2 Timothy 2:1-13 - The Good Soldier
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction:
It is interesting that we come to this Scripture the week after Memorial Day because today we are going to learn about becoming a good soldier for Christ.
Although I have never personally attended basic training, I have talked to many who have endured this difficult training in order to be a part of the United State’s military. During basic training, new recruits are disciplined in many ways. They are pushed to their physical limits through hands on trainings, difficult marches and runs, obstacle courses and more. They are mentally taught the Soldier’s Creed and learn about military history, ethics and values. And they are taught combat skills such rifle marksmanship, first aid, land navigation, and more.
Throughout the training, these new recruits are pushed to their physical, mental, and emotional limits. This helps them build resilience so that they can endure the harsh reality of possibly being sent to war.
Today we are going to be taught about the harsh reality of spiritual warfare that we will all face. Paul is going to give a few different analogies of how we are to endure as we continue serving Christ as a good soldier.
Let’s dive into our Scripture for today…
Read Full Scripture:
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. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.
Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. 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. 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.
Prayer
Today we will see four ways that we are to serve as a good soldier for Jesus Christ. The first is…
I. We Must March Forward as a Good Soldier by the Power of Grace (1-2)
I. We Must March Forward as a Good Soldier by the Power of Grace (1-2)
You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus,
The first part of being able to fight in a war is to know where your strength comes from. Note that Paul doesn’t tell Timothy to reach down deep inside and look within himself to find strength. No, he tells Timothy to be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
Our strength comes from Christ alone.
As many of us already know, grace means unmerited favor. We usually consider grace in the understanding of salvation. We have been saved by grace through faith as we see in Ephesians 2:8. Yet, here we see the continued work of grace in the life of a believer. God’s unmerited favor does not just stop with salvation. He continues pouring that grace into the life of the believer even after salvation.
There are three beautiful truths that are seen in the original Greek verb translated be strengthened. First, the verb’s sense is continuous meaning that Paul tells Timothy to keep on being strong. Second, the verb is an imperative which makes it a direct command. And third, the command is a passive command meaning that the source of this strength is not within himself but must come from the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
In other words, Timothy is commanded to continue being strong knowing that he cannot do it alone - but instead, he can do this only by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
This is an important lesson for all of us.
I have taught this in the past, but I think it bears repetition because we can quickly forget!
We cannot do anything eternally lasting apart from the grace of Christ Jesus.
As Jesus so beautifully stated, apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:5).
Paul had given a similar command in Ephesians 6:10
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
Praise be to God that His strength never fails and is never ending. May we rely on His strength and not our own.
As a good soldier who is being strengthened by Christ Jesus, Paul commands Timothy to train up others as well.
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 had Timothy heard? He had heard the Gospel, true doctrine, and the orthodox teachings of the faith. He had been given the good deposit of the Gospel and the Word of God that we saw back in 2 Timothy 1:12-14.
And these teachings had not been taught privately.
Paul’s teachings have been public. His ministry has been public. Many people have heard what he has taught. And this teaching is to be entrusted to faithful men.
We must recall that 2 Timothy is one of the Pastoral Epistles. Although this letter is the most personal of the three - 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus - it also provides information about church management and government.
His charge to Timothy to entrust the faithful teaching of the Gospel and Word of God to faithful men is a theme of the Pastoral Epistles.
These faithful men who are able to teach likely are what Paul describes in Titus 1:5-9 as well as 1 Timothy 3:1-7. Both of these Scriptures describe the qualifications of a pastor/overseer/elder - all different terms for the same office in the church. If you want more specifics on these qualifications, feel free to go back and listen to my sermon on 1 Timothy 3:1-7.
These men who are called to be pastors must be able to teach and must be faithful to the cause of Christ.
Part of a pastor’s job is to train up other men who will continue to faithfully preach and teach and lead God’s Church forward. We are blessed today because of the countless godly men who have faithfully passed on the faith to faithful men.
However, although the context here is discussing pastors, the application of this Scripture can certainly be applied to all believers.
Moms and dads are to pass on the faith to their children as we saw a couple of weeks ago with the wonderful teaching that Timothy received from his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5). Women are to mentor other women in the faith and men are to mentor other men in the faith.
How are you working to entrust the faith to others?
How are you investing in future generations so that the Gospel may continue moving forward?
