As I prayed and considered this message over the last week, for whatever reason, no normal Father’s Day passage really stood out. What does stand out to me more and more in our world is apathy. Specifically, an apathetic attitude in many today concerning the things of Christ, the things of God and our requirement to “go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost” (Matt 28:19). Many of us have lost sight of the fact that we are to engage this wicked and sin filled land and go forward through the Canaanites and into the Promised Land. The mission has not changed from the first time Moses stood at the edge of the land of Canaan until now – we are to move to conquer the land we are given for Christ. Equally, do you realize that the promise of God to go before Israel is just as pure to the Christian – that He will be with us always? He is there when you need His assistance, and He is there to witness your incipient weakness. Today we look at the kind of soldier for Christ we should be, men. We are supposed to be the leaders, not the followers. We will talk about the inactivity of those who know what to do and how to do it, yet they fail to take proper action. To some, this may be an old fashioned dress-down. To most I pray it is a call and inspiration to witness for Christ and invite people to church for introduction to His gospel and salvation.
We will look at two passages today from the same author. The Holy Spirit used Paul to write two glorious epistles – one to the Romans, and one to a young preacher named Timothy. That seems rather coincidental doesn’t it? We find in Romans 13:11 a call to fulfill the law of love to one another, to our neighbors, friends and family. In 2 Timothy 3:13 we see rewards given by the world for our godly living, sharing the law of a loving God with others. In one verse we find a command to give the truth. In the next verse we find the consequence of obedience in a sin filled world. Let us together explore these two truths, find the promises within them and renew our commitment to Christ today as a soldier in His army.
Is this a message for all Christians? Yes, it is. Is it a message specifically for men because it is Fathers Day? You bet. Leaders need to lead and the question must be asked: If the world has been led astray, whose fault is it? It is certainly not the Lord’s fault. Nor can we set it at the feet of the Father. The Holy Spirit resides within us, convicting those who are saved and working to change our sinful hearts. The fault lies at our feet, the feet of feeble, failing, faltering – and often weak – men. Do not misunderstand me folks, I count myself among those whom I have just described. I am no better than you. We have made our share of mistakes. Men, we need to change. We men have failed God on a number of occasions. I propose to you that we are doing that right now, failing God and falling far short of His expectations for us. How can we expect to lead a family, guide our young ones and provide leadership to our home when we cannot properly follow? Simply put, we cannot.
Not only are we as fathers responsible for leading our families to witness Christ to all the Lord puts before our path, we are also mindful of the dangers that face our families. Fathers, we are to prepare our families for this fight and then lead them into the hedgerows of the world. Be mindful though: evil lurks there.
I. Wicked enemy (2 Timothy 3:13)
In Paul’s second epistle to Timothy, a young pastor, Paul writes to warn him of many things taking place in the world and the various obstacles Timothy will face. He writes of trials and the responsibilities Timothy has as a pastor in those trials (2 Tim 1:3-2:26). Then, beginning in chapter three, Paul describes things that will happen in the future. He paints a bleak picture that seems almost defeatist. After all, with all the work Timothy will do for the Lord, it just seems to get worse and worse.
Move back a little bit to verse one of chapter three, so we can gather context and properly identify the discussion in verse 13. There will be tremendous and almost wholesale rejection of God. Apostasy will run rampant. People will be so self-absorbed they could care less for others, and especially for God. Everyone will be out for money in some way or another. They will all look for an angle to increase their wealth. No amount of money will satisfy them. These people will have inflated egos, thinking that they are the only important thing in the whole world. Then as if they are on some team with mankind, they take man’s side regardless of his failures and foibles. They begin to claim that man is the ultimate authority and no one but mankind matters. Third, they will display this arrogance and pride to God in a most shameful way, in being “unholy” (2 Tim 3:2). The family unit will deteriorate as children rebel more and more against their parents. People will be vicious in their backbiting and gossip. They will talk of others behind their backs as if they themselves were perfect and untarnished by sin, making judgments about others in a most unloving manner (2 Tim 3:3-5). They will also claim godliness or piety but deny the power of faith in their lives, looking only to the pragmatism of the bottom line or the numbers in the church. These are vicious, evil people who see nothing of God. They see only things of the world that they want to see. Paul warns that Timothy, a minister of the word, will be buffeted and stricken by these people and that they should be avoided.
