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May I turn in your Bibles to 
2nd Timothy chapter 1? 2nd Timothy chapter 1, just a 
reminder of the context. The Apostle gives Timothy a specific 
charge in verse 8. He then highlights the specifics 
of the gospel, the testimony of our Lord in verses 9 and 10. Timothy is tasked to be loyal 
to that. Paul then indicates his place 
in redemptive history in terms of an Apostle of our Lord Jesus 
Christ in verses 10 I'm sorry verses 11 and 12 Timothy was 
also to show a loyalty and faithfulness to Paul and then in verses 13 
and 14 Timothy of course was to show loyalty to his own ministry 
to his place as a preacher and teacher of God's Holy Word. The 
chapter ends with examples. It's very important in the Christian 
life to have examples and this is precisely what Paul sets forth 
here. He has two negative and one positive 
in terms of those things that Timothy was to be aware of. But 
I'll begin reading in chapter 1 at verse 8. Therefore, do not be ashamed 
of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner, but 
share with me in the suffering for the gospel according to the 
power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, 
not according to our works, but according to his own purpose 
and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time 
began. but has now been revealed by 
the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death 
and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 
To which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of 
the Gentiles. For this reason I also suffer 
these things. Nevertheless, I am not ashamed, 
for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able 
to keep what I have committed to him until that day. Hold fast 
the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me in faith 
and love which are in Christ Jesus. That good thing which 
was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in 
us. This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from 
me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. The Lord grant mercy 
to the household of Anesophorus, for he often refreshed me and 
was not ashamed of my chain. But when he arrived in Rome, 
he sought me out very zealously and found me. The Lord grant 
to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that day. And 
you know very well how many ways he ministered to me at Ephesus. 
Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for your word. And again, we ask for the presence 
and the power of your Holy Spirit. Guide us and lead us and help 
us to understand this particular passage of scripture. And may 
we learn very helpful lessons. And may we put these things into 
practice in our own lives. God, may it be the case that 
we follow this pattern of devotion. and that we reject this pattern 
of defection. May we be faithful to the very 
end to our Lord Jesus Christ, to His gospel, to the blessed 
word that you have given to us. And we pray that you would help 
us now. Give us strength, give us grace, give us wisdom to process 
these things rightly, to leave more and more conformed unto 
the image of our beloved Savior. And it's in Jesus' name that 
we pray. Amen. Well just before we look at this 
particular section in verses 15 to 18, I thought it would 
be good to take a moment and highlight the necessity of example 
in the Christian life. You can turn back for just a 
moment to the book of Philippians, Philippians chapter 3. So look 
first at the necessity of examples, secondly at the negative, I'm 
sorry, the negative example that we find in 2 Timothy, and then 
end with the positive example of devotion manifested to us 
by this Onesiphorus. But notice in chapter 3 of the 
book of Philippians, in verse 17, Paul says, brethren, join 
in following my example. This is absolutely crucial. The 
Apostle Paul was a man of God. The Apostle Paul followed the 
Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul was faithful 
not only in his ministry, but he was faithful in his life. 
And so it is imperative that the people of God follow that 
example. The people of God need to study 
how the Apostle lived, the people of God need to reflect upon those 
passages in the book of Acts and throughout the corpus of 
Paul's writings to see what a godly man looks like, to see how a 
faithful man lives, how a faithful man conducts himself. Paul rehearses 
the very same command with the Corinthians in chapter 11 in 
1 Corinthians. And here he says, join in following my example. But he doesn't stop there. He 
tells us, and note those who so want. In other words, scope 
out in the midst of your Christian life. That's the idea here. The 
word of the verb is scope it out. Look for those within the 
congregation that function in this capacity. Look for godly 
men. Look for godly women. Look for 
persons in your life that you can see as models or examples 
of faithfulness so that by God's grace you have a pattern. That's 
what's going on here. As you have us for a pattern, 
as a type, as something that has been stamped out. We need 
to have these things in our lives. Yes, the Lord Jesus Christ is 
paradigmatically the example for his people. But remember, 
first and foremost, Jesus Christ is the sacrifice and the substitute 
and the Savior for his people. The Bible tells us, yes, we are 
to pattern our lives after the Lord Christ, but the selfsame 
Bible tells us we are to find good men and good women and we 
are to fill our lives with such positive examples. We oftentimes 
imbibe the conduct of those that we hang around with. We surround 
ourselves with godless people more than likely our mindset 
will be in that regard. If we indeed travel with bad 
company, then that certainly will corrupt us. Conversely, 
if we fill our lives with the types of people that Paul enjoins 
upon us here, scope out those who so walk, then we will have 
some positive and godly and upright influences in our lives. This is one of the reasons why 
Church is so important. You come to church first to glorify 
and worship God. You come to church to hear the 
Word of God. You come to church to praise 
God. You come to church to meet with godly people. This is where 
they congregate. This is where they hang out. 
You don't go down to the library and necessarily find a whole 
wing of godly people there. You know and you can trust and 
you can be confirmed that at the church you will find persons 
that will hopefully serve as good examples. The Apostle Paul 
gives a reason for this command in Philippians 3. He says, join 
in following my example and note those who so walk as you have 
us for a pattern. And then he gives this reason 
in the next verse, 4. That word always gives us a reason 
for the command that precedes. For many walk, of whom I have 
told you often and now tell you even weeping, that they are the 
enemies of the cross of Christ. You see what Paul is saying. 
