Sermon Tone Analysis

“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.” [1]

The call of Christ is not as is commonly presented in contemporary church life.

We preachers do issue a call for our hearers to receive the freedom that is offered in Christ; and sinners will find freedom in the Lord Christ.

In Christ we are freed from condemnation and freed from judgement; we are set free to come into the presence of Holy God.

And while it is essential that we preachers stress the freedom that is ours in Christ, what is not often mentioned is that the call of Christ is not a call to an easy life.

Christ calls His followers to do hard things; and the call of God often entails suffering.

We who teach the Word are guilty before the Lord when we neglect to caution would-be disciples that God’s call is a call to suffer.

It is common among western churches to restrict the concept of suffering to physical ailments that afflict the whole of mankind.

Reading the text for this day, it is difficult to believe that Paul is calling Timothy to suffer from gout, or to experience headache or muscle cramps.

Reviewing the Apostle’s life, it is obvious that he experienced pain—real pain and heartache.

Writing the Corinthian Christians, Paul was compelled to recite the opposition he had faced as an Apostle, together with the very real trials that accompanied the Faith.

“Whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that.

Are they Hebrews?

So am I. Are they Israelites?

So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham?

So am I. Are they servants of Christ?

I am a better one—I am talking like a madman.”

At this point, the Apostle begins his recitation of life as an Apostle of Christ.

He begins with, “far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death.

Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one.

Three times I was beaten with rods.

Once I was stoned.

Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.”

All these things speak of physical trials and toil; they do not even begin to mention what a servant of Christ feels for the work he oversees.

Therefore, the Apostle turns to the emotional toll of serving Christ.

“Apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.

Who is weak, and I am not weak?

Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant” [2 CORINTHIANS 11:21-29]?

When Paul calls Timothy to suffer, it is evident that he is not inviting Timothy to endure an upset stomach, ingrown toenails or the pain of psoriasis.

The context makes it quite evident that the Apostle is calling the younger minister to join in that particular suffering that arises whenever one stands with the Gospel.

The suffering to which Timothy is called is the suffering that all who dare serve will experience; moreover, it is quite likely that all Christians can anticipate opposition, frequently being called to endure both physical and emotional suffering.

Make no mistake, as the Apostle shall shortly attest, “All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” [2 TIMOTHY 3:12].

Paul has in view genuine assault against the faithful when he issues this warning.

The Risen Lord of Glory used this precise term when He first confronted the enraged rabbi of Tarsus.

Recalling the day he met Jesus, the Risen Master, Paul testified before an enraged Jewish mob, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day.

I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness.

From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.

“As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me.

And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’

And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’

And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting’” [ACTS 22:3-8].

The Apostle knew that those who were aware of his past life would understand that he endeavoured to injure the followers of the Master.

To the Corinthians, he testified, “I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God” [1 CORINTHIANS 15:9].

The Churches of Galatia received this written testimony from the Apostle: “You have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it” [GALATIANS 1:13].

The term Paul used speaks less of an incidental attack then it does of a systematic, organised assault against a people.

As used in this letter, and as implied in our text, the idea conveys the probability of pursuit with the intent of extirpation.

It is the appropriate concept witnessed by the attack of Muslims against Christians in Syria, in Iraq, in Libya, in Egypt—in short, in virtually every land where Islam is the majority religion.

I am bringing this message, speaking openly because of my love for this congregation, because of what I see on the horizon.

I live in the hope of the resurrection, and I believe in the return of Christ the Lord for His people.

I believe that He may come momentarily, and that when He comes all the redeemed of God shall be transformed into His likeness, in a moment, in a twinkling of the eye.

Nevertheless, while we are in this flesh, we must know that we are not loved by the world.

Because the world cannot love us, it will attack the Faith.

Pogroms against the faithful are not some novel event; they have been conducted since earliest days.

Therefore, Paul’s invitation to a younger minister has relevance to us in this day.

*FOUNDATIONS* —“I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.

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.

“Therefore…” [2 TIMOTHY 1:5-8a].

