WITHDRAW, FLEE, AND PURSUE
I desire, as the Lord may enable me, to speak in a very plain and practical way in connection with the scripture we have read, especially from verse 19. This scripture is, perhaps, familiar to most here; but we are not here to give instruction exactly or any further light. Many of us take credit to ourselves in connection with our familiarity with the letter of scripture, and it is in reference to those scriptures with which we are familiar that we need stirring up and exercise of soul.
Our desire is to speak to you in connection with this scripture in a practical way. If you have come expecting some great unfolding of doctrine you will be disappointed; but I trust the Lord will give us just the word that He can use for our real spiritual help.
It has been conceded for a long time in connection with this scripture that it is the one scripture the Lord has given us to mark out the path for us in the midst of what we speak of as the ruin. I do not want to speak much about the ruin; it is not well to be too much occupied with it—I am sure the Lord would have us sensible as to the conditions that obtain on every hand, but I think there is a danger of becoming too much occupied with it, and that is not for our spiritual profit. Whatever ruin has come in, you will always find it is connected with the responsibility of man: but in this second epistle of Paul to Timothy, from the outset of it, we are brought face to face with the purpose of God; and that is beyond the ruin. The effectuation—the accomplishment of God’s purpose is in His hands—“He worketh all things after the counsel of his own will”; there is no danger of defeat or frustration or failure in that. I think, generally speaking, the two epistles of Paul to Timothy indicate in the beginning a certain difference. The apostle in the first epistle connects his apostleship with the commandment of our Saviour-God, you will find there is a largeness about it—“all men” are in view. But when you come to the second epistle, he connects his apostleship with the purpose of God, and in a certain sense, things are more limited—it is not “all men”—“the elect” come into view. What I want you to see is this, that from the beginning of this epistle you breathe the air of the purpose of God. Take what I have read, there is the allusion to Hymenæus and Philetus—they are only sample men—“of whom is Hymenæus and Philetus; who concerning the truth have erred”, and we get their teaching and the effect of their teaching: they were overthrowing the faith of some; but the next expression stands like a solid, immovable rock, and the waves of error only dash themselves into spray as they strike it, “the firm foundation of God standeth sure”. It stands sure, and as you touch it spiritually it will impart to your soul its own steadiness, you will become steady, you will cease shaking.
The point in the passage I have read is testing but simple. It is the responsibility of every one who names the name of the Lord to stand for the honour of the Lord Jesus Christ. He brings in the simile of “a great house”, not the great house, but a great house; but he brings it in to illustrate the prevailing condition at that time. “In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour”. “If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour”, &c. Whose honour? The honour of the Lord. That to me is the centre of the passage: the responsibility resting upon each— “every one”—to be apart from everything that involves the dishonour of the Lord, and to be here in identification with that which would really be for His honour and glory. It is a great test, because it tests us as to the state of our souls; it tests us, not in regard to a standard of doctrine or knowledge, but it tests us with regard to our affection for the Lord. If the Lord has got His place—His right place—in my affections, I am bold to say that, the honour of the Lord would be dearer to me than life itself; you could put nothing in competition with it, not for a moment.
I think some believers have thought that certain conditions have arisen during the last eighty or ninety years, and that certain things are peculiar to these late years. Do not be mistaken. This second epistle of Paul to Timothy was written a good while ago, and the conditions that are disclosed in it, and the instructions that are given by the Spirit of God in it, have been, not only true, but have been in force from that day to this. It is easy to prove to you that the second epistle to Timothy goes on to the end.
I would now speak of three words that indicate the points of the truth. The first word is “depart from”, or ‘withdraw’; the second word is “flee”; and the third word is “follow”, or ‘pursue’; so that if we answer in any measure to this instruction, these three things will characterise us.
“Withdraw” is a quiet word; it is not to make any fuss or any display about it; the thing is to do it. I cite as an illustration Jeremiah 15:16, showing what the force of “withdraw” is, where the prophet says, “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts”. What is the next word? He withdrew: “I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone”. Now it was not the fact of eating the Lord’s words that brought him into trouble, that made him very happy, when he discovered that he was called by the name of the Lord. To be called by the name of another in scripture is identification. But it was not that which brought Jeremiah into trouble, it was withdrawing. Are you prepared to go through any trouble on account of the Lord—on account of refusing that which compromises His honour and glory? Jeremiah withdrew very quietly, “I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with indignation”, Jer 15: 17. A man may be very indignant and very happy at the same time. Jeremiah was happy in the apprehension of his identification with Jehovah—God of hosts; but that assembly of mockers filled him with indignation. Have you ever “sat alone”? I speak plainly, but it is taken so easy nowadays. People are found in the position of separation, but how did they get there? Perhaps very easily, without exercise. Did you ever “sit alone”? It is a real thing. You have withdrawn from iniquity and you “sit alone”. Some of us hardly know how to appreciate good company when we get it, and it is because we have never “sat alone”. There is first the withdrawing, you separate yourself from the vessels to dishonour, and then there is a word for you personally, not in regard to your associations with others, but in regard to yourself, “flee also youthful lusts”. And there are four things you are to pursue—righteousness, faith, love, peace. You are still addressed individually—you are individual up to this point; you are not in any fellowship. Till you reach this point you are not ready for fellowship according to God. You may say, I belong to such and such a meeting. That is a poor thing, and you will prove it so. When you follow righteousness, faith, love, peace, your privilege is to follow these things with those that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart.
