Useful to the Master

Good evening, everyone.

I'm a very happy bunny, because when I just look outside this building, I see clarity, bright light.

Although it's not that warm, but still, it makes me feel glad to be here, and not miserable like the past seven, eight months.

Whether-wise, I mean, that's what I mean.

I should have said that.

Anyway, software technology, it's been growing very fast.

I was speaking to some of my friends who were engineers in technology, and they were saying that perhaps in a few years' time from now, maybe not a few years, maybe 10 years, a decade, I don't know, we won't be needed to learn any other languages anymore.

Perhaps we're going to have a watch device, or a cell phone, or whatever we're going to have, that while we say something, is going to use it into the appropriate language.

I just wish that thing was inventing now, and I wouldn't have to preach to you in English, and I would use my Spanish, and you would understand what I'm saying, but that's not possible.

Anyway, I know, I shouldn't have said that either.

Anyway, let's go back to this letter.

Well, 2 Timothy was probably the last letter written by Paul.

It was around 64 and 68 AD, and he wrote it during his second Roman imprisonment.

And it seems that he had written this letter with two main purposes.

The first one was to ask Timothy to come and visit him.

He would say, Timothy, come to Rome and visit me.

And in chapter 4, we learn that he's going to tell him whom he is supposed to bring, and what he's supposed to bring.

So that was the first reason or purpose for this letter.

The second one, he was trying to provide for Timothy with a final personal letter or encouragement and help in how to deal with difficult situations.

So it's always good to keep that in mind in our heads when we go through a book of Timothy.

I'm pretty sure in every single sermon over the last series, you'll be reminded of that.

So that's nothing new for you.

But let's open our Bible.

Let's go to 2 Timothy, chapter 20, verse 26.

I'm sorry, chapter 2, verse 20, 26.

And this is what it says.

In a large house, there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay.

Sown are for special purposes and sown for common use.

Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purpose, made holy, useful to the master, and prepared to do any good work.

Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the law out of pure heart.

Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments.

Because you know what they produce quarrels.

And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.

Opponents must be hegenially instructed in the hope that God will grant them repentance, leading them to a knowledge of the truth.

And that they will come to their senses and escape from the trough of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

So Paul has been telling, previous to this passage we just read, has been telling Timothy how to deal with some difficult problems within the church of Ephesus, when he was ministering.

In the verses just before, he has exhorted Timothy to use his scripture properly.

No, as Hymenaeus and Philetus, whose false teaching has been letting some people astray.

Look what he says in verse 19, before the one we just read.

This is Paul saying to Timothy,

Now as he goes on to this, he has said what a person must do.

He goes on to say,

And how a person can become useful to the master.

And every time we discuss about useful to the master, we come to this question, how?

How can we be used to the master?

What does he mean by it?

Let me tell you in four different subjects, what I think Paul is meaning by this.

I think someone who is going to become useful to the master, there are four things that he has to do.

And I think he's telling Timothy to do.

I don't think this one is working.

The first one is like, they must work in their personal conduct by cleansing themselves.

From verse 20, 20, why we see that?

The second thing that they must do is that they must flee from evil desires and pursue godliness.

The first thing he says, don't worry, we're going to go through this in detail.

I'm just giving you a heads up.

The first thing we're going to go through is that they must avoid foolish and stupid arguments.

And be quarrelsome.

They shouldn't be quarrelsome.

And the last thing we're going to see is that they must oppose to what is wrong with kindness, patience, gentleness, and based on God's war.

So basically that's what we're going to be dealing with in the next few minutes.

So the first thing a person useful to the master must do is that they must work in their personal conduct by cleansing themselves.

Look what verses 20 and 21 says.

Paul uses illustration that has different kind of vessels.

The gold and the silver vessels are kept clean so that they may be used for special purposes.

Such as, I don't know, dinner parties or whatever you're going to use, this kind of stuff.

But he also says that the wood and clay vessels are used for common use.

Common use we can define like, I don't know, maybe in the kitchen to pull a tea box when we drink so much tea that we drink here.

Or I don't know what else.

Maybe for carry out garbage, for human waste.

I don't know, whatever sin he may refer to this common use.

So Paul is saying, Timothy, in so many ways, that Timothy, you and I are vessels.

So what sort of use are you going to have?

Says Paul.

And he says to Timothy, do you want to be a gold or silver vessel used for something special?

Or do you want to be a cheap clay pot?

