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2 Timothy 2:20-22, Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. 22 Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
I want you to notice one word in verse 21 – “useful.” Who doesn’t want to be useful? No one wants to hear, “He’s of no use to us.” I thought of two kings in the Old Testament. One was useless; one was incredibly useful. King Saul was useless. In 1 Samuel 15, we have the story of the flaw in Saul. He was deeply in love…with himself. He was king over Israel, but useless to God. Why? He flat out disobeyed God. God told him to utterly destroy the Amalekites – all of them, including the animals. He lied when he told Samuel he carried out God’s command. Samuel replied, “Then what is this bleating of sheep and lowing of the oxen I hear?” Then Saul blamed the people: “The people spared the best of the sheep and oxen.” Then he got all self-righteous: “We saved the best to sacrifice to your God. Then he boasted: “I brought back king Agag.” He even set up a monument for himself. Samuel tore the edge of his robe and told him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom from you today.” Saul was a useless vessel of dishonor to the Master.
Compare Saul with King Josiah in 2 Kings 22 and 2 Chronicles 34. He was totally useful to the Master. His heart was tender, and he humbled himself before the Lord. King Josiah did right in God’s sight when he radically purged Judah of all idolatry. He chopped down incense altars, broke in pieces molten images, burned the bones of pagan priests, removed all the abominations from all the land of Israel. He gathered all the people, the least to the greatest, opened the Word of God, read it to them, and commanded them to do what it says. Throughout his lifetime the people did not turn from following the Lord, the God of their fathers. Josiah was eminently useful to the Master. We could use a Josiah in the White House in our day!
What kind of Christian does God delight to use for His purposes? This passage tells us very clearly. If you want to be used by God and want your life to count for Christ, our passage this morning in 2 Timothy 2 tells us God’s criteria. Also, 2 Chronicles 16:9 says, “For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” If you want God to be useful to the Master, listen to what Paul tells Timothy.
A CAUTION: BE AWARE THAT NOT EVERYONE IN THE CHURCH IS SOLD OUT TO JESUS CHRIST.
2 Timothy 2:20, Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor.
Paul is describing a wealthy nobleman’s spacious house, but the word picture is of the church. There are different kinds of vessels or dishes, pots, pans, containers, and furnishings in the house. Some he displays where all can see, and they bring him honor; others sit in the back of his bottom shelves. The vessels that bring him honor are gold and silver. Others are wood and clay, used for garbage and refuse of all kinds – maybe even a spittoon for those chewing tobacco. Imagine serving up a meal for your guests in a smelly garbage can lid or your dog’s dish.
What’s the point? Paul says you have both kinds in the church. Those gold and silver vessels represent genuine believers who bring honor to Christ. You might think everyone in the church is a vessel for honor who love Jesus Christ and His Word. They’re committed to serving the Lord like Josiah. But beware. Not all church goers are gold and silver; some are vessels of dishonor. Just pushing a wheelbarrow into a garage doesn’t make it a car. These vessels of dishonor may be disobedient believers, false teachers, or “Lord, Lord” people whom Jesus does not know savingly. They are fakes or “so-called” Christians as Paul describes them in 1 Corinthians 5:11. Paul cautions us, “Don’t be surprised that not everyone in the church is sold out to Christ.” You may discover church people who don’t pray, don’t read their Bibles, and live for worldly pleasures and prestige. They attend faithfully, but they don’t have a personal walk with Jesus Christ. Be careful. They can throw a lot of dirt on your life and sway you away from honoring God. If you follow Demas, you’ll be going back into the world with him (2 Tim. 4:9-10).
This is Paul’s warning – some are gold and silver vessels or useful believers. They love the Lord, they’ve truly been regenerated, they are committed to Christ and His Word. Others are wood and clay vessels of dishonor who are merely cultural Christians who go through the motions. How can you be a useful Christian?
MAKE A DAILY COMMITMENT TO LIVING YOUR LIFE FOR CHRIST’S HONOR.
2 Timothy 2:21, Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.
God calls you to a life separated to Him. Luke 9:23, “Take up your cross daily and follow Him.” That’s the essence of it. You’ve been bought with the precious blood of Christ and now as His gold and silver vessels, you want to invest your life for His glory. You have a choice. You can waste your life pursuing worthless stuff in this world, or you can invest your life for His glory. Verse 21 gives five ways to live for God’s glory.