We are not in the days of 1 Corinthians. I am thankful for 1 Corinthians, it is a wonderful epistle, but do not persuade yourself that you are in the days of 1 Corinthians. It was enough then to say, “To the assembly [or church] of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints”, and to add, “with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord”. But now we must have the divine addition, “with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart”. People raise objections; they say—How are we to know who are those that call on the Lord out of a pure heart? I only know one way; that is, to call on the Lord out of a pure heart yourself; I do not know any other way.
I am exercised that the Lord might help His people here tonight. And now I am coming to this; and let me speak simply. You know Mr Darby’s translation of 2 Timothy 2 is divided into two paragraphs; if we speak of verses, there are thirteen verses in the first paragraph and thirteen in the second paragraph, and I trust we are all convinced of this—that the scriptures have been written in divine order, and if one might speak for oneself for a moment, I am sure the apprehension in any measure of the divine order in scripture is most helpful.
In the first paragraph, “in Christ Jesus” is the characteristic phrase, and the characteristic phrase of the second paragraph is “the Lord”. Now “in Christ Jesus” stands for privilege; but; “the Lord” stands for responsibility. The Holy Ghost speaking of “the Lord” says, “Let everyone that nameth the name of the Lord depart from iniquity”. This should have such an effect on us, it should evoke such a response from us, that we would never rest until we had “withdrawn”. The test in Christianity is always the affections. Love never fails. If there is a response in our souls to the Lord’s mind there will be withdrawing, fleeing, and pursuing, because the Lord has His place in our hearts.
I take you back for a moment to the beginning of the chapter. Paul in writing to Timothy says, “Thou therefore, my child”; that is a word which implies two things, relationship and affection, so that Paul uses it as a term of endearment to Timothy, for there was peculiar affection between them—“Thou therefore, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus”. I think when you get Christ Jesus mentioned alone it is that Person, it is that anointed Man. Peter said at the close of his discourse at Pentecost that God had raised up Jesus and had made Him Lord and Christ. I think when you get Christ Jesus alone you get Him as the risen and exalted Man—the Man that God has anointed; but when that little word “in” is attached what do you get then? The thought is not the grace that met me as a poor guilty, lost sinner; I do not mean that there are different sorts of grace; it is all the grace of God, but it is not grace in that point of view; neither is it the administration of grace to you as a believer in connection with your responsible life herein your weakness, your circumstances, all that may come upon you, that is not the thought of “grace … in Christ Jesus”. We spoke on Sunday night of that expression in Ephesians, “the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness towards us in Christ Jesus”, Eph 2: 7. I think that wonderful display of grace on the part of the father in Luke 15 to the younger son is a blessed picture of it. It is not on the side of our need; no, it is the other way; it is if one might say so, the need of God’s heart; He wants us in His presence that He might have perfect complacency in us, perfect delight in us; He wants us there so that we might share all that infinite joy that fills His own heart in Christ. How far are we acquainted with “the grace that is in Christ Jesus”? You may say, My sins are forgiven, and I have been justified. Thank God for that. You may say, I have been in trouble—weakness, bereavement, loss of property, various kinds of sorrow here, and difficult circumstances, and the Lord has wonderfully met me, has wonderfully sustained me. Thank God for His grace, and I can thank Him with you. But how about the other side? Have you touched “the grace that is in Christ Jesus?”—because (let me speak simply, not theologically) when you touch the grace that is in Christ Jesus you are lost in an ocean of love. You say, I have really entered into the heavenly and eternal side of things. Have you? Are you sure? How do you feel about the honour of the Lord down here? It is all very well to go to a nice meeting and talk about how we have enjoyed it (do not think I am against enjoyment; I go in for enjoyment, for the enjoyment of the very best—I mean the best robe, and the ring, and the shoes, the fatted calf, and the music and the dancing, I go in for all that)—but do you come out of it like Jeremiah? He sat alone. You can hardly conceive of a man being happier than Jeremiah was, but look at the proof he gives you of the reality and the effect of it. “I sat not in the assembly of the mockers”, &c, Jer 15: 17. And what is his concern about? The honour of that name, Jehovah—God of hosts.
