2tim2v8-10

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READING: 2 TIMOTHY 2:1-26 TEXT: v8- 10 [SERIES #7]

The Lord has graciously given everyone of us a memory
Some of us have better memories than others
Some people have trained their memories so that they will hardly forget a face or a name
Others of us are only average when it comes to these things
But we can all remember
Perhaps if we rid our minds of the useless junk that we accumulated over the years, then we might remember more!

Right from early days, God called upon us to recall
1/10 Commandments is to Remember the Sabbath Day
Remember that it is a holy day and observe it as such
We have several references in the Book/Genesis to the need of remember and the blessing of remembering
Joseph asked the chief butler to remember him
But he forgot for two years – but then remembered again
Joseph himself remembered the dreams that he had and their spiritual significance
The disciples (NT) remembered a certain Scripture when the Lord Jesus cleaned out the temple of its corruption (John 2)

So Paul stood on good ground when he employed this important faculty of man
A forget Christian will not survive long in this world
There are certain things that he must hide away in his memory and his heart so that he can draw upon them when in trouble
Failure to do so will prove to be fatal

Therefore Paul urges Timothy to remember (v8)
What Timothy should remember, should also be planted in our minds and be within easy reach

This call to memory centres around a particular doctrine
That’s right – a doctrine
These words come on the heels of vs1-7
There was a call to action – endure hardness/labour etc.,
But such calls (though necessary) are not just get up and go type calls – letting the energy and passion drive us onward
That won’t last either
What happens when you are about to run out of steam?
No – our faith does not stand in the wisdom of men but in the power/God and that power is centred around: doctrines/Bible
4 things to see re: this doctrine:

1) THE DECLARATION OF THE DOCTRINE:
Jesus Christ of the seed/David was raised from the dead (v8)

A/ Of course, these doctrines are not to the exclusion/others
Doctrines of the Virgin Birth/Atonement etc., were just as vital
He expounds them all to a greater/lesser degree in his letters
But here he picks out two vital doctrines:

B/ The Incarnation of Jesus Christ: of the seed/David
Jesus Christ became flesh and dwelt among us
Very God/God – He became very Man/man
His lineage could be traced back to David
This made Him the fulfilment of the promise made to David
The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne. (Psalm 132:11)

This truth brings great blessings to us:

[i] That Christ being real man can reconcile us to God
He fulfils the role of Mediator: 1 Timothy 2:5
[ii] He can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities (Hebrews 2:18)
He could not so this in any meaningful way if he were not man
Takes one who has been there to fully enter into the sufferings
Sometimes we feel so helpless when we come to certain cases
We have never been there and can only mutter a few platitudes
But Jesus has been there – He was born of the seed of David
He was truly the Man/Sorrows and acquainted with grief

[ii] Just as God kept His promise then – so He will always do so
It is impossible for God to lie (Hebrews 6;18)
Has been said: Our future is as bright as the promises/God
Therefore our future is bright and secure
Man’s promises are at best so suspect
May be uttered with the best/intentions but never carried out
But things God hath spoken are certain and true

C/ Another truth majored on: Resurrection/Christ
Jesus Christ was raised from the dead
This nails the lie of so many heretical groups

[i] Modernists: Who deny that Christ really died/Cross
[ii] Moslems who likewise deny this truth (They say Judas died!)
[iii] JW’s who say that the man Jesus is forever dead

None of these various groups preach Paul’s gospel
They preach therefore another gospel and are accursed (Galatians 1:8)

Again – note the reference to the faithfulness/God
He was raised according to the gospel
Not merely: the gospel is according to the resurrection (true)
But the resurrection is according to the gospel
God said beforehand that He would raise up Jesus
Argument of Peter in Acts 2 quoting Psalm 16:8-11

Let us remember these great doctrines
Let them become the very warp/woof of our souls
Live in their light from moment to moment
Defend them/contend for them/propagate them
Keep them ever before your mind and soul

2) THE DISTRESS OF THE DOCTRINE:

A/ Not that the doctrine itself is distressful
What can there be distressful in these great truths?
What darkness/calamity if they were not so nor true!
Of all men – most miserable (1 Corinthians 15:19)

B/ The distress comes from outside the Christian faith
Paul was troubled and in prison because he adhered to/preached these great things
They constituted his gospel – not of origin, but of identity
They formed an important part of his creed

C/ As he preached these things – he got into trouble
They troubled the known world at that time
I think I know why Paul singled out these two doctrines
These were the doctrines that upset the Jews/Gentiles most

[i] Paul preached that Jesus Christ was the Son/David
This effectively meant that he preached a Crucified Messiah
Jesus Christ, Son of David, was crucified by the Jews
Again, Peter Acts 2 hammered this home to great effect
He got away with it because God sent revival
Stephen didn’t fare so well when he tackled the issue (Acts 7)

