Train Up A Child ~ 20150510 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

05/10/15 Train Up A Child: 2 Timothy 1:5; 3:14-15; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20150510_train-up-a-child.mp3

Proverbs 22:6 tells us:

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Historical Sketch of Timothy

I want to look this morning, this mother's day at Timothy as an example of this. Paul met Timothy in Lystra on his first missionary journey around AD 47-49, where Timothy and his mother became followers of Jesus. When Paul returned to the area on his second journey around AD 49-51, he took Timothy with him as a co-worker in the gospel, strengthening the churches.

Acts 16:1 Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.

Timothy was a young man from a divided home. His mother was a believer. His father was not. Timothy became Paul's companion as he traveled through the regions of Phrygia and Galatia, then to Troas in Mysia, then to Phillipi in Macedonia, where Paul and Silas were beaten and imprisoned. Upon release, they went to Thessalonica, then to Berea. Paul was sent from Berea to Athens alone to escape the hostility that followed him there. Silas and Timothy joined Paul briefly in Athens, and then, because Paul was prevented from going back himself, he sent them back to Thessalonica to encourage the believers there.

1 Thessalonians 3:1 Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, 2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and God's coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, 3 that no one be moved by these afflictions. ...

Paul traveled alone from Athens to Corinth, and Timothy and Silas rejoined him there (Acts 18:5). They spent a year and a half in Corinth, and in AD 51 Paul together with Silas and Timothy wrote two letters to the church in Thessalonica. They traveled from Corinth to Ephesus, then to Caesarea in Syria and then to Antioch. In AD 52, Paul took Timothy with on his third journey, and they visited the churches in Galatia and Phrygia, and then came to Ephesus. Paul spent 2 years in Ephesus, and around AD 56, he wrote 1 Corinthians. Around that time he also sent Timothy as his delegate to Corinth.

1 Corinthians 4:17 That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.

1 Corinthians 16:10 When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am. 11 So let no one despise him. Help him on his way in peace, that he may return to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers.

Toward the end of his stay in Ephesus, Paul sent Timothy and Erastus to Macedonia (Acts 19:22), then joined them there. From Macedonia, Paul wrote his second letter to Corinth, and sends greetings from 'Timothy our brother' (2Cor.1:1, 19). They traveled from there to Greece, where they spent 3 months, during which, around AD 57, Paul wrote his letter to Rome, and sent greetings from 'Timothy, my fellow worker' (Rom.16:21). Paul traveled from there up to Phillipi in Macedonia, but sent Timothy along with others to Troas to wait for him. Timothy accompanied him on several other stops in route to Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, Paul was arrested, and spent two years imprisoned in Caesarea, before being sent to Rome. In Rome, again Paul was joined by Timothy, and from prison in Rome he wrote Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon, in which he mentions Timothy as co-author. He says to the church in Philippi,

Philippians 2:19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel.

Paul was released and traveled to Philippi in Macedonia, and at some point he sent Timothy to Ephesus to keep the church there on track. He wrote to Timothy from Macedonia around AD 62/63

1 Timothy 1:2 To Timothy, my true child in the faith: ... 3 As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine,

By AD 67, Paul, now an old man awaiting execution, was again in Rome, and wrote a final letter to Timothy. He contrasted Timothy with unfaithful and ungodly people.

2 Timothy 3:10 You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me.

At the end of this final letter, Paul asks Timothy to come to him in Rome.

2 Timothy 4:9 Do your best to come to me soon. ...11 Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. ...13 When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. ...21 Do your best to come before winter.

Character of Timothy

Timothy was a brother, a co-worker, a true child in the faith, a man of proven worth. He was trustworthy, competent, sacrificial, well trained in the scriptures, capable of leadership, a true man of of character. Timothy would be a great role model. We should want to be like Timothy, and we should want our children to grow up to be like Timothy. So often our desires as parents are for our children to grow up protected from the evils of this world, to go to a good school, to find a good spouse, to get a good job, to live in a good house, to have good children, and to visit a lot. That is such a small dream for our children. Such a nearsighted dream. We should want more than a good middle-class life for our children. We should long for them to live lives that matter, that count for eternity, lives of integrity and character over the long haul, lives that bring pleasure to the heart of God. That is the kind of life Timothy's mother launched him on. What do we know about Timothy?

The Training of Timothy

2 Timothy 1:5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.

Timothy didn't grow up in ideal circumstances. Not much is said of his father other than that he was a Greek. It is implied that his father was either not a believer, or just not around. But his mother and his grandmother had a sincere faith. They invested in this young man and passed on their faith to him.

