2 Timothy 4

Looks like it's that time already. We're probably running online, and they can see how well organized we were ahead of time. You can see we're planning this out just right down to the T. Good evening, everyone! It's good to see you all here. Welcome to all of you watching online. Good to have you with us on this Wednesday evening. We're getting back into things with this new calendar year. And so we'll try to keep the schedule of every other Wednesday, and so that's what we're trying to do once again. So it's good to be with you. I'm Steve Myers, Randy Stiver, with us tonight. We'll be looking at 2 Timothy. We'll be closing out the book of 2 Timothy and then getting into the book of Titus. Well, depending on how much we expound this last chapter in the book of Timothy, and you know how ministers can be sometimes. We can get a little long-winded, but hopefully it'll be profitable to you. Glad you're here with us. Appreciate you taking the time out to be here tonight. It's always nice to have people live right here in the room with us, as well as all of you that are watching online. One thing I might remind you of, if you've got any questions or comments, you can certainly write those out. I know we've got a microphone floating around the room as well, and Ray's got that microphone. So if you've got a question, we can certainly call on you and feel free to ask any question you might have, and we will attempt to answer that. And then, of course, if you're online watching, you can type those questions in, and then our amazing technical crew will be able to get those off of the web, and then we can read them, and then we can go over them. If there's something to do with the Bible studies, per se, let's say 2 Timothy, we'll go right into it. If not, we'll hang on to it till the end of the study, and then look at those things at that time. So welcome. We're glad you're here. Let's go ahead and begin our Bible study. We'll ask God's blessing, and Mr. Stiver will do that for us tonight. Heavenly Father, we pause before we start this Bible study, realizing that it is Your Word, divinely inspired, and it is the Word of Life. It's what gives us the understanding of Your way, the understanding of all of the history of mankind. Everything must be viewed through the prism of Your Word. So we just pray for Your understanding and inspiration, Father, in the teaching, in the listening, in the learning, that we can really more deeply understand the chapters that we go through of the Scriptures here this evening. We thank You that You have blessed us with the opportunity to share this message with brethren and others who are interested, clear around the world as they watch this either live or maybe later, watching it to keep up with what's going on. We do pray for Your inspiration now and Your guidance in our teaching. Ask Your blessing on this Bible study in every way, in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. All right, we've got a little bit of a new set up. We've got some microphones up here. We've got new microphones that provide a little bit of a resonance quality. So when we really start pounding, look out, right? Oh, I wanted to add an addendum to those locally here in Cincinnati who are watching on the webcast. We will try to describe how the pecan pie, the macaroons, and the kumquats taste. Right, that's what you're missing. While we consume those after the Bible study and wish you were here and all that sort of thing.

And encourage them to partake next time because we know man does not live by bread alone. Yeah, he needs strong coffee as well.

That's right. All right, well, we're going to pick things up again in the book of 2 Timothy. We're all the way in the very last chapter, chapter 4 of 2 Timothy. So if you want to flip over to 2 Timothy chapter 4, we're going to see how much we can get through. Hopefully we'll finish this chapter and on with the rest. And certainly encourage you, if you've got a question, to go ahead and ask it. Mr. Stiver and I will kind of jump in and add different things to each other as we go through.

And we'll hopefully be able to look and learn together as we go through the end of 2 Timothy. Of course, we remember Paul is writing to this young minister, giving him instruction, helpful things to help guide the congregation that he's leading. And so here, as we get into this last chapter, he gets down to it.

And he begins in verse 1, he says, I charge you. It's not like a necessarily command, but he's saying, this needs to happen. This is something I'm urging you to do.

And in fact, he calls on God. This is before God. Everything we do, God knows. He understands. He sees. So I'm urging you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

And this is such an important thing.

He goes to some of the things that Christ will be doing when he returns. And when he returns, it says Christ will judge the living and the dead.

And so he puts it in this context that we are nearing the end of the age. And so keep that in mind. He's going to judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom.

So when Christ returns, he will establish his kingdom. And there's going to be a judgment at that time.

In fact, it's kind of interesting because he's talking to a minister. He's talking to a pastor.

And part of the pastoring has to do with talking about the return of Christ, talking about the gospel of the kingdom.

And part of the message, which maybe sometimes we don't always think of it this way, is the message that Christ is going to judge.

There's an interesting passage that came to mind over in the book of Acts. So if you want to hold your place here in 2 Timothy. Over in Acts 10 and verse 42, there's an interesting note here at the very beginning of the New Testament church and how seriously they took this charge or this urging.

And in Acts 10, we have the gospel at first going to the Gentiles.

So beyond just the Jews, we have the first conversion of Gentiles. And so we have that happening here.

Peter has seen this vision with all these unclean animals. You remember the whole story. And he comes to the conclusion that God doesn't intend for any man to be unclean or common. And so the gospel is to go to the world, to all.

And so when we get down to verse 42, he's giving a summary of the life of Christ and how it pertains to everyone.

So you can begin to see that all the way back in verse 34 of Acts 10, God shows no partiality. So God is calling whom He will whether they're a Jew or a Gentile. And he goes through the history of Christ in a sense. Verse 38, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. And what did He do? He went about doing good and healing. Verse 39, He says, we're witnesses of these things. And verse 40, God raised Him up after the crucifixion.

And then He commanded us, verse 42, to preach to the people.

And what did that preaching involve? Well, part of it involved the fact that Jesus was the Messiah, that Jesus is Savior.

But part of that message also was, as we see at the end of verse 42, to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be judge of the living and the dead.

And so that's part of the gospel message. So here's Paul then, many, many years later, writing to Timothy to tell him, part of the gospel message is to preach the fact that God has a plan, that God's going to establish His kingdom. And when Christ returns, there will be judgment.

And the plan is not just for those that are alive, but there will be a resurrection for the dead as well. So the dead will have judgment. They'll have an opportunity. And so that's part of the gospel message overall. And of course, we know the passage in 2 Corinthians, I believe it is, where it talks about the fact all will stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

And so that's part of that gospel message, at His appearing, at the Kingdom.

And so that's an important, vital urging, a charge that Paul gives to Timothy here at the beginning of chapter 4.

And that urging continues when you get to verse 2. So if you want to flip back to 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 2, we'll see this charge continues as he says, preach the Word.

Preach the Word. It's like a command in a sense, because it has, if you were to look at the Greek here, I'm certainly not a Greek scholar, but I've read a couple of the commentaries and some of those that do really understand the Greek. And this phrase, preach the Word, is almost like a military command, that this needs to be done.

You've got to proclaim it. You've got to herald it. You can't be shy about the Word of God. And so in the context of, there's a gospel to be preached. There is a plan that God has in mind, and we need to be doing it. And we do it in a very strong and powerful way. And so this is a military, in a sense, command here. So he says, preach that Word, of course, the Word of God. And he says, do it in season and out of season. So we all have to be ready, because you never know when someone might drop by and say, so what about this, anyway?

I know we've probably been in situations like that. When you least expect it, someone says, why do you do the things that you do?

Well, that's probably one of those times you're out of season, right?

But it says, what are we supposed to do? We're supposed to be ready. We're supposed to be ready, even unexpectedly, when someone might ask us. And so he's telling Timothy to be ready, whether it's in church, out of church, whether you're ready for it or not. He says, you're supposed to be in that state of mind. That you're ready to preach that Word. You're ready to stand for the truth, no matter what.

And of course, I think of as pastors, it's a reminder that we try to spice up our sermons, and we want to bring in different stories, or maybe a book review, or we add in maybe the current news of the day, or the things in politics that are going on. And while those things are very interesting and oftentimes maybe related, he really gets down to what's most important here. You know, what's most important about the message? It's the Word. It's the Word of God. It's really what's most important. And so in a sense, as ministers, we really can't choose our message.

It's mapped out for us, right? It's in the book. It's right here. And so that's also a reminder about our own opinions.

You know, that as we speak, and he's reminding Timothy, you know, we have opinions about all kinds of things, but we've got to set those opinions aside when it comes to the Word of God. When it comes to the Word, that's what's most important. Proclaim that Word. That's where authority is. It's coming from God Himself in the truth of His Word.

