Cornerstone Mission Church, Sunday Sermon, February 7 2009
Akio Toyoda, CEO and President of Toyota Motor Corporation and the grandson of the company’s founder bowed and gave a formal apology at an evening news conference in Japan. It was after two weeks since Toyota announced massive and the biggest almost 8 million global recalls due to the issue of sticking accelerator pedals. Adding to the insult, now the U.S. Transportation Department is investigating Toyota’s Prius hybrid car after the Japanese government ordered an investigation of its braking system.
A professor (Dr. Hrebiniak,) in the Department of Management at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania expressed his trouble by the fact that “Toyota had clues there were quality problems-not only general problems, but that there was an accelerator problem.”[i] Many wonder how the famed Toyota for their reliability and their workmanship failed so miserably lately. Perhaps, it’s the cost-cutting measures, or their push to expand the markets in unsustainable pace… whatever the causes are, the current state of Toyota reveals that they have made seriously compromise the quality of their workmanship.
Paul thinks of Christian life in terms of quality as well. Will you and I be able to pass the quality control as Christians? Will you and I be known for the quality of workmanship? For Paul, the key to the Christian quality is becoming a worker who does not need to be ashamed but approved by God.
Someone said this, “I really cannot give you the formula for success. But I can give you the formula for failure. It’s this: Try to please everyone.
What Paul taught to Timothy and what he teaches us today is that we have the calling from God to aim our lives to please him. The key to the success for Christian life is becoming a worker approved by God. When testing is done, will you and I emerge as genuine and honorable or will we be ashamed?
- A worker approved by God knows how to correctly handle the word of truth.
In the postmodern world we live in, people reject the notion of absolute truth; they are much more comfortable with relativism, the world where no one can claim to have truth. Truth is determined not by absolutes, but by what makes one feel good. Truth is reduced to matter of preferences, merely what one favors. When you push the world of relativism and tolerance to its logical conclusion, it is whoever has more power gets their way. Dorothy Sayers writes in “The Six Other Deadly Sins” about the world we live in:
"...In the world it calls itself Tolerance; but in Hell it is called Despair. … It is the sin which believes in nothing, cares for nothing, seeks to know nothing, interferes with nothing, enjoys nothing, loves nothing, hates nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing, and only remains alive because there is nothing it would die for...."
God envisions a workman approved by him, one who honors his truth, his word. In the age where talk is cheap and words don’t mean whole lot because people don’t live it out, Paul calls us to correctly handles the word of truth. This is a call to live out the convictions that are hammered out of the anvil and the fire of God’s word.
Can you handle the word of truth correctly? The Bible says the word of God is the sword of the truth.
When I was young, I dreamed of being a martial art hero. Walking from school, I would look for that perfect sword made out of tree branch. And, in the privacy of my little world, I became the most powerful warrior anyone has ever known. Well, sadly, if you live with me, you may occasionally find me in my spacious home breaking into my warrior fight with my red broom or the old shower curtain rod. But, really who am kidding? I am no fearsome warrior prince. I cannot handle any kind of sword except kitchen knives to cut fruits and vegetables.
Can you handle the word of truth correctly?
It takes immersing yourself in the word of God where God reveals who he is, his perspectives, his will, his purpose, his character. A month has passed, now we’re in February. I encourage you to continue the reading of God’s word as you planned. Whatever plans you picked reading four chapters a day, a chapter a day, a paragraph, whatever it is. What matters is that you read God’s word consistently.
- A worker approved by God avoids quarrelsome and argumentative attitude.
Paul says a person whose convictions are grounded in God’s word avoids quarreling about words (v. 14), godless chatter (v. 16), foolish and stupid arguments (v.23).
When I speak to you about contending for the faith, wielding the sword of truth, I wonder if I am drawing a picture in your mind of a person who goes around blasting people with the Bible, pounding any who disagree with you with the hammer of truth, out to destroy the heretics, to argue against the opponents into submission.
Well, this isn’t the case at all as you can read from Paul’s letter. The world sees enough of angry and bitter so called Christians who are argumentative, and quarrelsome over trivial doctrinal matters, who justifies killing a doctor who performs abortion, who talks about love of God but shows no concern for the hungry, poor, single mothers, etc.
The world needs to see Christians who are approved by God, something other than quarrelsome and argumentative.
- A worker approved by God instruct gently.
Paul’s take is that we are to be unmovable when it comes to our conviction in the truth of God’s word. We are to never deny Jesus even if someone threatens to kill us for our faith.
But, when it comes to communicating the truth of God’s word to the world, Paul says being argumentative or quarrelsome or militant is not the way to go. After all, are we not serving the Master who laid down his life for the enemies? The way to win the world is not by the sword of that cuts down people but the surgeon’s knife that cuts out the dangerous cancer tissues.
Consider how Jesus treated Judas, the one who betrayed Jesus. We see no record of Jesus treating Judas harshly, as he, a betrayer, deserved. Jesus was stern and firm towards the self-righteous hypocrites like Pharisees and teachers of laws who lived behind the facet of righteousness. But, overall his attitude in instructing people was gentle and kind. Jesus expects the same from us.
- A worker approved by God is set apart.
Paul illustrates a worker approved by God in verse 20-21. He likens workers approved by God as household articles that are for noble purposes and workers unapproved by God as household articles of ignoble purposes. The difference is that the articles of noble purposes are made holy, meaning set apart for the Master’s purpose. Being set apart, workers approved by God are useful for the Master and are prepared to do any good work desired by the Master.
You need to get this in perspective… the ignoble articles of household in the ancient time is what you find in your bathroom. You know the thing that you have to use when things don’t go well after using bathroom. Toilet plunger is dispensable and has no other value than unclogging toilet. Now, picture in your mind your home. Quickly scan in your mind your possessions… what are your possessions that are of great value because they are simply not irreplaceable, priceless…
You need to know this about yourself. As Christians, God treats you not as disposable and only good for ignoble purposes. God is after transforming you into his proud possessions of great value for his great purposes, for his good work. He is after setting you apart for himself. Understand this clearly… this is your identity; this is your destiny; this is your calling. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
…
God sees each of you and he envisions workers who are set apart by him for his good work, one who knows how to handle his word correctly, not quarrelsome or argumentative, but one who can instruct gently because you are confident in what he can do through you… this is what God wants to accomplish in your life. This is the gospel, transforming unworthy people like us into worthy people to carry out the King’s good works.
[i] http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2423
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