Guard the Faith

[INTRODUCTION]

If you have your Bibles, you can go ahead and turn to 2 Timothy 1.

I & II Thessalonians, I & II Timothy, Titus, Philemon (I. Introduction: Last Will and Testament)

In times past, people often witnessed the last words of a loved one before he died. Watching at the bedside, the family heard words of advice, or whispers of love, perhaps a few regrets. Of one thing you can be sure, no one talked about their car or business success, or what stocks were on the rise. People who know that the words they speak are possibly their last usually focus on serious matters. They measure their words carefully.

Paul did the same in this, his last letter. His impending execution, by decree of Emperor Nero, stirred within him an urgency to write once again to his dear friend and protegé, Timothy. This impassioned letter, more personal in tone than his first letter to Timothy, depicts a veteran minister eager to bolster the faith of a young pastor. He wanted to ground Timothy firmly in his obligations to Christ and the church.

Let’s read...

2 Timothy 1 (ESV)

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,

To Timothy, my beloved child:

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 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 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, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 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, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 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 has been entrusted to me. Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.

You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains, but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me— may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day!—and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus.

PRAY

[TRANSITION]

Paul opens his letter similar to most of his other letters.

He first states who he is, “an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God”

Then he addresses who he is writing too, “to Timothy”

Then adds the normal greeting, “Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.”

From this point on, there are 4 challenges that I want to give you from this chapter. The first is to...

Praise God for Faithful Christians (1:3-5)

Paul begins the body of his letter by thanking God who he serves.

The word “serve” here is used 21 times in the NT and in every instance, it is in relation to God. 11 times it is translated as “worship” and 10 times as “serve.” This is the word used to describe the service of a priest to God.

This isn’t explaining the type of serving toward our brothers and sisters in Christ, rather, our service to God as our worship of Him.

But why is Paul thanking God at the beginning of this letter?

Because he is reminded of the sincere faith of Timothy.

Paul tells us that this faith came first from his grandmother Lois and then his mother Eunice and now dwells within Timothy. The faith of Lois has been passed down from generation to generation. Lois made sure that she raised her daughter Eunice to know the Lord, and then Eunice did the same thing for Timothy.

I want to make clear that no where does Paul say that this faith has been inherited to Timothy simply because he is related to them. True faith cannot be inherited, BUT it can be demonstrated withing the family.

According to Acts 16:1, Timothy had a Jewish mother who was a Christian and a Greek Father.

Acts 16:1 (ESV)

1 Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek.

What we see with this family is that Lois lived out her faith, discipled her daughter Eunice, and raised her to know the Lord.

Eunice in the same way raised Timothy to know the Lord. She even likely trained him as much as possible to know the Law and the Prophets. Later on in 2 Timothy 3:15, Paul would say this about Timothy...

2 Timothy 3:15 (ESV)

15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

Paul here is emphasizing that salvation is through faith in Christ, not inherited because your parents are Christians.

All of this is why Paul is thanking God.

He is praising God and worshiping God for Timothy’s sincere faith.

You know what is easy to do? Complain.

Complaining about those who you think are not doing what you think they should be doing. Talking down about those who may have become a little more lazy in their faith. Sometimes we just want to complain.

Maybe we should take more time thanking God for our brothers and sisters who are faithfully serving God rather than tearing down those who are not.

We will see in a moment that Paul does call out those who have turned away from God but he talks so much more about those who are faithful.

[TRANSITION]

So let’s Praise God for Faithful Christians. The second challenge that I want to give you is to...

Remember the Gift of God Within You (1:6-7)

Because of the sincere faith that Timothy has, Paul is encouraging him to remember the “gift of God” and to “fan into flame” this gift.

“fan into flame” is a present-tense, active verb which means it could more accurately be translated as “keep fanning.” What I believe Paul is encouraging Timothy to do is similar to what he said in Galatians 5:25...

Galatians 5:25 (ESV)

25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

Paul is encouraging Timothy to keep fanning this gift of God because Timothy has been commissioned to lead the church in Ephesus.

Timothy was believed to be kind of timid and shy, but Paul tells him...

