The Gospel Treasure.

The Gospel as a Treasure.

We often hear the word gospel or good news of Jesus Christ, but what makes it good news? Why have Christians throughout church history loved it and died for it as martyrs? If it is so wonderful, why do we often struggle talking about it?

Is it fear of man, that we worry about what people will say or think of us? Has it lost its lustre? Its beauty? Is it a lack of understanding of what the gospel is and what it does for the sinner?

If you are like me, there are often times that I struggle with bringing up the good news of Jesus Christ and the cross. Why is that? I am going to go out on a limb here but I believe that it boils down to two reasons. One - is that we fear man over God. The gospel of Jesus Christ is offensive and runs contrary to our sinful nature. So if I was an unbeliever and someone comes to me and says that I am a sinner deserving hell as judgement, I probably will be pretty upset. So the inner battle we face is that speaking truth will find us hated by others.

In this letter, Paul knows that Timothy struggles with some of the same things you and I do when sharing the gospel. I believe that Paul counteracts his fear by reminding Timothy of the majesty and treasure of the gospel. I also believe that if we are reminded it will help us greatly to work hard at overcoming our fears out of love for Jesus and want to share this precious gift with others.

The second reason we struggle in sharing the gospel is because we do not fully understand what it is and what it does for the sinner. When this happens, we soften the language to make it more appealing or we don’t share it at all out of not thinking we have all the answers. Sound close?

I believe that Paul reminds Timothy if we did, we would work hard at overcoming our fears out of love for Jesus and want to share this precious gift with others.

My hope this morning is to remind you of this treasure that dwells in you. I plan to do this by showing what the gospel does, what it is, what our responsibility is and lastly how it divides.

Our text today is all about the gospel. My hope this morning is to show it is a treasure. If we treasure it for what it really is, I believe it will help us become more confident in sharing it. I plan to do this by showing what the gospel does, what it is, what our responsibility is and lastly how it divides.

Point #1 - The Gospel Saved You (3-7).

How does a Christian encourage a brother or sister in the Lord? Paul gives us hints in this letter. He prays for him constantly night and day, he longs to see this fellow believer for it fills him with joy.

He encourages him by mentioning how he is reminded of his sincere faith. A faith that first came to his grandmother Lois, next to his mother Eunice and now this precious faith resides in you Timothy also.

Timothy’s father was most likely an unbelieving Greek (), but by the grace of God, the gospel message had come to their household. Lois and Eunice taught Timothy the OT Scriptures (3:15) and how these words of God pointed to salvation in Jesus.

By Paul stating that he was reminded of their sincere faith, it was evident to Paul that there was fruit of their conversion. This was not flattery or puffing him up to manipulate him, but in truth he saw evidence of saving faith in Timothy. Not just a raising of the hand or repeating a prayer but true saving faith had come to all three and was evident in their lives.

As a result of their salvation through the gospel, Paul encourages the young Timothy (6,7) to fan into flame like blowing on the coals of a fire into a raging fire this gift of God. What is this gift? No one really knows for sure but it was a gift for ministry given by the laying of hands by the Apostle Paul. When we celebrate a commissioning service and the elders and body lay hands on a new pastor, they are symbolically doing what Paul did under the authority of Jesus.

Timothy was born of the living God, therefore he was responsible to stir up the ingredients that were given to him by God to do the work of ministering. Maybe Timothy struggled with apathy or indifference to what was given to him by God. So Paul gently reminds him that these gifts were not of fear but of power, love and self control. This is how you and I can be encouraged to follow Jesus. Believe in God’s gifts at your salvation and fan into a raging flame the gift God has given each one to serve in their own way. (Pray, encourage, be hospitable, serve, love, etc)

The gospel saved Lois, Eunice and Timothy and gave them a sincere faith in Jesus. So what is this gospel that saves sinners?

The gospel saved

Point #2 - The Gospel Saves Sinners (8-12).

Timothy is reminded (8) not to be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ who saved him nor of Paul himself as the messenger of this gospel.

