Crown Me!
II Tim. 4:6-8
Introduction:
As a child, I played many different games with my grandmother. One game I remember that she never lost was Checkers. She seemed to have a particular knack of playing that game. For those of you who have played the game, you will recall that when you move one of your pieces to your opponents first row, you say “Crown me!” Your opponent then has to “crown” you or place another checker on top of yours, giving that piece extra power.
In II Tim. 4:6-8, Paul is looking forward to being “crowned.” Only in this case it is the crown of righteous that he will receive when he comes before God on the judgment day.
Chronologically speaking, the book of second Timothy is the last letter that Paul wrote that we have in the New Testament. In this letter he gives instructions and encouragements to a number of people as you would expect from someone in Paul’s situation. He is in a Roman prison and is anticipating his execution at any time. The first 5 verses of II Tim. 4 are dedicated to giving instructions to Timothy, Paul’s child in the faith.
In verse 6, Paul then makes it clear that he feels that his death is imminent. “I am already being poured out as a drink offering.” It is as though Paul already has his head on the block and he can see the ax falling. It is already beginning to happen.
“Drink offering” is sacrificial terminology. Paul is probably alluding to the custom in pagan rituals of pouring wine and oil on the head of a victim when it was about to be offered in sacrifice. Paul was in the condition of the victim on whose head the wine and oil had been already poured, and who was about to be put to death. Every preparation had been made, and he only awaited the blow which was to take his life.
Then he said bluntly, “The time of my departure is at hand.” Paul saw his death as a departure. The word Paul uses can be a nautical term and refer to the casting off of a ship from its moorings or a military term referring to breaking camp and leaving the encampment. In other words, it’s time for me to go and leave this life. But, he says, I have had a good life. He describes his life as a soldier of Christ in three ways.
1. “I have fought the good fight.” I have fought . . . I have agonized and struggled with the enemy all my life as a soldier of Christ. Paul recognized and taught that the Christian life was a fight to the finish with the greatest adversary in the universe, the Devil and his army of demons and for the greatest cause in the universe, the salvation of man through Jesus Christ.
Fighting battles and warfare imagery was common throughout Paul’s writings. In I Tim. 1:18, Paul urges Timothy to “fight the good fight.” In Eph. 6:10-20 he urges us to put on the whole armor of God to help us in our spiritual fight with Satan.
Paul’s life as a Christian had certainly been a fight from the beginning right through to the end he was about to face. From the moment he became a Christian in Damascus, he had fought bravely and suffered greatly for the cause of Christ.
In II Cor. 11, Paul speaks of imprisonments, beatings, stonings, shipwrecks, and dangers from the elements, robbers and Jews and Gentiles. But he had fought it all, endured it all and now was about to conquer it all. In Jesus Christ, Paul was more than just a conqueror, he was about to rout the enemy completely and stand triumphant at the throne of God.
2. “I have finished the race.” Athletic contests were some of Paul’s favorite metaphors for the Christian life. In Heb. 12:1-2, the brethren are urged to “lay aside every weight . . . and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. In I Cor. 9:24, Paul admonishes the Corinthians to run the race so that they might win the prize. And of course there is only one way to get the prize; finish the race.
ILLUS: Eric Liddell, as portrayed in the excellent film "Chariots of Fire," illustrates this principle. Just before the first turn in a 400-meter race, Liddell was shoved off balance, and he stumbled onto the infield grass. As he looked up, he saw the field pulling away, but with intense determination, Eric jumped to his feet, and with his back cocked and his arms flailing he flew like the wind. He was determined not only to catch up with the pack, but to win, which is exactly what he did!
Both scriptures emphasize training and endurance. A successful athlete, or successful anything will train and discipline himself so that he may be able to run the race. He will lay aside every distraction and focus on the goal before him. And he runs, and he runs, and he runs, and he runs. He never stops running until the race is over and the goal has been reached.
This idea is summed up in I Cor. 9:24-27 . . . In Phil. 3:13-14, Paul says that his struggle, his race was still in progress. He also described what he was doing to win that race. “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Here Paul is saying, “I did that.” I have trained and disciplined and focused on the goal and now I am ready to receive the prize.
3. “I have kept the faith.” Here again is the sense of completion of a task through endurance. The idea of keeping the faith is also discussed in Colossians 1:21-23, “And you, who once were estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death in order to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him, provided that you continue in the faith stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel ...”
“The faith” is used here in the sense of keeping a body of truth, the doctrine of the gospel of Christ. In Phil 1:27, Paul refers to it as “the faith of the gospel.” It is used in this sense a body of truth or belief in Acts 6:7 in describing the growth of the early church, “ . . . and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.” As Paul knew, keeping the faith was not and is not an easy matter. In Acts 14:22 we are told that when Paul was in Antioch, he was, “strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”
Keeping the faith was certainly not easy for Paul for he was challenged on all sides by Jews, Judaisers, pagans, every kind of false faith imaginable. But he had remained faithful to God and to his Son Jesus Christ. He had “kept the faith.”
So now what? Paul has fought the good fight, finished the race and kept the faith. Now he is ready for his reward. Paul is ready to be crowned. The word Paul uses here usually refers to a wreath made of leaves or leaf-like gold, used for marriage and festive occasions, and expressing public recognition of victory in races, games and war.
Here Paul is using the word to signify a reward for a life of faithful service to God. This crown is “imperishable” (I Cor. 9:25). James 1:12 and Rev. 2:10 call it a “crown of life.” Peter in I Pet. 5:4 says it is a “crown of glory.” Paul knows that when he leaves this life and goes to the next, he will not receive a literal crown of gold or leaves, but instead he will receive a glorious reward of eternal life in which he will be absolutely righteous as God is righteous.
This reward is “reserved” for him. Not only that, it was reserved for him at the moment he became a Christian. It is a reward he has seen in his mind from day one. Each day he draws closer and closer to that reward and he is getting more and more excited. Like a kid in a candy store or one waiting for Christmas.
The executioner’s ax will be doing Paul a favor for it will release him from the trials of this life and allow him to receive his reward which will be awarded him on the judgment day.
But then Paul adds this final note. The reward he is anticipating is not only reserved for him, it is reserved for “all who have loved his appearing.” Unlike a war, or a race, where there is only one winner. In the Christian race, everyone who endures receives a reward.
Have you ever watched a Special Olympics race? Everyone gets some kind of an award, even the one who finishes last. So it is with the reward reserved in heaven. Everyone “who has loved his appearing” and has remained faithful to him as Paul has, will get a prize. A glorious prize of eternal life in perfect righteousness.
You and I have a crown reserved for us in heaven. But we need to fight the good fight, run and finish the race and keep the faith. Then we too can look forward to the time when Jesus comes again and we can say with Paul, “CROWN ME!”
