FROM SUCCESS TO SIGNIFICANCE
TESTIMONY
DR. JIM DIXON
2 TIMOTHY 4:6-8
DECEMBER 17, 2006
The Bible tells us that as Christians we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. The Bible says that as we live out our Christian lives on this earth, we are surrounded by this great cloud of witnesses. Of course, most Christians kind of want to know, “What is this cloud of witnesses? Who are these witnesses?” This passage comes from Hebrews, chapter 12, verse 1.
There are some who believe that the cloud of witnesses consists of angels, angelic beings, that in all of their diversity—from archangels to cherubim to seraphim to thrones and dominions of principalities and powers—angels are looking down on us. Certainly, the Bible tells us that angels are guardians and they do watch over us.
There are other people who suggest that the cloud of witnesses consists of the saints departed, our loved ones in Christ who have died and gone to heaven, that somehow they’re kind of spectating as they look down from heaven on earth and watch us. The idea would be that Johnny Patterson who just recently died and who was loved by all of us here would be looking down on us this morning, kind of watching our service and looking at us as part of the cloud of witnesses. While that thought is possible, there really aren’t any biblical passages outside of Hebrews 12:1 that really could be used to support that concept. Most Bible scholars and theologians go in a different direction. They look at the word martus which, in Hebrews, chapter 12, verse 1, is translated “witnesses.” They ask, “What does this word martus mean? It CAN mean a witness. It CAN mean somebody who is watching or observing but that’s not the only possibility. The word martus can also mean, “one who bears witness,” “one who offers a testimony,” “one who provides an example.” The idea would be that the cloud of witnesses that surround us are testimonies. They are examples. They are people who have borne witness by their life and by their death.
This actually fits Hebrews 12 contextually because in Hebrews 11, the chapter immediately preceding the controversial passage, we have listed there all the Heroes of the Faith through Old Testament biblical history. They are bearing witness by their life and by their death. They offer through their life and through their death a testimony to the Lord. They provide an example for us as we live our lives now on earth. The idea would be that the cloud of witnesses consists of the testimonies of Christians who have lived before us.
In that sense, John Patterson has joined the cloud of witnesses. He has left his testimony with us. As he’s gone to heaven, we have his example amongst many examples. I know all of you, as you come to the end of your life in this world, would like your life to be an example. You’d like to join that cloud of witnesses and you’d like to provide testimony for others.
And so today, we look at moving from success to significance in the light of testimony. The word martus, by the way, is also the word from which we get the English word “martyr,” and this is simply because a martyr is someone who by their life and by their death bears a testimony. That’s kind of the direction we’re going with this concept. Today we look at significance in the light of testimony. I have three teachings and they all come from our passage of scripture for today, what has been called the triumphant testimony of the Apostle Paul, where Paul said, “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race and I have kept the faith.”
I think what God is saying to us today is if we would find significance in our life and if at the end of our life we have provided a testimony, it will only be if we have fought the good fight, if we finish the race and if we keep the faith. So, we begin with “fight the good fight.” Literally, in the Greek, Paul says, “The good fight I have fought.” God would tell us today that unless we fight that good fight, we’ll never reach significance, and indeed, we’ll never have a testimony. So we must fight the good fight.
What is this good fight? What is the Bible talking about? What is the apostle talking about? What is the good fight? The word for good would normally be “agothos,” which refers to “that which is beneficial in its effects,” but that is not the word used here. The word that Paul uses in this passage is “kalos.” Kalos refers to that which is intrinsically good, that which is beautiful, that which is honorable. In the Bible the word kalos is oftentimes used of the things of God. It’s used of the things of heaven. Heaven and God are intrinsically good and beautiful and noble. Most scholars believe that when Paul mentions the good fight, he’s talking about ministry, serving the cause of heaven on earth, serving the cause of Christ on earth, serving the purposes of heaven. So to fight the good fight is to enter into ministry.
