2 Timothy 3:14-4:5 - "Who Raised You?"
/2 Timothy 3:14-4:5
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.
2nd Timothy is the Apostle Paul’s last word and testament. It’s a somber, deeply personal letter with intimate references to Timothy’s life, like the names of his mother Eunice and grandmother Lois, as well as amusingly minor details like Paul’s request that Timothy bring him his jacket, more books, and above all, more paper to write on when he next visits. The lectionary skips over that bit. It’s a letter to a beloved mentee from a man who knows his time left on earth is growing short. The NRSV titles this section, “Paul’s charge to Timothy.” Charges are at the forefront of my mind these days as I will receive one at my ordination next Sunday. Charges are words that entrust someone with a task, duty, and responsibility. Charges are part of the ordination service, but they are also part of every worship here. At the end of the service, you, the congregation, receive a charge and benediction. Perhaps you have even heard these very words as a charge to you before.
The problem with the books of Timothy is that because they are addressed to Timothy, the leader and apostle, it can be easy to write off the books as only being addressed to and useful for leaders. They are books that get preached often in seminaries, but not so much in churches. But this is a mistake. These letters have never been only meant for leaders of the community. We know this by the very fact that they are part of our scriptures today. These letters didn’t magically become a part of the church’s holy book. They became part of the Bible because they were useful. Churches were using them, making copies and sharing them with other house churches and in doing so, the Spirit was working through these letters. Somewhat paradoxically, the inclusion of this letter proves what Paul says here that scripture is—useful.
The well-known verse 2 Timothy 3:16 has been quoted endlessly over the centuries by apologetics and evangelists—all scripture is “inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” The word “inspired” literally means, “god-breathed.” It’s an image so evocative you can practically see the same breath that was breathed into Adam and Eve being breathed into the ink on the page. But what “scripture” is Paul referring to here? As he was writing this letter, he certainly didn’t consider it to be scripture. He wouldn’t have thought of any of his letters, or the accounts of the early church in Acts, or Jesus' life and ministry in the 4 gospels to be scripture. Paul spoke of the same bible Jesus did—it’s what we call the Old Testament.
The development of the canon of scripture, fancy words that mean “the books of the bible” was slow over the first few centuries of the church. It was the letters and stories that were being organically used in worship, in teaching, and in church discipline that made their way into the canon of scripture. You see, 2 Timothy 3:16 is not a systematic theology of Scripture and was never intended to be. Systematic theology is the orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. No matter how much systematic theologians love this verse, Paul is not arguing that scripture is inspired; he’s assuming it and moving on to his real point, which is not what Scripture is but how it should be used—“for teaching, reproving, correction, and training in righteousness.” Tom Long, theologian and professor emeritus of Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, says Paul is trying to say, “since we know that the holy writings are the gift of God’s Spirit, don’t neglect to use them to inform, shape, and correct your own faith and the faith of the church.”
What is scripture? It’s the word of the living God and it is useful. It’s not meant to be used to play word games to find spiritualized myths or codes with secret meanings. It’s to instruct you for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
Do you remember Psalm 121 that Nancy read earlier? It’s called a “psalm of ascent” because it was one of the psalms that the Jews would sing on their way up to Jerusalem for Passover and for Sukkot, the feast of booths which Jews celebrated last week. No matter where you are—on the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro or high in the Swiss alps, if you are going to Jerusalem, you are going up. Those on their pilgrimages would sing psalms 120-134 as they made their way to the temple. They were perhaps some of the most familiar words to Jews living in Jesus’ day and age. They are words that taught about who God is, how God cares for us, and where God shows up. Born and raised in the mountainous Pacific Northwest, I cannot count how many times those words have sprung to mind when looking at the mountain ranges of my home. "I lift my eyes up to the hills. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the Lord." In church or nature, in community or alone, these words have formed me, have shaped my faith. All scripture is god-breathed and useful. All scripture is a means by which God can breathe life and faith and hope and love and forgiveness and resurrection, into God’s people.
Paul takes seriously the role of a pastor and leader. He gives no falsely rosy depictions of what ministry actually looks like. He tells Timothy, "proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable." These words have floated around in the back of mind over the past few years because I started seminary in the fall of 2016. I started officially training to be a pastor and a preacher amid the most divisive, painful election in recent memory. I was going through the ordination process while the Access Hollywood tape, Kavanaugh hearings, and the #MeToo movement dominated the headlines and my own conscience. These feel like far from favorable times. If ever there was an unfavorable time for preaching, isn’t this it?
Paul warns Timothy that, “the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths.”
This warning has been taken seriously by many over the years and it certainly feels relevant today. I look at Southminster, a church I am just barely getting to know, and I see a congregation that has tried so hard to be faithful. You have resisted the temptation to find teachers who simply tell you what you want to hear, and yet you have still watched your beloved community shrink. It’s especially frustrating to watch “prosperity gospel” church grow and grow as they preach false messages of “if you love God, you will get everything you’ve ever wanted.” Maybe you feel like these are the days that Paul spoke about. Maybe you feel a bit like those who look at verses like this as proof that the “end times” are upon us. “Don’t you see everyone around us who is turning away from the truth? We must be in the end times! Christ is about to return!” It feels like the most unfavorable times for sound teaching and faithful following of Christ.