You need to follow his example. You need to scope out persons 
in your church that walk in a similar manner because this world is 
filled with negative examples. This world is filled with many 
who walk in this particular manner, persons that are enemies of the 
cross of Christ. Do you actually think that your 
spending most of your time with the enemies of the cross of Christ 
is going to have a remedial or a redemptive effect upon your 
soul? If you hang out with people who 
blaspheme, if you hang out with people who engage in all manner 
of wickedness, If you hang out with people who have no regard 
for the Lord God, who have no regard for the gospel, who have 
no concern whatsoever for biblical revelation, do you think that 
you're going to grow in that particular situation? Absolutely not. James tells us 
that pure and undefiled religion in the sight of God and the Father 
is this, to visit widows and orphans in their distress and 
to keep oneself unspotted or unstained in this present world. We need to take seriously this 
injunction. We need to fill our lives with 
godly people. Now again, this does not diminish 
the necessity for us to be like Jesus and to be friends to sinners. 
We seek by the grace of God to be a positive influence. We seek 
by the grace of God to weave in that Word of God to the lives 
of those people that perhaps we work with, or perhaps people 
in our family, or perhaps peers. Those people need the gospel 
and we ought not to neglect them. But when we spend more of our 
time with the godless, Or when we spend more of our time with 
the enemies of the cross of Christ, do you in the long run think 
that is going to benefit you and prosper you and bring you 
closer to the Lord? You need to seek these people 
out. You need to look around. You need to call. You need to 
email. You need to, at times, take the 
initiative. Let me just encourage you to 
realize this basic fact. There was a secular author who 
wrote this somewhere. I don't even remember the guy's 
name. But he said, when they finally discover the center of 
the universe, a whole bunch of people are going to be upset 
that they're not there. You know what's very easy for 
us to do? It is very easy for us to say, 
I want godly examples. They should come and seek me 
out. They should come and make themselves 
available to me. They should email me. They should 
call me. They should show up at my door 
and say, I'm a godly example. I want you to follow me. 99.9% 
of the time, that's probably not going to happen. If you need something in your 
life, if you need brethren to encourage you, if you need people 
to help you, there is no shame in asking. None. Whatsoever. We are to bear one 
another's burdens and so fulfill the Law of Christ. Shame on any 
of us if someone says, Brother, I need some help. Would you hold 
me accountable? Well, I just don't want to do 
that. Shame on me at that point, because we are called to bear 
one another's burdens and so fulfill the Law of Christ. What 
we need, we need to at times ask for. You might need to get 
out of your comfort zone and say, how about you have me over? How about you get together with 
me? I have seen some things in your life that I need more of 
that, so perhaps we can spend an hour together and you can 
tell me things that will speak wisdom into my life. If you wait 
for everybody else to call you, you're going to be standing there 
looking at your phone, hoping for it to ring. If you need this 
in your life, you need to be proactive. It's too easy for 
us, brethren, to sit around and say, what people don't do. We 
need to do things. If a man wants to have friends, 
he himself needs to be friendly. So Paul gives, as a command, 
join in following my example. Note those who so walk as you 
have us for a pattern. For many walk, of whom I have 
told you often, and I'll tell you even weeping, that they are 
the enemies of the cross of Christ. The prevalence and the majority 
and the great numbers of these enemies of Jesus Christ ought 
to cause us to scope out those who are not the enemies of Christ 
and seek to learn from them. You can turn back to 2 Timothy 
chapter 1. where we take up in the second 
place the negative example of defection. Notice in verse 15, 
this you know that all those in Asia have turned away from 
me, among whom are Phygelus, or Phygelus, we'll just call 
him Phygelus tonight, and Hermogenes. This was common knowledge for 
Timothy. He says to Timothy, this you 
know. And I think there's a principle 
here that we need to draw out. Not only does Timothy know the 
good examples, he knew Onesiphorus as well, but Timothy also knew 
that Phygellus and Hermogenes had abandoned or deserted the 
Apostle Paul. The faithful minister of Christ 
not only directs the people of God to faithful examples, but 
the faithful minister of Christ also cautions and warns people 
against bad examples. That is crucial as well. If somebody 
were to come to me tonight after the service and say, wow, I've 
really been blessed listening to Benny Hinn, I might just gently 
grab you by the collar and say, don't ever do that again. Especially 
when Benny Hinn, as Isaac shared with me, thinks that there's 
nine persons in the Trinity. The Father is actually three 
persons, the Son is actually three persons, and the Spirit 
is actually three persons. He has a ninety. That is wacko! that is heretical, 
that is abominable, and that anybody would give that the time 
of day just speaks to the low intellectual level of the church. Why do we spend time covering 
chapter eight in the Confession? Why do we spend time covering 
chapter two in the Confession? Why do we seek to teach on the 
doctrine of the Trinity? So that none of you will ever 
be tempted to jump from a good, robust Chalcedonian Christianity, 
which is replicated in our London Baptist Confession of Faith, 
and submit to that kind of nonsense and heresy and abomination. So you see, the faithful minister 
not only says to the people of God, those are good examples, 
but the faithful minister also says, you need to stay away from 
Phygellus and Hermogenes. In chapter 4, the Apostle says 
to Timothy, Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm, may the Lord 
repay him. The Apostle is specific in naming 
these persons so that Timothy, by way of encouragement and warning, 
will guard his heart against association with these sorts 
of persons. Notice in chapter 2, verses 16 
and 17, "...shun profane and idle babblings, for they will 
increase to more ungodliness, and their message will spread 
like cancer." Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, who have strayed 
concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection has already 
passed, and they overthrow the faith of some." You see, this 
is what's at stake. You follow a false teacher and 
it overthrows the faith. It makes shipwreck of the faith. 
