The Integrity of Finishing Well, Part 1

From the beginning of the new year until now, Chuck Swindoll has been delivering a brand new teaching series intended to help us face the pressing challenges of 2022. It's called Walking with Integrity in Times of Adversity. Today on Insight for Living, we'll be listening to his 12th and final installment. It's a message that will conclude on tomorrow's program.

How do we demonstrate our complete trust in God during the final season of life? For anyone who wishes to leave a lasting legacy, Chuck presents a message on the integrity of finishing well. For the last several weeks, we have been giving attention to the series I've called Walking with Integrity through times of adversity. Last time, we talked about the integrity of pressing on, just continuing on day after day, week and month after month, from one year to the next. I took the time to put together some thoughts last week on what's included in pressing on.

I promised I would bring it back to you this week, lest some of it slipped away in the time that has passed. What's included in pressing on? I suggest at least five things. First, you rid your life of distractions in order to press on, and you spend your time and energy on essentials as you press on. And then you focus your attention on goals and priorities as a part of pressing on. You discipline yourself to stay at it in order to finish well. And you set your mind to endure any test, any trial.

Those seem pretty simple to write down, but they are quite an assignment when you apply them to everyday life, as we must from one day to the next. Paul did that. No better example in the Scriptures than the great apostle, as from the time of his conversion on the road to Damascus, all the way to the dungeon at Rome. He was pressing on. Today we're looking at the integrity of finishing well, which again he certainly did. As a habit of his life, not just toward the end, but throughout his life, he worked toward the finishing point and doing it with gusto, with energy, with great anticipation. We're looking at chapter 4 of 2 Timothy. These are his final written words before he died, before his life was taken. So they become extremely important words to all of us. We look back on those we have lost and we in many ways wish we had listened more closely to their last words, which are often the best words they ever share. I think of that as we look at 2 Timothy 4, verses 5 through 18.

But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don't be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the good news and fully carry out the ministry God has given you. As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. I fought the good fight. I finished the race.

And I've remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me, the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me, but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing. Timothy, please come as soon as you can. Demas has deserted me because he loves the things of his life and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescents has gone to Galatia. Titus has gone to Dalmatia.

Only Luke is with me. Bring Mark with you when you come, for he will be helpful to me in my ministry. I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. When you come, be sure to bring the coat I left with Carpus at Troas. Also, bring my books and especially the parchments. Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm, but the Lord will judge him for what he has done. Be careful of him, for he fought against everything we said. The first time I was brought before the judge, no one came with me.

Everyone abandoned me. May it not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength so that I might preach the good news in its entirety for all the Gentiles to hear. And he rescued me from certain death.

Yes. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. All glory to God forever and ever. Amen.

You're listening to Insight for Living. To search the Scriptures with Chuck Swindoll, be sure to download his Searching the Scriptures studies by going to insightworld.org slash studies. Chuck titled his message, The Integrity of Finishing Well. The final words of Paul to Timothy should be read on our knees. In fact, we should read his touching words slowly and loud. And I would add often. Remembering these are his final words, which should be treated as sacred words, for they are truly that.

It also helps to remember where they were written. He was in a cold, dark, stone dungeon, damp and depressing. The only light into that dungeon came from a hole above him, covered with a rusty grate. People walked by not even thinking there was anything below them. In this cramped, dingy, filthy area where rats ran free and fed and bred in a place like this dark cave, Paul lived his last few hours and days.

Seems amazing, doesn't it? A life lived so well, a life that finished so strong, would be in this hole in the ground. Known today as the Mamertine dungeon.

When you visit there, you walk down a narrow, tightly curved spiral staircase to the base. The place is black with age and it still stinks. There must have been for Paul an open bucket where he would urinate and defecate.

The stench must have been terrible. How long he stayed there, we're not told, but the inevitable would soon be heard. The dull pounding of the boots of Roman soldiers forming the execution squad that would take him to the place where his head would be severed from his shoulders.

One in the squad would be carrying the axe. But none of this depressed Paul, interestingly. None of it caused him fear. You read nothing of complaining or blaming or bitterness or lack of forgiveness. As you read through these final words, you read of his life sort of passing in review. Pastor Kent Hughes does a good job of summarizing it all with these words. It was there he surveys his life, his conversion, and then the kaleidoscope of sermons he preached, shipwrecks, confrontations, deliverances, the stoning, the beatings, and the victories. His conscience is absolutely clear. There is no guilt, no weight of unresolved sins, nothing to confess. He has been true to the gospel and his calling. He was not sinless, but he was blameless. And he was faithful.

Paul wrote as he waited for the arrival of the squad. And we're so grateful that he did write. For in these few words, only four chapters, in our English Bible, only 83 verses, he captures the essence of what is on a man's heart at the end of his days, having lived the life he lived. The letter begins with the tender expression to my dear son, Timothy. Perhaps he thought of him as the only son he would ever have. And those years they had been together and the places they had gone, the things they had seen and endured together. He saved his best words for his final hours.

He would press on all the way to his death. Of special interest in this letter is the final chapter. I believe it is becoming my favorite chapter in all the scriptures. It's a dripping with emotions, of course.

He's at the end. Looking back, don't you wish you had had a pen and paper in hand as you stood alongside the one you loved and lost? To write down what they said, how you felt, the emotions of the moment. Paul is finishing well and he leaves these words for Timothy to ponder. He would soon press this little bit of parchment into Luke's hands and see that this gets to Ephesus so Timothy can read it. I've often pondered what Timothy must have done when Luke handed him this little scroll. I think he must have burst into tears when he saw my dear son. Knowing they came from the one who had meant so much to him during his life. Everything starts in this fourth chapter with a solemn charge.

