Remember Jesus! 2 Timothy 2:8-13

I have read many commentaries, and listened to very many sermons by preachers who for the most part I admire, who seem to deride Timothy as a weak man, a timid man, a fearful man.  And they say such things with such certainty and conviction, that I suppose I have been prone to almost believe them.  I say almost, because I don’t really believe them.  They say that poor Timmy was young and timid and being fearful and shy had caused him to have poor digestion and a continually upset stomach.

I said in our previous study I am not going to be surprised to find out when we get to heaven that Timothy was none of those things.  First of all, he wasn’t some timid teenager at the time of this writing.  Most Bible scholars agree that Timothy was about 32 years of age when Paul wrote this letter.  About the same age Jesus was at the height of His ministry.

If I had to paint a picture of Timothy, I would probably paint a picture of a big strapping, burly looking fellow with a long full  red beard, and very muscular.  He was probably very athletic, because Paul constantly uses metaphors of athletes and boxers and wrestlers and soldiers and farmers as the means by which to illustrate Biblical truths to him.  And I’m sure it was because those were the types of men that Timothy probably could identify with.

What these uber critical Bible teachers and preachers are missing here is the fact that Timothy was in a fight for his life.  He was in a fight for the extinction of the gospel.  Paul, his mentor and spiritual father, his erstwhile traveling companion whom he had traveled in dangerous conditions with all over the Roman Empire, was in prison again, rotting in a Roman dungeon awaiting his execution. And Timothy knew that the same fate more than likely awaited him.  I don’t think Timothy was scared to die, he might have been more inclined to take up arms and fight his way out of the persecution that had arisen against Christians. But Paul is writing to tell him not to fight with sword and spear, but to fight with spiritual means, and be wiling to suffer and even die for the gospel, which though it might appear to be defeat to the world will actually accomplish greater progress for the kingdom of God.

 I have to admit I get a little miffed at these preachers and commentators, even though I admire most of them on a certain  level.  But I’m a little irritated because they speak condescendingly about Timothy as some sort of sissy, as they write from the air conditioned comfort of their office in their multimillion dollar church building, sitting at their leather executive chair - arm chair warriors for Christ as they sip their Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte with their little pinkie sticking out.  And yet they have the nerve to denigrate someone like Timothy as being so timid and fearful that he gets an upset stomach. Meanwhile, you have to wonder how much suffering they have done lately for the gospel in comparison.

So Paul is not writing to a weakling, timid Timothy who needs to man up and stop sucking his thumb.  No!  Paul is writing to a hero of the faith, a man who had probably already risked his life more times than we can imagine. Most of the trials that Paul lists in 2 Corinthians could also be attributed to Timothy.  In 2 Corinithians Paul gives greetings from himself and Timothy in the introduction.  So we can assume that Timothy was with Paul for a lot of the trials listed in chapter 11:25-28 where Paul says, “Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea;  on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.  And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.”  

Those are the sort of things Timothy had experienced as well as he traveled with Paul on his missionary journeys.  So Timothy was no timid weakling. He was a warrior for the kingdom of God in every since of the word.  But what Paul is now counseling him about is that he should not fear dying for the gospel.  Timothy would in fact one day die as a martyr.  But until that day came, he should be confident that his life is hid in Christ, and the Lord was his defender and shield. 

I’ve often said, that there is no safer place than to be in the center of God’s will.  And there is no more dangerous place than to be out of God’s will. If you are a man or woman of God and you are living for the Lord and working for His kingdom, then you are bulletproof until the day you finish the job which God has called you to do.  When he is finished with you, then he may take your life, but until He decides to do so, nothing can hurt you. And what Timothy needs to be reminded of is that losing his life is part of the plan. But it’s not defeat, it’s victory.

So then Paul encourages Timothy to not fear what man can do, not fear what Satan might do, but bravely fight the good fight until death. The kind of courage that Paul is speaking of reminds me of the type of courage that was the hallmark of a Cheyenne military society that was in existence in the mid nineteenth century.  This particular military society was known as the Dog Soldiers.  In battle, these warriors would dismount and stake themselves to the ground by means of a sash tied around their body.  And from that position, which they were unable to leave, they would fight to either their death or victory. But whether or not they survived the battle was not really their goal, they were more concerned with whether or not they fought a good fight, fought with courage.

To encourage Timothy then in this fight to the death, Paul tells him to remember Jesus. Vs8, “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel.”Now how’s that for a battle cry?  Back in the days after the fall of the Alamo, where every man defending that fort died in battle, the Texans used it as a battle cry in their fight with Mexico.  Their battle cry which roused Texans to victory was “remember the Alamo!”  

Paul says, “remember Jesus!” That battle cry should stir our heart as well.  There are some important doctrinal truths that we should understand are enshrined in that cry.  First he says Remember Jesus Christ. That’s not to say that Timothy was in danger of forgetting about Jesus. By no means.  But rather to keep certain characteristics of Jesus foremost in his mind, as an example, which Timothy is to follow.

Notice he says remember Jesus Christ, that’s Jesus the Messiah.  Jesus is the Messiah, the Anointed One from God, the One promised in the OT who would crush Satan’s head, who would rule with a rod of iron, who would defeat all His enemies.

Secondly, he says “risen from the dead.” That fact should give great comfort and courage to Timothy, that as Christ rose from the dead, so we will be raised from the dead. 1Cor. 15:20-23 “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.  For since by a man [came] death, by a man also [came] the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.  But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming.” So first of all Jesus submitted Himself to death on a cross,  and then as Christ was raised from the dead, so we will be raised.

But I would like to explain that this verse is saying the body will be raised.  In the interim between death, or what is referred to as sleep for the Christian, the spirit of the man in Christ is alive. Jesus told the story of Lazarus and the rich man and they were taken to Paradise and Hades respectfully to await the resurrection. But they were alive in the interim.  Peter spoke of that interim stage in regards to Christ saying in 1Peter 3:18-19 “For Christ also died for sins once for all, [the] just for [the] unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;  in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits [now] in prison.” So as Christ was alive in the Spirit in death, so are we that believe in Him.

You know, there is no more fierce warrior than the one who does not fear death. For those who would believe in Him, Jesus said, “He who lives and believes in Me will never die.  Do you believe this?”  I ask you today two questions.  Do you believe in Christ? And secondly, do you believe that you will never die?  Or do you live in constant fear of death? I suggest to you that if you truly believed you will never die, then you would live differently than you do. Though this body may pass away, our soul and spirit will live forever. Those who have been born again in their spirit receive the life of Christ, which is eternal life, that they might never die and not fear death.

The next characteristic of Christ that Timothy should remember is that He is “the descendent of David.” At first that may seem a little out of place.  But this fact that Jesus is the descendent of David teaches us a couple of important doctrines.  First, it is a reference to the fact that Jesus was not some mythical figure, but an actual man, a descendant of the royal line of David. But being a descendant of David is necessary if He is the Messiah, the Anointed One from God, the One who will rule over the earth with a rod of iron. It means He is fully man and fully God.

But I think even more to Paul’s point is the inference that as King David was the representative of Israel so Jesus is the representative of the church.  What great feat was David known for?  Everyone knows that David killed Goliath the giant. What we need to understand from that is that David was a type of Jesus Christ.  When Goliath issued his challenge, it was that one man from each nation would come out and engage in battle, and the victor from that fight would win the battle for the nation.  David slew Goliath and in effect won the victory for his nation  over the Philistines.

