachers. One who is not a ruler but becomes by his example a ruler of the rulers. The ordained among you may not measure up before you. You may think that because you have no special office, you have no special service in the church. Nonsense. This man spoken of here by Paul proves otherwise. In your service, you become that one through whom service is measured.

Even for those who are called upon specially to serve with us. You become teacher to the teachers even ruler to the rulers because of your love for Christ and your willingness in that love to suffer any indignity for the sake of Jesus. Why for you? Why for you, in the end, there is laid up for you nothing less than a crown of righteousness. And that crown is as good as any crown given to any apostle, or any preacher, or any evangelist, or any elder.

Amen. What is it, Lord, that the gospel would do? It would place before us one like on a citrus. Unknown. Virtually. A common Christian. But seemingly. in his treatment of Paul, in his example to the church, an unprecedented example of the marvelous mercy of Christ. Those with the high office are taught by this one who exhibits the highest office of Jesus Christ. O Lord, may we serve in His company. May we learn from Him. We pray it in Jesus’ 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.