Paul has lost nothing of his passion. I solemnly charge you, I urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus who will someday judge the living and the dead when he appears to set up his kingdom. So he's charging younger Timothy to step into the ranks without hesitation, without reluctance. I charge you in the name of the living God to move into your ministry. I call these first five verses the minister's job profile.

It doesn't get better than these words. The solemn charge is followed by a command and in the command there are several parts that go with the command but the command is familiar to all of us. K'ruch son, don't log on, preach the word, Timothy, preach it, don't hold back, stand strong in it, preach the word, be prepared whether the time is favorable or not, patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage the people with good teaching.

I love that. I often think of that as Sunday mornings arrive and I think of my responsibility. This is for all who handle the scriptures. This isn't just for Timothy.

It's been applicable down through the centuries. How much strength has been gleaned by those of us who step into a pulpit and hold forth or stand before a body of people in whatever capacity. Preach the word, declare the truth of God, don't fall back on your opinions or your ideas or your feelings. No one ever said it better than Walt Kaiser in his book, Revive Us Again.

Listen to his penetrating expressions. He writes, too often the Bible is little more than a book of epigrammatic sayings or a springboard that gives us a rallying point around which to base our editorials. But where do we get the audacious idea that God would bless our opinions and judgments? Who wants to hear another point of view as an excuse for a Bible study?

Isn't that a great question? Who said God would bless our stories, our ramblings on the general area announced by the text? Surely this is a major reason why the famine of the word continues in massive proportions in most places in North America. Surely this is why the hunger for the teaching and proclamation of God's word continues to grow year after year after year. Men and women cannot live by ideas alone, no matter how eloquently they are stated, but solely by a patient reading and explanation of all scripture, line after line, paragraph after paragraph, chapter after chapter, book after book.

Where are such interpreters to be found and where are their teachers? Those are timeless words from Dr. Kaiser. Dr. Paul's powerful and challenging charge, he moves into a very honest appraisal of his time and, if you will, our time.

He says in verse three, this is the reason you must do what I've commanded. A time is coming. We could say today the time has come when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow after their own desires and they will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths.

Is that true or what? Tell me what I want to hear. Tell me what I need to hear. Dumb it down.

Let's have a little fun here. Paul writes to Timothy, in all seriousness, this charge that is timeless as it is true. Wherever you live, wherever you move, whatever may be your circumstance, look for places where you can find the word of God taught faithfully.

That's the place to link up to. Don't just go with your denomination or go with tradition or go because your family's been going there all their lives. Seek the truth.

Seek one who is the guts and the temerity to deliver it and to deliver it Sunday after Sunday. Because apart from it, you will be embracing nonsense and myths. You will only hear silly little stories and funny little skits. You need the truth and so do I. We grow from the truth. It's like verbal and written nourishment to our souls. It is what holds you together when the bottom drops out of your life. It is what you fall back on when the one you love so dearly dies.

It is what you need when you're alone and your imagination plays tricks on you or when you're tempted and no one is around to know if you may fall. The truth will hold you close. No wonder, he said to young Timothy, preach it, herald it, make it known, don't stop when I leave this earth.

Timothy must have felt a little chill up his back realizing that the torch was now being passed to him. He says to Timothy directly in verse five, you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don't be afraid of suffering for the Lord.

That's part of it. The suffering only means you're on the right track. Don't hold back from telling others the good news and fulfill your ministry in every way. Carry that gospel to the lost. Teach the truth to the saved.

Never apologize for either. Suddenly, it becomes personal. When you're at the very end, your thoughts turn to life as it really has been, as it does for Paul. Listen, as it passes in review, as for me, verse six, as for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God.

The time of my death, it's any moment. It's near. And those soldiers will come.

It was in 1844 that James Russell Lowell wrote words. We still quote truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne. But that scaffold sways the future. And in the dim unknown stands God within the shadow. Keeping watch above his own. Wicked Nero was on the throne.

Or was he? God is enthroned. God is in charge.

God is sovereign. It's fascinating to consider the context in which Paul's letter was written. Christians were feeling immense pressure from Rome, and yet Paul reminded Timothy, our God is still on the throne.

You're listening to a message from Chuck Swindoll about the integrity of finishing well, and this is Insight for Living. To learn more about this ministry, visit us online at insightworld.org. Well, the wisdom and compassion Timothy received from the aging apostle must have calmed his spirit. But his reassuring words apply to all of us. We too can take refuge under God's watchful eye. Along those lines, I'll remind you Chuck has written a daily devotional that provides the same kind of biblical comfort and encouragement. It's called Wisdom for the Way, and this robust book contains a chapter for every single day of the year.

Think of all the competing voices you hear throughout an average day, from daily news sources to the constant stream of trivial information online. Well, this devotional, Wisdom for the Way, will guide your thoughts and help you overcome the chaos and confusion of human opinion. And it's available for purchase when you call us.

If you're listening in the United States, dial 1-800-772-8888 or go to insight.org slash offer. Thanks for remembering that these daily visits with Chuck are made possible through your voluntary donations. You're the one who fuels Insight for Living. And when you give, you're the one who delivers hope and encouragement to people who rely on this daily program. Like one of your fellow listeners who left a comment that read, you can't understand how much I needed to hear this message today. And another wrote this, I'm listening to the program in the hospital, suffering greatly, and your sermon is very helpful.

Well, thanks for making these moments possible. To give a contribution today, go online to insight.org slash donate. Or call us if you're listening in the United States, dial 1-800-772-8888. I'm Dave Spiker inviting you to join us when Chuck Swindoll talks about the integrity of finishing well Tuesday on Insight for Living. The preceding message, The Integrity of Finishing Well, was copyrighted in 2021 and 2022. And the sound recording was copyrighted in 2022 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.