Back in 1888, Charles Spurgeon said, “Everywhere there is apathy. Nobody cares whether that which is
preached is true or false. A sermon is a sermon whatever the subject; only, the
shorter it is the better.”
In his book Ashamed of the Gospel, John MacArthur Jr. said of Spurgeon’s day that, “the church was drifting away from the
purity of the Gospel. Instead of boldly proclaiming the truths of Scripture,
Christians were candy-coating the Word, being careful not to offend anyone. As
a result, Christianity’s influence in nineteenth century England was severely
weakened.”
I would like to suggest that this may even truer today than
it was in Spurgeon’s day.
Paul had just finished describing some of the characteristics
of godlessness that would occur in the last days when he turned to commend his
friend and student Timothy. He said,
“You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings – what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from them all.” (2 Timothy 3: 10-11; NIV)
Timothy had learnt well. In Peterson’s paraphrase of the New
Testament, The Message, he writes, “You’ve been a good apprentice to me.”
Timothy learnt a great deal from Paul. He learnt all about Paul’s teaching,
about his way of life, about his purpose, and about faith, patience and love.
Barclay said that Timothy was a “disciple,”
which would have meant that Timothy would have physically followed alongside
Paul, through thick and through thin. It would have meant that Timothy would
have mentally followed Paul, diligently following his teaching. It also meant
that Timothy would have spiritually followed Paul, not just to understand, but
also to carry out the same ideas.
Paul writes about the things that happened to him in places
like Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What happened to him in those places? In
Antioch you will recall that the Jews stirred up a persecution against Paul and
Barnabas, so much so that they eventually shook the dust from their feet and
went to Iconium. In Iconium the Jews once again stirred up the Gentiles so much
that there was a plot to stone Paul and Barnabas. Fortunately they heard about
it in time and fled to Lystra. In Lystra some Jews who had come from Antioch
and Iconium once again incited the crowds. They stoned Paul and dragged him out
of the city, thinking that he was dead.
Timothy learnt from Paul what it meant to suffer
persecution. In 2 Corinthians 11 we have recorded for us some of Paul’s
sufferings. He had been imprisoned, flogged, and exposed to death. Five times
he had received the forty lashes minus one. Three times he had been beaten with
rods, he had stones hurled at him, and three times he had even been ship
wrecked. Paul certainly had more than his share of suffering, trials, and
persecutions.
Why do I mention all this? I see Paul’s charge to Timothy as
a sort of warning flag for the Christian. Do we think Paul was at the receiving
end of all this by being popular? Do we think that he was worried about what
people would say or think or whether they would be offended by his message? I
don’t think so. He had a message to preach and, popular or not, he preached it.
I mentioned that Spurgeon was once concerned that Christians
of his day were candy-coating the Gospel so as not to offend anyone. We need
only to look at the state of the Church of England today to see how
candy-coating the Gospel weakens the church. MacArthur suggests that Christians
today are doing the same thing, only perhaps worse. In looking at the
liberalization of many church groups today, sometimes I’m tempted to agree.
I remember someone once saying to me that when they have
company over, especially if there are non-Christians among them, the Bibles get
put away. When I asked why, I was told that it was so as not to offend anyone.
What are we afraid of? Could it be that we are so afraid of
offending people that we inadvertently end up offending God? I wonder. Consider
what Paul says in Galatians 1:10, “Am I
now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men?
If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
The problem is that it is impossible to please people and God at the same time.
Paul knew it, he didn’t care what people thought, he chose instead to please
God, and was persecuted for it. Likewise, I suspect, that if we choose to
really please God as opposed to people, we’ll be persecuted for it too. Are we
ready for that?
But even this side of heaven there is a bright side. We need
to remember that sometimes the most severe weather produces the most beautiful
flowers. Consider some of the great people throughout history. Thomas Edison,
probably history’s greatest inventor, is said to have confessed that his
deafness was a great asset to his concentration. It was while George Matheson was undergoing his own trial of disappointment that he produced one of the
greatest Christian hymns, “O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go.” And what about John Bunyan? It was during his
imprisonment in Bedford’s jail that he found time to write one of history’s
most read books, “The Pilgrim's Progress.” And who could forget that classic story of Joseph’s tragic life;
hated and sold in to slavery by his own brothers? But, as is so often the case,
what was meant for evil God turned into good. The result? Joseph became the
savior of his people at a time of drought and famine.
The point is that history is full of trials and tribulations
out of which arose some great things. So too with Paul; despite his
persecutions, look how much of our New Testaments are attributed to him.
Is there perhaps some greater good that can come out of your
trials and persecutions? All I can say is, don’t rule out that possibility.
I look at this passage from 2 Timothy and I wonder, what
about me? In trying to evaluate my own life, I ask myself, what about me? Have
I learned my lessons well? Will I too be able to stick it out when the going gets
tough? Have we all learned our lessons well enough? Are we to be commended as
Timothy was commended? Will we be able to see our trials as opportunities for
God to do something great though us? Or have we become guilty at times of
sugar-coating the Gospel to give people what they want to hear instead of what
God wants them to hear (2 Timothy 4: 3-4)? What will folks say about us when
the going gets tough? I wonder.
(To be Continued in Part 2)
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