And that then leads to what you can do.

You know, because the power from Timothy, especially as a young man, you know, where was his authority? He probably wasn't as old as some of the other elders that would have been in the church at that time. So where does that minister's authority come from?

It's not from just his very presence or anything like that.

It's not from his age.

It's from the Word of God. It's from the truth of the Word. And so by that, then, Paul tells him at the end of verse 2 that he should convince, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and teaching.

And so there's times a minister has to convince, or literally to correct, that if someone's wandering from the truth, you look to the Word. And that's what's going to line us back up and hopefully correct us so that we're on the right path.

And sometimes it takes even things that are stronger than that. So he says sometimes rebuke is in order, that you're admonishing someone, that you're recognizing, you know, this is an issue, and this is something that we have to deal with. And so we've got to change this.

And as a pastor, Paul is reminding Timothy that he has that responsibility to do that.

And of course, by extension, we all have to look at our own lives. And if it's not measuring up to the Word, then we have to change. We have to be corrected. We have to be exhorted, as the other word he uses here, which is, you know, sometimes when you're corrected, you feel beaten down if you're admonished or you're rebuked.

You know, you don't want to beat somebody over the head and you leave them on the ground bleeding. You know, part of the minister's job, yes, you have to correct. You have to rebuke or exhort sometimes. But then there's also this encouragement. And that word for exhort takes on that connotation, that you're also encouraging them. Because as ministers, we're also told we're to be helpers of the member's joy.

And so there's this wonderful balance here. And so as we're doing these things, he says, we do it with patience, great patience, long suffering, forbearance, is the meaning of that word for what Paul told Timothy there. And also, there's teaching involved.

And we'll see as we get to the end of the chapter, there's times that instruction comes into play. You know, he just didn't realize how the word might have applied. So careful instruction is part of that minister's job in preaching the word as well.

Now he goes on, verse 3, he says, the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine.

And so are we at that time? You know, I wonder, you look around the world today, do people care about the word? Do they care about the truth?

Or is everything just as good as anything else?

All paths lead to salvation, is one of the big mantras out today. Well, does that measure up to what the word really says?

He points to the fact that these wholesome words, sound doctrine really is talking about that.

Healthy words. And not just talking about a physical health, but this is for your spiritual health. If you want to be healthy spiritually, you want to be sound spiritually, make sure you have sound teaching, sound instruction that comes from the word of God.

And of course, the people that he's referring to, it says, they won't endure it. They won't listen to it. They'll say, well, that's your idea. That's what you think about it. And that's why Paul's telling Timothy, don't go by your own authority, go by the word, go by God's word, because that's where the truth really lies in the words of God himself. And so that's what you need to point people to, and yet they'll ignore you. They won't consider it. And he says, because they have itching ears according to their own desires, their own cravings, well, I look at it this way, so I'm going to find somebody that will go along with that, and I'll listen to them. That's kind of the idea behind this. And he even says they have these itching ears, not that they've got water in there or something like that. He's not referring to that.

But they want to hear the latest thing.

What's the latest, greatest take on this? Hated greatly by the Internet. Yeah, hated by the Internet, that's for sure.

You could Google just about anything and come up with some philosophy or some idea or some thought on that.

So this idea of just being intrigued by the latest thing that comes along, that's kind of what they're looking for. That's not just good enough to look at the basics, not to just look at Hebrews 6. You know, here's the foundational doctrines.

That's not good enough. I want to know the latest interesting little tidbit over here, and they get off on that type of a tangent, and they're not worried about, you know, where is faith and where is mercy and where is judgment? Where are these things? And so they heap up teachers. Yeah, the thought enters here. You know, it says sound doctrine. And when we talk about sound doctrine, we mean one that is well-reasoned and well-researched. When you study the Bible to see what God teaches, because the word doctrine simply means the teaching, and you work, so what is the teaching on whatever the question happens to be? The Sabbath might be the question. What was the teaching on the Sabbath? What was the teaching on this or that?

Then you look at all the places in the Bible that talk about that. You read the context so you understand it in its context, and you put it all together to get a complete picture, because if you take just a little tiny piece of the picture, it's like the, what was it, the eight blind men that saw an elephant? Right. You know, one thought he was a rope because he had a hold of the trunk, another one thought, no, that was the tail. One had the tail, that was a trunk. Another one thought he was a tree because he had a leg or... studying the legs. Another thought he was a wall, etc. You have to have the whole picture from what God is telling us in the Bible, and that is more painstaking and requires more thorough thinking than a quick skim of a few paragraphs on the internet or somebody's wild idea.

But, you know, I'm always worried about the P.T. Barnum effect for people, you know, who P.T. Barnum was, P.T. Barnum and Bailey's circus.

He was attributed, although he said he never said it, and that might be true, but he was attributed with a statement that there's a sucker born every minute, and that's what the circus was... fortunes were built upon.

And people would come to see...

He ran freak shows, as they called them in those days, in, I think, in New York City before he started his circus. Circus was more reputable.

Right.

You know, I think that ties in with what he's talking about, the circus.

You know, why do you come to Bible study? Why do you come to services? You know, why do we do what we do? It seems that in the religious world, what's taken over is the idea that we come to be entertained.

And I think that's part of what Paul's referring to here, where you have teachers that you heap up for yourself. Well, is the ministry, you know, for preaching the Word, is it for convincing, rebuking, exhorting, encouraging, or is it just for entertainment?

And so if you come to a feel-good kind of a thing that, well, I can go to church and I feel great and everything's wonderful, you know, what are we missing, then, in that picture?

Yes, we try to be entertaining so that you're not totally bored out of your minds type of thing, right? Well, that, yeah, but it's not entertainment. You see, there's a difference in those things that it's not just here to put on a show. You know, but sometimes, yeah, there's correction involved. Sometimes, you know, there's more instruction involved. And so I think that's part of what he's getting here, is that we've got to get away from this whole concept of what's out there, because, boy, entertainment has just taken over the world, in so many ways that, you know, you can see the latest, greatest things, whether it's the virtuoso pianist. You can go on the internet and you can watch a video on YouTube. And so, you know, coming to church and listening to someone, you know, play the piano for special music, you go, hmm, what is that? Well, is that what we're here for? You know, I think so. We've got to watch it the same way with the speakers. You know, Myers, he's okay, but, boy, I've heard a lot better than him, which is very true. But are we here just for that? Hopefully we're not. Hopefully we're going to glean from the word that's being spoken, and not just here for some, you know, entertainment value. I think that comes into play here as well. And to the point that these people that Paul's warning Timothy about in verse 4, these itching ears, he continues with this analogy. He says, they'll turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables.

So in a sense, you can imagine if you're talking to someone, and there's probably nothing more frustrating when you're talking to someone when they turn away from you and they've got their tension drawn away to something else, or you're talking to them and their phone rings and they say, excuse me, or they don't say excuse me. Yeah, or they don't, they just start texting, right, while they're, yeah, go ahead, you know, and they're doing all that sort of thing. That's so frustrating. And here, that's what Paul's, you know, connecting this to, is that these people have itching ears and they're just turning away from the truth. Here's the truth right before their eyes, and they're not willing to engage it. They're not willing to check it out. They're not willing to thoroughly look into it, and so they turn from it. They're looking the other way. And what's the other direction from the truth? Fables. Something that's not the truth. And so you've got extravagant tales, you know, fiction opposed to fact. So you've got facts staring you in the eye, and you turn away with these itching ears to fables. And so he says, don't get caught up in that. So verse 5, he says, Timothy, you be watchful in all things. Be watchful. The word can be sober. Be self-controlled. Be careful. Keep your head in situations, especially for ministers. Sometimes there's some pretty emotional things that are going on. If you're in the middle of marriage counseling or things like that, there can be very emotional situations within congregations, different things that happen. I'm sure we've all been a part of situations that have been emotions, emotional, and emotions can get you carried away. And so he's telling Timothy, keep your head, keep your head in whatever situation it is. And then he says, there'll be afflictions that you have to endure. Hardships, difficulties. It's kind of interesting, the endure afflictions is actually just one Greek word that we have to put up with trouble. We have to put up with the hardships. And then he encourages him to do the work of an evangelist. Fulfill your ministry. So this idea of an evangelist here is somebody that heralds. Remember he said, preach the word, herald this, proclaim this. So an evangelist is a proclaimer of good news, a proclaimer of good works. And so in a sense he's saying to Timothy, even though you convince, even though you rebuke, even though there's afflictions, even though there's struggles, there's good news. That's kind of the story that we're all aware of. Yeah, we're going through this life of difficult things.

