When Words Matter

INTRODUCTION

(Series Intro)

Good morning! My name is David Sorn, and I’m the Lead Pastor of Renovation Church.

I missed you last week.

I was over at our Shoreview location giving the announcements, which was fun

It’s pretty cool to see what’s happening over there!

Do you ever try and talk to a friend about something you’re really passionate about, but they’re just not interested?

I feel like every marriage must have this somewhere.

I’ll start talking to my wife about something I learned in studying history or in geography…

…and she’ll say, (fake/sarcastic), “Cool! Oh wow! That’s so impressive!”

Or, are you ever talking to a friend, and you say, “This is such a big deal! We have to fix this in our culture”

And they’ll say, “This is not even an argument worth having”

Sometimes, it’s hard to know which words or topics are worth arguing about, and which ones are not.

And we’re going to see that in 2 Timothy in the Bible this morning.

So go ahead and grab a Bible

2 Timothy 2:11-19

Page 814

If it’s your first time here this morning, we are currently, as a church, studying this letter of 2 Timothy verse by verse.

2 Timothy was written by one of the early leaders of the Christian church, the Apostle Paul.

And he wrote it from a dungeon (where he was imprisoned for his faith), and he wrote it to a pastor he was mentoring named Timothy.

We’re going to read our entire passage, but then keep it open as we’ll start talking through it

(2 Timothy 2:11-19) – NIV

11 Here is a trustworthy saying:

If we died with him,

we will also live with him;

12 if we endure,

we will also reign with him.

If we disown him,

he will also disown us;

13 if we are faithless,

he remains faithful,

for he cannot disown himself.

14 Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 16 Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. 17 Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. 19 Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”

SOMETIMES ACTIONS & RELATIONSHIPS MATTER MORE THAN QUARRELS OVER WORDS

(When Words Matter)

Okay, this is actually a pretty tough text because Paul jumps back and forth in between two ideas a couple of times

I stared and studied this one for a long time this week.

And to help you get the sense of it, we’re going to jump back & forth in the verses, just as Paul jumps back and forth with his thoughts.

Let’s take a look at the first point Paul makes about WHEN words matter and when they don’t.

WHEN WORDS MATTER

#1. Sometimes actions and relationships matter more than quarrels over words

This is verse 14.

Paul tells Pastor Timothy:

14 Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.

Or verse 16 as well:

16 Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.

What’s he talking about?

Paul is saying, “Too many of you Christians are just sitting around debating about words and theology.”

And not even just debating.

In Verse 14, he says, they’re quarreling (fighting) about it even.

And Christians have no shortage of things they argue and debate about: The end times, calvinism, faith & politics, music, the color of the carpet at their church, you name it.

And some of you have been a part of churches that have split apart over quarrels about some of these things.

But what’s fascinating to me is this is the 5th letter of Paul’s we’ve taught through here in just the last 4 years, and every series, I’m having to do some sort of message on “Godless chatter” and “quarrelling about words”

Paul was VERY concerned about it

It might have been on his list of top 10 concerns.

Why?

I think, for 2 reasons, and they are both in our text, so look at the end of 14.

Firstly, in many cases, our endless debates, Paul says “have no value.”

The goal of the Christian life to glorify God…it’s to obey Him…it’s to go therefore and make disciples…

Notice these are action-oriented outcomes.

Our inward transformation is supposed to lead to outward action.

And so if you just sit in your dorm room (or in you cubicle) and argue with your friend all day, you’re not actually doing anything of value.

And secondly, Paul says these quarrels about words ruin those who listen.

And in many ways, they ruin relationships

I think COVID was a good example of this.

If you think back to 2020 and 2021, people were scared or sick of being cooped up, and everyone had very strong opinions on what should be done about masks, vaccines, schools being open (or not open), you name it

And sometimes, we’d bring our faith into that too.

And I know people (and I’m sure you do to) who were friends, for say 30 years, and had an intense argument one day about masks, and now haven’t spoken to each other since.

BTW, if that was you, I want you to call that person tonight and ask for forgiveness.

This is what we do as Christians.

We humble ourselves & reconcile.

But this is what Paul is talking about here.

For the Christian, we have to remember point 1: Sometimes actions and relationships matter more than our quarrels about words

SOMETIMES WE SHOULD CARE DEEPLY ABOUT WORDS BECAUSE HERESY IS DANGEROUS

Now, here’s where this passage gets tricky, because Paul is going to start playing devil’s advocate with himself, and he’s going back and forth.

So he took side #1 in verse 14 (which we just read), then the other side in 15

Then back to side 1 in 16, and then the other side in 17 & 18

Let me show this to you:

Look at how he starts playing devil’s advocate (about words) in verse 15

15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

This is the AWANA verse if anyone you grew up in Awana.

Approved workmen are not ashamed 😊

But what is Paul saying here?

He’s telling Pastor Timothy that he needs to be very careful to CORRECTLY handle the word of truth.

