Hymenaeus And Philetus

When people don't like hearing something, they shut their ears or if possible they try to prevent other people saying what they don't want to hear. That seemed to have happened with the Falklands War Play - the Radio version of which was broadcast yesterday and the TV version will be broadcast on Wednesday. This is all part of the 20th anniversary of the Falklands War. In 1987 the BBC, according to the current edition of the Radio Times, axed the play because it was too sympathetic to Mrs Thatcher. It seemed the BBC producer at the time didn't want to hear good things said of Mrs Thatcher.

Similarly when people don't like hearing warnings, they shut their ears to what is said. That happened with J.C.Ryle, the first bishop of Liverpool. In 1874 he published a series of addresses entitled Knots Untied. Later when they were reprinted, some of the addresses were omitted - it seemed they were too hot to handle. They were, in fact, Warnings to the churches - the title given to them when they were reprinted on their own by another publisher. Well, tonight we are starting a new series of studies entitled WARNINGS FOR THE CHURCH. These are not necessarily the same as Bishop Ryle's. But as they are all biblical warnings they certainly need to be heard and not suppressed. And we are going to begin with two characters who should be a warning to all of us - Hymenaeus and Philetus. We heard about them in our second bible reading, 2 Timothy 2.8-19.

But let me just give you something by way of introduction. Paul is in prison - and he is in prison for preaching the gospel. He is also getting on in age, and he seems not to be sure of his own future, indeed whether he will live long. So in chapter 2 - our chapter - in verse 2 he says to Timothy:

the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.

He wants to establish a succession of faithful men who can teach faithfully the apostolic gospel. How relevant that is for us today. Many of the great evangelical leaders and teachers who have taught well and have fought the battles that have needed to be fought in the last century are now in their 80's - people like Billy Graham, John Stott, and Jim Packer. Others like Dick Lucas, Michael Green and Philip Hacking are all well over 70. (I expect a number here tonight have never heard of some of these folk.) That is why we too should have Paul's great concern - to train up the next generation. You may think, therefore, that this letter is not for you. You say that you are not called to be a "full-time" minister. Well, some of you I expect will be (or are being) called. But even if you are not, everyone who is going to be a faithful disciple of Christ has to witness to him, as and when there is an opportunity. So all of us can learn something from this letter of Paul to Timothy.

Now in this second chapter Paul makes it clear that if you are going to witness to Christ and be faithful in what you say, you will suffer. You will get attacked. People will not like what you teach. Paul says in verse 3:

Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

Who, here, tonight has had first hand experience of suffering for Jesus Christ for being faithful to him? This, then, is the context for what Paul is writing in the verses we are looking at tonight. And I want to look at them under three headings: first, "KEEP REMINDING THEM ..."; secondly, "WARN THEM BEFORE GOD ... "; and thirdly, HYMENAEUS AND PHILETUS.


First, "KEEP REMINDING THEM ..."

This is the first part of verse 14:

Keep reminding them of these things.

Paul doesn't say "explore" or "ask questions about" or "develop your own theology about" these things - as many of our modern day theological educators would say. No!. He says, "keep reminding them of these things." You say, "why is this?" "Why this call to remember?" "Surely people don't forget the basic facts of the Christian faith." But, in practice, they do!
So what are "these things" referred to in verse 14 that Timothy is to "keep reminding" people about? At least they must refer to the immediately preceding verses - verses 8-13. Look at verse 8:

Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel.

It is amazing how people who profess the Christian faith forget Jesus Christ. And it is amazing how people who remember Jesus Christ (in some way) forget (for practical purposes) the fact that he was "raised from the dead". And then they forget that he was "descended from David" and so truly human and truly the promised Messiah - a Messiah who had died for the sins of the world. When you read what some Christians write or go into their churches, it certainly seems that those things are forgotten.

