The Congregational Complication

2 Timothy 4:2b-3 HCSB …rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching. (3) For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will accumulate teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something new.

We saw last week that we are to proclaim the message that the Lord has laid upon us, and that we are to persist in it whether it is convenient or not. Today, we’ll look at the methodology Paul proposes. I warn you elders in advance that the method will not likely be popular. However, Paul will give us the reason for his approach in verse three. Let’s look at the second half of verse two which reads:

2 Timothy 4:2b HCSB …rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching

Paul gives us four elements that must be part of a good elder’s tool box. First:

1. Rebuke – in Greek elegcho (Strong’s #1651)

The Greek word here is elegcho (Strong’s #1651). It gives us the following understanding:

1) to convict, refute, confute

a) generally with a suggestion of shame of the person convicted

b) or by the use of conviction to bring to the light, to expose

2) to find fault with, correct

a) whether by word

1) to reprehend severely, chide, admonish, reprove

2) to call to account, show one his fault, demand an explanation

b) or by deed

1) to chasten, to punish

So much for those who whine, “Why can’t you just love me the way I am? I shouldn’t feel bad when I leave church. I shouldn’t feel judged.”

2. Correct – in Greek epitimao (Strong’s #2008) (Proverbs 24:26; 25:12; 27:6, 9, 17)

The Greek is epitimao (Strong’s #2008). And it means

1) to show honor to, to honor

2) to raise the price of

3) to adjudge, award, in the sense of merited penalty

4) to tax with fault, rate, chide, rebuke, reprove, censure severely; to admonish or charge sharply

Those who want to be valued should understand that it takes great courage to rebuke someone. You must truly love someone to rebuke them because the potential cost is enormous. I don’t rebuke other people’s children the way I rebuke my own. Why? Because I love mine more. To consider the cost of reproving or rebuking and then do so ANYWAY is a mark of high esteem. We are ‘raising the price’ of our friendship when we care enough to correct.

Quoheleth, the teacher of the book of Proverbs, had much to say on the matter of “truth telling” in friendship and ministry.

• Proverbs 24:26 HCSB He who gives an honest answer gives a kiss on the lips.
• Proverbs 25:12 HCSB A wise correction to a receptive ear is like a gold ring or an ornament of gold.
• Proverbs 27:6 HCSB The wounds of a friend are trustworthy, but the kisses of an enemy are excessive.
• Proverbs 27:9 HCSB Oil and incense bring joy to the heart, and the sweetness of a friend is better than self-counsel.
• Proverbs 27:17 HCSB Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

3. Encourage – In Greek Parakaleo (Strong’s #3870) (Job 4:3-4; Ecclesiastes 3:1)

The term here in Greek is parakaleo (Strong’s #3870), from which we derive one of the Holy Spirit’s names - “Paraclete” - which means Encourager or Comforter.

An elder cannot be all “hellfire and brimstone”. We must also encourage our people, paying attention and applauding when they do good things and generally fanning the flames of righteousness. We must imitate our fellow elder Job who:

• Job 4:3-4 HCSB Look! You have instructed many and have strengthened weak hands. (4) Your words have steadied the one who was stumbling, and braced the knees that were buckling.

When we do this over a great period of time we earn the right to rebuke and correct. If all we do is criticize we will soon find ourselves alone and useless to the Master. Good balance and better timing are CRUCIAL in the life of an elder. As King Solomon said,

• Ecclesiastes 3:1 HCSB There is an occasion for everything, and a time for every activity under heaven:

4. With great patience and instruction – 2 Corinthians 6:4-6; Ephesians 4:1-2; Colossians 1:11; 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:14; Romans 2:4; 1 Timothy 1:16; Titus 1:10-11; 1 Corinthians 5:9-13; 2 Corinthians 2:5-11)

Modifying the imperatives “rebuke, correct and encourage” is the qualifier “with great patience.” This is the same word translated sometimes as “longsuffering.”

Longsuffering is a much sought after virtue in Adonaic Christians.

• 2 Corinthians 6:4-6 HCSB (4) But in everything, as God's ministers, we commend ourselves: by great endurance, by afflictions, by hardship, by pressures, (5) by beatings, by imprisonments, by riots, by labors, by sleepless nights, by times of hunger, (6) by purity, by knowledge, by patience, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love,
• Ephesians 4:1-2 HCSB I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, (2) with all humility and gentleness, with patience, accepting one another in love,
• Colossians 1:11 HCSB May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy
• Colossians 3:12 HCSB Therefore, God's chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
• 1 Thessalonians 5:14 HCSB (14) And we exhort you, brothers: warn those who are lazy, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone.