How he teaches God’s Word is VERY important.

EVERY WORD MATTERS!

Then in 16 he goes back to side 1 and says, “But avoid that worthless godless chatter”

Some words just don’t matter that much!

But then in 17, you can hear him playing devil’s advocate again.

Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some.

But here Paul is saying, “Their words matter! Watch out!”

So now you can see both sides of Paul’s argument.

WHEN WORDS MATTER

#1: Sometimes actions and relationships matter more than quarrels over words

#2: Sometimes we should care deeply about words because heresy is dangerous

And Paul’s going back and forth, and holding those two things in tension, because both of those things are true!

False teaching is incredibly dangerous…which is why Paul talks also talks about that in basically every single one of his NT letters.

And this is important for us to hear because I think the American church is a great risk for False Teaching right now

Let me explain this by first talking about the African Church.

I’ve been to East Africa many times over the last 10 years, and the East African church is significantly better than American Church in A LOT of things…

But vice versa is true as well.

…and one place the East African Church struggles in comparison to the American Church (historically anyway) has been theological education.

In fact, not some, but the majority of pastors in East Africa have zero theological education.

And so, heresy is a real problem.

The prosperity gospel is everywhere.

There’s lots of false teaching regarding miracles, demons, & the supernatural.

When I was in Ethiopia, I saw churches that didn’t believe in the Trinity.

There was a whole denomination of churches that said God was just one, rather than one God in 3 persons like the Bible teaches

And on a similar note, I fear for the American church as we generally have had less and less theological training compared to 50 years ago.

And many young American Christians are growing up, not in Bible-Teaching churches, but on a diet of lite sermons about friendship and emotions, and so their theological boundaries are not very well-defined…or protected.

And Paul says, “That’s dangerous…because then the message of the false teachers can spread like GANGRENE”

This is why every summer, when House Church takes a break, we teach a ton of Bible classes here.

Which used to be called Renovation U, and now will be called Bible Classes.

In part because everyone keeps telling us that Renovation U sounds just like Renovation Youth

And the name Renovation U has been confusing to a lot of people.

We have to say, “renovation U, it’s our Bible Classes”

But people would ask: What is it? Is it a college. A school?

And what if we start a ministry school in the future…wouldn’t that be confusing?

And so these summer classes will now simply be called “Bible Classes.

..but we offer classes every summer (that I want you to take) on how to study the Bible, multiple classes on the study of theology, and the New Testament, and you name it

And we do this because we want you to know what you believe.

And we also want you to know what Christians do NOT believe.

If we’re going to protect our faith, and the faith of our children, we also need to teach people…not just what is true, but what is NOT true…and why!

And having studied a lot of Paul’s writing these past few years, I think Paul is significantly more concerned about false teaching than modern-day American Christians are.

To the point, where Paul is even calling out the heretics by name! (Hymenaeus and Philetus)

And this has been a debate lately between Christians…

Should Christians call out, by name, those who are teaching false doctrine?

Or, should we lovingly, not say anything, or talk to them personally…1-on-1…like Matthew 18 suggests?

The answer depends on context.

If it’s somebody you know, or are in relationship with, or close proximity, you probably should just talk to them in person, before you go and make a reel talking about how the person in your neighborhood is a heretic.

But what if you don’t know them?

Is there ever a case for confronting a false teacher publicly? Especially if their teaching is very public?

I’m talking like:

Telling your small group not to listen to messages by someone

Or, going on social media and sharing that people should avoid reading books by a certain author.

Or, is there a place for pastors to say, “Don’t follow (not just this type of teaching), but this specific person.”

YES, there is.

Just as Matthew 18 tells us how to kindly talk to folks 1 on 1.

2 Timothy 2 (and also 1 Timothy 1 & Third John) tell us that sometimes, it is right (in serious situations) to warn others about specific false teachers.

But knowing WHEN to do that (and when not to) is not easy.

This requires wisdom, not just knowledge.

And For some of you, you probably need to lean more towards 1-on-1 conversations again

Because some of you are keyboard warriors.

And you’re always on social media telling people to watch out for this politician, or this author, or this pastor or church.

And it’s quite possible, according to Point #1 of 2 timothy 2, that it’s just all too much.

That Paul would say, “Your words are just creating quarrels & division, not advancement of the Kingdom”

And there are other times where yeah, we need to stand up, for the sake of our family and friends, and say, “Yeah, that’s wrong. You shouldn’t read that false teacher, or try out that church, or listen to that person. They’re out of bounds for what Christianity is”

And see if we never do that…if we never draw lines…than we would never have any definition to what Christian faith truly is.

I think a good example of this is Christian teaching on gender & sexuality

And I’m not going to go deep into this subject today, but if you’re new and want to know more on what the Bible teaches on those issues, we have a very deep 4-week series on that on our app and website:

(Gender & Sexuality Series slide)

But this is a good example because most pastors I know would say that Bible-believing churches handled this poorly in the 2000’s and the early 2010’s.