And we will suffer afflictions. All those in Christ will suffer afflictions. And yet, what's on the horizon? Christ's return, the establishment of the kingdom, the world tomorrow, this wonderful millennium that we can look forward to, the kingdom of God established on earth. That's the good news. So whatever hazy picture is in front of us at the moment, be a bringer of good news, in a sense, is what he's telling him.

And as an added thought on that, that's a responsibility of all the ministers, all the elders in the church to be able to explain the gospel by extension to all the members of the body of Christ, of the church members. It is a responsibility for us to be able to explain the good news. To tell people, you know, the world's really in a tough spot right now, and it is in a tough spot right now, believe me.

But there's something better to come. Everybody needs to know that hope. And to be able to be so conversant with it, you can just explain it on the spur of the moment as a conversation arises in the checkout line or whatever at the grocery store, wherever it happens to be. To be able to just expound the or explain a bit of the good news of God's coming kingdom as it is appropriate to the conversation.

You know, we need to be highly conversant with that so that out of the abundance of our hearts the mouth speaks. That's Matthew 12, 34, 48, but you can check out. It's Matthew 12. Anyway. Yeah, and I, you can apply this to all of us. Literally, that word for ministry is your service. Timothy had the ministry of pastoring a congregation.

Paul's instructing you on it. But in a sense, we all have our service that we must perform as God's people. Are we fulfilling that service? He's not telling Timothy, go out on the streets and have these evangelistic meetings. You know, that's not what he's talking about. But as a local pastor, you're going to be able to expound the truth. So as part of our service, can we stand for the truth?

Standing for the truth, fulfilling our ministry, our service, that means being a Christian, living a godly life, having that godly sermon lived before your husband or your wife every single day. Is that fulfilling part of our service as we're called to be Christian? Yes, it is. And so all of those things, he says, that's part of the fulfillment.

That's part of the duty as a Christian that we're all called to. And so we're to faithfully and fully perform that duty that God's called us to. So in a sense, it all kind of ties together as we look at that. Of course, he also encourages Timothy that he says, you know, I'm not always going to be around. And that's where he's going with this as we get down to verse six, he says, I'm already being poured out as a drink offering.

So he compares his life, the Apostle Paul says, I'm like a drink offering. If you remember all the different sacrifices and offerings, many were done in all kinds of various ways. But oftentimes in the sacrifices or the offerings, the one who brought it would get a portion of it in return. And the interesting thing about a drink offering, though, is it was poured out and nothing came back to the one who offered it. And so here is Paul, in a sense, saying, I am not worried if I'm going to get anything back for doing this.

I am poured out. I have poured my life out for the Word of God, for fulfilling the duty that I've been called to. And so he says, and once you pour it out, it's done. It's over. And so he's pointed to the fact that, well, it even says here, the time of my departure is at hand. And that word for departure in the Greek, everyone would have understood that.

If you said it in Greek, they'd say, oh, he's about to die. And that's what it's referring to. It's a euphemism for death. And so he's about to die.

And almost like unyoking an animal after they've been plowing, that not going to be plowing anymore, he's done. It's over. His job is finished. And so his departure is at hand. And so he realizes the whole imprisonment, the whole thing before the Roman authorities is just about at a conclusion. And it wasn't going to be a good one. Not when it came to whether he was going to live or die. And so he realized that that's coming to an end. So it was almost as though that that cup has already got the liquid pouring out of it.

And so he sees his life ending. And then in verse 7, he has this very familiar passage, I fought the good fight. I finished the race. I have kept the faith. And so this brings us back to that soldiering. Like he talked about preaching the word, like a military command. Now it's like a combat. He's been in a battle and I have fought well. And he's using it definitely in a past tense. It's done. My life is being poured out. It's done.

And it's also interesting how just a couple of chapters before this, he was telling Timothy to do this very thing. Do you remember that when we were over in 1 Timothy? Maybe we could flip back to just a couple of pages. 1 Timothy 1, 18. Look at one of the urgings, one of the charges that he commits to Timothy. He says, this charge I commit to you, Son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare. So he just got done telling Timothy, this is what you've got to do.

Wage that good warfare. Fight the good fight, in other words. Fight that fight. Take on that battle with the Spirit of God. And a few chapters later, Chapter 6, 1 Timothy 6, verse 12, here he says it again, fight the good fight of faith. Lay hold on eternal life to which you are also called, and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

So he urges Timothy to fight that fight and keep the faith. And so here he is at the end of his life saying, that's what I've done. I have fought the fight. And not just any old fight, not any old battle, but the good fight, the fight. This is the only struggle that really counts. And when the fight is right, it's worth struggling over. It's worth it. And so he's saying, I didn't lose the faith, I have kept the faith. I was faithful, in a sense, to the faith. I was faithful to the faith. And so I have finished the course. I've finished that race that was outlined as my life. And so he saw that finish line right before him as he was just about to be poured out. Okay, and now we come to verse 8, which is a follow-on to 6 and 7. They're kind of a paragraph there. But there's another element that's introduced by Paul here. It says, finally, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, referring to Jesus, the righteous judge. And again, he's referred to as one who brings judgment upon the earth and judgment to individuals as well.

Because we will all be judged. We'll give me, that the righteous judge will give me on that day, and not to me only, but to all who have loved his appearing. Now let's look at this just for a minute. There are several elements. First of all, the crown of righteousness. If you consider the Beatitudes in Matthew chapter 5. In Matthew 5, and let's see, those are running, well, they run from 3 to verse 10. Verse 3 to verse 10. And it's talked about, for example, blessed are the poor in spirit, though meaning humble. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Now understand, kingdom of heaven doesn't mean you go to heaven for eternity. Heaven is actually coming to the earth. That's why Jesus is coming. His appearing means he's coming here. Ultimately, the kingdom of God will be on this earth. The earth will be eventually redone. It'll be called the new earth. There'll be a new heavens, new atmosphere around it in that sense, but we don't go to the third heaven for eternity. Blessed are those who mourn for they'll be comforted. Anybody who has been faithful and had suffered in any way will see the change that will come. And then blessed are those in verse 10 who are persecuted for righteousness sake. Paul was in that boat. He was imprisoned in Rome. This was the prison sentence that would not be commuted. He would not be released except through death. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. It's not... there used to be a song... oh, this goes back, as I tell the students here at Ambassador Bible Center, ancient times. I think it was like 1970, maybe. Lynn Anderson sang a song. I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden was the name of the song. God does not promise us a rose garden. He promises a way of life.

And we follow that life. We rejoice in the blessings and we rejoice in the trials, because we experience some of what Jesus went through for us when we do. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For those so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Well, likewise, Paul is prepared for that. He's ready to endure that. He's looking forward to that crown of righteousness that was to come. I lost my place. Ah, here we go.

And there is a reward. The gift of God is eternal life. You can't earn eternal life. That is a gift.

And then Romans 6 makes that clear in verse 23. Romans 6, 23, where it says, the wages of sin is death. Not eternal life in a place of hell, fire, and torture, but death. Just death. But the gift of God is eternal life. So he's not talking about his gift. He's looking forward to that, of course. But with that comes a blessing, a crown of recognition, a reward, some measure that Christ will give for those who have stuck with it through the long haul and weathered the storms that have come their way. And Paul certainly had weathered some storms. If you turn back to 2 Corinthians 11, just a little snapshot or scrapbook, almost, of some of what he went through. Now, bear in mind, he caused untold trouble because he started as a persecutor of those who followed the way of God. And then he was struck down by Christ. Acts 9 records that and converted and ultimately became the most dynamic minister that you could ask for of Jesus Christ. So here he is being ridiculed in Corinth. And they said, so he says, are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. Paul was actually a descendant of Abraham. He was Jewish. He was of specifically of the 12 tribes of Israel. He was from the tribe of Benjamin. And circumcised on the eighth day, the whole nine yards, I speak as a fool. Are they ministers of Christ? Rather, in verse 23, I speak as a fool. I jest. Kind of a blunt jesting. I am more. In labors? More abundant. See, there were false ministers in those days. And ridiculed Paul, tried to make fun of him. And you know, we, you see that today. Human nature hasn't changed.