This is a call to all of us as seen in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20).
May we continue marching forward through the power of grace as we continue sharing that grace with others. And next may we…
Scripture References: Ephesians 2:8, John 15:5, Ephesians 6:10, 2 Timothy 1:12-14, Titus 1:5-9, 1 Timothy 3:1-7, 2 Timothy 1:5, Matthew 28:18-20
II. We Must March Forward as a Good Soldier by Pushing Toward the Goal (3-6)
II. We Must March Forward as a Good Soldier by Pushing Toward the Goal (3-6)
Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.
In keeping with his first letter to Timothy, Paul continues to use a warfare analogy (1 Timothy 1:18).
He will give three analogies in this section about what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. This first is that of a soldier.
In this analogy Paul asserts three things:
A good soldier will:
1 - Suffer Faithfully
2 - Serve Uncompromisingly
3 - Submit Single-mindedly
1 - Suffer Faithfully:
Being a soldier means that one will suffer. Jesus has called us to a life of suffering as we follow Him (Matthew 24:13-14). Some of us will suffer more than others. However, there is always a cost of discipleship for those who follow Christ.
No one becomes a soldier without knowing that hardships will arise. They don’t join the military for an easy time or to enjoy safety. They understand the risks involved and embrace the challenge because they see their calling as worth it.
For us as Christian soldiers - we must see our Commander as worth it. We must remain dedicated to the Lord Jesus.
One of the greatest temptations that will rage against our faithfulness comes in the form of worldly desires - which brings us to our second requirement of being a good soldier: we are to…
2- Serve Uncompromisingly:
Paul asserts that a good soldier does not get entangled by civilian matters. This idea of being entangled literally means ‘to weave.’ This illustration reminds me of a basket that has been weaved. The things of this world can find their way into the weave of the basket and be difficult to remove - kind of like this pretty ribbon placed into this basket. Although it is possible to remove it, it has weaved itself into the basket and will take much effort to remove.
The reason I am using this example of something pretty that needs to removed is because we must note that Paul is not explicitly bringing up sinful issues here. These civilian matters are not all necessarily sinful issues. They are the things that are not a part of the job description of a soldier.
These are likely worldly issues such as buying or selling, our jobs, or other worldly business.
If we are not careful, the cares of this world can choke out our service to the Lord. We can begin to compromise on the mission that Christ has called us to. We can become less prepared for the battle that lies ahead. The problem does not lie within the civilian matters themselves. The problem begins when they begin to entangle us.
There is an old saying that still has a lot of truth in it - if Satan can’t make you bad, he will make you busy.
These entanglements are rampant in today’s culture. Everyone is busy it seems. Many seem to not have time to devote to the Lord, His Word, prayer, discipleship, mentoring, Bible study, or even church attendance in many cases. Sports, leisure, hobbies, and more take the front seat of many people’s lives leading them to compromise their time as a soldier.
Brothers and sisters, we must shun these distractions and remain uncompromised as we serve Christ as a good soldier.
We must not miss the fact that we are in a spiritual battle.
Finally, we must…
3 - Submit Single-mindedly:
A soldier may be tempted to avoid suffering. He may be tempted to compromise. But the worst temptation of all is treason.
A good soldier always aims to please His Commander.
As we follow Christ, we must be solely devoted to Him.
Paul has a second analogy of following Christ in verse 5…
An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.
Paul uses athletic metaphors often in his writing. Whereas the soldier analogy stressed the need for dedication, the underlying point of this analogy is discipline.
The athlete, in order to win, must compete according to the rules.
In the Greek games which continued into the Roman Empire, there were three qualifications. One had to born a national citizen. One had to prepare for ten months and swear to that training before a statue of Zeus. And finally, one had to compete within the specific rules of the given event.
Paul uses this metaphor to describe the Christian’s service.
Obviously a believer must first and foremost be born again (John 3).
We must then continue preparing and training through faithful study of God’s Word and through prayer. And as we grow we are to maintain pure doctrine and righteous and holy living as we run the race.
Lastly we come to our final analogy:
It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.
We have seen the dedication of soldier, the discipline of the athlete, and now we see the determination of the hard-working farmer.
Farming is difficult work today but in the first century it was back-breaking!
The difficult part about farming is that there are so many variables that you cannot control. You cannot completely control how much sun the plants get, how much water they receive, or what kind of yield the crop will provide. These variables make it hard to keep persevering as a farmer.
