Sermon Tone Analysis

Olympic-Level Spiritual Commitment (2 Timothy 2, Titus 2)

/Preached by Pastor Phil Layton at Gold Country Baptist Church on July 13, 2008/

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Titus 2:1-7 (NASB95) 1 But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine.

2 Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance.

3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, 4 so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 /to be /sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.

6 Likewise urge the young men to be sensible; 7 in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, /with /purity in doctrine, dignified,

 

This is not a passage to rush through in one message, in fact I really just wanted to introduce the first portion of this chapter today and I won’t even be jumping into the details of the various exhortations Paul gives to each of the various groups in the church, which I will seek to expound more beginning next week.

But I want you to turn today back a few pages to a parallel passage in 2 Timothy 2 and try to give a broader context of how this fits into Paul’s overall exhortations in his letters to Titus and Timothy, these so-called “pastoral epistles” written to these young pastors serving in ministry, Paul’s sons in the faith.

As a young pastor myself, I think you can understand why I am drawn to these letters, which complement each other and together give the church the essential tasks and truths it needs to know God’s blessing.

The beginning of Titus 2 really highlights the inter-generational aspect of ministry – the older teaching the younger, both men and women, and the passing on of truth from one generation to the next.

Titus was told to instruct the young men in specific areas and to be an example, and the older women are to model and teach God’s truth to the younger women, and the older men are similarly to model godliness and mentor younger men in the faith, and the goal is that the younger can eventually mentor or disciple others.

 

2 Timothy 2 in some ways covers the same critical subject:

 

2 Timothy 2:1-2 (NASB95) 1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

This context speaks especially of men in ministry, but the principle would apply to all ministries of the church.

We are called to make disciples, and we seek to make them reproducing /disciple-makers/, and those they disciple will be reproducing others like them.

As this verse says, Paul did not disciple Timothy for his own benefit and growth only, but the things Timothy heard from Paul he is to also entrust these to others with the final goal that they will be able to do the same, so that ministry is a relay race, rather than an individual running.

The athletic imagery is one of many that Paul uses to highlight the commitment-level and diligent hard work God expects of all of us.

 

3 Suffer hardship with /me, /as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.

5 Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules.

6 The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops.

… 15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

Verse 15 is the theme verse of AWANA from this text (Approved Workman Are Not Ashamed)

 

If God has a vital role and commitment for all of us in the church, young and old, men and women, adults and children - and He does - perhaps it would serve us before we look at the specifics that God calls us to, to look at /how we are going to be able to fulfill such a commitment/.

And I believe 2 Timothy 2 gives us the means by which we can fulfill the vital tasks Paul calls us to in Titus 2 and in living the Christian life.

We’ve looked at the soldier image last month, but I want to look especially at v. 15 today and the athletic imagery we see in v. 5.

 

We’re less than a month away from this summer’s Olympic games and I thought it a fitting time to be reminded of this image of commitment and diligence that will be freshly visible.

The Olympics began in Greece in 776 BC and continued until AD 393.

The Olympics were well-known to the original readers of the NT as the pinnacle of human diligence and hard work in the physical realm.

Verse 5 mentions some rules, and there were a number:

-         the contestants had to be born as Greeks

-         they had to train intensely for ten months

-         they had to be denying self

-         they had to swear allegiance to their emperor.

Timothy lived in the city of Ephesus, the most important city in Asia Minor, which had a massive stadium that could hold an estimated 25,000 people and hosted athletic events that rivaled the Olympics in Greece.

The Olympics began over 2800 years ago and continued every four years for more than a millennium and then were revived in more modern times.

Paul draws on the imagery of these games in 2 Timothy 2 and other passages – the difference is in the Christian race:

-         you don’t have to be born a Greek, but you do have to be /born again/

-         your allegiance is not to the Emperor but to God alone

-         the diligence and hard work is not physical but is just as intense spiritually

-         dying to self is still a requirement.

2 Tim 2:5 says: /If anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win unless he competes according to the rules”/ (true in our day as well – athletes disqualified because of steroids, etc.)             

 

Paul continues this sports imagery at the end of his letter and life in 4:7 – “/I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course ~/ race, I have kept the faith./”

Verse 8 speaks of the victor’s heavenly crown which is not like the perishable wreath worn by earthly Olympic victors.

Paul is urging Timothy to Olympic-level spiritual commitment: to stay on track, to stay in bounds, to follow the rules laid down by the Master, to fight the good fight of faith, and finish the course and race God has for him.

Everybody in the first century knew about the games, it was the highest example of physical effort and Paul frequently used it by analogy to raise the bar spiritually as high as possible.

Paul’s argument has been summarized this way:

/He said in effect, "The games are played at this level of reality.

They run at this level.

They box at this level.

They train and practice and deny themselves at this level.

They set their sights on gold at this level.

"Now I want you to see all that at another level.

