OPEN YOUR BIBLES TO 2 TIM 1:8
1. There’s no reason to be ASHAMED of the gospel.
a. It’s the GOOD NEWS of Jesus Christ.
b. It’s the POWER of God to reach the lost and forgive them, and wash them, and change them.
Romans 1.16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
NOTE: So there’s no reason to be ASHAMED… but rather we are in AWE of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s awesome!
But so many live as if they are ashamed of the gospel…
• As if it’s something to be afraid of, and hidden.
• But the great news we find is that Jesus isn’t ashamed of us!
Hebrews 11.16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
He looks out at us, surveying the room among us saying…
• That’s my girl! There’s my boy! Look at the growth there.
• Look at the changes over here. If you only knew what she went through what he endured! He’s really hung in there!
• There they are, Calvary Chapel, changed by the gospel!
NOW THERE ARE, I KNOW, a lot of things in life, in our distant past, in our recent past that WE ARE ashamed of.
• Many of us don’t have that sparkling of a past. It’s true.
• A lot of us look back and say… ah man, I wish I knew then what the Lord has shown me now!
• What would have been if I was saved at 14 or 12 or 5?
• AND YET we are where we are and we’re here, because of the GOSPEL OF Jesus Christ… the GOOD NEWS.
• The HOPE for your future, the strength for today!
THE GOSPEL: it will free you… for sure.
• BUT it also can lead to imprisonment.
• That’s where Paul the Apostle is… in prison.
• And it’s from this prison, encouragement flows to his young protégé Timothy. Back in v6…
2 Timothy 1.6-7 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.
STIR UP the GIFT… don’t let it go dormant & unused.
• GOD HAS NOT GIVEN US A SPIRIT OF FEAR…
• But of POWER and of LOVE and of a SOUND MIND.
I. (1.8-12) A GOSPEL CONFIDENCE
1. (8) Do not be ashamed.
a. In all that’s surrounding you right now, don’t let my situation be a shame to you Timothy.
b. Don’t be afraid to share the testimony of our Lord.
Paul SAYS… I KNOW I’m a prisoner and it looks bad right now.
• They might be taunting me. Ridiculing my position.
• But don’t be ashamed. Don’t be afraid to share the truth.
APP: I OFTEN Pray for boldness in my life. That I would share His testimony with boldness.
• It’s amazing how easy it is to talk about other things.
• The Broncos. The Nuggets. Our Hobbies. And on the list goes.
• AND STILL when Jesus comes up, our lips go silent.
• But He’s so worth talking about & sharing.
NOTE: Here we are in a powerful relationship with Jesus.
• And here’s the deal.
• We provide the sin & He provides the Savior.
• Yet we’re still ashamed!
• May the Lord grant us the boldness & strength to share.
But it’s not just us… Timothy wrestled with it as well.
• So Paul reminds Him… don’t be ashamed.
2. (9) The ONE who saved us.
a. Look what Jesus has done
b. He’s saved us. He’s called us.
c. Not according to our works. Isn’t that great!?!
NOTE: What a blessing to know that God doesn’t deal with us according to what we’ve done.
• Some days we’d be so unbearable, puffed up with pride.
• Oh yes, had a great day today! I’m so close to perfect!
• But then the next day, you’re back down in the dumps because of our failures and weaknesses.
Psalm 130.3 If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
• Aren’t you glad that it’s not because of our works?
• That’s He’s saved us and called us with a holy calling, according to His own purpose and grace!
YOU MEAN it’s all about faith in Him and His saving Grace? YES.
• That’s it. It’s by what He’s done and not our own works.
Eph. 2.8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
• The GRACE OF GOD is so powerful… so precious.
3. (10) It’s now been revealed.
a. So the grace of God is revealed in Jesus Christ.
b. Specifically, through His finished work on the cross.
NOW: There are those who say, I don’t need church.
• I can worship God out here in the mountains. He’s here.
• OR I can find God out on the golf course, just me and Him!
• My church on Sunday is in the hills, under the stars… that’s where God ministers to me.
• And you know, the Bible is clear on his creation.
Psalm 19.1 The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.
YES: The heavens, the trees, the mountains, the ocean, they all speak of the power & the presence of God.
• But they don’t show us His love and His grace, necessarily.
• Nature shows us God’s power, but there are also earthquakes, and volcanoes, and hurricanes and storms out there.
• The message from creation can be confusing.
• That’s why there are pagan cultures all over the world worshiping nature, trying to appease their false gods.
• Creation is a sign, a road map, pointing to someone greater.
BUT IF YOU WANT TO FIND GRACE… It’s at the CROSS.
• The only way you’ll understand the tremendous love, grace, and mercy of God is not by sitting under the stars…
• It’s by sitting at the table, gathering together in His name
• Worshipping Him in unity. Partaking of communion, receiving His Word… Worshipping Him in spirit and in truth!
• Remembering that Jesus abolished death, brought us life.
• He brought us immortality… as the gospel is revealed to us!
• That’s one reason I love these times together… coming here and settling our hearts down before the One who loves us!
NOTE: You’re loved this morning. Jesus has enduring love an for you. He’s not done with you. He hasn’t turned his back on you.
• Oh that we would grasp more tighter than ever.
• It’s not because of our works, but because of our relationship.
• His love endures to us, uplifting & strengthening us.
• Did you blow it? He still loves you. Did you succeed? He loves you. Did you get that goal, stumble along the way? He loves you.
4. (11-12) And this is Paul’s life.
a. It all sums up the life of Paul. It’s why He exists.
b. He says, I was given the task by God to take the message out.
c. I’m a preacher… proclaimer of the Good News.
d. I’m an apostle… sent out to proclaim.
e. I’m a teacher… stick around to help bring clarity.