And so periodically, we even see these types of things today.

Paul was labors more abundant in stripes above measure. And that does not mean like a sergeant's stripes. These are stripes that are raised. They are the welts raised by flogging. When the whip hits your back, it raises a welt that looks like a stripe. And I suspect that Paul's back was a massive scar tissue. In prisons, more frequently, and Timothy were reading from when he was in prison. In death, softened. He came close to death many times. Once he was stoned in Lystra, which is in Iconia, or near Iconium in, what is today, Turkey. And they thought he was dead. They dragged him outside, stoned him to death, and left him. And maybe Timothy was there, probably. And maybe Timothy was very likely there was perhaps a teenager among the believers. And then they're standing around looking at the dead Paul. So he was either dead or he was mostly dead. And so God either brought him back to life or healed him because he stirred, and then he got up, and his mind cleared, and probably got his balance back. And he went back in the city to spend the night.

Paul was a fighter in that sense. You weren't going to intimidate him. Of the Jews, five straw times I received 40 stripes minus one, thus 40 lashes of the whip minus one, 39 lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. This was all in the course of preaching the gospel, and at the time, irritating those who didn't like to hear it. Many times they were Jewish people, like himself, who didn't like to hear it. But other times it was non-Jews, the Gentiles. Three times shipwreck, a day in the night in the deep, and journeys off in perils of waters, perils of robbers, perils and perils and perils, and read the rest yourself as your assignment for the evening there. It's fascinating, Reed. But getting back to 2 Timothy 4, Paul went through all that. So he looked for that crown of righteousness, which the Lord the Righteous Judge will give me on that day, and not to me only, but to all of those who love his appearing. No, all of Christianity at one time actively believed in the second coming of Jesus Christ, right from their get-go. The early church obviously did. It was not until the 200s A.D. that you begin to see two types of Christianity, the one that was basically following what Paul was talking about here, keeping the Sabbath and looking forward to the return of Christ and his millennial rule, looking for that thousand-year rule. And gradually it separated until mainline Christianity or traditional Christianity, as it is typically viewed by most, no longer believes in the second coming of Christ. Certain branches of it do. The evangelical branches do. They anticipate a second coming. They look forward actually to a millennium, but most of mainstream, or I guess would be the way we say it today, Christianity doesn't. They don't believe that it has to return. And that's because of the misunderstandings drawn from some other doctrines that aren't drawn from Scripture. But we who understand the Bible and read what it says, and believe that, we know he's coming back. And we love that time because he's going to change the world. It's all going to be fixed. Now we go to a reflective part. I'm going to add one thing that I was reading an article about this the other day. It brought something interesting to mind, where he talks about the righteous judge. Because oftentimes you think of a judge, and if you're in jail, you're not looking forward to the judgment that he might have. And Paul in this case, of course, was in a Roman prison. And what was his judge going to be like? Well, he's sentenced to death. And so this was not a righteous judge. This would have been an unrighteous judge who wasn't going to listen to the truth of God, who was going to punish him with death. And so on the other side of that, Christ is the righteous judge. And of course, he uses this idea of the crown, kind of referring to the Greek games that they would have had, because the victors, like in the Olympics, would have gotten a stefano, a crown, as their honor of victory. And of course, this righteous judge is like the judge in the Olympic events. That is, seeing what's going on, they're not partial, you know, they're just looking for the facts. Who's in first, who's in second, and they judge according to the truth. And so in a sense, Paul may be, you know, showing a little bit of that as a thought as well. You know, mankind and man's court system has so many flaws, and it's such a crazy system, and many judges are unrighteous, yet Christ, on the other hand, is the righteous one. Well put. We just had a planning meeting today, a tutorial planning meeting for the next issue of vertical thought. And we have two articles in there they're talking about the political elements of in the news in the election year in America.

Who would Jesus vote for is one issue. The other one is just talking about the lack of honesty in politics, and the working title. I'm not writing it, so I let the writer work on what title he wants, but the suggestion that came up was, Liar, Liar, Politics on Fire. And I think that'd be a great title. And tongue-in-cheek slightly, but a very sad commentary on the state of politics in the world today. You know, it's in America, too. Sad thing. Now back to Paul's life. You know, he is anticipating when he might be crucified or beheaded. That would be the quick way. Burned at the stake. Romans were very creative when it became to capital punishment. Some people, they tied between chariots or wild horses, had them pulled to pieces. Yeah, they just were really nasty. Nothing gentle about the Roman Empire at all, and very little to be recommended in its approach. So Paul didn't know how he would die, but whatever the case, he's starting to think. He's got whatever time is left. He wants to use it effectively. So in verse 9, he gets down to business with Timothy. Be diligent and come to me quickly. For Demas has forsaken me. Now the last tone here, he's a little lonely, too. He's sitting in that dark dungeon of wherever it is that he's imprisoned in probably some stone building, which is probably cold even on warm days, warm nights.

I mean, there's a reference for that because he wants his coat later in the paragraph. But Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world and has departed for Thessalonica.

And that was disappointing. Demas had been a faithful minister who traveled with Paul. He's mentioned two or three times as being one of Paul's entourage in the travels in the years leading up to this time. But Demas has walked away from, apparently walked away from God's truth.

We don't know for certainly about Cressons, who has gone to Galatia, or Titus for Dalmatia.

We have a letter to Titus in the next letter of the book here, the Bible. And Titus actually went to Crete and then to Dalmatia. They may have gone. It doesn't say they departed to follow the world at all, but it did say that of Demas. So that was a disappointing bit of sadness. However, with the disappointment, there are always the stalwarts. Luke. Luke, the beloved physician, who had been a traveling companion of the Apostle Paul for many years by this time, who had probably been the one to nurse him back to health after he was beaten and after he was whipped and so on. Luke is the one who wrote the book of Luke and also wrote the book of Acts.

So he was not only a doctor, but like Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes, he was a writer.

So he is with him, and so he tells Timothy, get Mark. Now he means John Mark, the one who wrote the book of Mark, who is a cousin to Barnabas, who used to be essentially a partner in the Gospel with Paul. He said, get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry.

This is a remarkable footnote in history. When you go back to Acts chapter 15, right at the end, Paul and Barnabas had gone on a journey, and Mark was going with them as a young assistant or helper, and he got to Pamphylia, which is southern Turkey today, and he left and went back. He went back from Antioch of Syria, where they had been started from, and it really, really bothered the Apostle Paul that this young man didn't stay the course, didn't stick with them. They got persecuted and chased here and there in the course of their work, but Mark left them, and so they were ready to go on another journey, another round of touring the churches they had established and open new ones. Barnabas wanted to give Mark a second chance, and Paul said, no, I don't want him with me. Look what he did last time. Barnabas said, but I want to take him. Paul said, I don't want him to go with us. So back and forth they went, and finally the division was so sharp that this Barnabas said, all right, I'll take Mark and I'll go this way, and you can take, turned out to be Silas, and you go that way, which is probably what Christ wanted anyway. They just had two leading apostles going in two directions doing twice as much work. So it was a good thing in the long run. But there was this sharp contention over Mark. That didn't last forever, because you can make a note of it. I'll read it to you here. But in verse 10 of Colossians 4, Paul makes the comment, Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, greets you with Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, about whom you've received instructions. If he comes to you, welcome him. So already, long before this time, Paul has seen Mark rise and become a faithful and dedicated servant and and a compadre in the work of God. So here he is, bringing Mark. He is useful to me for ministry. In Tychicus, I have sent to Ephesus, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come, and the books, especially the parchments. So what were the books in the parchments? And Mark was tied in close there. It makes you wonder if Mark, being a writer, some traditions say he was the first one to write his gospel account of Christ's life, and that it is a reflection of the Apostle Peter's remembrances, of course inspired and guided by God.

