(Slightly edited transcript of a message preached at Faith-Grace Vietnamese Baptist Church, Clarkston, GA, on 28 June 2015).
It’s customary at American
graduations to have a special speaker from among the student body called a valedictorian. This person is honored
for the highest academic achievement in the graduating class. For years I
wondered why that person was called the valedictorian, which seemed like a
strange word to me. Over time, however, my knowledge of Latin roots in the
English language grew, and it dawned on me one day that valedictory simply means “saying farewell.” So it’s a farewell speech
wishing the audience, in this case the student body, well.
To prepare this message, I
started thinking about graduation or farewell speeches in scripture, and one
stood out to me fairly quickly: Paul’s final words to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4. As I looked at this chapter closely, I began
to see numerous principles that could apply to graduates, even though the
letter is a senior minister writing to a junior.
1. Accept your personal accountability. A successful Christian life begins with realizing
(1) that you are accountable for your actions; and (2) who you are accountable
to. Now this verse shows that we’re accountable to God, Christ, and man (“I
charge thee…”). One way to show your accountability is found in v. 2: witnessing
continually. If you really believe that you and everyone else will stand before
God one day, then you’ll try to tell everyone you can about the Lord, including
other believers. You not only owe lost people the gospel, you also owe other
believers the truth that you’ve learned. The best preparation for witnessing to
people is learning your Bible well (“doctrine”) and a willingness to put up
with others’ opposition (“longsuffering”). Not everybody’s going to like what
you say, including some other believers. But if you love them, you’ll patiently
put up with their opposition for giving them the truth.
2.
Take responsibility for your spiritual life and
ministry. Accountability describes a
relationship between us and others: we owe God, Christ, and man something.
Responsibility is acting on that accountability; taking action ourselves. Based
on Paul’s prophecy in vv. 3-4, we shouldn’t expect the church, and certainly
not the world, to get better. Paul warns that in the last days before Christ’s
coming the church as a whole will turn away from the truth, just like they were
in his day. In v. 5, though he charges Timothy to do what’s right, no matter
what everyone else is doing; to be proactive, and not a victim. Why? (1) his personal
accountability (v. 1); and (2) hope of reward (v. 8; nothing wrong with that,
otherwise God wouldn’t have mentioned it as an incentive). Drop down to v. 10, in
doing your duty, your closest friends may desert you (cf. Judas, Peter), but you have to go on. There may be periods
where you have few friends (v. 11), even
face opposition (v. 14). You can’t be
friends with everyone; that’s been hard for me to accept at times, but it’s
true; however, try to help everyone you can any way you can and steer clear of those
you find you can’t (like Alexander the coppersmith; cf. v. 14.).
3.
Live sacrificially. Let’s look at v. 6, “For I am
now ready to be offered…” Paul’s entire life following his conversion was a
sacrifice. Your mentor won’t be around forever, but a good
mentor will teach you to lay down your life for others and do so themselves. How
could Paul tell Timothy to suffer if he wasn’t suffering himself? But he was,
so he tells him in vv. 5-6, “You keep enduring afflictions, I’m about to be
offered myself. Do as I do, then as I say, right? One more thought, from v. 8.
God offers eternal rewards for sacrifices in the present. Someone wisely said,
“Don’t sacrifice the permanent on the altar of the temporary.” In other words,
don’t give up lasting blessings for temporary pleasures now. That applies to
your bodily purity, your spending, and a host of other things too.
4.
Finish what you start. Look at v. 7. Your life will be a battle, but finish
what you start. Paul did, and told others to also (Acts 20:24; Col. 4:17). “I have kept the faith:”—stay true to
your core convictions, ones you would die for; but be willing to change your
views on others things (cf. Acts 17:11 re: the Bereans). Remember Winston Churchill's speech at the Eton graduation: “Never, never, never give up.” Demas did (v. 10; Phile.
24), and goes down in history as a quitter. Don’t let that be said of you,
especially in your service to God.
5.
Never stop learning. Note v. 13. Don’t stop studying the Bible and reading books, even in this
Information Age. Spurgeon: “He who will not use the thoughts of other men's brains of others, proves
that he has no brains of his own.” Set goals for important books you’d like to read,
first of all the Bible, and others, and keep at it. Now that I’m older and have
more responsibilities, I have less time to read, so use this time of your life
to spend much time reading and praying. It will be tougher when you go to work,
get married, and have a children.
6.
Trust in God’s care. According to vv. 16-17, God will stand with you, though all forsake
you. This is not some theory: it’s been done and written down for everyone to
take heart from. Verse 18 is one of my favorite verses in the Bible: no matter
what you face as a Christian, God will get you home. Once saved, always saved, period.
Rom. 8:38-39 should settle anyone’s doubts about the eternal security of the
believer. According to these verses, even Satan (a creature) cannot change your
position as a child of God once you’ve trusted Christ. You did nothing to get
saved, you do nothing to stay saved. It’s all by God’s grace in Christ. Paul
reminded Timothy of this as a legacy for whatever trials he might face
afterward, and what a comforting reminder!
7.
Cultivate your fellowship with God, privately and with
others. Verses 19-22 are the last
words from Paul’s pen before he dies. And what does he mention: Christ and his
grace…of course! That’s what his ministry was all about; so what does he stress
to the end? our personal fellowship with the Lord (v. 22, “with thy spirit”) and grace in the church (v. 22). That’s the
foundation of our Christian life, and ministry flows from these things; how
fitting that Paul’s last words are the core of what he taught, and what we
should take to heart and apply the rest of our lives. In the end, what matters
is people (from John Maxwell), not your possessions. Paul doesn’t even have a cloke
at this point, it seems, with winter approaching, yet he’s concerned about
people far more than his physical needs.
I hope that you’ve enjoyed this graduation
message, and I hope that you keep these seven principles in mind as you
continue and finish your education. Even if you’re not a student, these
principles are good for any believer at any stage of life. God help us all to
be faithful in this life so that we may be richly rewarded when we graduate, or
move on, to the next.
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