 READ 2 TIMOTHY 2
Illustration: Strong men don’t run away — Liam Neeson Taken meme: “He trained Batman, Obi-Wan, and Darth Vader; He is Zeus and Aslan … Why would you kidnap his daughter?” It’s inconceivable to think of him running away! In a passage that begins with a call to “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2:1), it seems almost contradictory for Paul to also exhort his son-in-the-faith to “flee” (2:22). Instead, we are reminded from Paul’s counsel here that the strongest of spiritual men and women display their greatest strength when they acknowledge the power of sin, the weakness of their flesh, and the wisdom of God’s command to flee! Indeed, a sign that they are “strong in grace” is that they “flee from sin.” Those who would be “strong in grace” understand that God’s grace in no way excuses them from dealing with sin themselves. They know that if they are not careful, they might become dirty and dishonorable, unfit for the “use” of the Master. Notice that this is what Paul teaches in the two verses before our text, in verses 20-21 (READ). See, God wants to “use” you for the “good work” (v. 21) of bringing His “opponents” to “repentance” and “the knowledge of the truth” (vv. 24-26). But to be this kind of “servant of the Lord” (v. 24), you must not “entangle” yourself with sin (like a soldier, v. 4); instead, you must “compete according to the rules” of God’s Word (like an athlete, v. 5) and “work hard” to enjoy this fruit (like a farmer, v. 6). Indeed, you must “cleanse yourself from what is dishonorable, and you will be an honorable and set apart vessel that the Lord can use (“useful”) whenever He needs to (“ready”).” So, God wants to use you … Are you usable? Are you clean and honorable? Are you “strong in grace” by dealing with sin. Honorable and usable vessels deal with sin in their lives, by God’s grace, through three activities: I MUST FLEE SOME THINGS — "FLEE YOUTHFUL PASSIONS" “Flee” – to seek safety by flight; a purposeful, forgetting-all-else, “get me out of here” mentality
“Lusts” – strong desires, particularly for that which is presently forbidden “Youthful” – those things peculiar to the age of youth — Question: What might these be (cf. 2:23, 2:24, 3:1-7)? Application: I must understand the nature of youthful lust, that it is an enemy to be feared, not a stranger to be flirted with. I must especially be aware of this in my youth. Having understood its nature, I must then “run scared” until that time when the Lord gives legitimate, sanctified fulfillment to those lusts. I MUST PURSUE SOME THINGS — "PURSUE RIGHTEOUSNESS, FAITH, LOVE, AND PEACE" “Pursue” – to press hard after something; to seek after eagerly; to earnestly endeavor to acquire
“Righteousness” – that which is straight, right, conforming to the character (i.e., the will and Word) of God; esp. obedience to vv. 23-24 “Faith” – consistency, perseverance, and trueness that comes from believing in and conscientiously living in light of the revelation of God’s Word; faith in this passage would be the catalyst of v. 26 “Love” – self-sacrificial, volitional love that acts in the best interest on the object loved, without regard to personal cost; overcomes feeling and is consistent with righteousness and faith; love in this passage would be demonstrated by v. 25 “Peace” – harmony between individuals; peace in this passage would be to live v. 24 Application: Rather than focusing on what is being denied to me (i.e., youthful lusts), I should focus on what has been graciously granted to me (i.e., righteousness, faith, love, and peace). I should seek to cultivate these characteristics in my own life. In a sense, all four of these characteristics are the opposite of a “youthful lust.”