So when we consider that Christ is the descendent of David, we should understand that He is our representative, who fought the battle against sin, and the world and death and Hades, and He defeated all his foes.  His resurrection was proof that He had overcome the devil and the world, and taken the keys of death and Hell. And in turn, our victory over sin and death was accomplished through Him.  Once again, Timothy might draw courage from remembering the battle which Jesus accomplished through His death, and that He arose from the grave victorious.

Now that is the gospel, the good news.  That Jesus Christ our substitute, paid our penalty for sin by His death on the cross, and by His stripes we are healed, by His death we are given life.  Timothy should be emboldened to give up his life if necessary for that same gospel, that others might be saved from death and given life.

Paul says in vs 9, that because of that gospel, he too is suffering.  He says, “for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal.”  Jesus was tried as a criminal.  And Paul was suffering as a criminal. Timothy would perhaps suffer as a criminal. I think the day is coming, when Christians here in America will suffer as a criminal.  If you believe and proclaim the true gospel of Jesus Christ, it will be considered hate speech.  It already is being outlawed on social media.  And I can imagine that in the not too distant future it won’t be that inconceivable that you can be arrested for speaking the truth of God’s word.

But though Paul, or Timothy or one day even we might be arrested and held in prison for the gospel, Paul says that the gospel is not imprisoned.  Vs 9, “but the word of God is not imprisoned.”  At that very moment, Paul was in prison writing the word of God in the letter to Timothy.  That letter was delivered to Timothy, and read in the churches, and it continues to be proclaimed to this day, 2000 years later.

Satan’s attempts to silence the gospel, to destroy the word of God have never been successful, and they never will be successful. As 1 Peter 1:25 states, “the word of Lord endures forever.” Martin Luther wrote a hymn of which the last stanza says, “The Word of God will never yield, to any creature living, He stands with us upon the field, His grace and Spirit giving.  Take they child and wife, goods, name, fame and life, though all this be done, yet have they nothing won, the kingdom still remaineth.” They burned at the stake William Tyndale for translating the Bible into English, and yet the torch that man lit by his sacrifice has become a fire that has engulfed the entire world. The gospel is not imprisoned.

This triumph of the gospel causes Paul to continue with these courageous words in vs 10 “For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus [and] with [it] eternal glory.”  Since the gospel will triumph, Paul endures all trials and persecutions, even to death. Though he is on death row, he is confident of victory, and whatever sufferings he has to endure he knows are only temporary and cannot compare to the glory that awaits him.

His sufferings he endures for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also my obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it, eternal glory.”  Paul is willing to lay down his life for the sake of others, that they may be saved.  That is love.  We often wonder about how to understand the command that Jesus gave concerning our responsibility to love one another, even to love our enemies.  Jesus said “no greater love has any man but this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”  That is love, to sacrifice your life so that others may live.  To disregard the desires and pleasures of life for yourself in order to share the gospel with others, so that they might be saved is the essence of fulfilling the command to love one another.

And that salvation produces what Paul refers to as eternal glory.  There is so much that could be said about that, but at the very least, it is a reference to eternal life.  Once again, Paul is emphasizing the eternal life that we have in Christ, as a reminder to Timothy to be courageous in the face of persecution and possible death.

A few moments ago I quoted part of a hymn that was written by Martin Luther.  I’ve often been tempted to learn how to play it on the guitar and then teach it to the church.  But it is not an easy hymn to play.  However, what it does well is teach sound doctrine.  That’s why we sing songs, not just to give praise to God as if God is just sitting in heaven wringing his hands, wishing we would praise Him.  We do praise Him in song, but just as importantly, we remind ourselves of the doctrines of our faith, and in song we confess our faith before men.  In past times, and I suppose even in the Armed Services today, there were battle songs that were sung to lift the men’s morale and encourage them in their duty.

Perhaps to achieve a similar result is why we sing Christian songs today. Or at least, it should be the reason we sing.  Hymns are a way to teach doctrine, and to assure our hearts of certain truths, and the recitation of those truths should encourage and strengthen our faith, and give us courage to face the battle.  The Psalms which we read on Sunday morning, and which we are also studying at this time on Wednesday evenings are examples of what hymns should be.

So Paul quotes what many Bible scholars believe is a popular hymn of the early church as a means to remind Timothy of certain truths, and to strengthen his faith to endure the trials that he must go through. Some have even called it a martyrs hymn.  It’s probably not the entire hymn, but a portion of it.  That hymn then is found in vs11, “It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him;  If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us;  If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.”

The phrase, “it is a trustworthy statement” may not be part of the hymn, but rather Paul is saying that this statement of the hymn is trustworthy, or reliable. He says it is trustworthy. Trust is a significant thing.  If you trust someone, or something, then you are willing to bet your life on it.  And I think that is what Paul is indicating here.  That here are some truths that you can bank on, that you can trust with your life.

The first line is “For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him.”  This is the underlying theme of the whole passage; this idea of facing death without fear, knowing that the life we have with the Lord is eternal, it will never die.

But it has an even deeper meaning than that. It also is talking about our salvation.  If we died with Christ, speaks of when He as our representative man died in our place, we that trust in Him for salvation also died with Him.  We died to the old man, and we are raised up spiritually to live for  Him.  We see that illustrated in baptism.  I often say when I dip the person under the water, “buried with Christ in the likeness of His death,” and then when I raise them up from the water, I say “raised with Him in the likeness of His resurrection.”  That’s a picture of what happens when we are saved.  We die with Christ to sin, die to the old man, and are raised with him in newness of life in the likeness of His resurrection.

Rom 6:4-11 says, “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.  For if we have become united with [Him] in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be [in the likeness] of His resurrection,  knowing this, that our old self was crucified with [Him,] in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;  for he who has died is freed from sin.  Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,  knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.  For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.  Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

That statement then should give Timothy and us the courage to face death.  But it also gives us the assurance that we have the power over sin, and the power to live the life that we have been given in Christ. 

The next statement is “if we endure, we shall also reign with Him.” If we endure the trials here on earth in the flesh, if we endure persecutions and afflictions, even if necessary unto death, then we will receive a reward in heaven.  We who are servants here will be kings with Him there.  I don’t know exactly how we will reign, or over whom we will reign, but we shall receive a crown, an inheritance, which the Lord compares with reigning as kings.  Peter calls it a royal priesthood. One thing is for sure, the promise is trustworthy that if we endure trials here on earth for the kingdom of God, then we will reign with Christ when His kingdom is consummated.

The third stanza says, “I we deny Him, He will also deny us.” How do we deny Christ? The foremost reason would be they deny Jesus the rightful place as Lord of their lives.  They deny that He is the Savior of the world, the Messiah sent from God.  They deny that He is God incarnate, and that He died on the cross and was resurrected from the dead and now sits at the Father’s right hand.  They deny the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  The cry of the Israelites at His first coming was, “we will not have this man rule over us.”  That is to deny Christ.  Jesus said it plainly: “But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:33). There is a fate worse than earthly persecution.  And that is to find yourself at the judgment seat of God, and Jesus says, “depart from Me, I never knew you.”

The last stanza says, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” 

If we are faithless… what does that mean?  I don’t know that it speaks of a lack of faith, because no man can be saved without faith in Christ.  It may refer to the temporary lack of faith in the face of persecution that Peter fell victim to when he denied the Lord.  Did Peter lose his salvation that night around the fire of the soldiers who had arrested Jesus?  He certainly denied knowing Jesus, and he cursed to add assurance to his claim.  