On one side you had the crazies that were holding signs and shouting mean things at people with same sex attraction, saying, “God hates you”

And there were churches that just threw out the Bible and embraced it all. And they raised the pride flag right next to the cross.

But honestly the vast majority of churches were in the middle, and they knew what the Bible says, but they didn’t want to create waves, or didn’t know how to say it right…so they said nothing

They didn’t confront or call out those false teachers on either side.

Because they were afraid to.

And so what happened because 90% of pastors/teachers weren’t drawing boundary lines, many younger Christians (and the young Christians in those days were the millennials) started to feel that God was just fine with acting out on same sex attraction, or changing your gender, or becoming non-binary.

…because they had never heard teaching that said otherwise.

And their pastors and Christian leaders never spoke out against other leaders that were saying it was okay.

And so we saw large-scale acceptance of it (even amongst Christians at times).

But over the last number of years, some of our best thinkers, began to be more bold.

And some of them even publicly called out false teachers by name and warned Christians about them.

And what’s happened now is that you’re really starting to hear more churches bravely talk about it…I think…in a more healthy, balanced sort of way…

In Truth & Love as we say.

And honestly, it’s moving the needle back.

Certainly on transgenderism, but even on sexuality:

According to Gallup, the percentage of Americans that view same sex relationships as morally acceptable, after rising for more than 25 years has now begun to drop year over year.

And amongst some particular demographics, the drop has been drastic.

(When Words Matter)

And so there is a time and a place to speak against false teaching, and even against specific false teachers themselves.

It matters.

But we must do so in truth, and in love, with grace, and with facts.

Remember the balance in our text.

Sometimes it’s not worth the fight, but sometimes it is!

If you’re unsure about which route to take in your life with a particular situation, I encourage you to pray about it.

And also to bring it up to your House Church small group this week…and get Godly feedback from them.

GOD CAN’T LOSE THOSE WHO ARE HIS, AND YET OUR ACTIONS WILL PROVE IF WE ARE HIS

And when we start talking about the danger of heresy and people walking away from their faith, we inevitably get to the question of what happens to those people who end up walking away?

Are they still saved?

And this brings us to the 3rd point I want to teach out of our text today

WHEN WORDS MATTER

#1: Sometimes actions and relationships matter more than quarrels over words

#2: Sometimes we should care deeply about words because heresy is dangerous

#3: God can’t lose those who are His, and yet our actions will prove if we are His

This was in the text too.

Look at verse 11

11 Here is a trustworthy saying:

If we died with him,

we will also live with him;

12 if we endure,

we will also reign with him.

Paul is saying, if you died to being the leader of your life, and you put Christ on the throne, you will live.

And if you keep the faith (you endure the hardship of being a Christian), you will reign with Christ on the new heaven & the new earth

That’s a promise!

But, he says:

If we disown him,

he will also disown us;

13 if we are faithless,

he remains faithful,

for he cannot disown himself.

If you struggle with sin and you don’t live life perfectly as a Christian, you are still saved.

Your faith isn’t based on how well you live, but on your faith that Jesus died in your place.

But if you disown God (or lots of times that word “disown” in verse 12 is translated deny God)…and you say, “I don’t believe in you, I don’t want you…I won’t follow you), then He will disown you.

Matthew 10:33 – NIV

But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.

And so how do we know then if someone is saved?

Especially if it was someone that used to go to church, or they did seem to be walking with God for a while.

Look down to verse 19 of our passage

19 Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”

WHEN WORDS MATTER

#1: Sometimes actions and relationships matter more than quarrels over words

#2: Sometimes we should care deeply about words because heresy is dangerous

#3: God can’t lose those who are His, and yet our actions will prove if we are His

Paul is saying salvation is like a stone that has two inscriptions.

Imagine one inscription on the front, and one on the back. Same stone.

If you look on the front it says: The Lord knows those who are His

In other words, God does not sit in heaven, wondering if you are going to make it to heaven or not.

He knows. You are His. You are chosen. The salvation of His believers cannot fail.

That’s true, that’s biblical.

And yet, if you flip the stone around, on the back side of the same stone, it also says: “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness”

In other words, if someone says, “I prayed the prayer, I trusted in God, but now I’m going to live however I want,” that person is not saved. They will not go to heaven.

Because a true believer, one that has the Holy Spirit in them, will then naturally want to turn away from sin and wickedness.

That doesn’t mean that they always do.

But they will feel guilt over what they’ve done, and they will desire a holy life and to please God…so they’ll keep trying to turn from wickedness.

And the Biblical reality is that BOTH of those inscriptions are true.

God has chosen His believers and they are secure in Him

And if you’re really a believer, it will be shown to be true.

Okay, a ton in this passage today to unpack.

But this is part of why we come to church every week, to get in House Church every week, to take Bible Classes in the summer.

We want to grow deeply in our understanding of WHO are incredible God is.

Amen? Amen.