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, March 20, 1988.
About this sermon
Suffering and glory run through 2 Timothy as a matched pair, and Romans 5 shows that the gospel’s glory far surpasses the suffering that comes before it. Timothy stands in real danger of apostasy. Losing sight of heaven, more than any outside threat, makes believers fall away.
Sermon transcript
We are in 2 Timothy this morning, the 2nd chapter, and we are beginning with the 14th verse. Then we will be looking at some verses in Romans as well. Hear the word of God. Of 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 hearer. Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth 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 Imonaeus and Philetus, who concerning the truth have erred, 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 every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also wood and of 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 suitable for the master’s use and prepared unto every good work.
Flee also youthful lusts, but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart, but foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strife. And the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves, if God for adventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth. and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil who are taken captive by him at his will.”
And then from Romans chapter five, verses one through five. Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience and patience, experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Oh Lord, in Christ your son, you have given us instruction that we would pray earnestly that laborers would be sent forth into the harvest. May we take that instruction to heart as we commit ourselves. Lord, truly, there are many preaching your word today who are doing so with sincerity and with devotion to you. Encourage them in their study of your word and also enable them to bring forth the treasures concerning the kingdom of heaven so that the people would be refreshed in the knowledge of the true God. Father, we ask that it might be the case here that wonderful things are laid before your people for their consideration, that they may be helped. And those who do not know you, may they be challenged by the gospel, and may it be your grace that brings them to faith in yourself.
We ask in Christ’s name. Amen. Suffering and glory. Suffering and glory. Second Timothy is filled with the themes. Suffering but also. In fact, chapter two. About servants. To go. That chapter. About servants, honorable. And dishonorable. would put before us. That truth. That in the end. Servants honorable and dishonorable are distinguished right here. At the point of suffering. And. What do you know of the What do you understand of each? How do you see them related in your service to God? Now listen to what Paul says about his own service to God in terms of these themes, suffering and glory.
First, the suffering. You will want to get that out of the way. But note how pervasive he is in his description of it, in his references to it. The first chapter, right off the eighth verse, he calls himself Christ’s prisoner. Not only is he a bond servant of Christ, but now he is literally a prisoner for Christ’s sake. He’s in jail. He says further in that verse that he is suffering for the gospel. In the twelfth verse of that same chapter, he speaks this way, I suffer these things. referring to the circumstances that are now his in a Roman prison. In the fifteen births, he has experienced personal desertion of some closest to him. You are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me and then he named a couple of men.
Particularly. In the next verse. He speaks about my chain. You get a sense of the link. Of that chain. As he speaks. Moving into the second chapter. He talks to Timothy about the hardship involved in servanthood to Christ, in his service, which he presently endures. In verses four through six, he gives us three illustrations of hardship. His objective to place before us that hardship in a striking fashion.
The soldier suffers, he says. The athlete suffers, he says. Even the hard-working farmer suffers. If they, much more myself. In the ninth verse, he speaks here about the extent of his suffering. He speaks of that hardship once more that he had mentioned previously, but now in terms specifically of the imprisonment that he endures as a criminal. One who is indicted. One who is facing trial. having undergone already a part of that trial.
In verses eleven and twelve, he speaks of dying with Christ, of enduring for Christ’s sake. In the third chapter, the eleventh verse, he reviews here for Timothy. those circumstances of his ministry that Timothy knows very well how, when he preached originally in the provinces of Asia Minor, he suffered severely, was stoned, was beaten, was persecuted. The eleventh verse is followed then by a general statement in which then Paul is included, he says, and indeed all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, will in fact suffer. The fourth chapter.
He gives us here a graphic description of what he has undergone and what awaits him. He tells us in the sixth verse, for I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. In the tenth verse, he speaks of Demas. Having loved this present world, he says of him, he has deserted me. He has abandoned me. In the fourteenth verse, he talks about the personal abuse he has suffered at the hands of one Alexander, the coppersmith. And then, in one of the most poignant passages in the entire New Testament, verse sixteen, at my first defense, no one supported me, but all deserted me.