But Paul was asking for the parchments. There's not a lot said here, but we do know that Paul ended up writing a lot of scripture. Fourteen documents Paul wrote became what we sometimes call books of the Bible. They're really letters. And those parchments may have been copies of those. They may have been drafts of some things Paul was writing. Parchment means membrane, is the Greek word for which we get membrane. It was actually animal skins that were used for writing on, usually sheepskin, thin sheepskin, clarified sheepskin for writing on. And so Paul wanted that to put in order, probably, some of what was the Old Testament. That would certainly be, I think, a reasoned estimate of his comments here. He makes a couple of other comments in this period, this section. It says, Alexander the coppersmith did be much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works. So this was one who persecuted them very greatly at one point.

There was a silversmith in Acts 19 that Alexander the coppersmith may have been in league with.

There the metalsmiths sold small pagan idols around the temple of Diana that was there in Ephesus. And because of Paul's preaching and a lot of conversions to true Christianity, a lot of people were giving up paganism, and they didn't want those little idols anymore.

So the metalsmiths were losing their income. The silversmiths may be the coppersmiths as well. That may be who Alexander the coppersmith is. It doesn't specifically say, May the Lord repay him according to his works. You must also beware of him, because Timothy still worked in and out of Ephesus often, for he has greatly resisted our words. So watch out for that man. So here he is. He's got a mental note. Be careful, Timothy, around him. At my first defense, no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them. That was a sad note. So he was brought to trial. Nobody wanted to testify in his behalf, lest they get thrown into the same category as Paul. And then we come to the next section, the conclusion.

Yeah, it's interesting right there where he says they all forsook him. There seems to be a little bit of a tie-in he's making with Christ himself, because if you remember, when Christ was taken, all the disciples forsook Christ as well in Mark 14 talks about that as well. So they, just like the disciples deserted Christ, Paul was basically deserted at this initial examination, it seems. And similarly, he says, May it not be charged against them. Of course, Christ, just before his death, said, Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they do.

And so, interesting connections there as well. But we see that he wasn't alone among any of this. Verse 17, The Lord stood with me and strengthened me. That which is a powerful passage right there.

God was with him at all times. And so, not just the fact that he's supporting his life and keeping him alive in that sense, but it's still for a purpose. And I think that's something we can all take to heart. He says, I was strengthened by God, so the message might be preached fully through me, fully proclaimed. And so, there was a purpose for all this. He says, and that the Gentiles might hear. And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And so, God was with him, no matter what the circumstances. Of course, we read all the amazing challenges that Paul went through, whether it was being shipwrecked, or stoned, or beaten, or flogged, or whatever it might have been. And yet, among all those times, among this final challenge of his life, when he's taken to the Roman court, God stood with him. And he says, I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. It doesn't seem that he would have been thrown to the lions at any time. Roman citizens weren't treated that way, so literally that's probably not what he meant. But figuratively, there were many lions in Paul's life, whether it was the Pharisees, whether it was Nero, whether it was Satan. Satan, of course, is referred to as a roaring lion. So, that may be some of what he's referring to as well. And he's just making that point that no matter what the challenge was, he relied on God, and God strengthened him. And of course, Philippians 4.13, Paul could do all things through Christ who strengthened him. And that same concept applies to us. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. And so, he can't come to any other conclusion than verse 18, the Lord will deliver me from every evil work. So, every single one, not only deliver, that literally means to rescue. He will rescue me. He will rescue me. He'll take me out of the way of harm. And he will keep me. And so, he says he'll preserve me for his heavenly kingdom. Not that he's going to heaven, like we talked about a little bit ago, but the kingdom originates in heaven. That's where God the Father and Jesus Christ are. That's where the kingdom is. And we know what's going to happen. If you want to hold your place here, if you flip over, I'm thinking Revelation 11. Just as a quick summary, we know that what's going to happen when Christ returns. Revelation is so clear here. Revelation 11 verse 15. At the seventh Trump, the seventh angel sounded. There were loud voices in heaven saying, the kingdoms of this world, the governments, in other words, the governments of this world, have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. Christ will rule on earth. The kingdoms of this world, this earth. And it says, he shall reign forever and ever. It's a heavenly kingdom that is coming from heaven as Christ returns and establishes it on earth. And Paul's going to be a part of that kingdom. He's going to be resurrected as a spirit being to be a part of that kingdom. And so he says to him, be glory forever and ever. Amen. So be it. This is fact. In other words, this quick synopsis of the plan of God right there, that God delivers his people. And so what a powerful message that is, is Paul lived that throughout his life. And so he was going to preserve him. He's going to bring him safely into his family. Then at the end, we have some concluding remarks, greetings, personal greetings to several people here. The first one I hold dear to my heart, greet Prisca and Aquila, or Priscilla and Aquila. In the New King James it says Prisca, and we named our only daughter Prisca after this particular passage in the New King James.

Priscilla was one of the most influential women in all of the New Testament. Some have said she probably could have been the most influential woman. Back in Acts chapter 18, well, maybe we should even turn over there. I'm going to hold your place here in 2 Timothy. Acts 18 refers to Prisca and Aquila. Let's see if we can pick it up here. Yeah, there's an interesting story that revolves around these two. Very possibly Aquila would have been a Jew in Rome. So that's a pretty Roman name, but probably even possibly some speculate he was a Jewish slave in Rome that eventually gained freedom. And they end up working with the Apostle Paul. And we see an interesting circumstance with a Jew named Apollos after Prisca, Priscilla and Aquila are converted.

Acts 18, 24 says a certain Jew named Apollos, born in Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures came to Ephesus. And that's where Priscilla and Aquila would have been.

It says this man had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John.

So his understanding of the truth of the Messiah of Christ was very limited. So what did he do? Verse 26, he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. Now interesting that, especially if you put it in the context of the day, and the status of women in Rome was about the lowest you could get. And yet, here in the Church of God, we have a husband and a wife that are instructing Apollos more thoroughly in the way. Now, she's not teaching in church or anything like that, but she takes an active part. They explained the way. They both did. So she certainly understood it. In fact, it's interesting. Throughout the different passages in the New Testament where they are mentioned, it's mentioned five times, Priscilla or Priscilla and Aquila.

Three out of the five, her name comes first, which is, I don't know if there's any significance to that, but certainly elevates the status of women in the time of the New Testament, that you just can't discount women and there's no place for them and the whole thing. It just doesn't flow at all. In fact, it seems that when Paul left Ephesus, he left Aquila and Priscilla in charge there.

He talks about at the end of 1 Corinthians that they had the church in their home, that they met in their house. Priscilla is noted for her hospitality. There are many, if you were to go even to Rome today, many monuments all over Rome to Priscilla. And so it's interesting how that she has shown that she and her husband worked together with Paul throughout chapter 18 here in the book of Acts. They are mentioned. The beginning of chapter 18, when Paul goes to Corinth, he found this Jew named Aquila born in Pontus and his wife Priscilla. Possibly she was fairly well off and could support the church in her home. She was certainly noted for her hospitality, and not only as a keeper of the home, but also one who is able to expound the hope that lies within and give a defense for that. So just an interesting close to this letter that he notes those two faithful servants. In fact, in Acts 18, I just flipped away from it, but it talks about how Paul, when he came there and met them, they worked together making tents as tent makers, as sewers of leather and those types of things. And so husbands and wives were working together. Wow, that was kind of unheard of as well. So they were working. And so they worked not only with their hands, but they also worked in preaching the truth of God. And so no wonder, by the time we get to the end of the second letter to Timothy here, Paul says, Greet, Prisca, and Aquila in the household of Anisophorus. Down to verse 20, he says, Erastus stayed in Corinth, but Tronephes, I have left in Miletus sick. So one of the disciples was still sick. And so just as a reminder that we're not always healed of all of our infirmities, sometimes it's just life that we have these challenges that we face. And certainly Paul was aware of those things. Then he reminds him again, like he talked about the parchments. He says, Do your utmost to come before winter.

