The End
2 Timothy • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Reference to video: Decisions
That is what Paul did in his life.
He trusted the Lord and followed the path that God laid out for him.
And now at the end of his life Paul reflects on his life and gives us a summary of his life.
It also serves as a summary of his final letter to Timothy and a passing off of the baton.
Paul has already used an athletic and military metaphor before in this letter and so now he comes back to that.
He also just got done pointing out and reminding Timothy of the Bema seat award to come.
As well as emphasizing the importance of proclaiming Jesus and holding firmly to the truth and sound doctrine.
He now summarizes his letter to Timothy in his concluding statement.
In this text we’ll see Paul describe his life in 4 ways:
A Sacrificial Offering
An Athletic Competition
A Military Trust
The Crown of Righteousness
We’ll also discuss the final passing of the baton to Timothy.
Read 2 Timothy 4:5-8
A Sacrificial Offering: Living a Life Of Worship (vs 6)
A Sacrificial Offering: Living a Life Of Worship (vs 6)
Poured Out as a Drink Offering
to make a libation, which is a ritual pouring out of a liquid as an offering - offered on an altar
The background to this drink offering is given in Numbers 28
‘You shall offer the one lamb in the morning and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight; also a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with a fourth of a hin of beaten oil. ‘It is a continual burnt offering which was ordained in Mount Sinai as a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord. ‘Then the drink offering with it shall be a fourth of a hin for each lamb, in the holy place you shall pour out a drink offering of strong drink to the Lord.
Libations were often in connection to a blood sacrifice.
God told the Jews to pour out a drink offering of wine.
Being poured out, then, became symbolic of death.
Paul was clearly telling Timothy that he knew his time on earth was done.
In using this metaphor, Paul sees his life as a sacrificial offering to Christ.
The concept of a living sacrifice.
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
Paul implies that since his conversion he was a dead man walking.
dead to sin and self.
walking in the Spirit living a sacrificial life of worship
But, now, Paul sees his death as a drink offering; an act of worship.
My Departure Has Come
noun - where we get our word for analysis
with the thought of the end analysis.
the final overview
verbal form
I am loosing the anchor of the ship and setting sail for a better world.
It’s time to break camp, pack up my tent and move on.
Paul knew this was the end of the line for him as he was heading to Rome for his beheading. 56-58 ad
But in using this term in this context, there is a subtle sense of accomplishment and contentment in a job well done.
With the metaphor of a soldier in the mix, the thought of breaking camp and packing up his tent is in line with the thought that his tour of duty has been served and he is packing up to head home.
Paul was a tent maker and this would have been in his mind as he already used this metaphor before in regards to going home to heaven.
For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.
we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
Application:
Like Paul, whether we live or die, we too are to consider our life as an offering of worship to God.
Our life’s blood is poured out upon the altar of sacrifice to live our lives in a way that is pleasing to the Lord.
We are to use whatever gifts and talents God has given us to serve Him through serving others.
Paul is a slick linguist. He uses words in magnificent ways.
All three of these next phrases are in the perfect tense indicating a completed state.
Paul’s ministry was complete.
Also adding to the thought of contentment in a job well done.
In addition, all three phrases can go one of 2 ways, athletics or military, which Paul was fond of using both.
We’ll look at the athletic side first.
An Athletic Competition: Effort in a Noble Match (vs 7)
An Athletic Competition: Effort in a Noble Match (vs 7)
I have fought the good fight
agon - striving, contest for victory or mastery
boxing, wrestling
athletic discipline
kalos - expresses beauty as a harmonious completeness, balance, proportion.
that was a beautifully balanced routine.
that was an honorable, noble match
I have finished the course (NASB)
Course - running a race. Figuratively of one’s life.
Finish here is not just to end something, though, but to bring it to perfection or its destined goal.
I have done all that I can do. Heritage.
I have trained hard, overcame obstacles, disciplined my life, and have done everything I could to perform to the best of my ability.
The contest is over and all that is left is an awaiting for the awarding of the prize.
I have kept the faith
an athletic metaphor of keeping the rules
I have been faithful to what I believe.
I have been faithful to the Gospel.
I have been obedient to do what has been asked of me in this competition.
Application
Just like Paul, we are to run in such a say so that we might win.
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.
Like Paul we are focused not on the temporal crowns of victory that fade, but on the eternal rewards that will last through eternity.
Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
Also like Paul, we are to be faithful to what our faith asks of us and put the effort in to fulfill the expectations of our match.
Finally, we need to follow the rules so that we will not be disqualified.
A Military Trust: Completion of the Mission
A Military Trust: Completion of the Mission
Now we’ll see those three phrases through a military lens.
Fought the good fight.
agon - struggle, strife and contention.
fought - agonizomai
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”
(agony) - exertion and a concentration of forces.
the pain and labor of the conflict.
connected to spiritual warfare in particular.
But in the NT is more of an internal battle and struggle.
persevering amid temptation and opposition.
used to refer to trembling anxiety produced by fear or tension.
For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within.
And yet, in the NT a fear which trembles in the face of the issue, yet continues on to the end.
kalos - healthy, serviceable, ordered or sound.
Fight or flight: this fear becomes a good fear and leads one to fight on to persevere and become victorious over the conflict.
virtuous.
I have fought the virtuous fight.
I have fought this spiritual battle with integrity
character
Finished the course.
I have finished the mission.
To fulfill or execute fully
to pay a debt off. in this case a debt to serve the king.
I have fulfilled the obligations of my mission to the king.
I have executed fully what was assigned to me.