The word for fight is the word “agon,” from which we get the English word, “agony.” Paul uses the word twice in two different forms, “agon” and “agonizomai.” He’s literally saying, “I’ve agonized the agony.” So, Paul is saying that in this good fight there’s going to be a struggle because the word “agon” means “to struggle.” So, God wants us to understand if we’re going to obtain significance and if we’re going to have a testimony, we’re going to have to be willing to struggle. We’re going to have to struggle in the good fight. We’re going to have to struggle in ministry. We’re going to have to struggle as we seek to serve the cause of heaven on earth. It involves struggling.
Of course, we can’t help but think of the words of the Apostle Paul as he bore testimony in 2 Corinthians, chapter 11, in that famous passage where Paul said, “Is anyone a servant of Jesus Christ? Well, I serve Him more. Is anyone a minister of Jesus Christ? Well, I minister more, though I am speaking like a fool. But I’ve had far greater labors with far more imprisonments, with countless beatings and often near death. Five times I’ve received at the hands of the Jews the 40 lashes less one. Three times I’ve been beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times, shipwrecked, a day and a night adrift at sea, and on frequent journeys—in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from the gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brethren, in toil and hardship through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, oftentimes without food in cold and exposure. In addition to all this, I have the daily pressures of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak and I do not feel their weakness? Who is made to fall and I am not indignant?”
Paul is describing “agonizing the agony.” He’s describing what it means to fight the good fight. He’s counting the cost and there is a struggle and Paul’s bearing witness, bearing testimony, that if you’re going to fight the good fight it’s going to have a cost. It’s always been so. Paul said to Timothy, “No one can live a godly life in Christ Jesus. Anyone who seeks to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Of course, persecution takes many forms and perhaps it’s more subtle today in this secular culture but Christians are indeed persecuted nonetheless. So, we fight the good fight, and it is a struggle.
Look at Hebrews 11. When you look at the Heroes of the Faith, they all struggled. Look at Moses. It says, “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid for three months by his parents because they saw the child was beautiful and they were not afraid of the edict of the King. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called, the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer ill treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. For he considered abuse suffered for the Christ greater reward than all the treasures of Egypt, for he looked to the reward. And by faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood that the destroyer of the firstborn might not touch him. By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as if upon dry ground, and when the Egyptians sought to do the same, they drowned.”
What are passages like that about? Fighting the good fight. It’s about the struggle for the cause of heaven on earth. It’s always been the case and even today if we would enter into ministry, it’s going to involve some struggling. If you’re going to teach Sunday school, if you’re going to serve the cause of heaven on earth with children, it’s going to involve a little struggle. I taught Sunday school before I ever went to seminary. I taught Sunday school while I was in seminary. When I came out of seminary and went to work in a church, I was in charge of the Sunday school for 8-1/2 years. I loved teaching kids and I always went home exhausted. I mean, there was a joy to it, but it was a struggle. I didn’t always feel like preparing a lesson. There is a struggle to ministry. It’s a struggle with joy.
If you’re going to sing in the choir, at times it’s going to be a struggle, no matter how wonderful your voice. This past weekend we had Christmas at the Ranch and it was wonderful. Such a blessing. But for many members of the choir, it’s a struggle. It’s not always easy to come out on Tuesday night and go through rehearsal. Of course, Christmas at the Ranch is a huge time commitment and it involves a struggle—a struggle combined with joy, but a struggle because ministry always involves struggle.
If you want to go into the inner city and you want to tutor a little inner city child, that’s going to involve struggling. You’re not going to always feel like getting in your car and driving down there, going to one of our inner-city churches, lining up with an inner city kid. You’re not going to always feel like doing their homework with them and loving them for Christ’s sake. Ministry, fighting the good fight, requires that we struggle. We’ll never reach significance, we’ll never have a testimony, unless we struggle.
That’s not only true with regard to serving the cause of heaven in the church. It’s even true with regard to serving the cause of heaven at home. If you’re going to raise your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, that’s going to involve some struggling. If you’re going to serve the cause of heaven at work, whatever your career, whatever your job… are you going to fight the good fight at work? That’s going to involve some struggling because we live in a world where people prefer darkness rather than light. So you can never let up. You know it is in a fight. If you let up, you get hit, so you just can’t let up. In the midst of this joyous struggle, you can’t let up.