It causes abandonment. It causes horrific things. You 
need to stay faithful, and you need to make sure you're looking 
to the positive and the goodly examples that the Bible sets 
forth. Notice in 3, 8, and 9. He doesn't name specific men 
in terms of the contemporary situation, but he gives an analogy 
to the sorts of men that Moses had to deal with. Notice in 3.8 
and 9, "...Now as Janus and Jambrus resisted Moses, so do these also 
resist the truth, men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning 
the faith. But they will progress no further, 
for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was." 
And then notice in chapter 4, verse 10, 4.10. He says, For Demas has forsaken 
me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica. You see, Paul names names. He's not brutal. He's not vicious. 
He's not unholy. He's not ungodly. He's honest, 
and he's accurate, and he's precise. And he wants to caution Timothy 
against the sorts of men that have ultimately proven enemies 
to the gospel of our Lord. I've already alluded to verse 
14. So this was common knowledge 
that Timothy had. And the principle is that it's 
not always wrong to name names. It's not always wrong to let 
people know. what kind of men are bad examples 
in the Christian life. Notice specifically the men mentioned, 
Phygellus and Hermogenes. George Knight says they are most 
likely singled out as the leaders and perhaps also because Paul 
is most disappointed about them. They were more than likely leaders 
at one time and now they have grown embarrassed and ashamed 
of the Apostle Paul. They have deserted, they have 
defected, they have turned away from Paul. And as I said, the 
Apostle names them specifically. It was crucial that the people 
of God be not deceived by false teachers. Notice, or Calvin says 
this rather. He says, "...and some brethren 
are so silly as to accuse us of cruelty. If any of us paint 
such persons in their true colors, Calvin wasn't one to shrink back 
from telling people who didn't have it going on. You can read 
his institutes, you can read his commentaries, and you can 
see very plainly who he disagreed with. Notice what he says. Some 
brethren are so silly as to accuse us of cruelty. If any of us paint 
such persons in their true colors, he says, but it were to be wished 
that all of them had their forehead marked with a hot iron, that 
they might be recognized at first sight. Those are pretty strong 
words, but again, when souls are on the line, these kinds 
of words are not out of play. And when Paul says in verse 15, 
that all those in Asia have turned away from me, this is probably 
hyperbolic. It is declaring a widespread 
defection from the apostle. This was a Roman province in 
Asia Minor. This is what is modern day Turkey. Ephesus was the capital city. 
We know that Timothy had not turned away from Paul. We certainly 
know that Onesiphorus had not turned away from Paul. But what 
Paul is saying, and notice it's at the end of his life. You think 
that things get easier as you get older in Christ? You think 
that it's going to get more manageable the older and the more seasoned 
you get? We're going to make this observation at the end of 
the message tonight with reference to Paul's eleventh hour. You 
would expect more, wouldn't you? On a human level, wouldn't you 
think that Paul would be on a golf course now? Paul would have his 
iPhone, he'd be setting up meetings just for coffee. He certainly 
wouldn't be languishing in a prison cell with everybody or a widespread 
abandonment from him and from his particular cause. This is 
evidence that this lower world will probably always be punctuated 
by difficulties and by hardships and by persecutions and by sufferings 
and by trials for the godly and faithful man and woman. But it's probably not every single 
person in the Roman province in Asia Minor. But it was, in 
fact, widespread defection. And what type of defection? Was 
it defection from Paul due to embarrassment over his imprisonment? 
Or was it an actual defection from the Christian faith? Because, 
you see, it could have been the case that Paul was abandoned 
by certain men, but still deemed them as faithful servants of 
Christ. You can see this in Philippians 
chapter 1. You may turn there. Philippians 
chapter 1. He is in prison in Philippians. This is the first imprisonment. 
In 2 Timothy, it is his last imprisonment. Differences completely. He knows that he's going to die 
in this second imprisonment. In the first imprisonment, he 
has a hope that he will be released. The first imprisonment we read 
about in Acts 28, he had a certain degree of liberty. When we read 
concerning this particular imprisonment, Onesiphorus had to zealously 
and earnestly seek him out. He didn't have that liberty of 
movement in this second imprisonment. He wasn't in a conspicuous place, 
but rather he was being very poorly treated, no doubt. But 
in this first imprisonment, notice what happens in Philippians 1.12. 
