Stand Up For Jesus
2 Timothy 1:13-14, 2:1-3
Dr. Roger W. Thomas, Preaching Minister
First Christian Church, Vandalia, MO
An old song from our hymnals provides a fitting backdrop for 2 Timothy. Listen to the words written in 1858 by George Duffield, a Presbyterian minister in Philadelphia.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross; Lift high His royal banner, it must not suffer loss. From victory unto victory His army shall He lead, Till every foe is vanquished, and Christ is Lord indeed.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus, the solemn watchword hear; If while ye sleep He suffers, away with shame and fear;
Where’er ye meet with evil, within you or without, Charge for the God of battles, and put the foe to rout.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus, each soldier to his post, Close up the broken column, and shout through all the host:
Make good the loss so heavy, in those that still remain, And prove to all around you that death itself is gain.
Duffield penned those verses in tribute to the dying words of a dear friend, Dudley Tyng. The story is worth repeating. Tyng was used of God mightily in one of the great revivals of American history. Tyng was a young assistant preacher whose straightforward style and strong opposition to slavery upset a lot of the more fashionable folk in his father’s church in Philadelphia. The younger Tyng and some followers organized a new church.
In addition to preaching for his new congregation, Tyng also began to hold noonday services at a downtown YMCA. As word spread, crowds of businessmen began to gather to hear the dynamic young preacher during their lunch hour. On Tuesday, March 30, 1858, over 5,000 men gathered for a noon meeting to hear young Tyng preach from Exodus 10:11 - "Go now ye that are men and serve the Lord." Over 1,000 committed their hearts and lives to Christ. That message came to be considered one of the most powerful sermons of that era.
At one point in the sermon Tyng remarked, "I must tell my Master’s errand, and I would rather that this right arm were amputated at the trunk than that I should come short of my duty to you in delivering God’s message." The very next week, Tyng was visiting in the country when he accidentally caught his loose sleeve in the cogs of a mechanical corn sheller. The arm was severely injured. Four days later infection developed. As a result of shock and a loss of blood, Dudley Tyng died on April 19, 1858. At his deathbed, when asked by a group of sorrowful friends and ministers for a final statement, he whispered, "Let us all stand up for Jesus."
On the next Sunday Tyng’s fellow worker, George Duffield preached his morning sermon as a tribute to his friend. He closed it with the poem that became the words to the hymn. Listen to that second verse again.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus, the solemn watchword hear; If while ye sleep He suffers, away with shame and fear;
Where’er ye meet with evil, within you or without, Charge for the God of battles, and put the foe to rout.
2 Timothy was not written in tribute to a departed preacher. Rather, it was penned by a veteran preacher who expected to soon be martyred for Christ. He writes to encourage a young protégé whom he fears might be having some second thoughts about whether serving Christ was worth it or not. 2 Timothy is the last of Paul’s fourteen letters in the New Testament. Twenty-five or so years after his conversion, Paul was arrested in Jerusalem and shipped to Rome for a trial before the Roman government. Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon were written from that Roman prison. That’s where the book of Acts ends. Eventually the authorities acquitted Paul of those charges and released him. 1 Timothy and Titus were written soon after. Sometime after that, Bible scholars generally date it in the mid-60’s AD, Paul was again arrested during the reign of terror under the infamous Roman Emperor Nero. Thousands of Christians were persecuted, tortured, and put to death during that time. Paul was one of them. 2 Timothy was written from a Roman prison while Paul awaited his execution. Tradition says Paul was beheaded in 68 AD.
The fact that this was Paul’s last writing gives added weight to his words. Listen to these words from the final chapter. “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store 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 longed for his appearing” (4:6-8).
But Paul’s purpose was not so much to prove that he was prepared for what was coming, as it was to make sure Timothy was prepared. Over and over again, Paul calls Timothy to stand up for Jesus, to be steadfast and firm in his faith. Listen to how Paul sounds a call for a bold, forthright, unashamed faith. “I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 8So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. … Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. 13What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. 14Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us…16May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains” (1:6-16). Again in chapter 2, he says, “5Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (15).
Why did Paul think it so important to remind Timothy to stand up for Jesus? What is it that can tempt a Christian to stand back rather than stand up? I suspect we face some of the same issues Timothy did. Consider a few of the possibilities.