But he goes on to say, Timothy, there's two different things of use that we can be given.

And actually, verse 21 gives us a clue of what makes a difference between what kind of vessels can we be.

Look what it says.

Those who cleanse themselves from the latter.

Many different versions of the Bible use this translation of latter as common use.

Some others will use dishonorable purposes.

So he's saying like, the difference in how you're going to be, what kind of vessel you're going to be,

it is whether you cleanse yourself or you don't.

In this context, cleaner himself means, in the latter, in this context,

means to refer to the false teaching that has been going on and was being expressed in this.

It is worth noting that false teaching are not just mental errors,

but there is something bad that needs to be cleansed.

So cleansing themselves for a person is not just something they can choose to do,

but actually their responsibility.

And this is what Paul says.

Paul says there are two different vessels,

but you've got to choose which one you are going to be.

And how do you choose that?

You must cleanse yourself.

Whether you cleanse yourself or not,

Paul says that is your responsibility, Timothy.

And you must do that.

And perhaps something worse,

something worse explaining here.

When Paul is saying that a person needs to cleanse himself,

by any means,

he is not teaching that men in his own effort

can atone for his own life

and get rid of the sin problem.

That's not what he is saying in this.

Because if he was saying that,

then the death of Christ would be useless and pointless.

So he is saying,

a person needs to cleanse himself from the latter,

from these dishonorable sins.

But by no means he's saying that a person in his own ability

has the ability to get rid of the sin problem.

That is something that Jesus can do.

And he himself cannot do.

So, but what is Paul saying then?

I think Paul is saying that

us, or you, Timothy,

can and you must avail

of the means by cleansing yourself

that God has provided in Christ.

That is your responsibility.

As an example,

imagine you're working in your garden.

And you've been working very hard.

You're just,

you become kind of muddy.

You've been working very.

I don't know how many hours can you work.

I'm not a gardener.

I have no idea how you do that.

But I can imagine after you finish,

you are so messy, dirty,

and I'm pretty sure nobody wants to hug you that moment.

So when you go inside a house,

when you get to the house,

you don't just,

I don't know,

spread your arms

and you begin to lick yourself

and clean yourself like a cat does.

Does it?

That's not the way we do it, is it?

What do you do normally?

Or what do we do normally?

We go inside our bathrooms,

get some soap

and get some water.

And what do we do?

We wash ourselves.

Maybe we take a shower,

whatever we do.

So,

the soap and the waters

are the means of the cleansing.

But,

each one of us

are the one responsible.

whether do we use them

to wash ourselves,

to cleanse ourselves,

or we're done.

What are you saying with all of this?

Just to get to the point.

This is the point.

God provided,

and we learn this in 1 John,

that blood of Jesus

as the means

of cleansing ourselves

from sins.

How do we do that?

By confessing,

says 1 John 1,

9.

So,

we are completely clean

at the moment

that we trust Jesus

as Christ's Savior.

That's something that happens

once and forever,

says the Bible.

But at the same time,

we daily go into a world

that is corrupted,

that is sinful.

So,

and we do

get,

I don't know,

surrounded by sin.

And let me tell you

something you probably

don't know.

I'm for sure you do.

We do sin as well.

So,

Paul says,

Paul says that we must

cleanse ourselves.

Jesus' sacrificial death

on the cross

cleanses us forever.

That's true.

But Paul says

that you also must

cleanse yourself

by constantly

confessing your sins,

constantly having

a good relationship

with God,

so that you are using

the means

in order for you

to cleanse yourself.

That's what Paul

is trying to say.

So,

confession of sins

must be a habit

in our lives

for cleansing ourselves.

And cleansing,

as I said before,

is our own responsibility.

Is that very clear?

I hope so.

Again,

we don't get rid

of the sin problem

in our own efforts.

That's only Jesus

can do that.

But what we can do,

we take the means,

meaning,

the sacrificial death

in Christ,

confessing our sins,

and through that

says Paul,

we can be cleansed

from our own sins.

But anyway,

so cleansing ourselves

is our responsibility.

The second thing

Paul goes to say

is that

cleansing ourselves,

by cleansing themselves

these people,

and useful

for the master people,

it cleansed themselves,

they become holy,

which is another word

for sanctify.

The word here

described as made holy

is a word

that means

set apart

for God.

It is used

three times

in the Bible.

The first one

is used in a context

of there is a

positional

sanctification.

sanctification.

