2Timothy 2:19 – Standing Sure – Bible study

2Timothy 2:19 Standing Sure 2Tim 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. I. "Nevertheless" A. That word means that what Paul was about to say was going against the tide of what he had been saying. B. What had Paul being talking about: 1. \#18\ Some were saying the resurrection was past. 2Tim 2:18 Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some. a. That falls under the big category of false doctrine. b. Specifically that the dead have missed the resurrection, thus scattering the hope any have of seeing their sleeping loved ones again. 2. \#16\ People were spouting profane and vain babblings. 2Tim 2:16 But shun profane and vain babblings. a. What is that? (1) Profane babbling is secular, heathenistic talk. (2) Vain babbling is fruitless discussion. b. Isnt it strange our so many talk about anything but Jesus even at church. (1) A former member of our church told me about a experiment he did. (2) He would talk to Christians both inside and outside the church about the Bible, about a sermon, our about the Savior, and he found those conversations were short; but if he started a conversation about politics, sports, or current eventswith the same people-those conversations tended to be longer. (3) His conclusion was that Christians less (even much less) uncomfortable talking about spiritual things that secular. c. Friend, I hope that is NOT the case. (1) The message of the cross should be our favorite topic. (2) I am convinced that when it comes to correcting what is going on in our nation, nothing will fix it but the message of Jesus Christ d. In the long run, every other conversation we have is profane and vain babbling. 3. \#12\ People were suffering. 2Tim 2:12 If we suffer. a. Notice the pronoun, "we." b. "If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him" c. The persecutions were happening. d. Good, godly people were being arrested, imprisoned, beaten, their property confiscated, their lives threatened, and sometimes even more than threatened. 4. \#9\ Paul was suffering. 2Tim 2:9 Wherein I suffer trouble. a. Paul was not doing what I am doing, just preaching about suffering. b. Paul was living it. C. Those are the things that Paul was discussing then suddenly, Paul veered off the road. 1. It was like after pointing out those conditions, Paul said: a. "forget them." b. "disregard them." c. "they dont matter." d. "they are not important." e. "nevertheless." 2. Paul was about to take the conversation and completely different direction. II. "the foundation of God standeth sure" A. Notice this phrase has a "what" and a "condition." B. Notice the "what" first. 1. It is the "foundation of God;" that is, the foundation that belongs to God, the one that God has laid, or Gods foundation. 2. God has a foundation. a. He is the Creator of all things, but before He began to create, like any good builder, God laid a foundation. b. Paul does not tell us what that foundation is. c. He tells us it is there, which is good to know, but not what it is. d. I will speculate what I think the Foundation of God may be in a moment; but first, lets lay down some criteria that is true of any foundation. 3. Lets consider some things about a foundation. a. The foundation always goes in first. (1) Before God ever gave Adam and Eve a free will, before God ever created a molecule of sand for this planet, before God even created the fabric of time and space, Gods foundationwhatever it iswas in place. (2) I was told that before those who built the GPBC did any building, they sunk some pylons down to the bedrock to build it upon. (a) It is for certain, this part of the GPBC was the most stable of all the three buildings. (b) The reason that did that is because the church is built on the Green Pond Pond. (c) They knew they needed a solid foundation if the structure was going to be steady. b. As a rule, you never see the foundation. (1) Every building that has stood for any length of time has a foundation, but it is under the structure, unusually out of sight. (2) Even if it is not buried in the earth, it is normally covered with a facade, maybe of brick, maybe wood, maybe vinyl. (3) The only way you will see the foundation of most structures is to either dig for it or go under what is built upon, crawl on your hands and knees it so that you can see it from underneath. (4) We are working on the master bedroom of the Prophets Suite. (a) One of the goals is to install a bath for our guests. (b) That requires relocating all of the plumbing fixtures, and that requires someone going under the building, in the humble postion, on their hands and knees to so what needs to be done down below. (c) From that angle and position, you can see the foundation pretty good, but you have to be in the humble position! c. Everything that is built to last goes on the foundation. (1) If you are building an outhouse, no problem. (a) Build it anywhere. (b) If it falls over, you may be embarrassed, but you can set it up right again and continue one. (2) But everything worth anything is built on a foundation. (3) Perhaps there is a naturally occurring