(A Master Class Hint: 2 Timothy 2:22)

One of the things that the Apostle Paul tells Timothy, after telling him what to turn away from, is that he should pursue… “peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

2 Timothy 2:22

New International Version

22 Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Timothy+2%3A22&version=NIV

I had to ponder that for a second, or two (and I came to this conclusion).

Not everyone calls on the Lord “out of a [pure] heart.”

I am not surprised by this. not at all. Yet,
I can hear people now…

“You cant judge the heart of anyone as being pure or unpure.”

Let’s start with understanding the definition of the word pure.

So something that is not pure is something that has been compromised.

2 Timothy 2:22 tells me to pursue (run after, chase after)…

• Righteousness
• Faith
• Love
• and Peace

…along with those who call on the LORD with a “pure” heart. With a heart that has not been contaminated.

This is important because God’s Word says at Amos 3:3

"Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?"

Now before anyone gets upset let me clarify something:

This verse is clear that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

But…

2 Timothy 2:22 is clear also that just because a person calls on the name of the Lord does not mean that their heart is pure.

2 Corinthiabs 15:33 tells us that bad associations spoils useful habits.

… And before someone speaks to say that we cannot know what is in a person’s heart; King Jesus tells us that we can know what is on/in a person’s heart…

So the only way you can not know what is in a person’s heart is to not listen as they talk.

You have to listen to know what is on a person’s heart; so when they speak, you are the made privy to who they are.

As you begin to discover who those are that are around you who call upon the Lord, and whether or not their hearts are pure towards the Lord, you will also begin to find that you can’t walk forward with everyone.

You might even notice some challenges in communication.

Regarding this, Paul immediately warns Timothy about not getting involved in arguments.

Now what gets me is that the Apostle Paul emphasises this twice,  and it’s the first warning that I want to consider, so let’s look at it now.

As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may

command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer,

or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies.

Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith.

The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart, and a good conscience, and a sincere faith.

Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk.

They want to be teachers of the law,

but they do not know what they are talking about,

or what they so confidently affirm.

We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers,for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me. – 1 Timothy 1:3-11

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1Timothy1:3-11&version=NIV

There really isn’t anything left to say behind those verses. You see, I believe God’s Word to be true – as it is, and I believe that those verses were clear.

God’s word is clear. 

In it Timothy was told to command certain people not to

1. teach false doctrines any longer

This means that some have been doing so. Some have been teaching their own personal opinions instead of teaching God’s infallible Word. To this , the bible says,

2. or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies.

We see that happening a lot today with people again trying to separate themselves by identifying themselves with fleshly Israel whom God rejected due to their idolatrous behavior.

There is so much that is written in God’s Word about this and how both the 10 tribes of Israel and the 2 tribes of Judah have been guilty of idolatry and how our Heavenly Father has felt about that.

The purpose of God choosing the nation of Israel was because they were supposed to be a nation of priests that was to be consecrated (set apart) to be used by God to restore the rest of the world back to God.

They (the Israelites) lost that when they came out of Egypt only to begin worshipping a golden calf.

They now needed to be restored and taught themselves.

Because the Levites chose God, they received the privilege of serving alongside Moses and Aaron for the work of teaching the Israelites as a whole God’s law so that, as a whole, all of the 12 tribes of Israel could again fulfill the purpose of their calling and choosing which was to be a nation of priests and Kings to the world to restore us all back to God.

The Levites had issues within themselves too, the effects of sin – rebellion, pride, greed and as time went on a great disrespect for the Lord was found in them which is why the mantle of priest was transferred thru the tribe of Ephraim to the tribe of Judah resting on the shoulders of King David until the one who God chose to carry that title forever arrived.

That chosen one of God was Jesus Christ who is said to be KING in the order of Melchizedek. Jesus is both KING and GREAT HIGH PRIEST.

  All of this information shares can be seen in the following books of the Bible which I would encourage you to read in its entirety:

EXODUS, NUMBERS, JOSHUA, JUDGES, 1 & 2 SAMUEL, 1 & 2 KINGS, 1 & 2 CHRONICLES, EZRA, NEHEMIAH, ALL OF THE PROPHETS, ALL OF THE GOSPELS: MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE, JOHN, ROMANS, GALATIANS, HEBREWS…

Shoot you might as well read the entire Bible. But in particular, throughout those books shared will you find the idolatrous behavior of Israel which caused God to do something new…

HE wrote His law on our hearts.

Why?

So Timothy was told to tell certain ones to not devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Why? because such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith.

What is important is our faith in God, not our tribal lineage.

So, either we will believe the word of God or we wont. That is a decision that we all must make individually.

As we make that decision, we all need to understand that the instructions we are given is to pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. This is because they will help us to continue to pursue what is right. They will encourage us in our walk and we will encourage them in theirs – IF our heart is pure.

Yes this need to have a pure heart is not one sided.

We must have that same pure heart that we are to look for in others. You see, we mirror one another. So we need to be what it is that we are seeking in others.

And before anyone judge this post consider this…

People go in and out of relationships and even marriages when they find that the other party’s heart in the relationship was not pure.

They decide to separate and divorce, and they cite irreconcilable differences as being the reason behind their choices when the fact of the matter is that there was no agreement and therefore the two could walk together.

Imagine how much frustration could have been avoided, and money and time could have been saved if one applied God’s word found at 2 Timothy 2:22.

We need to seek to understand God’s Word, and that it applies to life – our life.

Lastly, we need to understand that God’s word is not just about our judging others, but we are being judged too.

Will I be found to be one who calls on the Lord out of a pure heart?

“I truly hope that those who consider me, by watching my walk and talk, judge me to be one who has a pure heart.“

You see, Christ tells me to let my light so shine before men…

So, just like I am being taught, as a soldier of Christ, to watch my associations, so to are all soldiers of Christ being told the same.

This is a work that we must so on our selves. It is necessary. It is a part of our being sanctified.