2 Timothy 3:1-17
The Rev. Dr. Robert S. Langworthy, preaching
November 9, 2025
These are, to use Paul’s term, “distressing times”. They stress many people – and churches. For fewer and fewer are willing to consider following the kind of religion Paul was here exhorting Timothy to follow, one in which one submits to authority: that of the Bible and that of one’s spiritual parents who taught its truth. Today lots of folks pick and choose from a variety of sources, according to their own lights, to create their own individually-tailored religion. Unfortunately, their allegedly “independent” evaluation of what’s right is impacted by a cultural indoctrination of which they’re unaware, one that instills delusions about our deserving all we desire and about our having what it takes to discern the truth on our own.
Our world today and Paul and Timothy’s world are not very different. We’d do well then to take to heart Paul’s urging Timothy in this letter’s previous chapter to return to “God’s firm foundation” of Scripture and the instruction of spiritual parents, and Paul’s urging Timothy in this chapter to make his stand on that foundation, and so “continue in what you have learned and firmly believed”. For us to take all that to heart is to dedicate what God has entrusted to our management – our time, talent and treasure – to fulfill our chief purpose as followers of Jesus: namely, to put on display, by our gracious generosity, His gracious generosity.
In describing the “wicked” people responsible for the trials of Paul’s day, the people who in unrighteousness took advantage of the vulnerable and opposed the truth, Paul employed in verses 2-4 nineteen consecutive phrases by which to detail their wickedness. For us now, it’s enough to note the first phrase and the final one in that long chain. These wicked people were both “lovers of themselves, lovers of money” and “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God”. In other words, they loved themselves and the pleasure money buys more than they loved God.
How we use our money is the telling indicator of our hierarchy of values. Yes, some expenditures are necessary for survival; but, after that, our discretionary spending accurately reveals our priorities. Comparing how much we spend on great food, fun trips or nice clothes to how much we give to the church and other caring agencies shows what matters most to us. Proverbs 3:9 tells us to “honor the Lord with our substance”, but often we honor God only with our “surplus” – and even then, with just modest generosity.
If we truly feel enriched by Jesus’ love, and value the gift of His companionship more than any other, will we not take from the gracious abundance He’s given us in order to take care of the needy, even when that involves some sacrifice on our part?
I think of a single mother of three who was barely making ends meet but who wanted to contribute to her church’s three-year campaign to renovate its rundown sanctuary. As she talked over with the kids whether they could give more than the tithe they were already giving, they were all bummed to think that the only special offering to the campaign they could make was extra prayer for its success – until the oldest boy blurted out, “Wait, we’ve got cable TV. We could cancel our subscription and give that money to the church!” They all, with giddy joy, jumped on the idea of making that sacrifice to bless their church and its ministries.
Yes, they suffered a loss, but they felt ahead by that suffering. They were so grateful to further serve Christ’s loving purposes that they were delighted to give up something to give Him more; and so appreciative of having everything in Him, that they didn’t mind letting go of any thing for Him.
I don’t think it was on the mind of that family; but, for many of us, it’s also helpful to think, not just of how good Jesus has been to us, but also of how bad we would’ve been had it not been for Him. I for one would have been as bad as those over whom Paul was so dismayed. I once loved my pleasure more than people and took advantage of them. Jesus did not just save me from my guilty and shameful sin; He saved me from my guilty and shameful self!
It’s impossible to experience the generosity and grace of Jesus and not become more generous and gracious oneself. If we bear His goodness in mind and refrain from taking it for granted, we instinctively and cheerfully give back as much as we can. And if we don’t feel that way, the right response is, not to sit ourselves down for a stern talking to, but to return to our foundation and renew our love for Jesus and His ongoing work of love. Reacquainting ourselves with Him reignites our generosity for Him – and maybe moves us to imitate Paul’s generosity for Him, something Paul hoped Timothy would do as he reminded him of all his sacrifices for the Lord.
To lead a life of generosity is to walk with Jesus and to become, as Paul put it with the last words of this chapter, “equipped for every good work”.
One good work we might do is to make a pledge – that is, a promise – to fund this church’s mission in 2026. Next Sunday you’ll have in worship an opportunity to do that by filling out a little card. That’s something you can do physically if you’re participating in person or virtually if you’re participating online. We’ll also be sending out pledge cards by US mail to those who want them.
Of course, pledging is only one way of loving God and neighbor with our money. Consider how a man named Robert Morris did it:
Just after he’d first committed his life to Jesus, Robert, his wife and some friends went out to eat. He felt compelled to give a witness to their waitress. So he decided not to order any food for himself; but to take the money he thereby saved and leave her an extra-generous tip, along with a small copy of John’s gospel. As they left the restaurant, he told her God loved her.
A month later, they returned to the same restaurant. Robert had prayed for income enough to bless the waitress even more extravagantly, and he had $50 more than before – and they gave the waitress a tip way out of proportion to the price of the meal.
The third month, as soon as she saw them walk in the door, she ran over to tell them she’d finally read the Gospel and had committed her life to Jesus. Robert was thrilled, but she had more good news. She spoke about how, in her phone calls with her incarcerated husband, who had still two years in prison to serve, she had told him about Jesus and His people – and he too committed his life to Jesus. She then added, “Money’s been tight with him in the pen. So we both want to thank you for being generous and showing us the goodness of God.”
For the following two years, Robert and his wife kept in touch with them both and encouraged their growth in the faith. Robert mentored the husband by mail and by phone. Upon release, the ex-con and his wife were baptized and joined the church. Robert could only praise God for rooting them all in His truth, seeing them all through their trials, and giving him the gift of serving as a midwife in a couple of new births.
May we be ready for any trial by being rooted in God’s truth and dare to be generous out of our love for Jesus and His ongoing work through this church!
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