I love the story by Leslie Flynn in her book Dare to Care Like Jesus. She tells the story of a Christian baroness who lives in Nairobi, Kenya. This Christian baroness had a young national who worked as a houseboy in her home. After three months this young national came up to the baroness and said, “I’d like you to write a recommendation for me to go to work for a sheik who lived a few miles away.” This friendly sheik lived not too far away and was Muslim. The Baroness was shocked. She said, “Why would I write you a recommendation? I don’t want you to go. You’ve been a great houseboy. I love your work. You do a great job. I don’t want to lose you. If money is the issue, I’d be happy to pay you more. What do you want?” This young national said, “Money is not the issue. You see, I’m in a spiritual quest. I resolved months ago that I wanted to choose between Christianity and Islam and so I resolved that I would work for three months with a Christian and then I would work three months with a Muslim and then compare. I’ve just completed three months with you.”
As Leslie Flynn tells the story, the Christian baroness says, “Oh, why didn’t you tell me? I would have treated you better.” Isn’t that the case? Fighting the good fight is 24-7. Your testimony is always being heard. Your testimony is always being observed. Of course, your testimony is developing with every passing year and when you die your testimony is done. But everybody is watching and fighting the good fight is relentless and yet the key to significance and to a testimony.
Secondly, Paul said, “I finished the race.” Literally in the Greek, Paul said “the race I have finished.” God would tell us that if we want significance in life, we must finish the race. If you want to die with a testimony intact, you’ve got to finish the race.
The word for race in this passage is “dromos.” Dromos comes from a Greek root which simply means, “to run.” We speak of certain camels as Dromedary because they run. Throughout the Roman Empire, there were great stadiums called hippodromes and they were huge. In the city of Rome there was the Circus Maximus, the Great Circus. The Circus Maximus was a hippodrome far larger than the Flavian Amphitheater, far larger than the Colosseum. The Circus Maximus was a place where horses ran. Hippodrome means, “horse, hippos.” Dromos, “racecourse, run.” So, horse race. Hippopotamuses are water horses. Aren’t you glad you came today to find that out? The word “dromos” means “to run.” Paul is saying if you’re going to find significance, if you’re going to have a testimony intact at the end, you’ve got to finish the race. You’ve got to finish it.
This last Wednesday night as we had our memorial service for John Patterson. Afterwards I ran into Dr. Ken Atkinson, who is my family physician. Ken was also Johnny’s doctor and loved Johnny, as we all did and do. I knew that Ken had just run in the New York Marathon and so I said, “Ken, how’d it go in the marathon?” Ken smiled and he simply said, “I finished.” That’s the idea in the marathon, right? You just want to finish the 26.2 miles. You want to get it done. You want to finish the race. That’s what it’s like in the Christian life. It’s not a sprint. This is a marathon and you’ve got to finish. You’ve got to keep running all the way to the end.
Here in Colorado and along the Front Range, a lot of Christians are in shock because of some of the moral failings that have characterized Christian leaders here. Ted Haggard, obviously, down at New Life just north of Colorado Springs, isn’t finishing very well. He committed adultery and has kind of chronically dabbled in homosexuality and conduct unbecoming the gospel. More recently Paul Barnes from Grace Chapel just this past week was in the newspapers. Again, the same thing. He committed adultery and there are issues of homosexuality and conduct unbecoming the gospel. I didn’t really know Ted or Paul that well. I had met them. I had always assumed that they were serving Christ well, but obviously you’ve got to feel for their families, for them, and for their churches and for the church universal and the greater cause of Christ because Christ gets a black eye when we as Christians kind of mess up.
The good news is that Jesus Christ and the Christian faith is filled with mercy and grace and if we repent, if we truly repent, we can find forgiveness and we can find restoration. That’s the good news of the gospel. So, you look at somebody like Gordon McDonald who committed adultery in 1987 while being a pastor in New England. He had the largest church in the Northeast United States, and he also had been the President of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. He committed adultery and of course was cast down. He repented. He repented truly and went through years of struggle and sanctification and now he’s serving Christ again. He’s back in the race. That’s the cool thing. The final chapter hasn’t been written on Ted Haggard, the final chapter hasn’t been written on Paul Barnes, and the final chapter hasn’t been written on your life or on my life. I can tell you this. If you’ve kind of dropped out of the race, it’s time to repent and get back in because you’ve got to finish. This is what you’ve got to do for the sake of attaining significance in your life and for the sake of a testimony that’s intact. You’ve got to finish this journey with Christ.
