First, we were encouraged to “remember”. Last time we were encouraged to “repent”. Many of us came to the front of the church to confess our sins to God and to forsake them.
That was a good thing. That was a liberating thing. But, according to Jesus in Revelation chapter two, “remembering and repenting” is not enough. Jesus goes on to tell the believers at Ephesus to do the works that they did at first.
To help us to understand what one of the “first things” is, we turn to 2 Timothy chapter one where Paul writes to Timothy, a pastor at the church of Ephesus. In 1st Timothy Paul instructs Timothy on how he needed to lead as a pastor and what he needed to teach at that church.
I believed that Timothy followed Paul’s instructions and the believers at Ephesus followed this teaching…for a while…until they drifted and “left their first love.”
2nd Timothy has been called Paul’s “swan song”. In 2nd Timothy, Paul not only writes as one who is approaching the end of his ministry; he is also writes as one who seems to be anticipating the end of his life (2 Timothy 4:6–8).
2 Timothy 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,
Paul begins this letter letting Timothy know that he didn’t up and decide he was going to be an apostle to the church by himself; he wasn’t called by men; he was called, sent and qualified by God.
It works the same way today. You and I don’t up and decide to become a Christian. Preachers don’t up and decide that they are going to preach. We are called, sent and qualified by God.
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Furthermore, Paul wasn’t called, sent and qualified so that he could get a good job, have a wife and kids, amass a great fortune, live comfortably and cultivate a good reputation; he was called “according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus”.
That means that Paul’s whole life revolved around the grace of God that was given to him to preach and to teach the Gospel. It was the grace of God that carried with it the promise of eternal life and salvation in Jesus Christ.
Paul was called to minister the Gospel. In Ephesians 6 Paul says, “pray for me…that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.” (vs. 19-20)
So Paul begins his letter letting Timothy know that he was called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God; it was not his choice. He didn’t decide like some choose our career path—“I think I’ll be a doctor” or “I’m going to school so that can become a criminologist.” God called Paul to become an apostle, even hand-picking him on the Damascus Road.
Some of us need to be reminded that you have been called by God to His kingdom work in the local church. Serving as a minister in the kingdom work of reaching the lost for Christ is not your career-path—you cannot switch majors. You can switch ministries in this work but your major remains the same—“Make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19-20).
Verses 2-4 let us know that Timothy was more than a man that Paul mentored. Timothy was like a “son” to Paul. In fact, he was Paul’s spiritual son, someone that Paul in all likelihood led to know the Lord Jesus Christ. Timothy loved Paul and, according to verse 4, shed tears for him when he was afflicted with suffering because of the Gospel.
Timothy was raised to know Christ at an early age by his mother and grandmother (vs. 5 and 2 Tim. 3:15). Timothy’s father was probably an unbeliever…this shows you the power of a mother and grandmother who make their primary occupation the rearing of their children in the faith.
In verse 6-7 Paul writes, “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
The church at Ephesus had its challenges and so Paul encouraged Timothy to double-down on His devotion to the Lord and to ignite the use of his spiritual gifts and to not be fearful.
Paul encourages Timothy to lean-in on the power, love and self-control that God made available to him. In verse eight Paul then says, “on that basis, do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord.”
2Ti 1:8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,
There was a testimony going around about the Lord Jesus Christ. He was crucified on a tree. Galatians 3:13 says, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”.
Normally Jewish lawbreakers who committed capital offenses were usually stoned to death. But Jesus was nailed to a cross (made from a tree).
Crucifixion appears to have been invented by the Persians (Esther 2:23; 5:14; 7:9; 9:25 may refer to crucifixion). It was employed by Alexander the Great, the Seleucids and
by the Romans (Elgvin, 1997:14). According to Martin Hengel, the widespread practice of this sadistic form of punishment was usually reserved for "dangerous criminals and members of the lowest classes" (Hengel, 1977:88) and associated with "political and military punishment" (Hengel, 1977:86). In other words, crucifixion was a punishment for
slaves and traitors.
Jesus was considered by the world to be on the same level as a slave or a traitor and living in those days the Christian was saying that “Jesus is Lord”. They were thought to be lunatics.
It’s easy to be ashamed of the testimony of Jesus Christ who says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” and, “Unless you repent, you too will all perish” (John 14:6; Luke 13:3).
Try it today…try it right now. Post on your Facebook page, “Jesus is the only way to heaven. If you don’t repent of your sins and turn to Him for salvation, you will die and go to hell.” But you say, “Oh Pastor Chuck, that is not showing love to people…” Ok, just post the words of Jesus in John 14:6 and Luke 13:3.
Paul goes on to write in 2 Timothy 1:8, “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God…”
Paul was in prison in Rome and we can only imagine all the gossip and hearsay that was floating around about why he was there. “He was ripping off the church and stealing money…” “He said some bad things about Caesar…” “He had taken “Greeks” into the temple and “defiled this holy place” (Acts 21:28)—which was a capital offense.
