A Commission to Confidence

As I look over these first two chapters in 2 Timothy, I tend to get a little weary! So far in our study we have seen our commission to courage and to character. We have been challenged to suffer for Christ and hold tight to the truth. Last week Paul challenged us to character, which we defined as allowing the grace of God to strengthen us to make right choices. Are you like me, sometimes looking at the challenge and wondering if you can do it? I know many soldiers who, at times in their service, tire of carrying their pack and rifle, and just want to know if it was all worth it. Is the work worthwhile? Do I have the inner strength and the motivation to carry on in the face of tough circumstances? Is all of the struggle worth it?

No doubt Timothy faced many of the same struggles. He was the pastor of the church in Ephesus, but as we have seen he dealt with some mighty opposition. He probably felt the same way you and I can feel as we walk with Christ, and so Paul takes some time to reassure Timothy that he can be confident that his service for the Lord is worthwhile. Even when things might look bleak, Paul gives Timothy reason for hope.

Maybe you’ve felt some of the same in your life. Is it worth it? Can I overcome the hurdles, the pressure and opposition to committing my life for Christ? Will it be worth the struggle? Do my choices matter? Is Jesus really standing with me in my life? Paul assures us in our passage that we can be confident as we serve the Lord Jesus Christ with our lives, and tells us that Jesus loves us unconditionally, and also holds us accountable for our faithfulness. 2 Timothy 2:8-13, then, serves in this wonderful letter as our Commission to Confidence.

1. God Overcomes Opposition (2:8-10). From our study so far in 2 Timothy, we can see that Timothy was in the middle of a dogfight in Ephesus. Men like Phygelus and Hermogenes (1:15) had abandoned Paul in his time of need. Next week we will see that there are men like them in Timothy’s congregation in Ephesus as well[1]! We can see that there was opposition from all sides in Timothy’s life: from outside the church (in the form of the Roman government’s imprisonment of Paul and persecution of other believers) as well as from inside it (Phygelus, Hermogenes, Hymaneus, and Philetus serve as examples).

Can you imagine the struggle Timothy must have been facing? Here we have a young pastor, a man who appears to be a thoughtful and soft-spoken man. His mentor in life is shackled and about to die. Timothy’s shining example of godliness, his rock and source of strength in his walk with Christ, is humiliated and about to be executed. If you were in his shoes, how would you feel? I bet that I would be on the verge of tears, ready to throw in the towel and call it quits. Maybe, just maybe he was thinking about all the setbacks in ministry and the opposition he faced, and wondered if it was worth the hassle. Paul knows this young man, and so he begins our commission to confidence by reminding Timothy that God has overcome great opposition, and continues to do so.

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, (2 Timothy 2:8)

It doesn’t take Paul long to get right to the heart of the matter with Timothy. If Timothy has faced opposition, how does it compare with the opposition that Jesus faced? Jesus had absolutely no sin in His life. He obeyed the Father perfectly, and for His efforts was rejected by His people and brutally murdered. Jesus knows opposition! If that was the end of the story then we would be a sad and pitiful people, but that’s not where the story ends.

Paul comforts Timothy with the outcome of Jesus’ crucifixion: Jesus is risen from the dead! That’s the very heart of the message of eternal life that Paul preached[2]: Jesus paid the ultimate price for the sin of the world and then, because of His perfect life and obedience, conquered death forever! He fulfilled prophecy as the descendant of David, and also shines as the perfect example of David’s overcoming of suffering and opposition to be blessed by God.

This is the first part of Timothy’s comfort and confidence. Yes, he was in the middle of opposition, but Jesus faced more opposition that he ever would. Jesus conquered the worst opposition in history, and as believers we share in His victory. Paul calls Timothy (and us) to keep the truth in mind of Christ’s overcoming of all opposition. The way he tells Timothy to “remember” in the Greek text[3], Paul is encouraging him to keep the truths of Christ’s victory front-and-center. The first reason we can be confident as Christians is simple: Jesus overcame the worst opposition imaginable, and even overcame death!

for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned. (2 Timothy 2:9)

Paul next moves from Jesus’ victory over death to his own imprisonment. Again, it would only be natural for Timothy to feel a little dejected as a result of Paul’s imprisonment. Paul begins by explaining the charges against him. He is suffering the hardship of imprisonment, and makes it clear that his imprisonment was the worst kind[4]. He was being horribly mistreated, his only crime being a commitment to tell people about Jesus.

