Reading: 2 Timothy 2:20-26
Text: 2 Timothy 2:20-26
Theme: The Lord calls his church to be vessels of honor for the purpose of his kingdom
1. The making of such of vessel
2. The maintenance of such a vessel
3. The ministry of such a vessel
Intro: God’s grace, brothers and sisters, is the foundation both of the Christian’s standing before God, and the Christians sanctification in this life. By it God’s redeems us, and by it renews us more and more in his image.
In this chapter, Paul has been encouraging Timothy to faithfulness. He must endure hardship, like a soldier (vs. 4), compete like an athlete (vs. 5), work like a farmer (vs. 6). He is to be diligent to present himself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed (vs. 15), rightly dividing the word of truth. Paul has called him to shun profane and idle babblings (vs. 16), and not strive about words to no profit. And all of this prefaced by “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”
It is with that encouragement in mind, brothers, that Christ strengthens his chosen people, and that they find their spiritual fortitude in him alone, we turn to the last set of exhortations to Timothy from Paul, his father in the faith. Paul has been speaking about good and bad workmen, true and false teachers, and now he turns to another metaphor, another picture of the Christian minister and Christian ministry, that of a vessel, an instrument. And here the Lord calls his church to be honorable vessels, honorable instruments in his hands. And we need to see three things about such instruments, such vessels this morning (read).
And so FIRST, brothers and sisters, the Lord calls us, his church, to be honorable vessels, honorable instruments in his hands, and first we need to see the making of such vessel (rd. vs. 20).
Paul begins with the picture of the various sorts of vessels that are used in a large house. Some vessels are made of gold and silver, and are used for honorable purposes such as eating. Other are made of wood or clay and used for dishonorable purposes, such as holding garbage or human waste (remember, no toilets in those days).
Now the large house that Paul talks about is no doubt the visible church of Jesus Christ. In that church there are both honorable and dishonorable vessels. The dishonorable vessels/instruments are those like Hymenaus and Philetus who talk religious talk, yet run headlong into ruin and destroy the souls of their hearers with their ridiculous wrangling and constant quarreling to no profit.
And so Paul takes it upon himself to exhort Timothy and those who Timothy teaches to become vessels that are honorable in the church of God (read 21). Now, this is not a call to sanctify oneself by ones own power, but an expanding upon the exhortation at the beginning of the chapter, “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” It is a call to, in the power of Christ, conscious, willful cleansing. And that cleansing for Timothy and his hearers consists in cleansing themselves from the false teachers that teach a Christless Christianity.
This cleansing involves a focused attention upon the finished work of Jesus Christ, and the life of thankfulness that Christ’s life produces. To be an honorable vessel, and honor instrument in the hands of the Lord, brothers and sisters, one must cleanse themselves of any pretention that would marginalize the work of Jesus Christ, reduce that work to just a good story, or make it anything but the ground and foundation of your salvation and mine. The filth of false teaching is found in its anemic view of Christ and Paul says we must cleanse ourselves from such filth.
And what is the result of such cleansing? The result is that one becomes a vessel of honor. This is where the reality rises above the picture. That man, that one, focused on Christ becomes sanctified (set apart) and useful for the Master of the house, Jesus Christ, prepared or every good work, which Ephesians reminds us are prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
This is the result, brothers and sisters, of a Christ-focused, Christ-centered life, cleansed by the blood of Christ. It is a life that is useful to Christ in the service of his kingdom, equipped for every good work.
Are we so enraptured, brothers and sisters, with the false teaching of the world, that our usefulness in Christ’s kingdom is dishonorable? Have we so bought into the me-centered mentality of our culture that our lives, if they could be describes in terms of vessels are more fit for garbage and human excrement, than honorable things?
What do we do if that is the case? We cleanse ourselves by turning to Christ, repent, and become useful, because, you see, in Christ, that is what God has ordained us to be, that is what God has declared us to be! Be who you are, brothers and sisters, be what the Lord has ordained you to be. Instruments in his hands, doing his will, for his glory, and the good of his church. Well, we must move on.
SECONDLY, the Lord calls us, his church, to be honorable vessels in his kingdom. And secondly, we need to see what is involved in the maintenance of such a vessel. Paul not only lays out the making of such a vessel by cleaning, but now the maintenance of such a vessel (read 22). Notice two things, an honorable vessel is maintained by fleeing certain things, and an honorable vessel is maintained by pursuing certain things.