I MUST PRAY FOR HELP — "WITH THOSE WHO CALL ON THE LORD FROM A PURE HEART" “Call” – to invoke for aid; this suggests a true humility and a continuous, active dependence upon a greater power; cf. Hebrews 2:18; 4:15-16 “Lord” – the Master, who according to verse 21 is even our “Despot,” and we are his “slaves” “Pure” – clean, undefiled, free from mixture with anything that soils or corrupts; blameless, innocent: this is, then, a humble and non-idolatrous attitude “Heart” – denotes more than an external appropriateness; focuses on one’s inner man (i.e., who He is before God) Application: According to 2:1, there is “grace in Christ Jesus.” But, since God only “gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6-10) I must humble myself and realize my own inability to consistently and righteously flee and pursue. One manifestation of humility is an earnest, consistent prayer life. God’s aid must be solicited, and often! However, I must realize that God will not give grace to those who hypocritically refuse to use it. My heart must be in keeping with my prayer. If I ask God to give me His grace to aid me in my fleeing and pursuing, I must do so with confession and commitment, so as to receive that grace. My heart must be clean before God, and a pure heart is attained by fleeing and pursuing. And so, we have a three-fold chain that will not be broken. All three activities must be engaged in habitually. Notice also that there is a mutual, corporate, partnering, accountability component to this activity of sanctifying prayer — I should pray “along with those” who call on the Lord with a pure heart! Truly, then, let us therefore “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” by fleeing, pursuing, and praying. Then, we will be set apart, honorable, useful, and ready for the Master’s service!  Michael Phelps is an American swimmer and the most decorated Olympian of all time with 22 medals. He also holds the all-time record for Olympic gold medals with 18, which is double the second highest record holders. His list of honors, awards, accomplishments, and records is enormously lengthy, and he stands as the greatest swimmer of all time.
What has contributed to his incredible success? An August 2008 article examined Phelps' physique and demonstrated several unique features that helps Phelps as a swimmer. First, although he stands at 6'4" and most peoples' wingspan equals their height, Phelps' wingspan is 6'7", allowing his arms to work like powerful propulsive paddles. The article also states that his lower body, interestingly, is shorter than that of an average man of his height. His relatively short legs result in less drag or resistance. In short, Phelps has an upper body of a 6'8" person but his lower body seems to be of someone who is only 5'10", which also make the perfect plane in water. Then there's his size-14 feet and double-jointed ankles that allow him to whip his feet as if they are flippers. Finally, Phelps eats 12,000 calories a day, but his body produces less lactic acid than most other people which means he takes less time to recover after a swim. So, Michael Phelps is the greatest swimmer of all time, because he's built perfectly for it, right? Wrong! The article goes on to state that Phelps swims 60 miles a week and maintains a mind-boggling daily routine. Without his workout program, Michael Phelps would still have a "freakish" physique, but nothing to show for it. His God-given gifts had to be complemented with his own rigorous effort in order to accomplish the results that have made him famous. Likewise, believers have been given a unique "spiritual physique"—"old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). They have the life of God, as they are "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4). Yet, unless they use what they've been given, they'll still have a "new man" nature, but nothing to show for it. The believer's God-given gifts (2 Peter 1:1-4) have to be complemented with his own diligent effort (2 Peter 1:5-7) in order to accomplish the results that glorify Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:8-11).  Pastor Phelps shared the following illustrations with his ABF class this past Sunday, and I thought I'd pass it along, as it really helps to clarify Peter's tension between justification (1:1-4) and sanctification (1:5-11).
When his children were still in high school, Pastor and Mrs. Phelps bought them all inline skates for Christmas. The kids were ecstatic about that gift, especially in light of (1) their 140 foot paved driveway, (2) their large and energetic dog that could pull them around, and (3) the unusual 60 degree weather they happened to have on that particular Christmas day. For one of their children, however, a wrong size had been purchased--the skates fit okay, but would be outgrown within a few months. So, the parents had the incredibly difficult job of convincing that child to wait until their inline skates could be returned the next. Why was that so hard for the child to understand and agree to? Because the natural response for those children--in light of the really neat gift and tremendously warm day--was to run outside and enjoy it. In a picture, that's what sanctification it--having received the incredibly wonderful gift of salvation, we run outside and use it! Recognizing our freedom from sin and reveling in our new status as children of God, we naturally and energetically unwrap the gift and put it to use! Some gifts just make us want to drop everything and start using it right away, and not to do so is agony--just ask the Phelps' child! Likewise, God's gift of true faith through Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:1-4) is a gift that keeps on giving, and it compels the recipient who's paying attention to drop everything else and respond in gratitude and cooperation. This is sanctification. |
|
