2 Timothy - Part 10 — John Hunter

The Three Figures of Christian Service

2 Timothy 2 at verse 3. Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that woreth and tangleth himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully. The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits. Consider what I say, and the Lord give the understanding in all things.

Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead, according to my gospel. For in I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even unto bonds, but the word of God is not bound. Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

It is a faithful saying, for if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him. If we suffer, we shall also reign with him. If we deny him, he also will deny us. If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful, he cannot deny himself.

The Lord will bless the reading of the scriptures. Those present last night. May recall that we delineated upon the three figures of service from verses three to seven. Verses three and four, the figure of a soldier.

Verse five of an athlete, and that was as far as we got. Verse six brings before us the industrious farmer. Quite clearly the figures are of importance. Because verse seven says, consider what I say, for the Lord will give thee understanding in all things.

So that the figures carry quite important teaching. Last night we dealt with the soldier. Drew attention to his loyalty and obedience. Drew attention to his separation and his suffering. Then we went on to the athlete.

The Athlete’s Rules for Serving Christ

Indicated here that if a man contend in the games, he will never be crowned except he observe the rules. Those of you who were present will remember that I spelled out the rules for this business of living and serving Christ.

Rule number one, you must know and be prepared to obey the rule book. That's the Bible. Rule number two, you must have a good character. Holding faith and a good conscience. Rule number three, you must observe self-discipline.

That comes out in self-denial and in forfeiting self-interest. You can't indulge yourself. Live like the world or like some Christians and serve the Lord fully and adequately. Rule number four, you must keep your own place.

Exercise your own gift. Work in your own sphere of labor. Rule number five, your motives must be pure. The love of Christ must constrain you. Rule number six, if you fail to observe the rules, you're disqualified.

And we saw that David, in his affair with Bathsheba, broke four of the rules. All these things are full of solemnities for each of us. Now we come immediately to the farmer. Just one or two things and we'll pass on.

The Industrious Farmer and Spiritual Labor

The laboring husbandman will be first to partake of the fruits. That is, if you expend your energy on anything, you're entitled to the proceeds. So that the farmer is a man who toils constantly, works at the right time, so that ultimately he will reap the fruit of his labor.

He stands in contrast to the sluggard of the book of Proverbs. With a little folding of the hands, a little slumber, a little sleep, so shall thy poverty come. Maybe, after all, some of us are very poor.

You see, a farmer has to work and wait. There are no instant results. He's got to plow at the right time, wait for the rains, etc., and then reap the harvest. If he doesn't work, there will be no harvest.

If he doesn't work the right way, the harvest shall be impaired. And that is true in spiritual service. The Sunday school teacher sows and waits. So does the gospel preacher. For after all, you must remember that while the evangelist gets all the credit, whenever people get saved, oh, they were saved under Mr. So-and-so.

But possibly he was only the last and smallest link in a long chain. So it is in the business of teaching the word of God you work and wait and look for results. Now tell me, what work have you done for Christ?

Honestly, have you ever led a soul to the Lord? You see, you don't need to be an evangelist to bring people to Christ. I knew a man in Scotland now in heaven, so did our brother Walt. He labored helping an evangelist down in Prestwick quite often, possibly led more souls to Christ than most of the evangelists that I know.

And he worked all his life in a secular occupation. Have you known the joy of seeing the light dawn upon a human soul? The church at Antioch, if you've read it in Acts 11, was set up, excuse the term please, by ordinary Christians.

There were no apostles, no preacher, no campaign. The Christians that were scattered abroad went everywhere speaking the word. That's the first thing. They just told people how they got converted. I am thinking today of that beautiful land I shall reach when the sun goeth down.

Will there be any stars in my crown? But of course a farmer has no set hours. He's not in an 8-hour day, 40-hour week. He's got to work when the time comes. And very often he'll work from very early morning to late at night as the weather permits.

How does your Christianity work out? Are you in an 8-hour day or a 3-hour evening? Say, my good brother, be honest. If any sinner was in trouble or any saint was in trouble and it hit them hard at 2 o 'clock in the morning, would they know full well there's no use phoning Mr.

