Thorough Biblical Repentance II 2 Tim 2

Thorough Biblical Repentance

2 Tim 2

Some Biblical Background

Please turn to 2 Tim rather than 2 Cor. This time turn to Chapter 2, starting at Verse 23. I want to establish the biblical background for thorough biblical repentance among believers.

When Martin Luther posted his 95 theses, they began by stating that all of the Christian life is repentance. Repentance has fallen on hard times in American Christianity these days. It is either a missing note in gospel preaching or it creates discord. Thorough repentance as it is taught in the scriptures is a beautiful thing--it changes people from the inside out. 

After Paul left Timothy in Ephesus to do a lot of hard work, he wrote him a second personal letter. In that letter, Paul instructed his son in the faith about many things. One of those areas of instruction had to do with some things that generate strife. These words immediately precede 2 Tim 3:1-5, the main passage under consideration in this series. So, that latter passage grows out of this preceding passage in

2 Tim 2:23-26 Listen to the Apostle’s instruction to a younger man who had difficult people to deal with. If you will allow, difficult, perilous people in the context of the Ephesian Church. In God’s providence, this last message is more relevant today than two to three weeks ago when I started to put it together.

God’s Word to Timothy via Paul under inspiration of the Spirit commands:

Lawful Avoidance in Ministry

2:23 But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife.

The word for avoid is elsewhere translated refuse. Timothy, even in a difficult situation had to make some judgment calls. Some would come to him with issues, “Concerns,” perhaps even contradicting him or the word of the Apostle. He was to refuse them, to not hear them, to not listen to them in a way that would make him act on what he had been told.

The standard by which Timothy was to avoid these disputations were two: if they were foolish or ignorant.

Foolish is from the Greek Moros, which is defined in one lexicon “as pertaining to being extremely unwise and foolish.” Ignorant pertains to one who fails to reflect proper instruction or training. In the context of the church, it is one who fails to believe or do what the church has taught in her legitimate prophetic ministry. In classical use, it reflects one who refused to be taught or corrected by an accepted standard. It is someone acting as if they had no basis for ethics.

Timothy as a native Greek speaker would have known just what Paul meant. To avoid, to refuse to answer, unwise and uninformed disputes.

Paul goes on to write, knowing that the generate strife.

The word for disputes is likewise informative. This sort of dispute was “to express forceful differences of opinion without necessarily having a presumed goal of seeking a solution.” These were the sorts of disputes the Jews loved: Mark 9:14; John 3:35 among others.

These endless disputes or debates that go nowhere produce something evil--which is why the servant of the Lord must avoid them--they generate strife. I am amazed how many times I have answered the concerns of people only to have their opinions remained unchained. There is a class of people, mostly men, who like controversy.

The original Greek behind "generate" meant exactly what it says, It gives birth to something. In this case it gives birth to strife. It is the word used to father a child; to beget offspring.

When this series started I illustrated the meaning of Day by using the Greek greeting for Happy New Year. Here, It is the Greeting in Greek for Merry Christmas that illustrates just what this word means. As Kalemera meant Happy New Year, so Kala Christougena, means Merry Christmas. Kala meaning good, happy, blessed, or merry. Christougena meaning, Christ begotten. Christmas is the time when the memory of Jesus Christ being begotten is celebrated.

The Greek word is a form of gennaw. In various forms it is used 97 times in the NT. 40 of them are in one extended passage. Matt 1:1-16 where the lineage of Jesus from Abraham is established. In each of the 40 generations, someone fathered someone else, someone beget another, someone was the cause of another.

Foolish and ignorant disputes have their own offspring. But, also, from the offspring or the fruit, you can look back and see what is at the root. Aimless and purposeless disputes have no place in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We need to ask, what is strife? It is a bitter battle to the end.

The entire entry in one lexicon is full of helpful information. All I have removed is the Greek phrases:

39.23 strife f: serious conflict, either physical or non-physical, but clearly intensive and bitter — ‘to clash severely, struggle, fight.’

Biblical Illustration:

‘the next day he saw two men fighting, and he tried to make peace between them’ Ac 7:26;

‘then the Jews clashed severely among themselves’ Jn 6:52.

‘there were troubles everywhere; struggles with people around us, fears in our hearts’ 2Cor 7:5.

        In order to suggest something of the intensity of conflict in times of strife it may be useful in some instances to employ similes in the rendering of these terms, for example, ‘they opposed one another just as though they were actually fighting one another to the death’ or ‘they are fighting, as it were.’

Prolonged disputes of this sort are unprofitable, but some let them occur. There have been some endless disputes between husbands and wives; there are some between parents and children even if they quiet down for a time; and there are others that continue to cause strife. Strife is the fruit of entertaining foolish and ignorant ideas, even if they are only called by the sanitized and spiritualized terms “discussion or concerns.” 

What to do

24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel

Ordinarily, the servant of the Lord must not involve himself in these fruitless arguments. But, on the contrary….

but be gentle to all,

There is a firm kindness that ought to be present, but not the sort of meekness that lets people do whatever they want and say anything that comes to their minds. There are many of you who have had to be corrected in order that you might speak the truth, and only the truth motivated by love, as a spiritual person, gently seeking to be restored to another.