The main point here, though, isn’t about Paul’s imprisonment. The point of this verse is about the word of God! Even though Paul is bound like a violent offender, nothing that Rome could do to Paul could stop the word of God. Even if Paul is clapped in irons, the word of God cannot be imprisoned! A wicked government can silence the messenger, but Paul rejoices that it cannot silence the message. Verse 10 explains what Paul means:

For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory. (2 Timothy 2:10)

Here Paul explains for Timothy why he is chained. To get his point we are going to have to slow down a little here and pick our way through this verse. Is it because Rome hates him? No. Is it because Satan wants his message silenced? No. There are three key words that we must observe in this passage before we can understand what Paul means when he explains his incarceration:

Also: Paul tells us that he is in prison for the benefit of the benefit of “the ones who are chosen.” He says it is for the sake of the chosen, so that they also have an opportunity. Paul is in prison so that others like Timothy, and like you and me, can have the same benefit he had. Paul has had a great opportunity, and he wants to “pay it forward” to us!

And…it: If you look closely at the NASB Bible here, you will notice that the words “and” and “it” at the end of this verse are italicized. When we see italicized words in the NASB it means those words have been added for emphasis or clarity by the translators. They are not in the text of the Greek New Testament! Most times I agree with the translators, but here I think they missed Paul’s point. If we read the end of the verse without the “helping” words, it reads, “so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.”

That captures Paul’s heart here. Why is Paul in jail? Not because he has failed, but for our benefit. God allowed Paul to be arrested and bound so that the work could carry on without him. Paul knew that he was going to hear “Well done, good and faithful servant!”[5] It seems here, though, that Paul knew that if he had been allowed to continue the church would have depended upon him too much.

God took Paul out of the picture of ministry to show Timothy (and all the other churches Paul had founded) that they could get along without their spiritual father. God could work through them just like He worked through Paul, and the church would grow regardless of Paul’s ability to lead it personally. The Word of God would carry on when Paul couldn’t! Having their leader imprisoned was no barrier to Timothy being a good servant of Christ; in fact, it provided him the opportunity to earn the same type of reward that Paul knew he had ahead of him. Serving Christ and expanding His work is not a matter of personality.

Let’s think about how verses 8 through 10 give us confidence to live for God:

We know that anything that we could possibly go through is no match for the suffering that Jesus underwent to pay for our eternal life. Jesus overcame the worst treatment imaginable, and conquered death! Christians share Jesus’ resurrection, so the worst punishment our society could possibly dish out to us has lost its power to scare us. Jesus overcame death, and since death has no hold on us we can have confidence in serving Christ.

Even when obstacles appear (such as Paul’s imprisonment), the word of God can’t be imprisoned! What looks like a setback or a defeat can actually, in the hands of our mighty and loving God, be a great victory.

God removes obstacles to our serving Christ, even taking things that we may love out of our way so that we can serve Him fully. Sometimes those we lean on for ministry or for leadership need to be taken out of our way to allow us the opportunity to step up into new roles of leadership and service.

When we are obedient and use the great opportunities that God provides for us to be spiritual leaders, it leads not only to heaven, but to great reward from Jesus for our faithfulness.

2. We are secure, yet scrutinized (2:11-13). The rest of our passage today looks like a quote Paul takes from an early church hymn. This verse ties in with what we just studied very closely in verses 8-10; Paul wants Timothy and the other faithful stewards of the ministry of Christ to have salvation; not just that, he wants them to have a warm welcome and blessing for all eternity to accompany it. To drive the point home for Timothy even further, he quotes a hymn or saying that the early church used, probably in its worship services. We will have to look at this saying very closely to avoid some pitfalls in interpretation, but by stepping carefully through the text we will gain even more confidence to serve God with our whole heart.