Timothy likely wrestled with personal issues. He was young (2:25). He was a second-generation believer whose mother and grandmother had taught him the things of God. But his father was not a believer. That can have an effect on a young man. Timothy also seemed to have some health problems, perhaps a nervous stomach (1 Tim 5:23). He may have experienced some moral or spiritual failures in the past. Paul calls Timothy to purity, to flee the desires of youth, and speaks of the value of a clear conscience. Maybe most of all, Timothy was no Paul. There is no mention of miracle working power or exceptional abilities like Paul’s. Timothy needed to hear that God can also use ordinary folk just as well giants of faith (2:20-21).
There was also opposition to the work of Christ. After all, Paul was in prison for preaching Christ. No doubt, Timothy wondered if he might be next. Some brothers were so intimated by the opposition that they had given up. In the first chapter Paul says, “You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes” (1:15). Toward the end of the letter, he pleads, “9Do your best to come to me quickly, 10for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. 11Only Luke is with me” (4:9-11). In verse sixteen, he adds, “At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me.”
There were deserters on the inside and enemies on the outside. Listen to this warning and appeal from chapter 3. “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. ….10You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it…” (1-14).
In the face of such challenges, Paul appeals to Timothy to stand up. Listen to the beginning of chapter 4. “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry” (1-5).
In the midst of his call to stand up for Jesus, Paul also includes some important reminders about how to do it. Paul insists that it is important to remember what we are standing for. To keep the right focus. In the face of opposition can begin to think it is all about us. Soon we find ourselves defending our ways rather than God’s Word. In chapter 1, Paul says, “What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. 14Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us” (2 Tim. 1:13-1:14)
In chapter 2, Paul touches on this. “14Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. 15Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 16Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly” (14-16).
That phrase “correctly handles the word of truth” or as the KJV puts it, “rightly dividing the word” doesn’t mean to chop up in the right pieces, but to keep the right focus. The ancients used the same term to talk about plowing a straight furrow through a field. We can only stand up right for Jesus when we keep our eye on the prize and avoid distractions. Satan is pleased when we argue about things that keep our minds off the Gospel.
We also need to stand up with the right attitude. Arrogance, contentiousness, and self-righteousness do the Gospel no favors. Our goal is to win people not win arguments. Listen to Paul’s appeal in chapter 2, “Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. 24And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. 25Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.”
The follower of Christ is stand up for Jesus. We are to do it boldly and without compromise. But we also do so with a single-minded devotion to the Word of Christ and the love of Christ. But why? Why stand up for Jesus? Why not give up in the face of hard times and determined adversaries? Three reasons. We believe in the power of the Word of God. “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, 9for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained” (2:8-9).
We also believe that Christ is faithful to us. He stood up for us. How can we do less for him?
In 1:12 Paul insists, “I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.” Listen to these words that many Bible scholars think may have been the words of an early Christian hymn. At least, it is in poetic form. “Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself” (2:11-13).
We also stand up for Jesus because we know what is in store for us in the future. That’s how Paul draws his appeal to a close. “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store 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 longed for his appearing.” This promise is not just for apostles and prophets. It wasn’t just for then. It is also for now. The promise is to all who long for his appearing.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus, the solemn watchword hear; If while ye sleep He suffers, away with shame and fear;
Where’er ye meet with evil, within you or without, Charge for the God of battles, and put the foe to rout.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus!
Bob Moorehead, former minister with the Overlake Christian Church near Seattle, Washington (in his book Words Aptly Spoken) voiced what 2 Timothy calls all of us to:
“I am part of the "Fellowship of the Unashamed." The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I now live by presence, lean by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, labor by power. My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my God reliable, my mission clear.
I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity. Negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until Heaven returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes. And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear. I am not ashamed of the gospel . . . Romans 1:16”
***Dr. Roger W. Thomas is the preaching minister at First Christian Church, 205 W. Park St., Vandalia, MO 63382 and an adjunct professor of Bible and Preaching at Central Christian College of the Bible, 911 E. Urbandale, Moberly, MO. He is a graduate of Lincoln Christian College (BA) and Lincoln Christian Seminary (MA, MDiv), and Northern Baptist Theological Seminary (DMin).
