A Sincere 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)

Often the last words of a loved on are memorable. They may whisper words of love, encouragement, or a challenge. But 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. Paul nearing the end of his ministry, had an urgency to write once again to Timothy. This letter depicts Paul eager to bolster the faith of a young pastor. He wanted to ground Timothy firmly in his obligations to Christ and the church.

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.

This is God’s Word for God’s people.

[TRANSITION]

What we can see in this passage is that

When we strengthen our faith, we will then boldly live for the faith.

Paul opens his letter by thanking God and remembering the faith of Timothy and his family.

Timothy grew up in a christian home.

Acts 16:1 (ESV)

“…Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer…”

His mother, Eunice, raise Timothy to know the Lord and Old Testament.

2 Timothy 3:15 (ESV)

15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings…”

Timothy had a growing faith and one worth recognizing.

Im sure we all know someone whose faith is sincere. Someone who is always pointing you back to the Lord and treat every moment as a teachable moment. These people have a faith that stands out and they are constantly working on growing in there faith. These are the people you should sit under and learn from.

[TRANSITION]

Within this text, Paul gives Timothy us 3 things that we must do with our sincere faith.

A sincere faith must GROW in the faith. (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.

Have you ever had a fire that was getting to small and not producing the heat you wanted. You needed to get down and fan it or blow into it to grow the flame. It took intentional effort to grow the flame.

That is what Paul is telling Timothy he must do, he must work to grow the gift of God inside him. This gift he is talking about is the Spirit of God living in him.

Galatians 5:25 (ESV)

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

Keeping in step is intentionally pursuing after the Lord, by putting into practice spiritual disciplines. Meditating on God’s word, conversing with God, memorizing scripture, having faith conversations with a more mature brother or sister to grow in your knowledge of God.

In all of this ,the spirit gives us power, love, and self-control. Growing in our faith helps us love one another, and have self-control but the power is more of a unique term here. Jesus told his follows about the Sprit and what it would give to them.

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.

[TRANSITION]

What else does Paul say regarding a sincere faith?

A sincere faith is UNASHAMED of the gospel. (1:8-12)

In light of Timothy’s sincere faith and encouraging him to grow in his faith, Paul then tells him, DO NOT BE ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL.

In verse 8, it says, “do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord” meaning the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Timothy should share in the suffering that comes about from sharing the gospel.

The Holy Spirit gives us power that can endure 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. And Paul expounds on why we should be unashamed.

His reason in verse 9 is because God “saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of works but because of his own purpose and grace” (1:9)

This is a call for all people whom God has called. We must go and proclaim Christ crucified.

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.

God has called us to proclaim the gospel and we must be unashamed and willing to suffer for it.

We have a warning from Jesus himself when he spoke to a crowd and his disciples saying

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 be aware of, and at times combat other worldviews and beliefs just as we do today. And just as Paul was unashamed of Christ, so Timothy must be, t unashamed of the Gospel of Christ. God has called him to lead the church, and to speak the truth of who God is and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

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!

Paul exalts the gospel in verses 9-12.

The reason Paul was willing to lay down his life for this mission is because he believed the gospel was worth it and that 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).

The gospel is worth it and a sincere faith is unashamed of the gospel.

[TRANSITION]

What else doesPaul say that a sincere faith do must do?

A sincere faith must GUARD the faith (1:13-14)

Paul challenges Timothy to guard the deposit entrusted to him.

One of the first ways Paul encourages Timothy to do that is by follow the pattern of sound words. Paul wants Timothy to imitate how he has addressed people and preached the gospel.

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 distorted. The gospel can be easily manipulated or altered and there are people who would do so.

Timothy was called, and so are we, to protect this beautiful Gospel, to keep it pure, to not alter it but proclaim it in all its glory.

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 purpose, 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.

Paul would then call out those who would turn from the faith and then someone who boldly stood with Paul.

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.

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]

You may look at these lasts few people Paul mentions and think, “Man, I don’t want to be called out for walking away, I want to be know for standing of for Christ and his followers.”

A sincere faith must continue to grow. We have the Spirit within us which means we have the power, love and self-control to do that. We can grow, we can be unashamed and we can guard the faith and speak what is true.