If you read

Hebrews chapter 10,

Hebrews 10:10

verse 10,

you're going to learn

that.

What is positional

sanctification?

It is that

through the death

of Christ,

believers have been

sanctified

once and for all.

Look what it says,

Hebrews 10,

10.

And by that will,

we have been

made holy

to the sacrifice

of the body

of Jesus Christ

once and for all.

That is

positional

sanctification.

It means that

in God's eye

through Jesus Christ,

the moment we

trust in Him,

we are sanctified.

But there is also

a progressive

sanctification.

What does it mean?

It's that

as we grow in Christ,

we progressively

grow to be

conformed to His

image.

You can see that

in 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7 and 1.

This is what it says.

Paul himself

is saying this.

This is what it says.

Listen to what it says.

Let us purify

ourselves from

everything

that contaminates

body and spirit.

Performing

holiness

out of reverence

for God.

So,

Paul is saying

a person

who cleans

himself,

he's going to

become sanctified.

They are made

holy.

So,

there is

three different

kinds of holiness

or sanctification.

The first one

is the one

made by Jesus.

That is positional

sanctification.

We've been

sanctified through Him

through His death

once and for all.

The second one

Paul says

in 2 Corinthians

is something

that happens

progressively

that we all

become holy.

And the last one

it is

ultimate

sanctification

which is actually

going to happen

once Jesus

is back

and we see

Him as He is

and according

to what it says

in 1 John

will be

like He is.

This is what it says

in John 2

John 2:2

verse 2

and 3

but we know

that when Christ

appears

we shall be

like Him

and we shall

see Him

as He is.

All who

have this hope

in Him

purify themselves

cleanse themselves

just as He

is pure

just as He

cleanses.

Again,

Paul is saying

that those who

cleanse themselves

they will become

sanctified.

I think for the

context of what's

happening here

Paul is describing

then the process

of progressive

sanctification.

That sanctification

that happens

in the daily

basis in our

lives.

We must be

growing in the

process of being

separate from

the doctrinal

and moral

evil.

Remember what

was happening

there throughout

the letter.

Graham was

telling us

two weeks ago

and Neil was

telling us again

the last week

ago what was

happening there.

There was a lot

of doctrinal

error.

And actually

what Paul is

trying to sell

to cleanse

ourselves

he's saying

keep yourself

away from

these sort

of

doctrinal

errors.

Go in

this process

of progressing

sanctification

trying to

be more

like Jesus

every day.

I think that's

what he means

when he says

by cleansing

ourselves

we become

holy,

we become

sanctified,

set apart

clean beds

for the Lord.

So the next

thing that

cleansing does

is like

by cleansing

ourselves

a person

who wants

to be

useful

for the

master

they become

useful

to the

master.

Master

is a

Greek word

from which

we get

our word

despot.

I know

despot

sometimes

it means

very bad

but in

the contents

it

emphasizes

Christ's

absolute

Lordship.

Paul's

point here

is that

dirty

vessels

are not

useful

to the

master.

