2 Timothy 2:20-22
~18 min read
SERMON OUTLINE
- I. A Guarded Mind
- II. A Humble Spirit
- III. A Compassionate Heart
TRANSCRIPT
I greet you in the blessed name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. If you have your Bibles, please turn with me to Second Timothy Chapter 2. We will read from verse 20 to verse 26, but our passage for today's consideration is taken from verse 23 to 26. Let us read this passage in one accord.
Verse 20: "But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonor.”
“If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work. Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;” (2 Timothy 2:22-25)
Last verse (v26): ”And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” The Lord bless the reading of His holy and sacred word.
Let us briefly recap what we have learned in our previous message. A great house may be filled with many vessels or items, furnitures. Some are honourable, like gold and silver, very precious to the owner. Some are dishonourable, like wood and clay, very plain, common, unattractive, and dirty, which the owner will be ashamed to put on display. The “great house” was a reference to the entire church, the body of believers. The vessels represent individual believers. Honourable and dishonourable does not mean true and false believers but rather, those who are faithful and those who are unfaithful. This passage is not about salvation; it is about faithfulness.
So, a church may be filled with many believers, but not everyone is fit for the Master's use. Just because someone wants to serve the Lord, it does not mean that God would use him. It does not mean that God has to use him. No, he has to be an honourable vessel, one that is an acceptable vessel, a sanctified vessel that knows how to separate himself from disobedient believers. A useful vessel that is profitable, efficient, effective, and essential, always prepared to be used by the Lord. And also a pure vessel, someone who is set apart from sin unto righteousness and would always associate himself with other faithful believers. This was what we had considered in our previous message. Today, we will continue with the second part of “An Honourable Vessel Fit For The Master's Use”.
I. A Guarded Mind
Our first point is an honourable vessel must have a guarded mind. Verse 23: "But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes." Our actions are the result of our thinking — the influences that are in our minds. We behave according to what we think, right? Therefore, our minds have to be grounded — our minds have to be guarded, protected by the word of God. Otherwise, as the Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 4:14, we will be like “children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.”
The original word for foolish is from where we get the English word for ‘moron.’ The word ‘unlearned’ means ‘ignorant’, and it has the idea of someone who is not disciplined in his thinking. Have you ever experienced someone asking you a question and you were wondering, ‘I don't know what is his purpose in asking that question?’ ‘I don't think he even knows why he is asking that question. ‘I think he just wants to ask.’ Ignorance will always generate such questions with no meaning and no basis in the truth at all. It is a waste of time to deal with those questions. The Bible calls it “foolish and unlearned questions”. There is only one purpose in foolish and unlearned questions: it is to produce quarrels. That is what it means; “they do gender strifes”.
It does not mean that we should not engage in any controversy or discussion of the faith. It does not mean that. 1 Peter 3:15 tells us we must “sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear”. In fact, the Apostle Paul spent much of his time presenting, explaining, and defending the gospel from city to city. He would reason with the Jews in the synagogue, he would try to persuade both Jews and Gentiles. He even debated with the philosophers at Mars Hill. Here, he was not speaking about avoiding a responsible discussion of the Bible, whether it be with believers or unbelievers. Here, he was referring to avoiding questions and speculations that were fruitless, unprofitable, unproductive, that had no purpose at all except one: to generate quarrels.
Remember, if our actions and behaviours are the result of what is in our minds, then we must guard what goes into our minds, right? If the questions that go into our minds will cause us to be affected, it will cause us to fight and quarrel, it will cause us to say the wrong thing and sin, and then be bitter and vindictive; we must avoid it at all costs. So, here the idea is also to train our minds to discern the questions. Not every question posed to us are genuine questions. If I may use an illustration, some of us have water filters at home. Why do we use water filters? They are meant to trap bacteria, germs, and other unwanted minerals that are harmful to our bodies, which otherwise may cause us to be physically sick. In a similar fashion, we have to have this filter to stop all these questions and things entering into our minds that would otherwise affect our thinking, our beliefs, our values, our behaviours, and our lives. Have you ever been engaged in a conversation and you knew that you were right, but the person just led you on and you kept arguing and proving your point passionately? In the end, you thought you got a message across, but it didn't. You felt so sick because of all the things that you have said. And when you think back, ‘Why did I say those things?’. And in the end, it is meaningless, it is fruitless, it is unproductive.