TEACHING is so necessary today. With all the stuff out there that simply doesn’t line up with God’s Word… we need teaching.
Amos 8.11 "Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord GOD, "That I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the LORD.
NOW: PREACHING & TEACHING are 2 very different things.
PREACHING is to the unbeliever. It’s a proclamation of the gospel, the good news.
• Preaching seeks to bring people to an understanding that Jesus came to save sinners and because we were dead in our trespasses and sins, He provided a Savior!
• Our sins can be forgiven…
Romans 10.9-10 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
For some here today, that’s exactly what you need. You need to know that your sins can be forgiven. Right here, right now.
• The gospel message is for you, and by the time we leave, we want to see you saved! Receive Jesus this morning.
• Believe in the gospel!
BUT MOST OF YOU have received the preaching message and have received Jesus Christ. Your faith is in Him!
• You don’t need continual preaching, you NEED TEACHING.
• It seems as if The church today has been preached to death!
• And if it’s not a church preaching them to death, then there is a new wave of churches entertaining folks to death!
• What we need as a church is be taught. To be taken through the Word of God knowing that it is for today. (TURN THERE)
Eph. 4.11-15 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ--
Maturity. That’s the Lord’s desire for His church… growth into maturity…
• Because a mature church shares the gospel, extends His love, & shows the world that Jesus has a witness on the earth (church).
NOTE: Paul knew his calling in life and steadied on in it all the way to the very end… preaching & teaching!
5. (12) I’m not ashamed.
a. Because of the ministry God called me to, I’m suffering.
b. But I’m not ashamed. I’m not worried. I’m not embarrassed that I’m in prison. Where did He get that confidence?
c. I know WHOM I have believed. Mark that word…
Paul doesn’t say I know WHAT I believe… but WHOM.
• What gets you through the tough times in life? It’s not knowing WHAT you believe but WHOM.
• Now it’s important to know WHAT YOU BELIEVE, for sure.
• To understand that essential Christian Doctrines, the deity of Jesus Christ, the Trinity, salvation by grace…
NOTE: But guys, it’s more than WHAT, you have to KNOW HIM!
• You have to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
• A relationship growing through prayer, through the study of His Word, through fellowship, through communion.
• Paul had a personal, intimate relationship with Jesus.
Acts 2.42-46 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. 46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,
AND I’m persuaded, he says, that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day!
• I don’t care what Nero does, no matter what he does with me, if he executes me (which will happen) or I stay in this dungeon.
• It doesn’t matter, because I KNOW HIM and He’ll keep it until that Day!
II. (1.13-18) A GOOD CHARGE
1. (13-14) Hold Fast the pattern…
a. Hey, I’m going through it, and if you do, hold fast the words that you heard from me. Don’t veer off to the left of right.
b. Original refers to a ‘deposit committed to someone’s trust’
A man might deposit something with a friend to be kept for his children or his loved ones; he might deposit his valuables in a temple for safe keeping, for the temples were the banks of the ancient world. In each case the thing deposited was a paratheke. In the ancient world there was no more sacred duty than the safe-guarding of such a deposit and the returning of it when in due time it was claimed. —Barclay’s Daily Study Bible (NT)
NOW HOLDING FAST TO SOUND DOCTRINE is as important today as it was back then. These words ring true in our culture!
• Sound Doctrine has been entrusted to us… & we’re to guard it.
• In the next chapter, 2:15, Paul writes.
2 Tim. 2.15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
THEN AT THE END OF V14…
• That good thing keep by the power of the Holy Spirit.
• That’s so true guys. We need the power of His Spirit in our lives.
Acts 1:8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
2. (15) Turned Away and Named.
a. Again, in the life of Paul, as he looks back, he can recall many who turned their backs on him.
b. He mentions ‘all’ in Asia, and then these 2 men by name.
SO TIMOTHY, you HOLD FAST to what you’ve been taught because there are many turning away…
• Maybe they were ashamed of Paul’s imprisonment?
• Maybe they were seeing an opportunity to take advantage of it?
• Yet whatever the reason, it’s getting increasingly difficulty.
• AND… Paul points out 2 men by NAME!
• Here he adds Phygellus & Hermongenes to that list.
AND YES there are times when names need to be named.
• Paul did it. Jesus did it. And on occasion I will name names too.
• And folks will get upset with me when I do it. I get letters and emails and voicemails. But I must be the man called me to be.
• That’s the heart of a true shepherd protecting his sheep.
SO FOR ALL ETERNITY, these guys will be known for their coldness, their sinfulness, for their hurtful ways. A sad legacy indeed.
3. (16-18) But Bless the family of Onesiphorus.
a. There are also the names of those who were a blessing.
b. Onesiphorus refreshed me, brought me great joy.
c. He wasn’t ashamed of my chains…
NOTE: This man went out of his way to minister to Paul.
• We get a practical picture of what Paul wrote earlier.
1 Tim. 3.2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach;
• He’s remembered because he was simply a blessing to know and to have as a friend!
Over and over again the Bible reveals the lives of people.
• It brings US face to face with the reality of our own lives!
And it’s not uncommon to read of a man being introduced or dismissed from the stage of history with a single sentence.
• Hermongenes & Phygelus - we know nothing whatsoever of them beyond their names and the fact that they were traitors.
• Oneisphorus – We know nothing of him except that he was loyal in the ministry to Paul the apostle.
What sentence will describe our lives? Ashamed? Active? Loyal?
• Will we be known for the grace we extended or the judgment?!
• I pray the Lord uses us mightily so that at the end of our lives, the sentence will be one that honors the Lord!
