02.45. Guidance from Second Timothy Two

Guidance from 2 Timothy 2:1-26

However great the ruin in the Church may become, those who wish to please the Lord and obey His Word need not despair. God, who allowed decay and disorder to begin in the Church in apostolic times, has also given us by His apostles ample guidance and light for the discerning of His path in the day of ruin. Second Thessalonians, Second Peter, John’s three Epistles, and Jude all give us guidance and help for the day of decline and apostacy. In addition to the foregoing, we have special and definite guidance for our day in the second Epistle to Timothy which deals especially with this condition of ruin and the last days of the Church. In this Epistle we have the light of God shining upon the increasing gloom and confusion of the professing Church and pointing out His path for the exercised soul in all the ruin. In the first Epistle to Timothy we have the order of things that should prevail in the Assembly and how one should behave in the house of God which is the Church of the living God. The second Epistle to Timothy was written when disorder and evil had come into the outward house of God and there was no power in the Church to deal with it. In this Epistle Timothy was told how to walk and what to do in such disorder, evil, and departure from God’s Word. When the first Epistle was written to Timothy the outward Church was the house of God, but when the second Epistle was written the Church on earth had become a great house containing vessels to honor and vessels to dishonor. It then became necessary for one to purify himself by separating from these vessels to dishonor if he would be a vessel to honor and meet for the Master’s use. Thus the apostle directs in this last Epistle to Timothy. The subject of the great house of Christendom with its vessels of honor and dishonor and the divine path for the faithful and godly soul is clearly delineated in 2 Timothy 2:19-26. As this Epistle was the last one of 14 divinely inspired ones to come from the apostle Paul (this last one written just before his martyrdom) we have therein, especially in the above mentioned verses, the last instructions of God as to Church truth or Assembly fellowship from the special apostle to the Church. This portion of Scripture is therefore very important and necessitates our special attention. These verses give us divine instruction and guidance as to the path which the individual believer is to pursue when the Church is in disorder, ruin, and apostasy. The Sure Foundation

Before giving instructions as to the divine path which the exercised believer is to follow in the day of evil, the apostle Paul speaks of the sure foundation of God. "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his." And, "Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity" (2 Timothy 2:19). The state of things was very bad in the professing Church at the time Paul wrote this Epistle to Timothy. Assemblies were departing from the faith and some individuals were teaching false doctrines and overthrowing the faith of others, as Hymenaeus and Philetus, of whom the apostle speaks in 2 Timothy 2:17-18.

Evil deeds and evil teachings abounded and would increase, but amidst such a confusing and discouraging state of affairs, there is a word of cheer and comfort. Paul could write, Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure." In face of the disturbing apostacy he turns to what is immovable and abiding-the sure foundation of God. What God has established remains as an unchanging, dependable foundation. What is committed to man fails, but what is of God abides untouchable and the believer can rest serenely on that foundation, no matter how great the ruin of the professing Church becomes.

Previously Paul had written to the Corinthians, "other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 3:11). He, the eternal Son of God and Son of Man, is that sure foundation, the rock upon which the true Church is built, and against which the gates of hades cannot prevail (Matthew 16:16-18). Christ is the foundation stone which Isaiah prophesied of: "Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation" (Isaiah 28:16).

Here in Second Timothy we are not told what the foundation is. The Spirit of God has purposely left it as a general term. Undoubtedly it is Christ Jesus and also embraces all those things that God has given us in Him which are unchangeable and abiding. What a comfort this is for us in the day of apostacy when the foundations of the faith are being undermined and destroyed by evil men. "All the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen" (2 Corinthians 1:20). Christ and His promises are a sure foundation for the believer to rest upon.

While there are many wonderful things secured for us in Christ, there are three things that are especially prominent and precious.