I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happen 
to me, imprisonment, have actually turned out for the furtherance 
of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace 
guard and to all the rest that my chains are in Christ. And 
most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my 
chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. 
Some indeed preach Christ even from envious strife, and some 
also from good will. the former preach Christ from 
selfish ambition, not sincerely, notice, supposing to add affliction 
to my chains." So you see, this first class of gospel preachers 
in Philippians is a group of people that don't like Paul, 
more than likely. They don't appreciate the reality 
that one of the leaders of the church is now sitting in the 
pokey wearing chains. They're probably a bit embarrassed 
about this whole situation. He says as much. The former preached 
Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely. supposing to add 
affliction to my chains, the latter out of love, knowing that 
I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. What then? Only 
that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ 
is preached, and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice." So even 
though this first group had poor motivation, even though this 
first group didn't do it because they loved Christ and Paul, they 
did it for Christ, ultimately, But their preaching was accurate, 
and Paul rejoices that even in that, Christ is preached. Not 
so in 2 Timothy. Phygelus and Hermogenes, in turning 
away from Paul, if we understand verse 8 specifically, we will 
notice that they turned away from the testimony of our Lord 
as well. Note the juxtaposition. I always 
love when I can use that word. The juxtaposition in verse 8. He says, "...therefore do not 
be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord..." I hope that's a 
proper use. Maybe coordination is the better word. "...therefore 
do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner, 
but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the 
power of God." I take that to suggest that a denial or an abandonment 
of Paul is as well an abandonment or a denial of the testimony 
of our Lord. And as I read verse 15, I think 
that's probably what happened. Phygelus and Hermogenes, in turning 
away or deserting Paul, showed their hand, evidenced their true 
nature. demonstrated what they were. 
They were not faithful followers of the Lord Jesus, because if 
you're a faithful follower of the Lord Jesus and you're not 
ashamed of the testimony of the Lord, you're not going to be 
ashamed of Paul, his prisoner. So probably these men defected. These men were apostate. These 
men rejected the Christian faith. And as a result, the apostle 
indicates that Timothy is not to align himself with these kinds 
of enemies of the cross. Now notice finally the positive 
example of devotion. Verse 16, the Lord grant mercy 
to the household of Onesiphorus. For he often refreshed me and 
was not ashamed of my chain, but when he arrived in Rome, 
he sought me out very zealously and found me. So he not only 
names the bad examples, but he names the good examples. He's 
not afraid that the persons in the church or that Timothy will 
come to Onesiphorus and so praise him that his head's going to 
get too big to fit through the door. You know, there is a sense 
where we can accurately praise someone else. Many daughters 
have done nobly. The godly man says in Proverbs 
31, but you excel them all. It says previous that her husband 
praises her in the gates. Brethren, what Paul is doing 
is, is he speaking well of a man who had ministered unto him. The Apostle then petitions specifically, 
notice verse 16, the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus 
for he often refreshed me. Now there is, I must point out 
a strange interpretation of this passage. It's a very awkward, 
very odd, very strange position. Notice in verse 16, Paul petitions 
that mercy be given to the household of Onesiphorus. And then in verse 
18, he says again, the Lord grant to him, Onesiphorus, that he 
may find mercy from the Lord in that day. Some interpret this 
as teaching that Onesiphorus is dead now. that when Paul writes 
to Timothy, Onesiphorus is dead. And so Paul in verse 16 says, 
I want the household of Onesiphorus to know mercy, because Onesiphorus 
really served me and helped me. And then when he gets down to 
verse 18, he speaks of Onesiphorus finding mercy in that day. So they posit this idea that 
Paul or that Onesiphorus is dead at the time of the authorship. 