Eubulus greets you as well as Pudance, Linus, Claudia, and all the brethren. Because of course there was a church, the Church of God in Rome. There's a whole letter that Paul had written to the church there, and these are some of the members that must have been in that area. And he says, The Lord Jesus Christ, be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.

And he has a standard close to the letter, citing the wonderful nature of God, that God is a God of grace, a God of mercy. And as Paul closes out this letter, he knows he's going to be poured out. And as Mr. Stiver talked about, the capital punishment in Rome. I know many speculate about it, probably not crucified, because since he was a Roman citizen, normally they didn't crucify the Roman citizens. We don't know for sure, but many speculate that he could have been beheaded, that that might have been the likely punishment for a Roman citizen. Nonetheless, you know, yeah, that's right. And so that concludes the letter that Paul wrote to Timothy. And that was really at the close of the life of Timothy, or life of sorry, the life of Paul. He didn't survive from all that we can gather from history. He did not survive long. Maybe Timothy got there before winter. Maybe they had some time together. We don't have a record beyond that. We just know that Paul came to his end in the late 60s AD. And now we go to Titus. When you look at the book of Titus, they're companion books. Timothy and Titus were two younger ministers that had been trained by the Apostle Paul. Timothy was Jewish, but because his mother was Jewish, his father was Greek. Titus was all Greek. Titus was a good man, a solid minister, a go-to guy, pinch hitter, point man. There are various ways you could describe what Titus would have been as far as within the entourage of the ministers that the Apostle Paul was overseeing in the the Gentile or non-Israelite areas of the Roman Empire, primarily was where he worked. Although Paul has traveled to Spain, his history tells us that he wanted to go there. Even some historians think that Paul came clear to Britain. In fact, the comment there about Putin's Linus and Claudia, there are traditions that they were actually from Britain and Romanized and went back there.

The Celtic Church is referred to in the British Isles, and that it existed from Old Testament teachings carried to it through Jeremiah and others, but also that it converted to Christianity, extensively converted to Christianity early. Joseph of Arimathea, a very strong historical tradition, the Joseph of Arimathea went from Israel or Judea to Great Britain and built a building where people met, one of the first church-type buildings that was in Great Britain, and that became known thereafter as the Celtic Church. They also called themselves Coldes.

C-u-l-d-e-e-s is usually how it's spelled, means pilgrims or strangers, and there's an extensive amount of Celtic history about that. The Celtic Church resisted the doctrinal onslaught as Christianity subdivided over on the other side of the Mediterranean, and you begin to have the few who still followed the early teachings of Jesus and the Apostles and the others who began to develop their own doctrinal persuasions in the 200s and the 300s and the 400s AD, and by then it was a very clear separation. Then, as the Roman Church grew in influence, the British Church, as it is also called British or Celtic Church, resisted that for hundreds of years, far longer than the rest of Europe. So it's some interesting history that goes on from this time at the end of Paul's life, but here we have Titus. This would be, if you wanted to date Titus, it would be landing about the same time Paul wrote 1 Timothy. So he wrote 1 Timothy and he wrote Titus, and then later he wrote 2 Timothy, perhaps several years later. So he's giving Titus some direction on how to care for the Church. At the time he had left him on the island of Crete, and so that's where his pastoring is on the island of Crete. The time frame usually reckoned that this was written about 63 AD. Paul got out of his first imprisonment sometime in 62, and therefore the piecemeal bits of history is that he came to Crete and probably established a congregation there, or one had been established there by his and Barnabas' travels at some time or another, and he left Titus there to look after it and put things in order. Obviously, there seemed to be some disarray. About 63 AD would have been the date for this. It's interesting that the themes here are similar to 1 Timothy, which emphasizes sound doctrine, but Titus emphasizes more good works, and for good reason. The Cretans were lazy gluttons, and that may sound kind of, you know, harsh, but I didn't say it.

Paul said it. It's, let's see, in chapter 1 and verse 12. Well, Paul didn't really say it.

Paul quoted their poet who had written it 600 years earlier, like in the 500s BC, or the 600s BC, I guess technically that would be. 600s BC. One of them, in verse 12, a prophet of their own said, Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.

This testimony is true. I didn't say it, but I agree with it.

Different realms of the world get different cultural reputations. That was Crete's. I don't know if it is today. I don't know if we necessarily have the same people, the same ethnic people that live on Crete today, live there then. Maybe they do, but maybe they've reformed. I don't know.

But that was written by Epaminides. If you want me to spell that, it's E-P-I-M-E-N-D-I-D-E-S.

It's Greek, just sounded out, Epaminides. And that was his description, and he would know, because he was from there. He was entitled to give a commentary on his own territory that they were liars, evil beasts, and slowbellies. They had a reputation for being liars in the Mediterranean world. Crete is an island about 160 miles long, about 35 miles wide. A large island, it had a very robust agricultural trade. It had also been a trading center. Rome captured it, conquered it, rather. They never captured anything. They always conquered things.

In the 60s, the early 60s BC, so it had been a Roman colony or a Roman province for, by this time, about 125 or 130 years. So it was under Roman rule at the time that Paul was writing to Titus. So Titus was there, and every area in the world has its own cultures. Every area has its strengths. Every area has its weaknesses. The Cretes seem to have a lot of weaknesses, because the term Creton had come to mean a lazy liar.

So you didn't trust the Cretons when you dealt with them. Of course, that does raise one question.

Epiminides was a Creton himself, and he said they were liars. So were they really?

Right. Now, the evidence that makes us think that he was right is because Paul, under inspiration, in verse 12, said he was a prophet of their own. In other words, he was giving an accurate testimony that time. Actually, Epiminides has a much better reputation and seemed to be a man of some honor when you go back and read a little bit about him. So Titus had a church there, the churches, and he needed to look after them. When the going was tough, you could count on Titus. He worked with Paul, traveled with him extensively. Paul's work, as we already noted, was dangerous, unpopular, difficult, and tiring. It involved a lot of traveling, introducing strangers to new ideas, constantly making new friends. This commentary I'm reading it from is very insightful in this way. Constantly making new friends, constantly battling new enemies, and even deflecting threats to one's life. And Titus waited right in and did it. Now, Titus was not foreign to controversy. He was converted on one of Paul and Barnabas' missionary journeys up into Asia Minor, and in 45 AD, which is recorded in Acts 15, there was a great conference of the elders and the apostles in Jerusalem to decide whether Gentile, non-Jewish, non-Israelite men, needed to be circumcised in order to be Christians. Because the Jewish Christians thought they should. Most of them did, except Paul. He was Jewish. And Paul Barnabas said, no, they don't. They can be converted directly to Christianity. You do not have to become nominal Jews first. That was a huge controversy, because it had to be decided, and arguments could be made from both directions. But what turned ultimately the tide and the apostles then could see it clearly is the fruits of the work of Paul and Barnabas, and the conversions of people who were in fact Gentiles. They had no heritage with Israel or with the Jews in any way. And they were converted, and they brought Titus with them at that time.

So he was an example that they brought along with them to that conference. So Titus was right there in the middle of this major controversy in the church. It had to be settled, and it was.

And then he traveled with Paul and with Barnabas and was active in the ministry as a faithful minister, ultimately ending up being able to serve greatly and take care of these churches in Crete. So that basically is the overall summary of it, since it's very similar to 1 Timothy. So did you want to start? Yeah, maybe we could wait in a little bit here. I have two questions that I have ready for later. All right, great. One of the interesting things is after that wonderful description of Crete, no wonder Paul said you've got to set things in order with these lying gluttons that are lazy. Okay, no wonder Paul gives Titus the instructions that he does to put everything in order there. So how would you like that assignment? That's one thought. And then the other thing is, okay, in this backdrop of lying, lazy gluttons, we have God's church.

God still calls people out of the world. And Paul has even said that some of us were like that, too.