What encouragement and sustenance for the believer in the day of ruin is found in the abiding presence of the Son of God, the Spirit of God, and the Word of God. Thus the remnant in Haggai’s day was also encouraged."I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts: According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not" (Haggai 2:4-5). The Seal

Affixed to God’s sure foundation is a seal with a divine and a human side "having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his." This is the divine side. Amid the confusion and evil of Christendom the Lord sees and knows each one who has a living relationship with Himself and is truly His. We do not know all the believers, even in a certain place, but He does. This knowledge of the Lord is what we still have to fall back on as a resource in the present ruin of the Church. The walk of some professing Christians is such that one can have no certainty as to the reality of their profession. Such have to be left with the Lord who knows His own and will manifest in due time those that are truly His and those that are not. On the other hand, those who are true believers and faithful to the Lord are often misunderstood, slandered, and persecuted by the world or worldly professors because they will not go along .with the world and the professing Church in their evil doings. One’s ecclesiastical position may be judged and evil spoken of; he may stand alone and be scorned by the Christian community. It is thus a real comfort and steadying power to know that the Lord knows each one who is His and all about their circumstances. He understands when others may doubt us. But there is another side to God’s seal, the side of human responsibility. "Let every one who names the name of (the) Lord withdraw from iniquity" (New Trans.). Every one who names the name of the Lord and claims to be a Christian is under real obligation to follow Christ in righteousness and to withdraw himself from all iniquity. If one confesses the name of the Lord, he must walk according to that holy name and not associate it with iniquity or unrighteousness of any kind. As Lord, He claims obedience and submission to His authority.

Separation from evil is always insisted upon throughout the Bible. It is especially stressed as a prime necessity for the godly soul in days of ruin. Thereby one gives a visible proof of the activity of a divine nature that hates evil and loves good and desires to obey and honor the Lord. "Cease to do evil; Learn to do well" (Isaiah 1:16-17); this is ever God’s order. The first step is to separate from evil and then God will teach that one His will and will show him the next step.

Anything that is not subject to the entire will of God is iniquity. It may be a certain thing or it may be a religious system that is iniquity for one and must be departed from. Sometimes iniquity seems very nice to the human heart, but if it is in opposition to the revealed will of God and contrary to His Word, it is evil and must be separated from. The Great House

"But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonor" (2 Timothy 2:20). The apostle here uses the figure of a great house with its various vessels of honor and dishonor. This is a picture of what the professing Church was becoming when Paul wrote this Epistle. It could no longer be characterized as "the house of God... the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth," as it was when the first Epistle to Timothy was written (1 Timothy 3:15). Then the Church held forth the truth before the world as a pillar, but now false doctrines were taught by some in it, unsaved ones had gotten in, and there was much confusion, mixture, and evil in the professing house of GodGenesis 1:11

What claimed to be the house of God was fast becoming like what is found amongst men on earth-a great house of mixed vessels. It no longer had that exclusively divine stamp of being God’s house and characterized by holiness and righteousness. It had lost its character of holiness and truth. Such was the state of the professing Church at the end of Paul’s life and this condition of things has continued and developed intensely since then, so that Christendom is today more than ever a great house of mixed vessels, some to honor and some to dishonor.

Vessels of gold and silver are the vessels proper to the service of the house of God. Nebuchadnezzar had once taken the vessels of gold and silver from the temple at Jerusalem and carried them to Babylon (Daniel 5:2-3). Vessels of wood and earth ought not to be in the house of God. From Romans 9:21-23 we learn that vessels to dishonor are "vessels of wrath fitted to destruction" and vessels of honor are "vessels of mercy, which He had afore prepared unto glory." Thus, generally speaking, vessels of gold and of silver would represent true Christians; they are vessels to honor-"vessels of mercy," while vessels of wood and of earth would symbolize unconverted professors in the church-vessels to dishonor and of wrath.

However, a golden vessel of honor may be used to dishonor, as Belshazzar did when he used the sacred vessels of the temple at his idolatrous feast. Likewise in the great house of Christendom, where the vessels represent persons, a real believer in the Lord may do something dishonoring to the Lord or be associated with vessels to dishonor and thus become a vessel of dishonor. The Lord cannot approve of the service of one associated with evil, therefore the condition of separation from vessels to dishonor is laid down in 2 Timothy 2:21 as a necessity for being a vessel unto honor.