And strangely beyond that is that Roman Catholicism or Roman 
Catholics and unfortunately some Protestant commentators say that 
this is a passage that justifies the practice of prayers for the 
dead. You see, so the logic goes is 
that if Onesiphorus is dead when Paul writes this, and in verse 
18 the apostle says the Lord grant to him, Onesiphorus, that 
he may find mercy from the Lord in that day, the argument seems 
at least to this class of interpreters that Paul is offering prayers 
for the dead. Everybody see that? Hopefully 
you say no, because it's not there. You've been found out. No, I'm kidding. You see what 
I'm saying, the argument as it is stated. It's bizarre. It's 
a really odd or special pleading to try to find prayers for the 
dead in this particular passage. The fact could possibly be that 
Onesiphorus was just distant or separate geographically from 
his household. Some say the request for mercy 
is odd. How is it that Paul would pray, 
or Paul would petition, or Paul would desire that God be merciful 
to a believer? To that, all I can say is, I 
hope that in the course of your lives, if you ever find yourselves 
at the throne of grace, and you happen to articulate the name 
Jim Butler, I'm perfectly happy with you saying, I hope he finds 
mercy in that day. There is never a moment, never 
a second, that a Christian doesn't stand in need of mercy. To suppose 
that Paul is praying for the dead, that he'll be found with 
mercy on that day, is special pleading. It is not in the text 
of Scripture. There is not one whiff whatsoever 
of such an idea. And it does seem as well that 
Jude connects present faithfulness with a looking onto the mercy 
that is to be revealed when Jesus returns. If you look at Jude 
21 for just a moment, actually beginning in Jude 20, He says, 
but you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying 
in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God. You've probably 
heard me expound this before. You've probably heard Pastor 
Porter expound this before. The main idea or the main command 
is verse 21, keep yourselves in the love of God. That's the 
main point. That main point or main verb 
is surrounded by three participles. Three other things that ought 
to be going on while you are keeping yourselves in the love 
of God. It is important before we proceed 
to understand that this does not mean God's love for us. Because 
God loves us in Christ. God loves us in Jesus. God loves us in such a capacity 
that there is no increase and no diminishment. There is no, 
I love him today, I don't love him as much tomorrow, with our 
unchanging and unchanged God. The command is not keep yourselves 
in such a posture that God will love you. You're already beloved 
in Christ. You've already got the God that 
is love loving you. There is no increase. There is 
no diminishment. There is no decrease whatsoever. God is love toward His elect. Isn't that wonderful? Isn't that 
blessed? Isn't that glorious? One of the 
things that has happened in Arbka while we've studied out this 
doctrine of impassibility is that persons say it reduces God 
to a cold, static, inert being. Nothing could be further from 
the truth. God is love. God is most loving. According to our confession, 
chapter 2, God doesn't increase, God doesn't decrease. When God 
saved you, when God brought you out of darkness into marvelous 
light, God loves you in Jesus. Isn't that beautiful? What is 
wrong with that doctrine? That's the stuff to hang our 
spiritual hats on. That's the basis for encouragement. That is the ground for God being 
praised in our lives. So this keep yourselves in the 
love of God doesn't mean make God love you more. Keep yourselves 
in the love of God. Make sure you don't grow cold. Make sure you don't grow hard. Make sure you don't decrease. 
Make sure you aren't faithless. And there are three ways that 
the believer is to do this or pursue this. This is where the 
participles come to play. Notice in verse 20, building 
yourselves up on your most holy faith. So how do we keep ourselves 
in the love of God? We read our Bibles. We build 
ourselves up on our most holy faith. We come to church. We 
sit and listen to preaching. We come to the supper. We eat 
this bread and we drink this cup. We build ourselves up on 
our most holy faith as a primary means by which we keep ourselves 
in the love of God. Not that God loves us more. Wow, 
you read your Bible four times this week. My love quotient has 
gone up for you. That's the way I think we see 
it. I think it's very, very evident with the supper. I think that 
people take the supper as a reward for having done well in the week. 
As opposed to God giving grace through that particular means 
to His weary, needy people. You see, we don't read our Bible 
five times. God, I stuck to McShane all week. 
It's a lot of chapters, Lord, so increase the love quotient. 
Make it happen. It's not what's in view. It's 
our love for God. It's our devotion to God. How do we nurture it? How do 
we flame it? How do we take that big wooden thing, it's probably 
got a name, and fan the fire? We do it by building ourselves 
up in our most holy faith. Take the scriptures. As Augustine 
said, take and read. Notice the second participle. 
Praying in the Holy Spirit. Boy, this is just amazing, isn't 
it? Wow, we would have never thought of this. Of course we 
would have thought of this. That's what the whole Bible tells 
us. That's what the entirety of Scripture conveys to us in 
terms of our response to God. You can't read Psalm 119 and 
miss the point. You cannot read Psalm 119 and 
scratch your head and say, I wonder what he's talking about. He's 
talking about the absolute importance of God's Word. As well, you can't 
read the Bible without seeing how important prayer is. How 
do you nurture a relationship with someone you don't talk to? 
How do you build intimacy in a marriage when you don't talk 
to each other? How do you build intimacy in a friendship if you 
don't talk to each other? How do we build intimacy with 
God or keep ourselves in the love of God? We build ourselves 
up on our most holy faith and we pray to Him. We come to Him. We speak to Him. We address Him. We worship Him. We adore Him. 
And then the third means by which we keep ourselves in the love 
of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. unto 
eternal life. I think that is a forward anticipatory 
action where we look to the second coming of our Lord and mercy 
is what we need then. Mercy is what we need now to 
argue that Anesiphorus or that Paul is praying for Anesiphorus, 
something that we wouldn't pray for believers again. If I can 
just ask, I'll beg, I'll entreat. If you pray for me, pray that 
I'll find mercy in that day. I won't be offended. I won't 
write you off. I won't say, you terrible people, 
don't you know I'm a believer? I don't need mercy. Are you kidding 
me? I always need mercy. How does 
a psalmist end Psalm 119? He goes astray like a sheep. 
He's just celebrated the entire Psalm, the Word of the Living 
God. And there is, nevertheless, in 
him a proneness to wander and a proneness to leave the God 
that he loves. We need mercy. And let's just grant for a moment, 
and I don't believe this, but let's just grant that Onesiphorus 
is dead. Verse 18 isn't a prayer to God. 
It's not a prayer for the dead. It's a hope. It's a petition. 
It's an optative. It's a, I desire that he'll find 
mercy on that day. That's not, dear Lord God, I 
know Anesiphorus is in limbo, or not limbo, but Hades, and 
I hope that he'll find mercy on that day, Lord. It's not that. This is not justification for 
prayers for the dead. That is an unbiblical practice. 
