A Workman that is Unashamed

A Workman that is Unashamed
II Timothy 2:14-19
July 26, 2026

This week we are continuing in the book of 2 Timothy. Paul wrote to Timothy telling him to stand strong, to stand for that which Christ has called him to do, even suffering through hardship or imprisonment because of the gospel if needed.

Now Paul charges him to remind the church that they are called to a higher level.  

We are not to be focused on the things of this world anymore. The ordinary things of this world should not define us. The ordinary things of this world should not occupy our minds. We are called for more than this.

God wants to use us more effectively, but our effectiveness be hampered by the wrong focus.

We know that the Bible calls us co-workers of God in 1 Corinthians 3. What a wonderful privilege this is. I don’t think we really understand the depth of the meaning.

God is the God of all creation, the Almighty One. He can do all things without us. But He chose to use us as co-workers with Him so that we can be partakers of glory as His name is glorified.

2 Thessalonians 2:14, He called you to this through our gospel, so that you may share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Illus – The donkey on which Jesus rode into Jerusalem is a great picture. He was not the one that the people were worshipping, but He was sharing the experience of the glorification of Jesus by being the carrier of the Messiah.

We have the wonderful privilege to walk under the direction of the King, with His power manifesting inside of us, impacting the world with the gospel and the good news of Jesus.

But Paul says that we should be as workmen who is unashamed. What shame is he referring to? This is important, because shame can keep you from being effective, and that is what we will be looking into tonight.

I. Handle the Word of Truth Accurately

• In verse 15 Paul says to be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

• The word used here in the Greek for approved to God, is the word that speaks of integrity. 

• There are two aspects to this.

A. Handle the Word with integrity

• How do we do that? We do it by living and applying the word. We are not to just read the word, proclaim the word, and then not really believe and apply what it says.

James 1:23-25, For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.

• We are called to live in integrity. Now this doesn’t mean living perfectly. We are not called to live by the law again and to become righteous by the law. 

• We’ve discussed this many times. It speaks of a heart that is aligned with what the word says. I have a yearning that my heart and my life will be directed in the direction of the heart of God which is found in the word of God. 

App – If the Bible says love your neighbor, my heart is inclined to say, I want to honor God. I want to love my neighbor. if I then at times I don’t feel like I love my neighbor, I bring it to God and say, ‘I want to honor you in everything. I want to love like you said I should love. God, will you change my heart that I can walk in integrity in loving my neighbor.’ 

If the Bible says do not curse another person, your heart’s desire should be that you want to honor God. You say, I will not curse another person. I will not talk badly about another person. When you catch yourself doing it, confess it, coming in agreement with God’s will, saying, ‘I want to walk in integrity and turn away from this behavior.’ Then start praying for them. 

• This applies to every other aspect in the word. As we are studying the word it becomes a mirror, and we become aware of areas in our lives where the picture we reflect are distorted. 

• Then we can say, ‘God I want to live a life that is a life of integrity aligned with your word.’ Why? so we will not be workmen that are ashamed.

B. Do not get stuck in shame

• Where does shame come from? Shame comes from not walking in integrity. Shame comes from looking at perfection and not measuring up to it.

Illus – As soon as Adam and Eve fell in sin they were ashamed because they could see their condition in comparison to God’s holiness. That brings shame and shame leads to anger, frustration, and rebellion when it sees the futility of its condition.       

Sometimes this is the root of rebellion in teenagers, feeling that they do not measure up to their parents or peers’ expectation. It is actually a symptom of insecurity and worth. If you deal with the problem or root cause, the symptom disappears.

• That is why many people are in a rebellious state, because they feel ashamed and they see no way out of it. 

• And this is where we come to the second part of this verse. 

II. Rightly Divide the Word of Truth 

• Interestingly, this is this verse that inspired Schofield to set out the dispensations in the Schofield Bible, dividing the word of truth in different dispensations. 

• For example, two major ones we have talked about many times are the dispensations of law and grace, or actually more correctly, the dispensation of the church. You need to rightly divide the word to know which verses or concepts fall in which dispensation. 

• I don’t want to go deeply into this as we’ve spoken many times about the fact that we are no longer under the dispensation of the law. 

• A great example of this is when they wanted to worship God and bring an offering under the old covenant, they had to bring an animal or similar offering, slaughter it and offer it to God. Today you didn’t come to church with a lamb the slaughter. 

• We know that in that dispensation it was a foreshadowing of Christ. We are under a different dispensation.

A. Discern the dispensation of grace 

• We are now under the dispensation of grace. We are under the New Testament, because Christ fulfilled the requirements of the old covenant in our place. 

• Why am I saying all of this? Because you need to rightly divide the word in this area. Under the old covenant we would look at the perfection of God, and man would not be able to reach it. No matter how hard one would try. 

