November 1928
687
T h e
K i n g ' s
B u s i n e s s
and testament, giving a glimpse of his state of mind before his martyrdom. Tra dition says that he was beheaded by Nero. He had seen some thirty years of service, with persecution and trouble all the way. Will he write as a weary old man, tell ing his friends that if he had his life to live’over again he would not be so dog matic? No! In this last epistle we have one of his most stirring messages for weak-kneed Christians. We are concerned in today’s lesson only with the final chapter. It is Paul’s last charge. It is put in most solemn form. The possibility of the Lord’s, re turn at any time was in his thought to the last. He leaves that picture with Timothy as his great inspiration: “/ charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom." Some have said that belief in the _second coming cuts the nerve of Christian work. Paul constantly uses it as the reminder of our responsibility. The first charge is : “Preach the Word.” Preachers are proclaimers, not originat ors (Neh. 8 : 8 ). They are to set forth the plain teachings of God’s Word, being careful not to run His Word into their own mold or through the strainer of criticism. The Word will take care of itself; preach it and teach it. , Preach it when ? “In season, out of sea son" (v. 2), not by fits and starts. Never is it to be withheld or something else sub-: stituled- io r it as a means of 'spiritual help. This does not mean that a Chris tian worker is to be untactful, being un mindful of proper time or fitting circum stances. Paul certainly timed and suited his words wisely. One might do more harm than good by thrusting Scripture verses at people at the inopportune time. Nevertheless, the preacher is not author ized to preach anything else except the Word of God. “ Reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long- suffering and doctrine" (v. 2), This in volves showing people their errors, show ing people their sins and showing them the truth as opposed to both. Some are inclined to overlook the word “longsuf- fering." The faithful teacher must some times use a sharp knife, but he should always have the balm and bandage at hand. To give out Scripture and reveal a lack of patience and forbearance is to accomplish nothing. “The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears” (v. 3). The natural man likes to hear’those who will reflect his own loose opinions and preju dices. The pure Gospel-condemns his sin (Jn. 5:30-31), The fact that there is today such widespread rejection of God’s Word and cry for philosophy and psy chology in dts place, is a vindication of Scripture. The wise preacher will all the more earnestly declare the whole counsel of God, for he knows that laxity of views goes arm in arm with laxity of life. Religious “itch” is a latter-day disease. The words “itching ears” mean literally, “having to scratch themselves.”- The thought is that there is a constant long ing for novelty and something pleasing to the ears. The metaphor refers to swine, having scurvy and seeking relief by rubbing against stone heaps. When you see a pig rubbing against the wall, you can be sure it is diseased. People with
ears that itch for easy doctrine, reveal an inner spiritual condition that is not healthy. “They shall turn away their ears from the truth" (v. 4). These are words that well describe the day in which we live. Liberals call themselves ’“moderns,” yet they have merely gone back to ancient “fables" and philosophies; “Watch thou;’ says Paul, “do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry." There is little occasion to worry about any preacher or institution when evangelism is the point of emphasis. Modernism has nothing tnat 4 can be called evangelism. "7 have contested the good contest"; so reads verse 7. The reference is not to battle but to the games (1 Cor. 9:25). Paul was conscious of having played the game squarely and of having finished his course with a clear conscience. Let us not forget that success in this contest- is due entirely to surrender. Faith is the link that binds our nothingness to His almightiness. Yieldedness to Christ makes One who is omnipotent our partner. If victory is to be won, we must be willing to be flexible in the hands of the Holy Spirit, His representative. “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also who love his appearing" (v. 8 ). So general was belief in Christ’s second coming that believers were characterized as lovers of His appearing (Heb. 9:28). Here is a crown of reward which no de nier of the truth of His coming again can win. If those who believe in this line of Scripture truth are called “cranks,” here is something to which they may look .forward with joy. . “Make