These evil seducers take advantage of weak women by entering their homes where they are already weighed down with the very sins that the seducer brings. The seducer brings juicy gossip, or a tidbit of complaint or some speculation that is tasty, and both feed from the morsel until it poisons their whole system.
This is subtle evil at its utmost – destroying not only those involved in the discussion, but potentially assassinating the character of the subject of discussion. Paul calls these seducers, essentially morons. In my computer dictionary a moron is, “a stupid person.”[i] These people sit in pews in church always listening but never really learning (ginoskō – knowing) anything. The seducers are never able to know the truth and they spread their black sin of ignorance to all they influence.
With that as background, we come to our target verse – verse 13. The people described in this verse are those described before, only they get worse. These are evil men, growing more and more evil as time goes on. They are imposters. They pretend to know God, but continue in their sins as we have described them. Not only do they continue, they get worse and deceive more people, as they continue to deceive themselves. There is nothing new to their wickedness. Regardless of the attempts at religion, they are simply replays of old records. Polish up the pig all you want, you still have something that wants to wallow in the mire.
“Satan threw everything he had at the early church. He tried warping and twisting Christian doctrine only to be countered by a string of apostolic epistles that gave the lie to his deceptions [Gnosticism is just one of many such deceptions]. He has no new deceptions. Modern cults are simply old heresies in new guises.”[ii]
The word seducer is unique in the passage and refers to a juggler, a cheat or an enchanter who would, through trickery, achieve gains. It also referred to a wailer or howler. These individuals make their discontent voices heard. They will do anything they can to convince everyone that their personal discomfort must be assuaged. You hear them call or cry,
- “What about me?”
- “That was mine.”
- “What about my rights?”
- “What about what I want?”
- “I must be paid attention too.”
- “I must be heard.”
- “That is the way I want to do it.”
- “My toys were taken.”
- “I want someone else’s toys, and you have to take them from that other person and give them to me!”
- “You will feel my pain!”
They will cry, whine, whimper and make a scene, like the baby running to mommy to get his way. Even when they are not truly bothered by the circumstance, event or occurrence they still make a fuss. Ultimately, they are forever stuck in the world of the two year old, where seemingly nothing goes their way, so they wail or howl about the slightest discomfort as if no one has anything better to do than to hear their personal plea. No one in the world should care for anything except this wicked person’s individual happiness and well being. Simply put, they are spoiled brats out to get their way regardless of the cost or consequence to others. After all, it is their “right.”
We would be wise to remember that Paul lived in such a world, with evil Nero as Emperor. Morally bankrupt, without character and empty of compassion, Nero was evil incarnate, and a tremendous tool of Satan.
Here we find our position and place, men. We are to understand the things of history, and apply this wisdom to the future – in our homes and in our lives. In this way we see the evil perpetrated by Satan’s puppets, the destruction they wrought and their utter disdain for human life. Satan is keenly interested in destroying the family by encouraging people to be lovers of self (2 Tim 3:1), unthankful and insubordinate to parents (v2), and the list of sinful activity in verses 2 through 4. He has convinced most of mankind that marriage is simply a matter of convenience. Now Satan specifically targets the young by calling the disjointed family of divorcees, single mothers and stepparents (a construct I came from) normal. This is not to say that good things cannot happen in these family units, but it is to say that men who have left their rightful place and given up their position have failed society. Satan encourages this behavior. He further poisons our society and family structure by supporting the un-natural family of homosexuals as “normal.” Men, we must take the lessons of this unmitigated hate and teach our families to steel themselves against it with the shield of truth, the Word of God.
Both Isaiah’s and Daniel’s prophesies had current and future impact. This too applies to Paul’s prophecy. There were evil men then, and this prophecy says that there will be evil men of the caliber of Nero again. Our educational system is producing more young people that are “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (v7). Public schools are becoming government daycare centers. Inherent in this daycare is indoctrination into the anti-Christian dogma of humanism, evolution, atheism and a “tolerance” that is intolerant of the things of Christ or of biblical morality. The churches of America are more and more buying into the New Age foolishness. They conform more and more to the intolerant homosexual and pro-abortion agendas. The media epitomizes “without natural affection” and “false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good” (v3). Although, supposedly the bastion and protector of the first amendment of our Constitution, the media sees no problem in destroying a person’s character, and in fact appears to take great pleasure in doing so if the individual is even called “Christian.” Why do they do this? Because it sells.
