2 Timothy: Remain Loyal

In this episode, we explore 2 Timothy 1:15–18 and the Apostle Paul’s powerful call to remain loyal to Christ, the gospel, and God’s people. Through the contrasting examples of those who deserted Paul and the faithful devotion of Onesiphorus, we see both the pain of disloyalty and the encouragement that comes from steadfast faithfulness. We also reflect on the stories of Polycarp and Peter, learning that while failure is possible, restoration is available through Christ. This message challenges believers to courageously follow Jesus, even when faithfulness comes at a personal cost.

Transcript

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Welcome to the Garible Grace Chapel Podcast, where we value the expository preaching and teaching of the Word of God for the purpose of life transformation. I would encourage you to take your Bible and to turn it to the book of 2 Timothy. As you well know, one of the things that we value here is expository preaching and teaching. So we just started a series in 2 Timothy. Today we'll finish up chapter 1. Rome intensely persecuted Christians. And those who hated Christians began to call for the blood of Polycarp, who was bishop of Smyrna. Polycarp wanted to turn himself in to the authorities, but his friends convinced him to go into hiding. Sometime later, a Christian was arrested by Rome and under the threat of torture, revealed where Polycarp was hiding. So the Roman officials went and they arrested Polycarp, and then they brought him to the Colosseum for his public execution, which was sure to thrill the crowd. The Roman officials noted that Polycarp was old, and so they gave him several opportunities to curse Christ. But he wouldn't do it. So finally they bring him into the Colosseum. The crowd is there. They're cheering. They're wanting this beloved bishop to be put to death for following Christ. And so they threaten him with being burned at the stake unless he renounces Christ. He stood there into the Colosseum, grew silent, and he lifted up his voice and he said, Eighty and six years I have served him, and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my king and my savior? And they lit the fires. But as been recorded in history, the fire did not consume him. And so finally a Roman soldier had to pull out his sword and go and stab Polycarp so that he died for the faith. Now, this illustration or this example of history illustrates the cowardice of desertion and the courage of devotion. As you well know, we're studying 2 Timothy. And in 2 Timothy, this is the Apostle Paul's last known letter. Nero has come to power. Nero has unleashed persecution among Christians. So under his reign, many Christians were arrested and executed. And among them was the Apostle Paul. Now the Apostle Paul had been through Roman imprisonment before, but it was vastly different. He had some degree of liberty as in he was under house arrest. He could receive guests, he could write, he could preach, he could teach, and so on. But in this Roman imprisonment, he is sent to the prison where Rome held their most hated criminals who were sure to be executed. While he's there, he takes the time to write Timothy. He prepares him to take the baton of leadership of the church, gives him some final instructions on what to do to pastor his church. And this last known letter of the Apostle Paul is loaded with love and advice. And I think it's worth our study. If you have your Bibles, we're going to read 2 Timothy chapter 1, verses 15 through 18 as our text. I'm reading from the English Standard Version. You are aware that all who were in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Vegellus and Hermogenes. May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Anesophoros, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. But when he arrived in Rome, he searched for me earnestly and found me. May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day. And you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus. So in these final verses of chapter one, the Apostle Paul wrote Timothy and he encouraged him to remain loyal. From this we can learn Christians are encouraged to remain loyal. Well, what encourages Christians to remain loyal? There are two illustrations that encourage Christians to remain loyal. The first illustration that encourages Christians to remain loyal is the cowardice of desertion. Look at the text again. It's 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse number 15. It reads, You are aware that all who were in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Fagellus and Hermogenes. Now, to grasp the full impact of this particular verse, actually the whole section, verses 15 through 18, you have to realize it's connected to the verses before it, verses 8 through 14. In 8 through 14, the apostle Paul commanded Timothy to guard the gospel. And one of the ways that the Apostle Paul commanded Timothy to guard the gospel was to pledge to it, to commit to it, to be loyal to the gospel, to be loyal to Christ, to be loyal to the apostle. But being loyal during that time was extremely difficult for many Christians. The attitude of Rome toward Christians had changed significantly under Nero. When Nero was in power, he set fire to Rome and then blamed the Christians for the fire. And when that happened, many of the Roman citizens were all too eager to turn on the Christians and to persecute them. And the Jews capitalized on that negativity and they encouraged Rome to persecute Christians. So at the time that Paul is writing this letter to Timothy, it had become very dangerous to be loyal to Christ, to be loyal to the gospel, and to be loyal to the apostles