• Under the new dispensation, we are made righteous by believing in Christ, being justified by Him. 

• His Spirit now lives within us. If I see something that I have not attained yet, I don’t try and do it on my own, I surrender my heart to God and I pray that He will come and change me through His Spirit. 

• I surrender to His new nature inside of me, not leaning on my own strength. 

• As I spend time in the word and I apply it to my life, I start to thank God for His word, I start to align my heart with the truth, He changes me from the inside out. 

• What is important, though, is that we also understand grace right. Standing under the grace of God is not a license to sin. 

Romans 6:1-3, What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?  

• Truly understanding grace produces true holiness. The more you stand under grace, understand the love of Jesus and what He has done, the more you want to live aligned with that righteousness being, holy, set apart for God, and even open to His correction. 

• Many people struggle with this word correction. They equate it with an angry abusive relationship, like having an abusive father, being corrected out of selfishness and anger. 

• But our Father is a loving heavenly Father. And A father who love His children corrects them. A child has a choice to have a wayward heart, or have a receiving heart, knowing that the Father corrects them because He loves them. 

Proverbs 3:12, For whom the Lord loves He reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights. 

• I like the phrase that says ‘… in whom he delights.’ 

Illus – I love seeing my kids sing or play instruments. I delight in them experiencing delight as they mature and grow in skill. If they make a mistake, I might correct them, but it is to help them get past the obstacle that is inhibiting their growth. Yet, if they would see it as me breaking them down, humiliating them, then my correction would defeat its purpose. The perspective of the one receiving correction is critical. 

• Our Father’s primary correction comes through His word. But if you stray from God’s word and plan, sin (missing the mark) has its own penalty built into it.

Illus – Let’s say you have a new teen driver in the house. But the teen frequently misses important traffic signs, like stop street, or running red lights, or drastically going over the speed limit. Then, as a good parent, you would dial back privileges to first train and make sure he drives correctly and safely. If that teen then sneaks off, run a red light and get t-boned, it would not have been your will, but the result of their rebellion. 

• God loves us, cares for us, and His thoughts towards us is good. We should have that as our primary perspective while comfortably standing under His hand of direction and correction.

B. Avoid empty chatter 

• This is one of the problems that opposes the previous principle. Paul says to avoid worldly and empty chatter for it will lead to ungodliness. 

• There are really silly things that people keep themselves busy with. Empty and vain chatter, even in the church. 

Illus –  A while ago there was a survey of silly things that the church is divided on. What started out as trivial question grew into a massive response.

A church once had an argument over the appropriate length of the worship pastor’s beard.

In another one there was a massive argument about whether they would allow deviled eggs at a communal meal that the church was having.

Another church had a fight over the Lord’s supper where grape juice wasn’t available so they had a mix of cranberry and grape juice and some people left the church.

Even from church history we find that there was a big divide in church because at one time the theologians were arguing over how many angels would be able to stand on the head of a pin. 

• Remember, the enemy is a master of distraction. If he can distract us to focus on the wrong things, he’s making us ineffective in our calling. If he can get us to major on the minors, we will not effectively focus on the majors. 

• And one of his main focuses is to try and get division in the church. Because he knows that there is a scripture that says, 

Psalm 133:1,3, Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!… For there the Lord commanded the blessing—life forever. 

• This is especially true when revival starts to happen. The easiest way for the enemy to get people sidetracked is to sow division. We must not be ignorant of the devices of the devil.

C. Be grounded in sound doctrine 

• Gangrene in the spiritual body can set in when people are not grounded in solid foundational doctrine, resulting in not rightly dividing the word, especially concerning prophecy and the core foundational truths of the word. 

• Paul gives an example and he calls the guys out by name He says Hymenaeus and Philetus have gone astray from the truth. 

• They did not rightly divide the word, and they told the people that the resurrection had already happened, that Jesus has already come, that they are now in the dispensation after Christ’s return. This shook the faith of many people. They were wondering if and why they were left behind. 

• It is interesting that Paul specifically highlights this truth in understanding the end times. It is why Paul wrote 1st and 2nd Thessalonians, aggressively correcting the church concerning the harpazo, better known as the rapture, and laying out the timelines of the end times which we strongly support. 

• That is why it is so important to study the word as a whole, not to hang your theology on one verse, but to use the full counsel of God when interpreting and applying the word to your life. 

• It is one of the core reasons we work through the Bible, so we can systematically apply it to our lives. 

• Paul then continues to give them peace of mind. 

Verse 19 – Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are His” 

• He was giving them the reassurance that they were not left behind. 

• We have the seal of the Holy Spirit. If you have given your life to Jesus, He is able to keep you and He knows that you are His. 

• We have the privilege to walk securely in His love, standing comfortably under His authority as workmen that is unashamed.