Guard the Good Deposit
2 Timothy 1:13-18
Rev. Brian Bill
June 24-25, 2023
I want to begin with a provocative quote from a post called, “The Cult of Culture” by Kenny Luck.
“Watch out for the world. It’s after you. It wants you in its cult following, wooing you with pleasures and power, fame and fortune, the nexus of excess. The cult of our culture provides the perfect distraction from what’s really important, and lures us with empty lusts, beliefs, and religions. It may not seem like an organized cult, but behind the apparent chaos and disorder is an enemy pulling the strings to entangle our mind, body, and soul. It’s easy to overlook that we are targeted and marketed with endless desires to capture our time, energy, and money. The world wants your worship, so you don’t worship the one who deserves it.”
We’re jumping back into our summer series from 2 Timothy called, “Standing Firm.” In our first message from 1:1-12, we were urged to fan the flame of faith, so we remain faithful when tough times come. In our passage for today we’ll discover this truth: Focus on good doctrine and be an example of faithfulness.
Please stand as we read 2 Timothy 1:13-18 together: “Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, 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.”
In light of spiritual opposition and the myriad of cultural forces arrayed against us, we’re given four charges.
1. Follow good doctrine. Let’s ponder verse 13: “Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me…” As the Apostle Paul neared the end of his life, he exhorted Pastor Timothy to not only follow his example, but to be tethered to the truth he heard through Paul’s teaching and preaching. The word “follow” is an imperative and refers to “holding or keeping.” Timothy was to hold on tightly to truth so it would not be snatched from him as described in Ephesians 4:14: “So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.”
The word “pattern” means, “standard, form, example, or blueprint” and refers to biblical doctrine. It meant a “repeatable pattern, something that can be stamped over and over.” It was used in ancient Greece to speak of a horse’s hoof print made on the ground, creating identical impressions in the dirt.
Biblical truth is constant and timeless. While our methods may change, the message must not change. It’s the same gospel which has been given over and over, during the past 118 years through the faithful ministry of Edgewood. As a pastor, it’s not my job to come up with new truths, but simply to explain, illustrate, and apply the old truth for each new generation. This is stated clearly in Jeremiah 6:16: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.’”
Interestingly, the word “doctrine” never appears in the plural when it refers to teaching, because there was one body of truth from the very beginning. The word “sound” signifies “healthy or uncorrupted.” We live in an age where people say it doesn’t matter what you believe as long you believe it strongly. But God’s Word is clear – it does matter what you believe because what you believe affects how you behave. Unhealthy teaching leads to unhealthy Christians.
We’re to be steadfast in the Scriptures so we don’t cave or compromise on biblical convictions. Here’s a brief Scriptural survey:
• Acts 2:42: “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching…”
• 1 Thessalonians 5:21: “…hold fast what is good.”
• 1 Timothy 1:10: “The sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine.”
• Titus 1:9: “He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.”
• Revelation 2:25: “Only hold fast what you have until I come.”
Contrary to what you may hear, theology matters! Churches that downplay doctrine do so to their own demise.
Unfortunately, many today hold to a “salad bar theology” where they pick and choose their beliefs, picking up the doctrines they desire, while discarding the ones they don’t care for. George Barna calls this syncretism, an ideology which merges otherwise incompatible philosophies into a made-to-order worldview: “Syncretism does not rely upon logic or consistency...because people are seeking comfort and security more than spiritual and intellectual consistency.”
In a couple weeks, we’ll be asking everyone at Edgewood to take the same State of Theology survey that was designed by Lifeway Resources and Ligonier Ministries in order to take our theological temperature and compare how we’re doing with national results. Our Mainspring Young Adults Ministry will be getting a head start on this as Pastor Kyle will be teaching through the Edgewood doctrinal statement this summer.
In order to help us follow good doctrine, this fall we’ll be taking seven weeks to focus on what we believe, why we believe it, and how we can communicate it to others. We’re calling this worldview and apologetics emphasis, “Unshaken and Unashamed.” In addition to our weekend services, we’ll study the sermon topics in our Growth Groups, children’s ministry, and student ministry.
We’ve also invited Rick McGough, president of Local Church Apologetics, to lead a Saturday morning seminar on September 16 called, “Faith and Reason Made Simple.” Rick is an annual presenter at Iron Sharpens Iron and launched the Truth Conference where Josh McDowell, J. Warner Wallace, and Chris Brooks have spoken.
