Vessels of the Lord; 主的器皿

12/12/10 Sermon by Minister Michael Johnson

Vessels of the Lord

2 Timothy 2:20-26

I grew up in a modest home. We didn’t display fine art on our walls, sit on plush furniture or use top of the line appliances. While we did not have expensive material objects that others had, my mother did have her favorite serving dishes. She kept them in a China cabinet that we were not allowed to open. I’ve mentioned before that I have two younger brothers and my mom knew her treasured items had to be kept safe and sound and far away from us! In addition to the serving dishes, she also had special utensils that she would carefully store in a velvet lined wooden box. Each size fork, knife, and spoon had its own place in the box so that they would not rattle about and become scratched. She took great care of these items and would tell my brothers and me about how she had started building the set when she was fifteen years old. It was clear these items were to be handled with care and, as such, were to be set apart from the rest of our dishes. The rest of our dishes were kept in the kitchen cabinets and were easily accessible. These dishes were made of glass and plastic meant for everyday use. If we broke a glass or plate it was not of great concern because those dishes were not of any significant value and were relatively easy to replace. I know this because I was notorious for breaking dishes as a child. It became a running joke in our family but I am convinced it is how I escaped much of the dishwashing duty. The point is that some dishes were set-aside for special purposes and others for every day use. The way my mother set aside her special dishes is similar to the analogy Paul uses in today’s passage.

The vessels Paul mentions fall into two categories. First, there are those that have been set aside for honorable use. They have special value in the eyes of the owner. As such, they are cared for and cleaned. When Paul applies this analogy to people he says that people should be “cleansed of such behavior” so that they might be of honorable use to the Master. What does he mean when he says we need to be “cleansed of such behavior”?

Before we look at the behaviors we have to ask how you know if you’ve been cleansed? If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you have not been made clean. We must acknowledge our sinfulness and cry out to Christ for our salvation. When we confess with our mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord our sins are forgiven and the blood of Christ cleanses us. Then, once we become a follower of Christ, Paul warns us not to stray away from the Gospel. Straying from the Gospel is one behavior from which some need to be cleansed. Whether you were raised in a Christian home or are a recent believer, Paul is telling us that we may be tempted to turn from the Gospel. Perhaps life isn’t going the way you planned, or maybe it’s been a particularly difficult year. Paul is telling us that no matter what comes our way, we are to embrace the Gospel. We already know that as we draw near to God, He draws near to us. If you have trouble believing that God cares for you as His son, as His daughter, perhaps you’ve forgotten the message of the Gospel and the redemptive power it has in your life. If you let distance come between you and the Gospel, your faith will wane and your heart will start to grow cold. As you rededicate to spending time in God’s word and meditating on it, it will refine you, it will melt your heart and it will renew your mind.

If we continue to resist God’s intervention, we will inevitably progress to the next step: speaking false words about the Truth of the Message of Christ. This is another behavior some need to be cleansed from. God wants us to share His Message accurately and in the fullness of truth. We can’t tell people how desperately they need a Savior and then not tell them about Jesus and His work of salvation! At the same time, we can’t say that Jesus offers salvation without saying what He provides salvation from. Instead, as verse 15 states, we are to “make every effort to present yourself before God as a proven worker who does not need to be ashamed, teaching the message of truth accurately.”

If we continue to stray from the Gospel, speak falsely or in half-truths about Christ’s message, then we will be tempted to participate in profane chatter. This is yet another behavior needing cleansing. Profane chatter could entail getting caught up in gossip, laughing at offensive jokes, or even telling them. As you can see, it started off with a little distance between you and your Heavenly Father, but got worse and worse. Without repentance, your relationship will grow even colder.

Along those lines, Paul give us a fervent warning in verse 16 that those who keep going down this path, who never turn from their sinful ways, will “stray further and further into ungodliness, and their message will spread its infection like gangrene.” This is a strong language. Paul uses the words infection and gangrene. Both continue to spread unless serious measures are taken. We are not without hope. Paul tells us in 2:19, “However, God’s solid foundation remains standing, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from evil.” We know from reading this, then, that the infection can be stopped if we turn away from sin. There is great hope in this. If we pray for His strength to turn from sin, He will enable us to do so.

Sanctification is the process by which we are purified from sin. We can compare this to the purification process of gold and silver. To purify gold and silver takes much time and effort. Impurities must be removed so that only the pure mineral remains. It is then formed with great care into what ever the craftsman wishes to create. In a similar fashion, we are put under the refining fire of God in order that we may become purer in his sight. Zechariah 13:9 states, “Then I will bring the remaining third into the fire; I will refine them like silver is refined and will test them like gold is tested. They will call on my name and I will answer; I will say, ‘These are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’” God refines us in such a way that we are drawn closer to him and we are molded into the honorable vessel He wishes us to be.