So-and-so, he'll be in bed. There's no intentions of being disturbed. I'm afraid that with many of us our Christianity is a bit of a hobby. And we just turn to it when there's maybe not so very much to do.

I want you to think on these things. It would be good if there were more labourers. You don't think me too critical for the spotlights on me as well as others. I want to tell you that there are some preachers work harder than others.

And I would like to tell you that there are some preachers that know God better than others. There it is. He will be first to partake of the fruit. And later on in the glory, at the judgment seat, it will all come out.

Motives for Christian Service

Now come with me now, please, will you? Verses 8 to 13. We saw in verses 3 to 7 the other night figures of service. In verses 8 to 13 we have motives for service. In verse 8 the motive is remember Jesus Christ.

Omit the word that. It's remember the person, not anything that he did. Remember Jesus Christ. That's the first motive. The second motive is the sufferings of Paul. Verses 9 and 10. Wherein I suffer, therefore I endure all things.

Verses 11 to 13. Another motive, future reward. Now let's come now to verse 8. Now he says, Timothy, remember Jesus Christ. Then critical translations reverse the order. Remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead of the seed of David.

Those of you who were here in earlier nights in South Main Street last week will recall that I drew your attention to the difference between Jesus Christ and Christ Jesus. That is, that the Jesus Christ and Christ Jesus refer to the same person but the emphasis is different.

The emphasis always falls on the first word. Jesus Christ is the man that was here who's now up there. Christ Jesus is the person up there who's now down here. So he's speaking about Christ historically.

He says, remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead of the seed of David according to my gospel. Now what he's trying to tell Timothy is this. Now listen, Timothy. The days are going to get harder and more difficult.

As time goes on, things will not become any easier. That was with Paul. The first imprisonment was quite easy, Acts 28. He was under house arrest. All his friends could visit him, come and go as they pleased, but not now.

He's in a dungeon. He's hard to find. Things are far more difficult than once they were. And as he got near the end of the road, they became more and more difficult. Oh, I keep telling you these things, don't I?

You're saying, here he's at it again. But you know, it's true. As we get older, we think things should get easier and more comfortable. Whereas in the Christian pathway, it never works like that. Tell me, you good men and women that read your New Testament.

Did you ever notice that there's no old men in Christianity? No old men in Christianity. It's always fathers. Babes, young men, fathers. You're always looked upon as growing up to maturity. You see, old means that which is going back decrepit, getting finished, done.

Nothing like that in Christianity. You're always progressing to maturity. And always you're becoming more indispensable, if you'll allow it, because of your knowledge and experience of Christ. Now, Timothy, listen.

Things will get bad. But remember Jesus Christ raised from the dead. Lift your eyes to the throne. Get your sight on the monarch in the heavens. Remember, Timothy, that Christ is alive from the dead and lives in heaven.

He's moved into a new region, known only to faith, apprehended only by the man and woman of God. Into a region where he's unseen. Yet in that region, you can touch him, and he can support you. Remember, he's vanquished the power of the tomb.

He's broken the power of death. He has come out of the tomb and walked the virgin soil of resurrection and ascended to the heavens. Lift your eyes, Timothy. Remember Jesus Christ, a living person in the glory, to uphold, to sustain, to make you live when it hardly seems worthwhile living.

To take you past the breaking point, Timothy, without breaking. To sustain you when everything's against you. Remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead. But watch, of the seed of David. What does that mean?

Christ the Seed of David and the Promised Throne

Well, now, it's usually interpreted as to the humanity of Christ. That may be there. Personally, I don't think it's the leading idea here at all. What does he mean when he says, remember Jesus Christ raised from the dead of the seed of David?

Well, now, let me quote you two Old Testament passages, please. The first you can find in 2 Samuel 7. And God speaking through the prophet to David. When thy days be fulfilled and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.

He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. Notice, the seed linked with the throne. Now, Psalm 89. God says,. And his throne as the sun before him. Notice that, the connection between the seed and the throne.