So we've got the petition, a request for mercy. Notice the three reasons 
that Paul gives. First, he often refreshed Paul. The refreshment in its temporal 
manifestation probably included food. When Onesiphorus showed 
up at the jail, he had food. You say, well, what's so important 
about that? Because the state didn't feed you. If you ate in 
prison, it's because people liked you. It's because somebody showed 
up. Remember when Paul is in, or 
Paul is specifically speaking here and he is in prison at this 
particular time. So he often refreshed me. But it's not just those food 
items and those practical things. There's a spiritual dimension. 
There's a spiritual refreshment that Christian brothers bring. 
And when I say brothers, please understand I'm saying sisters 
too. It's just longer and I don't want to be here until seven. 
Every time I say brothers, know that I mean brothers and sisters. 
There's a spiritual refreshment that the people of God bring 
to one another. It's interesting, the three things 
that Paul sets forth here concerning Onesiphorus are three things 
Phygellus and Hermogenes did not do. And they are three things 
that, when weighed, are very simple. He doesn't say Onesiphorus 
stood outside Caesar's palace with his sign, let Paul go, let 
Paul go. That's all Onesiphorus did. He devoted himself to picketing 
outside of Nero's palace so that Paul would be set free. No, the 
things that he does are simple. Brethren, you don't have to be 
a rocket scientist to refresh a brother. You don't have to 
be Paul to refresh a brother. You don't have to be C.H. Spurgeon 
to refresh a brother. You've just got to be a brother 
that's willing to refresh someone else. Notice 1 Corinthians chapter 
16. 1 Corinthians chapter 16. Verse 17, I am glad about the 
coming of Stephanus, Fortunatus, and Achaicus. For what was lacking 
on your part, they supplied, for they refreshed my spirit 
and yours. Therefore, acknowledge such men. Outside of this verse and another 
reference to Stephanus, do we know anything else about Fortunatus 
or Achaicus? For that matter, do we know anything 
else about Onesiphorus? No. We know that they refreshed 
the Apostle Paul. Paul saw that as valuable. Paul 
saw that as worthy of praise. Paul saw that as a means by which 
he would record them in his letters to highlight the reality that 
he was not left alone in the ministry in his time here on 
earth. Notice in 2 Corinthians chapter 
7. There is a great refreshment that Christian friendship and 
fellowship brings to others. There may be instances and seasons 
and times where you encourage a brother and you don't even 
know it. Just showing up, just listening to them blather on 
for 20 minutes. Sometimes that can be a great 
means of encouragement, isn't it? I mean, if you're a person 
that needs to blather on for 20 minutes, isn't it nice not 
to do that to a cow or to a wall? Isn't it nice to have a real 
human being with two ears on the sides of their head so that 
they at least hear you? They may not fix you, but they've 
listened. You say, wow, you've refreshed 
me. So I want you to appreciate. 
I think there's this idea in the Christian church and in ministry 
and in service that I've got to do this. No, you've got to 
just do this. You've got to be faithful here before you'll ever 
do that. You're going to be a pioneer 
missionary to China and you haven't ever encouraged a brother in 
your church? Why would God do that? You're going to go out 
into a region where people are hostile and throw rocks at you 
and spit on you and try to kill you and you haven't shared any 
sort of meaningful friendship with a person that you've sat 
next to for 10 or 15 years? I mean, God may do that because 
God's good. But God may not because you need 
to get serious about the little things. What is Jesus' principle? He who is faithful in little 
is faithful in much. Another piece of wisdom I've 
taken at least by proxy from Mr. Lawson. His father used to 
say, look after the pennies and the dollars will look after themselves. 
It's good counsel. I don't have a father that gave 
me that kind of wisdom, so I gotta find examples in the church and 
borrow their fathers, whether they know it or not. Brethren, 
refreshment doesn't come by you showing up at somebody's house 
with expensive gifts. It may just come by you showing 
up. Notice in 2nd Corinthians chapter 
7 at verses 6 and 7. Nevertheless, God who comforts 
the downcast comforted us by the coming of Titus. Paul is 
downcast. Paul is depressed. Paul is melancholic. Paul is hurting. And what does 
God do? He sends him Titus. He doesn't 
snap his sovereign fingers and make the blues go away. He sends 
a brother to encourage our beloved brother. And not only by His 
coming, but also by the consolation with which He was comforted in 
you, when He told us of your earnest desire, your mourning, 
your zeal for Me, so that I rejoiced even more when Titus came. And He told me what the Corinthians 
actually were saying, and that they actually missed Me, and 
that they were actually concerned about Me. What does God do? But 
He uses that as a boost to the Apostle Paul. You see, the Corinthians 
and Titus weren't afraid, oh, we're going to make Him so proud. 
make him happy. It is God that the people of 
God actually care about him. That's in essence what he is 
saying in this particular passage. And Onesiphorus was this manner 
of man. You go back to 2 Timothy chapter 
1, the second reason he says he was not ashamed of my chain. 