Kept the faith.
tereo - to guard or keep an eye on, to watch and observe attentively
soldier on guard
figuratively means to keep in safety, preserve, maintain.
Viewed faith as a treasure and good deposit needing watchful oversight.
Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.
He has protected the integrity of faith until the end and like a good soldier was presenting his keep to the Captain.
I have protected it and here it is safe and sound.
I have been loyal to my trust to my faith.
I now await the discharging from my duties.
Application:
We, like Paul, are on a mission to guard this sacred trust in fulfilling the orders given to us.
Will we be able to stand in that day and say, “I have fulfilled my duty and I am ready to be discharged.”
In light of the spiritual battle and the moral and cultural battles of our day, will we live lives of integrity and virtue.
The Crown of Righteousness: The Award / Commendation (vs 8)
The Crown of Righteousness: The Award / Commendation (vs 8)
In the future (NASB) there is laid up for me
laid up - set aside for preservation.
to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
reserved - guarded - same word as in kept the faith earlier.
you can’t lose it because you’re not the one watching out over it.
God is guarding it, God is preserving it, and God will deliver it to you.
In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.
sealed -
a mark of ownership
to set a seal for the sake of security, to guarantee its safe delivery
promise - a legal term denoting a promise to do or give something.
pledge
earnest money - something which stands for part of the price and paid beforehand to confirm the whole of the transaction.
In real estate - you only lose the earnest money if you default on something on your end.
But God is the one who paid the earnest money and He will not default on His end.
You will receive what has been promised.
redemption
until God redeems his possession.
with a view...looking ahead to when we will get it.
a hopeful certainty
it’s already a done deal, we just have not received it fully yet.
when God pays up, he will redeem his property - us - and we will acquire our inheritance.
praise
applause for the fulfillment of or obtaining of
assurance...if we don’t get into heaven after all that God did, there is no applause given.
it all becomes an empty effort, vain and pointless, as if God couldn’t come through on His promised victory.
we are His trophy and His trophy will be displayed in His trophy case so all may applaud what He did.
living hope...
So after coming to faith, our entrance into glory and the receiving of our reward is a done deal.
God has already promised it WILL happen and He will see to it that it will.
This is why Paul could say with confidence that there is a crown coming.
It is reserved, preserved, and promised to him.
And God will deliver.
The Crown of Righteousness
Stephanos - In classical Greek not used of the kingly crown, but rather the crown of victory in games or war.
The wreath woven of oak, ivy, myrtle, olive leaves or flowers.
The same word is used in I Cor 9 - about the perishable wreath vs. imperishable one.
Interestingly enough, the stephanos was also granted to those who came back from a military victory.
Righteousness - 2 sides of the same coin
the result of being justified by God.
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.
We are declared righteous because of Christ’s righteousness.
We are righteous positionally, now.
Paul says he will finally attain the full righteousness that positionally was his already in Christ.
Conformity of my life to the standards of God.
Sanctified
Connected to obedience
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
“Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
So the crown of righteousness is a reminder of what God has done for us and how we rightly responded to what He did for us.
Subtly, then, it includes the thought: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
That would then signify both the reward athletically and the commendation to the soldier.
For us it’s like looking up on the shelf and seeing the trophy and being reminded of that amazing year and everything that went into it.
That crown is a continual reminder of all that God did and all that God did through us.
And in the end we praise and glorify Him.
Which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day
refers back to vs.1 - judging the living and the dead.
Righteous Judge
Justice without any deficiency or failure.
His judgment will perfectly align with the standard and he will perfectly assign the appropriate judgment.
Therefore, in that day all judgments will be accepted as just.
There will be no excuse or argument to the contrary of what was given.
The umpire/referee who makes no mistakes and who always is fair will award me appropriately.
No gymnastic score cheating scandals.
And not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.
loved
agapao - a direction of the will finding one’s joy in someone or something
a love called out of one’s heart because of the preciousness of the object loved.
to have our hearts set on His coming appearance.
Why? Because we long for Him.
And it will be said in that day, “Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”
Application:
Know for certain that if you have put your faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior that you have an inheritance reserved, preserved, and promised to you which you will receive when God comes to call us home.
Do we long for that day like Paul?
Are we ready to claim that crown of righteousness?
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
Timothy, I have said all that I need to say, and now I am ready to make my sacrifice complete.
My battle is done and I’m packing my bags and heading home.
I’ve faithfully and with integrity competed to the best of my abilities and am ready for my crown.
Wuest’s Word Studies in the Greek New Testament Chapter Four
The desperate, straining, agonizing contest marked by its beauty of technique, I, like a wrestler, have fought to the finish, and at present am resting in its victory. My race, I, like a runner, have finished, and at present am resting at the goal. The Faith committed to my care, I, like a soldier, have kept safely through everlasting vigilance, and have delivered it again to my Captain.
vs. 5 - You, however, (NASB) must fulfill your ministry because I have fulfilled mine and it is time for you to take over.
I am passing the baton to you.
Final Application:
Death comes to all of us and as the leaders of the former generation die, it is all the more urgent for those of the next generation to step forward bravely and take their place.
We cannot rest forever on the leadership of the preceding generations. The day comes when we must step into their shoes and ourselves take the lead.
But in order to do that, we have to commit to live as Paul lived, now.
We have to embrace the mission, train for the race, and step up to the plate.
This is your mission should you choose to accept it...Will you accept the mission?
Looking for those who would be interested and willing to serve as deacons and elders
This year Aaron will be coming off as an elder for at least one year.
Next year Larry will coming off as a deacon for at least one year.
Closing Song:
The Way The Truth And The Life
