Video Transcript: After the Apostles: God-Breathed Scripture, Godly Leaders

Now, whether or not those rumors were true, it presented a problem for Nero. He was being blamed by some people. And so he decided somebody else needed to be blamed for that terrible fire. And the people he decided to blame were members of a small new religious group called the Christians. And Nero began hunting down Christians and killing them, saying they were the terrible Arsonists. 

The Roman historian Tacitus says that the Christians were treated in a terrible manner, he says, covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt to serve as a nightly illumination when daylight had expired. So Nero would have his parties surrounded by human torches as he burned Christians, as his lamps. That's how those Christians were being treated after the great fire of Rome. And it was in that kind of a setting, that the Apostle Peter was caught and killed, Peter was crucified at Rome with his head downwards, as he himself had desired to suffer. 

Jesus himself had told Peter, when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will carry you where you do not want to do. And he was prophesying the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. When Peter was facing crucifixion, according to the accounts, he asked, not to be crucified upright as his master had been, because he was unworthy to die in the same way as Jesus had died, he said, and so he asked to be crucified upside down. During this same period, the apostle Paul was beheaded in Rome, he was a Roman citizen.

 So as a citizen, he could not be crucified. And instead, he had his head cut off out of mercy for a Roman citizen. Now, as all of this was going on, it was terrible time and other apostles were also losing their lives, other Christians were being hunted down and killed. And the apostles, the inspired apostles, were not caught by surprise. Peter wrote, I know that the putting off of my body will be soon as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. And I will make every effort so that after my departure, you may be able at any time to recall these things. Peter knew that his death was very near. And he wanted to make sure that others would be able to recall all the things he had preached and taught and the word of God. And so we have the gospel of Mark, which is a record of Peters recall of Jesus life and teaching and death and resurrection. And we have Peter's letters. And Peter communicated these things in full awareness that he was going to be off of the scene soon. 

The apostle Paul also was not caught by surprise. He wrote, I have already being poured out as a drink offering as a sacrifice. And the time of my departure from this world has come, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Paul knew that he would no longer be around to teach the gospel to lay down the doctrines of the faith. And so in view of his departure, he continued to communicate the lasting Word of God. And he did this knowing that the Christians were going to face deadly persecution from outside the church, and also that there were going to be wolves rising up within this church, sometimes dressed in sheep's clothing, as Jesus had warned. 

Timothy, heard from Paul and Paul said there would be people who had the appearance of godliness, but denying its power people who were always learning, but never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. These men also oppose the truth men corrupted in mind and disqualified. Regarding the faith. Peter gave a similar warning there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 

There were going to be people who would make Christianity or least tried to make Christianity into something other than it was, and who would make it more like the Greek and Roman religions, or who would make it like a version of Judaism which would not be persecuted and which would be much more legalistic than intended in which did not focus on Jesus Christ, there wouldn't be these false teachers, there wouldn't be these ferocious persecutions. What would become of the church would Christianity vanish at the time Paul was sitting in that prison cell facing execution. 

Most of the people in the province of Asia what today is called Turkey, where Paul planted so many churches, many of them had kept their distance from him. Paul says you're aware that all were in Asia turned away from me. Now, all he's generalizing there still were people faithful to Him. But nobody seemed wanted to identify publicly with Paul, even many of the leaders of the church were going underground and keeping a low profile. 

It just seemed like Christianity was vanishing. So with ferocious persecution with the leaders in prison and scheduled for execution, with the followers in disarray and distancing themselves from the apostles, with false teachers, trying to turn Jesus into just another pagan myth or another Jewish sect, how is Christianity going to survive, as one scholar says, to every eye, but that of faith, it must have appeared just then as if the Gospel were on the eve of extinction. 

Christians were an endangered species, and it looked like just a little while and all of them would be gone, nothing would be left of Christianity. Well, the fact that I'm giving this presentation means there's still some Christians around I'm one, many listening to this are Christians. And there are in fact, millions of Christians all around the world today, Christianity didn't vanish. 

Even today, there are times when we wonder how the Faith is going to survive in this area, or that one, and yet God is faithful, and he protects his church. After the apostles, how would the church survive and continue to be the household of God, which is the church of the living God a pillar and buttress of the truth? How would the church be this great fortress of truth in dwelt by the living God when it was beset by such persecution, and with the danger of so many errors and, and false religious ideas, threatening it? Well, one thing that God provided were the God breathed scriptures and these God breathed inspired scriptures would witness to Jesus and would provide the standard of truth for all generations to come. 