Such, then, is the divine picture of the professing Church with its unholy mixture of saved and unsaved, true and false believers. This is its state in the day of ruin. The whole of that which calls itself Christian is looked at as a great house of mixed vessels. Every Christian is of it outwardly in spite of however true may be his heart and purposes toward the Lord, for the great house is all that calls itself Christian. But the earnest and faithful believer is called to cleanse himself, personally, from all vessels to dishonor in the house, though he can never go out of the house itself.

Purging Oneself

"If therefore one shall have purified himself from these, (in separating himself from them), he shall be a vessel to honor, sanctified, serviceable to the Master, prepared for every good work" (2 Timothy 2:21, New Trans.). When Christendom no longer answers to the character of the Assembly as God formed it, the call is for individual faithfulness and the responsibility of the individual believer to separate himself from whatever is contrary to the honor of Christ is stressed. The individual is here addressed and called to purify himself from the vessels of dishonor by separating from them.

If one would be a vessel unto honor and serviceable to the Master, he must stand apart and not defile himself with what is false, corrupt, and contrary to God’s Word. One cannot be in association with those who dishonor Christ, deny His deity or perfect humanity, hold other evil doctrine, or allow evil in practice, and at the same time seek to honor the Lord in one’s walk and be a sanctified vessel for the Master’s use. No believer can rightly serve the Lord while connected with evil or maintaining an association with a religious system or a congregation where evil is allowed or where unsaved persons (who are vessels to dishonor) are members. One must be a clean vessel before the Lord can use him, and the condition necessary for being a sanctified, serviceable vessel, ready for the Master’s use, is plainly stated here as separation from vessels to dishonor.

If an Assembly does not purge evil out of its midst, as commanded in 1 Corinthians 5:1-13, the faithful believer, after due warning and patience have been exercised, must purge himself out of it. One cannot have fellowship with evil and be a clean vessel. "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." "Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." It is when separated from evil that one understands what the holiness of God is, what His claims upon us are, and how incompatible His nature is with evil. Of course, those who seek to obey God’s command to separate from vessels to dishonor, from iniquity, and all that is contrary to God’s Word, are often much opposed and condemned. As it was in Isaiah’s day, so it is now: "truth is fallen in the street... Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey" (Isaiah 59:14-15). Godly separation costs much, but also gains much. The pain of separation and the reproach of it must be borne if one would please the Lord above all others and be a vessel meet for the Master’s use. Then one learns that "to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams" (1 Samuel 15:22). The obedient soul will find that he is brought into rich blessings and fresh power for his own soul.

Some may stress the unity of the Assembly and cleave to the allowance of evil under the plea of not breaking the unity and causing division, but such thoughts are rebuked and set aside by the authoritative words of the apostle, "purge himself from these." When failure and evil has set in within the Church, there is danger lest the desire for outward unity should persuade even the faithful believer to accept evil and walk in fellowship with it rather than break this unity. But 2 Timothy 2:21 establishes the principle of individual faithfulness and individual responsibility to separate from evil, and sets it above all other considerations. Unity is never to be had at the expense of truth or righteousness, for that is contrary to the very nature of God who is light. In the day of ruin separation from evil is stressed above outward unity.

Some teach and advocate that one should remain in a Church or Assembly (even though things are not right and are contrary to God’s Word) and seek to do all the good there that one can so as to improve the situation, or that one should stand as a witness for the Lord in that place. In view of the Scripture we have been considering, it should be apparent to our readers how erroneous and contrary to the direction of God this teaching is. One can only be a clean vessel, serviceable to the Master and prepared for every good work when in separation from vessels of dishonor. Then the Lord can use one in blessing to souls. One must first be out of a swamp before he can help one who is in it. In the evil days in which Jeremiah lived, God said to him: "If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them" (Jeremiah 15:19). Jeremiah was enjoying God’s Word in his heart and said, "I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand" (Jeremiah 15:16-17). Thus God could use him to separate precious souls from the evil of Israel and would use him as His mouth to speak His Word. But he must not return to that from which he had separated. "Let them return unto thee."