Now, what he's saying to Timothy is this. Now, listen, Timothy, when days are dark and difficult, you remember Jesus Christ raised from the dead, the one who ultimately will reign as the son of David.

Have you got it? Listen, the man that broke the power of death and lives in heaven, and the man who will ultimately reign over the whole universe, can rule your little life. The man who can hold everything in his hands, for sovereignty, is the man that can hold you up, and see you through, and never let you down.

Brethren and sisters, listen. Remember Jesus Christ. You recall in verse 1, My son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Do you remember I tried to bring before you the fact that you'll need to learn to look to Christ.

You'll need to learn to use Christ. All the grace and power resident in the man and the glory is for you. Do you remember, please, I illustrated it from the storm and the lake. How that when Peter received the call to come, that Peter, as he kept his eye on Christ, actually walked in the water.

He actually did what Christ could do. He actually accomplished what Christ could accomplish. And what the Lord was doing, he could do. And above his circumstances, he walked in holy fellowship with the Son of God.

That's it. Lift your eye. Remember Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, raised from the dead, according to my gospel. Now look, please, at verse 9. He says, according to, in line with this gospel, I suffer troubles.

Paul’s Suffering and the Unbound Word of God

Now, let me lift out three phrases, please. I suffer, evildoer, unto chains, bonds. Now, you'll notice, please, one, that Paul is suffering. You'll notice that he's suffering as a criminal. You'll notice that he's chained.

Now, you'll take note that that word, evildoer, evil worker, is the same word as is translated in Luke 23, malefactor. How come, please, that a man like this is suffering like a criminal? How come that this man so devoted should finish his life in a dungeon?

Now, listen to me. You might well ask me, how come that John the Baptist's career should be cut short by a dancing girl? How come that the Son of God, after only serving three and a half years, his life should be cut short upon a cross?

That will teach you this, that long life is not necessarily divine favor. I know that's what's thought. Christ only served publicly for three and a half years, the Baptist for a good bit less. And here's a man at the end of the road, and he's chained, and he's suffering like a criminal.

Now, watch his outlook, please. Look again. Wherein I suffer trouble as an evildoer unto bonds, but the word of God is not bound. Oh, that's great. Listen. He says, I'm bound, but the gospel's free. I'm shut in, but other people are preaching.

You see, brethren and sisters, you can exile the preacher, you can never exile the message that he preaches. You can imprison the preacher, you can never imprison the message that he preaches. For the message is greater than the man.

Truth is mightier than its bearer. Rome had no bars or doors that could restrain and contain the word of God. It is an indisputable fact. The irresistible might of the word of God. If human effort could have obliterated Christianity, it would have perished long ago.

Listen to me, brethren and sisters. You can't kill that which is immortal. You can't murder that which is eternal. You cannot annihilate that which liveth and abideth forever. Right down through the ages, they have died.

Stephen was martyred. James was butchered. Paul died as a martyr on the Ostian Way. Timothy has died. And down generation after generation, men and women have stood, lived and died for Christ. Now we've come to the eighties, and it's your life and mine.

It's your world and mine. Yes? Listen to me. And if the Lord tarries, we'll go the same way. And you'll come forward to take our place. Preachers may come and preachers may go. Servants may be laid aside and die, but the work of God goes on.

And ever the highway will be held in the name of Christ. And ever and on, the word of God will go forth. For there's nothing greater, more glorious, more wonderful than the gospel. And God has decreed right to the end of the road it will be preached.

No man is indispensable. No servant but what can be done without. Thank God the word of God is not bound. The glorious freedom of the gospel. A message of liberty that liberates. And none can ever, none can ever quench it.

The fires that burned the martyrs only drew attention to a fire that can never be put out. Look again please, verse 10. Therefore I endure all things. I'm quite prepared to suffer. I'm quite prepared to be incarcerated in the dungeon.

I'm quite prepared to be cut off. I'm quite prepared to be forsaken. I endure all things. What for? Well look at it. For the sake of the elect. Listen again. That those who are elect might obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

Got that? Listen again. I endure all things for the sake of the elect so that as the gospel is preached the elect will obtain by faith the salvation of God which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

You would never have put it like that. Now write. You would never have brought election and salvation together. You would hardly have dared to say in some quarters that you're glad the gospel's going forth that the elect might be saved.