In our passage for today the Apostle Paul, in 2 Timothy, chapter 4, verse 6, says that he was already on the point of being sacrificed. And the word for sacrifice there is, “spendomai.” The word spendomai was used of a libation that was poured over a sacrificial offering to God. We see this if you look at Exodus, chapter 28, or Leviticus, chapter 29, you see how, by the will of God, sacrificial wine, a libation or even blood was poured over the lamb that was offered to God. So, Paul is saying that even as he’s approaching death and he knows he’s going to be martyred and he knows he’s going to be executed by the emperor… He knows as a Roman citizen he cannot be crucified but he knows he’ll probably be beheaded and Paul is just saying, as he’s approaching his death, he views it as a libation, an offering of his blood to God. Even to the end he was thinking of his life being poured out for God’s sake and for the cause of heaven. Of course, he says, “The time of my departure has come.” The word there is “analusis,” the word for “departure.” Analusis is a rare word. It was used of a ship that was leaving port and heading out to sea, so obviously Paul viewed his death not as the end of things but as a beginning. He’s about to be launched. His ship was about to go out to sea. And so he was viewing death as the beginning of a whole new journey, a whole new journey with Christ. He was excited about that.
This word, analusis, was also used as “taking up your stakes and rolling your tent up.” Maybe Paul was thinking of leaving this tent, this body, behind and looking forward to his new tent, his new body. But this much is clear: Paul knew that as long as he was drawing breath, as long as he was on this earth, he had to run the race and he had to fight the good fight.
Finally, Paul is saying that he has kept the faith. Literally in the Greek Paul says, “the faith I have kept.” God wants us to understand that if we would have a testimony, if we would attain significance, we have to keep the faith. The word for keep is the word, “tereo.” The word tereo had two meanings and they both certainly apply to the Apostle Paul. First of all, the word tereo can mean “to guard” or “to watch over.” So, Paul would be saying, “the faith I have guarded,” “the faith I have watched over.” Paul would be talking about orthodoxy. He would be talking about his zeal to protect Christian doctrine and Christian truth.
We read this in the pastoral epistles. Paul is saying that apostasy is entering the world and he is telling Timothy to fight for the faith, for the truth of Christianity, for orthodoxy. Certainly Paul has guarded the Christian faith. That is true of him and he wants it to be true of you. God wants it to be true of you and of me, that the faith we would guard.
Some of you have heard of William Tyndale. You know that William Tyndale died in the year 1536. He was burned at the stake, executed by the church of Jesus Christ. Why would the Christian church have burned William Tyndale at the stake? Why would they have executed this man? The answer is simple. He made the horrible mistake of translating the Bible into English. That’s why he was executed. You see, in 1536, the Bible only existed for the most part in Greek and Hebrew and in Latin. The Greek and Hebrew Old and New Testament had been translated into the Latin Vulgate. Only the highly educated, only the clergy, really could read the Bible. The clergy would study the scriptures and proclaim it to the masses, but they were stewards of the Word of God, the clergy. They were stewards of the Word of God. It was their domain and they guarded it.
Why did it both the church so much that Tyndale had translated the whole Bible into English or that Martin Luther had translated the whole Bible into German (because the church was equally mad at Luther)? Why was the church so mad? Did they not like people? Is that what it was about? Or was it about elitism? Did they just want to kind of possess the scriptures for themselves and nobody else? No. It wasn’t about elitism and it wasn’t that they didn’t like people. It was just that they wanted to guard the scriptures and they honestly believed that if the common people had the Bible in their common language, pretty soon people would begin to misinterpret Bible verses, misinterpret Bible passages. They would taint orthodoxy and they would corrupt Christian doctrine.
