Pastor, Stick with Paul
So last week we finished up Chapter 1, and Pastor Joe gave us some insights into how the apostle Paul cared for Timothy, and he showed us four lessons we all can apply for how we care for others. Those lessons were practical and helpful, and, I think, really important for our life together as a church. We want all the members of our church to have the kind of care we see between Paul and Timothy. That was last week.
And one reason I mention it now is because today I’m going to do something a little bit different. Last week Pastor Joe expanded the application of the passage for everyone, but today I’m actually going to focus in on the particular relationship we find here, and it’s that Paul is exhorting Timothy as a pastor. So much of what Paul says does apply to all Christians, but his original intention is to speak to a pastor and pastors like him, and so that’s what I want to do in this sermon.
But, of course, I realize: most of us here are not pastors, and so how does this work?
Well, here’s a principle about sermons I want us to nail down: it’s that sermons don’t have to be about you in order to be relevant for you.
In the church, we’re all different parts of the body, right? There’s the head and the feet, and the eye and the hand. And if you’re a hand, it’s good to hear about the eye! Instructions for the eye are a good thing for the hand to know — because we’re still the same body and we’re all in this together! And so in the same way, it’s good for all the parts of the church to hear exhortations to pastors (which is why this letter is in the New Testament!)
So today we’re going to look at what Paul says to Timothy the Pastor, and we’re going to see three things every pastor must do. And I’m going to try to say these as narrowly and particular as Paul intends it, okay? — just following the grammar of the passage. Here’s the first thing we see:
#1. Pastors must be strengthened by Jesus to stick with Paul. (verse 1)
Verse 1: “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”
And right away this sounds like something important for everything we do.
Is there anything in life that any of us want to try to do without the strength of grace?
Absolutely not!
We need to be strengthened by grace to get up in the morning. We need to be strengthened by grace to get the kids to school. I need to be strengthened by grace right now (which is why I prayed for it)! We need the strength of grace all the time.
That’s true, but also I don’t want us to miss what Paul is talking about here. Here in 2 Timothy Chapter 2, verse 1, this strengthening by grace specifically has to do with perseverance as a pastor. If Timothy is going to last as a pastor, he is going to need this strengthening. And we know this because of what Paul has just said at the end of Chapter 1.
Remember in Chapter 1, verse 15 Paul mentions some names: First, he mentions Phygelus and Hermongenes, and these two men are representative of many more. Paul says that all his ministry partners in Asia, including even Phygelus and Hermongenes, they have turned away from him. They’ve abandoned him.
But on the other hand, in verse 16, Onesiphorus, has stuck with Paul. Onesiphorus has encouraged Paul intangibly and tangibly, and the big thing here: he was not ashamed of Paul’s imprisonment. And this part is important. Onesiphorus is set in contrast to Phygelus and Hermongenes. Those two guys (and others) abandoned Paul, but Onesiphorus stuck with Paul — and the main indicator whether you abandon him or stick with him had to do with your response to his imprisonment.
By the time we get to 2 Timothy, the apostle Paul has become a very controversial figure — and not just among the religious leaders of the day, but he was a problem for the Roman empire. We see that way back in Acts 17. It was said that Paul was turning the world upside down, and that he was acting against the decrees of Caesar by saying that there is another King, Jesus (see Acts 17:6–7). That’s why Paul is in prison.
And what happened was that Paul had numerous ministry partners, and they’re all with him, agreeing with his message and sharing the gospel, but when Paul got heat from Rome — when he was punished by Rome — they backed off.
Paul’s ministry partners feared the consequences of their association with him. Basically, Phygelus and Hermongenes chose peace with the State over standing with Paul. They chose to avoid the risk of ridicule rather than assist the ministry of God’s messenger.
But see, Onesiphorus was different. Onesiphorus said, “Nah, I’m sticking with Paul, even though I know what’s at stake.”
And Paul tells Timothy: Look, this what Phygelus and Hermongenes (and the others) did; and this is what Onesiphorus did. You then, my child — YOU, TIMOTHY! — you be strengthened by the grace that is in Jesus to be like Onesiphorus. Stick with me.
That’s what Paul is saying. This passage (and this book) is very practically about sticking with Paul — which actually becomes the test of perseverance.
See, we should understand we’re not talking about sticking with Paul because Paul needs friends, but this is about faithfulness to the gospel. Paul is the apostle of Jesus for the nations, and he speaks with the authority of Jesus, and so sticking with Paul means sticking with Jesus. This is why Paul says so much about imitaton in his letters:
Paul told the Philippians: Philippians 3:17, “Join in imitating me…”
Philippians 4:9, “What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things…”
1 Corinthians 4:15, “I urge you, then, be imitators of me.”
And when Paul says this, there’s no question in his mind what he means. He wants the churches, and his ministry partners, and Timothy the Pastor, to imitate him in how he imitates Jesus. Which is exactly what he says in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”
This is about Paul, but not really about Paul, this is about Jesus. Therefore, to distance yourself from Paul is to distance yourself from Jesus. Paul says in Philippians 3 that the alternative to imitating him is to walk as an enemy of the cross (see Philippians 3:17–19). To abandon Paul means to fall away from the faith. That’s the issue here!
