MPC, 11th February 2001.2 Timothy 1 - Guard the Gospel
Phil Campbell MPC, 11th February 2001.
On new years eve last year, as millions of people were celebrating the arrival of the new millennium, ART THIEVES were at work. In a raid police are saying had all the hallmarks of the movie THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR, an art thief lowered himself into a museum in Oxford, set off smoke bombs to screen himself from the surveillance cameras, and took off with a Cezanne painting worth 3 million pounds. While the security guards partied; celebrating the new millennium - an irreplaceable treasure disappeared. Probably forever.
The security guards and the museum staff hadn’t done their job. Which was to watch over a treasure. And because of that, it's GONE.
We’re starting out today on a look at a letter from the Apostle Paul; it’s a personal letter. It’s written to his apprentice Timothy. It’s Paul’s second letter to Timothy; we looked at the first letter last year. Paul's left Timothy in charge of the church in the city of Ephesus. And Paul's got some strong words for Timothy about what he needs to be doing.
Now Timothy’s an ordinary sort of guy. No spiritual super-hero. He’s a guy who when he’s opposed, GETS SCARED. He’s a bloke who, when there’s an argument, either runs away from it. Or blows his cool. When there's opposition, is inclined to LIE LOW.
But as Paul writes to Timothy and reminds him what he needs to be doing, there’s one thing that stands above everything else. Because Timothy is a Security Guard, and he’s guarding something incredibly precious. Paul has left Timothy with a deposit. And it’s up to Timothy to look after it.
Have a look at verse 13 and 14, and you’ll see what he says. “What you heard from me,” says Paul, “keep as the PATTERN OF SOUND TEACHING, with faith and love in Christ Jesus.” And here it is. “GUARD THE GOOD DEPOSIT that was entrusted to you – GUARD IT with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.”
What Timothy’s been left with, the thing he has to guard, is a MESSAGE. The GOOD DEPOSIT he’s been left with is the good news that Paul calls THE GOSPEL.
And Timothy’s job is simply this. To stick to what he’s heard from Paul. To make sure he doesn’t change it. To make sure it's not watered down. To make sure he doesn’t compromise it. To make sure he keeps it JUST THE WAY IT IS.
And I want to say to you this morning that that’s MY JOB. As a Christian leader. And it’s YOUR JOB as well. GUARD the gospel.
So the first thing I want to do with you is to take a look at what Paul’s MESSAGE actually is. Another art theft in Italy, a priceless painting called PORTRAIT OF A LADY, nobody even noticed it was gone - til someone found the EMPTY FRAME ON THE ROOF.
Well, we need to take a good hard look at what we’re guarding. So we recognise it. And we know it when we see it. And we notice when it’s gone.
So what it is that makes up the GOOD DEPOSIT of the message Paul’s passed on to Timothy that he wanted Timothy to be passing on to us. When you look back at verse 8, you get a clue. An important clue. The fundamental fact. And it’s a very simple one.
Often overlooked. Can you see from verse 8 that telling people THE GOSPEL, the MESSAGE that we've got, it's focussed on a PERSON. Telling people the gospel is telling people about JESUS. Read verse 8. See what he says, “So do not be ashamed to testify about OUR LORD.” He says, TELL PEOPLE ABOUT THE LORD JESUS. He says, “Don’t be ashamed of the fact that it’s landed me in jail. Don’t step back. Step forward. And JOIN WITH ME in suffering for THE GOSPEL. Which I reckon would have been scary. He says you know what happened to Jesus. Crucified. You know what's happened to ME FOR TALKING ABOUT HIM. Here in Jail. But don't be ashamed. JOIN ME.
At a fundamental level, when Paul uses the term THE GOSPEL, it’s his shorthand term for TELLING PEOPLE ABOUT JESUS. The LORD AND MASTER Jesus.
So step 1, the message we're guarding is the message about JESUS. And that's something worth keeping an eye on in case it disappears. Are you hearing about JESUS week by week as you sit in church? Or something else? Are you hearing about JESUS from those high profile Christians who keep turning up on TV? Or something else. Paul says, don't be ashamed to TESTIFY ABOUT JESUS.
There's more. More to the DEFINITION of what this gospel actually IS. Because, the fact is, Paul isn't saying to Timothy, go round testifying about a new set of rules. And he's not saying, go around telling people to be a bit more religious. And he doesn’t even say go around telling people where they can get a new spiritual EXPERIENCE.
Because the gospel, it's a message ALL ABOUT GOD’S GRACE. And here’s the second point on your outline sheet as we’re looking at Paul’s gospel. The message we have to hold on to. It’s not about what WE HAVE TO DO. It’s about what God’s already done. It's all about God’s GENEROUSITY. In sending his Son.
And you can see that in verse 9. He says the gospel calls us to a holy life – NOT BECAUSE OF ANYTHING WE HAVE DONE – but because of his own PURPOSE AND GRACE. The grace, he says, that was given to us in Christ Jesus. The great generosity of God. That put Jesus on the cross as the payment for sin. The great generosity of God that forgives you and me, free. Can I ask you again, IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE HEARING? Because it should be. And I know there are churches everywhere, all that's left is the picture frame. And the treasure's gone. And nobody's even noticed.
There's more. Keep reading in verse 10. Because you’ll see point number three in Paul’s gospel. And that is, when we say the gospel is all about Jesus, we don’t just mean we’re saying Jesus was a good bloke. Or that he was a good TEACHER. Which is what some people want to reduce him to, and still claim they’re being Christian. The gospel is about his DEATH. And his RESURRECTION.