Paul then encourages Timothy to not be ashamed of Christ’s prisoner which is Paul himself. But rather to share in suffering for the gospel by which his family has been saved.

In (9,10) we have the gospel message in short form. We see justification, sanctification and glorification. (8b-9a) reveal that by the power of God , he works through the gospel message and saves sinners. Saves us from what? Sin’s debt. We are guilty of disobedience to God, therefore we deserve eternal punishment.

In (9b), it is the forgiven sinner who is now called to holy living, to a godly life (3:12). This is sanctification which is the Holy Spirit working in us to shape and conform us into the image of Christ Jesus our Saviour.

(9c -10a) Paul clarifies how souls are saved. In it’s simplicity, the gospel is God’s good news about how sinners are reconciled to God through Jesus. You or I are not saved by our good works like being generous or cutting the neighbours lawn, but by the mercy of God.

In (9b), it is the forgiven sinner who is now called to holy living, to a godly life (3:12). This is sanctification which is the Holy Spirit working in us to shape and conform us into the image of Christ Jesus our Saviour.

Long before the words “Let there be light.” were uttered by God, long before Adam and Eve bit that fruit, the plan for their salvation was in the mind of God.

The torture of Jesus at the hands of the Roman soldiers, the making of a crown of thorns and beaten into his skull, the nailing of Jesus hands and feet to the cross, the full cup of wrath poured out onto Jesus by God which he didn’t deserve, and his death on that cursed tree was planned

God judges Adam and Eve for their disobedience in the garden. But God also gives them gospel hope as he promises them that even though Satan would bruise the heal, it would be the Son of a woman that would crush the head of Satan and destroy the power of sin and death.

This grace sets captives free from a lifetime of rebellion to God.

Thousands of years later, God in the flesh was born. Righteous life, betrayed with a kiss, was tortured at the hands of the Roman soldiers. They made a crown of thorns and beaten into his skull. Then they nailed his hands and feet to the cross and hoisted him up so that he could hardly breathe. But that was nothing compared to drinking the full cup of God’s wrath for sin which he didn’t deserve. He paid our wages that we could not pay and died in our place as a sacrifice for us. He willingly did this so all who turn from their sin and trust in Jesus will be saved.

Thousands of years later Jesus became the fulfillment of God’s promise to Adam and Eve that even though Satan would bruise the heal, it would be the Son of a virgin that would crush the head of Satan and destroy the power of sin and death. Jesus, the incarnate Son of the living God is the world’s only hope of salvation. This gospel saves sinners by them repenting of sin and believing that Jesus is the resurrected Son of God who saves them from sins condemnation.

The torture of Jesus at the hands of the Roman soldiers, the making of a crown of thorns and beaten into his skull, the nailing of Jesus hands and feet to the cross, the full cup of wrath poured out onto Jesus by God which he didn’t deserve, and his death on that cursed tree was planned

Do you believe Jesus did this for you? If not, come talk to us, we would love to walk this journey with you. When you see Jesus and trust him as your Saviour, he will become a treasure to you that grows and grows. Justification is what it means to be saved.

In (9b), it is the forgiven sinner who is now called to holy living, to a godly life (3:12). This is sanctification which is the Holy Spirit working in us to shape and conform us into the image of Christ Jesus our Saviour.

By faith in Jesus, (10b) reveals for us that He alone brings us from spiritual death to life right now and immortality which is eternal life. Jesus rose from the dead so that as the first born of the resurrection, all who are in Jesus will enjoy blessed life eternally in the presence of Jesus. This is the glorification of the children of God.

Isn’t this good news friends? This is why Paul is not ashamed of it for as he says in , that in it, the power of God is unleashed and saves all who truly believe. The gospel reveals God’s righteousness for true saving faith that Lois, Eunice and Timothy displayed.

But…but to share this gospel message faithfully will cause suffering. Why? Because the world hates this good news, the evil one has blinded them and so a work of God is needed to remove the stony heart and replace it with a heart of flesh that now has ears to hear and eyes to behold the glory of Jesus for salvation.

