2 Timothy chapter 4. 2 Timothy chapter 4. In verse 1, we're going to be
looking at several passages in the previous chapter and chapter
3, but this is the conclusion. I'm going to give you the conclusion
first, and then tell you the middle. Paul says to this pastor,
this young pastor, I charge you, therefore, before God and the
Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead
at His appearing and His kingdom, preach the Word. Be instant,
in season, out of season. rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering
and doctrine. For the time will come when they
will not endure sound doctrine. But after their own lusts shall
they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears, and they
shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned
unto fables. But watch thou in all things,
endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof
of thy ministry. Now the title of the message
this morning is The Doctrine and Purpose of Preachers. of doctrine and purpose of preachers. The times in which this was written
were dark times. They were dark times. The church,
though expanding greatly, was under great persecution. The
apostles at this time, some of most all of most of them were
killed. And the Apostle Paul, or about
to be killed, and the Apostle Paul was in prison at this time
awaiting execution. And Paul says this in verse 6
and 7, he says, For I am ready to be offered, and the time of
my departure is hand, for I have fought a good fight, I have finished
my course, I have kept the faith. In the previous chapter, Paul
sets himself in opposition to false preachers, to vain babblers,
men who only have a form of godliness but deny the truth, deny the
power of true godliness. Look at that in verse Let's just
go ahead in verse 1. He says, "...in the last days
perilous times shall come, for men shall be lovers of their
own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient
to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truth-breakers,
false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that
are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than
lovers of God." Listen, that sounds like bad people, don't
it? That sounds like really wretched people. But notice this. These
aren't people outside of the church. These are people in the
church. Look, he says, having a form
of godliness. These people are in the church. They have a form of godliness.
But what's the difference? Truly, you and I understand these
characteristics because that surely describes our nature,
doesn't it? Those things definitely describe the nature of every
believer. We confess these things to God and seek mercy and forgiveness
of God by these things. But these men have a form of
godliness, and what's the difference? They deny the power of godliness. They deny the power of godliness,
the truth. These men are liars. They're
deceivers. Outwardly outwardly they appear
good How do you know that they're that they're these things Paul?
What is the difference here? Their doctrine they deny the
truth of godliness and And so against these people,
Paul sets himself in opposition to them. And Timothy said, but,
in verse 10, Thou hast fully known... What's the first thing
he mentions? My doctrine. What sets these
ungodly men apart from Paul? And what sets Paul apart from
these ungodly men? He first of all says, My doctrine
sets us apart. My doctrine. He said, You've
known my doctrine, my manner of life, my purpose, my faith,
long-suffering, charity, patience, persecutions, afflictions. What
persecutions I endured, but out of them all the Lord delivered
me. The first thing Paul mentions
is his doctrine. What then was Paul's doctrine?
He said, Timothy, you know my doctrine. What's my doctrine?
What's Paul's doctrine? It was the same thing he encourages
the young man Timothy to continue in in verse 14. But continue
thou in the things which thou hast learned, and hast been assured
of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them. He encourages this young pastor
to continue to preach, even in the midst of great persecution,
in the time of great deception. He says, continue in the things
that you have learned. Now Timothy, from a child, we
know this. He was taught the Scriptures
from his youth. He was taught the Scriptures
from his youth. And these same scriptures are
the only source of true doctrine. The only source of true doctrine
is founded on this. Thus saith the Lord. That's the source of true doctrine,
true teaching. Thus saith the Lord. He says,
and the scriptures, only the scriptures, he says, are able
to make thee wise unto salvation. He says, verse 15, that from
a child that's known the, what? Holy Scriptures. Which are able
to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ
Jesus. The Scriptures are the only source
of true doctrine concerning the matters of man and God. The truth
of God, the truth of man, the truth of salvation of sinners
by Jesus Christ is not found in creeds, traditions, scientific
evidence, discourses, governments, or politics. Only in the Scriptures. Salvation is only found in the
Scriptures and only through faith in Jesus Christ, who is the sum
and substance of all the Word of God, Jesus Christ. The Holy
Scriptures are the only source of doctrine. And by this, all men are reproved. All men are reproved. Man, by nature, believes in works
religion. It's natural to believe that
you can, by some means, merit God's favor. Man-centered religion
is the natural religion of man. And yet, what reproves man of
that? Is the Scripture, the Word of
God, reproves man of this? It corrects man of all doctrinal
errors. is the scriptures the only one
only place thus sayeth the Lord is the only thing if you have
any errors you know what we should take our all of our doctrine
and this is the book right here we should go to I don't that's
why I don't have any creeds or anything because eventually man
if they follow a creed they'll eventually try to fit the scripture
to match their creed rather than trying to see if their creed
falls into the Word of God and men by this Scripture are
instructed in righteousness." Instructed in righteousness.