The Christian walk can be a lot like farming. There is a lot of difficult labor, and sometimes that labor doesn’t seem to pay off. You might spend countless hours mentoring someone and the growth just doesn’t seem to be there. Many pastors preach week by week and don’t seem to see a lot of growth from their congregation or they don’t see their congregation grow in number. Some of us share the gospel with many people only to see a small minority come to faith.
We must remind ourselves that Christ promises a reward to us for our faithfulness and determined perseverance - not based on the outcomes of our work. He determines the outcome. God gives the growth. Paul taught this concept in 1 Corinthians 3:6:
I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.
God determines the outcome of our labor, not us.
We have seen that we must march forward with dedication, discipline, and determination as we push toward the goal, and next we see that…
Scripture References: 1 Timothy 1:18, Matthew 24:13-14, John 3, 1 Corinthians 3:6
III. We Must March Forward as a Good Soldier by the Promise of the Gospel (7-10)
III. We Must March Forward as a Good Soldier by the Promise of the Gospel (7-10)
Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
Timothy is to meditate on the words he has received from Paul, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, Timothy will understand everything he is intended to understand in order to accomplish the purpose of the Lord.
These words are the very words of God as God has inspired the writings of Paul by the power of the Holy Spirit.
We see this mentioned in 2 Peter 1:21
For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
But not only did the Holy Spirit inspire the Word of God, He also illuminates it. We have discussed the doctrine of illumination many times. After coming to Christ through salvation, we are filled with the Holy Spirit. The Person of the Holy Spirit helps us understand the Word of God.
This wonderful promise to Timothy here is also given to us. This promise was actually mentioned even in the Old Testament by the prophet Jeremiah who stated:
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
In introducing the New Covenant - namely the Gospel that we will discuss more in verses 8-9 to come - God promised to put His law within those who came to Him through Christ. Because we are indwelled by the Holy Spirit, we are able to understand the Bible! This doesn’t negate Bible study and the need for discipleship. But it is a blessing to us that the Lord will personally confirm the teachings of the Scriptures and show us what they mean.
But this is only available for those who have repented of their sins and placed their faith and trust in Christ as seen in the following verses…
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.
Paul was never one to miss an opportunity to preach the Gospel. He reminds Timothy, yet again, about the truth of the Gospel.
As we serve Jesus faithfully, we must continually remember our Savior and His Gospel. This is clearly articulated in Hebrews 12:2-3 where we are charged to remember or consider Christ Who is the author and perfecter of our faith that is seated at the right hand of God.
Paul, here, magnifies both the humanity of Christ - that He is the offspring of David, and the deity of Christ - that He has been raised from the dead. The Gospel message understands that Christ is truly man and truly God.
Paul then goes on to tell us that he suffers for the sake of the Gospel and for the sake of the elect - meaning those who would come to faith such as us in the future. He understood that there were many believers to come to Christ through the Gospel that he had been preaching. His suffering was not in vain. Despite him being bound - the Word of God was not bound.
Paul was always one to remember the promise of the Gospel. Listen to him in his letter to the Philippians (writing from his second imprisonment but first in Rome):
I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
Paul saw his suffering as a catalyst to the spread of the Gospel. He was able to share the Gospel to the entire imperial guard. These guards would be chained to Paul and end up hearing the Gospel message time and time again. And because of his imprisonment, other brothers became more bold to speak the Word of God.
Despite persecution, the Word of God will not be bound.
This was clearly seen in an account from the 1930’s.
In the 1930’s, communist dictator Joseph Stalin ordered a purge of all of the Bibles as well as all of the believers in the Soviet Union. Thousands of Bibles were confiscated, and many believers were sent to the gulags [goo-logs] (or forced labor camps in the Soviet Union).
After the fall of Communism, a missionary organization named CoMission sent a team to Stavropol (Stav-ra-pull) to bring Bibles to the area. Despite their best efforts, they were having difficulty getting Bibles shipped from Moscow. After praying, one of the members courageously went to a warehouse that was known to have once stored Bibles in the area that were confiscated. The officials over the warehouse amazingly allowed the mission organization to distribute these Bibles to area.