Imagine

you go

to a

restaurant

and when

you are

given a

table

you go

and sit

there

and when

the person

brings

the utensils

all the

utensils

are on

the table

then you

realize that

utensils are

messy and

dirty

there are

some little

bit of rice

there are

some little

bit of juice

and whatever

they are

how do

you get

you get

cross

don't you

you're like

please

just dear

waiters

waiter

would you dare

to come

and change

these utensils

because I

don't want

to use

them

what happens

here is

that in

the same

way

dirty

vessels

or dirty

utensils

nobody wants

to use

them

in the same

way

dirty

people

people who

do not

cleanse

themselves

they are

not useful

to the

master

by no

means

so Paul

is saying

so you

want to

be used

to the

master

what do

you have

to do

cleanse

ourselves

because he

is only

going to

use

those

who

cleanse

themselves

is it

getting

there

so the

dirty ones

are never

useful

and in

the same

way

it reminds

embrace

we're going

on again

for false

teaching

imagine

our

embrace

and

false

teaching

Paul

is saying

if you

embrace

into it

and your

lives

are tainted

by sin

there is

no way

that you

are going

to be

useful

for the

master

and Paul

is saying

by cleansing

ourselves

that is

responsibility

by cleansing

ourselves

you become

sanctified

and by

cleansing

ourselves

you also

what

you become

useful

to the

master

and the

last thing

he says

in this

part

is that

by

cleansing

ourselves

or by

cleansing

themselves

somebody

who wants

to become

useful

to the

master

as well

become

prepared

says Paul

in the

last part

of verse

21

they become

prepared

to do

any

good

work

it's not

only useful

to the

master

that we

gain

by

cleansing

ourselves

but also

prepare

for any

good

work

and in

a

context

I think

prepare

or being

prepared

here

it's the

idea of

being

willing

and being

ready

clean

vessels

are there

waiting

for the

master

to come

and pick

enough

to use

them

going

on

with

the

same

example

of

the

restaurant

the

dirty

ones

are

in

the

table

but

the

clean

ones

are

waiting

there

separated

in

a

place

waiting

for

the

waiter

to

go

and

get

it

so

they

can

be

used

so

prepare

to

do

any

good

work

it's

one

of

the

rewards

we

get

by

being

cleansed

ourselves

so

by

cleansing

ourselves

what do

we

get

it is

a

responsibility

cleansing

ourselves

what else

do we

have

we are

made

sanctified

by

cleansing

ourselves

what else

it is

that we

become

useful

to the

master

and by

cleansing

ourselves

what else

we are

prepared

for

any

good

work

so

that is

the

importance

of

being

cleansed

or

cleansing

ourselves

that's

a very

difficult

word

in

English

I

would

say

it would

be a lot

easier

in

Spanish

but again

this is

not

I

shouldn't

be doing

that

point

or

often

but

anyway

so

they

must

work

in

their

personal

conduct

by

cleansing

themselves

the

second

thing

they

must

do

is

that

they

must

flee

look

verse

22

they

must

flee

from

evil

desires

and

pursue

godliness

there

are

here

two

strong

commands

the

first

one

is

flee

to

flee

and

the

second

one

is

to

pursue

Timothy

is

to

flee

from

evil

desires

or

youth

and

pursue

godliness

here

Paul

described

godliness

in

verse

22

it

says

flee

the

evil

desires

of

youth

and

pursue

righteousness

and

he

defines

righteousness

as

he

says

pursue

righteousness

faith

love

and

peace

along

with

those

who

call

on

the

Lord

out

of

pure

heart

I

think

by

defining

righteousness

faith

love

and

peace

with

those

who

call

on

the

name

of

the

Lord

out

of

pure

heart

I

think

he

say

you

must

pursue

godliness

I

think

godliness

involves

righteousness

involves

faith

involves

love

and on

so the

first thing

he says

in here

they must

flee

from evil

desires

of youth

we

we

usually

associate

this

with

this

term

with

fleeing

away

from

desires

of youth

or evil

desires

or youthful

lust

as some

other

translations

says

we

associate

this

with

sexual

temptations

but

to be

honest

given

the

context

maybe

those

temptations

are not

always

present

in

every

man

I

don't

think

the

main

issue

here

is

sexual

temptations

that

some

people

would

assume

I think

given a

country

or something

more

I think

what Paul

is trying

to say

through this

flee from

evil

desires

of youth

that

I think

he's referring

to sinful

desires

so while

sexual

temptation

may be

included

in evil

desires

I don't

think

it's the

main

focus

rather

again

what Paul

is trying

to say

I think

he's referring

to wrong

desires

wrong

things

they

want

to

use

those

things

that

younger

men

are

more

vulnerable

than

older

men

are

Calvin

used

to

say

this

you

understood

this

way

that

these

evil

desires

of youth

are the

propensity

of younger

men

to lose

their tempers

and rush

forward

a heated

argument

with more

confidence

and rashness

than men

of their

older age

so

Timothy

is going

to be

facing a

lot of

bad

teaching

a lot

fast