God made sure that the apostles committed to writing the truths of the gospel, and the pointers to Jesus that all generations would need. And still today, we have the scriptures, and though they've been attacked many times over the centuries, God's word stands sure. And God did more than just provide the Scriptures. He also provided godly leaders in each generation, people who would guard this treasure of truth, who had preached the Word who had passed the faith to a new generation, after the apostles, it did not mean disaster, God's Word would abide. And God would raise new leaders for each generation.

Peter writes about the scriptures and he says, we have something more sure the prophetic word to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Knowing this, first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man. But men spoke from God, as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. Peter was very conscious that God caused his word to be written through prophecy. 

And these prophecies were directed and carried along by the Holy Spirit as he helped men to write what needed to be written. The apostle Paul says something quite similar. In 2 Timothy 3, he says, As for you continue in what you've learned, and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you've been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 

All Scripture is breathed out by God, and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work, and so God breathed out or inspired the Scriptures, the words for spirit in Greek and Hebrew is the same as the word for breath. And it is the breath of God, the Holy Spirit of God, who breathed out the words of the Bible. So God did not leave his church when he took the apostles to heaven to be with him, those great martyrs and heroes of the faith. 

He provided a word a sure word, when he spoke through them, and he provided leaders who had continued to build upon that word, and to test everything by that word. Oh, Timothy, says Paul, guard, the deposit entrusted to you avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge. The Bible is a precious deposit, a treasure to be guarded. And for everyone who has to be a Christian, and especially for everyone who has to be a leader in the Christian church, avoid the Bible and the contradictions and all this stuff that claims to be knowledge of God, and guard the treasure you've been entrusted with that treasure. And in each generation, we need that. And that's why it's not just that God has given a book. But part of God's plan for after the apostles was a continuing provision of godly leaders. And this involves, first of all, following godly leaders who have come before us for Timothy, it meant following the Apostle Paul and following his mother and grandmother, who were believers and who had mentored him in the scriptures. 

Having followed godly leaders have been shaped by their life and example, be a godly leader yourself in the way that you influence others, by the Spirit of Christ in the name of Christ and by the truth of the scriptures. And then, as each new setting comes up where new leaders are needed, he equipped godly leaders for new groups, whether it's new churches, or, or new plants in other nations, and equip godly leaders for each new generation. That's what the early apostles did. 

They mentored others and train them for the future. Let's think about that just a little more. First of all, following godly leaders. We have many of us family leaders who taught us the faith. The apostle Paul says to Timothy, I've been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Louis, and in your mother, Eunice. And I am persuaded now lives in you also.

Many of us have learned much from family members who were Christians before us, and they had a sincere faith, and we should walk in that same faith. And we've also had other leaders, sometimes they were church leaders, the Apostle Paul says to Timothy, you, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and my sufferings. So Timothy had the example of a godly person, as well as writings from God to help shape him and lead him. And there come times in life, when you'd simply need to reflect on who you learned things from. If you grew up in a godly family, thank God for them. Because such people don't just grow on trees. 

There are many non Christian families and even Christian families that did not live according to the principles of the scriptures. But if you've had family members who really shaped you and had a sincere faith, remember them when the times get tough and say, I'm not going to drop the ball in my generation, I am not going to fall away from what those people modeled for me and believed and taught. And if you learned the face from someone else, from a church leader from a friend, then when times get tough, remember what they're teaching their conduct, their faith, their patients, their love, were light and let it lift you and inspire you, again, follow those godly leaders. 

God speaks to us through the Bible, but also through the Spirit living in other people. And in the days of the early church, it was very important to listen to the Scriptures. It was also important to listen to those whom God had appointed to be leaders, overseers elders, in the congregations. And as the church matured, it was very important to have the church identified and have its leaders, walking with God and have the scriptures being the map the guideposts and sometimes also having Creed's that summarized the scriptures and those Creed's served a couple of purposes. One purpose of those Creed's was simply to summarize the whole teaching the scripture in a very brief form so that a new believer or a child Who was learning the faith and wanted to profess their own faith could be given a good clear summary of the most important basics of the faith.

And so that's how we got things like the Apostles Creed, and later the Nicene Creed. Another purpose of those Creed's was the very fact that false teachers had come along. And these Creed's were useful as brief summaries to show the big errors of the false teachers. So following godly leaders is vital. And then be a godly leader, as the Apostle Paul writes, keep a close watch on yourself. And on the teaching, or as another translation puts it. 

