2 Timothy 3 - Are You a Christian, Christian?

        Early in my legal career (I'd been practicing about five years and about five years into my Christian walk) I had an interesting encounter with the CEO of one of our firm’s clients.  It was 2001 and technology companies were thriving.

        My neighbors in S.W. Calgary were Lebanese immigrants and faithful members of their mosque.  They were some of the best neighbors we’ve ever had.  They owned a bakery that made Pita bread.  I’ll never forget the day we took possession of that house.  As they often would in the eleven years we lived there, they brought me a big bag of fresh bread.  We shared many good conversations with them over the years.  I love them and I pray God blesses them.

        My neighbors had a friend from the mosque who was the CEO of Wi-LAN - a publicly listed tech company that held patents for technology that was key to the Blackberry - and later many other mobile phones.  Wi-LAN made many in the mosque (and in our firm) into instant millionaires as its stock took off.  Wi-LAN was also a client of our law firm where I worked as a securities lawyer (the lawyers that help companies raise capital and deal with stock exchanges).

        Anyway,  I was called over to the HQ of Wi-LAN for a meeting with the CEO, Hatim Zaghloul.  Hatim was a handsome former Egyptian army veteran who had a Ph.D. from the University of Calgary, and a perpetual dark half-beard.  He had worked for five years at a large Canadian telecom before he went out on his own.

        Hatim’s physics-based inventions were perfectly timed for the explosion in handheld devices.  I have no idea how he knew I was a Christian.  I think maybe my neighbors (his friends from the mosque) had told him.

        Anyway, when I got to his office I thought we would want to talk business, markets, and expansion plans for the company.  But when I sat down across from his big desk he was reading the Bible.  He was reading a passage in John 14.  He wanted my opinion of who Jesus was talking about in that passage.  He wanted to know who was the counselor the Father would send his disciples to guide them.  He wanted to know if this counselor may very well be the Prophet Mohamed.  

        We had a really good discussion.  I explained to Hatim that we had to read the entire context of the passage and that the Advocate, Encourager, or Counsellor could not be a man sent six hundred years later because Jesus was telling his disciples that God would send “them” the Advocate.  And that John explicitly said the “Advocate” is “the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.  The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him.  But you know him because he lives with you now and later will be in you” (John 14:17).  I explained that the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of Truth had existed from the beginning and is God.

        It was not the answer that Hatim was looking for and the conversation quickly changed.  At that point, Hatim asked me a question in his distinct Egyptian accent that I’ll never forget.  He asked me, “David, are you a ‘Christian, Christian,’ or are you a ‘Christian, Christian.’”  I had never heard that type of question before, but by the look in his eye and by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I knew exactly what he meant.  

        Hatim had lived and studied all over the world.  He was a leader in his mosque and one of the most recognizable business leaders in Calgary at the time.  Hatim had experienced a lot of religious people.

        It was a strange question.  But a sincere one I believe.  He was asking if I really knew anything at all about God and God’s Holy Word.  He was pressing me to see if I was a Christian in name only, did I really know God?  He was asking politely yet directly if I was like many in Calgary he had already met - just another greedy lawyer who maybe knew a little about the Bible.  Was I a fraud, a fake, a secular Christian, or if I was the real deal?  At the end of the day Jesus Christ will determine that, God is my judge.

        But here’s how I answered Hatim’s question that day.  I said, “Hatim, I am a Christian, Christian.”  And as we looked at each other there was a long silence.  That was the last time I ever met with Hatim in person.  As far as I know, he’s continued to do very well in the high-tech space.  I’ve prayed for him each time I’ve thought of him over the last 20-some years. And I do so again today.   I pray that he and his wife and sons will know God and that God will change their hearts so that they will know the One True God, the truth of Jesus Christ.

        I believe Hatim’s question is one that each of us has to ask ourselves.  I believe Paul was preaching along those same lines in this passage to Timothy.  The passage has application to you and me, but make no mistake, this passage was directly to Timothy -  for Timothy.  Paul explained that there are two kinds of Christians Timothy needed to be concerned about.  Those with “depraved minds and counterfeit faith” and those like Paul and Timothy - the real deal, genuine Christians.  Chrisitan Christians.  Those with God’s wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ (3:15).

