Be Strong

Be Strong in the Grace of Christ Jesus

Paul is writing to a discouraged pastor. With the persecution of Rome so pervasive and violent many people avoided Christianity. They did not want to be associated with Jesus for fear of their life. You can imagine how Timothy felt as he went out every day to share the good news only to be rejected by the very people he wanted to help. Over time I imagine this will wear on a minister. He probably begins to wonder is ministry worth it. He may even question the validity of the gospel. When a minister gets to this point, he is in a downward spiral that usually leads him to leave the ministry. I believe this is where Timothy was. This is why Paul is writing to encourage and remind him of his calling.

Paul tells Timothy to be strengthened in the grace of Jesus Christ. We often think of grace as the gift of God that gets us our salvation. Many people believe that it is God not giving us what we deserve for our sin. This is correct but nit complete. The grace of God is not only saving, but sustaining us in our salvation. God saved us for purpose. This purpose is to make disciples of Jesus Christ.

A follower of Jesus Christ recognizes that they have been empowered by Jesus to do the work He calls us to do. We must realize that God empowers us with resources, wisdom, energy, and himself to do what we are called to do. When we try to do the work of the Lord apart from the grace of Christ, we will become tired and frustrated because we are not accomplishing what Jesus desires. Jesus gives us what we need to do what He calls us to do.

The grace of God is a perpetual gift that is our forever. When we recognize this we understand that Christ will not fail. He will accomplish exactly what He desires through us. When we don’t see it the way Jesus sees it, it may lead to discouragement. When the out come of our circumstance or ministry is not what we expect it to be, we need to go back to Christ and find out what His expectation is.

Teach Others to Teach Others

Paul knew the affect of the Roman persecution on Christianity. He knew that Timothy could not carry the mission on by himself. He would need to raise up leaders that could raise up future leaders to carry on the mission of Christ. He tells Timothy to entrust to faithful men the things that he had heard Paul teach. Timothy would have to know the things that Paul taught in order to pass them on.

Timothy was a disciple of Paul’s. He lived life with Paul. He observed what Paul did and heard what he taught. Timothy had a treasure of theology and witnessed the things that Paul did. He was to do the very same things that Paul did, teach the same things that Paul taught, and live the kind of life Paul lived.

Paul told Timothy to be intentional with those he invested time into. He said to entrust the teachings to faithful men who could teach others to teach others. Paul was instructing Timothy to establish a foundation that would be long lasting.

If we are teaching for the sole purpose of the transfer of knowledge then our teaching will affect one generation. We must not only teach others, but also show them how to teach others how to teach others. This is the concept of discipleship.

Unfortunately in many churches today, we teach for the purpose of transferring knowledge so people will change their behavior. This is not enough. Churches need to be raising up leaders that have a dynasty vision. One that will last for many generations.

Suffer Hardship As A Good Soldier Of Jesus Christ

Paul is very frank with Timothy. He tells him that ministry is not easy. Expect hardships because they are coming. What is the ultimate gift a soldier can give? His life! That is what Paul is telling Timothy to give. In the context of the environment that he is in, Paul says don’t worry about someone taking your life. Give your life to the work of the Lord.

Tell story about going to Guatemala and interpreter.

Being a christian is difficult. We are in a spiritual warfare and must endure hardships. The hardships Timothy and his church faced were much more significant than what we faced today. During this time, you could lose your life or proclaiming your faith. It is hard for us to identify with spiritual warfare because we do not face it to the degree that they did in the first century church.

With all that being said I believe we are rapidly approaching a time where spiritual warfare for the Christian will be more apparent. As our culture moves further away from God, they will draw closer to Satan. Satan can give people the pleasures of this world. When people are more encapsulated with the world than with God, they become more vigilant to there world view. This is counter to a Biblical world view.

We must understand that this is the direction we are heading. We must be good soldiers and endure the hardships that are coming. We must also prepare our kids and grand kids for what is coming.

Paul reminds Timothy not to get entangled in the culture that is fleeing from Christ. He says an active soldier does not entangle himself in affairs of every day life. Paul is not saying that we should not interact with our culture, but that we should not become as our culture. Instead we are to live to please our commanding officer.

Compete According To the Rules

2 Timothy: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary The Athlete

Our spiritual competition is not, of course, against other Christians. Trying to outperform another believer is far from spiritual. Rather, our competition is against our fleshly old self, against the world, and against Satan and those who serve him. And our goal is to “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14).

Even the most gifted and determined athlete, bringing the most effort to the struggle, however, does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules.

In the Greek games, which continued for centuries under Roman rule and were still being held in Paul’s time, every participant had to meet three qualifications—of birth, of training, and of competition. First, he had to be a true-born Greek. Second, he had to prepare at least ten months for the games and swear to that before a statue of Zeus. Third, he had to compete within the specific rules for a given event. To fail in any of those requirements meant automatic disqualification.

Comparable rules apply to spiritual Christians. We must be truly born again; we must be faithful in study and obedience of God’s Word, in self-denial, and in prayer; and we must live according to Christ’s divine standards of discipleship.

2 Timothy: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary The Athlete

Our spiritual competition is not, of course, against other Christians. Trying to outperform another believer is far from spiritual. Rather, our competition is against our fleshly old self, against the world, and against Satan and those who serve him. And our goal is to “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14).

Even the most gifted and determined athlete, bringing the most effort to the struggle, however, does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules.

In the Greek games, which continued for centuries under Roman rule and were still being held in Paul’s time, every participant had to meet three qualifications—of birth, of training, and of competition. First, he had to be a true-born Greek. Second, he had to prepare at least ten months for the games and swear to that before a statue of Zeus. Third, he had to compete within the specific rules for a given event. To fail in any of those requirements meant automatic disqualification.

Comparable rules apply to spiritual Christians. We must be truly born again; we must be faithful in study and obedience of God’s Word, in self-denial, and in prayer; and we must live according to Christ’s divine standards of discipleship.

The very fact that we are Christians means we have met the qualification of being born again. But the other two requirements are far from automatic and involve constant dedication and constant effort. Together they constitute spiritual discipline, which comes from the same root as “disciple” and is the foundation of spiritual maturity. The disciplined disciple has control of his affections, his emotions, his priorities, and his objectives

Receive the Fruit of Your Work

Paul is encouraging Timothy that his hard work will pay off. Just as the farmer works long days in hard labor, he is always rewarded for his hard work. Timothy was called to a very difficult work. He may have lost sight of the reward he would receive for faithful service. Paul reminds him that there is tremendous reward waiting for him.

This is true for the Christian. Living the Christian life is not easy. When things get difficult many people will turn away from the work of being a Christian. We must realize that there is tremendous reward for faithful service to the Lord!