He said, "...all Scripture is given by inspiration of God is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness." What does the Scripture have
to say about righteousness? That's important, isn't it? Righteousness. We know this, without righteousness,
no man is able to stand before God. except you be as holy as
God is. You shall not stand before God. So this matter of righteousness
is important. What does the Word of God say
about this? What is our doctrine on this matter of righteousness?
Here's my first doctrine. Man has no righteousness. That's the doctrine of Scripture.
The doctrine of the Word of God is this. Man has no righteousness. Well, where do you get that?
Go to Romans chapter 3. Read it with me. Romans chapter
3. We're going to go through several
doctrines of Scripture. This is first concerning righteousness. Without this, you won't need
righteousness. You won't seek it. You won't know your need
of it. Romans chapter 3 and verse 10,
as it is written. Now, if you want to know, let
me go back. I'm going to show you that he's
talking about righteousness throughout this whole first part here. If
you go back to chapter 1, he tells us this in verse 16, I'm
not ashamed to preach the gospel of Christ for it is the power
of God and salvation to everyone to believe it, the Jew first
and also to the Greek. For therein, for therein, where? In the gospel of Christ is revealed,
what? The righteousness of God. from
faith to faith as it is written, the just shall live by faith.
Then he continues from that point on up until this part in chapter
3, he is showing that both Jew and Gentile are wicked, lost. And this is his conclusion, as
it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. There
is none that understandeth. There is none that seeketh after
God. They are all gone out of the way. They are together become
unprofitable. There is none that doeth good,
no, not one. Their mouth, their throat is an open tomb. Their
tongues, they have used to see. The poison of asp is under their
lips. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their
feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in
their ways. The way of peace they have not known. There is
no fear of God in their eyes. Do you not see this? That there
is nothing in us good. Nothing righteous. This is the
doctrine of God. This is the doctrine that Paul
said, You know my doctrine. This is my doctrine. Man has
no righteousness. Now, Timothy, what are you to
do? Continue in my doctrine that you've been taught. Continue
in the doctrine of the Gospel, preaching the total, absolute,
utter depravity and ruin of man. Why? It's the Scripture. It's
the Word of God. The Scripture declares man is
dead in trespasses and sin. Flip over a couple pages. This
is Paul's doctrine. Here it is. Chapter 5 and verse
12. Wherefore, as by one man's sin
entered into the world, and death by sin, so death passed upon
all men, for all have sinned. All have sinned, death passed
upon all men. All men are born dead in sins. All men are unrighteous in every
thought, word, deed, and action by nature, and can by no means
please God. Therefore our doctrine is this,
by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in His
sight. In that same passage in Romans
3 that we just read, Paul said, Now we know that whatsoever thing
the law saith, it saith to them that are under the law. Now what's the purpose of the
law? The law is good. The law of Moses
is perfect. Nothing wrong with the law of
Moses. But what is the purpose of the law of Moses? Look, verse
19 of chapter 3 in Romans. that every mouth may be stopped
and the whole world become guilty. Guilty before who? Before God. See, I'm not here to make you
ashamed before me. The law makes you ashamed before
God. That's the purpose of the law.