Paul had been entrusted with this gospel treasure. He knew that it could never be tampered with, for then it would be another gospel that would not save souls. He suffered greatly to keep it pure, but he believed that since it was God’s gospel, he would ultimately guard it until the Day of His return.

The Lord entrusted a man as a clay vessel to hold the gift of the gospel true as a treasure, but the Lord sovereignly keeps it safe.

So what does Paul want Timothy to do with this treasure?

Point #3 - The Gospel is to be Guarded (13,14).

In seeing how any twisting, adding or subtracting from the gospel is treason against King Jesus, Paul commands Timothy to protect the gospel. (14b) “…guard the good deposit entrusted to you.” So how is he to accomplish this? How are we to accomplish this? There are three exhortations he gives.

(14b) “…guard the good deposit entrusted to you.” So how is he to accomplish this? How are we to accomplish this? There are three exhortations he gives.

Jesus taught Paul the gospel, and now he taught Timothy to follow this pattern or outline. It is not just the good news he has taught Timothy but he also carefully taught him the implications of the gospel. What do I mean by that? That out of love and gratitude for being saved, we now bear fruit of the Spirit and obey joyfully for the Lord’s commands are not burdensome. In the power of the Spirit we mortify our sinful nature because we love Jesus and hate what sin does in us and through us.

Timothy is to pay close attention to the foundational structure of doctrine, theology and truth. But he is to remember to do it with faith and love. Speaking truth and correcting opponents aggressively with self righteous piety is not how to handle God’s word but with patience and gentleness as we will see later in the letter. How often we can look at things as black and white, and harshly criticize those who are not quite there yet. This serves as a great reminder for how to lovingly handle difficult people.

Paul has guarded this gospel, and now the responsibility is passed onto Timothy. As a pastor to pastors in Paul’s place, he is to guard the truth of the gospel by the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. As much as there is human responsibility for Paul, Timothy, pastors and elders to guard the gospel, remember that God himself ultimately has his hand on the treasure that is kept in us clay vessels.

What happens when the gospel is held to faithfully?

Point #4 - The Gospel Divides (15-18).

Paul illustrates for us what the gospel will do by giving two examples. One of fear and one of courage. Paul singles out Phygelus and Hermogenes specifically because they were more than likely leaders in the church of Ephesus. Paul had lived a worthy life for the gospel leading to his 2nd imprisonment. These guys abandoned Paul, wanted nothing to do with him in fear that they themselves might end up in prison.

Next Paul speaks fondly of Onesiphorus who was more than likely a deacon by the service he rendered in Ephesus (18). How he searched earnestly for him and found him in prison. He refreshed Paul like a cool drink on a hot sunny day. He encouraged Paul even if it cost him dearly so Paul prays for his family that the Lord would grant his household mercy.

Let us be more like Onesiphorus in sacrificially serving one another. Encouraging others in gospel truth to not be ashamed of this treasure. To minister to those who labour for the gospel. Praying for one another to press on.

Conclusion: Brothers and sisters, the gospel is God’s way of bringing the lost to the Good Shepherd for their salvation. There is no other way to be at peace with God than through Jesus. Since Jesus was not ashamed of us in making us his bride, let us be encouraged to pray for our lost family and neighbours. Let us invite them over for coffee or a meal and just open a conversation about Jesus. Ask them what they think happens after you die, see where the conversation goes and tell them about the treasure which is the good news of Jesus. You and I can do this because Jesus is with us, Immanuel. By his power, love and self control we will not be ashamed but rejoice in sharing the blessed grace of God for salvation! Amen.

Brothers and sisters, the gospel is God’s way of bringing the lost to see their great need of salvation. There is no other way to be at peace with God than through Jesus. In loving ways, pray for your lost family and neighbours. Invite them over for coffee or a meal and just open a conversation about Jesus, ask them what they think happens after you die, see where the conversation goes and tell them about the good news of Jesus. You and I can do this because Jesus is with us, Immanuel. By his power, we will not be ashamed but rejoice in the blessed grace of God for salvation!