It is also a divine attribute.

• Romans 2:4 HCSB Or do you despise the riches of His kindness, restraint, and patience, not recognizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?
• 1 Timothy 1:16 HCSB But I received mercy because of this, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate the utmost patience as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life.

Longsuffering can be described as slowness to wrath and gentle patience with the erring. For obvious reasons, great patience and teaching go together. Neither is complete without the other. It takes a tremendous amount of patience to deal with the people who are trying (with varying degrees of success) to do what is right. So many questions! So much instruction! So much time and energy!

How much more patience is required to deal with those who contradict themselves!

• Titus 1:10-11 HCSB For there are also many rebellious people, idle talkers and deceivers, especially those from Judaism. (11) It is necessary to silence them; they overthrow whole households by teaching for dishonest gain what they should not.

These kinds of people are rebellious. What does Paul command us to do concerning them? THEY MUST BE SILENCED. They must be silenced before they upset whole families. They are teaching, not for the good of the church, but for their own personal self-advancement.

An elder of the church must be in it for the long haul. You’re not going to correct these people with a single conversation. You may, in fact, not be able to correct them within your lifetime! However, it is not up to the elder to “fix” them. That remains the task (thank God) of the Holy Spirit. Our task is to simply tell them the truth, as many times as it takes, until they either listen or turn away.

Paul gives us a great example of how to rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience in his treatment of the Corinthian fornicator. First, we see the reproof and correction in his first letter to the Corinthians.

• 1 Corinthians 5:9-13 HCSB I wrote to you in a letter not to associate with sexually immoral people-- (10) by no means referring to this world's immoral people, or to the greedy and swindlers, or to idolaters; otherwise you would have to leave the world. (11) But now I am writing you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother who is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a reviler, a drunkard or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person. (12) For what is it to me to judge outsiders? Do you not judge those who are inside? (13) But God judges outsiders. Put away the evil person from among yourselves.

Later, the man apparently confessed his sin and repented of it but the Corinthian church was just as slow to forgive the man as it was to condemn his sin! Paul was forced to write them again, urging them as follows.

• 2 Corinthians 2:5-11 HCSB If anyone has caused pain, he has not caused pain to me, but in some degree--not to exaggerate--to all of you. (6) The punishment by the majority is sufficient for such a person, (7) so now you should forgive and comfort him instead; otherwise, this one may be overwhelmed by excessive grief. (8) Therefore I urge you to confirm your love to him. (9) It was for this purpose I wrote: so I may know your proven character, if you are obedient in everything. (10) Now to whom you forgive anything, I do too. For what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, it is for you in the presence of Christ, (11) so that we may not be taken advantage of by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his intentions.

Let’s move on to verse three:

2 Timothy 4:3 HCSB For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will accumulate teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something new.

The time will come (2 Timothy 3:1-9; Exodus 7:11-12; Numbers 12:1-2)

That time is closer than ever, if not already upon us. We were told that in the last days perilous times would come. As Paul had already warned:

• 2 Timothy 3:1-9 HCSB But know this: difficult times will come in the last days. (2) For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, (3) unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, (4) traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, (5) holding to the form of religion but denying its power…

…sound familiar? Notice Paul’s command?

• …Avoid these people! (6) For among them are those who worm their way into households and capture idle women burdened down with sins, led along by a variety of passions, (7) always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. (8) Just as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so these also resist the truth, men who are corrupt in mind, worthless in regard to the faith. (9) But they will not make further progress, for their lack of understanding will be clear to all, as theirs was also.

They visit and capture “weak women…led by various impulses.” Could you name a couple of these kinds of ladies? They are always learning (reading the latest books and following the various trends and religious fads like the so-called “prayer of Jabez”) but never quite come to understand truth. We need not worry about it in the long run however. Sooner or later, their foolishness will be revealed for what it is.

Neither Jannes or Jambres were mentioned in the Old Covenant but Jewish tradition holds that these were two magicians in Pharaoh’s court that tried to demonstrate that their power was equal to God’s servant Moses.

• Exodus 7:11-12 HCSB But then Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers--the magicians of Egypt, and they also did the same thing by their occult practices. (12) Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron's staff swallowed their staffs.

This is a common problem in the ministry. Even the great prophet Moses was troubled by this approach by his own brother and sister!

• Numbers 12:1-2 HCSB Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses because of the Cushite woman he married (for he had married a Cushite woman). (2) They said, "Does the LORD speak only through Moses? Does He not also speak through us?" And the LORD heard it.