But I don’t think the Bible teaches that Peter lost his salvation.  I think it’s obvious that Peter was saved, and his conviction afterwards is evidence of that.  But what is important is that Christ did not prove faithless when Peter had a failing of faith.  Jesus prophesied in Luke 22:31-34 "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded [permission] to sift you like wheat;  but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."  But he said to Him, "Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!"  And He said, "I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.”  

We are told that after Peter’s denial, after Christ’s resurrection, the Lord sought out Peter and restored him, and gave him the ministry to feed His sheep, and tend His lambs.  The Lord is faithful. Salvation is of the Lord. The Lord understands our weaknesses.  He loves us with an everlasting love.  I think another illustration of the faithfulness of the Lord is the story of the prodigal son.  We all know the story.  A son told his father that he wanted his inheritance and his father gave it to him.  But the son went to a far away country and spent his money foolishly on wild living. But soon he found himself with no money left, and took a job tending pigs that he might eat the pods that were their food. At some point he came to his senses, and realized that even a hired servant fared better in his father’s house than he was doing.  And so he decided to come home and ask his father to make him as one of the hired servants.  But when he was still a long ways off from home, his father looked down the road and saw him walking a long way off.  And the father hitched up his skirts and started running down the road, and when he got to his son, he embraced him, pig smell and all, and took him home and cleaned him up and restored him to his rightful place in the home.  That’s a picture of a faithful God who cannot deny Himself.  He cannot deny that this is His son. He cannot deny His love for His son. And so He will do whatever it takes to restore those who may have fallen, those who have drifted away, those who think they no longer want to be under the care of their father.  Yet the faithfulness of God never fails. The Lord will restore the lost sheep, the wandering lamb who fell into sin.  Because the lamb belongs to Him.

There is an old hymn that we used to sing in church when I was a boy.  I haven’t heard it for years.  And I will close with this;

1 I've wandered far away from God, Now I'm coming home; 

The paths of sin too long I've trod, Lord, I'm coming home.

Refrain: Coming home, coming home, Nevermore to roam, 

Open wide Thine arms of love, Lord, I'm coming home.

2 I've wasted many precious years, Now I'm coming home; 

I now repent with bitter tears, Lord, I'm coming home. [Refrain] 

3 I've tired of sin and straying, Lord, Now I'm coming home; 

I'll trust Thy love, believe Thy word, Lord, I'm coming home. [Refrain] 

4 My soul is sick, my heart is sore, Now I'm coming home; 

My strength renew, my hope restore, Lord, I'm coming home. [Refrain]

If that song describes you today, I hope that you will come home to Christ today.  He is waiting, and He is willing to restore you, to strengthen you, and give you hope.  

Four exercises for building faith, 2 Timothy 2:1-7

                               

At this point in the letter, in light of all that has been said before, Paul is now telling Timothy, his son in the faith, to grow stronger in his faith, to be strengthened in his faith.  He says in vs 1, “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” What Paul is calling for is simply for Timothy to grow stronger in his salvation.  The grace that is in Christ Jesus is just another way of referring to salvation, which he said in ch.1 vs 5 he is sure that Timothy had, just as his mother and grandmother had, and which of course Paul himself has.

So by extension, we that are saved are encouraged to grow stronger in our salvation.  I think that is a reference to the need for spiritual maturity.  To be strong in the faith does not speak of somehow gaining the faith to do greater and greater works, but it means to exercise your faith so that your faith grows stronger, more mature.  When we are saved we are said to be born again. But that new life we have is not a static position that we stay in for the rest of our lives.  We are not born again to remain infants, or even children in the faith, but our new life should grow,  become stronger, and become mature, complete.

As James said in James 1:2-4 “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,  knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have [its] perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”  So also Timothy in enduring trials, even persecution, suffering with Paul as he said in chapter one, vs8 saying, “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with [me] in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God…” In that suffering, Timothy’s faith would be matured, he would be strengthened with the power of God.

I’m sure all of us know that in physical exercise we gain strength in our bodies. We go to the gym and put our bodies through a trial, through suffering, in order to gain strength.  Strength is not gained by sitting on the couch watching television, eating junk food. If we are to be strengthened, we have to cause our bodies to suffer exertion, fatigue, and soreness in order for our muscles to grow.

There is a fitness guy whose videos I sometimes watch on YouTube. Sometimes I confess I watch videos about working out, rather than actually working out myself.  And I get tired just watching this guy’s videos. But this guy’s  name is David Goggins.  You may have heard of him.  He is an ex Navy Seal who used to weigh over 300 pounds, and was in a dead end job, but somehow became motivated to try to become a Navy Seal.  In that process he put himself through rigorous training and physical discipline and ended up losing around 100 pounds in three months and eventually made it through Seal training, though it took him three tries to get through what they  call BUDS, which is the training school they are required to pass.  Since his retirement from the Navy, he has written some books about his perspective on life and his dedication to training.  His mantra is “stay hard” or “stay strong.”  And it speaks of his dedication to put his body to the test physically every day, and push himself beyond the limits of what he feels like doing, what he thinks he can do, and the result is that he is able to do much more than anyone would think was possible.  He has competed in many ultra marathons that were each around a 100 mile or more races.

Now David Goggins is an illustration of physical strength, and the ongoing need for endurance and to keep building on that strength everyday.  But Paul is talking about spiritual strength and endurance, and the maturity that we need to be striving for everyday.  But the similarity between the physical and the spiritual is this, that maturity or strength or endurance does not happen outside of a struggle, outside of exercise, outside of trials.  But persevering in faith through trials produces maturity, or the perfection our faith.

So Paul urges Timothy to “stay strong.” Apply endurance, don’t shrink back from trials, don’t quit, don’t try to sit it out.  Christianity is not a life spent on the couch, but it is a life spent in conflict.  And in light of that need to be strong, Paul is going to give Timothy four exercises if you will to help him reach that goal of spiritual maturity, of perfection.  So we as well can apply these four exercises in order to be strengthened in our faith.

The first exercise is to teach others. If you’ve ever taken an exercise class, it’s very likely that the fittest person in the room is the one who is teaching the class.  Paul says in vs 2, “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” One sure way to grow in your faith is to teach others.  I suppose it’s true of other disciplines as well. Because when you teach you must first learn the principles for yourself, and then process them in a way that breaks it down so that others can understand it, and then rehearse those principles for them.  

There is nothing that hardens and strengthens your doctrine like teaching.  Teaching then is an exercise that has a dual benefit, in that it works to strengthen your faith, and it works to strengthen other’s faith as well. And so in a greater sense of the church at large, teaching is the means by which we strengthen THE faith.  We build the kingdom of God through teaching.

Notice what Timothy was to teach though.  He was to teach the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses.  He is referring to the preaching of word of God that he had heard from Paul.  The gospel. What in verse 13 of the previous chapter he called “sound words which you have heard from me.” In vs 8 of that chapter he called it the “gospel according to the power of God.” 

Listen, teaching that has any life giving or strength giving properties is going to be teaching that is the gospel, sound doctrine, the word of God, which has the power to save souls. It is not teaching that is based on worldly philosophies, or on the wisdom of this world.  But it is teaching  spiritual words from God, which are powerful, living, and sharper than a two edged sword, able to divide between soul and spirit, joint and marrow. You don’t grow  spiritual strength or maturity by teaching worldly fables, or sentimental stories, or psychological self help sermonettes.  You strengthen the soul with the word of God.