earnest, effort to come to me," Paul urges, “for Demos hath forsaken me, having loved this present world" (vs, 9-10). Demas had been with Paul in his first imprisonment (Col. 4:14). In Paul’s hour of trial, his backbone failed him. The word “forsaken" used here means “left in the lurch” and implies evil cir cumstances. What spiritual tragedies are sometimes expressed in a single phrase 1 We know nothing more of the case than what is here stated. Demas had started out well, trifled with the things of. the world, dropped from sight. We may be sure that Demas’ backslid ing was no sudden thing, for backsliding never is. A new point of view is grad ually arrived at in the thought life. A man begins with toleration of evils and ends with denial of .the Faith. His pre vious testimony is stultified; influence is gone; others ridicule Christ and Chris tianity. It should be a vital question with every reader of these lines—“How far are YOU this moment?” To what ex tent are YOU being influenced by the world? He who pays one ounce of prin ciple for a pound of worldly popularity is cheating himself badly. There is but one successful way to live in the world, and that is, by Christ’s help, to live above it. “Only Luke is with me” (v. 11). He had traveled with Paul on his last jour ney to Jerusalem (Acts 21:1) and also, two years later, from Jerusalem to Rome (Acts 27:2) if we are to understand by the pronoun “we” that the writer of Acts means himself. The “beloved physician” first appears as Paul’s devoted compan ion in Acts 16:11, near the time of Paul’s
“thorn in the flesh” (Gal. 4:13; Col. 4: 14), Here we find him ministering to the apostle to the very last. What a blessing a godly physician may be to the servant of Christ! “Take Mark, and bring him with thee, for he is profitable to me for the minis try" (v. 11). Mark had been with Paul and Barnabas in their first journey through Cyprus and had deserted them at Perga (Acts 13:5, 13), possibly to escape the dangers of Asia Minor. Paul had declined Mark’s help on the second jour ney (Acts 15:38) at the cost of breaking with Barnabas, Is it not striking/mow to have Paul refer to Mark as “profit able"? A reconciliation had taken place. In Paul’s first imprisonment, he referred to him as “fellow laborer” who had com forted him (Col. 4:10). May this not teach us that, no matter how far a Christian has wandered, he can come back? He cannot travel beyond the reach of God’s love, and whom God does not reject, we should certainly be ready to forgive. Jesus laid down the measure of human forgiveness as “seventy times seven!’ two perfect numbers multiplied (10. and 7) and the product again mul tiplied by perfection. Verse 16 would indicate that Paul’s case had been partly heard, and the evi dence being insufficient, the hearing had been adjourned. Paul implies that his case might have been, cleared had not cer tain Christians got “cold feet” and failed to put in an appearance. “Norman stood with, me,” he writes, “but all forsook me." It is another side-light on Paul’s -charac ter, that, although he had been so deeply ■cut by those who should have stood with him, like Stephen (Acts 7:60), he prayed for those who had done him wrong. Could we have done so ? “No man stood with me” —but— “the Lord stood with me and strengthened me.' That has been the experience of many another servant of God. Jesus is never nq^rer than when some Demas is conspicUbfis by his absence. Jesus Him self, at the end of His career, was left alone but for His Father. “He can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities.” He will not leave us nor forsake us. “I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion," says Paul. This is an expression from Psa. 22:21 and is not limited to the lion of the amphitheater. There may be here an allusion to Satan (1 Pet. 5:8) or a reference to his enemies in the trial who were ready to spring upon him and tear him to pieces. The Lord is our only “strength in the time of trouble" (Psa, 37:39-40). “The Lord shall help them and deliver them; he shall deliver them from the wicked and save them, because they trust in Him." How may we have such hope as the apostle expressed in his last words: “The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work and preserve me, unto his heav enly kingdom”? It seemed like a great sunset shining into the western windows of Paul’s soul. There’ is but one an swer : Christ alone produces it. However dark our dungeon in this world, what peace to know that there is a heavenly kingdom to which the Lord will preserve his faithful witnessing or suffering ser vants! Is your life built on Paul’s Sav iour? Are you trusting in Him?
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