But it was (and is) essential for Christian people who suffer - and some of these folk Timothy was pastoring could soon be facing death for their faith - for such people it was (and is) essential to remember the glorious message of Easter and the Resurrection of Christ. That is to remember that "by his death" Jesus was able to ...

destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil-- 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death" (Heb 2.14-15).

His Resurrection was proof that all that was for real. It was no myth. Christ's resurrection was a proof that death was not the end. So their death would not be the end. And your death will not be the end. And the death of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, will not be the end. As Paul taught the Corinthians: "as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive" (1 Cor 15.22). Paul was certainly telling Timothy to remind people of the Resurrection of Jesus.

But "these things" in verse 14 will also refer to those words in verses 11-13:

Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; 13 if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

This is another consequence of the Resurrection for the believer. Verse 11: "If we died with Christ - [if through faith and trust in Christ we are united with him so that, in a mysterious way, we share in his death], we will also live with him [we will share in his Resurrection life and that life will be for all eternity]." But the stakes are high. You can't play around with God.

Verse 12: "If we disown him, he will also disown us; 13 if we are faithless, he will remain faithful [faithful (presumably) to his promise not only of rewards but also of punishment], for he cannot disown himself.

The reality is that there is not only resurrection to life, but to condemnation. Jesus said (John 5.28-29):

Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice [the voice of the Son of Man] and come out--those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.

And doing good, Jesus has just explained, is grounded in hearing his word and faith -

whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life" (John 5.24).

Do you trust in Christ like that? Have you got "eternal life" so that you are confident for all eternity? If not, why not trust him tonight? There always has to be a start. God loves you. He wants you to have eternal life.

So all these are the things that Timothy had to keep reminding people about. No doubt many knew them already. But Paul still says to Timothy, "keep reminding them". Peter said the same sort of thing in his second epistle:

I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have" (2 Pet 1.12).

You see, it is one thing to have the truth in your head; it is another thing to have it in your heart or to be living by that truth. That is why Timothy had to "keep on reminding them of these things." Are you really living as though Jesus Christ is risen and victorious and on the throne of the universe? The test at the end of the day is not whether you can say the Creed - which is an important aid to memory.

No! The test is when you are in the firing line as a Christian at work or with your friends or with your family. Are you then going to disown Christ and go your own way, or are you going to "endure" - and be in that minority of one if that is what it takes? Let's move on. <


B>Secondly, "WARN THEM BEFORE GOD ... "

In the first half of verse 14 Paul has dealt with the basics or fundamentals. In the second half of the verse Paul seems to talk about how Timothy should deal with secondary issues that are not basic or fundamental. He says:

Warn them before God against quarrelling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.

Notice that this warning is "before God". This is Paul's way of saying that Timothy must make it clear that this is very, very important. So there must be no quarrelling about words.

Now, this appears to be different to what is described later as "godless chatter" in verse 16. This seems quarrelling about words seems to be some sort of "theological nit-picking". Of course, not all debates about words are of this order. But sadly, in the history of the Church there have been those who have focused on the minutiae and secondary issues - they have majored on the minors. This has happened with the modes and time of baptism, the precise way the Holy Spirit works, the details of the Second Coming of Christ and a host of other issues - I am sure you can think of some.

You say, "That is all very well; but how do you know what is primary or secondary?" The answer has to be "the proportion of the Bible's teaching on a subject and the clarity of the Bible about it." As you read the Bible it is abundantly clear that the teaching about the Resurrection is of primary importance. But how you handle the elements in communion, for example - the bread and the wine - or how or when you administer the water in baptism is of secondary importance. Listen to our Anglican forefathers - the great Reformers - in Article VI of the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England. This says:

"Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought necessary to salvation [that is to say, fundamental]."

Secondary matters undoubtedly will form part of Christian teaching. But they shouldn't be grounds for quarrelling amongst believers. The truth that has to be fought for is fundamental truth. And that brings us to our third heading ...


