Presence Weekly 7/10/23

[The Devo] Who Can You Trust?

2 Timothy 4:9–22 9 Do your best to come to me soon. 10 For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. 11 Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. 12 Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. 13 When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. 14 Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. 15 Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. 16 At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! 17 But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. 19 Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. 20 Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus. 21 Do your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers.
22 The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.

Trust is perhaps the most precious commodity in Washington.

In 2 Timothy, we see the importance of trust in Paul’s life. Facing death, he writes a final pastoral letter to his trusted friend and protégé, Timothy. The letter is best known for its strong affirmation of the power of Scripture that is memorized by most children in Sunday School,

2 Timothy 3:16–17 (ESV): 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Those are words on target!

Yet, this letter serves as a magnum opus of PRO TIPS for ministry, leadership, and navigating relationship-based organizations. Paul is pouring every helpful insight he has into this letter requesting Timothy’s presence but knowing that Timothy may not arrive before his execution. Chief among those tips is a list of who to trust and who should be viewed with suspicion or even avoided at all costs.

2 Timothy comes before phones, email, texting and social media, so the only medium Paul had to warn the church of dangerous individuals were letters and word of mouth. And so, seeking to warn the whole of the Church in Asia Minor, Paul writes this letter to Timothy.  

Paul commends a number of individuals to Timothy, including Mark who is “very useful to him.” Why is this commendation important? Because Paul is most likely speaking of John-Mark, whose departure from Paul on his first missionary journey undermined his trustworthiness as a missionary colleague to the point that Paul was unwilling to take him on his second mission. So strong were Paul’s feelings about Mark, that this issue caused a split in the relationship between Paul and Barnabas.

Acts 15:36–41 (ESV): 36 And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” 37 Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. 38 But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 39 And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

But here, in his second letter to Timothy, we all learn that Mark had matured, and the relationship between he and Paul was not only restored, but Mark had become a trusted companion. Mark, of course, went on to write a concise accounting of the life of Jesus that has been enshrined in the canon of Scripture as one of the four Gospels.

Conversely, Paul does not shy away from naming names of those who he currently considers untrustworthy. We are not told what Demas and Alexander (the coppersmith) did to earn their spot on Paul’s naughty list. Nor are we given details for the untrustworthiness of Phygelus and Hermogenes, who Paul names in chapter 1. Perhaps Paul thought there would be time for that later. What mattered was getting the news out to Timothy, and through him, to others in the Church.

As an apostle, Paul’s job was to convert seekers and skeptics, to train leaders, and to protect the church from those who would either intentionally or unintentionally destroy it. Regardless of their motivation, Paul considers these individuals untrustworthy and wants everyone to know it.

This kind of information matters in places like Washington, especially for Christians. So, how can we apply a passage like this to our daily lives in the public square.

First, make sure you are pursuing inclusion on the list of those who are trustworthy. Paul lays out a fairly simple path for trustworthiness,

2 Timothy 2:22–26 (ESV): 22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

Second, make sure you are not worthy of inclusion on an “untrustworthy people” list. Again, Paul offers a “Quick Start Guide” on those to be avoided.

2 Timothy 3:1–9 (ESV): 3 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. 9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.

Don’t get too caught up on Paul’s words regarding women here. In other places, Paul makes it clear that women hold high places in his inner circle, including Phoebe, who he commends to the Church in Rome and entrusts with his letter to them.

Third, and this one is just as important now as it was in the first century - share your wisdom regarding the trustworthy and untrustworthy with others. Not as a matter of gossip but in well-intentioned and carefully chosen context where this kind of information matters. Further, remember that Paul is not offering his commendation and cautions to help Timothy get ahead in business, but to protect the Church and seek its welfare.

Yet, we also know that one of the responsibilities of those inside the Church is to seek the welfare of those outside the Church. As Christians serving and leading in the public square, one of our responsibilities is to ensure that the right people are trusted and that the untrustworthy are avoided. In doing so, we participate in Christ’s mission of making all things new.

Finally, remember that our trustworthiness is an important proclamation of Christ’s trustworthiness. A Christian's chief responsibility is to offer foretastes of Christ’s coming kingdom that lead seekers and skeptics to trust in Christ as their Savior. In our trustworthiness we declare that Christ is worthy to be trusted to forgive our sins and transfer us from the kingdom of darkness and into His kingdom of the Beloved Son.

That is such an important message, we ought to put it on something important.

Last Things

Our Ministry Resident, Nichole Rittgers, will be taking the helm for the next two weeks as her time at Faithful Presence comes to a close. Nichole will author the devotional and the "Two Thumbs Up" section.

We should have another new podcast out by the end of the week.