I ran across a quote the other day by DL Moody which speaks of the relationship between faith and the word of God that I think applies to this.  He said, “I prayed for faith, and thought that same day faith would come down and strike me like lightning. But faith did not seem to come. One day I read in the tenth chapter of Romans “So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” I had closed my Bible and prayed for faith. I now opened my Bible, and began to study, and faith has been growing ever since.”

So teaching the word of God is the first exercise to strengthen our faith.  The second exercise Paul gives is enduring hardship, which he illustrates by the life of a soldier.  He says in vs3 “Suffer hardship with [me,] as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.”  Notice, he doesn’t say enjoy peace and prosperity with me.  He doesn’t say enjoy blessing and perfect health with me. No, iron must be forged in a furnace, and silver must be refined in a fire. Endurance in trials, in testing, is the means of building strength.

Peter spoke of fiery trials that we must go through in 1Peter 4:12-13 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;  but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.”  

Paul says embrace suffering along with me.  Paul certainly suffered in so many ways for the faith.  Paul said in chapter one, for Timothy not to be ashamed of his suffering. And Paul himself was not ashamed of his suffering, because he knew it was not in vain, but for the glory of the gospel.

Soldiers suffer all sorts of hardships for the glory of their country.  They suffer tremendously just in training, such as David Goggins went through in BUDS training.  Unbelievable physical suffering that they have to endure for the privilege of being able to call themselves a soldier. And then once they have deployed, they must go through the suffering of being separated from their loved ones, being in constant danger, being under attack from the enemy, unable to enjoy the pleasures of life that their friends seem to be enjoying back home.

Paul speaking of his service and his suffering compared it to his detractors in 2Cor. 11:23-28 saying,  “Are they servants of Christ?--I speak as if insane--I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death.  Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine [lashes.]  Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep.  [I have been] on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from [my] countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren;  [I have been] in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.  Apart from [such] external things, there is the daily pressure on me [of] concern for all the churches.”

Now most of us will never have to endure the hardships that Paul suffered.  But the question is not how much suffering we endure, but whether or not we enlist to serve as a soldier in the kingdom of God.  The average Christian today is like the draft dodgers of the 60’s. “Yeah, I’m an American, but I’m not going to fight for my country. I’m going to let someone else suffer as a soldier. I”m not going to Vietnam, I’m going to drop out and sing songs about peace and love instead. Yeah, that’ll work.”

The reason that we don’t want to be soldiers is because we don’t recognize we are at war. We don’t recognize that the enemy is destroying our families and friends. But Paul repeatedly tells us in the scriptures that we are at war.  Consider 2Cor. 10:3-4 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,  for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.”

And Eph 6:11-12 “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual [forces] of wickedness in the heavenly [places.]”

So if we understand that we are at war, then it makes sense that we are soldiers, and we should expect some trials due to that conflict.  And to that point then, we should have the perspective that Paul gives in vs 4, “No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.”  Entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life.  What does that mean? I think it might be explained in another analogy of a runner that is used in Hebrews 12:1, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares [us], and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”  The affairs of this life that entangle us might be sin, but they might also be hindrances or weights, that cause us to slow down, to get tired, to become distracted from the race that we have been given to run.

So we suffer as a soldier so that we might please the One who enlisted us as a soldier.  If you love the Lord you will try to please the Lord, you will serve the Lord. I think of the soldiers under David, when he was in a long protracted battle, and he said in 2Samuel 23:15-17 "Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate!"  So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water from the well of Bethlehem which was by the gate, and took [it] and brought [it] to David. Nevertheless he would not drink it, but poured it out to the LORD;  and he said, "Be it far from me, O LORD, that I should do this. [Shall I drink] the blood of the men who went in [jeopardy] of their lives?" Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.” How could our love for the Lord demand any less sacrifice, how  could we suffer less for our King who has given us life and immortality and an inheritance in His kingdom?

The next exercise for strengthening our faith is illustrated by another metaphor, and this one is of an athlete.  He says in vs 5,  “Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules.” The idea that is presented here is first of all striving to win, that is expressed in the concept of competes. You play a sport to win, don’t you?  That’s the goal.  And to win, you must strive.  In that sense it’s similar to the battle of the soldier. He is fighting an enemy for the prize which is victory.  In the realm of athletics, we strive for victory over our opponent as well.

Our opponent has already been disclosed in previous verses we looked at. “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual [forces] of wickedness in the heavenly [places.]” This is our opponent, a competition for the souls of men. To win men and women to the kingdom of God is the goal of this endeavor.

Paul says if you are to win the prize, you must compete according to the rules.  What is he talking about here?  Is he presenting a template of legalism that we must keep if we are to enter the kingdom of God? No, not at all.  What he is saying is that our faith must be according to the gospel of God.  The word of God is the law of God, the rules which God has ordained must be kept. For example, Timothy must preach and teach the truth of God, the sound words which he received from Paul, and preach out of a sacrificial love for others, or he will not win the prize, which is the salvation of souls for the kingdom of God.  Only the gospel has the power to save souls.  There is no salvation in a social gospel, or another gospel which is not founded on the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ who died for sinners.  So you must fight, or must compete, you must strive by being faithful to the word of God.

The last exercise for the strengthening of faith is found in another metaphor, this time of a farmer.  He says in vs 6, “The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops.” I have heard this verse used in a variety of ways, almost always without considering the context in which we find it.  I am guilty of that as well.  But in thinking and considering the full context of this passage, I have changed my understanding of this verse.

But rather than telling you all the ways it is misinterpreted, I want to just focus on what Paul is saying.  I think the point he is making here is that if you are to be strengthened in the faith, or matured in your faith, it will be due to hard work.  Now that is going to go against the grain of the “by faith alone, by grace alone” crowd. I agree wholeheartedly with Ephesians 2:8 which says, We are saved by grace through faith and that not of ourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.”

But most people take that verse out of context as well.  Because the very next verse says this; “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  So we are not saved by good works, but we are saved FOR good works.  Did you get that?  We are not saved by our good works, but we are saved for good works. That means we that are saved have a job to do, a service to perform, a duty that calls.

And as Paul indicates in this metaphor here, that work we are given to do we should work hard at.  It requires some effort.  Isn’t that what he has been saying all along?  Suffer, endurance, trials, discipline, etc all speak of some effort that must be expended on our part in our path of sanctification. Sanctification is not done in an easy chair watching the TBN station, or driving your Mercedes while listening to K Love on the radio. 

Paul relates it to a hard working farmer.  Now that should prompt us to ask what is the other famous analogy of farming that is found in scripture? Is it not the parable of the sower that Jesus gave?  And what was the farmer in that parable sowing?  Jesus said the seed was the word of God.  Boy, we just can’t get away from the essentiality of the word of God, can we?  The sower went out to sow and he sowed the word of God on all the ground in his farm.  And some fell on good ground and some fell on bad ground.  But the seed which fell on good ground took root and grew up and bore fruit.

Now then, in light of that parable, we can see that Paul is saying that if we work hard at sowing the word of God, then we should be able to see the fruit of that sowing.  One thing is for sure, the lazy farmer doesn’t see much of a crop. It takes diligence and hard work to teach and preach the gospel to every living creature.  To go into all the world and proclaim the gospel is not something we can do from our living room easy chair. 