And so it's amazing to see God's hand in society, whether it be here, whether it was in Ephesus, whether it's in the United States of America. God can still do miraculous things as he opens minds to his truth. And so he gives Titus that job as pastoring, kind of supervising this area in Crete. He starts out then addressing his letter, and if you remember, of course, letters at this time would always start with the person they're from, and then who it's to. So he starts out by recognizing the fact that it's from Paul. Interesting, he starts not as his wonderful title of being the chief apostle, writer of all of the New Testament. He starts out as a bond servant, that he is a slave of God. That's how he saw himself as one cent. As a slave, your owner, your master would tell you to do his bidding. And so the bidding of his master was that he would be sent to represent Jesus Christ. So he's an apostle, one sent forth with a message, the truth, a representative, an ambassador for Jesus Christ. And so that's what Paul was saying. He says, according to the faith of God's elect, he had the conviction of having his mind open to the truth of God, and that he sought his duty, his duty according to his calling, the faith of God's elect. That also refers to us as God's chosen. Literally, that's what that word means. God's chosen.

And the acknowledgement of the truth, which accords with godliness. And so here we see faith, coupled with understanding, leads to a godly way of life. And it led Paul to be that representative, that ambassador for Christ. And he says, in hope of eternal life, which God who cannot lie promised before time began. Interesting little phrase here in verse 2. The God, it says, who cannot lie. In English we've got offsetting commas there. It seems in the Greek itself, it's almost a title, the way it's worded. The God who cannot lie is the title, one of the titles of our God. And that's the way it appears to be in Greek. And of course, that would certainly be the case as we think about who God really is. He is truth. He's the exact opposite of what the Cretans are. What are the Cretans? They're all liars. We'll hear what is our God. And the title of our God is the God who cannot lie. So pretty amazing beginning as he kind of intimates of other things to come a little bit later in the letter. And so he says, in due time he manifested his word through preaching. He brought this to light, which was committed or entrusted to Paul, to me, according to the commandment of God, our Savior. In due time, at this time, the appointed time, this is the time. And in a sense, he's saying, Titus, you are appointed. You've been entrusted. You've been committed the truth of Jesus Christ. It's being passed to you to carry on the true faith. And so then, verse 4, he says, Titus, this is who the letter is to. Titus, a true son in our common faith. And looking at the heritage of the family of God. What's God's plan? God's plan is about family. He's creating a spiritual family. And so Paul sees him as a true son, a son in the faith of our common faith. And so he greets him with grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior.

And so we see here he's emphasizing the fact that Jesus Christ is divine. He holds that office of Savior, of Messiah, our Lord. And so he's emphasizing that as he begins this letter.

And so he gets right to the point, verse 5, he said, I've left you in Crete for this reason.

Okay, what are you there for? That you should set in order the things that are lacking.

And of course, put yourself in Titus' shoes what was lacking in the lying, lazy, gluttony society of Crete. Oh boy, that's going to be quite a job. How would you like to be transferred to Crete? That would have been a challenge at that day. And so he says, set things in order as I've commanded you. And so perhaps there are other commands, probably things that they talked about in the many contacts that they had with Titus over time. And of course, one of the things that he could set in order here, he says, was to appoint elders in every city as he was commanded. And so Titus, even as a young minister, can look back to Paul's authority and utilize that authority in setting things in order. So it's not just Titus saying this, but Paul, the bondservant of God, the apostle of Jesus Christ, is backing up the fact that things should be set in order.

And so was it possible that maybe Titus was having some resistance in putting things in order? Were people questioning his authority? Was he really the one that was supposed to pastor the congregations there? Does he have the authority to make changes from what we think things should be? Of course, if you're lazy and lying in a glutton, you see things quite differently than someone who's trying to set things in order according to Christ. And so that's possible. We don't know exactly the challenges, but Paul says you have the authority, and in a sense the authority that comes through me, through God, through Jesus Christ, to set these things in order. And so he's to appoint or literally ordain elders. This is an interesting word for the elders here.

Presbyteros is the word. Presbyteros, which can take on the meaning of the older members, the older ones who would look over the congregations to watch over them. Sometimes they're referred to as elders, other times bishops. Sometimes it's a different word that's being used. We'll see a different word come up here a little bit later. But it seems even those two words, even though they carry a little bit of difference in what they represent, they're interchangeable. So this one, this presbyteros, seems to refer to the spiritual maturity, not just the fact that they're older, but the fact that they're spiritually mature. So the maturity comes to play, it seems, with the term for elder that's used here. And so he says to ordain elders in every city as one person, how could one person even overlook one island? How could he oversee those things? That would be pretty difficult. The creek was even called the island of a hundred cities. So even though it was an island, there were many cities. And by that reasoning, probably several, if not many, congregations that would have been there. And so he's not saying that in every city, you need to ordain an elder. But the implication is where there's a congregation, you know, where there's a group of believers, that's where you need to ordain an elder. You need to have someone that's overseeing the congregations in those areas. And so wherever there was a local congregation, there needed to be someone overseeing that, an elder, a presbytero, someone of spiritual maturity to watch over that. And of course, that would certainly help to set things in order, since one person could only do so much. So then he gets into, well, what standard do I need to follow in order to ordain someone to this office of presbyteros as an elder? Who is going to be the one who oversees those congregations? And boy, it makes sense, just like Paul outlined to Timothy, that when you're dealing with society around you, there are certain standards that are necessary for someone to pastor congregations, for someone to be an elder, an overseer of God's people.

And so he begins to go over this list, or qualifications, we could say, of an elder. And so he begins to list those things. And of course, thinking about the society of the day that he's writing to, well, no wonder he needs to map it out just as well. And of course, if they were all liars and gluttons, wonder how difficult it was to find people like this. Well, what's it a tribute to? It's a tribute to the Spirit of God, you know, because through God's Spirit, we don't remain in the state that we recall, that we can become of the mind of Christ and put on the character of Christ. And so he begins to outline that. Verse 6, he says, if a man is blameless, in other words, they shouldn't be able to be accused of anything wrong. You can't charge them with wrongdoing. That's one of the most important things. And then he goes on, a husband of one wife spells that out pretty clearly. Having faithful children. So their children are an exhibit of their faith, in other words, that they're not undisciplined, they're not rebellious, they're not refusing their parents' authority, but they're children that are faithful to their parents.

They're not accused of dissipation or insubordination. So that's talking more about the discipline that would be involved in the situation. And so they have to be family men, men of families, men who rule over their families well. And so that those would be the people that would be setting a proper example. And so Paul points to that. And so here then in verse 7, he says, a bishop must be blameless. Now that's a different word than elder. This is the episcopoast.

Instead of being a presbyteros, the mature elder, now he refers to the episcopoast or a bishop, literally an overseer or the guardian. Maybe some even think of it as a superintendent.

And so you have, and I think he did it purposefully, as a presbyteros, someone that's mature in the faith, and not only just someone that's mature in the faith, but also someone that can oversee, someone that can watch over, someone that can be a guardian of the truth. So those two characteristics have to come into play for someone who would be ordained as an elder.

And so he says that elder, that episcopoast, that overseer should be blameless, should not be one that can be blamed, not accused of any wrong, as a steward of God. Which is an important fact that all of us, each of us individually, are accountable to God. As ministers, they have to keep that in mind as well. As a minister, they're accountable to God. Our accountability as ministers is to God first, and then to the congregation as well. And so in a sense what he's saying here, not self-will, quick-tempered, not given to wine, not vine, the highest moral standards. And this would have been a difficult standard to meet if you were just the average everyday cretin. And yet when conversion comes into play, when God opens a mind to his truth and gives someone his Holy Spirit, boy, lives can change. And so here we see that this accountability is to God. And of course, as a minister, they're accountable to how they deal with people. How do they deal with their congregations? How do they deal with situations that come up? A minister is accountable to God for those things. And so they can't be arrogant. This self-willed implies an arrogance about them. Someone that would look down on other people, that somehow they would think, well, I'm better than everybody else. That's unacceptable when it comes to the ministry. Someone that's quick-tempered. If you can't control your temper, that is not a good office to be a part of. If you have a tendency to become angry, that's not a good trait. And so Paul's telling him to be careful about that. No drunkard. You can't be a heavy drinker. Addiction. Unacceptable. You can't have that. You can't be given to violence, he points to as well. A combative person. That's unacceptable. Can't be a bully or a brawler. That word seems to take on those connotations as well. And then he also gets down to the money. And this brings the Cretans back into it again in their characteristics that they were known for. Cretans love to make money. They even had a saying that if you got anything by gain, it must not have been disgraceful.