Thirdly, HYMENAEUS AND PHILETUS

In verse 15 Timothy is told:

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

So among other things Timothy has to work at distinguishing the primary from the secondary matters. He then will be able to keep on reminding people about the former, and make sure they don't get into theological fights over the latter. But then Paul tells Timothy in verse 16 to "avoid godless chatter". That probably should be translated "steer clear of heretical stupidities". This is not teaching about secondary matters, "because those who indulge in it" include Hymenaeus and Philetus. And in verses 17-18 we are told, they ...

... have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some.

All we really know about Hymenaeus and Philetus we know from these verses here. However, from 1 Timothy we know that Hymenaeus was excommunicated from the fellowship. So Hymenaeus and Philetus were spiritualizing the Resurrection. They were using the word "Resurrection" but giving it a different meaning. And they didn't mean the empty tomb, with the grave clothes still there.

We know from 1 Corinthians 15 that at this time some were denying a real resurrection of the body for believers. We know that there were people just a little later than these New Testament times, who agreed and who said the real resurrection that matters is the intellectual and spiritual process involved in discovering the truth. And we know that today - we had it here in the North East with the previous Bishop of Durham - people still want to cast doubt on the empty tomb and have a spiritual Resurrection that is no resurrection. But Paul will have none of this. Why?

First, because denials of such a fundamental fact are not true. Secondly, (verse 16) they make people become "more and more ungodly." And you see that happen. I have known people who have lost their faith in the Christian fundamentals and before long they are decadent, immoral and unpleasant. Thirdly, Paul will have none of this because such teaching (verse 17) "will spread like gangrene." Unlike cancer, which can be slow in its working, this will be quick in bringing spiritual death. Its effect will be more like gangrene. And these people like Hymenaeus and Philetus "destroy the faith of some." So what does Paul say you should do with such people?

First, they should not be invited into the Christian fellowship. In fact they should be excluded from the church as Hymenaeus was excluded from the church, which, as Paul says in 1 Timothy 1.20, was considered to be a shelter from Satan's power.

Secondly, you should "avoid" them. Even now, when Hymenaeus is outside the fellowship, Paul has to warn Timothy to "avoid" people like him - former "brothers" who are teaching "heretical stupidities". Paul is not referring to "the people of this world" who of course we have to meet as we seek to share the gospel with them. He made this clear in writing to the Corinthians (1 Cor 5.9-11). So if Timothy has to be warned about such people, surely you and I need to be warned about their equivalents today? Sadly in the Church today you have bishops and clergy who deny the fundamentals of the faith. But far from avoiding their teachings, people say, let's discuss them and see what we think about them and what new insights there are that we have never seen before. And they invite such teachers into their churches.

Now, when Paul started warning Timothy like this, Timothy, no doubt, got depressed. Being told about Hymenaeus and Philetus and their modern equivalents is depressing. So Paul then encourages Timothy. Look at verse 19:

Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: 'The Lord knows those who are his,' and, 'Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.

Timothy needn't worry. The Church of God is on a solid foundation. As Jesus said, the gates of Hades will not prevail against the church. But there are two important truths that Timothy (and you and I) must not forget. First, while you and I and Timothy can never see into the hearts of all the people who make up the visible church, God can. He knows those who are his. Within the visible church there undoubtedly are sheep and goats and the true and the false - however you want to put it. This was true in the time of Moses. It was true in the time of Paul. It is true today. And you and I cannot make the judgments that God can, and that is why until that final judgment day, the visible church will be mixed. But, says Paul to Timothy, that doesn't mean everything is to be tolerated. For, "everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness." So when there is blatant wickedness in terms of teaching or behaviour - as in the case of Hymenaeus and Philetus (and their modern equivalents) action must be taken - do not have fellowship with them and avoid them, says Paul.

I must conclude by summarizing.

Preaching the gospel or telling others about Christ will be hard and difficult - and it is likely you will be attacked for witnessing to him. So always "remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David." And keep reminding people about that fundamental truth. Then warn people not to make secondary issues into primary issues of faith. And make sure you are not seduced or deceived by people like Hymenaeus and Philetus.