I have reminded you on multiple occasions, anytime you see a “therefore,” ask what it is there for.

The text opens with this device designed to remind us of the reason this particular invitation to experience opposition and suffering is issued.

Timothy is invited to embrace his heritage—a heritage of vibrant faith.

He is encouraged to avoid fleeing opposition precisely because he is a follower of the Christ.

Moreover, Paul acknowledges that his pursuit of the Saviour began in his youth, growing out of the loving instruction provided by both his mother and his grandmother.

Timothy must not disgrace those who invested themselves into his life.

Neither must he imagine that he can honour God and seek approval from the world.

Such efforts are always doomed to failure in the Christian’s life.

More than this, Paul is making a pointed application drawn from the reminder that Timothy has just been urged to accept responsibility to be fanning into flame the effective work of the Spirit who dwelt in his life.

The Holy Spirit of God took up residence in the body of each believer at the point of salvation.

Your body, if you are a child of God, was instantly transformed into a Temple of the Lord as the Spirit of God moved into your life.

Whether He now works in power or whether He is now quiescent depends upon whether you are surrendered to God or whether you are exalting your own desires over His will.

Obedience to the commands of the Master determines how effective you are in service to His cause.

At this point in the missive, Paul is urging the younger minister to remember his heritage and to remember the One who even now was working in his life.

Ultimately, no Christian wants to dishonour the Master.

However, the more immediate relationships enjoyed with other mortals often dictate our responses.

Though we live in the presence of the Living Saviour, we are not always conscious of His proximity.

We are, however, aware of how other people see us.

It is only as we allow ourselves to remain self-centred that we cease to allow the perception of others in the congregation to guide our choices.

It is an axiom of the Faith that /the cowboy who rides off into the sunset rather than investing himself in the life of those who love him is exposed as self-centred/.

Such an individual is acting in the most selfish manner imaginable.

Assuredly, he is not following the example of Christ in such actions.

While I would not turn your attention from honouring the Master who gave Himself for you, I am compelled to remind you that your choices reflect on those with whom you share worship.

If the assembly of the faithful is merely an organisation you join and leave at your convenience, then your time may be better spent snowmobiling, fishing or vegging on Sunday.

However, if the congregation is the Body of Christ, you must consider that your actions will either enhance the beauty of Christ’s chosen bride, or you will demonstrate through your actions that she is but a tawdry trollop that can be used for your own perverted purpose.

We play a dangerous game whenever we begin to degrade the Body of Christ in our own mind, justifying our own fallen desires.

Whenever we exalt our pique to the point of justification for satisfying our fallen desires, we dishonour the Lord, to be certain; but we show Him despite by treating His bride as though she was a plaything.

We read the Congregational Covenant before the Communion Meal, and if we fail to recognise the work of Christ in our midst, we say by our choices that everything we confess is a lie.

Does the Christian actually forget holy relationships she once enjoyed?

Can a twice-born individual actually turn from pursuing the will of God to pander to her own interests?

Tragically, it appears that such can be the reality.

Paul decries saints who place their own interests—whatever those interests may be—above those of Christ.

Commending Timothy to the Philippians, Paul wrote, “I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare.

For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ” [PHILIPPIANS 2:20, 21].

I’ve served among the churches of our Lord for many years.

During those years of service to the people of God, I’ve witnessed multiple people who became disgruntled and left the fellowship where they had been appointed by God.

Some became disillusioned, thinking that they didn’t receive enough recognition for what they did.

Others were piqued by something that was said from the pulpit.

Still others felt slighted by some individual within the assembly.

In every instance, those who left failed to implement the very statement they repeated before the Communion Meal: “We … promise to watch over one another in brotherly love; to remember each other in prayer; to help each other in times of trouble; to be not easily offended and always ready to forgive and settle differences, remembering Christ's command to do so quickly.”

Some who left would seek out another congregation where they could worship.

It is a wonderful thing that God has provided congregations where Christ is honoured, where the Word is declared and where the people of God endeavour to honour Christ as Lord.

Such congregations will be found throughout our world; we should be grateful that such is the case.