2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV)

7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

The word “fear” literally means “cowardice” and refers to cowardice that results from a lack of moral strength. Paul reminds Timothy that such fear does not come from God’s Spirit. Rather, we have a spirit of power. This is power, or courage, to fulfill his pastoral duties, namely, the proclamation of the gospel.

Jesus tells his follows in Acts 1:8

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

The Spirit gives us the power and courage to proclaim the Gospel.

Paul writes of proclaiming Christ crucified this way in...

1 Corinthians 2:4 (ESV)

4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

Paul then prays for the Church in Ephesus in this way

Ephesians 3:16 (ESV)

16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

You see, when we have the Spirit in us, we have the power of the Spirit to proclaim the Christ. But more than just power, we have love.

This love is agape love. A love that is first and foremost for God. Remember that Paul is writing this final letter to Timothy who is leading the church in Ephesus. So as he writes, he is telling him, to rely on the Spirit in your life, don’t be timid because you have the spirit of power and love. So go out and love God and the church, lead the church and love them well.

Not only did God give them a spirit of power and love, but also of self-control.

This is careful and sensible thinking. This is thinking clearly with the wisdom and understanding that comes from God. This would be important for Timothy as he leads the church.

Fear is a driving force in our world today and was likely back then as well. We look at the news and see so much negative things in the world. Fear can bring about confused and irrational thinking. Thoughts and speculation can swirl in our minds when we are consumed with fear.

John Krasinksi - Some Good News

We must look at life and understand that we need God’s power. We need His power in our daily life, to make wise choices, to live in patience, and produce goodness.

[TRANSITION]

The first challenge is to Praise God for Faithful Christians. The second challenge is to Remember the Gift of God Within You. The third challenge is this...

Do Not Be Ashamed of the Gospel (1:8-12)

After thanking God for Timothy’s sincere faith and encouraging him to continue fanning the flame of the gift of God, Paul then tells him, in light of all that, DO NOT BE ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL.

Paul had just explained that because we have the Spirit, we have the power to do whatever it is that God calls us to do, we have the power to love God and others, and we have the power to think wisely and clearly. With these things in mind, Paul tells Timothy to not be ashamed of the Gospel.

Timothy was a timid guy, but maybe he was ashamed that his mentor was in prison? I don’t know. Was he timid because he saw Paul proclaiming Christ and thrown into prison and was afraid that that could possibly be him? I don’t know. Was Timothy just naturally a timid person? I don’t know. Either way, Paul says don’t be ashamed of the gospel nor of Paul himself.

Rather than being ashamed and timid, he tells him to do the opposite. Timothy should share in the suffering that comes about from sharing the gospel.

The Holy Spirit can produce a strength that bears suffering. Paul knew that divine help was available, and he wanted Timothy to use it.

This is something that each and every follower of Christ is commanded to do. Paul explains why Timothy should not be ashamed.

His reason to not be ashamed is because God “saved us and called us to a holy calling…for his own purpose and grace” (1:9)

As followers of Christ, we are given a command to go and make disciples, to go and proclaim Christ crucified. It doesn’t matter what your job is, whether you work for a church or not, we are all called to know God and to make him known.

1 Peter 2:9 (ESV)

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Paul lays out that it is through Christ that we are saved, who defeated death and brought eternal life.

Paul explains the specific calling on his life, to be a preacher, an apostle, and teacher, and it is for these things that he suffers for God.

Today we have all kinds of conflicting and competing ideologies.

One of thee more prevalent worldviews today is “moralistic, therapeutic deism” which is the belief that if people “do good,” “feel good,” and “believe in a god,” then there is a heavenly future awaiting them. The idea that we are actually “bad” and in need of a Savior is viewed as ignorant, primitive, or simply foolish.

Other worldviews have emerged such as the new atheism. This brand of atheism rejects not just God but even rejects a respect for belief in God. Further, the continued growth of other world religions, many of which are hostile toward Christ followers, makes Paul’s charge to “not be ashamed” all the more relevant. Jesus said this himself...

Mark 8:38 (ESV)

38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

As Timothy leads the church in Ephesus, he will need to combat other worldviews and beliefs just as we do today. Just as Paul is a preacher and teacher, so Timothy will be, thus he must be unashamed of the Gospel of Christ. God has called him to lead the church, and speak truth.