It’s rather overwhelming, isn’t it? It’s rather overwhelming. But listen, Listen to the other side. Let’s go through it again. The first chance. The seventh verse, he tells Timothy there, we have not been given a spirit of fear, a spirit of terror, a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power. and of love, and of a sound mind. Timothy, I’m not crazy for enduring what I’m enduring. Indeed, Paul does suffer as a prisoner for the gospel. The suffering is extreme.
But you see how he concludes that verse? It is in keeping with the power of God that is in me. The power of God and the power of his gospel at work in me. Then he spells out in the subsequent verses nine and ten the significance of that gospel and its power. He talks about how that gospel power is explicated in terms of the Savior Christ Jesus, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to life.
The glory is shining. The twelve-verse Paul speaks confidently about this God who will keep that which he has committed unto him against that day. What day might that be? Well, the day that is coming when the magnificent glory of God will shine for all of its great And. Then shall the righteous shine for. As the sun. In my heavenly fathers. The second chapter. Again, looking at those illustrations that Paul gives in verses four through six.
Yes, he does speak about the hardship, he speaks about the suffering, but he also speaks about the glory. There is a glory awaiting that soldier who is faithful. There is a glory awaiting that athlete that competes according to the rules. There is a glory that awaits the hardworking farmer as he becomes the one who partakes of the first fruits of the harvest. There is a glory to be sure. And if it is so for soldiers and athletes and farmers, much more is it for us.
And in that eighth verse, one that I’ve hardly treated adequately, Paul there summarizes for Timothy his gospel. He asks him to remember Jesus Christ risen from the death. That in keeping with that glory, he is expounding in keeping with that glory that is explicated along the lines of the life and immortality brought to life through the gospel. Jesus Christ risen from the dead descendant of David, according to my gospel. In view then is the resurrection of Christ in relationship to that glory, and certainly the promise of resurrection and glory attending unto it for us. Verse 10 of that second chapter, Here, Paul, to be sure, is speaking about how he endures all things, but he tells us that he endures all things for the sake of the elect, that they also, with him, with him and Timothy, may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus, and with it eternal glory.
Salvation and glory, demarcated for us there. And what shall we say to that great hymn that is included here for us in verses eleven through thirteen? A more than adequate compensation, a God who is sufficient. If we die with him, we are told we shall also live with him. If we suffer, we shall also reign with him. Verse twelve. And what comforts are communicated in that last verse If we are faithless, if we fall down, if we prove. We. He remains strong. For he cannot deny himself.
More than adequate compensation, then for whatever suffering is involved in our dying with him, whatever suffering is involved with us enduring for his sake. More than adequate compensation in the resurrection promised us, and in the faithfulness of God to bring that to pass. Even in the third chapter, the eleventh verse, where Paul is going through his litany, he speaks of persecution, suffering, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra. What persecutions I endured, he reminds Timothy of these, but then he says, out of them all, as if a little resurrection had occurred, out of them all, the Lord delivered me. We race on to the fourth chapter. We can’t get there too quickly. We have heard about Paul being poured out like a drink, offering the time of his departure at hand. Then we hear him going on in the seventh and eighth verses.
He says, I fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith. And in the future, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will reward to me on that day. And not only to me, but also to all who love his appearance. And finally, coupled with that moving statement in the sixteenth verse. On the two verses that follow. Yes, it’s true, all deserted me in my first defense.
But did the Lord. Verse seventeen, 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. It’s overwhelming. In fact, as overwhelming as the account of his suffering. Even outdistancing that is this expression of glory and hope. The glory far exceeds the suffering. And the certainty of that glory is what sustains Paul. It is that glory that he places in front of Timothy that Timothy might be likewise sustained. And this epistle is in the New Testament. So that certainty of that glory might be put in front of you. But what happens? What happens when that certainty of glory, that well delineated hope expressed here, is lost from our vision, obscured or eclipsed?
Do we not find ourselves, like Timothy, drawing back in fear before the threat? Or, like so many of the false teachers against whom Paul stood, Do we not find ourselves in their company if, in fact, we move in that direction, absorbed with what Paul calls worldly chatter, speculations, and worldly fables? Timothy, in drawing back, sees too much of the world and too little of glory, and those who have gone off in the direction of falsehood are doing the same thing in their own way.