Esteem Christ above every other relationship in your life. Paul says to cleanse yourself from “these things” in verse 21. What do “these things” refer to? Paul is probably talking about religious hypocrites, compromisers, or false teachers. Committed Christians cannot allow disobedient, worldly professing Christians to pull us down. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 6:14, “Don’t be bound together with unbelievers.” That could mean marriage, but also includes false teachers. In verse 17 he says, “Come out from among them.” How many Christians were doing well until they met some other “Christians” who gossiped, slandered, and drug them away from Christ, maybe even into open sin. A new fired-up Christian meets a wood or clay vessel and gets the flame sucked right out of him. The wood and clay dishonoring professing Christians cannot set the agenda for you. You love Christ so you want to be a shining testimony with salt and light for Christ. If you want a track record that demonstrates godly character, you must set the agenda. Christ must come first in your life. Matthew 10:37, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.”
Be a vessel for honor. You want your life to be a pure vessel for Christ’s honor. Robert Murray M’Cheyne, a godly young pastor in Scotland in the 1800s, wrote a letter to a missionary headed for Germany. The letter was dated October 2, 1840, a few years before M’Cheyne’s early death at age 30. He wrote: “How diligently the cavalry officer keeps his saber clean and sharp; every stain he rubs off with the greatest care. Remember you are God’s sword,–His instrument,–I trust a chosen vessel unto Him to bear His name. In great measure, according to the purity and perfection of the instrument, will be the success. It is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus. A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God.” Purity comes before talent and gifts. Psalm 119:9 asks, “How shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your law.” The more you love Christ, the less you’ll love sin, the more you’ll be a vessel for honor.
Be sanctified. This doesn’t mean prudish, holier than thou ugliness, or going around looking like you just bit into a sour persimmon fruit. It means “set apart.” When you came to Christ, you were positionally sanctified or set apart in Christ, transferred out of Adam into Christ. Here Paul is talking about practical or progressive sanctification, setting yourself apart for Christ. You’re going to be different from the lost people in your life. This is a priority for a young man or woman – don’t try to attract attention physically or try to be noticed but spend your energy pursuing Christ.
Be useful to the Master. This is so good. You are a useful vessel in God’s hands for His purposes. Who wants to be useless? Like one author said, “Don’t give God a garbage pail life.” In 2 Timothy 4 Paul will tell Timothy to send Mark to him because he was useful for service. These are the kinds of men and women, teenagers, and young people whose hearts are His and He uses them for his purposes. Do you want to be of good use to your Lord? Isaiah said, “Here am I. Send (use) me.” What a tragedy to get to the end of your life and realize you wasted God’s good gifts for your own selfish purposes rather than His. Now is the time to decide. You can’t go back and undo the last 40 or 60 years! But, by the grace of God, you can change today and going forward.
Prepared for every good work. Prepared means you are ready! Those Minute Men in the colonial militia were ready at a minute’s notice. But notice, it doesn’t say ready for every great work or some glamorous work. Some Christians are only interested when they get recognition. Our membership application has a ministry sheet where you check off how you might serve. My favorite one is “Picking up sticks,” and many people check that one. What are you ready to do? “I can pick up sticks!” Does Christ mean enough to you that you are ready for any good work He might have for you? It could be an encouraging smile. It could be the nursery or the Sunday morning coffee preparation. It could be involvement in our Care ministry or the Not Forgotten ministry. Prepare to do good to others.
Remember, you can waste your life pursuing worthless stuff in this world, or you can invest your life for His glory. God delights in anyone whose heart is for Him, set apart and ready to go, ready to pick up those sticks. But there’s one more requirement for usefulness.
AGGRESSIVELY PURSUE PRACTICAL GODLINESS.
2 Timothy 2:22, Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
Alongside your commitment to live for Christ, you must never forget that you were saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. You were justified by faith alone, right? And you who are in Christ will never lose your salvation. But never get the idea that justification by faith alone produces lazy, passive, worldly Christians. Paul adds two present tense commands and an implied third command that calls for vigorous response. Holiness or godliness is a matter of what you flee from, what you follow, and with whom you hang out or fellowship with. This verse is one of those verses every young person should memorize. It’s not hard.