It was never meant to save. It was never meant to be a rule
of life. It was never meant as a divine
suggestion. It is a commandment. And if you
desire to be under the law in any part, you must be under the
law in every part. Now what does that do? shuts you mouth, that's what
it does. The law says to you that go to the law, the law says
guilty, shut up. Guilty, you have nothing to say.
Guilty, you have no defense. Guilty, without excuse, guilty. That's all the law can do. That's
all it was purpose to do. Is there any hope? I wouldn't be here if there wasn't.
If that's all I had, I wouldn't be here. There's hope. It is called the doctrine of
election. The doctrine of election. This
is the doctrine that Paul preached. This is the doctrine he encouraged
Timothy to continue to preach. The doctrine of election. That
God in free mercy, free grace, chose, loved a people for himself
before the foundation of the world, before there was ever
sin. God says, I have set my affection on a people. I have
determined to save some. of Adam's ruined race. Not because
of them, but rather to display my own glory and grace, I will
save them. Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians
chapter 1. So you know this is not just
words, but this is the doctrine of Scripture. It is the doctrine
of Scripture. Paul blessed the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places, in Christ, according as He had
chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world. Here's
the reason that He chose us, that we should be holy. We should
be righteous. We should be without blame before
Him. was the purpose of His choosing and purpose of His making us
holy, in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children.
But how is He going to do that, seeing we were all born into
sin? He's going to do it by Jesus
Christ, to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made
us accepted in the Beloved. In the Beloved. This was before
sin entered into the world. God chose us. God chose His people. Purpose, that we should be righteous,
even though we were born without righteousness. How? By Jesus
Christ. This is our doctrine. This is
the doctrine of salvation, that God, having chose a people, purpose,
that Jesus Christ should redeem them, buy them, purchase them,
save them. by His obedience and blood. Verse
7, In whom? In Christ we have redemption
through His blood. The forgiveness of sins according
to the riches of His grace. This is our doctrine that Jesus
Christ, who was purposed to come, has come. The One God chose to come and
save His people has come in the flesh. Great is the mystery of godliness.
God was manifest in the flesh. And by His work, He accomplished
the righteousness of God. Back in that text in Hebrews
chapter 3 that we were just looking at, he says, talking about the
righteousness, he says, But now the righteousness of God without
the law is manifest. Where's it manifest? In you?
No. Manifest. Being witnessed by
the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God which
is by the faith of Jesus Christ. How is righteousness obtained?
How is righteousness obtained? By the faith of Jesus Christ. The faith of Jesus Christ obtained
my righteousness. This is our doctrine. This is
our teaching. Why? It is the scripture. It
is the Word of God that we preach. Jesus Christ, by His faith, obtained
righteousness even as it was promised. Promised? You mean this was promised before
He came? You bet it was. One of my favorite passages is
Daniel chapter 9, it's just so clear. It's as though it was
written after Christ came. Daniel chapter 9, but it is a
prophecy. Daniel chapter 9 and verse 24,
70 weeks are determined upon thy people and thy holy city.
Listen, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make
reconciliation for iniquity and to bring in everlasting righteousness,
seal up the vision and the prophecy and to anoint the most holy. Our Lord Jesus Christ came to
do away with sin. To put away sin. How? By the
sacrifice of Himself. And what was the result of this?