teaching

and he

must

stand

firm

to defend

his

fate

against

serious

error

but he

is not

to be

arrogant

about how

much

he knows

impatiently

to bless

those in

error

or being

quarrel

or assertive

rather

he says

they must

flee themselves

for these

attitudes

whenever he's

going to go

and face

somebody

like that

Paul is

saying

you might

be tempered

you might

be correct

I think

rather than

describing

sexual

issues

in here

I think

he's

saying

flee

away

from

those

desires

that young

men

have

to fight

and become

superior

to anyone

to think

they know

everything

when they are

just young

I think

in so many

ways

that's

what he's

saying

and he

says

not only

to flee

from

these

desires

of youth

but also

says

you must

pursue

godliness

and as I

said

before

godliness

is defined

as

righteousness

faith

love

and peace

fleeing

and pursuing

are totally

different things

they are totally

opposed to one

another

it is not

he has to

flee

from these

evil desires

he must

pursue

godly

character

he must

pursue

godliness

the first

thing he

says

describing

the godliness

he says

must pursue

righteousness

this is

basically

behaving

according

to what

god's

word

says

god's

word

is

not

unclear

about

how

we

should

live

and

behave

it

doesn't

offer

a

helpful

hints

on how

to

live

rather

it

gives

us

commands

it

gives

us

authority

it

says

this

is

the

way

you're

going

to

behave

the

bible

doesn't

say

well

you may

choose

to

behave

this

way

you

may

not

choose

to

behave

this

way

but

rather

the

bible

says

you

must

live

this

way

and

i

think

paul

is

giving

us

another

command

saying

you

must

pursue

righteousness

so

live

according

to what

the bible

says

and live

in that

way

the

second

thing

he

says

they

must

pursue

faith

and

the

Greek

word

here

means

faithfulness

so

it

means

that

you

are

trustworthy

and

reliable

when

someone

gives

you

a

job

a

person

who

wants

to be

useful

for

the

Lord

must

be

counting

on

to

do

that

somebody

who

wants

to

be

useful

to

the

Lord

has

to

be

reliable

somebody

you

must

depend

on

can

you

imagine

they

asked

me

to

come

and

preach

today

if

I

have

five

or

six

I

just

call

John

and

say

I'm

sorry

man

I'm

talking

for

goal

I'm

playing

football

deal

with

that

that

that

is

no

reliability

at

all

and

Paul

is

saying

pursue

in so

many

ways

as

well

so

a

person

who

wants

to

be

useful

for

the

master

must

trust

that

God

is

God

and

let

him

be

him

the

next

thing

he

says

about

he

has

to

pursue

in

godliness

he

says

pursue

love

I

know

we

are

going

very

slow

but

it

is

one

of

those

small

passages

are

probably

the

ones

who

give

more

headaches

to

preachers

because

you

never

know

how

I

have

to

go

all

the

way

in

so

pursue

love

he

says

here

one

of

the

things

that

people

tend

to

assume

you

probably

know

it

that

everyone

is

very

loving

people

everyone

oh

I'm

a loving

person

I'm

a loving

person

I love

everyone

but

actually

that's

not

reality

that's

not

what

the

Bible

says

the

Bible

says

we

are

selfish

and

we

are

all

like

in

so

in

ways

lovers

ourselves

we

always

think

in

ourselves

we

always

think

the

way

we

want

to

do

rather

Paul

says

somebody

who

wants

to

be

useful

for

the

master

what

he

has

to

do

must

pursue

love

must

consider

themselves

less

and

consider

some

others

first

before

he

is

thinking

what

do

I

get

here

he

is

what

am I

willing

to

give

what

am I

willing

to

do

how

can

I

love

this

person

in

a

way

I

want

to

be

loved

by

this

person

Paul

is

saying

you

must

pursue

love

how

do

you

pursue

love

think

and

put

the

other

person

first

and

then

go

to

yourself

Jesus

said

treat

different

people

treat

another

one

in

the

same

way

that

you

want

to

be

treated

yourself

so

somebody

wants

to

be

useful

for

the

master

must

pursue

love

and

the

last

thing

he

says

they

also

must

pursue

peace

and

peace

is

something

that

doesn't

usually

happen

peace

doesn't

happen

for

accident

peace

is

not

something

you

just

go

and

buy

in

the

corner

store

that

you

find

in

your

neighborhood

peace

is

something

you

must

pursue

peace

is

something

you

must

work

on

to

it

those

who

are

married

and

know

their

partners

whenever

they

go

to

split

a

fight

know

hard

very

very

hard

to

pursue

peace

it

is

you

really

must

work

hard

to

do

it

and

to

gain

it

and

Paul

is

saying

if

you

really

want

to

be

someone

useful

to

the

master

you

must

pursue

peace

and

why

is

he

saying

this

because

Paul

knows

all

the

issues

that

are

happening

with

false

teaching

he

knows

at

some

point

Timothy

is

going

to

have

to

stand

and

he's

going

to

have

to

defend

his

fate

but

even

in

a

way

he

does

it

he

says

you

have

to

pursue

peace

you

have

to

make

sure

that

what

you

want

from

these

people

is

for

them

to

realize

their