I’m reminded of an old Peanuts comic strip which shows how good doctrine is always practical. As Lucy and Linus sit in front of a window watching a downpour, Lucy begins to get worried and asks if the whole world is going to flood. Linus calmly responds with an answer from the Bible by telling her God sent a rainbow as a promise that He would never flood the world again (unfortunately, the rainbow has been hijacked to mean something totally different in our culture today). Lucy looks relieved and says, “You’ve taken a great load off my mind.” To which Linus responds, “Sound theology has a way of doing that!”
What is Timothy to do? He’s to hold to the pattern of sound theology. How is he to do it? He’s to follow the pattern of sound words “in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” A preacher must have faith in what is being taught and love for the people being taught. Jonah had faith in the message, but he didn’t have love for the masses he was preaching it to. A commitment to truth always requires faith and love. According to Ephesians 4:15, speaking the “truth in love” is the divine pattern.
• Believe by faith. In our desire for good doctrine, we must always move toward greater devotion. We don’t want to just fill our heads but to also fill our hearts and hands.
• Behave in love. Truth should not only ground us; it should also move us to greater love. Correct doctrine should lead to charitable attitudes and actions.
Jude 3 says: “Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” We must contend for the faith without being contentious. We must be precise in our doctrine but not pugnacious about it.
One verse the Lord often brings to mind when I’m preparing to deliver a sermon is 1 Timothy 1:5: “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” As God Word is preached, it should propel us to greater faith and grander love.
Having said that, we cannot remain neutral about moral matters in our culture any longer. We must be unshaken and unashamed of the gospel and the moral mandates found in Scripture. It’s time for us to be convictional so we don’t compromise or go quiet when the Bible has spoken clearly.
BTW, I wanted to pass along that there are Bible reading marathons scheduled for all 99 counties in Iowa again this year. Last July, I joined a team of believers who gathered outside the Scott County Courthouse to read the entire Bible out loud. This year it will be held on Saturday, July 8 beginning at 7am. I encourage you to go and spend an hour reading the Bible out loud.
Focus on good doctrine and be an example of faithfulness.
2. Fortify the good deposit. We’re called to follow good doctrine, and we must also guard the good deposit given to us according to verse 14: “By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.” We’re not sufficient to do this on our own, so we need the Holy Spirit’s help, who dwells within us. This also means, “to inhabit” and is a fulfillment of what Jesus said in John 14:17: “You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” Romans 8:11 adds, “The Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you…”
Paul said something similar in 1 Timothy 6:20: “O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you.” Paul had been given this treasured stewardship and now he was passing it along to the next generation. The word “guard” means, “to keep watch, to protect from loss or damage.” The word “good” in front of deposit means, “beautiful, excellent, precious, and admirable.” The gospel is a precious and beautiful investment entrusted to us. This makes me think of Isaiah 52:7: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news…”
We must not distort, dilute, or delete this good deposit. In addition, as Revelation 22:18 says, we’re not to add anything to it either: “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.”
The quotable C.S. Lewis said we must guard this treasure: “Each generation of Christians must look to its beliefs. While truth itself is unchanging, the minds of men are porous vessels out of which truth can leak and into which error may seep to dilute the truth they contain. The human heart is heretical by nature and runs to error as naturally as a garden to weeds…the heart that fails to cultivate truth and root out error will shortly be a theological wilderness…”
As churches and entire denominations depart from biblical Christianity, we must continually guard the good deposit which has been entrusted to us. I’m aware of a church that just passed a statement affirming and celebrating the LGBTQ+ community. Their new church logo even incorporates the gay pride flag.
At our recent Pastor’s Roundtable, around 20 gospel-preaching pastors from the QCA discussed two questions suggested by my friend Steve Palm, pastor of the Geneseo Evangelical Free Church.
• What “killer waves” are about to crash in on the church? This led to some great discussion. One big one is gender and sexuality issues, along with the polarization and tribalism taking place in our culture. Another one is the horrifying reality that only 4% of Christians have a biblical worldview.
• What “opportunity waves” are coming our way? I suggested that more people are looking for direction and purpose than ever before. I also offered the observation that Christians are looking for rock-solid preaching and teaching from the Bible in order to be equipped to be salt and light in a decaying and dark world.
