Paul's "Son"

PAUL’S "SON"

PHILIPPIANS 2:19-24

04/19/95

A reporter in San Bernardino California arranged for a man to lie in a gutter on a busy street. Hundreds of people passed by, but not one showed any sympathy.

A few years back you may recall an article in the newspaper that told how thirty-eight people watched a man stalk a young lady and finally attack her- not one of those people even so much as called the police.

A couple of teenagers in Detroit discovered a woman in a telephone booth who had suffered a heart attack. They carried her to a nearby house and rang the bell, asking for help. The only reply they received was, "Get off my porch- and take her with you".

A Kentucky doctor was driving down the highway to visit a patient when he saw an accident. He stopped and gave aid to the injured and then made his visit, he was later sued by one of the drivers that he had helped.

All these are true stories. Each one makes us ask if it is possible to be a "good Samaritan" in today’s society? Must we all harden our hearts in order to protect ourselves and our loved ones. Maybe we think that "sacrifice and service" are ancient virtues that do not fit well into our culture.

It may be worth noting the genuine concern for others was not all that popular in Paul’s day either. Times really have not changed all that much from his day to ours. While we may consider ourselves a little more modern, people act pretty much the same today as they did in his time. As we will see from our passage this morning, the Christians in Rome were not concerned with the problems that the Christians in Philippi were having.

Before we get to far ahead of ourselves lets turn to our passage for today. We took a few weeks off from our study of Philippians, but today we will return to that book. Our passage begins on page 1018 of your pew Bibles. We will be looking at chapter 2 verses 19-24 which read;

"But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state. For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus. But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel. Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it goes with me. But I trust in the Lord that I myself shall also come shortly."

In this verse Paul speaks of a young man by the name of Timothy. And it is this young man that I would like to talk about this morning. Because Timothy was different. Unlike many of the Christians in Rome he cared very dearly about what happened to the people at Philippi. Timothy was not one just to sit back an let someone else do all work.

We have noted in earlier sermons how Paul in this letter to the Philippians give Jesus as an example to follow. He also gives himself as an example to follow as well. Some may thing that they will never be like Jesus or even Paul so they don’t even try. But here Paul gives us an example of an "ordinary" saint, Timothy.

While we may say that we will never be like Jesus, or never be like Paul, lets us begin to try to be as Timothy was.

Let us note some things about Timothy, that Paul and the Philippian people would know, but we would not know from this passage. In other words Who is he? Who is the Timothy?

As we look at Timothy we will notice that he as many admirable traits. He is mentioned some 24 times in the New Testament. In fact two of the books of the New Testament bear his name, while he did not write them they were letters which Paul wrote him.

The first thing I want to note about Timothy is that he came from a Christian home. Timothy apparently had been brought up in the faith. In his second letter to Timothy Paul writes to him; 2 Timothy 3:15 "and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."

Scripture also reveals that not only was Timothy mother a believer but so was his grandmother. These woman had apparently taught Timothy from the Word of God. From the Scripture Timothy knew the commands of God he learned those things which would bring him into salvation.