Which is what he says in verse 10. This grace, he says, HAS NOW BEEN REVEALED through the appearing of our Saviour, Christ Jesus, WHO DESTROYED DEATH, and has brought LIFE AND IMMORTALITY to light THROUGH THE GOSPEL.
Can you see, the reason GUARDING THE GOSPEL is so important, the reason we’ve got to get it right, is because it’s the MESSAGE OF LIFE.
Every now and then you get a news story about how some Ambulance telephone operator saves a life, just by giving instructions on the phone. You know, there’s some kid who rings 000 and says, my mum's fallen down and hit her head and I can't wake her up. Of the husband who says, Hey my wife’s having a baby. We’re not going to make it to the hospital. And the Ambulance guy on the phone says, okay, calm down. First you do this. Now do this. And step by step, takes them through. And tells them exactly what to do.
Let me tell you, if you’re in that situation, if you’re the one on the listening end, you want to listen pretty hard, don’t you. And you want to take notice. When someone’s telling you the words of life, you want to make sure you’re not getting too much static on the line. And you're paying full attention.
Paul says his gospel, the message that's got to be GUARDED, it’s the message about the DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS. Which ultimately is about the DEATH AND RESURRECTION of YOU AND ME. The words of ETERNAL LIFE.
So he says to Timothy, MAKE SURE YOU DON’T GET IT WRONG. Make sure you don’t let anyone MESS WITH IT. GUARD IT. And don’t let it go.
Now I want to be pretty clear with you today, but I don’t want to cause offense. I want to be specific enough to be helpful, but not specific enough to be offensive.
Because the fact is, guarding the gospel is still very much a LIVE ISSUE. And there are plenty of people who want to dismantle it. Or change it. Or make it a little bit more pleasant. Or add to it. Or say, don’t get all fussed about it. I mean, who knows what the TRUTH IS anyway.
And there are all sorts of ways that’s still happening. And there’s a huge pressure to just go along for the ride, to not say anything, to go along with these new gospels and new ideas for the sake of what we like to think is CHRISTIAN UNITY. We don’t want to rock the boat.
There’s the BE GOOD GOSPEL. Which says, don’t take any notice of God’s Grace. You can do it yourself. Earn your way in, by being good. Puff out your chest, pat yourself on the back. You can do it yourself.
There’s the BE RELIGIOUS gospel. Get Christened when you’re a baby. Come to church when it’s communion. Be a good Presbyterian or a good Baptist or a good Catholic and you’re in.
There’s the GOOD FEELINGS gospel. That says the main thing is to get on an EMOTIONAL HIGH. Get pumped up. Get spiritual. Feel the WORSHIP. Which in the end has got nothing to do with the gospel of the Crucified Christ. And they say IF IT FEELS GOOD, it MUST BE RIGHT.
And here’s the big one these days. The EVERYBODY’S OKAY gospel. That says doesn’t matter if you put your faith in Jesus or not. God’s just going to say, BOYS WILL BE BOYS. And turn a blind eye to EVERYBODY’S SIN. And it doesn’t matter if you’re a buddhist or a hindu or just an ordinary Athiest, when it comes to the crunch, you don’t have to worry. Do what you like.
And so you’ll come up with nice combinations of Aboriginal dream time spirit rituals and a few words about Jesus thrown in. Or bits of buddhism and whatever else you like. Because that’s okay. Because EVERYTHING’S OKAY.
Friends, can you see it’s exactly like those security guards at the museum. Where the treasure’s snatched right out from under their noses. And they just didn’t notice.
Can you see that if we’re going to GUARD THE GOSPEL, we’re going to have to be people who are prepared to speak up? And say WHAT’S WRONG IS WRONG. Because there’s only one way. And only ONE GOSPEL. And it’s all about THE LORD JESUS. And his death for our sin. And his resurrection; as the defeat of death. The gospel is the word of life. And we can’t afford to mess with it. And we’ve got to guard it.
UNPOPULAR FOR THE SAKE OF THE GOSPEL
Which is a very unpopular business. Can you see Paul’s track record? He says in verse 11, of this gospel I was appointed a herald. And an apostle. And a teacher. And that’s why I’m SUFFERING AS I AM. That’s why he’s in chains. In a cold, dark Roman jail. Friendless. Verse 15, he says everyone in the province of Asia has deserted him. Even his good friends Phygelus and Hermogenes. Only Onesiphorus stuck with him. And searched for him right through Rome, so he could care for him in his cell.
The question Paul puts to Timothy is, ARE YOU GOING TO DESERT THE GOSPEL TOO? Or are you going to stick with it? And it’s the question he puts to us.
Are you prepared to be unpopular? For the sake of the truth? Are you prepared to take a stand against FALSE CHRISTIANITY – for the sake of having a REAL GOSPEL to share with the world? In the end, the thing we really worship is what other people think of us, isn’t it? I mean, that’s the thing we value more than anything else. The thing that SHUTS US UP – when we know we should speak. That makes us GO ALONG WITH IT. When we know we should speak out.
We need to pray for the help of God’s Spirit. Because Paul says that’s what the Holy Spirit does. Gives us courage to stand firm. Gives us boldness to keep guarding the gospel.
And we need to encourage one another. To stick to the truth in an age that says there’s no truth. To stick to the ONLY GOSPEL in an age that says there are LOTS OF GOSPELS. Paul says to Timothy, don’t be timid. Paul says to Timothy DON’T BE ASHAMED. Paul says to Timothy GUARD THE GOSPEL.
It’s hard work. But if we don’t stay on guard, we’ll find the gospel just slips through our fingers. Stolen in the night. And nobody will notice. Until it’s too late.