What was the result of Christ's perfect work? Because that's
all it is. It was a perfect work. He perfectly honored the Law
of God in every thought and deed. He willingly laid down His life
for us. He said, The Father loveth me
because I lay down my life for the sheep. Isn't that good news? By His one offering in death,
He forever satisfied the justice of God. Isaiah 53 and verse 10
tells us He shall see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied. Hebrews 9, 12 tells us by His
blood He entered into the holy place once, having obtained eternal
redemption. And Hebrews chapter 10 and verse
14 tells us this, that He hath perfected forever. Perfected. forever, them that are sanctified. How? By His one offering. By
His one offering. And because of this, God raised
Him from the dead, seated Him on the throne of glory where
He now sits, ruling, reigning over all things. To do what? To save His people. Now, if you
want to know what's going on, I'll tell you what's going on
in the world. Christ is saving His people. And He's using everything
and everyone so that the gospel should get to His people. Nations will rise and nations
will fall for this purpose. That the gospel go forth and
save His people. Men die, Men are born, they live,
they work, for what purpose? For the preaching of the gospel
should go forth and God should save His people. Now that's what
God's doing in everything, everything. Why? There is none other name
given among men whereby we must be saved. That is our doctrine. Our doctrine is not just academic. Our doctrine is a person. It's
a person. Therefore, Jesus Christ has sent
His Holy Spirit into the world, and He has come to quicken dead
sinners to life. He has come to call all the chosen
and redeemed race, to call all Israel to life and faith in Christ
Jesus. That's what He's doing. The Spirit
of God has gone forth into the world and He is calling the elect. Go to John chapter 3. This again
is our doctrine because it is the doctrine of Scripture. This
doctrine is not our doctrine because we made it up. It's the
doctrine of the Word of God. John chapter 3, look at verse
6, verse 7, Jesus said, Marvel not,
I said unto thee, you must be born again. The wind bloweth
where it listeth. Thou hearest the sound thereof,
but you can't tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth. Listen,
so is everyone that is born of the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God. And he said,
how can these things be? How can these things be? Because man is born and dead,
he needs life. He needs to be born again. Born
from above. or he cannot see the kingdom
of God, which means he cannot believe on Christ except he be
born again. Do you get that? You that are
believers in Christ, do you know this? You believe because you
were born again. The Spirit of God blew where
it listeth, and it blew on you. And you believe in Christ. It is a work of God upon the
heart of man. And all that he quickens, he
gives righteousness of Christ. He gives faith in Christ. How can these things be? How
can a man be born again? How does the Spirit of God give
life and faith? How does this righteousness be
imputed to sinners? Notice our Lord's response. He
said, Art thou master of Israel, and know not these things? Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, We speak that which we do know, and testify
what we have seen, and ye receive not our witness. But I have told
you of earthly things, and ye believe not. How shall ye believe
if I tell you of heavenly things? The first thing the Lord here
does is expose sin. If you are not If you've never been dead, you've
never received life. If you've never been blind, you've
never been given sight. The first thing he must do is
expose guilt, sin, death, which he does to Nicodemus here. He exposes his sin. This man was a master of Israel,
yet he didn't know anything at all. He was dead and depraved. So what then was the remedy?
Look what Christ uses as the remedy here. He says in verse 14, But, and
as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must
the Son of Man be lifted up. that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have eternal life." So what did he do to this
lost, depraved man after he exposed his guilt? He preached himself. He preached the gospel. He preached about his death and
crucifixion. What are his ministers then to
do? The same. As Moses lifted up
the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man.
Why must the Son of Man be lifted up? Because God purposed it.
Because God had a people that He must save by Jesus Christ.
So must the Son of Man be lifted up, because this is the only
way of redemption. And whosoever... Oh, that's good. You can't beat that. That doesn't
preach free will. That preaches free grace. Whosoever
will, come, believe. You see, we believe in whosoever
will. We believe Christ died for whosoever
will. We just don't believe He died
for whosoever won't. This was Paul's doctrine. This
was Paul's purpose. He was called to preach the Gospel. He was called to preach the Word,
the Holy Scriptures. So in our text, go back to your
text, what does he encourage, what does he charge this young
man to do? Preach the Word. Preach the Holy Scriptures, which
alone are able to make men wise unto salvation. Now these false
preachers that have a form of godliness, they use the very
same scriptures we do. They profess to know and believe
the same Bible, trust the same Christ, and have the same Holy
Spirit. They use words such as the grace
of God, the faith of Christ, sanctification of the Spirit,
righteousness of the saints. They use all of those things.
