If we ever want to look to Scripture to find an example of someone who has lived a tough life there are numerous choices. We could look at the book of Job and find a man who had everything taken away from him so that God could prove to Satan that suffering doesn’t necessarily separate us from God. We could look to any number of martyrs that we find throughout Scripture. Some of the beatings and tribulations of Godly men and women in the Bible are so severe that it leaves us thanking God every day that we are not faced with the same circumstances. Perhaps no person fits the term “rough life” better than the Apostle Paul. After Paul’s conversion to Christianity, his life seemed to be filled with one hardship after another; all while working to establish and foster churches here on earth.
Having a very brief history of the Apostle beginning with his conversion will help us to see just how much Paul suffered for the sake of the gospel. Shortly after his conversion, which took place somewhere between 33 and 36 AD, he was nearly killed in Damascus. Only three years after becoming a Christian Paul traveled to Jerusalem in order to spread the gospel. From 46-48 Paul embarked on his 1st missionary journey. He went from Antioch to Cyprus to Southern Asia Minor and back to Antioch. From 49-52 he undertook his 2nd missionary journey. During this 2nd journey, Paul was imprisoned at Philippi with Silas. He escaped this situation when an earthquake hit and allowed one of the prison walls to collapse. This is the story of the Philippian jailer, who upon witnessing these events, immediately devoted his life to following the teachings of Jesus. Paul’s 3rd and final missionary journey began only one year after returning from his 2nd journey. In 60 AD he made a trip to Rome. On this trip to Rome is where Paul was imprisoned once again, and it was there that Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy that we are looking at today. In all, Paul’s travels after his conversion total up to be an estimated 14,000 miles. Remind you that this is on foot. This would be the equivalent of me walking out the door in the back of the sanctuary, and walking to my childhood home in Meridian, MS and back around 27 times.
Now add in the fact that Paul’s travels often took him to some less than desirable locations. Very few times when Paul arrived at places where a church was already established did he find it peaceful and a time of relaxation. Usually there was some conflict within the church that Paul himself had to address. There is also the “thorn in the flesh” mentioned in 2 Cor. 12, which is most likely a physical disability Paul gained during his ministry. Add to that the continuous persecutions, beatings, and aforementioned imprisonments along the way and you start to get the picture. Paul managed to squeeze all of this into about a 30 year period. This letter to Timothy was written only a few years prior to his death in Rome.
We can tell from the previous words in this letter that Paul had a feeling that his life was soon to come to an end. Earlier, in 4:6-7 we find, “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Paul’s acknowledgement of the nearing end makes what we find in our text today an even more impressive message than what we might find simply by a surface reading. After requesting that Timothy come and visit Paul (no doubt so that he may continue to teach and train him for the continuation of his ministry) Paul moved on to reminisce of some of his fellow workers of the past who had worked honorably and dishonorably.
The first name that Paul gives to Timothy is the name Demas. Now this isn’t a name that I expect everyone to be able to recall off the top of their head, but it is someone that Paul has referred to at other points during his letters. In Philemon, Demas is listed in a group of men that Paul calls his “fellow laborers.” In Colossians 4 his name is simply listed without any other qualifying information. Here, we find that the name Demas carries with it a negative connotation. “Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.” We can take this as Paul warning against loving worldly values more than the spread of the gospel.
The next two names, Crescens and Titus, are of two others who Paul had sent out. When it comes to Crescens there is nothing else known about him other than this passage of him being sent to Galatia. Now Titus, we know from Paul’s letter to him and brief mentions in other letters, was a close friend and associate of Paul’s. Regardless, both of these men have left Paul’s side at this present time.
Whether this desertion was meant as a negative or simply just Paul’s telling Timothy where the others had gone, there is now a shift from those who have left Paul to the one who was still with him. Luke alone was with Paul. It’s funny, despite the fact that Luke wrote his gospel and the book of Acts, little is known about Luke the person. We know from inference that he was with Paul on his last journey to Rome. It is also mostly likely that Luke even willingly accompanied Paul to prison in Rome (this no doubt shows why Paul speaks so lovingly of him). As far as definitive references to Luke go in Scripture we have similar evidence as we do for Demas. In Colossians 4 Luke is described as the beloved physician is also listed as a fellow laborer in Philemon 24. It has been suggested that Luke’s skills as a physician allowed Paul to carry out his journeys despite his physical ailments. The best quote that I have found for summing up Luke is as follows, “The Church is full of talkers and of people who are there more for what they can get than for what they can give; Luke was one of these priceless people—the workers of the Church.”