who were being arrested as emissaries of Christ. Nonetheless, the Apostle Paul wrote Timothy and he encouraged him to be loyal first by giving him the negative illustration of the cowardice of desertion. Notice he mentioned, he said, all who in Asia have turned away from me. Now, when the Apostle Paul referenced Asia, he was um he was speaking of modern-day Turkey and particularly Ephesus, where Timothy was pastoring. And it is, it is without question that the Apostle Paul used hyperbole when he wrote, All in Asia have turned away from me, because obviously he's writing to Timothy, and we also read in the same passage about another man who did not turn from him. So he's using hyperbole, but it was to express how we felt. In other words, a significant population of the Christian community in Asia have turned away from the Apostle Paul. They had shunned him, they were no longer loyal to the gospel, they were no longer loyal to the apostle. And because of that, it brought great distress and emotional pain to the apostle Paul. Now, the apostle Paul wasn't shy, he singled out two individuals: Fagellus and Hermogenes. Now, nothing else is mentioned about these two men in the New Testament, and not much else is known about them throughout church history. What we do know is that they were well known to Paul and Timothy because he named them, and the text seems to indicate that they were well known in Asia where the other churches were located. So a lot of scholars, you know, conclude that they were probably some type of elders or they held some type of recognized leadership in the church in Asia. Regardless, one thing is for sure when we read these texts, these two guys deserted the apostle Paul in his time of need. Think about that for a minute. That's what they're known for in history. They could have done a lot of good. But what we know about them is they deserted the apostle Paul in his time of need. And it troubled the apostle Paul. And he realized this type of attitude was spreading throughout the church in Asia. And so he writes Timothy and encouraged him to remain loyal by giving him the negative illustration of the desertion. So that Timothy would remain loyal and not desert Paul and cause Father pain and hurt to his beloved apostle. Every true pastor called of God can identify with this passage. Unfortunately, being deserted by people is part of what it means to be in the ministry. Pastors come to expect it. However, when the desertion takes place from people they never thought it would come from, causes great pain. It's deep and it's lasting. I hesitate to do this simply because you didn't come to church to hear about Jason Murphy. You came to church to hear about Jesus Christ. So I rarely use me or my family as examples. But I also stated in the opening that this is an intensely intimate letter between Pastor Timothy. And it's the last known letter of the Apostle Paul. And he just opens up his heart and he shares some things. And I think it's the best way to communicate what I'm trying to say. I bear the scars in my heart and on my mind from desertion throughout the years of ministry from people I thought were my friends. And when the church goes through ups and downs, as every church does, by the way, and there's bumps in the road and there's seasons and so on. And when the church hits a difficult time, I'm always amazed by how quickly people jump ship. How quickly people desert you. What was painful are the ones who deserted. And yet didn't even agree. In other words, they didn't agree with what was being said. They didn't agree with the proposed solution of run the pastor out, but they were cowards. And they deserted. And here's the thing not just me, but the church. David said it this way in Psalm forty-one in verse nine. The Apostle Paul said it this way in our text in 2 Timothy 1.15. You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Vigelis and Hermogenes. The point is clear. The cowardice of desertion causes pain. Lasting pain, deep pain. When it comes for pupil, you thought were your friends, and you didn't expect it from them. Christians are encouraged to be loyal. And one way that the Apostle Paul drove this truth home is by the negative illustration of the cowardice of desertion. Here's the thing, guys. Listen to me. Some of you, probably like me, as I was working through this message over the last couple of weeks. You have the thought. I had the thought. I'd never do that. Really? Here's the warning. And this is for all of us. It can happen. Desertion can happen to and through anyone. In other words, people can desert you, or you can be the deserter. You think, no way. Well, Peter thought the same thing. In Matthew chapter 26, verses 69 through 75, we read, now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant girl came up to him and said, You also were with Jesus, the Galilean. But he denied it before them all, saying, I do not know what you mean. And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, This man was with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied it with an oath. I do not know the man. After a little while, the bystanders came up and said to Peter, Certainly you two are one of them, for your accent betrays you. Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and swear, I do not know the man. And immediately the rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times. And he went out and wept bitterly. And if you know the backstory to this, Jesus had told Peter this was going to happen. And Peter, in essence, said, No way, I'll go anywhere with you, I'll die for you. And Jesus said, For the racer crows, you're going to deny me. Three times. And what we read was a fulfillment of Jesus' words. And I assure you, that denial, that desertion, is painful to Christ. Let me ask you a question. What happens if you have cowardly deserted Christ? The good shepherd. The great shepherd. Let me turn this to Christ. I don't want there to be any misunderstanding. At this moment, I'm talking, what happens when you desert the Great Shepherd? Jesus. I'm just an under-shepherd. The Great Shepherd. Jesus. If you have been guilty of doing so, first thing you need to do is repent. And then secondly, realize that the relationship and the fellowship can be restored. In the Gospel of John, chapter 21, verses 15 through 17, we read about the restoration of Peter. It reads, When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon, Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? He said to him, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, Feed my lambs. He said to him a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? He said to him, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, Tend my sheep. He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, Do you love me? And he said to him, Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you. And Jesus said to him, Feed my sheep. Jesus knew, foretold that Peter would deny him three times, and Jesus intentionally restored him three times in that conversation. And as you well know, Peter on the day of Pentecost, empowered by the Holy Spirit, stood up and preached to the masses. Thousands of people that came to faith in Christ that day. So I do not want you to receive this first point as a rebuke in any way. It is a warning. When you desert Christ, when you are not loyal to Christ, when you're not loyal to the gospel. In this case, Timothy was encouraged to be loyal to the apostle. We would say this if you're not loyal to the word of God, this is uh what the apostolic record is, the New Testament, inspired by the Holy Spirit. We must be loyal to the Word of God. We must be loyal to Christ, we must be loyal to the gospel, which oftentimes does mean being loyal to his local church. It's a warning that when you're not loyal, it causes great pain. But don't let that be the end of the story. Come to a place of repentance. Call out to Christ and allow Him to restore you. And there's still fruitful years of ministry left. There's people that you can minister to. There are people that you can tell the gospel message to. You can see people come to faith in Christ. So the first illustration that encourages Christians to remain loyal is the cowardice of desertion. The second illustration that encourages Christians to remain loyal is the courage of devotion. Look, if you will, in the text at 2 Timothy chapter 1, verses 14 through 18. I'm sorry, verses 16 through 18. May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Anesophoros, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. But when he arrived in Rome, he searched for me earnestly and found me. May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day. And you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus. And so Paul first gave the negative illustration of the cowardice of desertion to encourage Timothy to remain loyal. And then he turned around and gave the positive illustration of the courage of devotion. Again, to motivate him to remain loyal. And again, Paul named Annae. Paul informed Timothy that Amesaphorus was courageously devoted to the gospel and to the apostle. Now what's interesting, this man is also not mentioned anywhere in the New Testament outside of 2 Timothy. I say it that way because he's mentioned later in the letter. But he's not mentioned anywhere else outside of 2 Timothy. And scholars are divided over who this guy was. Was he some type of elder at the church in Asia? Some think that he was possibly one of the 70 that was appointed by Christ in Luke chapter 10. There's some disagreement here, but here's one thing we know: he was loyal to the gospel, and he was loyal to Christ, and he was loyal to the apostle. And he did so at a time when it was dangerous to do so. And at his own expense. I mean, it cost him time, energy, and expense to do so. And because of that, the apostle Paul prayed for Onessaphorus and he prayed for his family. Now, a lot of scholars think that Onesaphorus was dead by the time that Paul pinned 2 Timothy. And they say so because the Apostle Paul obviously referred to him in past tense, right? When he read that, you get the sense it was past tense. But then there are other scholars that say, no, it's very much alive, and they point to the tradition that Onesaphorus was not killed until later on under the reign of Domitian, not Nero. I think that doesn't really matter, but I think that I think the latter position is the most accurate. I think Onesaphorus was still very much alive when Paul pinned 2 Timothy. For for several reasons. Number one, it is true that Paul referenced him and his ministry in past tense simply because from Paul's vantage point it had occurred in the past. In other words, when he's writing the letter, Onesaphorus has already left, he's already traveling. So Onesaphorus's coming to the Apostle Paul and encouraging him was a past event. And so, of course, he wrote about it using past tense. Nothing abnormal about that. The second thing is when you read through this text, you will notice that Paul prayed for Onesaphorus. Now that he would find mercy on that day, meaning judgment day. Well, if if Onesaphorus is already dead, now you have an instance of an apostle praying for a dead person, which the scripture never tells us to do. And therefore the apostle Paul would not break that. And then thirdly, it is true that he