It is a trustworthy statement:

For if we 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. (2 Timothy 2:11-13)

Paul begins by introducing this statement as “trustworthy” or literally “faithful.” He wants Timothy to think over these words, to “chew” on them mentally and let them bolster his confidence. Since we stand in the same place as Timothy, we can take confidence in them as well! To take confidence from them, we have to see how they are arranged and how they relate to each other.

This quote is arranged in a pattern known as a “chiasm” or “chiasmus.” That is a big, important-sounding word that just describes a type of poetry or memory device that was pretty common in Jewish writings[6]. We find it in many places in the New Testament (as well as the Old), and understanding it can greatly aid us in understanding how Paul hopes to give us confidence in Christ here.

This nifty little memory device uses a pattern to help us remember the saying and keep its’ understanding straight. In a simple one (like we have here) the first and last lines are related to each other, and the middle two lines are related to each other. The outline looks like this:

A. A statement is made

B. A different statement is made
B’. A statement is made that relates to B

A’. A statement is made that relates to A

If we arranged verses 11-13 by this outline, we see which ones relate to each other:

A. For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him;

B. If we endure, we will also reign with Him;
B’. If we deny Him, He also will deny us;

A’. If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.

Here is how they work: The first and last statement in this hymn talk about our security as believers in Jesus Christ.

The first statement is very clear: if we died with Him, we will live with Him. “If we died” is a past tense verb, and here that looks back to the day that we each placed faith alone in Jesus alone to have eternal life. Paul begins by looking back to the day we became a believer, and the promise he makes us here is that on that day our eternal destiny is forever sealed. If we died with Him, we will live with Him! There is no “if we died with him and do enough good things” or “if we died with Him and He feels like it when we die.” If we died with Him, we will live with Him!

The last statement also talks about our security. Now Paul shifts into the present tense with the words “if we are faithless.” What happens, as believers, when we blow it big-time? What happens when we ignore Jesus in our decision-making? Does He then forget about our placing faith in Him, and send us to eternal condemnation? Paul here clearly says that the answer is “no.” Even if we are faithless, Jesus remains faithful. Faithful to what? Paul says Jesus is faithful to Himself! When we place faith alone in Christ alone, God puts Jesus’ own righteousness into our account[7]. When the Father looks at us, He doesn’t see our sin and our unrighteousness; God looks at us and sees His perfect Son, Jesus. Jesus can’t deny His own righteousness access into heaven, so even in our unfaithfulness Jesus keeps us secure in the love of God.

It is at this point that we might be tempted to think, “Well, great, I have put my eternal destiny in the hands of Jesus. He will keep me secure even if I am unfaithful with His great gifts, so why not go out and have some fun? Jesus will still be there, right?”[8] Before we make that leap, let’s take a page from Paul Harvey and look at “the rest of the story”! We have to look at the two inside verses to complete the picture Paul is painting for us. The middle two statements that make up verse 12 don’t talk about eternal security; they instead discuss our scrutiny as children of God.

The first half of verse 12 is comforting and motivational. If we hang in there, this verse makes us a promise. If we endure and stand firm in our convictions, and keep our lives focused upon Jesus, then when He comes again we will reign with Him over His creation. Those who work hard now will be rewarded beyond their wildest ideas when Jesus returns to set up His kingdom forever. If that isn’t motivation enough to serve Him, I don’t know what is. (But hang in there; more motivation is coming!)

The second half of the verse is a sober reminder of the other side of the coin. Paul shifts into the future tense here in the beginning[9], and places himself squarely under its gaze. If we fail to endure, we will be denied by Him when He comes again. The question is, denied what? In verse 11 Paul already said that if we placed faith in Christ we will be accepted into heaven by Christ, and in verse 13 he reiterates that truth despite our unfaithfulness! We have already seen that Paul is talking about our scrutiny here, and this verse is the other side of the first half of verse 12. If we endure, we will be given the privilege of reigning with Christ, but if in the future we fail to endure, that reward will be taken away from us.