The next person we come to is a person who has redeemed himself in the eyes of Paul. Paul says that Mark will be useful for him in ministry. Now the Greek word used here for ministry carries with it a wider sense of service. In other words, Paul is saying that having Mark with him was beneficial at this time. This is unexpected in light of what happened during Paul’s first missionary journey. Mark had been picked by Paul and Barnabas to join them on the mission and to become a contemporary of theirs. We are told, however, in Acts 13 that Mark left them and went home. Paul took this defection so hard that when Mark wanted to go with Paul and Barnabas on Paul’s second missionary journey, Paul refused to have such a quitter accompany them. Paul and Barnabas argued over this issue so much that they actually parted ways because Paul would have nothing to do with Mark. We don’t know exactly what happened to mend the relationship between the two, but Paul is now asking for Mark’s presence.
The next name, Tychicus, is someone who Paul had sent out to visit the church that he had established in Ephesus. He was the one who delivered the letters to the churches in Colossae and Ephesus. Then, the final name mentioned is Alexander the coppersmith. It is unknown what exactly Alexander had done, but we can determine from the text that he had worked to disrupt the spread of the gospel and caused Paul personal harm.
Now sandwiched between these last two names is what I want all of us to focus on this morning. Listen to the personal requests made by Paul to Timothy, “When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments.” Despite Paul’s seemingly dire situation, this language seems to indicate that he still had work to do. Paul wanted his books, or in the Greek, his biblia, which literally means papyrus rolls, and it is most likely that these rolls contained the earliest forms of the gospels. He wanted the parchments. Perhaps these were legal documents such as his proof of Roman citizenship. However, it is most likely his copy of the Hebrew Scriptures, or as we would say, the Old Testament. Paul was acting like a man who still had work that needed to be done. Even though Paul had been through so much and was certain that the end was near, he continued to work for the sake of the gospel.
One of the ways in which you know that you have fully entered into adulthood is when you start thinking about retirement. Now, obviously Amy and I aren’t thinking about retirement any time soon, but it’s something that we began planning for several years ago. We don’t know what it will look like. I imagine a cantankerous old Presbyterian preacher sitting on the porch with his eternally beautiful bride somewhere, but you never know. After all, what does a preacher retiring even look like. Most preachers I know who have retired have gone right back to work doing something else in ministry. After all, my calling is that of making disciples, and you can’t really retire from that can you? You know we say that we have two jobs in life; we are a doctor, teacher, lawyer, etc., but we are also Christians. It is my opinion, as it is most likely yours, that the later job is a calling that is much more than a profession. As such, it is something that last for a lifetime and never really has a retirement. You can’t retire from Christian service.
If there was ever a person who had a right to say that they were retiring from Christian service it was the Apostle Paul. After penning 13 New Testament epistles (along with numerous other letters that are not in our Bibles) and some 25 years of missionary travels, he could have said he was done and no one could have second guessed him. The truth of the matter is that he didn’t. Despite all of the physical pain, prison stints, the loss of co-workers, the regrets of his lifestyle prior to his conversion, he continued onward. I mean, the man was sitting in prison talking about the fact that he had work to be done. He didn’t know for certain whether or not he would even make it out of prison. Paul knew that one never retires from Christ. You don’t stop being a Christian. When a teacher retires, they no longer go to the school every day. When a lawyer retires, he doesn’t go in every morning to the practice. Retired doctors don’t keep the same schedule as they did before retiring. Christians never retire. They never quit being Christians if they are faithful to the Word of God.
Friends, as we continue during this season of stewardship of self, we are at a crossroads. We have made great progress in suring up the operations of our own church family, but is that the goal? We have worked hard to get ourselves to a stable position in how we operate, but is that the ultimate goal? Well, I don’t think I even need to answer that for you. The goal isn’t about us, but about proclaiming God’s Word and reaching all those around us who are in need of it. We have to continue to be active in our efforts to establish God’s kingdom here on earth. We have to continue to work in the area missions and outreach and evangelism. We have to continue to support and take part in the Christian education of this church. We have to continue to fan the flame of Christ that burns within each of us. Friends, I know that it doesn’t take long of completely devoting ourselves to something before the feeling of being burned out sets in. I know that people in churches many times feel like they need a break and that it’s time for someone else to worry about it. I want to encourage you, just as I have to encourage myself constantly, to keep the mindset of the Apostle Paul. There is still work to be done. Christ has commanded us to continue in our efforts, for He is with us “to the end of this age.” There is never a time, as long as we have air in our lungs, in which our service to Christ is done. We should work each and every day, in some manner or way, at growing Christ’s kingdom upon this earth. There is no such thing as retirement from being a Christian. Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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