Who Do You Love?
Categories: Sermon Outlines, Topical Sermon Outlines Tags: Sermons on LoveDate written: February 26th, 2006
Bible Text: 2 Timothy 3:1-5
SUBJECT: Attitudes, Priorities, Devotion
TITLE: Who do you love?
PROPOSITION: To discuss the things that Paul says people will and will not love from 2 Timothy 3:1-5, namely, 1) Lovers of Self, 2) Lovers of Money, 3) No lovers of good, 4) Lovers of pleasure, 5) Lovers of God.
Objectives: Each ought to understand how love of something other than God chokes out true love for God.
Aim: To examine each of these motives and understand their consequences.
INTRODUCTION:
1. Read: 2 Timothy 3:1-5
2. About the Text:
1) The book of 2 Timothy is considered by many to be the last letter of Paul.
2) In the book Paul speaks concerning his near death.
3) He writes to encourage Timothy to continue to preach and teach the truth of the gospel.
4) He also writes to warn Timothy of the continued evil in the world.
5) In this chapter, Paul prophecies concerning the coming of evil men.
6) He directly alludes to the doctrines of Gnosticism.
7) One branch of Gnosticism taught their practitioners to indulge in the carnal affairs of the flesh.
8) Paul makes it clear that their motivations were to substitute for the love of God some other fleshly “love.”
9) Paul tells Timothy to turn away from such.
3. Ref. to S, T, P, O, and A.
DISCUSSION: Who do you love?
I. Lovers of Self
1. To love self means to always place one’s personal concerns above the concerns of others.
1) Self love often embroils us in sinful situations.
2) When Cain killed Abel, he was more concerned for himself than his brother.
3) When David committed adultery with Bathsheba and orchestrated the cover up, he was more concerned with self than with others.
4) When Ahab took Nabob’s vineyard, he was completed absorbed in his own selfishness.
5) The sin of selfishness is a root to so many other sins.
2. Consider the Bible’s condemnation of selfishness.
1) Numbers 15:38-40 “Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God.”
2) Romans 1:21-24 “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:”
3. The Bible teaches us to be selfless in relationships with our fellow man.
1) Philippians 2:3-4 “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.”
2) Consider Romans 15:1-3 “We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.”
II. Lovers of Money
1. To love money means to always place one’s concern about money above other things.
1) Balaam was a lover of money.
2) Judas was a lover of money in selling Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.
3) Simon the sorcerer was a lover of money.
4) The love of money is also a root to commit other sins.
2. Consider the Bible’s condemnation of the love of money.
1) Paul told Timothy, “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (1 Timothy 6:10).
2) Peter warned that there were some who followed Balaam’s example: 2 Peter 2:15 “Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;”
3) Jesus said in Luke 12:15 “Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man