And so when Paul exhorts Timothy to stick with him, he’s exhorting Timothy to persevere in faithfulness.
That was the case back then, and that’s the case today, right here in America.
Because pastors, still, today, all across this country, are pressured to back away from Paul.
Now the risk for pastors is not Roman imprisonment, but pastors know, sticking with Paul will cost something. So the strengthening Timothy needed is the same strengthening we need today.
This strengthening, Paul says, in verse 1, is “by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” Now this is the only time this phrase is used in the New Testament, but every time we see the word “grace” this phrase is always the reality behind it. All the grace that we experience in the Christian life is grace in Jesus. It is grace that saves (see Ephesians 2:8) and grace that strengthens (see Philippians 4:13), and it is so much grace in Jesus that Paul could say it is Jesus himself who is doing the strengthening. Which is exactly what Paul does say later in this letter, 2 Timothy 4:17, my favorite verse in this book: “… the Lord stood by me and strengthened me.”
Pastors must be strengthened by Jesus to stick with Paul.
#2. Pastors must train elder candidates who stick with Paul. (verse 2)
Part of the same strength that pastors need to stick with Paul includes strength to follow Paul in his multiplication strategy. That’s what Paul gives us here. Listen to verse 2:
and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.
So it goes:
Paul to Timothy;
then Timothy to faithful men able to teach others;
then faithful men to the “others” they teach;
And this just keeps going.
This is a very good strategy, and at one level, the practical wisdom here applies to all kinds of things. This is how multiplication works. But as Christians, we know this is the basic idea behind discipleship: Make disciples who make disciples who make disciples. And the longer you do that it will have an exponential effect.
We also think this way about church planting: we want to plant churches who plant churches who plant churches. Because this is the strategy that will yield greater numbers over time, and greater numbers over time will yield more impact, and more impact means “Your kingdom come, your will be done, here on earth as it is in heaven.” This strategy can change the Twin Cities. And there’s wisdom here for every Christian.
But in this particular instance, in 2 Timothy 2:2, Paul is telling Timothy, a pastor, to train other pastors. And I want us to see this. There are two things to track with here in 2 Timothy 2:2: first is the who, and then the what.
The “who” are faithful men. Paul says “entrust to faithful men” and now what does that mean?
Well, it could be very broad: If “faithful” here meant “believing” and if “men” here meant “mankind” then Paul could be saying “entrust to Christians,” which is every Christian. But Paul is being more specific.
Timothy is supposed to train men — and that’s straight-down-the-middle, biologically-male, legit, actual, true men. That’s who Paul is talking about.
And these men should be men who are faithful, which is a shorthand way of referring to all the character qualifications necessary for elders that Paul mentions in 1 Timothy 3. And this is specifically about elders because of the “able to teach” condition mentioned here. Paul is talking about men who are faithful who can teach.
And men who are faithful who can teach are the only candidates for the office of elder. This verse is about training up pastors. That is explicitly who Paul is talking about here, and implicitly he is talking about church planting.
Because all of these pastors that Timothy trains are not going to be in the same local church, but they’re going to start new churches, just like we see in Titus 1 where Paul tells Titus to “appoint elders in every town” (see Titus 1:5) — Paul is talking about pastors who have been trained and appointed to lead new congregations in the same geographic area!
The vision of Cities Church — y’all know! — is to plant more churches like ours in the Twin Cities, and I want you to know: that’s our vision because it is deeply biblical!
The main reason we want to plant churches is because we want to be faithful to Scripture — it’s because we believe the Bible! We want to do what Paul does!
And that brings us to the “what” in verse 2. The “who” is men who are faithful who can teach — Paul is talking about elder candidates. But what exactly is Timothy supposed to entrust to these elder candidates?
Well, Paul says: “what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses.” So then what is that? What has Timothy heard from Paul?
Back in Chapter 1, verse 13, Paul uses this same phrase about hearing from him, and he calls it hearing “the pattern of sounds words.” And it makes sense that Paul would be talking about the same thing here in Chapter 2, verse 2, but then, okay: What is the pattern of sounds words?
This could either be something more basic or more particular, and I think it’s more particular. When it comes to what Timothy heard from Paul, Paul is not talking here about the bare minimum of gospel orthodoxy. Now there is a place for that. We see this in 1 Corinthians 15:1–6. It’s the most basic, of-first-importance pieces of the gospel. That exists — but that’s not what Paul is talking about here. He’s talking about more than that.
What Timothy has heard from Paul is the gospel and all his instructions that pertain to the church … and
how church members should treat one another, and
how to pursue godliness, and
how unconditional election humbles us, and
what is necessary to be an elder or a deacon, and
how do we shut down false doctrine, and
what sins should we especially beware for ourselves and for others, and
how should we think about money and hope and works and widows —
all of these things are what Timothy has heard from Paul, and that’s what Timothy is supposed to entrust to these elder candidates. This is Paul, the whole hog!
