The Weekend Bible Study - with Ronald L. Dart

There are, in some of Paul's letters, some things that are...well, the only words I can say for it is astonishing and astounding. We spend a lot of time in these epistles explaining the problems, or expounding from those scriptures where Paul exhorts the church to do these things and do the other things, and where he addresses theological concepts, and we have had to spend lots of times with the technical problems.

What I want to look at today is not those portions of the Scriptures, but what I call the unswept corners of Paul's epistles—where there are some things said that are not explained, that are not really a part of a technical discussion or an advancing of a doctrine. They are things that are said that are dropped on the ears of people who are new in the faith, when the faith was new.

Therefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.

For Christ has not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest enters into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the age has he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

For the word of God is living, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

And, you, Lord, in the beginning have laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of your hands: They shall perish; but you remain; and they all shall grow old as does a garment; And as a mantle shall you fold them up, and they shall be changed: but you are the same, and your years shall not fail.

Finally we come to Second Timothy. Paul is now an old man—one who had been over a lot of roads, been to a lot of places. He had been imprisoned, beaten, shipwrecked. Paul may not have lived as many years as some in the Bible, but he put an awful lot of miles on in that period of time. He also changed a lot.

The Paul we know in Luke’s early writings—the man who went up to persecute the Christians in Damascus, who was a fanatic in the plainest sense of the word—is the same man who was later so vehement in his defense of Christianity that he made enemies almost as fast as friends, and many people wanted him dead. A lot of people in the Church would not have been that disappointed if something happened to Paul, because he had caused them a lot of trouble.

This is the man who, when he and Barnabas had a disagreement on whether to take John Mark with them on a journey, refused to have him. Barnabas wanted him, and the dissension between them was so sharp that they split up entirely. I speculated earlier that I wouldn’t be surprised if Paul was really at fault. Now, later in his life, he’s mellowed; and he tells Timothy to take Mark with him, as profitable for the ministry.

I believe that suffering pain and loss, and getting older, brought life into perspective for Paul. You can see the change. It’s a slow change, but it takes place in Paul’s letters; and it’s finally capped in this last, mellow letter of Paul’s life.

Titus was a younger man than Paul, and is called his own son after the common faith. Titus had assisted him since at least the Jerusalem Conference, so by the time Paul gets around to writing this letter to Titus, he is writing to an experience minister—a man who has been used to deal with difficult situations on several occasions. Now, having Titus on Crete to solve some problems there, Paul writes to offer pastoral guidance as well as to establish Titus' authority among the Cretans.

Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men.

For we ourselves also were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.

Let no man despise your youth; but be an example of the believers, in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in you, which was given you through prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.

Meditate upon these things; give yourself wholly to them; that your progress may appear to all. Take heed unto yourself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this you shall both save yourself, and them that hear you.

But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.