But just as teaching is a means of growth in the Christian, so is working in the vineyard a means of growing as a Christian. Psalm 126:5-6 says, “Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.  He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying [his] bag of seed, Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves [with him.]”. Prayer is  work.  Witnessing is work. And Paul indicates that we may increase our productivity by working hard at it. Increase our production, increase our labor, and the dual benefit is we grow in our faith, and we minister to also grow in faith.

The last statement in vs 7 says, “Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” Paul gave the previous metaphors without really breaking it down for us as to how to apply it to our faith.  But he says that if you  consider it the Lord will give you understanding.  That means if you meditate on the word, the Holy Spirit will illumine your mind so that you can understand the word.  I spoke of this the other night at Bible study.  We so often give a cursory reading to a Psalm or a passage of scripture and not really get what it’s talking about.  But I said one helpful hint in studying a passage is to read it again and again.  The more your read it and meditate on it, the more insight the Holy Spirit will give you. That’s the Holy Spirit’s job by the way. His job isn’t to give you goosebumps, or make the hair on your arms stand up, his job is to give you understanding.

Jesus said concerning the Spirit’s function; John 16:13-14  "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose [it] to you.”  

I hope if you are a Christian that you will recognize today that is not a static position, but it’s a life that is patterned after the footsteps of Jesus Christ.  We don’t just believe in Him, but we follow Him, doing as He did, serving Him, working for the kingdom of God as His ministers.  I trust that you will not take lightly these admonitions to you today, and exercise the grace that has been given to you, teaching others the truth of the gospel, working diligently for the kingdom, striving in your proclamation of the gospel so that you may please the One who enlisted you, so you may win the prize, and share in the crop of the harvest of souls.

Guard the gospel, 2 Timothy 1:13-18

I want to first review the overall theme of this first chapter before we consider the details of this last couple of paragraphs at the end.  Sometimes, I think that in attempting to exposit the word, verse by verse, we fall victim to the old adage that we can’t see the forest for the trees.  We have spent weeks now going verse by verse through this chapter, and it’s good if we remind ourselves of the main thought and purpose that Paul is trying to convey.

So to begin with, we need to remember that Paul is in prison as he writes this letter, and the Lord has revealed to him that he will not get out of there alive.  The time of his death is imminent.  He says in chapter 4 vs 6 “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.”  There is no greater gravitas in a man’s life than realizing that your death is imminent.  I don’t think that I would want to know my life was soon to be over.  Perhaps it would be easier to go in your sleep. 

But the Psalmist said there was a benefit in knowing that your days are numbered.  Psalm 90:12 says, “So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.” We should live each day like it was to be our last.  If we lived like that, then I am sure we would live life quite differently.  I am sometimes amazed to see people that look as though they might not make it much past dinner, and yet they are involved in activities that seem to defy any sense of their mortality.  And contrarily, it is almost just as disheartening to see young people waste so much of their invaluable time and resources, as if they thought that their youth would never end.

Irregardless, Paul recognizes his time is close, and so he writes this last letter to his son in the faith, to make sure that he passes on all that he possibly can in order to strengthen and encourage Timothy in his faith. It would seem that Timothy was feeling a little of what a lot of Christians must have been feeling at that time. They were fearing for their lives. Nero was emperor.  He had burned Rome and blamed it on the Christians. And as a result, Christians were being rounded up and exterminated.  It was said that Nero illuminated his garden by the burning bodies of Christians who were tied to poles placed around the palace grounds.  Christians were public enemy number one, and Paul was personally suffering from that national purge, at this point rotting in a dungeon, which was probably not more than a hole in the ground with a metal grate over it. And furthermore, he knew by the Spirit that he was going to be executed.

So in light of this persecution against Christians,  Paul writes to Timothy to be courageous, to not be fearful, but to continue his ministry by the power of the Holy Spirit and be bold in the proclamation of the gospel. He reminds him of the faith of their forefathers, and the faith of Timothy’s mother Eunice and grandmother Lois.  All those saints, though dead, had persevered in the faith. He reminds him that he himself had persevered in the faith in spite of persecutions, imprisonments, and abandonment by associates.  And so he tells Timothy to rekindle the fire of his faith, not let it grow cold or even be hidden, but to join with Paul in suffering for the gospel.

We must not skim over that exhortation of Paul.  In effect, he is telling young Timothy that he needs to prepare to possibly lose his own life for the sake of the gospel.  A lot of preachers and Bible commentators make much over the timidity of Timothy, as if he is some sort of sissy, or lightweight.  But I wouldn’t be surprised to find out in heaven that Timothy was quite a man, in every sense of the word. I wouldn’t be surprised to find that he was bold and courageous, far beyond what we might be in similar circumstances.  But he is facing possible torture and death and Paul is saying don’t shy away from it. Some ancient non biblical writings say that Timothy did eventually die around 80 years old as a martyr by stoning for preaching the gospel.

But here is the thing that is behind Paul’s exhortation.  What’s behind this urgency is Paul’s assertion that the gospel is the antidote for death. The whole world is condemned to death and to eternal separation from God. The whole world lies in the power of darkness and are dead in their trespasses and sins.  And only the gospel can save them.  Only the power of the gospel can deliver men and women from eternal damnation and destruction. And Paul and Timothy were the men that God had chosen to bring the gospel to a dying world.  They were on an urgent mission of mercy to save souls. Their mission was so important that it was well worth risking or even sacrificing their lives for it.

In our society today we see some people who are convinced that the world is being destroyed by climate change or some environmental concern.  These people are called eco warriors, or environmental activists.  These people are so concerned for the safety of the planet that they are willing to make great sacrifices in their own lives in order to do what they think will preserve the planet.  I don’t necessarily agree with their agenda, but I must say I admire their zeal and passion for what they believe in.  Some of them I’m sure really believe they are doing what is essential for the preservation of humanity.

But I wonder if Christians have an equal zeal and passion for the saving of humanity.  If we really believed the gospel then we might have a different attitude towards reaching the lost with the truth.  I said last week that there are two sides to the gospel.  Paul said in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Paul goes on in the next verses of that passage  that in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, and the wrath of God is revealed against unrighteousness.  Both aspects need to be revealed, both God’s gift of righteousness and God’s wrath against unrighteousness. That is the full gospel that leads to salvation.  It’s a matter of life or death. And we need to understand that we have in the gospel the only answer to death, the only way to life.

The English Puritan pastor Richard Baxter once famously wrote of preaching the gospel as a dying man to dying men.  He was emphasizing the urgency of the gospel.  But I think that it is more accurate to think of it as a living man preaching to dying men with the message of life.

The gospel is worth sacrificing for. It’s worth dying for. We need not fear dying, because we that have believed the gospel have been given immortality.  Paul said as much in vs 10,  “[the gospel] now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”  So Timothy should not be ashamed of it, should not be fearful of the consequences of preaching it, because he is immortal, and the gospel is the only means by which the world can be saved from death.

Now as Paul concludes this section of his exhortation, he goes on to add another concern that he has for Timothy, and that is that Timothy guard the gospel.  That he holds fast the sound doctrine which comprises the gospel.  He says in vs 13, “Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.”  I don’t think the NASB does the word rendered “retain” justice.  The KJV says “hold fast.” Don’t let the gospel, or what he calls sound words, slip away.  The ESV says “follow the pattern.” I kind of like that one; in other words, follow the blueprint I laid down for you.  Follow the pattern of sound doctrine that was given to you and don’t deviate from it.