It’s all of Paul’s teaching! This is Paul the Calvinist, and Paul the Complementarian — and this is why at Cities Church we’re only going to raise up pastors and send out churches that embrace the whole hog. We want to stick with Paul all the way, and plant churches who do the same.
Pastors must train elder candidates who stick with Paul.
#3. Pastors must expect hardship if they stick with Paul. (verse 3)
Verse 3. Paul tells Timothy again, “share in suffering” — which is really the primary charge of the entire letter. This is the bread and butter of perseverance. Paul told Timothy in Chapter 1, verse 8 “share in suffering.” He says to expect the same thing in Chapter 3, verse 12 and Chapter 4, verse 5. And he mentions his own suffering in 1:12 and 2:9 and 3:11.
Suffering/hardship/difficultly should be no surprise to Timothy or to the elder candidates he trains in the example of Paul — and the mention of suffering here in verse 3 ties this passage back to the end of Chapter 1. The theme here is still about perseverance and sticking with Paul. We’re still talking about why pastors need to be strengthened by Jesus. Because the vocation is hard. And it’s hard in a similar way as three other vocations: a solider, an athlete, and a farmer.
Paul commends these vocations as models for pastors to learn from. And the main model is a solider, because Paul literally says, “Share in suffering as a good solider of Christ Jesus.” Then he expands the image of the solider in verse 4; he gives the image of the athlete in verse 5; then the farmer in verse 6 — and then in verse 7 Paul says, “Think over what I’m saying, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.”
And Paul is talking specifically in verse 7 about what he has just been saying. Think over what I’m saying about these vocations. Meditate on these images, and you’ll get what I mean because Jesus will help you. So that’s what we wanna do!
Let’s start with what these images have in common.
A solider, an athlete, and a farmer each require discipline in order to receive their reward. That’s the macro lesson here: discipline — or enduring hardship — is necessary for the reward, and the reward makes the discipline worth it. That’s what each of these images have in common, but now notice their particular angles:
The disciplined solider is undistracted by civilian pursuits — because that’s required to receive the reward of pleasing his commander.
The disciplined athlete competes according to the rules — because that’s required to receive the reward of a crown.
The disciplined farmer works hard — because that’s required to receive the reward of sharing in the crops.
Think over what I’m saying, Paul says.
Okay, Paul, so sticking with you, persevering and entrusting your teaching to elder candidates, is not going to be easy, it’s going to be hard — and I need to expect that. I need to lean into that, and learn …
Like a good solider, pastors should refuse to be distracted by the normal affairs of everyday life.
Like a winning athlete, pastors should refuse to compromise their integrity.
Like a hard-working farmer, pastors should refuse to slack.
And pastors should refuse each of these things even though it’s easier not to refuse them. That’s another thing in common here. The particular angles of discipline that Paul commends each have alternatives that will side-step the suffering. It’s easier for pastors to give themselves to things that make a little more money. It’s easier for pastors to let off on the godliness. It’s easier for pastors to cut corners on the sermon.
There are easier alternatives out there that will ensure less hardship … but also no reward.
Now the topic of rewards in the Bible is not simple, and we don’t have time now to look at the details, but I just want to be clear that rewards are part of the Christian’s future. Paul says that every person must stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and when we stand there we will receive a reward from Jesus based upon our actions. If those actions stand the test, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3, Jesus will reward us for them.
And again, there’s a lot more to say about the details, but I think one of the most important things about these rewards is how relevant they are for our imagination now. The fact of heavenly rewards from Jesus helps us to remember that Jesus is real.
Think about this: You —this goes everybody — you are going to stand before Jesus. Not an idea. Not a religion. Paul says I know who I have believed. This is Jesus, the real person, and you are going to see him, and he is going to look at you … Christian! … pastor!
And this is a great motivation for Paul. This is why in 2 Corinthians 5:9 Paul says no matter what, “our aim is to please Jesus” — because, verse 10 — “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.”
That is the moment that stays on the mind of the apostle Paul, and drives him in ministry. And we need pastors who stick with Paul, and think the same way. We need pastors who know that one day they will look at Jesus, and Jesus will look at them — and that moment is going to make all the hardship worth it, and the only way we’re going to make it now is to remember the promise of that moment — we have to remember Jesus Christ, the real person, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in Paul’s gospel.
It’s not easy, but it’s worth it. Pastors, stick with Paul — because Paul points us to Jesus.
And that brings us to the Table.
The Table
What turned the world upside down in the book of Acts wasn’t really Paul, it was the good news Paul preached. It was the good news that guilty sinners can be reconciled to a holy God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ — and that is as true right now than ever before. If you’re here this morning, or if you’re watching the live-stream, you can be forgiven and brought into new relationship with God and his people, if you put your faith in Jesus. Turn from your sin and trust in the death and resurrection of Jesus, and be saved.
And for those of us who have trusted Jesus, this table is where we remember his gospel and give him thanks. The bread represents his broken body, and the cup represents his shed blood, and as we eat the bread and drink the cup, we proclaim that Jesus alone is our hope.
