2 Timothy 2:20-26 New American Standard Bible
20 Now in a great house there are not only gold and silver implements, but also implements of wood and of earthenware, and some are for honor while others are for dishonor. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be an implement for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. 22 Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23 But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce [a]quarrels. 24 The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, skillful in teaching, patient when wronged, 25 with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive [b]by him to do his will.
Word of God for the Children of God
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Paul’s opening words – “Now in a great house…” – reminds me of the image he used to describe the church in 1 Timothy 3:15 where he says that he wants the members of the church to “know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth”.
Paul’s point with the image he is painting is the church is the great household of God and God intends to fill his home with people who live to serve him above all else.
The problem, of course, is that when we become part of God’s household, the moment we surrender to Jesus as our Savior, we do not usually understand that we are also being called to surrender to Jesus as our King; we like the benefits of salvation, but we cringe at the expectations for a servant of the King – even if those expectations are for our own good.
Another way to think about this is to think about our natural tendency to come into God’s household as a consumer who enjoys being served by other servants of God but then balk at the expectations of being transformed into contributors expected to serve God by serving others from a pure heart of loving sacrifice.
Having someone sacrificially serve you is much more attractive than being called to become a sacrificial servant for others.
Why is this?
I think it’s because being served does not require moral fortitude or commitment.
But sacrificially serving others – to the point that it really hurts and costs us – this is something that does require moral fortitude, does require unwavering commitment.
This is Paul’s vision for members and leaders within the household of God: That they would be servants of God who are growing in godly character.
What you are is far more important than what you do because what you do will always flow out of, prove what you really are.
So how do we become servants of God who are growing in godly character?
Look at the text with me…
2 Timothy 2:20-26 New Living Translation
20 In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use. 21 If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.
22 Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.
23 Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights. 24 A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. 25 Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. 26 Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.
#1: SEE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TRASH CANS AND SERVING DISHES (VV. 20 – 21)
Evaluating and differentiating between trash cans and serving dishes helps us to see current unwanted realities clearly and strive towards a more desirable future. We have to see the difference between trash cans and serving dishes if we are going to become servants of God who are growing in godly character.
This is why Paul reminds Timothy in verses 20 – 21 that,
“20…in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable.21Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.”
The reality is that we cannot serve nourishing meals in filthy trash cans.
In Timothy’s day, just like today, every home had trash cans for taking the garbage out and serving dishes for delivering nourishing food.
In God’s house the expectation is that there will be no garbage to take out because God’s house is intended to be perfectly clean.
Therefore, every person who claims the name of the Lord is expected to cleanse themselves from filthy garbage of sin by trusting and obeying the gospel – the message of Jesus, crucified for our sin, risen in victory over death, returning in triumph over Satan.
As you and I trust in the message of the gospel and strive for obedience to the gospel – meaning that we strive after holiness – God transforms us from the trash cans we were into the priceless serving dishes he intended us to be –set apart as holy and useful to God for every good work.
We must see the difference between being a trash can or a serving dish!
#2: RUN FROM GARBAGE AND CHASE GODLINESS (V. 22)
The foundation of this principle is that we must run away from some things while running after other things.
We cannot live our lives perpetually running towards garbage because we will inevitably be running away from the purity that only godliness can produce.
We also cannot spend our lives merely running away from the destination of garbage without a new destination of godliness in the windshield.
This is why Paul instructs Timothy in verse 22, to
22So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
It is foolishness to run from one bad destination without a better destination in our sights.
Early on in my journey with Jesus, a friend and mentor of mine taught me the acronym “G.I.G.O.” – Garbage In Garbage Out – which simply teaches us that if you put garbage into your system then garbage is what inevitably comes out.
Paul is basically reminding Timothy of this principle in verses 21 – 22 when he tells Timothy to run from the bad destination of youthful passions and chase the good destinations of godliness characterized as righteousness, faith, love, and peace.
This is the destination that all who genuinely follow Jesus are chasing after.
The questions for us is:
Which destination am I chasing?
Am I chasing the destination of youthful passions – a destination that looks and smells like the garbage of filth, impurity, rebellion, hate, and conflict?
Or am I chasing the destination of godliness that looks and smells like the godly character traits of righteousness, holiness, purity, faith, love, and peace?
If we are truly going to become and be servants of God who are growing in godly character, then we must run from garbage and chase godliness.
#3: LIVE TO SERVE GOD ALONE (VV. 23 – 26)
I think this final principle is Paul’s bullseye, it is what he has been aiming at all along.
He knows that there are some highly influential leaders in the city of Ephesus who have abandoned their faith (1:15, 2:16 – 18) –
they have become trash cans instead of priceless serving dishes and they have been chasing the garbage of self-exaltation instead of pure godliness – as they spread their cancerous false teaching, seek to draw believers into their prison cell of foolishness.
This is why Paul says,
23Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
A self-serving mentality is a snare of the devil that has wrecked many ships on the shorelines of consumerism.
Serving God alone is the only key to getting and remaining free from the prison cell of our sinful selves.
