21st Sunday after Pentecost, 2010
Rev. Brian L. Kachelmeier
2 Tim. 3:14-4:5
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Our gospel text ends with this question, “[W]hen the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8, ESV) The prompting of this question leads us to pray that the Father’s will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. We desire that the Father’s will would be done in our own lives and in the lives of many others.
In his first letter to Timothy, St. Paul teaches us that God our Savior “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:3-4, ESV) From today’s epistle lesson, in Paul’s second letter to Timothy, we learn that all scripture is “able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 3:15, ESV) As disciples, we are called to continue and to remain in the knowledge of the truth revealed by the Holy Spirit in the written scriptures.
For this reason, the Lord has instituted the pastoral office to preach the gospel and to administer the sacraments. Likewise, He has instituted the local congregation in which His people gather around these means of grace. In this way, the Holy Spirit brings people to the knowledge of the truth making them wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Through these instituted means, we become acquainted with the sacred writings which make us wise for salvation.
To continue and remain in the written scriptures of the Old and New Testament is no easy task. First, the ears are itchy by nature and want to hear a different word than the one that comes from God. Second, the tongue is wild by nature and wants to speak a different word than the one that comes from God. Thus, we are taught to stay awake and be on guard. We are taught to pray asking that the Father would grant us His Holy Spirit so that we would believe His word and live lives according to it and that the church would teach His word in its truth and purity.
Our appointed epistle lesson begins with these words, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it…” (2 Tim. 3:14, ESV) This little word “but” references what Paul had said earlier in the same chapter. The Apostle is making a distinction between Timothy and those who are living lives in opposition to the Apostolic teaching.
Earlier in the same chapter, the Apostle noted that they, those other ones, are “lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5, ESV) Here Paul is exposing the sin that such people are continuing in. On the contrary, Timothy is being encouraged to remain in the right teaching and the right living that Paul taught in word and deed.
Now when we hear such a list of false living, we are quick to say either, that it describes the life of someone else and it does not concern us or we try to change the words to mean something else and it does not concern us. Ever since the fall into sin, we don’t want to get bogged down in the fine details of the written text. Instead, we look with our eyes and rationalize what seems right. The devil has taught us to take the clear word of God and ask the question, “Did God really mean that?”
Yet, from today’s epistle lesson the Holy Spirit is teaching us that all scripture is “able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 3:15, ESV) We are warned by the Holy Spirit so that we do not become like those who are “always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.” (2 Timothy 3:7, ESV)
Now I don’t know about you, but when I open up a box containing something that needs assembling or something that needs installing, I don’t pay full attention to the instruction manual. I don’t want to get bogged down in the fine details of the written text. I just want to get the job done and move on to more important things. I have a tendency to just look at the pictures and interpret for myself what they mean to me. Sometimes I end up with extra parts or parts that just don’t fit right.
Now of course the Bible is not merely an instruction manual teaching us how we can put our own lives back together. No, it is God’s word which teaches how He is putting our lives back together. It is “able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 3:15, ESV) This wisdom and faith is a gift from God that He delivers to us through the scripture. This is no ordinary written text. It is not a man made instruction manual about life. It is the very word of God. And for this reason, Paul instructs Timothy and all pastors after him to “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” (2 Timothy 4:2, ESV)
In order to understand the power of the word of God we are taught that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17, ESV) Likewise, in Hebrews chapter four we are taught that, “the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:12-13, ESV)
Now, I don’t know if you are familiar with the story about the emperor’s new clothes. Well the story goes something like this: a deceitful tailor rolls into town and convinces the emperor that he needs a special set of clothes that only the most special people can see. So the tailor deceives him and tricks him into putting on these special clothes that are no clothes at all. Once the emperor is dressed in these clothes he cannot see them, but the tailor assures him that they look magnificent. Thus, the emperor pretends to see them also. Then he goes to his consultants and they claim that they can see them too for they want to be special likewise. But, they cannot see the clothes either. Although he is exposed and naked, he thinks that he is alright. To comfort himself, the emperor gathers around him a bunch of people who tell him what he wants to hear.
You see “ people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,” (2 Timothy 4:3, ESV) By nature we don’t want to admit that we stand naked and exposed before God. We want to assure ourselves that we are doing just fine. We want to feel that we are dressed splendidly. That evil tailor the devil has come in and convinced us that we are not naked and guilty before God. He deceives us by telling us that we do not need to confess our sins. In agreement with the devil, we accumulate people who tell us what we want to hear. We have itching ears by nature. We want to hear the word of man that comes from the devil which excuses sin.
On the contrary, the word of God comes to expose sin and give to us Jesus. The Holy Spirit gives to us ears to hear. The law comes to expose us and strip us of our own filthy rags that we think makes us special. The Holy Spirit uses His word to take off all of our unrighteousness and clothe us with the righteousness of Christ. The word of God is powerful. It changes us into God’s people making us holy in His sight for the sake of Jesus.
As those who are still in this world, who are of this world, we lack true knowledge. Therefore, the LORD gives to us His written word so that we can have true knowledge. He is renewing our minds. He gives to us faith to believe in what we cannot see. As those who are still in this world, who are of this world, we have evil desires and we are self serving. The scripture comes to correct these actions and focus our deeds upon our neighbor. The LORD loves us and creates love in us that flows from believing hearts in order to love others. As those who are still in this world, who are of this world, we are weak and frail. We cannot survive on our own. We are not independent. We are dependant upon God. Therefore, He gives to us the holy scriptures to comfort us and encourage us to endure all evil. It grants to us hope. It assures us that all though all these things are coming down upon us, that these things are only temporary. The LORD is eternal and He gives to us the gift of eternal life. The word of God comes to us it is able to make us wise to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ so that we may share in eternal life with God from this point in time into all eternity. Amen.
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