prayed, Paul prayed for Onesaphorus' family, that they would receive blessings too, but that's not abnormal. Onesaphorus would be considered the covenant representative of the family under federal headship. In other words, as the man of that home, then his actions greatly impact his family. So there's nothing wrong with that. It would be like me praying today, Lord, I pray for Kyle, Lord, I pray for Scott, Lord, I pray for Steve, and I pray you bless them, pray you bless their children as he serves you. I mean, that's nothing wrong with that. And that's the language that the Apostle Paul used. Regardless, having said all that, one thing is certain. Onesaphorus was loyal. He was courageously devoted to Christ. He was courageously devoted to the gospel. And he demonstrated that by being devoted to the Apostle Paul. He wasn't ashamed of him. In fact, he went to him, found him, and spent time with him. Once again, I think every true pastor who's called of God can identify with this passage as well. God in his graciousness will send Christians, fellow believers and fellow ministers, who show their loyalty through courageous devotion. Over the years, the Lord has graciously sent people into my life like this. Thank God for it. In one pastor, there was a woman who would who would come and mow uh the church property just because she loved to do that kind of thing. And she she would would load up her, you know, riding law more and all that. She would come to church property, she would mow the church property. While she was there, she would pray for the church and she would pray for me and my family and so on.

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Amen.

SPEAKER_00 30:58

This is when we were young and we were getting started out. Money was super tight. And this woman, as she was praying one day, late in the fall, Lord impressed upon her that she needed um she needed to buy Christmas presents for our kids. So in advance. What she didn't know is we had no money. And that year, our kids would not have had any Christmas presents from us. Now, if I could have got to grandma's house, she'd never gonna have some presents. You know, that on both sides of the family. My parents and of course Kelly's parents, you know, always were good like that and would would bless our children. But that morning when they woke up and we're still at our house, it's nothing. And that that lady, and I I know her name, she may she may be listening now, brought us presents to give to our kids. And didn't even care if she had the credit for it. As I got older, we told them. You remember that, Christmas? How button read it from us? Because, you know, growing up in a pastor's home, you see the difficulties of ministry, but they also need to see when God has moved upon people's hearts to be a blessing to the church and be a blessing to the pastor. And uh we don't share every detail, of course, but in that case we thought it was necessary to do so. One pastor, Kelly and I took an assignment from a church that could not pay us a full salary. And when we got on the ground in that particular location, a fellow minister in the city heard that we were there and heard what we were doing. And he added me to their payroll. He paid me for almost a year. Invited me to be a large church and invited me to be a part of their staff meetings, and even paid for Kelly not to go on their retreats, their staff retreats with them. So the church could save money and um, you know, eventually start paying us, and they did, and they were they're still going strong today to have pastor now, they're they're doing good. And one pastor, Kelly and I, took an assignment, and uh I, you know, I don't know if you know this or not, but there's an agreement that takes place between like the church and the pastor, or a deacon board and a pastor when they come. It's you know, just you know, it's it's standard operating procedure. And the agreement was basically this we agree to we agree to pay you, you know, X amount if we have it. So we came to a particular church knowing that uh there was no guarantee of a paycheck. In fact, there was less money in the checking account than the mortgage payment that was coming up that month. But interestingly, the Lord began to put it upon people's hearts from people around the country that did that didn't even go to the church where we were pastoring, and they began to send in money. So the church could pay us, the church could buy things that they needed, and so on. Even now, even now, people know that it's tight. We're having to I'm having to work another job on top of pastoring it. Um But you know, the Lord has been faithful to provide people given money to help us. Thank God for that. This is not a self-pitch for an offering, so everybody relax. I'm not gonna receive a love offering. But I'm trying I'm just trying to I'm just trying to be open with you and say, you know what act of kindness like that can erase her name a whole lot of pain. Sometimes you wonder what's the point? Why am I here? I can go somewhere else. But the Lord's called me here. And then look out at the crowd and know there's been people that's come to my house when I didn't have the know-how or the money to fix something at my house, or the know-how, or the money to fix something in my lawnmowers in my yard, and people have come to help me, and you have no idea. That they gave me. By the way, I'm not the only one. This is this is the kind of thing is that pastors talk about when they're really honest with each other. And again, that circle is extremely small. Not very many ministers I trust. But we all have the same stories. Christians. Please understand that Christ requires loyalty. So once