But the Jews hated it with a vengeance
Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. (Acts 5:28)
They hated it even more when one of their own (Paul) taught it

[i]I] In preaching the resurrection – he upset the Gentiles
In Acts 17, when he got to this point, the Athenians mocked him
It was alright for a laugh – but only for a limited time

But Paul just didn’t state a few facts or things about the gospel
He preached and applied the gospel
And carnal minds could not receive it

D/ So they bundled Paul off to prison as a troublemaker
Interesting/note: The same Greek word here for suffer trouble is used in v3 where it is translated: endure hardness
Paul wasn’t asking anyone to do what he wouldn’t do himself
But it does remind us: there is a price to pay for these things

E/ Notice that Paul does not complain nor murmur
It is still his gospel, no matter what price he had to pay

F/ Neither does he relegate these things to being unmentionable
Some truths are not painfully held and seldom talked about
No! These are the things that Paul wants Timothy to remember
It also helps to register them in our minds that they were the cause of his troubles
Still – there is no warning sign here bidding them to avoid
A lesser man would have said: “Forget it!”
Not so the Apostle Paul
Despite the heavy cost involved in retaining these things and the living of them out – keep them always in remembrance
Keep them to the forefront

3) THE DESIGN OF THE DOCTRINE:

A/ Why did Paul so willingly suffer these things?
Why did he urge them not to be forgotten ?
Why was he prepared(in effect) to see his sufferings perpetuated and that in others also?

Answer: For the elect’s sake that they be saved (v10)

B/ Who says election destroys evangelism/Christian service?
That is the language of fools!
Paul believed that certain individuals were elected
Furthermore, he believed that they were elected unto salvation
The man who wrote Romans 9 didn’t water these things down
But he did more than write Romans 9 – he suffered for it

C/ He not only believed in the sovereignty/God but also in the responsibility of man

[i] He certainly believed that men were responsible creatures
He held: they were souls answerable before God for their sin
He often challenged them as to why they did what they did
He warned of a coming Day of judgement/retribution for sin

[ii] He believed his own responsibility to reach the lost
Paul’s Calvinism (to use that term) was not of the Hyper variety
He believed that God ordains the means as well as the end
He believed it to be the responsibility/redeemed to tell others
v2 makes this very clear (quote)
He very clearly lived it out in his own life as a missionary

D/ The design of his doctrine was to see the elect gathered in
God has an elect people whom He has purposed to save
Until they are just/faith alone, then they are children/wrath
Only when they believe so they pass from death unto life
But they will…and they will because they are elect unto salvation

This election took place in the purposes/God from before the foundation of the world
There/then He entered into an agreement with His Son to redeem this group of people to Himself

At the risk of being controversial here (but Scriptural!)
These people were chosen unconditionally in Christ to be saved
They were not elected because God foresaw faith
Faith is the fruit of election - not the cause
Those who believe that faith is the cause moves faith from merely being the channel of salvation (which we all believe) to being the cause/salvation
When the question is asked: Who made thee to differ?
They can answer: Me myself – I wasn’t as dumb as the others
But we repudiate this self exalting notion
God made the first move and we owe our salvation to Him alone
There are a number/other arguments we could pursue here, but we do not want to get off on that particular track

E/ It is not that Paul limited his message any or had any special insights into who the elect were and preached accordingly
Rather – He preached the gospel to each and every man he met
But he preached with assurance of success
He knew that through his efforts the elect would be gathered in
Just as the sower who went forth accepted that much of the seed would achieve very little, but other would produce a harvest

This ought to motive us also to be busy for God
Endure all things for the elect’s sake
You will not be a loser if you do

4) THE DYNAMISM OF THE DOCTRINE:

A/ Contained in the words: Word of God is not bound (v9)
Whilst Paul pushed himself the extra mile –
yet he knew that the strength did not lie in himself
Power lies in the word of God itself
The law/Lord is perfect converting the soul (Psalm 19:6)

B/ Word/God is not bound because God Himself is not bound
Whoever binds God has taken over the position
Satan tried it and failed and he himself will be bound
But God cannot be bound
God is Almighty and Sovereign in all His ways

C/ Therefore when we bring the word/God to others, it is not necessarily true that they can stop it from working

Of course, many of the unsaved do
We ought to warn/rebuke/reason with them about such folly
Challenge them because they are (as said) responsible beings
Such challenges/pleading might well be used to awaken them
Let them make no appeal to the sovereignty/God here

But we can evangelise drawing every comfort from it
God will bring forth His elect to Himself through evangelism
Pleases God by the foolishness/preaching to save them/believe
Our labour then is not in vain if it be in the Lord (15:58)

Almost hackneyed phrase (but it serves to show its worth)
Eternity alone will reveal what is done after evangelistic events
Get the word/God out among the people
The sower/seed broadcast it indiscriminately
We want the elect to obtain the salvation/Christ with eternal glory – such is eternally glorifying to God

THE END

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