No, Paul was imprisoned in Rome because of the Gospel. Acts 25 tells us that the Judiazers were going to kill him, so the Roman officials stepped in and took him to Rome so he would appeal his case to Caesar (Acts 25:11-12).
At the end of verse eight Paul writes, “but join with me…share with me in suffering for the Gospel by the power of God.”
Paul’s request to “share with me in suffering” is an interesting Greek word (sugkakopatheo¯) that means, “to join in suffering, to suffer together with, endure hardship with” someone. It means “to undergo the same type of suffering as others do.”
You may have experienced a feeling on the job where you and some coworkers were assigned a task like digging a ditch or some other hard or laborious work. You are working hard on the project but your coworkers are loafing and dragging their feet leaving you to suffer alone and do most of the work.
There were plenty of times when Paul felt like he was suffering alone in the ministry. In 2 Timothy 4:10a Paul writes of Demas who forsook Him, “having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica”. In verse 16 he says, “No one stood by me the first time I defended myself; all deserted me. May God not count it against them!”
Though people deserted Paul and though he felt like he was alone, he knew that God was with him. At the end of our text in 2 Timothy 1:8 he writes, “but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God…”
Paul knew that God was with him as he suffered for the Gospel.
* I believe Paul was familiar with Deuteronomy 31:6 that says, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.” This promise is repeated in Hebrews 13:5
* In Matthew 28, after Jesus gives His disciples the Great Commission, He says, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
* In 1 Peter 4:14 it is written, “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.”
In light of these and other passages in the Bible that let us know that God is with us when we are being persecuted for doing His work, Paul encourages Timothy to share with him in his suffering for the Gospel by the power of God. Paul then goes on to write about this God who calls us to the ministry of the Gospel.
“He saved us” (vs. 9a) – The rescuer is always stronger that the one being rescued. The one rescued is always indebted to the one who rescued him. We were lost, Christ, the Great Shepherd, found us; we were blind, He made us see. We were in bondage, Christ set us free. We were dead, He made us alive!
“He called us to a holy calling” (vs. 9b) – He set us apart for Himself. We were once owned by sin and death; Jesus purchased and bought our pardon. We belong to Him. He empowers us to live holy by His Holy Spirit.
“Not because of works” (vs. 9c) – We couldn’t earn it. We didn’t deserve it. We couldn’t pay for it; the price was too high. We can’t maintain or sustain it; He does it (Jude 1:24).
“[it was] because of His own purpose and grace, which He gave us in Christ Jesus (vs. 9d) – God knew that we would sin and need a Savior. In His holiness, He could have sent us to hell and been justified in doing it. In fact, He’s judged lots of people out over the ages because of their wickedness. Remember the flood? Remember Sodom and Gomorrah? Remember the Canaanites we talked about last week? Remember Achan and his family?
But God, because of His own purpose and grace, saved us. This is what Paul writes about in that classic passage about God’s mercy and grace found in Ephesians chapter two:
Eph 2:1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
Eph 2:2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
Eph 2:3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
Eph 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
Eph 2:5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
“before the ages began…” (vs. 9e) God did all of this before the ages began. In other words, we weren’t even there to give Him advice or counsel about how to do it. This is how God shut Job up saying, “Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand” (Job 38:4).
God purposed before the ages began to save us, and now this salvation has been manifested.
“and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel…” (vs. 10) - Paul goes on to teach before the appearing of Jesus in His incarnation, the eternal plan of God was a mystery. But when Christ came to earth and because of His sacrifice, death has been abolished and we who are in Christ know the promises of God concerning eternal life and our future hope in heaven!
“for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do…” (vs. 11-12) – Sometimes I get a little jealous as I consider all the time and effort and emotion my wife Debbie puts into taking care of our disabled daughter Precious. She gets up early every morning to change her diaper, wash her, brush her teeth, do her hair, dress her, talk to her, feed her, give her several medications, turn on the radio or TV for her, see her off to her day program.
Debbie misses vital sleep, getting only five hours a day during the week, as she turns in later than the average person because putting Precious to bed takes a couple hours. Debbie suffers for Precious but she may not see it as suffering because she loves Precious.
When Paul writes about his appointment as a preacher, apostle and teacher in verse 11 and his suffering in 2 Timothy 1:8 and 12, we may have in our minds an image of the great Apostle Paul being persecuted for the cause of Christ. We get a picture of his suffering in 2 Corinthians 11 as he writes about his imprisonments and beatings and lashings and stoning and shipwrecks and perilous experiences in the wilderness, from robbers and from false brothers; his sleepless nights and the hunger and thirst he endured as he went without food and water.
