Apply Within

Guest (Male): So we should not, we will not, we cannot be judgmental. We are to remove ourselves from those that we hear teaching false doctrine. We don't need to judge why they're doing it. We don't need to judge do they really belong to God. You know what? That's out of our league and that's really judgmental, and that's not what we're called to do. You just want to stay away from it. Don't have to judge them, don't have to condemn them, don't have to do anything. Stay away from it.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Apply Within, a verse-by-verse study of the Word of God with Pastor Bob Davis of North Country Chapel. We invite you to join with us as we, by the power of God's Holy Spirit, apply His Word within our own hearts as we study line upon line, precept upon precept, verse-by-verse through the Bible.

As our study of 2nd Timothy chapter two continues from verse 14, Paul encourages Timothy to study God's Word and not worry about silly arguments. Here's Pastor Bob.

Bob Davis: Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. This is not only written to Pastor Timothy, this is written to me, this is written to you, this is written to everyone of us who is truly born again. Everyone.

Study to show yourself approved. The word study: give all diligence to do your best before the Lord. Here's something I think we might be guilty of if we're not careful. Study to show yourself approved unto who? Unto God. Isn't that what your Bible says?

If I'm studying to amaze everybody around me, that is pride. If you just want everybody to know how many verses you got memorized, or how much you really know, that doesn't help a soul, and that's pride. That would be self-promoting. Didn't Jesus say deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me?

Why do we read our Bibles? Why do we study? Next time that guy asks me that question, I'm going to tear his head off with it. Got it. Pistol whip him with scripture. Something's wrong with that heart there.

Study to show yourself approved unto God. A workman that doesn't need to be ashamed. We study so that we can handle God's word correctly, so that we can know it, learn about it, understand it. We'll never know all about it, and we'll always be learning.

Some of the things that we may think we know now, God will slowly begin to teach us and show us that it's maybe this way and not quite this way. That's alright. God's going to teach us. Holy Spirit will teach us. We don't panic, we don't worry.

When he says rightly dividing the word of truth, the Greek word here is orthotomeo. You know what that means literally? To cut straight. Study to cut the word of God correctly. To cut straight. To cut a sharp, clear, clean, straight line. By the way, if you will, you could say it this way: make a really straight incision.

We have to recognize something first and foremost. The problem isn't God's word, the problem is us. Let me say it another way. The problem isn't God's word, the problem is our ability to rightly divide his word. To do that, we're going to have to really study, and to really study, you're going to have to give it all diligence.

To become men and women of the word, that's going to take not just reading your favorite parts. I have favorite parts, too, and I like to read those. We win, you know? I like to go to Revelation 19, 20, 21, 22. I like those.

But no, not only my favorite parts, it's going to take not just reading my favorite parts, but reading all of the word and studying it. Yes, even the Old Testament. I hear it all the time: "Do we have to read the Old Testament?" No, you get to. There is so much in there. It is almost all application if you just read it slowly and pay attention.

In verse 16, it says, "But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. Their word will eat as does a cancer or canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some."

Shun. Now after you know we need to be studying, we need to handle God's word correctly, we need to learn how, and all of us have a long way to grow. We'll admit that. We just need to learn how. One of the ways not to do it is to argue with people about the silly stuff.

That's what people seem to want to do: the empty words and the silly stuff. That keeps them busy, but we're wasting time. Shun, avoid, turn away, reject, ignore godless, empty talk. He says, you know what those kind of words do? Get ready, Christian.

Those kind of words, you think, "Oh, it's just a waste of my time." Paul says those words eat like a canker. Now that's the King James language. Let me give you the Greek word: gangraina, which is where we get our word gangrene.

They destroy, they get in, and they start eating away at your soul, eating away at your life. The word itself, gangraina, means to devour, to consume, to eat away. Gangrene, you've probably seen it or heard about it, it spreads rapidly and it eats away, it devours, it destroys. It is very dangerous in your system.

Paul says that's what their words are like. So reject that. Don't spend time in it. Ignore it. Turn away from it. Shun those kind of things. Then Paul says, I've got two examples: Hymenaeus and Philetus. They have erred from the faith. They don't have the truth is what he's saying.

They say the resurrection has already passed. Imagine somebody saying the resurrection has already passed. If you think about that, if the resurrection has already passed, then that completely destroys the gospel message itself. It's gone. The gospel message is now gone.

Certainly, if the resurrection has already passed, then there's no such thing as a rapture. I don't know how they dealt with that, but all of that stuff is gone that the Bible teaches. Every believer listening to these false teachers is living in vain.

It's a waste. It's like a cancer, it's destroying. Every believer living at that time listening to that, or even now listening to the false teachings, is living in vain, waiting in vain. They are actually lost because if the resurrection has already taken place, they are actually lost and they have no more hope at all, ever, for eternity. What a great message to walk away with.

All of God's promises go in the trash at that point. So Paul says what that does is it eats away at your life. You've got no hope now. You're believing these false teachers and it's destroying your heart like a cancer or gangrene.