One way to guard what has been given to us is to grow in our discipleship. I was very moved this week when I was at Vibrant Coffeehouse working on my sermon and saw Jana Bennett and Kinza Maclin gather for Intentional Discipleship. After they finished, an hour later, Angie Juenger and Julie Klauer showed up for their session. Incredibly, they sat in the same booth Jana and Kinza had used! I think we should call this the discipleship booth at Edgewood East from now on! Pastor Kyle is doing a great job connecting those who want to disciple someone with those who want to be discipled by someone. Part of our vision for 2023 is for everyone to be involved in a discipling relationship.
I’m excited to report that since our Group Connect weekend a couple months ago, more than 100 people are now involved in new groups. We have a total of 180 people in Sunday morning groups, 150 in midweek groups, for a total of 330. In addition, we have started 5 new groups! If you’re not in a group yet, we have room for you!
Focus on good doctrine and be an example of faithfulness.
3. Don’t fall away. In order to underline the importance of following good doctrine and fortifying the good deposit, Paul mentions how easy it is to compromise biblical convictions by giving two bad examples in verse 15: “You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes.”
It was no secret that many followers had folded. When Paul said, “all who are in Asia turned away,” He did not mean every single one. He’s using hyperbole. We do the same. For instance, we might say, “Everyone watched on TV when the towers from 911 fell down.” We use language like that to communicate that nearly everyone watched.
“Asia” during that time referred to the area which makes up western Turkey today. Young Timothy was pastoring the church located in Ephesus, which was the largest city in this region. Incidentally, all seven churches mentioned in Revelation 2-3 were located in what was known as Asia. Women, if you’d like to learn more about that part of the world, Kathleen Kehoe will be sharing about her trip to Turkey on Thursday, June 29 at “Coffee, Connections, and Conversations” in the Edge Café. She was also able to connect with a couple of our young adults on her trip.
The phrase “turned away” is translated as “deserters.” Jesus pointed out this was a big problem in the Ephesian church according to Revelation 2:4: “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.” This makes me think back to our series from Genesis earlier this year where we learned that the enemy didn’t tempt Adam and Eve to murder, steal, or lie. Instead, he tempted them to question the Word of God. His tactics haven’t changed much, have they?
While we don’t know anything about Phygelus and Hermogenes, they had to be fairly well known for Paul to name them publicly. Perhaps they were leaders in the church and their defection would have been considered unlikely and unexpected because everyone knew them.
It was not uncommon for Paul to call out those who had turned away. In fact, he mentions at least two people who turned away from truth in every chapter of 2 Timothy. Phygelus and Hermogenes are identified in chapter 1, Hymaneus and Philetus in chapter 2, Jannes and Jambres in chapter 3, and Demas and Alexander in chapter 4. Wouldn’t it be terrible to have your name recorded in Scripture as a bad example? As an example, listen to the legacy of Demas who was “in love with this present world” and deserted Paul in his time of need (2 Timothy 4:9).
Brothers and sisters, we live in a time when so-called Christians are deconstructing, deserting, de-churching, and denying the Lord Jesus Christ. I could name at least five well-known pastors, influencers, or authors who have descended into rank apostasy or outright heresy. Sadly, as of February 2022, there were nearly 300,000 posts on Instagram using the hashtag “deconstruction.”
This should trouble us, but we should not be surprised, because Paul warned Timothy about this at least two other times.
• 1 Timothy 4:1: “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.”
• 2 Timothy 4:3-4: “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”
Perhaps you think you’ll never fall away from the faith, but I’ve seen it happen many times over the years. Disappointment can lead to desertion. Dating or marrying a non-Christian can cause you to leave your first love. The death of a loved one can lead to so much bitterness that some choose to no longer believe. Suffering or persecution can propel others to bail on their faith. Prosperity can do the same. Sports or other Sunday activities can cause people to abandon the Almighty and their commitment to gather with God’s people.
Focus on good doctrine and be an example of faithfulness.
4. Be faithful until the end. After giving two negative examples, Paul lifts up a positive example by giving props to Onesiphorus, who remained faithful until the end. He’s mentioned here and in 4:19. Let’s walk through verses 16-18 to see how he lived out his faith: “May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, 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.”