There are many interesting things that I would like to say to you about this scripture. There is great scope in it in a sense, “Let every one that names the name of the Lord”, and yet it is put individually, it says every one, and “if a man purge himself from these”. Do not let us drop into the thought that things have only in the last few years become individual, they have been individual from the days of 2 Timothy. You will find it is an invariable principle with God that when He has set up a dispensation or order of things, and when that has broken down through the failure of man in responsibility, God does not give up the truth for one moment. Do you think God has given up the truth of the assembly? I would not walk with people who held that. How could you follow righteousness and faith with such people, to say nothing about love and peace? You could not do it. God has not given up the truth of the assembly, but in the days of 2 Timothy God reverted to the individual. Hence, beloved, I do not know any scripture that ought to rivet us like this. Is there any pretension to being the assembly? We ought to be ashamed of it in the face of this scripture. Mr Darby said in a letter over fifty years ago, ‘I would not walk one hour with any company that pretended to be the assembly’. Is that giving up the truth? No; it is retreating and retiring from a false position to take the only position in which the truth of the assembly can be maintained. And who are these that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Only a company of individuals, that is all. I beg you to bear with me, but I am not alone in saying what I do. It has been said, I think, in this room by our beloved brother who is with the Lord now, ‘There is no other company than the assembly of the living God’. There is no other company. Do not think me hypercritical, but things steal upon us so softly, so insidiously, we begin to think of ourselves as a company and we begin to lift up our heads and to take assembly assumption, but it will not do. I am certain of this, that the Lord will not for one moment support any pretension or any assumption of that sort, because if the Lord reverts to the individual why does He do so? Because, as to the responsible body, it has broken down and failed, and the Lord says, I am not going to give up the truth, I am going to maintain it in spite of the ruin, in spite of the failure, and I will maintain it in connection with individuals; and God has been maintaining it for nearly eighteen hundred years, and He is going to maintain it to the very last day. He will maintain it till that blessed moment when we shall hear the assembling shout. It is no time to hang down our heads and be discouraged; there is plenty of ruin, but the Lord remains and the Holy Ghost is here. Now God reverts to the individual. God is wiser than we are. We take steps sometimes to conserve what we think is the truth, but we are not wise. I have no doubt you might take the creeds of Christendom, and I speak respectfully of them; these creeds were written by very godly men, perhaps the most godly men of their day, and were formulated by them as bulwarks of the truth; but I ask you, Have they maintained the truth? My dear brethren, you know they have not. No; there is no power to maintain the truth in a creed, and you must bear with me in saying that we have reverted sometimes to ecclesiastical actions and ways to maintain the truth, but they do not maintain it. God’s way does it, and it is the only way it can be done. Mr Raven said of this scripture that the language was not ecclesiastical2, and Mr Darby said in his day that scripture was intensely moral. Take these four terms. I am not speaking of the iniquity from which you are to withdraw, nor the youthful lusts from which you are to flee, but of these four things which you are to pursue—righteousness, faith, love, peace. I am bold to stand here and say that there is not a jot or tittle of Christianity that is not embraced in these four terms. We read in Colossians of a brother who laboured fervently in prayers. And what a labour it was! And what was his prayer for? That they might stand complete in all the will of God, chap 4: 12. That is righteousness.
We are to pursue righteousness. Ah! the inclusiveness of that term, and the exclusiveness of it; it includes every will of God, and it excludes every will of man. Righteousness is God’s will, and I ask you to stop and consider a moment—could you have anything on any other basis? God has put everything on the basis of righteousness. There will be the world to come—the habitable world to come—and beyond that the eternal state, and the world to come will be established on the basis of righteousness, and the eternal state will be the home of it. There righteousness shall dwell for ever and ever.
Then we are to pursue faith. That is not the act of believing—that is not the force of the term always. “One Lord, one faith, one baptism”, Eph 4: 15. What is the meaning of faith there? Why, just one blessed word that covers within its comprehensive grasp the whole truth of Christianity. Paul spoke to Timothy of some that had sacrificed a good conscience, and what was the result? They had made shipwreck concerning the faith, they had given up the truth of Christianity.
You pursue righteousness and faith, and then what? Love. In chapter 1 he says that God hath not given us the spirit of cowardice but of power and of love. You may have power (I do not say spiritual power) without love, but the more power you have apart from love the worse it is. If we have power and love, the use of it is a wise discretion. So here you pursue righteousness and faith and love. You are to pursue it. What a foundation for peace! You can have peace now. Do not turn it upside down.
I commend these few scattered remarks to you, and I trust God will be pleased to give us distinct exercise. I beg you not to take things too easy. There is not one atom of spiritual movement apart from exercise. May the Lord so bring home the truth to us that in the light of it we may be individually exercised, and that there may be in us an answer to the mind of the Lord in this day.