Continue in the faith

Intoduction

This letter is written by the Apostle Paul to a young man called Timothy.

This letter was written to encourage Timothy and strenghten him as he served the Lord Jesus.

In the chapter that we have just read from the word of God we see that Paul warns Timothy that bad times are ahead. People will get worst and worst. He says in verse 12 that it will be hard to be a Christian, and people will decieve and be decieved, they will tell lies and they will believe lies.

After giving Timothy this strong warning he tells him what he must do and why he must do it.

There is a lot to learn here especially for a young person who is a Christian. Today you face the things described in our passage.

It is difficult today to be a Christian.

At school you may be taught things that go against what the Bible teaches. You may be treated differently by people for being a Christian.

On top of all this there is the pressure of social media to try and be popular and well if you want to be popular it seems the last thing you want to be today is a Christian.

The temptation for a young person today who has been brought up in the church and has believed from a young age is to leave Christianity behind and go with the flow like everyone else.

What advice does the word of God give to those who are facing these difficulties?

Let us look at the Bible together and we will see.

I. What he must do

In v.12-13 we see that Christians will be persecuted and evil people will grow worst and then Paul gives this important advice to young Timothy.

In v.14 he says “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed,”

Pauls advice to Timothy is to keep on believing what he has been taught and what he has been convinced of.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

He says; “ But as for you” He has said all these things about other people, what they will be like, what they will do and then he says to Timothy “But as for you,”

“ But as for you, continue in”

Timothy is to be different, Timothy is called to do the opposite. Instead of going with the flow he is to swim against the tide.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

How is he to do this?

a) “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed.”

Timothy must keep believing and keep living his life in the light of the truth that he has been taught from the Bible.

The decisions that he makes everyday are to reflect what he has been taught from the word of God.

He must continue in what he has been taught and he must continue in what he has firmly believed.

In other words Paul is saying to Timothy, it will be difficult to be a Christian, you will suffer persecution, people will treat you badly for believing in Jesus.

People around you will go from bad to worst, there will be temptations to comprimise what you believe in order to fit in.

But in spite of all of this you must keep on believing and living like a Christian, you must continue in what you have learned and firmly believed.

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If you are a Christian then what Paul says to Timothy he says to you.

What Paul says to Timothy he says to you.

Maybe you have trouble at school for being a Christian and the tempation is to no longer be a Christian.

Maybe you face peer pressure to do what you know is wrong, to turn your back on Jesus because then you can behave like your friends and not feel bad about it.

The word of God says; people maybe going from bad to worst “But as for you continue in what you have been taught and have firmly believed.”

Keep on believing, keep on following Jesus.

Do not turn your back on what you have learned and what you have firmly believed.

Paul tells Timothy what he must do- you must do the same.

If we keep on reading we see that next he tells him why he must do it.

II. Why he must do it

Paul Tells Timothy to continue believing and living according to the truth he has been taught. Then he gives two reasons.

The first reason is because of who taught Timothy about the Lord.

He says “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

Here Paul is reffering to Timothy’s Grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice who taught him from a young age about God. He may also be speaking about himself. Paul was involved in teaching Timothy about the Lord Jesus.

Paul is saying you must continue believing because of who has taught you about these truths.

Your loving Grandmother and your caring Mother, taught you the truth and you know its true because of their lives.

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This was one reason why Timothy had to continue in what he learned and believed, and it is one reason why you must continue in what you have learned and believed.

You must not turn away from Jesus because you know these things are true. One reason you know they are true because you were taught by a loving parent or grandparent, and you know from their lives you can trust what they have told you.

Timothy was brought up by a godly mother and grandmother and for this reason he must keep on believing and not stray away from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thats the first reason why Timothy must continue in the things he has learned and believed the second reason is similar.

b) “ knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

Timothy must keep believing and following Jesus because he has known the Bible from a young age and the Bible is able to make a person wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Chist.

From a child Timothy has known the Bible and because of this he must not turn away from what he knows to be true.

The Bible tells us how we can be saved from our sin by believing in Jesus and Timothy has known it from childhood. For this reason he must continue in it and not give up now.

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Maybe you have had the same experience that Timothy had. You have been brought up from a young age being taught about Jesus from the Bible.

You learnt from the Bible in Sunday school, or at camp, from a young age you have been taught from the word of God.

For this reason you must not turn from it now. Whatever difficulties you may be facing at school. Whatever peer pressure you face from your friends, whatever temptation you face to blend in and be like everyone else, you must remember, you are not like everyone one else. You have been taught the Bible from a young age, you know the truth.

For this reason you must continue in what you have learned and firmly believed.

Do not turn away from following Jesus, but instead when things are hard cling to him. Trust in him.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

Conclusion

Paul warned Timothy about hard times that he would face. Pauls advice to him was to continue in what he learned and firmly believed. He must do this because he was taught this truth by his loving Grandmother and mother and he has known the word of God from a young age.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

If you are here and you are a Christian then the word of God has the same advice for you.

What ever you face as a Christian you must continue in what you have learned and firmly believed.

People around you will go from bad to worst but as for you keep believing and keep on following Jesus.

Now, I am aware that this message so far has only been aimed towards those who are Christains.

I do just want to end with a challenge for those who are not yet Christains, because before you can continue believing and following Jesus, first you must begin. First you must start.

Because before you can continue believing and following Jesus, first you must begin. First you must start.

This verse that we have looked at says that salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ.

What does salvation mean?

If you have salvation then you are saved from the penalty of sin, you are forgiven for everything you have done wrong and you are made right with God.

If you have salvation then you are saved from the power of sin, God gives you a new heart and he changes you so that you no longer life your life in a way that is displeasing to God.

If you have salvation you will one day be saved from the presence of sin, when you die you will be in heaven where there is no sin.

This is what salvation means and it is received by believing in Jesus.

The verse says through faith in Jesus Christ.

The reason being that Jesus died upon the cross to pay for the wrong we have done, he died to take our punishment for our sin.He died in our place and he rose again from the dead three days later.

Now all who turn away from doing wrong and believe in him for themselves they are saved because of what he did for them on the cross.

If this is something you have already done then the message for you this evening is keep on believing and following Jesus. But if you have not done this yet then you need to.

Before you can continue believing in Jesus first you must start believing and I urge you to do that today.