I want you to transpose the temporary struggles and triumphs of the Olympic Games onto a different level of reality--the level of spiritual life and eternity and God.

When you see the athletes run, see another kind of running.

When you see them boxing, see another kind of boxing.

When you see them training and denying themselves, see another kind of training and self-denial.

When you see them smiling with a gold medal around their neck, see another kind of prize."

… / [To Paul] /the games … are meant to be seen and heard by Christians as a tremendous impulse to fight the fight of faith and run the race of life with nothing less than Olympic passion and perseverance.*[1]*/

2 Timothy is Paul’s passing the torch to Timothy – he’s finished his lap and passing on the baton of truth to Timothy and urging Timothy to pass it on to others.

To bring in the language of other epistles, he’s essentially saying Timothy, don’t give up, don’t worry about your opponents, don’t worry about the crowd, just run with endurance throwing off the sins that so easily entangle you, forget about the past, and press on to the things ahead, keep your eyes on the prize so that you can fight the good fight, keep the faith and finish your race!

In chapter 2:3-4 Paul tells Timothy he must also be a good soldier, suffering hardship, Timothy, be a warrior freeing yourself form worldly distractions so you can focus on pleasing the commander in chief.

There are no draft dodgers in the Lord’s army, no deserters allowed, no defectors, no reserve forces Christians, no undercover believers, no leave of absences, Timothy, you’re deployed in this war and you need to be strong in the trenches!

In verse 6 he uses yet another picture: he tells Timothy to be like a hard-working farmer, patient and tireless in his toil.

That’s a great image of the Christian life, patiently, faithfully working in service for the Lord, day-by-day, hour-by-hour, focused on God and the future outcome.

This is the final letter Paul would ever write in scripture and he’s pulling out all the metaphors, not holding anything back.

He gives 25 commands in these brief chapters.

The reason is, as 3:1 says “/difficult times will come/”

The key question is HOW CAN A MAN OR WOMAN OF GOD PERSEVERE IN DIFFICULT TIMES?

The answer has to do with how much we LOVE and LIVE God’s Word.

My goal is to help us see and this monumental charge Paul gave Timothy, so that YOU can also be an unashamed workman, warrior, and spiritual athlete, with the commitment God desires.

OUTLINE:

1.      Be Diligent in the things of God            

2.

Be God-Focused (zealous for the approval of God)

3.      Be Faithful to the word of God                         

BE DILIGENT

Since I began studying this passage before the first time I ever preached before a large group, these 2 words have challenged me perhaps more than any 2 words in the Bible.

In the Greek language it’s one word and one of the strongest possible in their vocabulary to emphasize this type of wholeheartedness and it’s a rebuke to any who give less than a full effort in the things of God.

The more you understand the force of the word Paul uses here, the more uncomfortable it becomes.

When I am tempted to become lazy in my studies or efforts, these words have been haunting me “Be diligent” – when I make excuses about being tired, or I can do it later, Paul keeps convicting me “Be diligent!”

I suspect there are many who started a daily Bible reading program all gung-ho and have fallen behind … days – weeks, etc. Paul’s challenge applies to you as well – Be diligent!

Don’t give up.

If you’re in a spiritually dry time, don’t give up.

If your prayer life has become cold, if you’re not using your gifts in the body, Paul charges Timothy in chapter 1 – “kindle afresh” - fan the flames back up, stay diligent, stoke the fireplace of earnestness in your heart about the things of God, put fuel on the fire!

Maybe you’re on another reading program or maybe you’ve been trying to do memory verses or some other disciple, and you just let yourself become undisciplined – this applies to a lot of areas - Be diligent in the things of God and especially the Word of God.

 

~*~* EZRA 7:10 – great OT example of diligence in study

Ezra had set his mind ~/ prepared his heart (whole being) to:

#. study (an intense word, lit.

SEEK out the full meaning of)

#. to practice it

#.

and to teach                 

~*~*THE ORDER IS CRITICAL

 

In 2 Tim.

2:15 the KJV has “study to shew thyself” and the word can include study and but is also broader than how we use that word today exclusively for book work.

We are to be diligent in the things of God, including (especially) the study of God’s Word.

Before Paul tells Timothy to “preach the Word” in chapter 4, he tells him here he must diligently study the word.

If Timothy (who knew Greek, lived with Paul, etc.) needed to study, how much more us today?

Even the Apostle Peter in 2 Peter 3:6 said there were some things in Paul’s writings hard to understand – if Peter was challenged in understanding the writing of his contemporary, how much more do we need to study today?

The Holy Spirit illumines us as we study diligently, and He has also illuminated many other godly men through the years whose writings we shouldn’t ignore.

Paul’s own example in 2 Timothy 4 is compelling – he’s on spiritual death row and may not be around much longer, but he wants Timothy to bring more books and parchments so he can study more before He sees God.

READ 4:13.