We speak a lot about doctrine in this church, especially sound doctrine as opposed to false doctrine.  But what does doctrine mean?  It simply means teaching.  Principles and precepts laid out in the word of God.  Soundness means you can trust it. We talk about a banking institution being sound.  Sound doctrine then is principles that arise from the word of God, the pure milk of the word, the truth of God.  

Listen, if the gospel is the antidote for death, then it’s important that the antidote is not watered down, it is not adulterated, it is not added to, it is not based on false premises or worldly knowledge or the world’s wisdom. If, as Paul says in Romans 1:16, the gospel is the power of God unto salvation for all the world, then it must retain the sound doctrine that God gave it.  Christ gave the gospel to Paul.  It wasn’t some concoction of Paul’s, or Peters, or anyone else. Paul said in 1 Corinthians, “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you…”. Paul was faithful to retain the sound words of Christ, and pass them on in his epistles to the church, and particularly to entrust their keeping to Timothy.  Now Timothy was  to be responsible for preserving the soundness of the gospel.

The gospel was under attack then, and it is under attack today.  The gospel is under attack from within the church and from without the church.  Paul describes the attacks from within the church in chapter 4 vs 3, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but [wanting] to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” 

Why would professing Christians do such a thing?  Because they were ashamed of the gospel.  The gospel is offensive.  People think that if the message isn’t all about love, then it isn’t going to be accepted, and they aren’t going to be accepted or liked by the world.  And so they water down the gospel. I will give you the acid test for you to take back to your church to see if they have watered down the gospel.  I suggest that you to keep track of how often the pastor speaks about sin. How often does he call out certain things as sin, and how often does he call for repentance from sin? I would suggest to you that if the calling out of sin as sin is a rarity in your church, then they have already capitulated to the world.

So Timothy, and by extension, we here today, must follow the pattern of  sound doctrine.  Don’t deviate from it to try to conciliate or accommodate the world.  Only in it’s purity is the gospel effectual. And then notice he adds, “in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.” In the faith means an unswerving belief, a deep seated belief.  It’s assurance that these things are so. It’s not a type of thinking which says, “well, as long as you believe in something that is all that matters.” It’s a firm conviction that the truth of God is absolutely true, that it’s just as relevant today as it was 2000 years ago, and that the word of God endures forever and is unchanging.

Paul spoke earlier of the fatih of his forefathers. Did you know that some of our forefathers in the faith died for the word of God?  For the privilege of reading the word of God?  William Tyndale was such a man, a man to whom we owe most of our translation of the Bible.  He was the first to translate the Bible into English from the original Greek and Hebrew languages and he was eventually executed for that crime. Wikipedia says “In 1535, Tyndale was arrested, and jailed in the castle of Vilvoorde outside Brussels for over a year. In 1536, he was convicted of heresy and executed by strangulation, after which his body was burnt at the stake. His dying prayer was that the King of England's eyes would be opened; this seemed to find its fulfillment just one year later with Henry's authorization of the Matthew Bible, which was largely Tyndale's work.” That’s an example of not being ashamed of the gospel.  That’s an example of the faith of a man that knew that the only hope for the world was the gospel, which is contained in the word of God, and that it was worth the greatest sacrifice in order to see that men had the opportunity to hear the gospel. 

And that’s an illustration of the love that Paul speaks of at the end of vs 13.  The love the Bible speaks of is not sentimentality.  It’s not just an emotion.  But it’s a sacrificial concern for the well being of others above your own needs.  That is love.  Jesus said, no greater love has any man than this, than a man lay down his life for his friends.  William Tyndale had a love for others that caused him to give his life so that they might have the gospel in written form.

Paul goes on to give further instructions to Timothy in regards to the gospel in vs 14. “Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to [you.]”. Paul speaks of the gospel as a treasure, which Timothy must guard against attacks from the enemies from without and within.  This is not an idle exhortation.  Timothy is to keep watch over the gospel as a sentinel would keep watch over camp, or over a garrison.  A watchman, a sentinel must call out when danger approaches.  He must be on guard against subterfuge.  He must be vigilant night or day.

Listen, the gospel is a treasure beyond our comprehension.  When the crowds left Jesus because of the offensiveness of His gospel, Jesus asked the disciples, will you leave me now also?  And Peter responded, “Where are we to go? For you have the words of life.”  Peter got it.  There is no greater treasure than the words of life, the sound words of Christ, the doctrine of salvation, the truth of God.

The apostle John wrote in 1John 1:1-3 “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life-- and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us--  what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.”  What a treasure is this word of life, and we must guard it, that it’s power may not be diminished, and that souls might be saved.

And Paul adds that Timothy must guard it by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. That power of the Holy Spirit would be what would make Timothy triumph over the enemies attacks. The Spirit gave him discernment when the enemy tried to confuse, or to question.  The Spirit gave him insight, when the false teachers tried to undermine the gospel.  The number one tactic of the devil is to lie, and his second tactic is to deceive. But in the power of the Holy Spirit, we are given discernment and sound judgment so that we may disarm him.

In the last paragraph of this chapter, Paul gives two examples of other Christians as illustrations of either being ashamed of the gospel, or not being ashamed of the gospel.  These two examples are likely people that Timothy knew well from his ministry in Ephesus.  He first gives the negative example in vs 15 “You are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes.”  

We don’t know who Phygelus and Hermogenes are, or their background.  This is the only place in scripture they are mentioned.  We have no record of their activities, but we do have their names engraved on the hall of shame. Certainly though Timothy knew these men.  It is suggested by some scholars that they may have been neighboring pastors.  And it would seem that somehow they had an opportunity to help Paul, either in his legal defense, or in some sort of assistance to him while he was in prison.  And yet Paul says that they turned away from him. Others also had turned away from him in his hour of need, but these men perhaps were the leaders.  

Undoubtedly, they thought that to be considered as associates of Paul was not a healthy thing in that political climate.  Paul had captured a lot of attention, and was obviously a man who had spent a lot of time in prison, in beatings, had fought with the lions, had even been stoned and left for dead.  Common sense would tell you that if you hung around Paul, or were an associate of Paul, then you could expect a similar fate.  And so when the going got tough, they abandoned ship.  They deserted Paul and tried to get as much distance from him and his gospel as possible.

The other example is a good example of a man who is not ashamed of the gospel.  Paul speaks of him in vs 16, “The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains;  but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me--  the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day--and you know very well what services he rendered at Ephesus.” 

Onesiphorus is another person of whom we know very little.  He is mentioned only here in 2 Timothy.  His name may give us some insight into his character though.  It means “bringing profit.” It’s obvious from Paul’s statement that he brought profit to Paul, he often refreshed Paul and was not ashamed of his chains.  Perhaps he brought food to Paul, or clothing.  These things were not always prohibited when someone was in prison.  In fact, Paul asks Timothy at the end of this letter to bring some things such as his cloak and the parchments. 

But it’s likely that Onesiphorus went out of his way to serve Paul in his imprisonment.  First, Paul says that he had to search all over the city of Rome for Paul.  That in and of itself would have been a dangerous thing, especially since Paul was such a persona non grata to the Roman authorities. It seems that he had traveled there from Ephesus in order to look for Paul in Rome.  That journey would also have not been without great danger and expense.

