I live and serve in a nation that was once described as a place that loved the Bible. When we moved to Scotland in 2020, we moved into the heart of Covenanter country. The Covenanters were people who protested the idea of an earthly king being the head of the church. There are memorials and gravestones and associated with them scattered about the county. But this place is not that way anymore.
Writing for The Gospel Coalition a couple of years ago, Sarah Zylstra said this1:
If you could stumble across Scotland on social media, she would be the girl you remember from youth group—the one who went to all the Bible studies, the one you expected to head to the mission field. You’d have to blink and rewatch her post before it would sink in—she’s deconstructed her faith, more completely and rapidly than you thought possible.
What happens to cause something like this? How can we prevent the same sort of drift from happening to ourselves? I think the answer lies in a contrast that Paul presents in 2 Timothy.
The imprisoned Apostle writes to his friend:
You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains, but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me— may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day!—and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus. (2 Timothy 1:15-18)
Looking back through this, having preached through 2 Timothy before, I was struck by the fact that we don’t know anything about these three individuals apart from this letter. Which makes what we know all the more significant.
Two responses to Paul
It isn’t very often that we are presented with a clear, straightforward comparison in Scripture. Sinful humanity is a complicated entity. How can we seek to have the wisdom of Solomon while knowing that it didn’t prevent him from forsaking the very God who gave him that great gift? How can we follow after the footsteps of King David, who was a man after God’s own heart while also being an adulterer and murderer? What of Moses or Elijah? Or even Father Abraham, the man of faith?
But what we have shown to us in this brief description is of two clear responses to the life and teaching of Paul.
Phygelus and Hermogenes
As I mentioned, we know essentially nothing about this pair, but they were clearly known to both Paul and Timothy. We don’t know exactly why these two abandoned Paul along with a whole crowd in Asia, though there is a clue in Onesiphorus, but it was likely a shock for them both.
he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains…
As attitudes toward the church get worse, at least among the cultural and political elites, one might start to wonder if it’s worth continuing with the way things are. Is it worth sticking with this thing that seems to be at odds with an opponent that seems to be making up the rules?
Will we stick with what we know is true, or will we make compromises in places in order to make ourselves seem more winsome? In The Contemplative Pastor, Eugene Peterson writes about being apocalyptic:
Onesiphorus
And then we have the guy with the funny name. He gets two mentions in the letter, but it is clear that the help he gave to Paul was significant.
Rather than being ashamed to be associated with a guy who would have been stigmatised as an enemy of the state, Onesiphorus sought out Paul to support him and be with him. Onesiphorus wasn’t ashamed of the gospel or of Paul. He stuck with him during Paul’s struggles. And Paul has ‘day of the Lord’ hope for him because of it.
What about us?
What do these three have to do with us? I think it’s quite clear and appropriate to say that we should seek to be like Onesiphorus. To stick with Paul’s teaching, even in the face of a culture that abhors it, and to stick together for encouragement and strength while facing a world that is increasingly suspicious of us.
Stick with Paul
If Paul was a pastor today, he’d be considered an utter failure. He planted churches and then his team abandoned him. And yet, for Timothy, he is an example of what it means to follow Jesus. And so my encouragement for us today would be to stick with Paul and his gospel. His teaching has been under attack since it first came about and it will continue to be so until Jesus comes back. But we can be confident that he was called by Jesus himself in order to deliver this to us.
Stick together
I imagine that the desertion of the team was what pained Paul the most. What did Paul long for? He longed for the company of his brothers and sisters to be with him. Abandoning him would have made for a more comfortable life, but Paul is going to call him to come to him. It’s hard to bear up under attack. That’s why we need each other. I know personally of people who were happy to come along to church and enjoy community, but who abandoned it when it meant pushing past discomfort. I don’t know where these people are now, but I do know that they are missing out one what they once had2.
Most weeks, we meet with a small group in our home. It has become an incredible encouragement for me personally, to spend time in conversation and prayer together. To hear the voices of those present praying for me is a great comfort. I can’t recommend it enough.
I highly recommend a read of this, not only because I know one of the pastors mentioned but because it does a great job of describing the state of the church here.
I also know the pastoral issues that were involved in these situations.