• He often refreshed Paul. One paraphrase puts it like this, “Many times did that man put fresh heart into me.” The word “refreshed” was used of “reviving by fresh air or with cool water.” His visits into the squalid conditions of the dungeon were like a cool breeze reviving body, soul, and spirit. It was also a hospitality word, meaning he probably brought food and water to Paul. Jesus put it this way in Matthew 10:42: “And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” Our staff team experiences refreshment every Tuesday when Debbie Collins drops off a large container of her freshly baked cookies!
• He was not ashamed of Paul’s chains. While others bailed on Paul, Onesiphorus was not afraid to identify with Paul, at risk of his own imprisonment. He was not ashamed of Christ or of fellow Christians. Let’s make sure we can echo this statement along with Paul in Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Paul gives a specific challenge to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:8: “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God.”
• He searched earnestly for Paul. The journey from Ephesus was dangerous and long. Rome was a crowded city and Paul’s jail was more like an underground dungeon which was dirty, dark, and damp. The stench would have been repugnant. He would have been cold, hungry, and lonely, unlike in his first imprisonment, when he was chained to a guard in a rented house for two years. He was treated like a common criminal in a holding cell on death row. But none of this kept Onesiphorus from earnestly searching for Paul, no matter how inconvenient or dangerous it might have been. He was living out Hebrew 13:3: “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.”
• He had a reputation for serving. We see this in the last phrase in verse 18: “…and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus.” Timothy didn’t need a reminder of how God used Onesiphorus because his acts of mercy stood out to everyone.
• Paul prayed for him to receive mercy. This brief prayer is found in the first part of verse 18: “May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day!” This is really a fulfilment of Matthew 5:7: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” In Matthew 25:40, Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” In verse 16, Paul prays that the whole household of Onesiphorus would receive mercy.
The phrase, “that day” refers to the day believers will receive rewards and the day unbelievers will face judgment. I came across a sad quote this week from the actor and former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. When asked what happens we die, he replied, “Nothing. You’re six feet under. Anyone who tells you something else is a liar.” Schwarzenegger said he’s uncomfortable with death and would prefer not to die because he will miss “everything.” Here’s what I want to say to that. When Jesus said, “I’ll be back,” He meant it. And judgment awaits those who don’t repent and receive Christ.
Focus on good doctrine and be an example of faithfulness.
Let’s summarize.
1. Follow good doctrine.
2. Fortify the good deposit.
3. Don’t fall away.
4. Be faithful until the end.
Let’s consider some ways we can apply this message.
Action Steps
1. Extend mercy to someone this week. Mercy includes at least three elements:
• I see your need.
• I’m moved by your need.
• I move to help meet your need.
2. It’s time to be saved and fully surrendered to Jesus Christ.
3. Determine today to be faithful so you’re ready when suffering comes tomorrow.
Three and a half years ago, the sermon I preached on Dedication Sunday after our building was complete was called, “Responding to Persecution.”
The first point we made was to embrace opposition: we must keep speaking even when we’re told not to. Here’s some of what I said then and is still true today.
We will continue to teach marriage is a covenant relationship between one man and one woman for life. We will unapologetically declare life begins at conception and is therefore worthy of honor and protection. We will call people to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ as the only way to be saved. We will stand on the Scriptures as the full and final revelation of God, no matter what others may think of us or do to us.
John Bunyan, who wrote Pilgrim’s Progress, was put in prison for 12 years for preaching the gospel. He was told he would be let out if he promised not to preach again. Listen to his answer: “If you let me out of prison today, I will preach again tomorrow, by the grace of God. If I lie in jail till the moss grows on my eyelids, I will never conceal the truth which God has taught me.”
Fellow followers of Christ, let’s not ever conceal the truth which God has taught.
Would you please stand if you’re able? I want to end the same way we did on Dedication Weekend where we went over Seven Resolutions from Acts 4. I’m going to read each resolution and ask you to respond with, “We dedicate ourselves to do so!”
1. Will you embrace opposition? “We dedicate ourselves to do so!”
2. Will you proclaim the resurrection? “We dedicate ourselves to do so!”
3. Will you be filled with the Spirit? “We dedicate ourselves to do so!”
4. Will you preach Jesus as the only way? “We dedicate ourselves to do so!”
5. Will you spend time with Jesus? “We dedicate ourselves to do so!”
6. Will you keep speaking of Jesus? “We dedicate ourselves to do so!”
7. Will you give all glory to God? “We dedicate ourselves to do so!”