But what one commentator at least suggested that is really telling about the character of Onesiphorus, was he suggested that he might have ended up losing his life as a result of this desire to serve Paul.  And that is indicated by the fact that Paul says he sends greetings to the house of Onesiphorus.  And then in the last chapter, he says give his greetings to the household of Oneshiphorus.  It’s possible that Paul wished them well, and asked for God’s mercies upon them because Onesiphorus had lost his life in the service of the gospel. Now that is conjecture, but the wording does make it seem as though Paul is blessing his family, but the man himself has passed away.

Whether that is true or not we will have to wait until we get to heaven to know for sure.  But one thing we do know for sure is that the name of Onesiphorus is written on the hall of fame of the faithful. Paul says, he was not ashamed of my chains.  He made a tremendous sacrifice for the sake of the gospel, and possibly even made the ultimate sacrifice.  But either way, Paul wishes for Onesiphorus, that the the Lord would grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day. That day refers to the day of judgment, the judgement seat of the Lord which everyone will one day stand in front of.

Paul said of his own faith and the fate which he was to face in chapter 4 vs 7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;  in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

It is daunting to be sure to endure criticism and judgment from your peers or from your community.  It would be frightening to be judged by a court of law here on earth because of your faith as a Christian, or to have to bear the punishment for such a crime as did William Tyndale. But there is one tribunal that everyman and woman on earth will one day be judged by. If needs be we suffer judgement here on earth by the world’s courts then so be it.  But I can guarantee that the reward of the faithful at the judgment seat of the Lord will make all those trials here on earth seem insignificant in comparison.  

I trust that you will follow the example of Paul and Timothy and Onesiphorus, and not be ashamed of the gospel, but because of your love for God and your love for your fellow man, sacrifice whatever you have to give in order to share the good news of salvation to a lost and dying world.  There is no greater love than this.  There is no more noble purpose in life.

Unashamed of the gospel, 2 Timothy 1:8-12

             

Last time, as we introduced this letter of Paul to Timothy, his son in the faith, we noted that it was the faith of his fathers that Paul said he was passing on to Timothy.  In that statement, Paul was referencing the faith of the patriarchs, the prophets and other saints of the Old Testament period, which he said was the same faith that he had.  And I extrapolated from that passage the exhortation that we should endeavor to pass on our faith to our children, from our generation to the next.  I also talked from a personal perspective as my father had been a pastor, and how he had passed on his faith to me.  

My father has been dead about 33 years now, but I find that I am more aligned with his beliefs now than when he was living.  But I must confess that when I was growing up, I was somewhat ashamed of my dad’s profession.  I would dread those times at school when a teacher or some classmates would ask what our fathers did for a living.  I would dread it because I thought that by extension his profession became intertwined with my identity.  And in daily practice, I guess subconsciously I tried to do everything I could to oppose that identity.

Perhaps Paul senses a certain reluctance of his son in the faith, Timothy, to publicly and boldly identify with the ministry of Paul.  That may seem incongruous to us as we think about Timothy in light of the scriptures.  After all, Timothy was a pastor, the personal representative of the apostle Paul.  He was someone who was greatly instrumental in the advance of the gospel in it’s infancy.

Yet if I had to guess, I would suspect that many of us here today find ourselves somewhat embarrassed of our faith.  I would confess that even I find myself sometimes hesitant to let people know that I am a pastor.  I guess I feel that people will treat me differently, or not be as friendly with me, or harbor certain expectations of me that I might not fill.  

My wife and son and I went on a boat trip a couple of weeks ago in Chincoteague, Virginia.  It was a small boat, and only one other couple was on board.  The captain was an old local fisherman who loved to talk.  And right off the bat, in a very loud voice,  he yelled across the boat and asked what kind of work that I did.  I told him I was a pastor, but I admit, I was somewhat worried about what his response might be.   Turns out, my response led him on a very loud rant about religion and various churches he had been in, that lasted about 15 minutes.  There was no harm in what he said, but I have to admit it was a bit uncomfortable at times, not knowing what he was going to say next, and somehow feeling responsible for everything he did say.

I think most people who are truly saved recognize that our beliefs are increasingly at odds with the culture we live in.  Our faith attracts criticism like a lightening rod. Any expression of our faith is not really welcomed in public society, and as such we feel defensive, or even afraid to speak of it, for fear of being ostracized or criticized by the culture we live in.

Perhaps such a feeling of embarrassment, or uncomfortableness on Timothy’s part is what Paul has in mind in vs 8.  He says “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with [me] in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God.”  Now we that study the Bible know that when we see the word therefore, we need to find out what it is there for. And in this case, “therefore” refers back to the previous verse, in which Paul said, “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.”

Now that expression is a description of the Holy Spirit who has been given to Timothy and to all believers.  1Cor. 3:16 tells us, “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and [that] the Spirit of God dwells in you?”  And in Rom 8:9 it says, “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”

So the Spirit that God had given to indwell Timothy was the Spirit of power, love and discipline. The Spirit then is not something that should make you socially self conscious, or afraid to reveal, or in some way ashamed of.  The Spirit of God is the power of God in you.  Remember Jesus said to the disciples when they were awaiting the giving of the Holy Spirit, He said “you shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit shall come upon you and you shall be My witnesses.”

The power of the Holy Spirit is something that as Christians we cannot operate without. But there is a misunderstanding of the power of the Holy Spirit in the church today.  They want to have the power of the Spirit to do miraculous signs and wonders.  But they don’t see much purpose in that power other than in miracles.  They don’t see the power of the Holy Spirit is the means by which we are witnesses of the gospel, that we are able to do the works of righteousness, that we are able to have control over our bodies and minds, and the power over sin and over death.  Those are tremendous aspects of the Holy Spirit’s power.  We could have no power over sin except by the Holy Spirit.  He is the only way we have the power to live the life of Christ. He is the only way we have power over death.

So Paul is telling Timothy in light of the power of the Holy Spirit in him, to not be ashamed of the gospel.  Paul describes the gospel as the testimony of the Lord Jesus.  What was the testimony of Jesus?  It was that He was the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Word of God made flesh, the manifestation of God to man. His testimony was that He was the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no man comes to the Father except through Him. That is the gospel of Jesus Christ, and it was the same gospel of Paul, who was suffering imprisonment because of that gospel.

Paul is saying in that passage not to be ashamed of his gospel.  Timothy perhaps had a reluctance or reticence about the gospel of Paul.  Paul seemed to spend more time in prison than out of it. Paul was a controversial figure, to say the least.  The socially acceptable society did not accept Paul, nor his gospel.  Even many so called Christians of his day found Paul to be too far right, too controversial for their tastes. His doctrine wasn’t polictically correct, whether by the standards of the religious Jews or the philosophical Greeks.  Remember what the philosophers said about Paul on Mars Hill? “What would this idle babbler wish to say?”  And King Agrippa accused Paul of being mad.  So the upper crust of society whether Jew or Greek ridiculed Paul’s gospel, and ridiculed Paul himself. Perhaps Timothy thought he should distance himself from Paul somewhat in order to be more effective in his ministry.

You know, the gospel literally means good news.  And it is good news.  But it’s good news to a condemned people. It is good news to a person on death row. In other words, for the gospel to be good news, you must first tell them the bad news, that they are dead in their trespasses and sin, and condemned to death.  And the only escape from that condemnation of death is through believing in Jesus Christ, and in His death and resurrection.  But that is sometimes an uncomfortable message to have to give to people.  Some of you have unsaved brothers or sisters or mom’s and dads. And it can be very difficult to tell them that they are going to go to hell for their sins.  That kind of news can completely wreck the family Christmas get together. They are not going to want to hear that sort of thing, and if you say anything remotely like it,  it it’s going to make the family get together miserable for everyone.  

