I believe the book of 2 Timothy can
be summed up in 2 Timothy 1:8-9 “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony
of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for
the gospel according to the power 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 given to us in Christ Jesus before time began…”
This second epistle, written from
Paul to his son in the faith and fellow minister, Timothy, focuses on the power
of the gospel in our lives. Paul will
address the central issue of the New Testament, the grace of God through our
Lord Jesus Christ, and how we must endure in the gospel. As we saw in 1 Timothy, Paul will address the
two departures from the faith. He will
remind Timothy that we must endure in the gospel. Persecution arises for the word of
righteousness in an effort to cause us to fall away from the gospel back to an
Old Testament performance mindset. This
is what Jesus described in the parable of the sower as the seed sown on stony
ground. This person hears the word of
grace and is born again, but when persecution and tribulation arise because of
the word, he falls away from grace or stumbles back to a performance mentality. Paul will also discuss how we deny Him in our
works. This is the seed sown among
thorns in the parable of the sower. This
person hears the word and receives it and is born again, but gets caught up in
the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires or lusts
of the flesh. When this happens, we are
denying by our actions the Lord Jesus who lives inside of us. We are not expressing outwardly who we are on the inside, where the Holy Spirit lives within us. Neither one of these scenarios causes us to
lose our salvation. But we will not
inherit or experience the kingdom of God which is in us when we are born
again. We will not enjoy the fruits of
the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness,
meekness and self-control.
2 Timothy 1:1-5 “Paul, an apostle of
Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in
Christ Jesus, 2 To Timothy, a beloved son: Grace, mercy, and
peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 3 I thank
God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did,
as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, 4 greatly
desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with
joy, 5 when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in
you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I
am persuaded is in you also.
When we understand the grace and
mercy of God, we will experience His peace.
Paul stated here that he served God with a pure conscience. A pure conscience comes from understanding
the grace of God and His free gift of righteousness through Jesus Christ, apart
from our works. Paul reminded Timothy
that the same faith abided in Timothy also.
2 Timothy 1:6-12 “Therefore I remind
you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my
hands. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of
power and of love and of a sound mind. 8 Therefore do not be
ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me
in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, 9 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 given to us in
Christ Jesus before time began, 10 but has now been revealed by
the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and
brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 to
which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. 12 For
this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I
know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have
committed to Him until that Day.”
Paul reminded Timothy to stir up the
gift of God which was in him through the laying on of Paul’s hands. This is referring to the Holy Spirit that was
in Timothy when he was born again. This
is the kingdom of God within us, the Holy Spirit living in us. The spirit of fear that Paul spoke of comes
from the Old Testament law, which brings a fear of punishment from God. If we fall away from grace to an Old
Testament mindset, we will be afraid of punishment. That is the spirit of fear.
How do we stir up the gift of God
within us? We stir up the kingdom of God
within us by not being ashamed of the gospel or the testimony of our Lord. That is the context of these verses. He bore the penalty for our sins and gave us
the free gift of righteousness in Christ Jesus.
As we hold to the truth of the gospel, it stirs us up from within. I was always taught that the way to stir up
the gift of God within me was by praying in tongues. I believe in praying in tongues; it is a
scriptural practice and meant to build us up.
But that is not what Paul is telling us here. If the foundation of our faith is not
centered on the gospel, we will still experience the spirit of fear or the fear
of punishment from God. Praying in
tongues, as scriptural as that is, will not offset this Old Testament mindset
that is not focused on the gospel.
Suffering or persecution will arise
for the gospel according to the power of God.
Those who are self-righteous will oppose the free gift of righteousness
given to us in Christ Jesus. But God has
saved us by His grace, not according to our works. He has also called us with a holy calling; that
we should live in holiness. His purpose
in our lives is grace. This grace brings
us peace before God. Grace also teaches
us to live holy before people so that we express His nature of love to others.
Paul said that even though he was
suffering persecution for the sake of the gospel, he was not ashamed of the
gospel. Romans 1:16, “For I am not
ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God for salvation for
everyone who believes…” Jesus abolished
death and brought life and immortality to life through the gospel. Paul was appointed by God as a minister of
this gospel of Jesus Christ. That is the
essence of our ministry; we share the gospel of Jesus with others.
2 Timothy 1:13-18 “Hold fast the
pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which
are in Christ Jesus. 14 That good thing which was committed to
you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. 15 This you
know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phygellus
and Hermogenes. 16 The Lord grant mercy to the household of
Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain; 17 but
when he arrived in Rome, he sought me out very zealously and found me. 18 The
Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day—and you know
very well how many ways he ministered to me at Ephesus.”
Paul told Timothy to hold fast the
pattern of sound words which he had heard from Paul, in faith and love which
are in Christ Jesus. The pattern of
sound words is revealed in the second half of the verse. We are to hold to faith in Christ Jesus by
His grace. This is His free gift of
righteousness in Christ Jesus. We are to
walk in love and holiness and not use grace as an excuse to sin.
The good thing which was committed
to Timothy was the gospel message of Jesus.
We must hold on to the gospel and not be moved away from it. We do this by the Holy Spirit who dwells in
us. Two Christians, most likely
ministers, had turned away from Paul, likely due to the persecution caused
by the gospel. Another, Onesiphorus,
apparently was martyred for the faith. This is what Paul referred to when he
said the Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day.
Keith Oliver
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