It's just spreading through your life and then it starts to spread through your family, then it starts to spread through your church. So he says shun it, get away from it, stay away from it. Don't do that. Study to show yourselves approved.

"Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." Nevertheless, even though those two people have wandered off, have erred, and others have followed them, they've overthrown the faith of some.

Others listen to them and go after them. He says, "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure." Literally, stands strong and solid. "Having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity."

Basically, Paul is saying to Timothy and you and me: don't let the defection of Hymenaeus and Philetus and those that follow their false teachings, don't let that throw you off course. Did you hear that, Timothy? Did you hear that, Christian?

Don't let those guys that have gone that way, don't let it throw you off course or shake your confidence in God's word, or in the things that God's about. Don't let it do that. In God's solid foundation, don't let it throw you off or shake your confidence in the solid foundation.

Remember this: God's solid foundation is Jesus Christ. Paul will tell the Corinthians this in 1 Corinthians 3:11, "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid already, which is Jesus Christ." There's the solid foundation. On Christ the solid rock I stand.

There it is. Jesus Christ and him crucified and risen from the dead. You know the gospel. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, read the first five verses and you know the gospel. Jesus Christ, God in human flesh, came to this earth. He became flesh and dwelt among us.

He lived a sinless life. He went to the cross and shed his blood for the sin of the world, for my sin and yours. He died on the cross at Calvary, and he was buried, and on the third day he rose again. This is part of the gospel according to 1 Corinthians 15.

On the third day he rose again exactly as God promised that he would. Exactly as the word of God promised that he would. It all has happened exactly according to God's word. So here's the deal. The verse says this: "The foundation of God stands solid and secure."

Even when you see this group go after this, or this group go off in here, and you start hearing this kind of teaching and this and things floating through, even when you've got all that, here's what you want to know. The solid foundation is Jesus Christ and him crucified and risen from the dead.

You don't ever build on anything else. You don't ever go looking for anything else. He goes on and says, "The foundation stands solid and secure and strong, having this seal." Listen, what is a seal? A seal was the mark of authentication, right?

The great seal of the state of Idaho. The great seal of Rome and the seal of Caesar himself. It marks something and says this is real, this is true, this is authentic. It's the seal. When a seal was put upon something, even to this day, when an official seal is put upon something, everyone knows it's authentic.

Paul reminds Timothy that God's seal right here is upon everyone that truly belongs to him through Jesus Christ. He says, "The foundation of God stands sure having this seal." You are sealed, and everybody knows where I'm going with this, don't you?

We know that each one of us that is truly born again has been given God's seal. We are authentic by grace through faith. Not because we're so good at it, not because we're doing so well, because we're not doing well, he's doing well.

Not because we've all figured it out, but because he has placed his seal upon us. I think every one of you knows what that seal is. 2nd Corinthians chapter one, verses 21 and 22: "He which has established us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God."

He's the one that's done it. "Who hath also sealed us and given us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts." Okay, we're sealed by who? By God, by God's Holy Spirit. That's the seal. "The Lord knows the ones that belong to him."

You see that? The Lord knoweth. This is chapter two of 2nd Timothy, verse 19. "The Lord knoweth them that are his." The Lord knows the ones that belong to him first, and secondly, the next point he makes is, "Let every one who names the name of Jesus Christ, everyone who claims to belong to Jesus, depart from iniquity."

He's just made two points and there's a reason that you need both of the points. Paul hints at a couple of Old Testament passages here to make his point about us being sealed, about there being a sure, solid, strong foundation.

Numbers chapter 16, I'll just read the first five verses and this will just remind you. I'm sure that you remember this story, but now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men.

Verse two says, "And they rose up before Moses with certain of the children of Israel, 250 princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown." They went and got a bunch of people and they came out against Moses.

They gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and they said this to them: "You take too much upon you. Who do you think you are? You take too much on you seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord?"

"Hey, we're just as smart as you. We're tired of you leading us. We think we can run things as good as you. You take too much on yourself. You're taking too much authority and we don't like it. We're voting you out."

When Moses heard that, verse four, he fell upon his face. I love the reaction. He could have done a lot of things. He fell upon his face, and then he spoke unto Korah and to all his company, everybody listen closely, here it is: "Even tomorrow the Lord will show who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him."

What did he just say? The Lord knows those that are his, and he'll show us who's really on his team. So that's what Paul right here is hinting at from the Old Testament when he says, "Nevertheless the foundation of God stands sure having this seal: The Lord knows them that are his."

Everybody would right away go, "Oh, that's right. Korah, the uprising of Korah." If you go back and read the little book of Jude, you'll see that Korah was out of line. Well, you're going to see it if you continue reading in Numbers 16.

You know, if I'm his sheep and you're his sheep, then you know what we're going to know? We're going to know our Jesus, aren't we? Our shepherd. When someone comes and starts teaching this, we're going to simply say, "You know what? I'm not sure where you're coming from. I don't know where you're finding that in the Bible, but I know my Jesus, and that's not him." Right?