When we become a follower of Christ, our sins are forgiven but it doesn’t mean we won’t ever sin again. In fact, just after Paul talks to us about the purification process, he reminds us yet again to flee from youthful passions, which are mainly acts of rebellion. Augustine paints a useful image for us based on something he did at the age of sixteen. In his work, Confessions he writes, “There was a pear tree close to our own vineyard, heavily laden with fruit, which was not tempting either for its color or for its flavor. Late one night -- having prolonged our games in the streets until then, as our bad habit was -- a group of young scoundrels, and I among them, went to shake and rob this tree. We carried off a huge load of pears, not to eat ourselves, but to dump out to the hogs, after barely tasting some of them ourselves. Doing this pleased us all the more because it was forbidden.” Augustine stole the pears for the mere sake of stealing. He acted without wisdom and without any regard for others. Although this particular story is conveying the antics of a sixteen year old, youthful passion has nothing to do with age but whether or not our actions are motivated by rebellion or wisdom

Scripture never tells us to flee from sin without having us replace it with a nobler desire. After his warning against youthful passions, Paul follows that with a call to “pursue righteousness, faithfulness, love, and peace, in company with others who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” Let’s take a minute to elaborate on what it means to be righteous, faithful, loving, and peaceful. To be righteous means to be morally right, justifiable, or virtuous. The rebellious person cannot live a righteous life in the eyes of the Lord because he or she is constantly thinking about him or herself. Righteous people consider the Lord’s commands and act accordingly. Their lives are committed to abstaining from youthful passions so that their heart may remain pure. They are faithful to Christ. Their manner of living is loyal, constant, and steadfast. They pursue the Lord and seek to share His love with those around them. They don’t turn their back on those in need. They seek to live a life of love and of peace. Peace is the complete opposite of youthful passion. Youthful passion causes discord, but peace builds relationships and creates unity among others. In seeking peace one puts aside selfish ambition and seeks to build the Kingdom of God by not focusing on petty differences. As you can see, a person cannot be an honorable blessing that is pleasing to the Lord and rebellious at the same time.

As the Scripture says, all four of these pursuits, righteousness, faithfulness, peace and love, are to be done in the company of others who call on the Lord from a pure heart. This is a reference to all of us as the Body of Christ. We together are supposed to pursue these things. The world wishes to make these human pursuits. In doing, so, it mocks righteousness and faithfulness while distorting the concepts of peace and love. It seeks to create “alternatives” that clearly fall short of God’s fullness. Instead of settling for what the world offers, we are to seek the Lord, enjoy His righteousness, faithfulness, peace and love, reflect those back to Him and share them with others. In doing so, we are fulfilling His call to be light in the darkness. Acts 13:47 states, “For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have appointed you to be a light for the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’” We are to stand for Christ and teach those who do not know Him the true meaning of what it is to be a Christian. We must not resist His cleansing work in our lives so that the world cannot point to us and say, “See. Christians are no different than the rest of us.”

After exhorting us to live righteous, faithful, peaceful and loving lives, Paul tells us to avoid heated disputes. He knows how detrimental they can be and how they can fracture unity. When disagreeing with someone, we need not become angry. We can share our beliefs with gentleness. The last part of verse 24 and the beginning of verse 25 states “but be kind toward all, an apt teacher, patient, correcting opponents with gentleness.” If we become angry and frustrated with those who disagree with us they will simply tune us out. However, if we speak the truth with love, then we will have a better opportunity to plant a seed.

I remember an instance at work. I was with a group of co-workers in a meeting and one of them was trying to remember a particular phrase. They kept searching for it and eventually said to the group, “It is from the Bible, what is it? Oh yeah, God helps those who help themselves.” The person then turned to me and said, “Mike, you would know this, it’s from the Bible, right?” I replied, “No, it isn’t in the Bible.” The person didn’t take my word for it right away. She persisted and said, “but it must be.” I replied, “No, and if it were, it would undercut the whole message of the Bible.” At that moment three of them looked up at me with a confused look on their faces. Keep in mind none of them are Christians. One finally asked, “Well, what is the theme of the Bible?” I proceeded to give a quick explanation about faith, hope, and love and in conclusion said, “So if God only helped those who helped themselves there would be no need for God to even exist.” It was at that moment that they all sort of had an aha moment. They looked upward thoughtfully and began to murmur, “Hmmm, that makes sense.” Now if I had become upset, raised my voice, or become aggressive when I heard one of them say “god helps those who help themselves is in the Bible”, I would have probably lost my opportunity to share with them the central purpose of the Gospel. Instead, God gave me the sense of mind to approach it with love and a teacher’s attitude and as a result they were able to learn something. My prayer is that a seed was planted.

This of course transitions into the last half of verse 25 through verse 26. It states, “Perhaps God will grant them repentance and then knowledge of the truth and they will come to their senses and escape the devil’s trap where they are held captive to do his will.” Let us all hope that whenever we enter into a conversation with someone else that we take the opportunity to share our faith. You can share your faith by telling someone who Jesus is or by explaining why you are a Christian. You can also demonstrate your faith by keeping away from idle talk, by resisting youthful passions and by submitting to God’s work of sanctification in your life. When God is working on you, and you are submitting to Him, other people benefit from the fruit that He is producing through you. We don’t always know how the Lord is working, but we must be on alert for any opportunities to share our faith. Those who do not know Christ are in the devil’s trap. They are held captive to the devil’s will because they do not know freedom in Christ. They may not even be aware of their sin. If they are unaware of their sin, they certainly don’t know they need a savior. By being an example for Christ we show those around us that there is more to this life. What can get in the way of our message is if we do not adhere to Paul’s numerous warnings. We must stay alert, be full of hope and remember God’s word to us through Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:11, “Some of you once lived this way. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”