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We have Celebrity Big Brother, Celebrity Mastermind, Celebrity MasterChef, Celebrity Come Dine with Me, Celebrity Get Me Out of Here. At that rate they will soon run out of finding enough celebrities. But what is a celebrity? Are they so very different from any one of us? Are they more intelligent, more attractive, more articulate, more confident? What makes them so special? I like the definition given by Chris Paten (Lord Paten) "A celebrity is someone I've never heard of." I like that! "A celebrity is someone I've never heard of." Of course there are Christian celebrities too. They speak at conferences and conventions. They don't need to be introduced (we are told) because everyone (but me) knows who they are.

In the Christian life who do you look to for inspiration or encouragement? Who are your heroes and heroines? Some might be well-known, but others are the many unknowns: a parent, a youth leader, a Christian friend – for me it was a country clergyman who modelled Christ in his life and his teaching.

I've been reading the life of Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy who, in his own day was a national celebrity. He was an Anglican chaplain who served in the First World War and he was awarded a Military Cross. In appearance he was nothing special. A nurse described him "as the ugliest man she had ever met". So a celebrity need not be physically attractive. So who was Kennedy? He was better known as Woodbine Willie – a name given to him because he gave Woodbine cigarettes to the troops in the trenches. He said: "Take fags in your bag and a great deal of love in your heart." Kennedy was not an Evangelical, and though we may not agree with all that he said, certain things stand out. He was a humble pastor with a heart for the poor. He was a man of simple faith and central to his message was the cross of Christ. The image of the suffering God, the suffering Christ, became an inspiration to the men in the trenches who stood at the very edge of hell. And I was particularly struck by this comment about Kennedy.

His theology was more than academic theory, it was practical and personal ... doctrine can only be understood from the inside – as it is the expression of an experience.

Theory – practice – experience. I want you to hold that in your mind as we look together at 2 Timothy 3.

1. People and Places

In Paul's second letter to Timothy we have two main characters. Paul, a man in his 60s, and Timothy, a younger man probably in his 30s or 40s. Not only did Paul teach; he also opened up his heart. So here we have a teacher-pupil relationship. A scholar-student relationship. An older Christian-younger Christian relationship. You may well have that sort of friendship yourself as you teach by example and as you live and model the Christian life to other people. This may be to members of your family, to a group here in church, to a colleague at work, to someone you encounter day by day on your frontline.

In the letter we are told that Timothy was nurtured by godly women. His grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice were Christian believers (1:5). Timothy's father is not mentioned but we are told elsewhere that he was a Greek, with the hint that he was not a believer (Acts 16:1). In time, Timothy became a Christian. He came to trust in Jesus as his Lord and Saviour. The implication is that Timothy came to faith through the prayers of his family and through the ministry of Paul. Already as a Christian he had already followed Paul (step by step, side by side) (v.10). Now he was to continue in what he had learned from him (v.14). The sacred writings (what we call the Old Testament) and prayer shaped and moulded the faith of these godly men and women.

Prayer and Bible reading. How important are these things to you? How much of a priority are these things to you? If you want to grow in the faith you profess, to grow in holiness and in Christ-likeness, then regular prayer and Bible reading must be a priority. Each one of us may struggle to live as a Christian believer in an unbelieving world. We are saddened when the Lord's Day becomes increasingly like any other day. When God's name (and the name of Christ) are used like a comma in everyday speech. We need to take notice of Paul's words in Romans, "Don't let yourselves be squeezed into the shape dictated by the present age. Instead be transformed by the renewing of your minds." That's foundational to what Paul is saying here in 2 Timothy 3.

As well as reading here about two people, reference is also made to three places – Antioch, Iconium and Lystra – places which Paul used to illustrate his own experience and whose testimony must have made a profound impression upon Timothy. You can read about these cities in Acts 13-14. Paul's experience of suffering made him the sort of man he became. Central to his faith was the Lord Jesus Christ. Central to his preaching and teaching was the cross and resurrection. Central to his experience as a believer was suffering and persecution. His testimony was not just theory. He suffered because he was a Christian. He knew the cost of discipleship.

Look with me into the mirror of life's experiences. Those who are older can look back over many years; those who are younger have less to draw upon. But whoever we are, and at whatever stage we are in life - is Jesus at the centre of your life? Of your family? Of your singleness? Of your work? Of your unemployment? Of your sport and of your leisure? Is Christianity simply your Sunday hobby or it is your way of life?

2. Teaching and Learning

Remember what I said earlier of Woodbine Willie? Theory – practice – experience. Isn't that reflecting what Paul is saying here? His theology, his doctrine, was integral to his experience. Creed and conduct were one. What he taught he lived. What he preached he was. Paul modelled the Christian faith to Timothy, who in turn was to make it his own and to share it with others. Paul's testimony was clear. He referred to his teaching, his way of life, his purpose, his faith, his patience and his love (v.10). These things shone forth like a beacon. They were evident to all around him. Like John the Baptist he pointed away from himself to Jesus. And it was because of his faith, as a consequence of believing and living for Jesus, that he had to endure persecution and suffering (v.11). And did you notice his aside – "All who desire to live a godly life in Christ will be persecuted" (v.12).