First, and honorable vessel is maintained by flight. Paul tells Timothy to flee youthful lusts. Paul does not specifically identify what those lusts are. He simply describes them as those inordinate desires and passions which are characteristic of youth. And Paul is not thinking simply of sexual desire. The young minister, the new minister, Paul says must flee those things which youth so easily calls him to. Impatience when someone doesn’t see things his way; harshness when dealing with someone who is hard to deal with; contentiousness at the drop of a hat are all temptations and sins of youth. One minister described young ministers who believe they know everything as thunder-puppies. They bark like they are going to rip your leg off, not really knowing how small they are. Paul tells Timothy to flee such lusts.
But it is not enough simply to turn ones back to these things. There are other things which must be diligently pursued. Righteousness, Faith, and peace. The minister of the gospel, brothers and sisters, is a minister of Christ, and as such should reflect Christ himself. And Christ’s ministry, brothers and sisters, was marked, at every point with the pursuit of these things. Christ’s righteousness was beyond compare. He’s even referred to in John’s epistle as Jesus Christ, the righteous. His faith in his Father and his Father’s plan of redemption took him all the way to the cross where he suffered and died, and he loved those who where his, John 13 tells us to the very end, and is the prince of peace. What is the point here? The point is that as those who have called to be ministers of the gospel pursue these things, they do so in the power of Christ Jesus who himself ran this race before them. They do not pursue these things in vain, but they must pursue them. Their lives must be marked by them.
Such fleeing, such pursuing, ensure the maintenance of a vessel in Christ’s kingdom and honorable.
Well, THIRDLY, and there is so much we could look at here, the Lord calls his people to be honorable vessels in his kingdom. And third we need to see the ministry of such a vessel (read 24-26).
God’s honorable instrument, his honorable vessel, brothers and sisters. His minister, must not quarrel. The arguments of the false teachers are described literally as moronic and ignorant, generating nothing but strife. And in contrast to that Paul tells Timothy that those involved in the ministry of the gospel must avoid those sorts of disputes. And in the process of doing so, the Christian ministry must not be quarrelsome. Timothy could have exposed these mean for who they were….literally, moronic, but Paul says, “no Timothy, do not quarrel with such men.
You perhaps know folk, brothers and sisters, who like to fight. They like to debate, and there are up for a good quarrel at the drop of a hat. You also know that such people are not pleasant to be around. When I was in college, I got into a debate with someone who I was acquainted with and as I got more and more caught up in the debate the whole tone and demeanor of the debate become more and more unedifying, and by the time the end came, I was confident that what I said was theologically sound, but I hated every word I said, because I was just in to win, to shut the individual up.. The Lord’s servant must not do this.
Rather than quarrel, the Lord’s vessel is marked by four things. He is gentle to be all, even to those who are harsh to him. He does not lash out, he does not bite back when bitten at. He is able to teach, that is, he is able to gently, but soundly refute the teaching of false teachers. He is patient. The idea of the word here is that he does not become resentful.
In the ministry, brothers and sisters, there are times when people will say things that are unkind, uncalled for, and unchristian. But the Christian minister, in those times, is called to patience. William Barclay remarks regarding resentment, “There may be greater sins than touchiness, but none which does greater damage in the Christian church.” Patience at being wronged, brothers and sisters, is what Christ calls all his vessels to.
And then building on this, God’s chosen vessel, his chosen instrument is to correct in humility, those who oppose. Ministers of the gospel should not be known for being proud peacocks as they correct naysayers and trouble-makers. Rather, as the consider their own unworthiness to be entrusted with the preaching and teaching of God’s Word, they correct with humility, and they do so with this hope in mind (read 25).
The goal of all correction as Paul lays it out here, brothers and sisters is repentance (turning away from sin), recognition of their error (come to their senses), and release from the power and bondage of Satan.
That can only come with the preaching of the gospel! That is why God’s chosen vessel must be a gospel-centered vessel.
And so here we see the making, maintenance, and ministry of God’s chosen vessel. Glorious has been the train of such vessels of Christ, and may we strive to follow them, as they have followed Christ.
AMEN