Watch your life and doctrine closely those two things your life and your doctrine yourself and your teaching. persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself, and you're hearers in working out your own salvation, you listen to the Word of God, and you live a holy life on the path that leads to life. And as you do that, your hearers benefit to if you're to be a godly leader, you must know the Word of God and know it deeply. 

And you must live the Word of God with the help of the Spirit of God. And as you do that, you're walking that path of salvation, that salvation is a gift of God on the one hand, which Jesus gives to you, but then it's also a path that leads you to glory that the Lord leads you to walk. And as you're saved by that sound doctrine, and by the life of the Spirit in you. So your hearers will hear that sound doctrine and kept some of that life from you by God's grace, and they too will be saved. 

The Apostle Peter sounded an awful lot like Paul, Shepherd, the flock of God, that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly as God would have you not for shameful gain. This isn't a get rich business, but eagerly, not domineering bossing over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock, but beautiful words from the Apostle Paul, and the apostle Peter on what it means to be a godly leader to teach well, to live well. And as you do that, remember the setting that they were writing in and the setting that you live in again, and again and again, the Bible reminds us don't fit in with a wicked world, stand out. 

You don't fit in with all those false teachings, or give in to all the pressures from the persecutions you dare to stand out You dare to be different. Paul wrote to Timothy, then you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus being trained in the words of the faith, and to the good doctrine that you have followed. The times will be evil, many of the people will be evil, but you must be different.

There's something very distinctive in Paul's second letter to Timothy. Paul repeatedly describes how the world will behave in the last days between Jesus first coming and Jesus second coming. And then after you describe what the world is, like Paul says, But you are the Greek phrase su death. But you in the last days, there will come times of difficulty, for People will be lovers of self, lovers of money, lovers of pleasure, rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. But you, however, have followed my teaching my conduct my aim in life, my faith, my patients, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions, and suffering that great, but you dare to be different. 

Again, evil people and imposters will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood, you've been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus, you have a living faith. You know who the real deal is the people you learned it from. And now you be different. 

They are that way, but you continue with what you learn from God. And yet again, Paul says preach the Word. You only have to do it on two kinds of occasions when it's popular and when it's not popular. Preach the word be ready in season and out of season. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 

So there's going to be these people and these two teachers who are willing to scratch itchy ears and say whatever people want to hear, but you keep your head always be sober minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. Don't just fit in, stand out. That's what it means to be a godly leader. Think back to the Old Testament and the book of Second Samuel, near the end of that book, we read about David's mighty men. And even before that we read about David himself. In First Samuel 17, when David had to stand up for God, he faced the giant Goliath and the Philistine army when nobody else would do so. David stood alone, took on the giant defeated him and sent that army running. 

Then later on, when you read about David's mighty men, you'll read about the three, and others who are great men, but didn't quite make it into the three. One of the things you'll notice about the three is that they were men who held their ground against entire armies, even when everybody else ran away. There was one who took on 800, then at one time and defeated them. Another one was in a lentil field and was facing an attack and all of the people of Israel fled and he stood firm, and he fought and there were bodies just lying all around him that he took on and defeated. And when the other Israelites saw him, they turned around again and came back into the battle, but there was nobody left to fight. 

And so these people who dared to stand alone, another man, he fought and fought and fought and his hand just clung to his sword. Now, that's Old Testament, warriors for the Lord. In the New Testament. Of course, the weapons were different. The warriors were different, but those apostles were men of mighty courage. When all in Asia were disowning, Paul, Paul stood firm in the faith. And because he stood firm, others came back to the faith, they awakened others courage in the time of David. First, it was just David, that he had a few mighty men, then there were more mighty men. And by the end of David's reign, the Philistines were utterly defeated, and other enemies had fled to. And in the New Testament time, and in the time after the apostles, it may have seen that it was only one person here, and one there with almost no chance. And yet by their courage, their life, even by their death, they stood for the Lord when very few others could. 

And now there are millions who stand with them. And they're having been godly leaders and continuing to be godly leaders, then let's also have a vision for equipping godly leaders, the apostle Paul knew that he wasn't going to live forever on this earth. He knew Timothy wasn't going to live forever on this earth. And so he told Timothy to be about this business, of continuing to cultivate future leaders, what you've heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also, that's a wonderful phrase entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also appoint elders. 