Remember there are not two grades of Christian: those who are persecuted and those who are free from persecution. Persecution in one form or another is inevitable for the true follower of Jesus. Throughout the history of the church we know that many Christians were persecuted for their faith. For many, suffering led to death, and from death to glory. And not just in the past. Today, at this very moment, in different parts of the world our fellow brothers and sisters are suffering and dying for their faith in Jesus! And yet we complain about the weather, the cricket scores, the niggles of daily life! What sort of faith is that? Comfortable. Bland. Safe. Risk free. Far removed from the sacrifice and suffering and persecution of the many who suffer today for following Jesus.

As a Christian, Paul endured much persecution and suffering (he listed some of his experiences in 2 Corinthians 13). And yet in spite of all of this, what was his take on it? "I endured, yet the Lord rescued me" (v.11). Why? As a consequence of his faithfulness to Christ. As the outcome of his preaching and teaching. As a result of him naming the name of Christ.

Get real about your own experiences! Put them into some sort of perspective. If you are a Christian then life is not going to be all ease and pleasure. There will be sunshine, as well as shadow and darkness. Sadness and joy. Pain and sorrow. Failures and disappointments. But in all of life's experiences, can we echo Paul's words – The Lord was with me and "the Lord rescued me" (v.11) from the situation. Of course we may not see that (or say that at the time) – but looking back we can see the hand of God and the embrace of Christ and the strength of the Holy Spirit.

Paul had a solid foundation. His life and his teaching were grounded upon the rock of Christ. He lived his life in the light of his faith. Paul urged Timothy to hear what he said, to observe his way of life, to reflect upon it, and to continue in what he had learned and been convinced of. Can that be said by others of you and me? Do we reflect Jesus to other people? Are we, in the words of Bishop J. B. Lightfoot, "the mirror in which his glory shines"? In our work situation we don't have to feel guilty if we are not always speaking evangelistically. We are not paid by our employer to be an evangelist but to express our calling, to work for the glory of God, so that others might see in us something of the Lord Jesus Christ. So tomorrow, be that mirror in which the divine glory shines.

3. True and False Teaching

In Titus chapter one Paul gave a clear instruction for all Christian pastors and teachers. They were commissioned to teach the truth and to refute error (Titus 1:9). That same principle is found in 2 Timothy 3. Who were the false teachers? They were "lovers of self" (v.2) who followed their own inclinations and corrupted the Word of God; while Paul and Timothy were the "lovers of God", the followers of Christ, subject to the Word of God.

Those who deceived believers by their teaching and manner of life Paul describes as "evil people and imposters" (lit. swindlers and cheats) who strayed away from the truth as it is in Jesus and went "from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived" (v.13). They taught what was false and they lived a lie. Saying one thing and doing another. Of course all we who profess to be Christians are prone to hypocrisy and inconsistency. We delight in being respectable 21st Century Pharisees. But here Paul was concerned about those people who were deliberately teaching error. Consciously leading people astray. Promoting error rather than truth. Today such groups are the Mormons and the Jehovah's Witnesses. They use the language of Zion, but lead people into serious error. False teachers are dangerous deceivers. False teachers are to be condemned: their teaching has to be refuted.

On the other hand we have Paul and Timothy who taught the truth. From childhood they had both known the sacred writings (what we call the Old Testament). In time the 27 writings of the apostles (like Paul and Peter and John) and the apostolic men (like Mark and Luke and the writer of Hebrews) would be placed alongside the 39 books of the Old Testament. They had a unique authority. The so-called canon of scripture (the measuring stick of orthodoxy) was finally fixed on the 4th century.

How do we describe what we call the Bible (the sacred writings)? Clearly they are the words of men (the human authors) but they are also the very word of God. The English reformers called the Bible "God's Word written". Scripture is regarded as being God-breathed like the wind blowing the sails of boats on the Mediterranean Sea. Notice in v.16 that it says that "all scripture" is inspired by the Holy Spirit and not just "part of scripture". All scripture and not a selective reading of scripture. All scripture; that is the whole of scripture. All 66 books are equally inspired, but we have to admit that they are not all equally inspiring to read. We may well struggle with Leviticus and the first nine chapters of 1 Chronicles. They are inspired but not necessarily inspiring reading. But yet we believe that all scripture is inspired and all scripture points us to Jesus. Henry Law (who was the Dean of Gloucester in the 19th Century) produced a series of commentaries on the first five books of the Bible called "Christ is all". Much the same could be said of the rest of the Old Testament. There too, Christ is found.

And what is scripture for? This word of the living God? What does Paul say? It is "useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness" (v.16). Its purpose is to tell us about Jesus and to make us more like Jesus. Its purpose is to shape us and to mould us to be more and more conformed to the divine image and to restore that image in us. But how can we expect to grow and mature as a Christian if we ignore God's word? How can we know the difference between true teaching and false teaching if we fail to test it by God's word?

Yes, we are to know and to become more and more like Jesus, but there is another reason too. That the man and woman of God might be equipped to perform every good work. We are saved by grace through faith alone, and the evidence of our salvation is found in the fruit that is evident in our lives. Fully equipped to serve the Lord and to be the servant of the Lord in whatever circumstance he places us. May that be so for each one of us in the week ahead and in the years to come. To be that mirror in which the divine glory shines.