Of course, that’s exactly what has happened as the Bible has gone forth. The Gutenberg printing press enabled the mass production of the Bible and as the Bible went forth in languages and everyone had the Bible in their own languages, people read this book and they distort verses. They misinterpret passages. They corrupt Christian doctrine. They taint orthodoxy. There’s no doubt about it. And still, I’m glad William Tyndale did what he did. I’m still glad Martin Luther did what he did. I’m glad we all have a Bible. I’m glad we have multiple Bibles. But remember, it’s a sacred truth. There was a reason the church was concerned. The Bible is a sacred truth, and you are called to guard the faith and not corrupt it.
I think in the culture in which we live, we constantly need to be prepared to guard the faith, to give a rational apologia, a rational defense for faith affirmed.
I so often have college students come to me. They’re at a college or university or an institution of higher learning and their professors are just attacking the Christian faith, the credibility of holy scripture. These college students are coming to me saying, “Help us keep our faith. Help us hold on to this. Help us guard it. We don’t know what to say.” Of course, not all college professors attack the Christian faith, but some do. I have growing numbers of college students coming and saying, “What should we do?” There are college professors out there who will tell students that the Bible is a book of historical inaccuracies, theological absurdities, and moral prudery and that the historical Jesus is unknowable, buried in the mythology of the Bible. That’s what some professors tell students in institutions of higher learning and it’s so bogus.
The truth is most of these professors are just parroting something they heard from someone else or read somewhere. When they’re challenged, they can’t defend their attack on holy scriptures. The reality is that, historically speaking, you won’t find any ancient literature more reliable than the Bible, although God did not give us the Bible primarily as a history text and God did not give us the Bible primarily as a scientific text. God gave us the Bible primarily for the sake of theological truth and moral truth for faith and for practice. I believe that the Bible is infallible with regard to faith and practice, inerrant with regard to theology and morality. You can trust it. The Christian faith is readily defended if we would just prepare ourselves.
Are you ready? Do you know how to defend the faith? Are you willing to study, maybe willing to struggle? Maybe you have kids who have gone to college or are in college. Maybe you have younger kids who have not gone to college yet. What are you going to do when their faith is challenged? Are you going to be able to help them or are you just going to send them to me? I can’t do all that. You’ve got to be ready to defend the faith. This is part of keeping the faith.
As we conclude, this word “tereo” not only means “to keep” in the sense of “to guard” or “to protect,” but it also means “to keep” in the sense of “to obey” or “to submit to.” Certainly, this was true of Paul too. At the end of his life, he could say that he had lived in submission to the teachings of Christ. The sacrarnentum, the Roman oath, the sacred oath that a Roman soldier made when joining the Roman Legions, the Hellenized version used this word “tereo,” “to keep,” that they would submit, that they would obey the emperor and the empire unto death.
In the Greek athletic games, the oath that every athlete had to take before competing used this same Greek word, “tereo,” that they would play by the rules. There’s a sense in which Paul is perhaps saying not only that he is guarding the faith. He’s saying, “the faith I have lived out. I have obeyed. I have submitted to it.” Of course, Paul would not be saying that he was perfect. He knew that he was a sinner but nevertheless he sought to live in submission to Christ.
I hope you understand that if you’re keeping the faith in this sense, it must consist supremely of love because this is the first and the greatest commandment and the second is like unto it. The first is that we love the Lord our God with all of our hearts. The second is that we love our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus said, “All the law, all the prophets, all the commandments are summed up in these two: Love for God and love for people. So, it’s all about loving God and therefore seeking to please Him. It’s all about loving people and by this we please God, too, if we love people. And so, Jesus quoted the Shema in Deuteronomy 6, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind,” and Jesus quoted Leviticus 19:18, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” and He said this sums it all up. It’s about love.
If you’re going to have a testimony and if we’re going to reach significance, we’ve got to learn to love. At the end of your life don’t you want people to say, “This person loved me”? Don’t you want people to say that? Don’t you want that to be part of your testimony and isn’t that significant? Don’t you want people to say, “This person loved God. He loved God.” Don’t you want that to be your testimony? We’re building our testimony. We’re all in a process. Hopefully we’re growing. I think I’m growing a little bit and I’ve got a ways to go as we’re seeking to learn to love.