Throughout my life and ministry, I've known certain people who are always asking questions not for edification and encouragement but to produce strife and quarrels. Allow me to say this: I not only do not enjoy those questions, but I will do everything I can to avoid them. Why? Because it affects my life, it affects my thinking, it affects my behaviour. My friends, we must be wise to guard our minds and be discerning to know if a question posed to us is a foolish and unlearned question, and the only purpose is to lead to quarrels. Avoid it at all costs. An honourable vessel must have a guarded mind — a discerning mind.
II. A Humble Spirit
Our second point is an honorable vessel must have a humble spirit. Verse 24: "And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient". The word ‘servant’ means ‘bondservant’. Here, Paul was referring to Timothy and all the other church leaders, especially those who were preachers of God's truth. But the principle applies to every one of us — they must not strive, which means they must not be quarrelsome. Although a church leader must lead and teach without compromise, he must do so with an attitude of humility. Never be proud, harsh, abusive, overbearing, and unkind. A church leader must have the authority - no doubt about that - but there must also be this softness in his authority. He must be approachable. If people are afraid to approach you, or if they dare not even ask anything of you lest you be offended, or if they think that you are very quarrelsome, how can you be a leader?
Instead, you must be gentle unto all men, not only to the faithful believers but also to the unfaithful believers, including the unbelievers that walk into the church. All men. You must be gentle to all men. Sometimes when people complain about the pastor and church leaders, that they are like the Pharisees who are proud, quarrelsome, and unapproachable, we must always examine ourselves. If it is true, if the shoe fits, then we must repent. No leader is beyond correction. We must not follow the example of the Pharisees, but instead, we must follow the example of Christ. Our worship chairman quoted Matthew 11:28-29. Let me read verse 29: Jesus said, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." So, we learn from none other than our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He was meek. He was gentle and humble.
Timothy was the pastor of the Ephesian church, so he served as the teaching elder. As an elder, he must be apt to teach. There are two kinds of elders in the church: the ruling elders and the teaching elders, the pastors. The primary work of the pastor is to preach and teach, so obviously, he must be able to teach. But all the other ruling elders, they must also have a certain knowledge of the Bible and be able to explain, illustrate, and communicate God's truth to the people. Why? Because as ruling elders, oftentimes, they must exercise church discipline, they must refute errors, and all these would not be possible if they do not have knowledge. Even if they have knowledge, but they do not know how to apply that knowledge, it will not be possible for them to rule the church. So, they must be apt to teach, skillful to teach, able to teach.
Can you imagine the ruling elder of the church telling the people, ‘We must not do this.'
‘Why must we not do this?’
‘Well, I don't know. You all just listen and do it.’
Or, ‘You must not do that. It is wrong.’
‘Why is it wrong?’
‘Well, I don't know. You just listen and do it.’
God forbids. Elders, leaders, must be apt to teach.
The servant of the Lord must be patient, which has the idea of forbearance, not fighting back when he is mistreated or wronged. When we serve the Lord, there will always be times when we receive unjust criticism, attacks, and false accusations. If we are not able to be patient and we are easily offended, if we are more offended when people offend us more than we are offended when they offend our Lord Jesus Christ, if our immediate reaction is to fight back, to retaliate, then we must never be a leader.
Sometimes we may not sin initially when we face a particular trial, but in our reaction, in our response, we sin. We want to return evil for evil, we want to give a piece of our mind, we want to fight back, and in so doing, we sin and lose our Christian testimonies. You know, one of the most obvious places where we sin against God is with our mouths. When you and I are angry, our words will tell. We will say unkind words, cynical words, misleading words. We say one thing and mean another. Untrue words, sinful words—we sin with our mouths. The servant of the Lord must never behave like that. He must be patient. He must be more concerned about serving the Lord without bitterness, and about serving the Lord in love and grace, rather than justifying and vindicating himself. You know, some people are just consumed with vindicating themselves, defending themselves. It should not be about us; it should always be about God and His glory.
We must learn to follow the example of Jesus Christ. Let me read for you 1 Peter 2:21-23: “Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps” (v21) What were His steps? “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously” (v22-23). My friends, the only way we can be patient is by learning to commit everything to the only One who judges righteously. Do you think God does not know what we are going through? He knows. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows everything that is occurring in this church, and in all the churches throughout the whole world. Do you think He is not able to judge? Surely, He will. We must learn to commit everything to Him that judges righteously.