We have the Spirit in us that gives us the power we need, the love that we need, and the self-control we need to live out the Gospel.

We must be unashamed because the Gospel is worth it!

In verses 9-12, Paul is exalting the gospel.

2 Timothy 1:9–12 (ESV)

9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10 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, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 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 has been entrusted to me.

The reason Paul was willing to lay down his life for this mission is because he believed the gospel was worth it; Christ was worth it! Paul found Christ to be more desirable, more enjoyable, and more beautiful than anything else. Even dying was gain for Paul because of the view he had of the Savior.

Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus (Why We Suffer: Because the Gospel Is Worth It! (1:9–12a))

In Eric Metaxes’s wonderful biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the last hours of this martyr’s life are particularly moving. Evidently, just 24 hours before Bonhoeffer was executed, he performed the work of a pastor. He gathered some prisoners and held a worship service. He chose Isaiah 53 and 1 Peter 1:3, two passages that speak of God’s glorious salvation and the perfect work of Christ, as his texts for reading and exhortation. Almost immediately after his closing prayer, two men came and said, “Prisoner Bonhoeffer. Get ready to come with us.” All the prisoners knew what these words meant. Bonhoeffer told his friend, “This is the end. For me the beginning of life” (Metaxas, Bonhoeffer, 527–28).

As Bonhoeffer told his friend in prison on that day, so Paul, the Lord’s prisoner, told Timothy that death is only the beginning because Christ “brought life and immortality.” The communion with God that Bonhoeffer and other believers shared in this life only continued in the next; indeed, it got sweeter. As Paul pondered death, he was reminded that there really is no such thing for the believer.

[TRANSITION]

As Paul wraps up why Timothy should be unashamed of the gospel, he states that God is guarding the gospel that Paul has been entrusted to share. This leads to our final challenge.

Guard the Faith (1:13-14)

Paul challenges Timothy to guard the deposit entrusted to him.

The deposit entrusted to him is the gospel of Christ, and the sound teaching is that which he heard from Paul about Christ. Paul considered his life and teaching worth imitating because his focus was not on himself but on imitating Christ.

1 Corinthians 11:1 (ESV)

1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

Philippians 4:9 (ESV)

9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Paul urges Timothy to follow the example he has set.

The gospel is a beautiful thing and it is to be “guarded” with such care that it is not damaged. The word for “guard” is used of protecting such things from intruders and possessions from thieves. Because of the presence of heretics, Timothy was called, and so are we, to protect this beautiful Gospel.

Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus (Guardians of the Gospel (1:13–14))

For those who are called into ministry, this passage is especially relevant. We have been called to protect this gospel. We must protect the gospel from intruders, wolves, and heretics who want to add to or take away from the purity of it. We must keep studying the gospel; we must keep exemplifying the gospel; and we must keep teaching the gospel, all so that our people may know it and communicate it to a world that so desperately needs to receive it.

But this is true for all believes. We have a task to know God and make him known, and when you hear false teaching, or anything that is different than the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we must correct that.

I mentioned earlier that Paul is not afraid to call people out who need to be called out and praise those who are faithfully serving God.

He calls out Phygelus and Hermogenes who turned from Paul... That is all that we know of these two. That’s all Paul tells us, and that’s enough at this point.

But Paul asks that the Lord would grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus who was a faithful Christian from Ephesus who searched for Paul in Rome and brought him relief while he was imprisoned. Paul honors Onesiphorus by commending him to Timothy. Unlike Phygelus and Hermogenes, who deserted Paul, Onesiphorus was not ashamed of Paul’s imprisonment or of the gospel of Christ.

[CONCLUSION]

We can see four challenges within this text.

Praise God for Faithful Christians (1:3-5)

Remember the Gift of God Within You (1:6-7)

Do Not Be Ashamed of the Gospel (1:8-12)

Guard the Faith (1:13-14)

This is the challenge that I leave with you First Hewitt.

Lift up those who are faithfully serving the Lord and praise God.

Remember the gift of God within you. You have the Spirit, so walk in step with the Spirit.

Do not be ashamed of the Gospel, “for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes...”

Guard the faith. Speak what is true, the Gospel of Christ.