When it comes to our self-exaltation (serving selfish desires) it is never more clearly seen than the petty and ignorant arguments that often break out among God’s people.
I have been guilty, more times than I can count, of taking the bait of being right and being able to win an argument. Arguing passionately is not always a sin but arguing for the sake of being right or for the sake of winning the fight is a sin.
This is why Paul reminds Timothy that someone who truly wants to serve
God alone, above all else, must not argue to merely argue or to win the fight but instead must practice kindness and patient teaching while enduring all of the evil that gets thrown around when confronting error and falsehood.
The intended goal in someone who wants to serve God alone and grow in godly character is the goal of seeing others repent from sin and trust in the truth of the gospel so they may walk in freedom from the effects of Satan, Sin, Death.
If you and I would live our lives to serve God alone, then we will resist and continue to repent when we get caught up in arguing to win the fight and we will press on in serving God by patiently enduring evil and speaking truth so that others may repent and be set free.
We must remember that a self-serving mentality is a snare of the devil that has wrecked many ships on the shorelines of consumerism.
Serving God alone is the only key to getting and remaining free from the prison cell of our sinful desires.
CONCLUSION…
In conclusion, a servant of God who is growing in godly character must see the difference between being a trash can and being a serving dish. We must run from garbage and chase godliness, and we must live our lives to serve God and God alone instead of our own selfish desires.
I pray about everything I have just said, and it all rings true, it all sounds good.
But it all feels impossible sometimes; doesn’t it?
I am way too prone to being more like a trash can with my thoughts, words, and actions than I wish I was.
I am way too prone to run towards garbage instead of chasing godliness. Sadly, I find myself chasing self-exaltation instead of living my life to serve God alone.
Someone picks a fight with me based on some kind of foolishness and I go off halfcocked, ready to decimate their argument and destroy them in the process;
I act like a trashcan.
I feel the guilt and shame of my sin and I let my thoughts and my eyes linger on impure things that bring a momentary sense of pleasure to escape the pain;
I chase garbage.
I want to prove I am better than I really am, so I jump back into the argument with a renewed sense of winning and rightness; I wind up exalting myself.
What a wretched sinner I really am.
Who will deliver me from these sinful habits (Rom. 7:24)?
How can I be set free from these shackles so that I can freely serve God and grow in godliness?
The only answer I have is in verse 21 of our text where Paul says,
“if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.”
The only hope I have is to be cleansed from my sin.
The only way to be cleansed from my sin is to trust in the finished work of Christ at the bloody cross of calvary; to rest assured in Christ’s powerful victory in the empty tomb; and to stand in hope-filled expectation of Christ’s faithful promise to rescue me once and for all from this sin-infected life in eternity.
The gospel and the gospel alone, is what frees me to serve God and to grow in godliness so that I may be a serving dish; so that I may chase godliness; so that I may live my life to serve God and to serve him alone above all else. – Amen!
1 Timothy 6:11-16 New American Standard Bible
11 But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness , faith, love, [a]perseverance, and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I direct you in the presence of God, who [b]gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you keep the commandment without [c]fault or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which He will [d]bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of [e]kings and Lord of [f]lords, 16 who alone possesses immortality, dwells in unapproachable light, whom [g]no one has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.
12 Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and for which you made the good confession in the full presence of many witnesses.
Psalm 18:1-19 Names of God Bible
1 I love you, O Yahweh, my strength.
2 Yahweh is my rock and my Metsuda and my Savior,
my El, my rock in whom I take refuge,
my Magen, and the strength of my salvation,
my stronghold.
3 Yahweh should be praised.
I called on him, and I was saved from my enemies.
4 The ropes of death had become tangled around me.
The torrents of destruction had overwhelmed me.
5 The ropes of the grave had surrounded me.
The clutches of death had confronted me.
6 I called on Yahweh in my distress.
I cried to my Elohim for help.
He heard my voice from his temple,
and my cry for help reached his ears.
7 Then the earth shook and quaked.
Even the foundations of the mountains trembled.
They shook violently because he was angry.
8 Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and a raging fire came out of his mouth.
Glowing coals flared up from it.
9 He spread apart the heavens
and came down with a dark cloud under his feet.
10 He rode on one of the angels[b] as he flew,
and he soared on the wings of the wind.
11 He made the darkness his hiding place,
the dark rain clouds his covering.
12 Out of the brightness in front of him,
those rain clouds passed by with hailstones and lightning.
13 Yahweh thundered in the heavens.
Elyon made his voice heard with hailstones and lightning.
14 He shot his arrows and scattered them.
He flashed streaks of lightning and threw them into confusion.
15 Then the ocean floor could be seen.
The foundations of the earth were laid bare
at your stern warning, O Yahweh,
at the blast of the breath from your nostrils.
16 He reached down from high above and took hold of me.
He pulled me out of the raging water.
17 He rescued me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
because they were too strong for me.
18 On the day when I faced disaster, they confronted me,
but Yahweh came to my defense.
19 He brought me out to a wide-open place.
He rescued me because he was pleased with me.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 