Another strong command to separate is found in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 : "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?... Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." May every reader heed these words of exhortation and encouragement and walk faithfully for Christ amidst the evil of professing Christendom.

Personal Conduct

"Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, Charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart" (2 Timothy 2:22). We have seen from the previous verse that separation from vessels to dishonor in the great house of Christendom is necessary if one would be a clean vessel and prepared unto every good work. Now the apostle warns against personal dangers when one might be absorbed with public evils and occupied with necessary separation from them. The individual believer is here exhorted as to his personal conduct and the personal graces which he must follow as a separated vessel. We are not only to be occupied with the negative side of separation from evil, but must maintain the positive side of pursuing righteousness, faith, love, and peace with other believers like-minded. In separating from ecclesiastical evils in the Church, it is of greatest importance that the believer watch his own conduct and maintain a practical walk in righteousness and Christ-likeness. It is vain to testify against evil and separate from it if one fails in personal conduct that is plainly seen and rightly branded as unchristian by those ensnared in iniquity and from whom one has separated. Therefore the apostle here earnestly urges Timothy, and every believer who would be faithful, to beware of that which would hinder and nullify one’s testimony in separating from evil.

Youthful lusts must be shunned. Not only are worldly and fleshly lusts to be avoided, but the lusts characteristic of youth, such as self-confidence, lightness, impatience, impetuosity, independence, show of knowledge, and being argumentative are to be shunned. All these things so natural to youth, may come up in an older believer and spoil his testimony. A vessel unto honor must not be characterized by these lusts typical of youth in its selfsufficiency. He must flee from any tendency to give way to these youthful lusts and avoid anything that would manifest the lack of a sober, meek, and humble spirit which characterizes one who walks with God. The separated believer must follow righteousness, faith, love, and peace. One must walk in practical righteousness, which is pursuing what is right and proper before God and man and acting consistently. We should notice that righteousness is listed first, then faith, then love, and that peace is last. Righteousness is the first consideration, not love and peace. If one thinks of love and peace as the first consideration he may be in danger of compromising the truth and sacrificing righteousness. Evil may be tolerated under the pretext of love and with the desire for peace. We are to follow love and peace, but we cannot have peace at the expense of righteousness, therefore we must pursue righteousness first and foremost. There can be no peace with evil or with the enemies of Christ.

Faith must also be pursued along with righteousness as this keeps one in communion with God and in dependence upon Him to sustain the heart in the path of righteousness and separation from evil. Faith keeps God before the soul and prevents one from looking at things from the standpoint of mere human expediency and reasoning. Faith is necessary for endurance in the path of righteousness. Moses "endured, as seeing him who is invisible" (Hebrews 11:27).

Without faith and love our pursuing righteousness is likely to become a cold and legal thing and savor of Pharisaism. Therefore faith and love must be coupled with righteousness. Faith comes before love in the verse before us, for the eye must be on God, the fountain of love, before there can be true Christian love in activity. Love must be guarded by righteousness and faith. There can be no true love apart from obedience. True love to Christ and to souls will Cause one to walk in righteousness and faith. When faith is active, God will be before the soul, His love will fill the heart, and one’s walk will be characterized by divine love. This is very necessary for the vessel of honor. He must follow love and manifest the love of Christ in all his dealings.

Then the result of following after righteousness, faith, and love will be peace-peace on a righteous basis. The separated believer must not push his own will and engender strife, but "follow after the things which make for peace." "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men" (Romans 14:19; Romans 12:18). A contentions, troublesome person is a dishonor to Christ and manifests that he is not following righteousness, faith, love, and peace.

2 Timothy 2:23-25 give us further instructions as to the personal conduct that should characterize a sanctified vessel unto honor. He is to avoid foolish and unlearned questions that gender strife and is not to strive with anyone, "but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves." Argument and strife over the truth or upon foolish questions are of no avail or profit. The truth of God should be clearly and graciously stated and taught in all patience, gentleness, and meekness, even to those who oppose, but the servant of the Lord must not strive with those that resist the truth.

