Don't be Ashamed!

I. The Conviction of our Confession (8)

A) Ashamed-to become characterized by shame, guilt, or remorse

B)Suffering-This word comes from three words in Greek: suffer (πασχειν), evil (κακος), and with (συν). 

Paul was encouraging Timothy that rather than be ashamed of suffering, Timothy should embrace suffering as a co-laborer for the Gospel. Thus, by identifying with Paul and the Gospel, he could well be choosing to suffer for Christ.

Timothy was instructed not to be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord.  In other words, do not allow yourself to begin to lose confidence in Christ.

An interviewer for the New York Times Magazine ran the following story about the faith of talk show host and comedian Stephen Colbert:

In 1974, when Colbert was 10, his father, a doctor, and his brothers Peter and Paul, the two closest to him in age, died in a plane crash while flying to a prep school in New England. "There's a common explanation that profound sadness leads to someone's becoming a comedian, but I'm not sure that's a proven equation in my case," he told me. "I'm not bitter about what happened to me as a child, and my mother was instrumental in keeping me from being so." He added, in a tone so humble and sincere that his character would never have used it: "She taught me to be grateful for my life regardless of what that entailed, and that's directly related to the image of Christ on the cross and the example of sacrifice that he gave us. What she taught me is that the deliverance God offers you from pain is not no pain— it's that the pain is actually a gift. What's the option? God doesn't really give you another choice."

II. The Courtesy of our Calling (9-11)

First, the gospel is the message about a God who has saved us and called us to a new mode of living.

The past tense is not incidental. Because of what God accomplished in Christ (see below), salvation, the rescue from the judgment and eternal death we deserve, is a fact. Moreover, God himself has drawn (called—, ) us to participate personally in this fact. One thing we should not miss in this description is that a relationship is in view. God took the active role because he wants us to be related to himself. Salvation, the fact of rescue, is to find practical expression among God’s people (us) in the form of a holy life (see 2:21 commentary), a lifestyle that is visibly different. It is a life lived in close relationship with God.

Second, the gospel is the message about a gracious gift.

Legalism and human effort cannot obtain this gift. God is the initiator (his own purpose), and his grace, mercy and love are fully in view This more than anything captures the meaning of the gospel. It is a message declaring that God alone decided to do for us what we can never do—bring us into right relationship with himself.

Third, the gospel is the message about Christ Jesus.

It is the gospel about him that saves, not a message of instant release from this life’s worries through fullness of the Spirit. It is in Christ’s work on the cross that the new life became a possibility for us.

Fourth, the gospel speaks of a salvation that is certain, grounded in God’s will and already executed in history.

The transition from verse 9 to 10 is a kind of formula: before the beginning of time, but … now (). Paul uses this formula to emphasize that what had formerly been conceived in the mind of God has now—that is, in this age—become reality. The historicity of the cross and resurrection constitutes our guarantee that God has applied his solution to the human dilemma

Fifth, the gospel proclaims the ultimate solution, the end of death and the beginning of eternal life.

But in contrast to the false teaching (), the resurrection to which verse 10 refers has so far been experienced only by Christ. His experience is our guarantee of the future inheritance. As for us, Paul has said in that death has yet to be finally vanquished. Our present life in Christ is only a foretaste of what is to come (). At this point, when thinking about resurrection, our thoughts must be centered on Christ’s past, historical resurrection and his future return. We have not yet been released from the world as he has been.

Finally, the gospel is the means of extending salvation to the world today.

Paul appends the phrase through the gospel to the end of verse 10 to make this point (see on ). The message about God’s promises, Christ’s history and our certain future hope is the means to save people now.

The World Series, one of the most coveted sporting events to attend in the world, ordinarily fetches a high price per ticket. Often, "standing room only" tickets can go for hundreds (and sometimes even thousands) of dollars. That's why, when Los Angeles Dodgers fan Jordan Benedict saw a pair of $9 ticketsto the 2017 World Series on the online ticket marketplace Stubhub, he snatched them up quickly before checking to see why they would be so cheap. "I was like what?! So I had to buy them, like who knows what is going to happen?" he told reporters afterwards. As he suspected, Stubhub reached out to him to let him know that the pricing was indeed a mistake, and requested a return of the tickets. However, the Dodgers fan wasn't out of luck. The company found him a pair of seats elsewhere-and still honored the $9 price. "I was like 'I won, this is incredible … the energy in the stadium was amazing.'"

Potential Preaching Angles: Sometimes it can feel like the most exciting opportunities in life are reserved for those with the money to pay for them. But when the opportunity comes along to experience one cheaply or even for free, there's rarely any questioning involved—of course you want to go! How much more is the same true in the case of our access to eternity through Jesus. Technically, the glories of heaven ought to be reserved for those who have earned them. Of course, no one but Jesus Christ fits that description, but through his payment of our debt on the cross, he invites us into glory—completely for free.

III. The Confidence of our Confession (12)

I am not ashamed (; cf. vs. 8 – don’t be ashamed)

I know Him-Oida (know) carries the idea of knowing with certainty. It is used frequently in the New Testament of God’s own knowing and of man’s knowing by direct revelation from God or by personal experience.

I have believed in Him -Pisteuō (I have believed) is in a perfect tense, indicating something that began in the past and has continuing results. the object of Paul’s certain knowledge was not a thing, or even God’s truth, as important as that is, but rather God Himself. It was not Paul’s divinely revealed theology, but the One who revealed to him that theology, in whom he believed.

I am confident He is able-he testifies, that He [God] is able [dunatos, lit., is powerful enough] to guard what I have entrusted to Him. Phulassō (to guard) was a military term used of a soldier on watch, who was accountable with his own life to protect that which was entrusted to his care. He was convinced not only by divine promises but also by God’s constant faithfulness, already exhibited to him in such measure that he could testify from personal encounters and experience.