But that’s not the most amazing part of this account. One of the helpers who came to hand out the Bibles was a local young man looking for a day’s wage. He actually was hostile to the faith and was an outspoken agnostic but came to make some money. During the loading process, the young man slipped away and was found in a corner of the warehouse crying. He had stolen a Bible. Yet, once opening the Bible, he saw that this particular Bible belonged to his grandmother - a woman persecuted for her faith all of her life.
Despite the chains that she experienced on earth, the Word of God was not chained. It continued working even unto the salvation of her once hostile grandson.
May we march forward because of the promise of the Gospel. And lastly…
Scripture References: 2 Peter 1:21, Jeremiah 31:33-34, Hebrews 12:2-3, Philippians 1:12-14
IV. We Must March Forward as a Good Soldier Through Perseverance Given by God (11-13)
IV. We Must March Forward as a Good Soldier Through Perseverance Given by God (11-13)
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.
Paul likes to use this phrase about a saying being trustworthy. He uses this phrase some five times in the pastoral epistles.
Many commentators think that this Scripture was likely sung as a hymn in the early church. This hymn has some very deep theology built in.
Let’s break this hymn down line by line.
1 - If we died with him, we will also live with him.
This first line appears to parallel Paul’s teaching on baptism in Romans 6. It likely speaks of the spiritual death that believers undergo in order to be saved. Baptism is a symbol of being born again as we clearly taught in John 3. When we are baptized, it symbolizes our identifying with Christ’s death and resurrection. The old us has died and new us has risen. We identify with Christ by being buried with Him and raised with Him to new life.
We see the promise of eternal life in this first line. If we have been born again, we will live with Christ forever in eternity. But not just live - we will reign with Christ as we see in the second stanza…
2 - If we endure, we will also reign with him.
Only true believers will endure unto the end. Jesus will preserve those who are His. No one will snatch believers from God’s hand (John 10:29).
Obviously Christ far outshines us. However, Jesus will allow us to reign with Him - remaining always subject to His eternal glory. But what amazing reward of reigning with Christ is promised here? We do not know the specifics of what this entails in eternity, but we can hold fast to this promise.
After two beautiful promises of blessing to those who are true believers, we come to the third stanza…
3- If we deny him, he will also deny us.
The phrase here means to disown Christ. This is a final apostacy of desertion of Christ. This proves that one was not a true believer. Listen to John teach this in 1 John 2:19:
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.
Some may appear as believers. Like Phygelus and Hermogenes that we mentioned last week who deserted Paul and Christ (2 Timothy 1:15), many are not truly disciples of Jesus Christ. Those false converts will face eternal judgement. Jesus teaches this clearly in Matthew 10:32-33:
So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
May we heed this warning and as we discussed last week - may we live unashamed of the Gospel.
Finally, we come to the fourth and final stanza…
4 - If we are faithless, he remains faithful — for he cannot deny himself.
This final stanza is the hardest to understand. The first three have been clear and to the point. Yet, many theologians have debated the meaning of this last line.
There are two possible meanings here in this final stanza and both are true when looking at the entirety of Scripture.
1 - Faithlessness of the Unsaved
This first interpretation would believe that Paul speaks of those who are unfaithful to God and thus apostate. These are false converts. Theologians taking this approach would state that Christ is faithful to His own name and will eternally punish those who are faithless and apostate.
There is certainly truth in this understanding of Scripture. Those who are false converts and unbelievers will suffer eternal punishment.
The other possibility is that Paul speaks of the…
2 - Faithlessness of the Saved
Other commentators speak of the struggles of faithfulness in the lives of believers. They consider those such as Peter who denied Jesus yet was restored because of the faithfulness of Christ’s call to Peter (John 21:15-19). They talk about the preservation of believers by the Lord and the fact that Lord keep His covenant of grace.
Both of these interpretations are orthodox. False converts and unbelievers will face eternal torment in hell. And true believers, despite their temporary failures, will be preserved by the Lord Jesus.
May we heed these warnings and hold fast to the promises of God as well.
Scripture References: Romans 6, John 3, John 10:29, 1 John 2:19, 2 Timothy 1:15, Matthew 10:32-33, John 21:15-19
Conclusion
As we come to a close, we have been given a charge to march forward by the power of grace, by pushing toward the goal, by holding fast to the promise of the Gospel, and through persevering by the power of God.
May we all be good soldier’s of Christ. By His grace and His power, may we continue running the race with all diligence.
