Model Behavior
(2 Timothy 3: 10-4: 5)
As I’ve mentioned before, one of my assignments when I was a Houston Police Officer was the Vice Division in a plain-clothes undercover capacity. I had numerous outfits I would wear like hospital scrubs or car dealership uniforms. I could go from dressing up in a suit to wearing jeans, boots, a black leather motorcycle jacket and Jack Daniels hat, and everything in between. Being able to blend in with those who were going about their business, whether they were up to no good or just out for a good time on the town was our best defense against those who didn’t want their questionable behavior publicly exposed, as in an arrest. We got to see the behavior the good citizens of Houston modeled when they thought no one was watching, and we also got to watch the behavior modeled by street officers as they patrolled the streets. You see, when the average citizen does something questionable, wrong, or immoral many folks write it off as weak behavior, falling victim to the temptations of sin. But when a police officer is observed doing something he or she shouldn’t be doing it’s just another corrupt cop who thinks he or she is above the law. As police officers we had to model the kind of behavior that the citizens expected from those who had taken an oath to protect and serve the public, holding ourselves to a higher standard. And it’s that modeling of behavior that is expected of Followers or the Way of Jesus Christ, Disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world, that the Apostle Paul is talking about in our scripture reading for this morning.
Paul has been laying the foundation for what he is about to say next. He has acknowledged in his letter how difficult a task that lies ahead for Timothy and the many challenges he will face that include persecution, criticism, ostracism, and maybe even death. But, Paul says, you have paid attention to my teaching, conduct, purpose, faithfulness, patience, love, and endurance. You have seen me experience physical abuse and ordeals in places such as Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. I put up with all sorts of abuse, and the Lord rescued me from it all! Timothy is aware of what Paul is talking about as Timothy was from Lystra, which is where Paul was savagely stoned and left for dead by those who didn’t like his message of truth. He continues by saying: In fact, anyone who wants to live a holy life in Christ Jesus will be harassed. Yeah, I know, not a very compelling sales pitch, but he underscores his point when he tells Timothy that the evil people and swindlers will grow even worse, as they deceive others while being deceived themselves. He urges Timothy to continue with the things he has learned and found convincing, and to remember who taught him. Paul is giving Tinothy’s mother and grandmother a nod as they were two women strong in their faith who made sure Timothy knew the holy scriptures and where they would lead him. He says to Timothy: Every scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for showing mistakes, for correcting, and for training character, so that the person who belongs to God can be equipped to do everything that is good.
John Wesley, the founder of our Methodist denomination, held that “the Spirit of God not only once inspired those who wrote it, but continually inspires, supernaturally assists, those who read it with earnest prayer.” That’s what Paul is counting on as he looks into the future and imagines that impending time when it will be even more difficult to hold on to faithful and true teaching. Paul knows hard times are coming and that for Timothy the “Holy Scriptures” was the Old Testament. For the young and growing Christian church, all they had at the time was the Old Testament which, for Paul was important, as it pointed to Jesus Christ and for future followers like us and John Wesley, faith in Christ makes the whole Bible intelligible. It’s through the Holy Spirit that God revealed his person and plan to certain believers, who wrote down his message for his people. This is what the Apostle Peter meant when he wrote in 2 Peter 1: 20,21 where he said: Most important, you must know that no prophecy of scripture represents the prophet’s own understanding of things, because no prophecy ever came by human will. Instead, men and women led by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. It is both the Old and New Testaments read together that is our safeguard against false teaching and our source of guidance for how we should live. It is our only source of knowledge about how we can be saved. The point being made here is that, in our zeal for the truth of Scripture, we must never forget its purpose; to equip us to do good and not to win pointless arguments. This is what Paul has been trying to get across to Timothy and us. Even today, especially today, we are surrounded by false teachings and teachers. We must be on our guard and not allow our society to distort or crowd out God’s eternal truth by twisting Jesus’s teachings to suit their own self-serving agendas.
With that all said and done, Paul then commissions Timothy in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and says: Preach the word. Be ready to do it whether it is convenient or inconvenient. Correct, confront, and encourage with patience and instruction. He tells Timothy that there will come a time when people will not tolerate sound teaching, that they will gravitate to teachers who say what they want to hear because they are self-centered. They, Paul predicts, will turn their back on the truth and turn to myths. I know that over the past 2,000 years there have been times in the world when it appeared that Paul’s prediction was coming true but for those of us who are currently living through it, it sure seems like he is talking about what we are experiencing in our country right now with the rise of Christian Nationalism writing a narrative that I guarantee you cannot be found in the Bible no matter what translation you read. Paul is warning us that false teachers will inevitably be consumed by their own evil and continue to distance themselves from what is truly divine. He closes out this portion of his letter by telling Timothy that he must keep control of himself in all circumstances, to endure suffering, to do the work of a preacher of the good news, and carry out his service fully, to model the behavior of a true and committed Follower of the Way of Jesus Christ.
Who says the Bible is an antiquated book with no relevance to the world today? The Apostle is spot on as he instructs Timothy how to proceed in his absence into a world that desperately needs to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. Were it not for Timothy, Peter, James and other early church leaders who left everything to enter the mission field we wouldn’t be having this conversation today, there would be no Christian faith. There would be no Good News. The Good News of Jesus Christ does not spread itself.
Wesley was right when he observed: There is no exception. Either truth of scripture fails, or those that think they are religious, and are not persecuted, in some shape or other, on that very account, deceive themselves. Essentially what he is saying is that anyone who wants to live a holy life, live by the Book, in Christ Jesus will be harassed. We can’t look at what is popular, the teachings of the day, as our barometer. Instead, we must be fully committed to our calling, to proclaim the gospel and stand strong in the face of resistance. We mustn’t be surprised when people, even people close to us, misunderstand, criticize, and even try to harm us because of what we believe and how we openly live for Christ. These speakers, teachers, and writers all talk convincingly about the pursuit of knowledge, but in reality, it isn’t knowledge they want. They want power so they turn from the truth of the Gospel, an inconvenient truth, and focus on their followers because they have learned to tell people what their itching ears want to hear. And that’s what the Apostle Paul was talking about, our need to model the behavior of a suffering servant of Christ as opposed to the pleasure-seeking behavior promoted and advocated by false teachers who are only interested in what’s in it for them, a behavior not modeled by Jesus Christ.
Let us pray.
Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life; let me more of their beauty see, wonderful words of life; words of life and beauty teach me faith and duty. Yes, gracious and loving Father, teach us by your Spirit your true Word and how we can apply it to our everyday life so that we may be the children you would have us be. Keep us strong in your Word so that we may resist the harmful and deceitful teachings of false teachers. Give us the words to say so that we may confront and correct the self-serving lies they tell for their own purposes, purposes that do nothing but harm your creation as it was always meant to be. Give us the strength and courage to model the behavior of your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. This we pray, in Jesus’ name, Amen.