I've heard some nonsense of parents not wanting to force kids to believe what they believe, but laying out the options and letting the kids decide for themselves. I believe that is foolish and irresponsible. Think of it this way: when your two year old has a fever, you don't empty the medicine cabinet onto the kitchen table and say 'here are the options, you decide'. And it's a lazy attitude, because what it means is 'I know raising children to fear and love the one true God is hard work, and I'd rather not put in the effort'. And it's an arrogant statement, because it presumes that you can persuade them to follow what you believe. You can't. Only God can create new life in your child, but he has given you the responsibility and the privilege of teaching your kids the truth and leading them in the way they should go and praying earnestly for that work of God in their heart.

Unhypocritical

One thing is clear, you can't pass on a faith you do not own yourself. It was a sincere faith, an unhypocritical faith. You can't point your kids in the direction you think is right but you are unwilling to go, and expect them to go there. Their faith dwelt in them. It was at home in them. Theirs was not a Sunday faith. It was a Sunday through Saturday faith. It was a faith that was at home in them 24/7. It was a faith that shaped their actions and attitudes and words when they were in public and private, when others were around and when no one was looking. Paul had seen evidence that Timothy didn't just inherit this faith, he owned it. It was not just what his family had taught to him; it was what he clung to and what he built his life on and what had proved strong enough to carry him through the storms and trials of life. Timothy's was a faith without hypocrisy. It was genuine. It was the real deal. It had been modeled faithfully by his mother and by his grandmother. They lived it, and that had a lasting impression on this young man.

The Sacred Writings

Paul says to Timothy in chapter 3

2 Timothy 3:14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

Timothy had been trained up in the scriptures. He had been taught the truth. From infancy, literally from before birth he had been exposed to God's written word. That is life shaping! What powerful training for a life of usefulness. To know the scriptures, to know the grand story of which all the stories play a part, the story of a God who always was, a God all powerful, a God who creates, a God who cares for his rebellious creation, a God who is just and holy, but a God who is merciful and compassionate, a God who comes down to provide a way for his wayward creation to be restored to him, a God who sacrifices of himself to heal our hurts and make us whole.

The sacred writings are able. They are powerful. Hebrews tells us 'the word of God is living and active' (Heb.4:12). God told Isaiah

Isaiah 55:11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

Timothy had been placed under the powerful influence of the word of God. He had learned, and he had come to firmly believe the truth of God's word. He was persuaded, he was convinced. He had weighed the evidence and had been won over. It mattered from whom he learned it. His mother, and his grandmother had not just taught it to him or shoved it down his throat. They had lived it before him. They had immersed themselves in the sacred writings. The truth was in them and it had shaped them. They were genuine, without hypocrisy.

The sacred writings, in Timothy's case, the Old Testament, is powerful to make one wise for salvation. The entire Old Testament is a story of a sovereign God with a good creation gone tragically wrong, and in desperate need of rescue. It is a story of the darkness of human hearts living out from under God's good rule. It is a story of the devastating consequences of doing that which is right in our own eyes. Even the most well meaning well intentioned people, even the heroes were tragically flawed and broken characters, unable to get it right, in urgent need of forgiveness and healing and help. The scriptures are able to make us wise for salvation by teaching us that

Psalm 14:3 ...there is none who does good, not even one.

And

Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way...

The scriptures make us wise to our need for a Savior. And the scriptures point us to that Savior. The one who is fully man, but so much more than a mere man, the God-man who as man was able to stand in our place and pay our debt, but who being fully divine was able to bear the full fury of God's infinite wrath against the sins of mankind, Christ Jesus, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (Jn.1:29)

The scriptures point us to faith, utter and complete dependence and trust on the finished work of another, a champion, one who would fight our battles, conquer our enemies, in whom we have the victory. Trust in the character and nature of God, the one who keeps his word and fulfills all his promises. The one who brings something out of nothing and makes all things new.

2 Timothy 3:15 ...the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

Paul exhorts Timothy to continue in, to remain in, to abide in the truth of the scriptures. This would enable him to discern truth from error, to set the example, to stand firmly in grace, and to boldly proclaim the truth.

Do we want any less for our kids? Are we willing to expend the energy to train our children, to discipline them, to invest in them, to live unhypocritically before them, to saturate our own souls in the scriptures, to be real with them, and to point them to something so much bigger than ourselves, to encourage them to live for something bigger than themselves, to live to the glory of God, to be useful in the service of Christ?

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org