I read this last week, a little bit about J.C. Penney. J.C. Penney was a strong Christian and founded J.C. Penney Department Stores. I read where, when he was at parties, he would always drink Ginger ale but then after a period of time people began to think that he was drinking alcohol or wine and so he moved to tomato juice. Apparently, they didn’t have Bloody Marys back then. In the last service I mistakenly said “screwdrivers” and people corrected me in the crowd. I was very impressed. But of course, he wanted to make sure that everybody knew he never had a drink. Is that what Christianity is about? Never having a drink?
I read this past week a little bit about Charles Spurgeon, the great orator who preached in the Metropolitan Tabernacle in the city of London, one of the greatest Christian preachers in Christian history. Sometimes he would go to Monte Carlo and of course there was a lot of gambling in Monte Carlo but Spurgeon wanted to make sure everybody knew he didn’t gamble.
He liked to take walks in the gardens surrounding one of the casinos. These gardens were owned by the casino. He would take walks there often because it gave him peace but then someone said to Spurgeon, “Hey! You just walk in those gardens and they’re going to think you’re gambling,” and so he quit walking because he wanted everybody to know he never gambled. Is that what Christianity is about? Is it as simple as that? Don’t drink. Don’t gamble. If you’ve been raised in fundamentalism, as many of us were, maybe that’s the view of Christianity. It’s just a bunch of rules, rules, rules. Of course, the Bible does warn us about drunkenness and gambling addictions can be tragic, but you know it’s about love. There are people out there who never have a drink and people who never play cards but they don’t know how to love. It’s about love and growing and learning what it means to love God and what it means to love each other. It’s really about love. Paul, I think, understood this so Paul quotes Jesus in saying that “All the law and the prophets are summed up in love.”
As we conclude, I just want to give you just a brief summation of Paul’s life. He was born in 10 AD (about 10 AD) in the city of Tarsus, which was a provincial capitol of the Roman Empire. He was born a citizen of the Roman Empire and his parents before him, and he was proud of it. He was educated in Greek and in Latin, for his family was significant. He was also educated in Hebrew because Paul was a Jew of the Tribe of Benjamin and his birth name was Saul, as was the birth name of the first King of Israel, also of the Tribe of Benjamin.
Paul was a Hebrew born of Hebrews. He was a Pharisee. He was educated in rabbinical schools. He went through the Jewish educational process—Bets Afar, Bet Talmud, and at the age of 13 Bet Midrash. We know that he entered the Rabbinate. Paul sought to be a rabbi. Ultimately around the age of 18, the Bible tells us Paul went to Jerusalem to study under the feet of Gamaliel, the greatest theologian in the Jewish world and a member of the Sanhedrin, the High Council of the Jews. So, here’s Paul studying for years at the feet of Gamaliel himself.
During that time Paul probably lived with his sister. We know that his sister lived in Jerusalem. They were a significant family. Some people believe that Paul ultimately became a member of the Sanhedrin. We don’t know that. We do know that Paul became great in the Jewish world and he was filled with zeal. He didn’t have a lot of love. What Paul had was a lot of hate and he hated Christians. He hated the Christian faith. And so there he was, age 40, walking north on the Damascus Road seeking Christians so that he might capture them, that he might bind them in chains and drag them back to Jerusalem so they would be incarcerated or executed. This he had done countless times. This he lived for. He was the great enemy of the church of Christ and here he is on the Damascus Road and suddenly Christ appeared, resurrected and alive, as a blinding light. Paul encountered the Son of God whom he was crucifying, whom he was persecuting. Paul had a radical conversion that day and then began 27 years of running the race before he was executed by Emperor Nero at the age, approximately, of 67. Twenty-seven years Paul ran the race and he learned to love. It must have been hard for him. He wrote the love chapter. Have you read that? 1 Corinthians 13. It’s beautiful. How could anyone describe love more beautifully than that? And it was Paul, because he had been transformed by Christ. What a testimony. Significance. He found it and you’ll find it, I’ll find it, as we grow in the same way.
So, we’re building our testimonies and that requires that we fight the good fight, that we engage in the struggle of ministry. It requires that we finish this race so our testimonies are intact. It also requires that we guard and submit to the faith, understanding that the supreme expression of this faith is love and learning to love. Let’s look to the Lord in a word of prayer.