Secular humanists control the greater portion of our society and the world’s influence as they spread their disdain for Christ. Scriptures and prayer are outlawed in schools. Any reference to God in our public buildings is being viciously attacked. Promiscuity, paganism, drug abuse and pornographically exhibitionistic clothing are not just accepted, but promoted and celebrated. Men, can there be any doubt that evil men and seducers (and seductresses) are waxing worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived?
“There is a real battle for the hearts and minds of our people. With entertainment, education and other venues under their control, the enemies of God have already captured multitudes of people out in the world.
Now they are aggressively going after the Christian crowd, the conservative crowd, the values crowd, the common sense crowd, the pro-American crowd, etc.
They are aggressively destroying institutions bought and paid for with Christian money. They are baiting the hook and reeling in entire denominations of people.
Dear friend, the world scene, including your little town, is no longer a playground – it is a battlefield!”[iii]
Men, today I am calling you to the spiritual battle lines as fathers of godly families. This is not just to prepare your families and to keep them protected from the things of the world. That is inherent in your duties as leader of the home. You are to be involved in gathering the wayward souls from among the wicked throngs. You must get involved, get to witnessing, get busy bringing people to the Lord, and lead your families to know how to do these same things. Men, you are to fight against the evil tide, regardless of the size of the wave that comes at you. They are all Satan’s doings that attack you, and we know that in the end we will win. Take a victory walk now and seek those around you. Tell them about Jesus Christ and His salvation! Men – get busy for Christ!
Many times when we witness, we rather absentmindedly speak of the end times. In discussions with unbelievers, we approach this subject from an “everybody knows that” attitude. We use terms that speak of Christ’s return as “imminent.” We quip that “every day that goes by is a day closer to His appearing.” Seldom do we realize that the wish we have for this event is lost in a veiled attempt to escape our responsibilities to witness Christ.
II. Christian Duty (Romans 13:11)
A theologian once wrote concerning this verse,
“And all the duties of a virtuous and holy life we should the more carefully and zealously perform, considering the nature and shortness of the present season of life; which will convince us that it is now high time to rouse and shake off sleep, and apply with vigilance and vigour to the duties of our Christian life; for that eternal salvation, which is the object of our Christian faith and hope, and the great motive of our religion, is every day nearer to us than when we first entered into the profession of Christianity.”[iv]
The truth is that this scripture talks about our relationship with society. In verse eight of this chapter, Paul opens a discussion on our duties and responsibilities in society generally. Love is a direct and specific call to the Christian. Loving your neighbor is the first and direct association one should have in the world. This love “hath fulfilled the law.” Loving one another involves honoring the sanctity of marriage, holding the rage of man in check, holding our tongue to be truthful about people and not being desirous of others possessions. We are to love one another and especially those we might call our “neighbors.” The most loving and caring gift you can give your neighbor is eternal life.
Did you know that sleep is probably the most frequent form of apathy? We can sleep a day away not caring about what we might do. We can sleep a morning, an afternoon or an evening away in apathy. Depression develops apathy in this form. One who is depressed frequently sleeps later and could care less of the things that need to be done. Their depression develops apathetic tendencies that are coincident with the depression. The more one is depressed, the more apathetic one gets.
The fact is, this is “knowing” (oida) God we are talking about. The sentence says, besides loving your fellow man as Christ does, and gave Himself for them, introduce them to the Savior! Show your neighbor salvation, for now is the time (Is 53:6). If you have a heart felt, soul changing and life testifying faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior, why are you still sleeping? Awaken from your slumbering testimony and give the loving gift of Christ to all you meet.
The words “it is high time” comprise a phrase developed from the literal Greek, “because it is now (the) hour.” There is urgency here folks. Now is the time. If you are reading this scripture for the first time, you may have reason for pause; but act now that you have read it. If you have read Romans before, you have read this verse and are guilty of apathy. Get on with a life in Christ NOW! There is no more waiting. No more reason to pause.
“Faith is indeed nothing but living in the light of what is to come.” It is that kind of living which Paul calls for. Slumber will denote a lethargic Christian life; it “suggests the thought of forgetfulness of God.”[v]
The salvation referenced in this verse is not the second coming of Christ, though certain commentators see evidence of this event.[vi] Context dictates that Paul is talking about our temporal existence. Love one another, love your neighbor, do not perpetrate hate against another man (commit adultery), or hate another person at all (do not murder). Do not deprive one another of possessions through greed (do not steal). In fact, you should be content for others to have things (do not covet). Ultimately, love your neighbor as yourself. You would not want others to perpetrate these evil things against you, would you? Why, therefore, would you consider them against another person? These passages are all about horizontal living.
