Deliverance. 2 Timothy 4.

The Post that Ate Manhattan.
This post has taken over a week to finally finish. And you can't really even tell.

But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message would be fully proclaimed for all the Gentiles to hear. And so I was delivered from the lion’s mouth! The Lord will deliver me from every evil deed and will bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. (2 Timothy 4:16-17 NET)

At first glance, those words sound encouraging about Paul's personal fate. He was delivered before. He'll be delivered again. Oh wait... "safely into his heavenly kingdom." Which was indeed the case. We have no further letters from Paul. The cavalry didn't come to the rescue, and tradition has it that not too long after this letter was written, Paul was executed, most likely beheaded as befitted a Roman citizen, during the persecution of Nero.

For some, this may not sound like much of a deliverance, but for those who deal with pain and suffering every moment, every day, and for those who have a clear vision of what it will mean to be with the Lord forever, this is total deliverance. Paul wrote to the Philippians during his first imprisonment:

"For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. Now if I am to go on living in the body, this will mean productive work for me, yet I don’t know which I prefer: I feel torn between the two, because I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far, but it is more vital for your sake that I remain in the body." (Philippians 1:21-24 NET)

The concepts in the words: saving, salvation, rescue, and deliverance, are all tied together. This connection is a natural one to make before you enter the vocabulary world of Christian-ese. As Christians, though, we tend to separate out "salvation" from the other words. This too is somewhat natural, because the definition of the word has been expanded to incorporate a larger concept than deliverance. (Although deliverance would be perfectly acceptable as a meaningful description of what happens to us through Christ.)

I want to take a quick look at these words as a way to cap our read through 2 Timothy. In the Greek, there are two words that can be translated into English as deliver, delivered, deliverance, or salvation and saved, when used in the sense of rescue. (There are a couple others that have to do with handing over, as in Luke 24:7 -- "The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men.") The two words are:

rhuomai - to draw to oneself, i.e. deliver; to rescue from danger, with the implication that the danger in question is severe and acute.

soteria - deliverance, salvation; salvation (in the Christian sense); preservation, release; to rescue from danger and to restore to a former state of safety and well being; a state of having been saved; the process of being saved.

Rhuomai is the word Paul uses here. In other words, he's talking about getting rescued from execution and released from prison.

But take a look at those definitions for soteria. There is also a sense of rescue from danger implicit in this word we translate as salvation. This is an important idea in Hebrew thought. Salvation for the Jews carried with it this idea of deliverance or rescue. It was applied more often to physical rescue from the clutches of an enemy than to the idea of going to heaven. The ultimate salvation for the Jews was simply to "be God's covenant people." The understanding was that, "Salvation, then, means deliverance from all that interferes with the enjoyment of these blessings. So it takes countless forms—deliverance from natural plagues, from internal dissensions, from external enemies, or from the subjugation of conquerors (the exile, particularly)."¹ The blessings referred to included a long and prosperous life in Palestine, the happiness of knowing God, a new heaven and new earth, and the resurrection of the dead (Is. 26:19).

And so it is that Paul can say, even as he considers his life poured out in offering, "The Lord will deliver me from every evil deed and will bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom."

¹The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, James Orr, M.A., D.D., General Editor

Timing. 2 Timothy 3.

Paul makes an interesting statement in verse 1 of this chapter. "But understand this, that in the last days difficult times will come." That statement is followed by a long list the ways in which the unrighteous will act, and make things difficult. It's not uncommon for Christians today to point to a list like this one (and a couple others in the New Testament), and say, "Aha! Look! We're in the last days." And they're right, but not because these behaviors are now being demonstrated. Paul was talking to Timothy about what he would experience, calling it "the last days."

Apparently, the last days began back then and continue to today. This is something we need to incorporate into our thinking. If we're in the last days, then Christ could come at any time. This is true, but it has been true for nearly 2,000 years. It's the tension we're intended to live in. Jesus said, in the midst of telling a couple of parables about expectant living, "Therefore stay alert, because you do not know the day or the hour." (Matthew 25:13)

The point here is that we are to live in expectation of His return, and that expectant living looks a certain way. In His parables, Jesus paints a picture of what that looks like -- on the lookout, ready to "wait the night", and using the gifts, talents, and assets we have been given to further the Kingdom. Paul gives advice to Timothy to:

• avoid the evil ones (in the sense of entanglement, not gentle teaching)
• to continue following Paul's teaching, practice, purposes, patience, endurance, and love
• expect things to get worse, but to endure
• remember the Scriptures, which he had known since a youth, which are inspired and ... well, you know the rest, and I'll quote it in a minute

Paul's advice to Timothy includes an exhortation to adhere to the teaching of the text. It's a biggie in the pantheon of "what we believe," and how we should handle the text. Here it is.

Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16,17 NET)

While the emphasis in looking at these verses is usually either on the inspiration of Scripture (God's breathing into the text), or on the 4 ways it is useful, I'd like to point out today that the goal of God in giving us this instruction is that we might be equipped to do good works. Study without action is pointless. And in context, Paul is telling Timothy to continue to soldier on in the face of the hardships he will face in these last days, by relying on the text. For Timothy, that was the Old Testament, not the New. We understand that Paul's principles apply to the New Testament, but for Timothy only the Old was available. Ultimately, all of us doing the NT Read Through this year, will need to spend time in the Old Testament as well. Stay tuned.

Whether we're really, really close to Jesus' return, I can't say. Admittedly, I tend to dismiss that aspect that people often mean when they say, "We're in the last days." It's sufficient for me to know that we are in the last days, and we wait on God's timing. In expectation.

Think. 2 Timothy 2.

This is a rich chapter, full of advice. I have read that pastors would do well to read this chapter every day. It was verse 2:7 that captured my attention this day:

"Think about what I am saying and the Lord will give you understanding of all this."

So I did. Here are the verses I thought about:

Make every effort to present yourself before God as a proven worker who does not need to be ashamed, teaching the message of truth accurately. (2 Timothy 2:15 NET)

Now in a wealthy home there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also ones made of wood and of clay, and some are for honorable use, but others for ignoble use. So if someone cleanses himself of such behavior, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart, useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. (2 Timothy 2:20,21 NET)

How about you?

Do you need some inspiration?



Maybe not.

All kidding aside (and I hope you enjoyed the video), this is a tremendous lesson from Paul. God will open up His Word to new levels of understanding if we take the time to think.

Honor and shame. 2 Timothy 1.

Paul uses the word ashamed (Greek epaischunomai) three times in this first chapter of his final letter to Timothy. That sounds like a clue to something important. Looking quickly at the usage in question ...

For God did not give us a Spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me, a prisoner for his sake, but by God’s power accept your share of suffering for the gospel. (2 Timothy 1:7,8 NET)

Because of this, in fact, I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, because I know the one in whom my faith is set ... (2 Timothy 1:12 NET)

May the Lord grant mercy to the family of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my imprisonment. (2 Timothy 1:16 NET)

... it seems pretty obvious that the shame Paul didn't have was attached to suffering and imprisonment.

In some ways this is a familiar concept, but in some ways not so much. For example, we attach a certain amount of shame to the idea of imprisonment, although it's probably attached more to the reason for the imprisonment than the imprisonment itself. For Martin Luther King Jr. to be arrested for non-violent (even illegal) protests to discriminatory law is not the same as the arrest of Mel Gibson for drunk driving and resisting arrest while hurling anti-Semitic epithets. Likewise, we're aware that for some people suffering (say poverty), and illness feel shameful. We hear that sentiment expressed in phrases like, "I'd be too ashamed to ask for help."

But this seems to go deeper in Paul's case than in that of our own culture. As Paul is encouraging Timothy to not be ashamed, he ties that shame to Timothy's testimony about Paul (in prison) and the Lord (). What goes in those parentheses? Crucified. Timothy's testimony is the gospel of a crucified Messiah as given to him by Paul, the guy in jail about to be executed. And Timothy can expect to suffer as well!

Well, that's just ugly. The words of the old hymn, The Old Rugged Cross, come to mind.

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
the emblem of suffering and shame.

Crucifixion was horrific in every possible way. Painful beyond measure. Lengthy. Public. Defenselessly naked. Death coming when the balance between enduring the pain required to keep breathing shifted in favor of the fear that came with asphyxiation. The shame of criminality.

The Three Crosses, etching by Rembrandt, 1653, State III of IV

The gospel is about a Messiah who was crucified. For Jews, in general, and for Paul specifically, until he met the risen Lord, this is an incomprehensible thought. It was just as true for the rest of the cultures in Paul's world. Criminal death, even as a martyr, was only shameful. Paul had to wrap his head around this unthinkable thought. And he did. In fact, he saw incomprehensible beauty and love and power in the justness and mercy of this act -- "To me – less than the least of all the saints – this grace was given, to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ ..." (Eph. 3:8 NET)

No doubt it took continual reminders that Christ's death and the suffering of the saints were not shameful events, but necessary ones, to counteract the influence of the culture's thinking. It's on that note, that I want to flesh out something beyond what we gain straight from the Bible (although given enough time, I bet the information is there for as much as we need to know. See, for example, the numerous references to shame in the Psalms, and David's prefiguring of Paul's sentiment when he says in Psalm 69:7 "For I suffer humiliation for your sake and am thoroughly disgraced.")