Such are the instructions for the personal conduct of believers who seek to please the Lord and to be sanctified and serviceable vessels unto honor amidst the ruin of the great house of Christendom. May the Lord give us grace to be thus characterized. Who to Associate With

Returning to 2 Timothy 2:22, we notice that the separated believer is not only to follow righteousness, faith, love, and peace, individually, but "with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart." He is encouraged to follow these graces in personal association and fellowship. with others who are doing the same and calling on the Lord out of pure hearts. The faithful believer is thus given to expect the companionship of others in the path of separation from vessels unto dishonor. As he, by divine instinct, loves the communion of saints, he is hereby cheered by the prospect of having fellowship with other Christians in the new path to which faithfulness to God and His_ Word has called him.

One need not fear isolation as a result of separation from evil, nor should a believer choose to remain alone. God will work in the hearts of others and lead them to likewise separate from iniquity and to pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, calling on the Lord out of a pure heart. With such who do so, we are called to associate ourselves in Christian fellowship. This is the path and circle of fellowship according to the mind of God for the earnest believer in the day of ruin.

There may be only two or three in a place who answer to these moral features. If so, they are not to be despised, but recognized as those in whose hearts the Lord has likewise wrought a desire and purpose to do His will, and as those with whom I am to walk in happy fellowship. Another has well written, "He that has not a heart for the two or three must be only a dead weight if he were among ten thousand" (W. Kelly). Numbers look great to the worldly spirit, but they must not influence one who would be faithful to Christ. The Lord foresaw and graciously provided for just such conditions as have arisen in the dark days of evil in the professing Church. Therefore, He promised that "where two or three are gathered together unto my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20). He knew that it would come down to this-that there might be only two or three in a place that would be willing to meet His approval and obey His Word-so He has tenderly and lovingly guaranteed His presence to them as they gather to His Name alone. How comforting and how precious! What more could be desired?

We would here stress that isolation and remaining alone without association and fellowship with other believers is not the path of God for any Christian at any time. One is not to go on with evil and neither is he to stand alone and refuse identification with other believers. 2 Timothy 2:22 clearly teaches this. God’s will is that we "follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart." One may not find anyone in the particular place where he lives with whom he can Scripturally gather, but the Lord will surely provide some believers elsewhere with whom he can walk in righteous fellowship.

Some would take the ground that conditions have become so bad in the Church that there is no company of believers left with whom one can have fellowship in righteousness, etc., so they stand alone and apart from everything. This is surely contrary to Scripture and we fear that it manifests a spirit of pride that considers oneself superior to everyone and everything else. When Elijah thought he was the only one standing for God, he had to learn that there were 7000 who has not bowed the knee to Baal (1 Kings 19:14-18). God has always maintained a remnant of faithful believers as a testimony for Himself in every age. As a separated believer, then, one is to fellowship with those who are marked out as following righteousness, faith, love, and peace, and maintaining corporate purity of heart. This is the company with whom the sincere believer is to walk. Those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart are those who are clearly manifested as such by the above characteristics. We can only discern the heart by the practical life.

Another has written on the verse before us as follows: "That which is in the mind of the Spirit of God here, is collective purity; that is, a purity marking the association. Those who are gathered together in the association which is spoken of here are those who meet on the ground of the Word of God with a devotedness and affection for the Lord Jesus Christ, seeking the maintenance of His name, His truth, and His honor; in the non-toleration of every thing that would be unsuitable to Him. That is, I believe, what the apostle speaks of when he says, `Them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart:’ purity of heart, integrity of heart, and personal devotedness to Christ, are the characteristic marks of the association that I am bound to seek when I have individually purged myself" (W. T. Turpin).

Having found this Scriptural fellowship, this position is to be maintained in patience, gentleness, and meekness as stated in 2 Timothy 2:23-25, which we have previously spoken of in connection with "Personal Conduct."

Truly we have sufficient and comforting guidance from Second Timothy two as to the path of God for the day of ruin. May reader and writer be found in that path till He comes.