This is the same truth that Paul gave to the Corinthian church:

Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. (1 Corinthians 3:12-15)[10]

Just because our place in heaven is secure, that by no means tells us that there is nothing at stake in our obedience to the Lord! The picture of being saved “through fire,” combined with the picture of being denied by Christ like a child being sent to bed, is also highly motivational! I think in the life of Timothy it also served the purpose of reminding him about the fate of his opponents. Yes they served the same Lord, and yes they were hindering his efforts to build the church at Ephesus. But Timothy could have confidence that when they stood before their master they would have to answer for their actions every bit as much as Timothy would have to answer for His own.

We can have confidence as we serve Christ for the same reasons! Jesus isn’t weighing our faithfulness to Him to decide if we have done enough good deeds to get to heaven. He did everything that needed to be done; all we need to do is place our destiny in His hands. We can also know for sure that He knows all the sacrifices we make for Him, and He knows that we have served Him. He is there when we allow His grace to strengthen us to make right choices. He will not forget our endurance; neither will he forget our denial. And when people try to hinder our work for the Lord, Jesus knows every bit of it, and He will give those people the reward of their hindrance upon His return.

So what lessons can we draw from these verses?

Salvation is a free gift, received by believing in Christ (which Paul here equates with dying with Him). We can rest assured that all people who believe in Jesus Christ will be saved.
For those who stand their ground, there awaits eternal rewards that are immense! The very thought of potentially serving in the eternal state as a ruler alongside the Lord of Lords Himself should send chills up our spine, and give us more than ample motivation to serve Him.
For those who do not stand their ground, but hold the gift that they have been given in contempt, they can only expect contempt back at the Judgment Seat of Christ. This should get us asking a few questions:

What areas am I holding the gift I have been given in contempt?
Am I being a good soldier? Am I using what I have been given to serve the body as it was intended? Am I “manning my post?”
Am I actively engaged in holding my ground? Am I looking for areas to help and change and grow, or am I watching the world go by? Which one looks like endurance, and which one looks like contempt?
Even for those who are not faithful with the wonderful gift they have been given will still receive eternal life, because Christ is faithful to His promise. This should give us rest and peace, because we do not have a “to do” list to get to heaven! All believers can rest in the assurance of their position in Christ, which frees us from worry and allows us to use our gift for His glory.

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[1] We will meet two of them, Hymaneus and Philetus, at 2:17. Paul will give Timothy explicit instructions on his conduct among men such as these in the section from 2:14-26.

[2] See 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 for the essential facts that Paul preached and described as “the gospel.”

[3] The present imperative Μνημόνευε (mnhmoveue) calls for continual action in this instance. Paul is calling Timothy to keep Christ front-and-center in his memory.

[4] The word translated “criminal” was used for those who had committed serious crimes and gross misdeeds. See Arndt, William, Frederick W. Danker and Walter Bauer. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3rd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000; s.v. κακοῦργος

[5] At 4:8 Paul will assure Timothy of that very thing. Paul knew that he had a crown awaiting him to place at Christ’s feet, and he wanted Timothy and others to have the same opportunity.

[6] For a general introduction to the exegetical value in analyzing chiasmus, see Ronald E. Man, “The Value of Chiasm for New Testament Interpretation,” Bibliotheca Sacra 141:562 (April 1984), 146-154; see also Brad McCoy, “Chiasmus: An Important Structural Device Commonly Found in Biblical Literature,” Chafer Theological Seminary Journal 9:2 (Fall 2003), 18-34. These articles should impress upon the reader the immense exegetical value of chiasmus. Many times scholars will see a chiasmus and note it as a literary nicety without considering its potential in exegetical decisions. In the passage under discussion it is absolutely critical to a proper understanding!

[7] See, for example, Rom 3:21-23; 4:3-13; 2 Cor 5:21; Gal 3:27; Phil 3:9

[8] This seems to be the idea that some of the believers in Rome had as well; Paul answered them soundly in Romans 6-8.

[9] The margin of the NASB notes that the word translated “deny” is literally “will deny,” i.e. the statement is in the future tense, not the present.

[10] The parables of the talents (Matt 25:14-30) and minas (Luke 19:11-27) illustrate the same point.