Which is why it is important that the servant of the Lord be....

able to teach,

Able to instruct on these matters. After all, it is part of the whole counsel of God. As Paul did not hold back neither can I. However, the comfort to me is the encouragement of the vast majority of you who have reported dealing with something or understanding God’s Word and his ways more fully. At the same time, in a few, there has been a very different reaction. I have come to understand the absolute necessity of preaching these things in a way that makes me sympathetic to Timothy and the needs in Ephesus. As Timothy had to be, so do I, need to be....

patient,

Patience does not mean someone never acts. It means they wait to act at the right time based upon real facts about real people. As servants of God....

25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition,

Correcting--that is contradicting through instruction. It is instructing those who are in opposition publicly. Again, let me read the entry from the same lexicon:

39.1 correcting: to oppose someone, involving not only a psychological attitude but also a corresponding behavior — ‘to oppose, to be hostile toward, to show hostility.’;

Biblical Illustrations and use:

‘when they opposed him and said evil things about him’ Ac 18:6. It may be that in some languages one can best render the word  in Acts 18:6 as ‘to speak against,’ though in some languages opposition is often expressed idiomatically as ‘to show a sour face toward,’ that is when people don't like what you say, so they make faces at you or look down or up in the air and make faces--then they say, I didn't say anything. To make faces is enough because the word also means or ‘to have a mean heart toward someone,’’; ‘I opposed him to the face’ or ‘… openly’ (see 83.34) or ‘… in person’ (see 83.38) Ga 2:11. In translating this phrase in Ga 2:11 it may be appropriate in some languages to say ‘I spoke against him with other people present.’; ‘his answers made all those who opposed him ashamed of themselves’ Lk 13:17.

Why take the time to correct through teaching?

The End in View

A. The WORK of God using the teacher

if God perhaps will grant them repentance,

The words proclaimed don’t guarantee the repentance of anybody. But, if God so pleases to make someone understand their sin, and even treachery in these matters, they will repent. If God does not grant or endow them with repentance, they cannot and will not repent. Often what they do is defend themselves. And the flesh best defends itself by attacking the one who dared speak the things that made them sad. But, sometimes that is exactly what is needed and what God will use to extract a turning from sin in order to pursue righteousness, Look up at Verse 22 Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. These are the virtues Timothy, and I would add, all true believers are to hunt down and make their own: righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Freedom in Christ does not release us from the commands of Scriptures, it makes us free from sin to do what we ought to do--obey the Word of God given for our profit and guidance.

The repentance God may give will affect those repenting:

B. The Work in the hearer

so that they may know the truth,

All of this is focused around and upon the truth. Nothing else. It is not just an act of the will, nor the inklings of emotion. God wrought repentance is based squarely upon the truth of the Word of God and as things really are.

Why do people need to hear the truth, even about their real or potential sins?

26 and that they may come to their senses

That they may learn to think properly about what they have done, its effects on others and their personal need to show the fruits of their repentance before God and man.

Lacking that, they are in a dangerous place, they are in Satan’s trap. Look at what it says:

and escape the snare of the devil,

They would not need to escape if they were not held in the trap of the devil. Very few people in the trap see that they are caught. Fewer want to admit it. They want to shift the blame to others. But, when God grants repentance--a thorough Biblical Repentance, the snare is removed and the ordinary Christian life can continue. An ordinary life manifest in part, by continued deep and thorough repentance for our many sins. And for each one, knowing the forgiveness of a gracious God who has delivered us from bondage and can help us escape the snare of the devil.

Did you ever think about how many professing Christians are entrapped by the devil in these ways? There are many.

So,

C. Why is this important?

having  been taken captive by him to do his will.

Those so ensnared that they cause strife have already been taken prisoner by the Devil and look at the text--they are doing his will.

It is not the will of God that they are doing. It is not even only their own will. Those who act in these ways of the will of the devil--that is they are guilty of participating in the treachery of Satan. They do his will.

The will of the devil is not the will of God. What you need is repentance--outside of God granting it, you will continue to do the devil’s work.

The question is: How many of you have come under conviction about one thing or another that was really or potentially perilous to your spiritual life and others? How many of you did nothing about it? How many did a little something to appease your conscience? How many of you completely cleared yourself through repentance so that you experience what it is to be forgiven?

When people feel remorse and still wallow is self-pity, they haven't fully repented. When Christians go back to besetting sins and hold onto them tightly, they show that in their hearts they have not fully repented and turned away from their sin.

True biblical repentance in our day, is difficult and rare. Our counselor friends speak to us in clichés and we never turn and forsake our sin. We give it more time to damage us and those around us.

I know of those realities because you have told me. God has granted understanding and repentance to many of you in the way envisioned in Paul’s words to Timothy. But, he has not granted it to all.

I urge you, if you are in that category, to throw yourself on Gods’ mercy, that he might grant you repentance and arrest you from continuing to do the devil’s will.