My friends, let us search our hearts and ask ourselves: Are we someone who is quarrelsome? Are we someone who is gentle to everyone, faithful and unfaithful believers, including unbelievers who walk into our church? Are we gentle? Do we know the Word of God enough to communicate God's truth to the people, and also to communicate God's truth through our own lives so that people can see Christ in us? Are we patient? If we are not, then we are not an honorable vessel fit for the Master's use. Some of us may answer, ‘Yes, by the grace of God, I am.’ It is not what we think we are, but it is just as important - if not more important - what the people think of us. Let us pause and ask ourselves: Do people see us as quarrelsome or as gentle, as people who are able to communicate God's truth not only verbally but even through our transformed lives? And are we patient?
An honourable vessel is someone who wants to obey the Lord Jesus Christ, his Master, with all his heart, and he just wants to be like Christ. Do you know what true humility is? Let me quote one theologian who explains it this way about true humility. He said, ‘Jesus never defended Himself, but when they desecrated His Father's house, the temple, He made a whip and chased them out of the temple. Twice, Jesus cleansed the temple. He rebuked the hypocrites, He condemned the false teachers of Israel, He boldly pronounced divine judgment upon the people, and yet the Bible says He was meek. The true spirit of humility is this: I will never defend myself, but I will die defending my God.’ My friends, that is true humility—not someone who is always defending, trying to vindicate himself. Learn from our Lord Jesus Christ. All of us, including myself, true humility is this: I will never defend myself, but I will die defending my God. That is the kind of attitude our Lord Jesus has taught us through His life.
III. A Compassionate Heart
Our third point is an honourable vessel must have a compassionate heart. Let us look at verse 25: “In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth”. Remember, Paul was speaking about the honourable and dishonourable vessels, the faithful and unfaithful believers in the church. So based on the context, “[they] that oppose” was a reference to the unfaithful believers. You can imagine the picture: Timothy and the other faithful believers were serving. They were working hard, labouring hard, always putting their hands on the work of the ministry, facing all the challenges and issues, dealing with the problems and difficulties that come along the way. And then here were the unfaithful believers, doing nothing, just speaking trouble and opposing the work. What should Timothy do? Paul says instead of being angry, bitter, and vindictive, you must be humble and try to instruct them. The word “instructing” means to correct, to teach, to educate, and to lead them to the truth.
My friends, all of us will say ‘it is extremely difficult’—most certainly, especially someone who is always opposing you. That is why it takes a compassionate heart. Someone with a compassionate heart is able to understand that they (the opposers) are spiritually blind, that they need to be instructed by God's Word. Obviously, they must be willing to listen. The opposite of a compassionate heart is self-righteousness. You see, some people like to teach and correct others. Why? Because they think that they are more spiritual, very spiritual. They think that they have obeyed the Bible 100%. They are the most godly and holy people in the church. They are always right and never wrong, so they are in a position to tell others what to do. My friends, that is self-righteousness. No true believer should ever be self-righteous. Take a moment and consider this: There is absolutely no reason for you and me to be self-righteous, even if we ever think that we have obeyed the Bible 100%. We must still remember that our obedience is the work of the Holy Spirit—it is not our own goodness. You know, from our conversion to our sanctification, all the way to our glorification, it is purely the work of God. If it is not of God, if God is not in the picture, we will be eternally lost. That is why there is absolutely no reason for Christians to be self-righteous.
Instead, we must teach, instruct, correct with an attitude of humility, not with a holier-than-thou attitude. It must never be that way. We must be compassionate because the Lord has compassion on us. If we have experienced the compassion of God, then we have to be compassionate to others. It does not mean that we don’t deal with sin or church discipline, but it is not with self-righteousness. The true believer understands that, and he has a compassionate heart, and his is motivation to correct and instruct others is only with one sincere desire. And this desire is: “if God peradventure will give them repentance”. Which means, if God perhaps will give them repentance. But this is not a last resort kind of thing, like you try everything and everything fails, then you turn to this. So you teach the person, ‘Well, you try to repent with your own strength, you try to repent with your own effort, in your own power. If all things fail, then let us turn to God. Hopefully, if peradventure God will grant you repentance.’ That is not what it means, because what is repentance? Repentance is a genuine change of heart and mind that leads us to a change of direction. No matter how sincere and determined a person may be, no one can ever truly repent and change his sinful thoughts and ideas, and change his sinful life. No one can do that. It is only God who can do this miracle in his heart — it is called spiritual transformation. No one can do that, save God Himself. Therefore, at the very onset, we pray that God will grant repentance, and when God does that, repentance will lead the disobedient believers to acknowledging His truth. They will always acknowledge His truth if they are truly repentant.