Yet that's exactly what he's saying here. Now my time's limited tonight. So on Lord's Day afternoon here in Deep Cove I shall take time during that address to speak to you on sovereignty and human responsibility election and believing and I'll set before you what the scriptures teach in relation to God's sovereign choice and electing race and also in relation to whosoever believeth and I'll lay it out on the line exactly what the Bible teaches for I haven't time to do it tonight.

But you'll notice this that Paul says I endure all things for the sake of the elect that they might obtain the salvation of God. Now that means this that the elect are saved through the preaching of the gospel not apart from it.

Now write. No idea in your Bible if the elect will get saved whether you speak to them or not. It's never put like that. The election and preaching are brought together. Again. You will notice that he doesn't say I endure all things that all might hear the gospel while that's true.

Nor does he say I endure all things that there might be those who shall obtain the salvation of God. I could have said that. But he says I endure all things for the sake of the elect that they may also obtain the salvation.

What does he mean? He means this. That the gospel is preached and the gospel that is preached goes out to everyone and the gospel preacher doesn't know anything about who's elected or not. So he preaches the gospel and as people get saved then he begins to realize that these are the elect.

Got that? Listen again. I endure all things for the sake of the elect that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. And you'll notice please you'll notice that when he talks about the reception of the gospel he says that they'll obtain salvation with eternal glory.

You see, you can't preach a message that blesses men here and not in eternity. You can't separate salvation enjoyed now and the glory that's to be entered into in the future. So he says they shall obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

Suffering, Resurrection, and Future Reward

And he'll go on to indicate to them that there is a day of reward coming. For if we have died with him we shall live with him. Now I know the expositors, most of them would link this with Romans 6. If we have died with him we shall also live with him.

But you know the context of Romans 6 and 2 Timothy 2 are altogether different, brethren. And I would be inclined to the viewpoint that the dying here in the context is physical death. Paul is facing death.

Timothy will ultimately face it through persecution. And in the context I would be inclined to the viewpoint that he's saying now listen Timothy, we'll maybe need to face it. But remember this. They can take our life here we'll only enter into fullness of life over there.

And if we suffer with them here we're sure to reign with them up there. Can you see the encouragement? Just as he turns to the other side of the coin and gives the warning. Deny him, he'll deny you. Faithless, he'll abide faithful for he must be true to his nature.

God’s Sovereignty and Human Responsibility

And so there it is. Now I need to sit down, my time's up. So that as you go into the chapter, verse 14 to the end he's going to deal with doctrinal error and how the servant of God meets it. Before we touch that I should like to draw your attention to these two aspects of truth that run parallel through your Bible.

Aspects of truth which are inclined to be evaded by the brethren. The sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. The right of deity to choose yet the right of sinners to believe. Remember this.

Once you limit God, he ceases to be God. And it is not true to say that God chose you because he knew you would put your faith in Christ. That suits the human intellect. And that makes it a wee bit more appealing to ungodly folks who make inquiry.

But you can't subject deity to the act of your will. Freedom. Liberty. The right of action is all settled intrinsically in deity. It is essentially a part of the function of the Godhead. But I think I've said to you before the Godhead are the only really free persons in the world.

And they are the only persons who act royally independent of every other person in the universe. And when you go back to times eternal you'll find this. That deity acted independent when there was nobody else to consider.

And God acted out of himself from himself for himself. And you're sitting here tonight as the fruit of that independent action of deity. And if God had never set his heart upon you and never moved in the sovereignty of his being you would never have been saved.

You'd have been in hell forever. Oh thank God. Thank God for the glory of electing grace for the wonder of divine purpose and for the self-choice of divine persons that looked on you and amazing saw something that God could work upon.

Once he had implanted his spirit and out of all the mass he chose you dignified you and tonight you're privileged in your little life to work out the glory and greatness of the purpose and ways of God.