From what do you flee? Youthful lusts. Flee means run away from, escape, scram. We used to say, “Split the scene and leave it clean.” Some of you have heard about the hike our family took in Brown County State Park when suddenly we spied a large timber rattler quietly slithering through the leaves a foot from our trail. What did we do? Invite him to our picnic lunch? Stop it to have a discussion with him about the trials of snake life? Absolutely not!! We motioned to our children to quietly follow us and moved away from the snake as fast as we could. That’s what you do when you come face to face with youthful lusts. First Corinthians 6:18 commands us to flee sexual sins. First Corinthians 10:14 says flee idolatry – that is anything that takes the place of God in your life. First Timothy 6:11 urges us to flee the lust for money. Youthful lusts mean strong compelling desires or yearnings typical of young people. All ages can have these wrong desires, but young people tend to have an immaturity that is shortsighted, think they know it all, lack self-control, are very feeling oriented, and want instant gratification. They have a hard time seeing how their actions today will affect their lives tomorrow and the next day. Maturing, godly young people see through this sinful folly, know their weaknesses, and take precautions by seeking godly counsel and friendships.
Paul is probably thinking about sexual lusts here, although youth struggle with pride, arrogance, and lack of humility also. But to be useful to the Master means you must mortify or put to death sexual, sensual desires. Whether young men or young ladies, flee those sensual desires and anything that stirs them. What did Joseph do? He fled! What should David have done? He should have fled to the battlefield where he belonged rather than looking and lusting after that neighbor lady a few apartments down.
We live in a lust-crazed world. How many men have allowed lust to control them and bring disrepute to themselves and to the church of Jesus Christ. Self-control is needed to flee or hit the escape button. God tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” If you use social media, YouTube, X, or TikTok, you must know when to hit the escape button. If you start a movie and shortly into it there’s bad language or racy, immoral stuff, hit the off button. Beware of click bait that can snag your lusts in a spit second. But God doesn’t just say flee lusts; he says we are to pursue or follow righteousness.
What do you follow or pursue? Run away from lust; pursue or run toward Christ-honoring virtues of righteousness, faith, love, and peace. These are the opposite of youthful lusts.
Righteousness – simple obedience to the revealed will of God in Scripture; doing the right thing. If God says it, that settles it, I’m doing it.
Faith – trustworthy, dependable, or strong convictions that God’s Word is true.
Love – learning to be a giver and not a taker. Love gives, lust takes as seen when Jonadab encouraged Amnon to trick the beautiful Tamar to feed him cookies and then raped her. The Bible says after his crime he hated her more than he loved her. Lust takes and destroys; love gives and builds up.
Peace – quick to resolve differences, refusing to hold grudges or bitterness.
With whom do you fellowship? Fellowship with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Like someone said, “Tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you what kind of person you are.” Hang out with worldly, rebellious, angry, bitter, greedy people and you’ll tend to become worldly, rebellious, angry, bitter, greedy. We can’t emphasize enough the importance of 1 Corinthians 15:33, “Don’t be deceived; bad company corrupts good morals.” This is so important especially for young people – be careful. The company you keep can encourage you or ruin you. Of course, this is true for everyone. If you want to be useful to the Master, choose your friends wisely. Those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart are people who love the Lord! They are genuine believers, gold and silver vessel Christians. They’re not perfect. They struggle with their own sin, but they are daily walking with the Lord and living to please Him.
Hebrews 10:24-25, …let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
With whom are you fellowshipping? Are you hanging out with folks who live to glorify God? Thank God for godly friends who nudge you toward a godly walk. This is why small groups and Bible studies and ladies’ studies and family devotions are all so helpful, all involve encouraging one another in love and good deeds!
SO WHAT?
God calls us to be vessels of gold and silver, vessels that bring honor to the Master. He calls us to be useful in His service. I want to add something here. Remember, with God there is hope. God can take broken, guilty, sinful vessels and forgive them through His Son, and begin to build them back together to again bring Him glory. In our home, we have a 20-inch cream clay sculpture of an elegant lady on our piano. She’s holding a tray of various flower blossoms in her arm and smelling a single rose blossom being held in her other hand. Somehow it got knocked off its platform, hit the floor, and shattered into small pieces. This was a special piece to Carolyn, so she meticulously gathered all the pieces, laid them out like a puzzle, and carefully glued them back together. If you saw it today, you’d hardly know it had been broken.
When I look at that repaired statue, I’m reminded of what God is able to do with lives that are broken in sin and full of guilt. He can turn broken wooden and clay vessels into gold and silver vessels to live for His glory and be useful to the Master. And God does this through His Son, Jesus Christ. What about you? Are you a genuine gold or silver vessel? With all humility and need of grace, can you say your life is useful to the Master? If so, follow Paul’s directions to Timothy in this passage.