It helps to keep you. There's that sure foundation. Helps to keep you from wandering after false, foolish teaching. That's part one: "The Lord knows them that are his." And there's another part of this sealing: "Let every one that names the name of Christ depart from iniquity."

Isaiah 52, verse 11: God calls upon his people, the ones that he loves and the ones that supposedly love him, he says, "Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from there, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord."

You're mine. You separate yourselves. You come out from among them and be clean. Here's what he said in the New Testament: "Let everyone that names the name of Christ depart from iniquity." How many of us have departed from iniquity?

How was your day? Don't lie to me, I can find out. We see it clearly. The Lord knows each and every one that belongs to him. There is no confusion. Jesus says it: "I know my sheep and my sheep know me." So every one of us should say there's no confusion in that, and that's true.

But you see, the Lord knows your heart. Someone comes up to you and says, "I'm born again," you go, "Cool, I'm glad for you." But you don't know it for sure, do you? How could you know for sure? You can't, you don't know.

God knows those that are his, but we can't tell the players without a scorecard. We don't know. We have to take each other's word for it, sort of. The world can't see our hearts. God can, so he knows those that are his, but the world can't see.

The world can only see what we do. Isn't that true? That's all. Our actions. Do they have to take my word for it? Well, not really. They can do what? Watch. Can't they watch you? Can't they listen to you? So what is God saying?

God says here, God knows those that are his. But so that the world can see those that are his, let every one that names the name of Jesus depart from iniquity. Let me say it another way. Our lives are going to be lived differently from the rest of the world.

We're called upon to let our light so shine that others will see our good works and glorify our Father which is in heaven. How are they going to know you're saved? Well, first the Lord knows them that are his, and second, let everyone that names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

We're going to be changed. We're going to be different. We're going to stand out from the crowd, aren't we? And that's what Paul is saying to Timothy: don't fret over these false teachers. They're going to take people away.

There's not a lot you can do about that, but you know what you can do? We've got the sure foundation and you're sealed by the Holy Spirit. The Lord knows you belong to him, and live so that others can see a difference. Now that's going to take the power of the Holy Spirit, but how about the next verse?

"In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work."

Now you see why I wanted to cover those three. So many people don't understand what just got said here. Am I a vessel of honor or am I a vessel unto dishonor? What does that mean? Are you born again, or what are you trying to say to me?

Paul uses metaphors to have absolutely nothing to do with the false teachers. He's still talking about that. Nothing has changed. Nothing to do with the false teachers or with their doctrine. Nothing whatsoever. Metaphorically speaking, Paul says this: the church is like one big house.

Some of the containers are made of gold and silver, others made of wood and, we would say, clay or dirt. Some of the containers are for noble purposes and some are for shameful purposes. Let me say it this way: some are beautiful vases—a vase is $4.99 and under; $5 and above it's a "vaze," that's what they tell me—so some are beautiful vases of gold and silver, and some are for collecting garbage.

You've got those vessels in your house, right? This we put beautiful flowers in, this we throw the trash in. "Somebody take it out!" He's saying there are some faithful and some unfaithful in the church. Hymenaeus and Philetus, those guys, they wandered off and they've erred, and they're taking people with them. Those are vessels of dishonor.

"In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work."

See, Paul says if you want to be, if I want to be, if we want to be vessels of honor, we've got to purge, we've got to remove ourselves from "these." What are these? He's talking about the false teachings, the false doctrine, the false teachers.

Now listen, Christian. We are not to judge others because we cannot know what's in their hearts. We cannot know. We have trouble with our own. So we should not, we will not, we cannot be judgmental. And that's not what's being talked about here.

We are to remove ourselves from those that we hear teaching false doctrine. None of us are perfect in any way, and every one of us needs Jesus all the time. Isn't that true? All the time. So Paul isn't saying, "Timothy, you are so much better than those two guys that have wandered off. Man, I love you, those guys are losers."

That's not what Paul said. Paul said you saw that they wandered off. You understand the way to not wander off is to remain on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ and him crucified. You're sealed. You belong to the Lord.

But you still want to be careful. Paul isn't saying you're better than them, because we aren't. We're just like them: saved by grace through faith alone. But Timothy could do this: he could be careful who he makes his closest companions, the ones that he really shares his heart with openly. He could be careful with that.

Guest (Male): Thank you for listening to Apply Within with Pastor Bob Davis. Apply Within is the radio outreach ministry of North Country Chapel. Our Sunday morning Bible studies are at 9:00 and 11:00 AM. We also have a Friday evening Bible study at 7:00 PM and a Monday evening Bible study at 7:00 PM.

You can download today's message in its entirety at NorthCountryChapel.com/studies. That's NorthCountryChapel.com/studies. If you would like a copy of today's message, write to us and ask for the message with today's date.

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Please join with us every Monday through Friday as we study together verse-by-verse on Apply Within, sponsored by North Country Chapel. God bless you.