Referring again to verse eight, we are encouraged to love one another, love our neighbors. There is clear inference that we are to love both the saved and the unsaved. The reference for the believer is Salvation, (it is our Greek word for salvation which references our personal salvation), or the time we accepted Christ as our Savior. However, context pushes this salvation to a future event. It is being saved from eternal torment, but it is also something we look forward to in that salvation. This salvation is the freedom we anticipate as we are removed from this evil influence and ushered into a perfect sinless environment. Salvation in these passages then references the time the Christian is ushered into the presence of Jesus. This is not the end of the world at His return, but the end of one’s life in this world. This is not the second coming, but the realization of our salvation and the beginning of the new life in eternity with Christ, which may happen at any time. It is the end of this life and the beginning of a life in the presence of Christ (2 Cor 5:8).
We are responsible for continually putting forth love to show God’s love exists within us. This is crucial when we understand that presently man cannot see God in the darkness of the world around us. We must have “spiritual vigilance and industriousness.”[vii] If we keep our focus upon things eternal, we can look forward to the end of this temptuous and evil world. In doing so, we keep our eyes on the prize and do not lament the path to get there. Men, this is your duty – to keep your family focused upon the prize. In your eternal view, you also recognize you are tasked with inviting others to join you on the journey. You are to lead your family to give the most loving gift anyone can ever give: salvation in Christ Jesus. The satanic attack you receive at times for your efforts is proof of your effectiveness and Satan’s fear of your testimony.
We should ask this question: What about salvation? Put yourself in the place of the rich man when he pleads with Abraham to send someone to warn his brothers of his torturous fate. If you have a gift available to you like salvation and were not told by someone who was knowledgeable about it, that is a travesty. Whether you accepted the gift or not, is wholly a different issue.
Men, this is a call to you. Train up your families to witness Christ to all they see and meet. Admittedly, I fail the Lord frequently because I was not reared this way. Fathers in young families, let me encourage you to not fail as I have my family in years past. Be forthright, aggressive and loving by giving the gospel to all who cross your path. It is yours to give and theirs to reject.
A week ago last Friday, I was privileged to hear a 15 year old young man preach the gospel. This young man had been going out on visitation with his father from age 8. He had seven years’ experience visiting people, knocking on doors and giving the gospel to others. This young man had been cursed down, had doors slammed in his face, had tracts thrown back at his face, been ridiculed and most everything you can think of by the age of 15. Now, at 15, this young heart cultivated in the Lord is preaching the gospel to change lives. Praise God for faithful servants who lead their families in the ways of spiritual tenderness. That, men, is your challenge today. Times will be bad; they are now, and are getting worse. However, you have salvation and a great gift to look forward to in the Savior. You know these times, you know the wickedness of man, you know the world’s tendencies. Use this wisdom to rear your family as soul winners.
Happy Father’s Day, men.
[i] Mac OX X Dictionary, Version 2.0.3 (51.5), Copyright 2005-2007 Apple Inc., All rights reserved.
[ii] John Phillips, Exploring the Pastoral Epistles, An Expository Commentary, (Kregel: Grand Rapids, 2004), 415.
[iii] Sheldon Smith, New Atheists Aggressive, Demanding and Intolerant, Sword of the Lord Newspaper, Vol. 76, No. 12, June 11, 2010.
[iv] Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Whole Bible, Public Domain Derived from an electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library, http://www.ccel.org Formatted and corrected by OakTree Software, Inc.Ver. 1.0 – in reference to Romans 13:11 this is Clarke’s quote of a Dr. Taylor who is unspecified.
[v] Leon Morris, The Epistle to the Romans, The Pillar New Testament Commentary, (Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, 1988), 471.
[vi] Stewart Custer, The Righteousness Of God, A Commentary on Romans, (BJU Press: Greenville, 2007), 240. Phillips Commentaries as well as Expositors Bible Commentaries carry this sentiment.
[vii] John A. Witmer, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Bible Knowledge Series, Romans John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, ed, (Cook Communications: Colorado Springs, 2004), 491.
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