So how do we discern? Now if a preacher is called of
God and he is to declare the doctrine of God, how then are
you to discern? And discern you must. You must
discern. The scripture says try the spirits
to see whether they are of God. Now it's incumbent upon you to
do this. Try the spirits. You should not hear me because
you have affection for me. You should hear me because I'm
telling you the word of God. If I'm not, you shouldn't hear
me. try the spirits to see whether
they be of God. Paul encourages Timothy. Go back
to 1 Timothy chapter 1. Look what Paul tells him. in
verse 18. He says, I charge this charge
I committed to thee son Timothy according to the prophecies which
went before on thee that thou by them mightest war a good warfare
holding faith and a good conscience which some having put away concerning
the faith have made shipwreck He says, hold to those prophecies
that were before on thee. Those things that God taught
you, you hold on to them. Why? Because some swerved, some
missed them, some departed from them and made shipwreck of the
faith. Therefore, a preacher is to be
committed to this purpose. Preach the Word. Preach the word. So by what measure are you to
discern? Even by our doctrine. By our
gospel. What is the sum, substance, and
topic of our message? If it is not Jesus Christ and
Him crucified, you should close up and leave. If it is Jesus Christ plus something
else, leave. Why? Because the Scriptures are
clear that men will heap to themselves having teachers, having itching
ears. True preachers, true preachers,
have one topic. one gospel above all Jesus Christ
in Colossians 3 verse 11 Paul says this Christ is all matter of fact that word I think
is in italics Christ all Christ all he testified I am the Alpha and
the Omega the beginning and the end From cover to cover of this
book, Jesus Christ is all the purpose and theme of the Scriptures. He told those Jews, search the
Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, but they
are they that testify of Me. I'll tell you, people search
the Scriptures to find many different things. A lot of people look
in there and see how to live. Isn't that it? They look in the
scriptures and say, oh, do this, don't do that, do this, don't
do that. That's what they get out of them. That's not the purpose.
Some people look into it for many different reasons. Archaeologists,
they look in the scriptures, try to find things that were
in the ground. They say, oh, the scripture says it's over
here, so let's go over here and dig. And sure enough, they might find
it, might not. It's not an archaeologist's book. You listen to me, it's not a
scientific book. You don't judge science by the
book. It's not there for that. Although
everything in it is true. This book is about one thing.
One person. Christ. Christ alone. The Jewish legalist and false
freewill works religion use the Bible as a rule of life or morality. They do find many things to boost
their intellect, their pride, and their self-righteousness,
but they search the Scriptures in vain if they do not search
for Christ. You missed it. You missed it. Or by searching, they think they
have eternal life, but they are they that testify of me. Jesus
told those disciples on the road to Emmaus, He said, And beginning
at Moses and all the prophets, He spake unto them in all things
concerning himself. If all of the scriptures then
testify of Christ, what then are we to preach? What is this that Paul is telling
Timothy, charging him to preach? Preach the Word, Timothy. What
is he saying? Well, preach the science of the
Word, Timothy. Preach the morality of the Word, Timothy. Is that
what he's saying? No. Preach the Word, the incarnate
Word. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Preach the
Word, Christ. Preach Christ, only Christ, always
Christ in every message. And when are we to preach this
gospel? In season and out of season. When it's popular and
when it's not. In the church in the midst of
revival, and the church in the midst of decline, preach the
Word. Preach Christ. And what is our authority? To
reprove, rebuke, and exhort. You know, I lose all authority
and credibility when I say I think or I feel. When it's my opinion, I lose
all authority. My authority is, thus saith the
Lord. Preach the word. If a man wants large numbers
to attend his church, if he wants riches, preach anything but Christ and
you'll get those. You'll get them. They'll come
out of the woodwork. For man by nature will not endure
sound doctrine, but heave to themselves teachers having itching