        Salvation comes to you and me as a gift from God.  In one way - and only one way: by trusting in Christ Jesus.  That’s it.  That’s the truth.  If you trust Jesus you have new life and you will want to please God.  You will want to live a good life in Christ.  And the devil will oppose you for obeying the Holy One.  He will attack you and persecute you to try and take you from the path of life.  

        Don’t do it.  Don’t be a fool.  Don’t waver.  Do not turn away from God’s way.

        The Bible says that no one can take your relationship with God away from you.  God is always faithful.  But it is also clear that there are frauds who turn their backs on the truth.  Be alert and guard what God has entrusted to you.  The Spirit of Christ gives us power - the power to know and obey Him.  And power to overcome any scheme of the devil.

        So pay attention to Jesus’ inspired word.  It says here to stay away from fake Christians (3:5).  You can spot them as they are described by Paul.  They love only themselves and their money.  They pretend to care for the poor and the church - but they really don’t care.

        They rarely lift a finger for anyone outside their circle and for anyone who won’t grift them back.

        They are full of themselves - boastful and proud  Oh, Lord God please forgive us for our pride - may we boast only in the Cross of Christ.

        Fake Christians don’t take God or His word seriously.  They think they know better than He does.  They come with their own legalistic rules that are completely at odds with the freedom bought by Christ’s blood.

        They are ungrateful - they rarely if ever say thanks and they lack understanding of God’s grace.  And like Paul says, their actions shame their parents.

        These are sadly many of the modern so-called leaders of the church.  They consider nothing sacred.  They are unloving and unforgiving.  They slander others.  And have little self-control. They treat people cruelly and never think twice about crushing the little people (the little deacons of the church, young women, and those outside their power circle).  And they truly hate doing things God’s way where the leader is actually last - the servant rather than the served.  They much prefer to be well-fed, portly, proud, and prosperous.

        There is no loyalty to God with these men.  They betray their friends and family without hesitation.  It’s all about them - and their bank accounts.

        They are puffed-up roosters - filled with pride - and loving pleasure rather than loving God.

        May we never deny or reject God or His ways.  May we never be men and women who only act religious, while we reject the power that could make us godly (3:5).

        The contrast here is between true believers, like Paul and Timothy, on one hand, and evil people and imposters on the other.

        Don’t get conned.  There have always been con artists - and there always will be.  They are good at what they do.  Give them that credit.  That’s why they are called artists.  They are masters at working their way into people’s homes to win the confidence of vulnerable people and to manipulate them.  They have evil motives.  They oppose the truth.  They have depraved minds and counterfeit faith.  

        It looks real.  But it is not.  Don’t be fooled by their numbers and by the appearance of flourishing - material wealth, buildings, fancy stuff, and all the high-tech gear.  There have been a lot of false teachers that have come and gone over the last 2,000 years.  God’s word never fades or fails.  God makes it clear in this passage that these evil men will not get away with their charade for long (3:9).  Someday everyone will recognize what fools they are.

        I pray that the Church honors God.  I pray that our motivations are pure.  That we represent God well.  May our motivation be love.  We love because God loves us.  We never teach or serve for personal gain, power, or money.

        Let’s be discerning.  And test everything.  Yes, assess how you and others act.  The Christian must use good judgment - never gaslighted by the fool that says “don’t judge” as he steals and abuses the sheep that need good shepherds.  Jesus says that He expects us to use good judgment via experience in all we do (3:10).

        I love that Paul lists here what matters.  This is his resume if you will.  This is the real assessment of our lives at the end of the day.  Not your bank account or how many cases we’ve won.  Not the size of your home or the high-powered political circles we’ve run with. 

        It’s this.  What you’ve taught - have you taught God’s word faithfully or do you fill it with man-made legalism and nonsense?  How you live - do you live for only yourself and every increasing personal gain?  The level of your faith - do you know Jesus more and more and really trust him - or do you demand your way rather than God’s way?  Are you loving - do you love God enough to thank Him, obey Him, serve Him, trust Him, and seek His will daily?  And your endurance - when your faith is tested do you let your endurance grow and show?  Remember when our endurance is fully developed we will be perfect and complete - needing nothing (James 1).

        Deal Lord Jesus, please strengthen us today.  We need your wisdom and your strength and we desperately want to rely on You alone.  We will not wait for only you can provide for us and rescue us from this evil world.  Amen.

Adventuring with Kari.  In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.