The concentration point is the world and the imposition of a worldly frame of mind. Now, you must not misunderstand at this point what Paul is driving at. But we are liable to think that the consideration of this worldly imposition is somehow contrary to the religious frame of mind. Far from it. The most religious-minded people in the world oftentimes turn out to be the most religious. The point is, What religion?
Timothy and his fear, the false teachers and their preoccupations, each losing sight of the certain glory and the hope that is promised. Turning their eyes away from the world to come and the glory in it They have now been overtaken by a preoccupation with this world, its promise, its system.
And all that it has to offer. The false teachers, it seems, have abandoned that certain hope. Timothy is in danger of losing. His grip on that certain hope. We are all aware, are we not, of the various forms of the religious worldliness that is now abroad. From those in our own day, like Hymenaeus and Phileas mentioned here in the second chapter, from those in our own day like them who have doctored the doctrine of the resurrection. After the cannons of radical liberalism. So as to deny it all together. To those who like Timothy while retaining the doctrine of the resurrection and the future glory oftentimes in a posture of radical conservatism, yet having spiritually internally abandoned it.
What will be the bottom line? If you lose sight of the glory, if you lose sight of that which Paul places before Timothy here, there will be no reason for you to endure. And there will be no motivation for you to do so. In the end, there will come collapse. There will come collapse both in morals and in character. For many, the denial of the resurrection glory and the hope of the gospel means that now there is a descent into an ungodliness and to immorality. Tell now.
Gone is any serious thought of eternal reward. Gone is any serious thought of a corollary eternal judgment. There is no true spiritual power left. because the vision of the eternal kingdom of righteousness has evaporated. There is no longer any proper biblical motivation or ground to holiness, and all proper biblical restraint is lost.
The seriousness with which Paul then addresses Timothy. It’s home. When you begin to consider. The severity. Of the cost. You give up the resurrection. And you’ll go to hell. Paul must say to Timothy, flee youthful lusts. My friend, your godliness is in the balance. But let’s work backwards.
What about you and your battles? What about you and your sins? What about the nagging, addictions of your life? The things you can’t shake? Is it because you don’t see the glory clearly enough? You don’t hold onto it tightly enough. You don’t insist on it. adamantly enough?
Have you fought a drinking problem? Have you had a battle with drugs? Can you not pass the newsstand without your thoughts flying? crippled? Are you a compulsive gambler? Now why is it do you think you have no power? No strength to resist? Because the glory of the reward is somehow eclipsed in your mind and for your soul. You do not see it adequately enough. There’s something else here. need to mention. Worthy of a sermon in its own right. And that’s why I read from Romans five. And in some ways it’s better if you have that in the new American Standard Version.
Because you see it’s not just a matter of morality that is in the balance What is also in the balance is what we call character. Before suffering, how do you fold up? Do you know why the tribulation comes? Do you know why the strain comes into your life? Because you’re being proved, because you are being tested, because it is being determined that whether or not you will decide for God, for his own sake alone. That is why. And every time you crumble before that test, your character is affected.
And the strength you need to face the decisions of your life is gone. It evaporates. It disappears. And it is precisely at this point that the church as a whole and Christians individually are failing miserably today. You know why? Because there’s no cost to any decision that you make. You can make a bad decision, a wrong decision, an immoral decision, an evil decision, and you’re surrounded with so much affluence that it never touches you. It never registers.
So you move from your thirties to your seventies, completely oblivious to the ministry of God in your life. And when it comes time for you to instruct your grandchildren, there isn’t anything in you to instruct them with. And when it comes time for you to face death, there’s nothing left and all you can do is The difference between someone who has been tested and tried and proven when they face death. The difference between them and someone who has failed miserably, repeatedly. for whom there is absolutely no character left.
Why it’s like night and day. I think you know what I’m talking about. Well, suffering and glory. And yet you will see the glory, godliness, and proven character. Just as it was so for Paul. Oh Lord. It is true that. The suffering will come. But father. May we prove to be your children. Your sons and daughters.
Who in the midst of that trial do not lose sight of the glory of Christ, the resurrection and the eternal reward. And father, we ask that with our eye clear, we will live righteously and strive after godliness. And Lord, we ask as well that in our trials Our character may be tested and truly improve.
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.