Verse 26: “And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” Allow me to just briefly touch on this. The knowledge of the truth will cause the disobedient believers to “recover themselves”. This is a very interesting word. The literal meaning means to come to their senses or their spiritual senses. You see, sin numbs our conscience. It can confuse our minds, it can create doubts, it can paralyze our wills, it can render us useless in the service of the Lord. You know, just like a drunk person incapable of doing anything unless he comes to his senses; otherwise, you’ll be worthless. That’s why some people are just walking around like zombies; they don’t understand that sin has already numbed their minds, paralyzed their wills, confused their minds, and all that renders them worthless in the service of the Lord. So we need God to grant repentance, and then that will lead them to acknowledging His truth, and then they will come to their spiritual senses. And when they come to their spiritual senses, the Bible tells us they can escape out of the “snare of the devil” because they have been taken captive to do his will.
Take a moment and think how serious this phrase is: to be ensnared by the devil and then to be taken captive to do his will. Can you see what sin and unfaithfulness can do to the believer? It can cause the believer to be ensnared by the devil so much so that he is doing the devil's work. He is so spiritually blinded that he thinks he is doing God's work by opposing the work of the ministry, by causing division and disharmony, by hindering the gospel work. That’s why it is possible for believers who are unfaithful to be used by the devil to create trouble within the church. But our God is gracious. Our God is faithful. He will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it (1 Corinthians 10:13). Not only does God know how to deliver the godly out of temptation (2 Peter 2:9), our God even promises those believers who have fallen into sin: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”, 1 John 1:9.
Even those who have been used to do the devil's work, creating trouble, whether it be division, disharmony, or hindering the gospel work, God is still able to forgive. That is why sometimes we hear wonderful testimonies of people who openly confess, ‘In those days, I used to be a troublemaker in the church. I thought I was fighting for the truth. I thought I was doing the right thing until God convicted my heart. I repented, and the more I know God's truth, the more I come to my spiritual senses. Today, I will not give myself to do the devil's work again.’ My friends, that is only possible if there is genuine repentance, which will lead to acknowledging the truth and then deliverance from the snare of the devil. Otherwise, the person will be ensnared, captive, always and do the devil's work. How tragic!
My friends, if you have forgotten whatever I’ve said, remember these three points.
- An honourable vessel must have a guarded mind: He is able to guard his mind and avoid foolish and unlearned questions that lead to quarrels.
- An honourable vessel must have a humble spirit: He is not quarrelsome. He is approachable, kind, and gentle to everyone, able to teach and patient even when he is being mistreated, following the example of Jesus Christ.
- An honourable vessel must have a compassionate heart: He is not self-righteous but compassionate because he understands that God has compassion on him. He has experienced the compassion of God. He instructs and teaches others not with a holier-than-thou attitude but in humility, sincerely desiring that the people would repent, that God Himself will grant repentance, and then they would be led to the knowledge of the truth and ultimately come to their spiritual senses and be delivered from the snare of the devil.
Only then can we be an honorable vessel fit for the Master's use. I pray that all of us would take heed. Whatever days, months, years we have on this earth, God knows. We live every moment to glorify our God. We want to be an honorable vessel, and we want to obey His Word, apply it to our lives, and glorify Him for the rest of our days.
Let us pray.
Father in heaven, we thank Thee for this opportunity to consider this portion of Scripture. We thank Thee for Thy precious, infallible, and inerrant Word. We thank Thee that Thy Word is able to convict our hearts. Thy Word is so powerful, and through the wonder-working of Thy Spirit, our lives can be transformed from the moment we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and all the days of our lives unto glorification. It is Thy work. We need Thee at every moment. Help us, O Lord, to acknowledge this, understand this, and to apply this into our lives, so that every heart will be humbled. That every heart will come in line with the example Jesus has set for us, that we may serve Him to the glory of His precious name as an honourable vessel—a vessel that has a guarded mind, a humble spirit, and a compassionate heart. We give Thee thanks and we pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.
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The Importance of Bible StudyThe Importance of Bible Study2 Timothy 2:15
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An Honourable Vessel Fit for the Master's Use (Part 1)An Honourable Vessel Fit for the Master's Use (Part 1)2 Timothy 2:20-22
The Danger of Self LoveThe Danger of Self Love2 Timothy 3:1-4
Be Strong and CourageousBe Strong and Courageous2 Timothy 3:7
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Are you Faithful or Unfaithful? (Part 2)Are you Faithful or Unfaithful? (Part 2)2 Timothy 4:12-16
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