2 Timothy 2
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 5 viewsNotes
Transcript
Faith cannot reflect our culture
Faith cannot reflect our culture
Because we do not endure the types of trials Paul and Timothy endured we can come to think that faith is about Jesus being the answer to our problems and the fufillment of our needs. And yes Jesus does have answers to problems and he gives us what we need, but Christian faith is about endurance.
Endurance for purpose.
Your blessings are blinding you
What you have is blinding you from what you NEED
Your comfort is controlling you
Your comfort is often your highest aim (youthful passions) and so you are controlled by needing the next pacifier.
Paul had just gotten done giving examples of people who have left the faith from Timothy’s church, so now he is going to tell Timothy to be strengthened by the power of Jesu, remember from last week we have great power in our gifts and the holy spirit inside of us.
You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.
What you have heard in the presence of many witnesses, here Paul is signaling to Timothy that the truth of what Paul is teaching is not a secret, its been shared in the presence of many witnesses. Paul is contrasting here with the False teachers of the day who claimed to have secret Knowledge from the Lord
Paul is claiming the opposite, “There is no secret here! It’s all out in the open, its known, I have taught it to you, teach that to others too”
The word of God is here and available to us and there is a wealth of good teaching on the word.
Later Paul is going to talk more about false teaching.
Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
This language may sound familiar to last week where Paul also mentions sharing in suffering. Paul keeps harking back to this point. Paul sees the Christian life as intimately intertwined with endurance. This is something we will see as we continue to study. He is now going to make 3 metaphots about this endurance.
No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.
Paul loves to use military language and in this metaphor Paul is pointing to a soldiers single minded devotion to the cause. A soldier does not get distracted by the little things because they know they have a greater work to do.
Likewise Christians should know the great purpose they are called to and not get swept away by the teachings of this world and current social values but stay focused on our commanding officer jesus,
An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.
An athlete must play by the rules to be able to win. Likewise we must live according to God’s way if we are going to follow Christ.
It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.
The farmer who preservers through the challenges and hardships of being a farmer that will see a reward. Likewise it is the Christian who perserveres in the way of the Lord when its hard that see the fruit of their labor
Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
So paul is painting this picture of the Christian life as hard work and endurance. He now gives three examples of this hard work and endurance.
Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
Jesus- The work he endured on the cross
Paul- Endurance in preaching the gospel and by which he is imprisoned
The hope he has for other believers to step into that as well
NOTE
Paul uses the word endurance. Pauls world is consumed with endurance. He is having to endure daily more persecution than we will experience in our life.
The saying is trustworthy, for:
If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
if we are faithless, he remains faithful—
for he cannot deny himself.