foundation that one could build upon, but most would not trust it if they were building a home or a business on that spot. 4. What could the foundation of God be? a. Again, the Bible does not say. b. It could be many things, and I suspect that when God does not specifically define an object it is so that Christians can use our spiritual imagination to put a variety of possibilities into that spot. c. I am going to use my spiritual imagination and say the foundation that God has laid is His plan. d. Lets consider, would the plan of God fit the criteria we laid out about any real foundation? (1) Did the plan of God come first? YES. (2) Can you see the plan of God? (a) Most of the time, NO. (b) You might be able to see it if you get down on your hands and knees, in the humble position, and spend some time down there. (c) And you might if you do some digging. i. When we want to find a physical foundation, we dig in the earth. ii. When we want to find a spiritual foundation, we did in the Word. (3) Is everything else built upon the plan of God? YES. (a) Nothing can exist or happen that is not part of Gods plan. (b) Nothing. (c) Everything may look topsy-turvy, helter- shelter, but it is not. (d) It is all build upon a foundation, Gods foundation. C. Then notice the "condition" of the foundation. 1. It stands sure. a. That means no matter what is going on, nothing is happening to Gods foundation. b. It is solid, sure, not fractured, not cracking under the load. 2. Again, my guess is that the plan of God is sure. a. Neither Democrats nor the Republicans have as much as even dented Gods plan. It is solid. It is sure. b. Neither the atheists, nor the God-haters, nor the compromising Christians have thrown a wrench into Gods plan. It is solid. It is sure. c. If the elections were fixed or if the people were actually crazy, it makes no difference. Gods plan in unfazed. d. Whether Satan is rejoicing, thinking his rise and victory are at hand; or whether Satan is hunkered down in a pit hell some place, sensing that something is wrong, it matters not. Gods plan stands sure. e. Man cannot alter it. f. The devil cannot change it. g. The will of the people will not influence it. h. It is Gods foundation, and it stands sure. III. "having this seal AND." A. There is a seal, a token, an evidence, a mark that proves the foundation of God is standing sure. 1. In Bible days, powerful people would mark their correspondence with a wax seal. 2. The seal was physical evidence of ownership and authority. 3. The seal of Gods foundation then is a physical manifestation of Gods ownership and authority. B. I could be wrong, but I believe the word "and" indicates there are two seals. 1. Typically, the word "and" joins like things, things of a similar value. 2. Not always, but often, especially when used in writing. 3. When I say we have a cat and a dog, at first you might not see the similarity; but if you consider it for a moment, you might realize they are both pets. The word "and" was joining two similar things. 4. When I say I like ham and eggs, at first you might not see the similarity; but if you consider it, you might realize they are both breakfast foods. The word "and" was joining two like things together. 5. And I think here, the word "and" may be joining two seals that Gods foundation is sure together. C. The first seal is that God knows those that are His own. 1. I know what that said, but I am not sure I understand why Paul said it. a. How could a Father not know His own children, especially when the Father is the all-knowing God? b. It seems more like redundancy than a proof or sign to say of God that He knows His own. 2. But I think what Paul meant by this statement is that God treats His own differently. 3. In a world that is topsy-turvy, Gods foundation stands sure and I can know this by the fact that God treats His children differently. a. I expect God to treat His children differently. b. I dont expect to go to hell. Im going to heaven. c. The whole reason I have been asking our church to meet on Friday evenings is because I expect God to treat His children differently! Psalm 90:1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. 3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. 7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. 4. I know and understand that Christians are not exempt from the troubles of this world. a. We all know good and godly people who have been sick with Covid and some who have even died. b. But I am still expecting God to treat His children different. c. And I dont want to have work too hard to figure out HOW He treats us different. d. I want God to make it obvious. 5. The Lord knows HIS OWN. 6. Thats the seal that Gods foundation is standing sure! D. The second seal is that those who know God, depart from iniquity. 1. The seals purpose is not just to show us that God owns us, but to show Him that we are owned by Him. 2. What is the mark that we are Gods? We depart from iniquity, from sin. 3. There is no reason to suppose we are Gods if we live like the lost world. E. So this seal shows both parties that we His, and if we are His, we will stand sure!