And so however you could make the money, if you could make it, good for you, in other words.

And so that can apply to the ministry because the ministry would also be responsible for God's tithes and how the congregations were run. And if that became something that they could be blamed for, that would not reflect well on Jesus Christ. And so that was unacceptable. So the ministry was not a money-making business. And I mean, you think about those things today, unfortunately. In many cases, it has become that. And that's not right. That's not godly. And so Paul begins to go through some of these characteristics. In fact, maybe we better break there and should we answer our questions? Yeah, maybe answer some questions that may have come up. So we'll probably pick it up from there next time? Yep. Okay. That will work great.

He knows his Greek, too. Okay. He better, huh? No, he does. He does. He is great.

The first question is, I was wondering, Paul was called a Jew. But he was from the tribe of Benjamin, was one of his parents a Jew. The answer is that most of the Benjamites were called Jews.

Now, I'll give you two scriptures. You can go and do a little history lesson for yourself.

First, Kings 11. It's really long, like 60 verses or so. But it's somewhere in the middle. And then, second, Chorodical 11. So, first Kings 11 and second, Chorodical 11. In the first one, Paul, or not Paul, but God is communicating through one of his prophets to Solomon because of Solomon's apostasy toward the end of his life. He said, I am going to take away from your descendants 10 of the tribes and leave you with one. And that was just a minute. 10 plus 1 equals 11. I thought there were 12 tribes of Israel. Well, actually there are 13, but that's when you divide the tribe of Joseph into two. Not to get into the mathematics of it all. The dominant tribe that he would be left with was Judah. Solomon was of the tribe of Judah. David was of the tribe of Judah. The word Jew is simply the first syllable of Judah. That's all it means. All Jews are Israelites. But not all Israelites are Jews because they're from other tribes. However, when you go to Second Chronicles 11, and it's actually verse 2 there, you'll find that Judah and Benjamin formed the main body of the Jews. Not all the Benjamites were with Judah, but many of them were. Jerusalem was in the land of Benjamin. So some of the Benjamites would be mixed with the Jews. Plus, to add to that, you have the Coens, or the priests. And much of the priesthood came from the northern tribes where they lived. When that division came and Solomon died, they moved down to where the temple was, and historically remained. So Paul didn't have to have a parent who was a Jew. Both of his parents were Jews. They just happened to be from the tribe of Benjamin. And the Benjaminites were normally Jewish. The next question is something that we covered a little bit. The question says in 1 Peter 417, which says, judgment must begin at the house of God. That's what it says in 1 Peter 417.

It tells us that God's Church is being judged now. That's correct. And we know true Christians will rise to meet Christ in the air to second coming. That's correct. At which time they will be born as spirit beings, becoming gods. And I'll correct that. We won't become gods in plural. There is only one God. It's a God family. And I want to go to the Scripture that makes that very clear in Ephesians chapter 3. There is a divine family which is comprised of the Father and the Son.

But there are going to be a lot more children, more sons and daughters, of the family of God. That's what eternal life in the kingdom of God is. First Ephesians chapter 3, verse 15, beginning in verse 14 to get the context over the beginning of the sentence. For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, so we know that Christ was the Son and God the Father was the Father. So there's a family relationship, the Father and the Son, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. It is a divine family. That's what God is. And so it's incorrect to say that we will be gods. We will be members of the God family, a part of that family. Now, the question goes on, commenting on Matthew chapter 25 verses 32 and 33. Let me turn briefly back there.

Matthew 25 verses 32 and 33. Here we go. This talks about Christ returning when the verse 31 when the Son of man comes in his glory and all the holy angels with him he will sit on the throne of his glory he will come back and rule the earth for that thousand years and he'll set things right all the nations will be gathered before him and he will separate them one from another as the shepherd divides the sheep from the goats and he will set the sheep in his right hand the goats on his left so the question comes into the this is really where the question is it speaks of the judgment also this is not speaking of a judgment that already those are part of the God family right don't true Christians have to get it right now the answer is yes those who understand God's truth are being judged now we don't have a second chance to be judged but everybody will have a chance so when Christ comes those who understand his truth and either have chosen to faithfully follow it or rejected it they'll they'll be judged they'll become a time of judgment those who are judged to inherit eternal life will be given eternal life as God's gift those who are judged not will remain in their graves until the time that that is dealt with much as much later in the plan of God so there is a time that every human will have to be judged and every human will have to either be a sheep or a goat it's nothing against goats technically here it's just as a contrast so judgment must begin at the house of God and the principle for us to remember personally God holds us responsible for what we know we know an awful lot of his word we understand it like we understand it as Paul taught it as Peter taught it as Jesus himself taught it as the prophets of old thought we understand the word of God we understand the plan of God we are expected to do something with that knowledge and God is judging us now he will eventually judge all of mankind in an unfolding pattern of of his plan of salvation okay we had one other question that came in and it refers to Luke chapter 6 verse 35 so if you want to take a quick peek over there um the question is about a Greek word that's used here and maybe to to get the context is in the whole situation here is Christ is is uh teaching we've got uh some of the beatitudes mentioned here blessed are the poor you hunger blessed are you and men hate you that's in verse 21 22 23 and so here as Christ is teaching uh this is the same section of scripture that talks about when someone strikes you on one cheek you offer the other also um and he says verse 32 if you love those who love you what credit is that to you even sinners love those who love them gives you a little bit of the background of what what Christ is is leading to here and uh verse 33 if you do good to those who do good to you what credit is that to you even sinners do the same and then by extension he goes to verse 34 if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back what credit is that to you for even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back and then verse 35 he says love your enemies do good and lend hoping for nothing in return and your reward will be great and you will be sons of the most high for he is kind to the unthankful and evil so with that backdrop here's the question uh christ says do good and lend the greek word used is danitzaio or danitzo i guess it is which does mean to loan on interest or to lend so here's the question does christ really mean just to give rather than to lend i just give it away well i think in the context he is saying you can lend you can lend that's that's not the issue you should be able to give he's saying do good and lend so that's not a bad thing is it a bad thing to have interest come back well nobody's talking about the frame of mind isn't he he's talking about the attitude here if you do good the only those that do good to you what credit is that anybody can do that now if you give money to someone that you're going to lend to them what if you don't get anything back and what if they rip you off right what if they they renege on their responsibilities are you going to go and beat them you're going to go take it you're going to go act unchristian toward them he says get the right frame of mind here he says even if you're taken advantage of he says if you hope for nothing in return your reward will be great and so it seems to be the lesson is even if you are taken advantage of even if people don't treat you the way that you've agreed to if you give someone some money you're expecting and you've agreed to a certain amount of interest and they don't pay you he says if you do good you will be rewarded in fact this reward is going to be a whole lot better than interest god is going to reward you so he talks about having right judgment and he goes into that sort of thing it just reminded me of one of the the proverbs it's proverbs 19 verse 17 it says he who has pity on the poor lends to the lord you see and so that you can see beyond the physical circumstances that if this guy didn't pay me what he owed me even though i lent it to him who's going to make up for that who's who's really going to be the one that's paying me back who's going to pay me back with interest see god's going to pay us back and so i think that's ultimately the lesson the end of the proverbs says he will pay back what he's given and so that i think that's ultimately the lesson it's it's not really a lesson in banking but it's in the lesson in our attitude in when it comes to acting in a christ-like way that's it okay i guess that's it we're a little over time sorry for keeping you a few minutes on thanks for tuning in thanks for being here tonight we do have for all of you online sorry you missed it we have snacks we have goodies we have refreshments and so next time if you show up in person you can take advantage of that maybe i should remind you one other thing real quickly especially for those online we do have our kingdom of god bible seminars coming up not this saturday but the following sabbath on the 21st right here in this room we'll be conducting our kingdom of god bible seminars starting at 2 30 in the afternoon 2 30 in the afternoon right here at the home office we'll have our kingdom of god bible seminars everybody is welcome and we hope we can see you there we'll see you next time then good night everyone that's right