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Loving the Body in Grace and Truth (2 Timothy 4) (3 charges (from Paul to…
Loving the Body in Grace and Truth
(2 Timothy 4)
3 charges (from Paul to Timothy)
Correct (reprove ESV)
Elegcho
- to find fault with, correct; to call to account, show one his fault
the definition of correcting implies that something is wrong and needs to be fixed or changed
Illustration: having to correct a habit that you had as a kid
when I think of correcting, a good Bible example: Peter needed correcting--Galatians 2:11-21 and Acts 10:34, 15:7-11; Peter had good intentions, he was not trying to rebel against God's plan--he just needed some correction
Proverbs 12:1 - whoever hates correction is stupid
Rebuke
Epitimao
- to tax with fault, rate, chide, rebuke, reprove, censure severely
in this context there's a distinction between rebuke and correction; correcting someone is showing them where they thought they were right, but were wrong; rebuking someone is calling them out when they intentionally did something wrong
Galatians 6:1 - restore a brother gently "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness."
Illustration: personal story? Paul to the Corinthians? Somestimes we all have blind spots (like when I was dating and after we break up, people are like oh good I didnt like that guy)
Galatians 6:2 - "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." (Matthew 22:37-40)
Encourage (exhort ESV)
Parakaleo
- to admonish, to exhort; to give friendly earnest advice or encouragement to
Hebrews 3:13 (encourage one another daily so that you will not be hardened by sin's deceitfulness), 10:25
Illustration: paint a good picture of what it could look like for them to receive life-giving encouragement
Bible example: Paul's letters to the churches
Small disclaimer before we dive in: I think that there are two extremes, especially when it comes to correcting and rebuking
some people come down really hard with truth on others, point out guilt and then instill shame
on the other extreme, some people enter into correcting/rebuking someone with so much grace that they point out guilt (kiiiind of) and then instill a sense of complacency (which is "self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies")
we want to emulate Jesus as much as we are able by approaching correcting and rebuking with grace AND truth
rebuking and correcting is using God's truth as the standard (God's word), not our own standard
This last charge is a little different than the first two, but it is just as important in relating to our fellow believers. I could do a whole talk on encouragement
James 5:19-20 - whoever brings a man back to the truth saves him
Intro to the 3 points: I feel like we talk about preaching the word and being prepared in season and out of season. I think most people in this room would say that this is important or that they have heard that this is important
but what about what Paul says right after: correct, rebuke, and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction
Paul places just as much importance on this statement as the rest of the charge
this is going to be our main focus this evening: how do we correct, rebuke, and encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ--with great patience and careful instruction?
Let's PRAY!
All three are important because they help maintain what is true, by always bringing people back to what the truth is (either by letting each other know when we are getting something wrong, and letting each other know when we are doing something right)
"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths" (2 Tim. 4:3-4)
as brothers and sisters in Christ, the most loving thing we can do is point one another back to Him--to help bring each other to the person who can truly love us unconditionally and fulfill whatever deficiencies we may have. Whether a fellow believer is doing well or not so great at the moment, pointing them back to Christ (WITH great patience (maybe that means just listening for a time) and careful instruction (maybe this means being very tactful with your words and timing, as well as making sure you are )) is how we can best love them
it's not as simple as JUST correcting, rebuking, and encouraging
yes, we need to preach the word and be prepared at all times, but we must also know how to bring each other back to truth with our words and how we interact with one another as brothers and sisters in Christ
Intro:
Over the past couple weeks, we've been talking about relationships: Dave spoke on how to better love those around us who aren't believers; Stephen and Tess talked about dating and marriage relationships last week
this week we're going to focus on our relationships within the the body of Christ--our relationships with fellow believers--and a specific way we can better love one another
to do this, we're going to look to 2 Timothy 4, primarily verse 2
this is Paul's final letter to Timothy. Timothy was one of Paul's closest friends and his disciple. At the beginning of the letter, Paul writes: "To Timothy my true son in the faith"--Paul's laying it all out there for him, this individual that he loves so much
2 Timothy 4:1b-2 - "...I charge you brothers: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction."
We see 3 separate statements, here,:
Preach the word
Be prepared in season and out of season
Correct, rebuke, and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction
I see that people are leaving the faith/the church because of two things:
They are being "tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful schemes" (Ephesians 4:14)
They are too hurt by and tired of the unkindness and lack of compassion and judgement and condemnation they have received from people who call themselves Christians
What I want to get at is that we, as the Church and as Christ-following individuals, have to be a people marked by grace and truth because we don't want our brothers and sisters getting swept away by false teaching and at the same time, we don't want to condemn and act as the judge of their lives
John 8 (grace and truth with Jesus--we are like that woman caught in adultery)
living in grace AND truth is like living in grey area--it's easier to do either just grace or just truth
So I charge you, I charge us, just as Paul did to Timothy: "correct, rebuke, and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction."
By doing this, we emulate Jesus: "For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17)
The gospel is the "good news" because it includes both truth AND grace
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23)
look familiar to any of you?
Now, just saying anything with hints of grace and truth isn't the same as speaking the actual gospel message; BUT I think by having your words seasoned with both grace and truth, you will be reflecting the gospel message and Jesus, himself, in your everyday speech
Some of you may be thinking, "Well, why not just tell it like it is? Tell people the truth, and if they can't handle it, that's their problem."
Sure--you could do that, and you wouldn't be wrong--but you also wouldn't be loving. And you wouldn't be reflecting the gospel/Jesus
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ
With great patience and careful instruction (with complete patience and teaching ESV)
think of this last clause as the filter through which we correct, rebuke, and encourage
Practical: How (include after the 3 points, give advice on how to correct, rebuke, encourage)
Ask permission
give some bad example
relational trust bank
coming from a place of love--are you saying something for their benefit or for yours?
inviting people to speak into your life, first
what needs to be addressed, what doesn't need to be addressed
when is it YOU who needs to be checked, and YOU who needs to overlook an offense--but when you see patterns, when you see someone with blind spots, when you see that they are walking a path that could lead them further from the truth/from Jesus
Exercise: have everyone think of someone whom they might want to give correction or and then someone else whom they might want to give specific encouragement to
take them through observation, example, suggestion