While I try to get the sense of what I'm reading each day in our NT Read Through directly from the text, I knew that I wasn't fully comprehending this idea of shame. So I spent a little time looking into it using other resources. We live in a culture where honor and shame as motivators for behavior are codified into law. In Paul's day, honor and shame were more directly connected to behavior and status. Apparently there is a great deal of cultural anthropological thought related to "honor-shame" cultures. We don't need to get into that to get the essential message of Paul's words to Timothy, and God's words to us, but I'll leave you with a short quote, not from a cultural anthropology source, but from Eerdman's Dictionary of the Bible.

Honor, Shame
Among North Americans, honor and shame often refer to a psychological state -- a person's internal moral character or the actions that reflect that character. In the world of the Bible and in traditional Mediterranean societies, however, honor and shame are social values determinative of a person's identity and social status. Honor is a person's claim to self-worth and the social acknowledgment of that claim -- i.e., honor is a person's public reputation which constitutes his or her identity. Shame is a person's concern for reputation. It is a positive value by which one seeks to protect his or her honor. If one is unable to maintain his honor, or if his peers do not acknowledge his claim to self-worth, then the person is shamed, i.e., dishonored and disgraced. A person with no concern for his honor or reputation is shameless.¹

Even in this, Jesus turns the world order upside down -- suffering that was shameful becomes when done for others, honor.

¹Eerdman's Dictionary of the Bible

Creeds and formulations. 1 Timothy 6.

In this last chapter of Timothy, it's hard to overlook the several formulations Paul uses in the letter. By formulation, I mean what appears to be a saying that was memorized and repeated by those in the church, like we might repeat "The Lord's Prayer." These formulations are reminders that this letter was written at the end of Paul's ministry, when the churches had been in place for a while and were developing routine and liturgy and structure.

Sometimes we react against the idea of structure, but it's essential to everything. God took the void and gave it structure. The church in Acts 2 was just a beginning. In the process of maturing, the realization came that hanging out together all the time was impractical. Worship could take place while working, even in how you did your work. A regular first day of the week gathering became the norm. Jesus' command was to go into all the world and make disciples and most observers think that God used the persecution of the Jerusalem church to help make that happen.

This letter to Timothy is all about church structure, leadership, and practice, especially for Timothy's instruction as he acts as Paul's successor. And sprinkled within the letter is this phrase, "This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance..." (1 Timothy 1:15; 3:1; 4:9) It's also in 2 Timothy and Titus. In addition to this phrase we catch what might be other confessional statements, perhaps the words to hymns, which we can recognize by their dense theological content.

Creedal statements are a tricky topic in churches that have their roots in the Restoration Movement. Let's get a definition first. A simple definition of creed is: a formal statement of religious belief. Here's a slightly expanded version from the Britannica Concise Encylopedia (online): "Officially authorized, usually brief statement of the essential articles of faith of a religious community, often used in public worship or initiation rites." It's the "officially authorized" and "initiation rites" that are at the heart of the disagreement with creeds in Restoration Movement churches. Creeds are statements about God and faith that are based on the Bible, but separate from the Bible. The Restoration Movement was interested in removing whatever divided the church - denominational names like "Lutheran" that implied adhering to man-made systems outside the Bible; rigid adherence to theological viewpoints that were "non-essential"; and creeds. The thinking was that "Creeds divide, but Christians should be able to find agreement by standing on the Bible itself..." (wikipedia entry).

But a creedal-like statement within the Bible becomes authoritative. And so, however these statements developed in the early church, Paul's inclusion of them in this letter to Timothy by God's inspiration, means they are truth to us. I thought it would be a good way to end our reading of 1 Timothy by simply including them here. I'm going to use several translations, chosen not to make a particular point, but for their expressiveness. Be sure to look them up in your preferred translation to see what it says. First, here are the statements identified by Paul as trustworthy sayings.

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (v.1:15 NET)

“If someone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a good work.” (v.3:1 NET)

“physical exercise has some value, but godliness is valuable in every way. It holds promise for the present life and for the life to come.” (v.4:8 NET)

And finally, here are the formulations that may have taken the form of hymns or statements/confessions of faith in the churches. (They may also be only Paul's formulations.)

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and human beings, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.” (v.2:5,6 TNIV)

“By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness:
He who was revealed in the flesh,
Was vindicated in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Proclaimed among the nations,
Believed on in the world,
Taken up in glory.” (v.3:16 NASB)

[God is]
“The blessed and sole Potentate,
The King of all who are kings
And Lord of all who are lords,
The sole Possesor of immortality,
Housed in light to which there is no approach,
Whom no human being has seen or ever could,
His is the honor and ruling power forever indeed.” (v.6:15,16 Andy Gaus' translation)

Grace to you.