And some of us might think that Paul willingly suffered because of his love for the church and the saints and his love for the ministry. But as we read further in verse 12 we get the real reason behind Paul’s willingness to suffer in the ministry. He writes, “which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what I have entrusted to Him.
Paul uses the word “I” six times in verse 12. Why?
Because His endurance in the ministry and his willingness to suffer for the Gospel was based on his salvation and his salvation was based on three things: (1) knowledge, (2) conviction and (3) trust in Christ alone.
Paul says in verse 12, “I know, I’m convinced, and I have entrusted myself to Him.” Paul’s faith had only one proper object, which was Jesus Christ.
Paul did not say, “I know what I have believed” or “I know when I have believed” or “I know that I have believed.” Paul wrote, “I know whom I have believed.”
Paul did not put his confidence in his own acceptance of the facts of the Gospel (what).
There are some people who know the Gospel message and believe the Gospel message. Some even make the “salvation formula” solely believing in the facts of the Gospel, that “Jesus died, was buried and was raised from the dead”. They have only a mental assent to the history of Jesus. But Paul didn’t put his confidence in just the facts.
Some people place their confidence in what they did. Someone one asked them, “What happened that made you a Christian?” They say things like: They were christened as a child. They got confirmed or were baptized. They walked down an aisle. Some people put confidence in a time when they felt something or they spoke in other tongues or someone laid hands on them to impart something to them.
Paul didn’t put his confidence in a conversion experience (when).
Some people look back to a time when they experienced something spiritually significant to them. They were counseled to say a prayer. Or, they had some kind of emotional experience where things were going rough for them and they looked up and cried out to God, “If you do this, I will go to church!” They started going to church and have held on to and have placed their confidence in that experience.
Paul didn’t put his confidence in his faith…in other words, that he believed. (that).
A popular song says, “If I can see it, then I can do it. If I just believe it, there's nothing to it [Chorus:] I believe I can fly”. There’s nothing in that song about God, who is the object of our faith. This person’s faith is in faith!
In the 1980 Harvest House book by Larry Parker entitled We Let Our Son Die we learn of the tragic story of how Larry and his wife withheld insulin from their diabetic son, Wesley. As a result, Parker’s son went into a diabetic coma. But the Parkers, warned by their church leaders about the error of making a “negative confession,” continued to “positively confess” Wesley’s healing until the time of his death.
Even after Wesley’s death, the Parkers — undaunted in their “faith” — conducted a resurrection service instead of a funeral. For more than one year following their son’s death, they refused to abandon the “revelation knowledge” they had received through “faith”. Eventually, they were tried and convicted of manslaughter and child abuse.
They had “faith in their faith” and not the Word of God. They turned faith into a person that you can speak to and use as a tool. Yet, Paul didn’t put any confidence in his faith.
Paul’s confidence was rooted in the (whom)… only proper object, Jesus Christ—who He is and what He has done to save us from our sins. Thus Paul writes, “I know whom I have believed.” Not what, when, or that which I have believed.
Seafaring ships on the ocean drift when they aren’t properly anchored. Are you properly anchored? Where have you placed your confidence? Paul says, “I know, I’m convinced, and I have entrusted myself to Jesus.”
Most of us know the facts of the Gospel. Many of us can remember a time when we experienced something that we connect with our salvation. Some of us even look to how we feel about Jesus as a barometer or indicator of how healthy our walk is with Him.
But Paul didn’t place his confidence in any of these things. He knew, and was convinced, and entrusted himself to Jesus. His confidence was in the person of Jesus.
A pastor, newly called to a church, once preached through this passage and arranged for the organist to come up after the sermon, while he was praying, and begin to play softly. He wanted to give people an opportunity to commit their lives to Christ right there. But as he began praying and encouraging the people to pray, he noticed that no music was playing. He opened one eye and peered in the direction of the organ, only to find that no one was there.
Disconcerted, he thought that the organist should be there, especially because she was getting paid almost as much as he was! Then he thought that maybe his sermon was so bad that she had walked out! But as he swung his open eye back to the congregation, he saw that she was kneeling at the front of the church, with tears in her eyes and a smile on her face.
“Preacher,” she said to him, “What you said, I don’t have. I want that.” This woman had been the choir director at his for about eight years, but her confidence wasn’t in Jesus. She didn’t know Christ until that day.
After the service the chairman of the board of deacons found this; he had stayed around for reasons of his own. “Harry, what was Roxanne doing down there today?” he asked, with a strange expression on his face.
“She was getting saved,” the pastor answered. “She gave her life to Jesus.”
“I thought that was what was happening,” said the deacon, red-faced.
The new pastor was afraid the deacon was going to scold him for “rocking the boat” or introducing unwarranted or dangerous excitement. But instead, he said, “You know, I need to give my life to Jesus, too.
The words of this famous hymn say, “My hope is built on nothing less, Than Jesus' blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.”
Where is your hope? Where is your confidence? Is it in Christ alone?
