When I read the words “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved” in verse 15, I begin to think about how powerful the desire for approval is. The desire for approval can be a very hard thing to satisfy.

From an early age, we learn how to gain the approval of people around us. Our parents approve of the good things we do and they disapprove of the bad things we do. Our teachers in school approve or disapprove, through the giving of grades. Our bosses approve or disapprove through the increase or decrease of wages. Spouses give and withhold approval when conflict arises. Even the toughest of us, who do not worry too much about what other people think, still struggle with the longing for approval.

The desire for approval can easily transform you and I into people who live our lives to please other people. But the reality is that you and I will never get enough human approval to satisfy our hearts completely. We will always be thirsty for more approval, and we will always look for ways that we can gain more approval from others. Human approval is a bad check that never clears the bank.

I think the Apostle Paul knows just how difficult it will be for young Timothy to continue leading the church in Ephesus; especially when it comes to dealing with the desire for human approval. It seems obvious that there were some very powerful, well known, leaders who used to be part of the church in Ephesus who are now opposing Timothy and teaching false doctrine (1 Tim. 1:20; 2 Tim. 2:17-18).

Opposition from other well known, ex-leaders, of the church, can be a really difficult road to walk; especially if those leaders have the approval of some of the people in the community. Young Timothy needs to be reminded that his approval does not come from other people; his approval comes from our heavenly Father because of the work of his Son Jesus at the cross of Calvary (Eph. 2:8 – 10).

Young Timothy needs to labor as a minister of God from the perspective that he has all the approval he will ever need instead of working from a perspective of trying to gain the kind of approval (human approval) that never satisfies.

If young Timothy can hang onto this truth, that his approval comes from the floor of the throne room of Heaven, then he will undoubtedly follow in the Apostle Paul’s footsteps by serving faithfully until the very end. So, what does it look like to be a person who has God’s approval? Let’s look at the text…

2 TIMOTHY 2:14 – 19…

14Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good but only ruins the hearers. 15Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. 16But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, 17and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. 19But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

#1: DOES NOT ARGUE ABOUT PETTY THINGS (V. 14)

A person who has God’s approval does not argue about petty things. This is why the Apostle Paul says, 14Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good but only ruins the hearers. Arguing about petty things can be a really destructive habit in the life of a church family. In this case, quarreling about words, has to do with arguing about the things of God and trying to make yourself appear more intellectual or intelligent than the next person.

This happens in the church family today just about as often as arguments over the color of the carpet. I have heard and even experienced the destructiveness of people who want to argue over how certain words make them feel just as often as I hear complaints and arguments over inanimate objects such as toilet paper and carpet. But Paul reminds Timothy not to get caught up in those kinds of petty arguments because they do “no good but only ruin the hearers” (v. 14).

#2: RIGHTLY HANDLES GOD’S WORD (V. 15)

A person who has God’s approval rightly handles God’s Word. This is why the Apostle Paul says, 15Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. There is no shame in speaking the straightforward truths of God’s Word. God’s Word needs no fancy illustrations or silly jokes. God’s Word only needs to be explained in a straightforward fashion without frills and without lights and smoke and without funny stage props.

Many of today’s preachers, and even this preacher, have often lost sight of the power of God’s Word to accomplish on its own what no mere mortal man can accomplish, namely the salvation and sanctification of God’s people. Therefore, the calling for all of us, as ministers of the Lord, is to rightly handle God’s Word, by explaining it in a straightforward and clear fashion while trusting God to produce the results.

#3: AVOIDS UNGODLY CONTROVERSY (VV. 16 – 18)

A person who has God’s approval avoids ungodly controversy. This is why the Apostle Paul says, 16…avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, 17and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. Ungodly controversy is never focused on the plain, and straightforward truths of God’s Word. Ungodly controversy is always focused on mixing little tidbits of truth with a whole lot of falsehood that become heretical poison that is presented as some kind of new teaching that you do not want to miss out on.

The problem in Timothy’s day and still today, is that there are many people who have swerved off the well-beaten pathways of gospel proclamation (the message of the cross, the empty tomb, and the promise of heaven) because their hearts desire some kind of new teaching that is nothing more than ungodly controversy that spreads like the rotten, stinking, gangrene that it is. Beware of those people and stay away from them or else they may upset your faith.

#4: TRUSTS GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY AND RUNS FROM SIN (V. 19)

A person who has God’s approval trusts God’s sovereignty and runs from sin. This is why the Apostle Paul says, 19But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” These final words are an encouragement to those believers who have God’s approval and are working not to argue about petty things by rightly handling God’s Word and avoiding ungodly controversy.

These final words are also an indictment and a warning against those who would continue to argue about petty things and bring shame upon themselves as they engage in ungodly controversy which spreads like the cancerous gangrene they are infected with.

I say that these final words are an encouragement and a warning because they are taken directly from the words of Scripture in Numbers 16 where a couple of well-known leaders in Israel gathered nearly 250 other leaders to oppose Moses and Aaron’s leadership. In response to the opposition, Moses sets up a meeting to see whom the Lord would approve of and whom the Lord would disapprove.2

In the midst of the conflict, Moses proclaimed that the Lord is sovereign, he knows who belongs to him, and he also knows that those who do belong to him will run from sin (Num. 16:5). At the end of the story, all of Moses’ opponents were swallowed up into the earth by an earthquake and then scorched with a fire ball from Heaven. Moral of the story… a person who has God’s approval trusts in God’s sovereignty and runs from sin.

CONCLUSION…

In conclusion, the only question left for us to wrestle with is this: Am I someone who has God’s approval? Or am I someone who still opposes God and his people? If you or I have not yet fully trusted in Christ and if either of us have not yet bowed our knee in submission to Jesus not only as our Savior but also as our risen and returning king, then you or I are in danger just like the rebellious leaders of Paul and Timothy’s and Moses’ days.

But, if you and I have trusted in the work of our crucified, risen, and returning Savior, then we can rest assured that we have God’s approval. Our approval does not begin with our behavior; our approval begins with what Jesus accomplished at the cross and the empty tomb.

And as people who have God’s approval through our faith in the finished work of Christ, we can resist arguing about petty things and we can rightly handle God’s Word by avoiding ungodly controversy as we trust in God’s sovereignty and run as fast as we can from any kind of sin that would seek to destroy us. – Amen!

1 Unless otherwise specified, all Bible references in this paper are to the English Standard Version Bible, The New Classic Reference Edition (ESV) (Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, 2001).

2 R. Kent Hughes and Bryan Chapell, 1 – 2 Timothy and Titus, (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2012), 230 – 231.