“My interpretation is just as valid as yours. I have the Holy Spirit too.” We often hear this from this rebellious and ignorant crowd. However, we need to revisit the Old Covenant example of what happens to those who oppose God’s work done through God’s anointed ones:

Miriam was subsequently struck with leprosy while Aaron looked on helplessly. Only when they repented and asked for Moses’ forgiveness did God remove His judgment. Jannes and Jambres’ foolishness was made apparent in a very public manner.

Will not tolerate.

Some people simply cannot stand the truth. It makes them angry! It offends them. It would be a poor parent who did not try to get their child to eat vegetables and exercise because it offended the child. It would be a poor elder indeed who stopped teaching correct doctrine and correcting false doctrine simply because some of his charges didn’t like it.

Sound doctrine – 1 Timothy 1:9-10; 6:3-5; 2 Timothy 1:13; Titus 1:9)

We must be sure that our doctrine is sound – that is, that it conforms to the teachings of the Master and His apostles.

• 1 Timothy 1:9-10 HCSB We know that the law is not meant for a righteous person, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and irreverent, for those who kill their fathers and mothers, for murderers, (10) for the sexually immoral and homosexuals, for kidnappers, liars, perjurers, and for whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching
• 1 Timothy 6:3-5 HCSB If anyone teaches other doctrine and does not agree with the sound teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the teaching that promotes godliness, (4) he is conceited, understanding nothing, but having a sick interest in disputes and arguments over words. From these come envy, quarreling, slanders, evil suspicions, (5) and constant disagreement among men whose minds are depraved and deprived of the truth, who imagine that godliness is a way to material gain.
• 2 Timothy 1:13 HCSB Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
• Titus 1:9 HCSB holding to the faithful message as taught, so that he will be able both to encourage with sound teaching and to refute those who contradict it.

But according to their own desires (Jeremiah 5:31; Ezekiel 33:32)

Again, for many congregations it unfortunately comes back – not to doctrine, not to logic, not to reason – but to their desires. You should preach this way because I like it. You should not preach this way because I don’t. The arguments are based on feelings and emotions, always a poor criteria upon which to base right living.

· Heroes do not throw themselves on grenades because they FEEL like it. They do it because it is right to sacrifice one’s life to save others.

· Great servants like Mother Theresa do not FEEL like serving lepers, but they do it because it is RIGHT.

· Paul undoubtedly did not FEEL like getting stoned, imprisoned, beaten, shipwrecked etc. But he did it because it was necessary to the establishment of the kingdom.

On the other hand, every wicked and terrible thing that one man does to another is based on the driving motivation of self-gratification.

· A rapist rapes because he feels like it.

· A murderer kills as he yields to his emotional drive.

· A child molester enjoys his sensuous play.

Good things rarely agree with our sin nature. Wickedness always does. So, why should we use our feelings as a judge of what we should do? It reminds me of:

• Jeremiah 5:31 HCSB The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it like this. But what will you do at the end of it?
• Ezekiel 33:32 HCSB Yes, to them you are like a singer of love songs who has a beautiful voice and plays skillfully on an instrument. They hear your words, but they don't obey them.

These people are more interested in hearing something different, something sensational than they are in hearing sober truth. Furthermore, when they are presented the sober truth, they are more interested in the way it was presented; the preacher’s style, oratory, the preacher himself, his voice, bearing, looks, or mannerisms than they are with the truth proclaimed.

Accumulate teachers for themselves.

Too many congregations accumulate teachers like some accumulate stamps or shells or coins. They collect them. They select the prettiest, the most eloquent or the ones with the most degrees. However, most of all they like the ones who will not rock the boat. Their “accumulation” carries within itself the idea of “ownership”. They own the pastor. He works for them. He is nothing more than a man called to service their egos in the same way they hire a clown to dance at their parties. If they grow bored with his service, they get rid of him.

because they have an itch to hear something new.

For these people it’s not about coming to the knowledge of the truth. It’s about getting stroked, feeling good about themselves, walking away “blessed”, safe, validated, that they were given “worth.” They completely ignore the concept of remorse, repentance, confession, and restitution. They ignore the passages where the apostle considers himself unworthy, a bastard, the chief of sinners, unable in himself to do the things he knows he should and incapable of not sinning. They ignore the times the Master Himself rebuked the religious for feeling self-satisfied and content with their outward religiosity.

We’ll continue this midrash next week. Let’s close in prayer.