Isn't this precisely what Paul enjoins in verse 8? Do not be 
ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner. Towner says it was no light thing 
for a person to be associated with a criminal. In doing so, 
one ran the risk of being regarded by the authorities as well as 
by family members, friends, neighbors, and business associates as a 
sympathizer and possibly an accomplice and therefore deserving imprisonment 
or punishment. Why do you think Peter denies 
Jesus with oaths and cursings? Because Peter probably doesn't 
want to get arrested. Peter probably doesn't want to 
be branded as an accomplice. Peter doesn't want to be looked 
at as an associate of our Lord Jesus. Because whatever is going 
to happen to Jesus is probably then going to happen to Peter. 
That's why he does what he does because of this very concept. 
Not Onesiphorus. Onesiphorus finds Paul. Onesiphorus 
refreshes Paul. Onesiphorus ministers to Paul. While Phygelus and Hermogenes 
turned away from him in his chains, Onesiphorus sought him out. That's 
the third reason. He sought out Paul. When he comes to Rome, probably 
on business, what does he do? He seeks Paul. When he arrived 
in Rome, he sought me out very zealously and found me. He didn't say, well, you know, 
I tried the first prison, didn't find him, so what? There it goes. 
Sorry, Paul, I tried. No, he sought him out very zealously. 
You see, refreshment, encouragement, Christian brotherhood and friendship 
is relentless in its pursuit of seeking to encourage the brother, 
right? Go after him. That's what Onesiphorus 
did. So I've already mentioned the 
three things mentioned here are specifically what Phygellus and 
Hermogenes did not do. Faithful discipleship is seen 
in the smallest of ways. Onesiphorus' ministry to Paul 
was not extraordinary. Onesiphorus' ministry to Paul 
wasn't expensive. Onesiphorus' ministry to Paul 
was not extravagant, but it was well-intentioned for the glory 
of Christ and for the good of a suffering servant. And in that, 
God blessed it, and Paul was, in fact, refreshed by this brother. And then he ends again with the 
petition in verse 18, the Lord grant to him that he may find 
mercy from the Lord in that day. And notice, Onesiphorus has a 
proven track record. The second imprisonment, when 
Paul is in Rome, what does Onesiphorus do? He zealously sought him out. 
Because this is how Onesiphorus conducted himself. He says at 
the end of verse 18, and you know very well how many ways 
he ministered to me at Ephesus. Probably the third missionary 
journey prior to the first imprisonment. When Paul was preaching and teaching 
in Ephesus, Onesiphorus was there. Onesiphorus was an encourager. 
You'll notice that the words are in italics. That means they've 
been supplied. It means there's a variant probably. 
The to me may not be regarded as the tax, but I take it to 
mean to me, the Apostle Paul, and probably to others in Ephesus. You see, men like this don't 
just go after and encourage one man. Men like this are like Barnabas. They are sons of encouragement 
and they spread it to persons around them. Well, in conclusion, 
we see first and foremost the necessity of loyalty. The necessity 
of loyalty. There's a command given in verse 
8. There are examples supplied in 
verses 15 to 18. Let us not be defectors like 
Phygelus and Hermogenes. Rather, let us be devoted like 
this Onesiphorus. Secondly, we need to learn from 
Onesiphorus the blessing of Christian service. We need to understand 
there is blessing in seeking to alleviate the downtrodden 
and the poor among us. There is blessing in being an 
encourager. There is blessing for Onesiphorus 
to be remembered in Holy Scripture. That's pretty amazing, isn't 
it? What's Phygelus and Hermogenes' claim to fame? They were defectors. They get one mention in the entirety 
of Scripture and it's a swing and a miss. What a terrible way 
to be remembered. What a horrific way to be remembered. 
I made it into the Bible, they say. Yeah, but you were a defector 
and an apostate. Who wants to make it into the 
Bible as a defector and an apostate? But Onesiphorus makes it in the 
Bible as one who refreshed Paul. If you saw Onesiphorus, he'd 
probably be like those servants in Jesus' parable in Matthew 
25. Lord, when did we see you suffering? 
Lord, when did we see you in prison? Lord, when did we see 
you destitute? Lord, when did we see you in 
hardship? They're surprised that they're 
actually being commended for their Christian service. Because 
for these men, Christian service is part and parcel of the Christian 
life. You see, it's not like you're 
a Christian and they're a Christian that does service. That's not 
the way it's supposed to be. You're a Christian and you're 
supposed to do things. You're supposed to refresh others. 
You're supposed to encourage the brethren. You're supposed 
to be a means of help to the people of God. And concerning 
this petition, the Lord grant to him that he may find mercy. 