again, I'm shifting this from the under shepherd to the great shepherd, to Christ. Christians are encouraged to remain loyal to Christ and to the gospel. Even when it costs you something. Just like it did ones of four. Cost him his time, his energy, his expense. But he was faithful, he was loyal. And Christians could do the same thing. We can illustrate courageous devotion to the Lord. Think about this. In Luke chapter 9, verses 57 through 62, we read, as they were, or I'm sorry, let me start over. This is Luke 9, verses 57 through 62. As they were going along the road, someone said to him, I will follow you wherever you go. And Jesus said to him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. To another he said, Follow me. But he said, Lord, let me first go and bury my father. And Jesus said to him, Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God. Yet another said, I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home. And Jesus said to him, No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. Was Jesus just being mean? Was he being cruel? No. He was presenting a very important truth that this is what it means to follow Christ. And if you've heard a shallow presentation of the gospel and a shallow call to salvation, and it went something like this pray this prayer after me. You may not have heard the full expectation that Christ has for you, which is take up your cross daily, deny yourself and follow Christ. Be loyal to Jesus. Even when it hurts, even when there's pain, even when it's difficulty, we must be loyal to Christ. In John chapter 6, verses 66 through 69, we read. After this, many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the 12, Do you want to go away as well? Simon Peter answered and warned, To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God. John 6, man. You ought to read John 6. It's a powerful passage. I mean, thousands of people are following Christ by the hand. He's got 12, and one of them is a devil. They all deserted him. I'm just saying, this is somewhat new. And again, let's never forget Christ, 100% man, 100% God. And so in his earthly ministry, I'm sure it bothered him that that many people deserted him. Obviously, he knew as God that they had a shallow belief. They were in it for the blessings, right? You know, like feeding the multitudes and the miracles and so on. And they didn't really want to follow him. And so Jesus began to preach and he began to lay down this is what it really means. And of course, they deserted him. I'm just saying, Christ knows all about desertion. And the thing is, he calls us to be loyal to him. We must be loyal. Where else are you going to go? Right? I love how Peter answered this. Lord, where are we going to go? You have the words of life. Yes, exactly right. If you walk away from God, where are you going to go? You can't find life in anything else. There's no hope in anything else. There's nothing that you can smoke. There's nothing that you can drink. There's not enough people you can have sex with that can satisfy you and bring you life. It is only found in Jesus Christ. So be loyal. Christ. And now I must state this. And I hope you know my heart. I hope you know a pastor's heart. This is not self-serving. This is biblical teaching because it applies to me as well. I have pastors in my life that I must be loyal to. But one of them is to be loyal. Just as we must be loyal to Christ, the great shepherd, we must also be loyal to his under-shepherds, assuming they are biblical and preaching the truth. And of course, men of character and so on. You get this, right? Nobody saying blindly follow a man. That would be stupid. It's not what we're saying at all. But there's plenty of scripture about this. Listen to this in Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 7. Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Hebrews 13, verse 17. Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they're keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage for you. I mean, 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verses 12 and 13. We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. 1 Timothy chapter 5, verses 17 and 18. Let the elders who ruled well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the scripture says, You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain, and the laborer deserves his wages. Galatians 6 and verse 6. Let the one who was taught the word share all things with the one who teaches. Man, so many passages about honor, respect, and you know, share with them and pay and so on. And by the way, again, this is not, hey, you guys serve me. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying all of us as Christians, God has set up the system. He has set up the system that as Christians, we all have people over us who admonish us, who encourages us, who lead us, who pastor us, and that's me included. And so these are scriptures that we all must apply to our lives. Your loyalty and courageous devotion will make a deep and lasting impact for the kingdom of God and on the Lord's ministers. It will encourage them to continue in the ministry. And it will prompt them to continually pray for those who demonstrate courageous loyalty. I assure you. Those over the years who have demonstrated this type of loyalty with their prayers, just their presence. And of course their blessings. And they are constantly prayed for. So the second illustration that encourages Christians to remain loyal. It's a courage of devotion. Amen. Thank you for listening to the Carival Grace Chapel podcast. Make sure that you like, share, follow us on socials. I'm Dr. Jason Murphy, proclaiming grace, transforming culture.