And Paul gives instructions in First Timothy three as well as other places about the kind of people who ought to be elders and deacons. And he says, basically, there are people whose faith you want to reproduce, there are people whose character you want to reproduce. There's there are people whose families you want to reproduce. So equip godly leaders and find leaders whose faith character and families, you want more of let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor. So equip and honor godly leaders and keep seeking to have more and more of them. So God's provision for life after the apostles was, first of all, those of you who've learned, follow your godly leaders, be a godly leader, then keep on equipping godly leaders for every new group and for each new occasion, a new generation that comes along. 

This is a tremendous blessing, a tremendous responsibility because we stand on the shoulders of giants. We have a baton handed to us from many great and brave people who went before us and the treasure they hand on is, first of all, the wonderful word of God. How would the church survive and be the church of the living God the pillar and buttress of the truth? It would have the God breathed scriptures and would witness to Jesus and provide the standard of truth for all generations to come. If you want to stand strong in the Lord, you must know the Scriptures and take your stand on those Everything else is just mud and sand. But the scripture is rock, for leaders to stand on, and then be godly leaders. Learn from godly leaders equipped godly leaders because God uses godly leaders in each generation to guard the treasure, to preach the Word to pass the faith to new generation. 

Now, some people have developed an idea of apostolic succession. And they define apostolic succession as saying, well, a bishop laid hands on this person and made him a bishop. And then that bishop laid his hands on another person and made him a bishop. And that's how it works. Well, not quite. Paul wrote of some of his colleagues, whom he had worked with, who abandoned the faith Dimas, for instance, and I'm sure Paul had laid his hands on demons, but Dimas was no successor of the apostles. And there has been more than one bishop who had somebody's hand laid on Him, who is no successor of the apostles. apostolic succession is succession. In the God breathed scriptures that those apostles wrote, If you are true to the scriptures, you are true to the apostles, and you are true to Christ. And the measure of a godly leader in each generation is faithfulness to the Scriptures, and to the Christ of the scriptures. And this is how God will continue to carry on his work in the world after the apostles until Jesus comes again.

The church has faced many terrible times, again, about 200 years after Jesus Tertullian the Christian wrote, If the Tiber River reaches the halls of Rome, then it goes wrong if the earthquakes if there's a famine, if there's a plague, they cry at once, that Christians to the lions, and for 300 years, Christians were hunted, and even in the century since then, and still today, in some parts of the world, Christians are hunted, and persecuted and killed, and yet the gates of hell shall never prevail against the church of Jesus Christ. 

The Apostle Paul, as he was in that prison cell was not ready to just give up on it all. He had seen Jesus before He had been to Heaven, in a vision or, or perhaps even in his body, he wasn't sure. But he had been to Heaven, he knew the reality of Jesus of the world to come. And he knew that Jesus would care for his church here in this world. So Paul wrote, I'm not ashamed. He's facing the shameful death that he's going to meet. He's in a shameful sell. A lot of Romans despise him. 

But as he had said earlier, I'm not ashamed of the gospel, because it's the power of God for salvation. Now, he says, I'm not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed. And I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day, what has been entrusted to me. Now sometimes we think that Paul thought that Jesus was in guarding Paul's eternal life. 

Now it could have that meaning. But in this context, Paul is probably saying that Jesus is going to guard until the day of His return the gospel, and the proclamation of the gospel and the well being of the church it had been entrusted to Paul. Now it would be entrusted to others for a while, but Jesus would be guarding it until the day of his return. 

And so in the meantime, Paul says, follow the pattern of the sound words that you've heard from me, in the faith and love there in Christ Jesus, by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. Guard, the good deposit in trusted to you that's our call to guard that precious deposit with confidence in God. John Stott, who has now gone to be with the Lord was a mighty leader of the church and a great Expounder of the scriptures for many years, and John Stott lived in England where many people have fallen away from the faith and where the church seems to be shrinking, and it could be discouraging. 

Will Christianity vanish. Dr. Stott wrote, we may have to watch an increasing apostasy in the Church as our generation abandons the faith of its fathers. Do not be afraid. God will never allow the light of the gospel to be finally extinguished. And interesting, the deposit our hands, he has not taken his own hands off it. I love that statement in trusting the deposit of the gospel to our hands. God has not taken his own hands off it God's hands are still on it. He is Himself its final Guardian, and he will preserve the truth he has committed to the church. Guard it faithfully, spread it actively suffer for it bravely. This is our threefold duty