John Calvin writes, And if this petition does not powerfully 
animate and encourage us to the exercise of kindness, we are 
worse than foolish. What we see in this is that the 
apostle invokes the mercy of God upon a man who brought him 
food, a man who brought him encouragement, a man who brought him help. And 
Calvin says, if this does not incite us to do acts of kindness, 
then we're worse than foolish. Thirdly, we learned something 
from Paul. We need to express thankfulness. Probably would have been very 
easy in the 11th hour to forget in Onesiphorus. I mean, Paul's 
got other fish to fry, doesn't he? He is facing Nero's sword. He is facing that radical alteration 
when the body is separated from its head. He is facing something 
that most of us will never face, and yet in his 11th hour, Onesiphorus. Paul is a thankful man. If somebody 
actually refreshes you, if somebody actually encourages you, if somebody 
actually does something to benefit you along in the Christian life, 
it is certainly not untoward and it is certainly exemplified 
here by the Apostle to show them some appreciation. It's interesting 
that at the end of the judgeship of Gideon, The author tells us, 
concerning the Israelites, this particular fact. He says, after 
he died, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel 
again played the harlot with the Baals, and made Baal barit 
their god. Thus the children of Israel did 
not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the 
hands of all their enemies on every side, nor Did they show 
kindness to the house of Jerobel, Gideon, in accordance with the 
good he had done for Israel? It's interesting that those two 
things sort of go hand in hand, don't they? They did not remember 
the Lord their God who had delivered them from the hands of all their 
enemies on every side, nor did they show kindness to the house 
of Jerobel, Gideon, in accordance with the good he had done for 
Israel. They were thankless wretches. 
They engaged in base and gratitude. They didn't say to Gideon or 
to his household, you know, we know you weren't a perfect man, 
but you certainly helped deal with these Midianites, you certainly 
helped keep the wicked at bay, and you certainly protected our 
crops. Gideon, thank you for that. You 
see, thankfulness is a means by which we express our gratitude 
to God, but it's legit to express our gratitude toward others as 
well. And then finally, I mentioned 
this earlier, the tendency is to consider that Paul would have 
had an easy path as he neared Emmanuel's land. The tendency 
in modern readers is to say, well, certainly Paul's going 
to have it good as he's about to die. Certainly things are 
going to go a bit better for him now. Certainly he can do 
that sort of thing he missed in his vibrant forties. Now that 
he's an old man, having served God well, certainly it will all 
be, you know, bluebirds and rose petals as he skips his way into 
the celestial city. Onesiphorus had to search for 
him. He was probably in an obscure 
place. You know, the conception that 
we have of the big prison that occupies space on a hill and 
it's got all these fences is probably not the sorts of things 
that they were dealing with. They were probably little blocks 
or little cement block wall type things that were very dingy, 
very dark, very full of suffering and disease. He tells Timothy 
to suffer with him, 2 Timothy 1.8. 2nd Timothy 2, 3-7 and verse 
9. You see in his 11th hour as a 
great servant and a great man of God to our Father, what happens 
in the end? He suffers. He knows he will 
be murdered as a martyr of Christ, 4, 6. He tells Timothy how he 
has been abandoned by men, verse 16 of chapter 4. Do you know 
for the Apostle, though these temporal things probably hurt, 
Gordon Clark says, Phygellus and Hermogenes defection from 
him probably was more painful to him than sitting in a prison 
cell. To see people you loved, to see people you respected, 
to see people that were for you, now against you, probably was 
more painful than sitting in that dank prison. But what Paul 
does have is 2 Timothy 4, 17. The Lord stood with me and strengthened 
me. What Paul does have is 2 Timothy 
1, 12. for this reason I also suffer 
these things nevertheless I am not ashamed for I know whom I 
have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep what 
I have committed to him until that day." Mount says all this 
paints an amazing picture of an amazing man a life filled 
with suffering and persecution as well as victories and a life 
that was ending in what many would see as abandonment and 
defeat. So beware of the idea that as 
we get older, it's just going to get easier when we get closer 
to heaven. I don't think we would deduce 
that from the life and the ministry of the Apostle Paul. I don't 
think we would conclude that it just gets easier the closer 
you get to heaven. As well, we need to understand 
that the same sorts of sins and the same sorts of temptations 
and the same sorts of things that affect us as a 40-year-old 
are probably going to affect us as an 80-year-old. It's just 
not going to vanish, right? So we need to understand it's 
probably not going to get great. I'm not going to say it's necessarily 
going to get miserable either. I hope it's nice being 80 in 
Christ. But for the Apostle Paul there was suffering, turmoil, 
and trial, and that brother did all that he did to propagate 
the gospel of free and sovereign grace. You see Paul went through 
what he went through ultimately for the glory of God, and so 
that this message would be preached in Chilliwack. on February 15th 
in 2015, so that sinners here could hear that there is a God 
and that He is holy and that you have sinned against Him and 
that He has provided a means of escape, He has provided a 
means of atonement, He has provided a means of redemption and it 
is through His dear Son the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul went through 
what he went through to protect, to guard this deposit so that 
it would be propagated throughout the ages for the salvation of 
sinners and the glory of God. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for this, your word, and we pray that you would encourage 
our hearts and strengthen us, and God, deal with us and help 
us to seek to be refreshers of others. Help us to be like Barnabas, 
the son of encouragement. Help us to be like an Onesiphorus, 
to look for needs in our congregation and to seek to meet them. As 
well, help us to be a thankful people. God, certainly you are 
worthy to be thanked. You have put people into our 
lives that we ought to thank and be appreciative of. We ask 
that you would go with us now, watch over us in this coming 
week, grant us grace to not be ashamed of the Lord Jesus, to 
not be ashamed of the gospel, to even participate in suffering 
for it if need be. And we pray these things through 
Christ our Lord. Amen.