Interpreting scripture to be explicitly about these modern events reminds me of the way some in older generations view younger generations. The British newspaper the Telegraph wrote in 2015, “Millennial complainants are everywhere, ready to give you a rundown of everything their generation has been stiffed on. In the way that we once had The Greatest Generation, we now have The Whiniest Generation”. Or from the Falkirk Herald, “many young people were so pampered nowadays that they had forgotten that there was such a thing as walking, and they made automatically for the buses… unless they did something, the future for walking was very poor indeed.” Only that was from 1951. Or how about, “We defy anyone who goes about with his eyes open to deny that there is, as never before, an attitude on the part of young folk which is best described as grossly thoughtless, rude, and utterly selfish.” Daily Mail, 1925. Or my personal favorite, “They think they know everything and are always quite sure about it." Aristotle, 4th Century BC.
Just as those who have the privilege of growing old have almost always been frustrated with the young generation coming of age after them, those in the church have always feared that this is the dreaded future Paul and John wrote about in their letters and Revelation. “A time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine?” I wish I could talk to Paul face to face and say, “Buddy, that time was here long before me and it will be here long after me.” Sound doctrine is not particularly exciting or sexy and if Paul’s life is an accurate example, following it leads to pain, misery, and sacrifice. Of course, people find it easier to listen to someone who preaches what they want to hear. We all want someone who tells us what we want to hear. It’s why the prosperity gospel has flourished in American churches. The question is, can we hang on when we hear preachers that make us uncomfortable? Can we listen to preachers who preach the whole of the gospel, even when it is hard to hear? Can we follow Jesus for the long haul, even when the present feels like the opposite of the results all want?
Paul encourages Timothy to preach the whole gospel—gathered up in Jesus Christ, witnessed to in Scripture, fleshed out in the lives of faithful people, and embodied in the church that lives out the “love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith” (1 Tim 1:5). In other words, Timothy is to proclaim the entirety of the Christian life and he is to be persistent in doing regardless of the conditions for hearing that preaching.
You see, Paul’s charge to Timothy is not to hold on to scripture alone. It begins with encouragement to remember the two steady streams that have filled his reservoir of faith—the people that have taught him and scripture. It’s no accident that Paul first mentions those who taught him. At the start of his letter, Paul says to Timothy, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you.” These women that raised Timothy are not incidental to his faith; they are essential. It is not just that Timothy should remember what they taught him, but he should also remember who they were: people who held steadfast to the gospel when others wandered away, people who were sustained by God in times of trouble and persecution. The doctrinal content they imparted is important, but more so is the texture of their faithful lives.
Do you remember who raised you in the faith? Perhaps like Timothy, it was your parents and grandparents. Perhaps they raised you in the faith by teaching you how to read the bible for yourself, by instituting family devotions, or by talking about their love for Jesus at every opportunity. Those are just some of the ways I remember my family raising me in the faith. But I also remember the lives of those outside of my family—my Sunday school teachers, my youth pastors, and my mentors at church. The conversations, the kindness, the integrity, and faithfulness to God that they showed me through their daily lives. Even when I have left the denomination that raised me and no longer believe some of the theology they taught me, I remember their lives. They didn't have "preacher" on their resume, but they preached the gospel to me all the time. How small our churches and our faiths would be if we thought that only "preachers" preached the gospel.
When I read Paul’s reminder to Timothy to remember the women who raised him in the faith, I think of the women who are raising the children of Southminster to know and love Jesus. I think of Lois and Marianne and Kim and Cindy. I think of Linda and Jane and Mary and Liz. I think of the men who love and care for JR, who volunteer with youth lock-ins and trip, of all the “honorary grandparents” who love our young people dearly, and of the people whose names I don’t yet know. I think of sacrifices they make, the sermons they never get to hear because they spend that time teaching children, and the love they faithfully show. From childhood, our kids are being taught to know and know love scripture and they are being shown what a faithful life looks like. When our children and teenagers grow up and read this passage, these are the people they will think of, for they are the ones that taught them the sacred writing of our faith. It's one of the holiest parts of the Christian community. Whether you have raised children in your home or not, you are part of the church family, responsible for receiving the faith and passing it on to the next generation.
Paul tells Timothy to remember and proclaim the entirety of the Christian life. It’s not just the words of this holy book. It’s the texture of our very lives. It’s the tapestries woven by the generations gone before us, who leave behind memories of a life well-lived in service to the God who is our keeper. To the God who will keep your going out and your coming in. Who will not let your foot be moved.
The entirety of the Christian life is the lives of the women who raised you. Of the men who showed you what sacrificial love can look like. There are days when even for me, the Bible can feel inaccessible and dry. God, where is your spirit in these pages? On those days, I remember those who raised me. I remember their faithfulness when things got difficult. I remember their steadfastness in dry seasons. I remember the love for God that cannot be faked, that radiated from the inside out. You don’t have to have received faith as a child to have been “raised in the faith.” Somewhere along the line, there was someone who introduced you to the love of Jesus and ancestors in the faith whose lives you read about. Their stories were part of what carried you here today. It’s their lives that we will celebrate on All Saints Day in a few weeks.
When times were hard for Timothy, Paul reminded him to remember the faith he handed down to him by those loved Jesus before him. When days are difficult, remember those who raised you. Remember their words, remember what did, remember the tapestry of their lives. When you can't remember a single sermon or what these words mean, remember their lives. And remember that you are passing down the faith to the next generation. You are entrusted with preaching the gospel, be that from a pulpit, or a passenger seat on a long drive, or over a kitchen table. The gospel is proclaimed in our words and our actions. The God who created and has called you to hold on. What more is there to say than Paul’s charge to Timothy, as told by Eugene Peterson in The Message Bible?
People of Southminster: keep your eye on what you’re doing; accept the hard times along with the good; keep the Message alive; do a thorough job as God’s servant.