ears." So we, like Paul, I determine, what he told the Corinthians,
I determine not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and
Him crucified. I don't care what your science
is. I determine not to know your science. I determine not to know
your philosophy. I determine not to know anything
but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Why? It's the only thing that
matters. It's the only thing that matters. This message alone
is the only message that saves sinners. It is the only message
that comforts God's people. It is the only message by which
God uses to call His elect. No other message will do. All other messages are dishonoring
to his son. Peter says to us who are born
again, we are born again of incorruptible seed by the word of God, which
liveth and abideth forever. So then how then will these millions
and millions today who hear a false Christ, how then shall they come
to Christ? by what men call foolish preacher if that's your only
message you're foolish because no one's going to hear it that's
right no one's going to hear it but the elect and when they
hear it they go I know who he's talking about yo I identify with
what he said why because it's the Word of God And all who believe
do identify with it. We must preach the word. We must preach Jesus Christ who
has obtained eternal redemption, who has satisfied the justice
of God. Jesus said, All that the Father
has given me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out. This is the will of him that
sent me, that of all he had given me I should lose how many? Nothing. Not one. This message is victorious
every time it is preached. That's good news. Especially
for such a weak preacher as I am, that is great news to me. This
message is always, it's a winner every time. Why? Because it's God's Word. It's
God's Word. He shall not lose any. And so
by preaching we witness of Jesus Christ. We beseech you in Christ's
stead be you reconciled to God, for God hath made Him sin, who
knew no sin, that we should be made the righteousness of God
in Him. And I'll ask you now, if you
have not come, why will you not come? Why will you not come? If salvation is finished, why
will you not come? If you will not come, it is because
of your own lust and hatred to God. And if you will come, it
is because of God's love and Christ's death and the Spirit's
resurrection. That's the only reason anybody
comes, is because it's the work of God. And how is it that this
work comes? Through preaching. What? Anything? Christ. The Gospel. I'll show you one more place
go to 2nd Timothy 2nd Thessalonians this this one has it all I love
this little verse it has everything in it 2nd Thessalonians chapter
2 and verse 13 Paul says but we are bound to
give thanks always to God for you Notice it's not
thanks to you for God. I'm just so thankful you're here.
I know God's thankful you're here. That's what most modern
churches tell you. Well, God's just so happy that you decided
to come in. No, no. I thank God you're here.
If you're here, it's because God brought you here. I thank
God for you. Brethren, beloved of the Lord,
because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation. There's election. Through sanctification
of the Spirit. There's the work of the Holy
Spirit. What does He do? And belief of the truth. Jesus is the way, the truth,
and the life. Belief in the death, burial,
resurrection, ascension, and glory of Christ Jesus. Where
unto He called you? How? By our gospel. Is it not all there? Is that not all our doctrine?
Depravity of man. Sovereign election. Total, absolute
redemption. Ascension of Christ, the calling
of the Spirit through this means of preaching. What? Christ. And you listen, anybody preaches
anything but Christ, anything in addition to Christ is not
called of God. Don't listen. Don't listen. May God give us discerning hearts,
because that's what it takes. Otherwise, we'd be we'd follow
right along. If God doesn't give you a discerning heart, you'll
follow right along. And so would I. Praise God for free salvation, free grace, total redemption, victory. No possibility of us being lost
while we follow Christ. We emulate Him. We want to serve
Him. The only sacrifices we have left
are praise and thanksgiving, isn't it? You're a priest, you
know that? You're a priest unto God. You know what you've got
left to offer? Thanksgiving and praise. Why is it you've heard and they
haven't? Why is it you believe and they don't? God was gracious. May God give us grace to continue
to follow Him and preach His Word. Let's stand and be dismissed
in prayer.