So very likely you don’t say anything.  You don’t proclaim the gospel in it’s fullness.  At best, you speak lightly of God’s love, of God’s gift, but you don’t declare the full gospel.  And if you examine yourself you might have to admit that though you believe the gospel, yet you are ashamed to proclaim it in it’s fullness. But a partial gospel does not save partially.  Rather a partial gospel does not save at all.  A partial gospel gives a false sense of security.  And so you must not be ashamed of it, but you must proclaim it fully, since only in it’s fullness is the power of the gospel able to work and bring about salvation.

Paul said in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Paul goes on in the next verses of that passage to say that in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, and the wrath of God is revealed against unrighteousness.  Both aspects need to be revealed, both God’s gift of righteousness and God’s wrath against unrighteousness. That is the full gospel that leads to salvation.

And that proclamation of the gospel is what prompts Paul to recount a synopsis of that message of salvation.  Speaking in vs 9 of God “who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel…”

Let’s briefly break that down.  God has saved us.  To be saved, one must first be lost. To be delivered from the condemnation of death is to be saved. A lot of so called Christians don’t like the term saved today.  That smacks of fundamentalism, of old fashioned hell fire and damnation preaching that doesn’t play well in our culture today. But as I said a moment ago, if you don’t first understand the premise that you are dead in your trespasses and sins, and condemned to death, and death means spending eternity in hell, then you can’t understand the gospel of salvation.  Because you must first recognize that you are lost in order to be saved.

But our salvation is not dependent upon our works, but it is dependent upon the call of God upon our lives.  Romans 8:30 says, “and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” God is the one who saves us, and He initiates our salvation in eternity past, predestining us for salvation, and then effectively calling us to Himself, and those He calls, He justifies not on the basis of their works, but on the basis of their faith in Christ whose righteousness is credited to us who believe in Him.  That is the gift of salvation, the grace of salvation, that we didn’t earn it, Christ purchased it for us by His death on the cross in our place.

Paul says this salvation which was planned and predetermined from all eternity past, was manifested, or brought to light by the appearing of Jesus Christ as our Savior.  The purpose of God before creation was to bring about our salvation through Jesus Christ. But that purpose was revealed, manifested, made known by the appearing of Jesus Christ on earth. The Old Testament saints did not see clearly how God would bring about their salvation, but they were saved by faith in what was not seen. But when Christ came into the world, the salvation of God was manifested, made visible in Jesus Christ. And the apostles were witnesses of HIs resurrection, which was the capstone of the gospel. 

Through His resurrection Jesus Christ abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.  Through His resurrection from the dead, Jesus triumphed over death and sin and hell, and He holds the keys of death and hell, and those who believe in Him are given life, and that life that He gives is everlasting, it is eternal, it is immortality.  That is salvation.  What a tremendous gospel it is, that we who were condemned to death, to eternal death, are granted an immortal life through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on our behalf.  

And the really great thing about this immortal life that we are given is that it is not given at some point in the future, but it is given now to those who believe in Him, so that Jesus can say, “He who believes in Me shall never die.”  There is no greater riches, no greater treasure, than immortality.  Down through the centuries of time, many men have searched the world for the fountain of youth, for the elixir of immortality, but we that believe in Jesus Christ have been delivered from death and received eternal life as a gift of God.

And Paul says in vs 11, of that gospel, that wonderful, tremendous good news, that for that reason he “was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher.” There could be no higher calling, no more noble endeavor, than to be the means by which God’s salvation is made known. But unfortunately, that is not the perception of the world. You know, there is nothing more foolish to the world than a preacher.  A lot of pastors I know personally avoid referring to themselves as a preacher.  It’s bad enough to tell people that you are a pastor, but if you were to say “I am a preacher” they immediately categorize you as some sort of right wing radical.  And so a lot of pastors avoid that title. 

But not Paul.  Paul was a preacher.  And guess what? John the Baptist was a preacher. Mark 1:4, says John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ... 7 And he was preaching, and saying, "After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals.” And then in vs14 we read that Jesus was a preacher. It says,  “Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God.”  And likewise Peter was a preacher, and so was Paul.

In fact, Paul said in 1Cor. 1:21  that preaching is the means by which God saves the lost. “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Vs. 18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” So let’s not be ashamed of preachers, nor of preaching, for it is the power of God.

Nor was Timothy to be ashamed of the fact that Paul was an apostle.  To be an apostle was to be one who was a witness to the resurrected Christ.  Paul referred to his apostleship as one who was untimely born.  He recognized that his apostleship was different than the twelve.  And yet he said in no way was he any less an apostle.  His apostleship was different, but not less.  He did witness the resurrected Christ.  He was taught personally by Christ.  He was taken up into heaven and heard and saw things which he was not permitted to speak of. He was possibly the greatest apostle, though he would not have claimed that for himself.

And I say that he was the greatest apostle on the basis of his teaching.  He says he was a teacher of the gospel.  No one wrote more, taught more doctrine, more explanation of the gospel, than Paul did through his writing.  He was by far the most prolific teacher, who wrote more epistles than any other apostle which have been the basis for most of our Christian doctrine.  Timothy should not be ashamed of Paul on the basis of his preaching, or apostleship, or teaching. In fact, he should be unapologetically proud of his adoptive father.

But because of this glorious gospel, because of the testimony of Jesus Christ, because of the fact that Paul was a preacher and teacher of this gospel and an apostle of Jesus Christ, he was suffering in prison, knowing full well that he was going to die for the gospel.  He says in vs 12, “For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”

Though the Jews and the Romans had sentenced Paul to prison, though he would soon be executed as a criminal, he was not ashamed.  He was not ashamed of the gospel. He was not ashamed to be identified with Christ who also suffered death as a criminal in the eyes of the world.

He is not ashamed because He knows whom he has believed, and is persuaded that He is able, to keep that which he committed to Christ, that is his very life, until that day when he is joined to Christ forever through the death of his body.  Paul had committed his life to Christ, the very life that Christ had given him, Paul gave back to Christ, to live for Him, to live for the glory of Christ and the proclamation of His gospel.  And he was convinced that this life he had entrusted to Christ, Christ was able to guard this treasure of an immortal life, until the day when it was fully realized by passing from this world to the next.

Peter spoke of that trust in 1Peter 4:19 “Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.” In that context Peter was speaking of the life of the believer, doing what is right, speaking the truth, sharing the gospel with the unsaved, so that he says if [anyone suffers] as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.”  I think that the suffering we might experience for the gospel is pretty tame in comparison to what the apostles suffered.  But I do recognize that we can suffer the loss of friendships, even the loss of family relationships due to our sharing of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  But I can also promise that the glory that awaits us on that day when the Lord shall be revealed will far surpass any momentary light affliction we may experience here on earth.

Let us not be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  For it is the only power of God that will accomplish the salvation of our loved ones and friends.  Let us be bold in our proclamation of the truth, and let the power of God loose to work out their salvation. 

And if you’re here today, and you have not received the gift of life that Jesus has purchased for you through His death, I urge you to trust in Him today as your Savior, repenting of your sin and by faith in Christ receiving forgiveness of your sins and the righteousness of Christ applied to you account, that you may receive life, and that life which is eternal.  Today that life is offered to you, look to Jesus and be saved.