The Gift, Heritage, and Stewardship of Faith - 2 Timothy 1:1-7
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1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,
2 To Timothy, my beloved child:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
Let’s pray.
Sometimes parents do odd things that make their children embarrassed or even ashamed to be seen with them.
My siblings and I often laugh at the memories we all have of my dad checking our pant size in the middle of the store whenever we were due for a new pair of jeans. We would be in the clothing section of Sears, when my dad would turn us around and flip over the edge of our jeans near the belt loop on the back of our pants to check our pant size before selecting a new pair of jeans from the shelf. This made me and my siblings so embarrassed.
I can even remember one specific time of dread when my mom took me to the mall to get me a new pair of shoes. I felt embarrassed to be in the mall with my mom. I was probably 12… it’s not like I was going to be driving myself to the mall… and I certainly didn’t have the money to buy myself shoes. Nonetheless, I was ashamed to be in the mall with my mom.
I have two thoughts on these memories… one, I should have honored my mom and dad… and two, while my parents did these things out of an abundance love for me, I only returned their love, with the feeling of shame.
I know that soon enough I will embarrass my kids. Perhaps, they will be ashamed because of the nicknames I give them, or because of the way that I talk, or even the way that I dress. But regardless of what it is, I’m sure that day will come. Being ashamed of our family isn’t unique to the biological family though. So often, we are ashamed to belong to the family of God. And such was the case for Timothy.
2 Timothy is a letter written by Paul to his young protege, Timothy. But this is far more than a casual letter between two ministry partners who are catching up. Paul wrote this letter during one of his imprisonments. But Paul wasn’t in prison due to any kind of lawlessness on his part. Rather he was in prison for the sake of the gospel. But because of his imprisonment, Paul was under constant criticism by the false teachers in his day. Paul was accused of being weak, of being a criminal, and of being one who betrayed the faith of his Jewish heritage. And when he wrote this letter, Paul was awaiting his execution during the cold winter months in his Roman prison cell.
Many despised Paul for his chains, and even Timothy appeared to be growing weak due to the increasing ministry pressures. But Paul wrote to Timothy to instruct him to not be ashamed of Paul or the gospel that he preached.
Paul put it this way,
8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,
This letter is incredibly applicable for us today. As gospel becomes more and more unpopular, and as persecution increases, it is easy for us to become ashamed of the gospel and of Christ’s servants. But we have nothing to be ashamed of. So with this context in mind, let’s see how Paul opens up his letter to Timothy.
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,
2 To Timothy, my beloved child:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
We might be tempted gloss over these epistle introductions, but there are precious jewels that we would miss if we skipped Pauls introduction.
First of all, remember who Paul is: He was an apostle of Christ Jesus…
This means, he has authority that was given to him by God. While many wanted to write Paul off as weak and pathetic prisoner who’s life shouldn’t be emulated, Paul reminds us that he has the authority of an apostle who has been commissioned by God himself. Therefore when Paul gives instructions to Timothy and to us, we ought to hear them and obey because Paul speaks with the authority of who who has been sent from God.
And what was the task that God give to Paul? Paul tells us that he was “an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus”
What this means, is that Paul’s job as an apostle, was to make the promise known that there is life that found in Christ Jesus. In other words, Jesus commissioned Paul to proclaim the gospel.
And note, we aren’t even one sentence into this letter and we already see how saturated Paul’s words are with the name of Jesus. We haven’t even finished one sentence in this letter and Jesus’ name has already been mentioned twice. While Paul was in prison, nearing his death, he himself was remembering and reminding Timothy of that which he always proclaimed; that God has promised to give life to all who are in Christ. These are good thoughts to ponder for a man who is nearing death. Even though Paul had nothing but his chains, he can hardly forget that he had Christ.
And then Paul addressed Timothy, ‘To Timothy, my beloved child,’
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
This is a fairly standard greeting that is similar to most of Paul’s other letters. But what is the function of this greeting?
Well, Timothy is about to receive some heavy commands through the course of this letter as Paul, who is nearing the end of his race, will be passing on the baton of ministry to Timothy. This is no small task that is being put before Timothy, but lest Timothy crumbles under the weight of it all, Paul blesses Timothy by reminding him of where he already stands. “grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord”
Timothy has recieved these wonderful blessings form God, and is secure in Christ Jesus. So already in these first two verses we see the gospel laid out clearly. So let’s remember yet again,
1. Our salvation is a free gift from God.
1. Our salvation is a free gift from God.
There are two things I want to address under this point
First of all what do we mean by the phrase free gift?
A gift isn’t bought, nor is it earned. A gift isn’t even something that you receive at a discount. Rather a gift is absolutely free! This is what we mean when we say that our salvation is a free gift from God; We mean to say that you can not earn salvation, you cannot not buy salvation, and you cannot do anything to contribute to your salvation! This is what we mean when we say that salvation is a free gift from God.
The second thing I want to address is where am I getting this concept from? While the concept of salvation being a gift this isn’t made explicit in these first few verses, it’s heavily implied throughout Pauls introduction. And while it is implied throughout the first five verses, God’s free gift is made explicit in v 6…
First consider how God’s free gift is implied v1-2
In v 1 - Paul calls himself an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God.
There are multiple implications that could be drawn from this phrase, but consider how it is a reminder of God’s free gift of grace:
‘by the will of God’ means that Paul didn’t form some agreement with God to become an apostle.
He didn’t not earn enough merit to therefore become an apostle
He didn’t muster up enough zeal and passions to have been called by God.
And he wasn’t even made an apostle because of another human’s choice.
Paul is who he is, because of the will of God who graciously saved him from his sins.
This is why in his previous letter to Timothy Paul said,
15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.
Paul’s apostleship is a constant reminder that there is life found in Christ Jesus because of the mercy and grace of God. So, Paul’s apostleship should make us recount God’s gospel of grace because Paul has been saved by the gospel to announce the gospel. And this is exactly what he does when he greets Timothy;
2 To Timothy, my beloved child:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
These aren’t just words here… Paul isn’t just filling the page because he doesn’t know what else to say. What Paul is writing here is powerful so we ought to consider what these words mean.
What is grace? Grace is unmerited favor… it is given freely to undeserving sinners. - grace is a free gift from God
And what is mercy? Well it is the other side of grace. If grace is getting what we don’t deserves, then mercy is not getting what we do deserve. Mercy is given when God withholds his wrath from sinners.
And the effect of grace and mercy is peace! When God gives grace and mercy, we no longer need to worry or be anxious because we have been reconciled to God.
Do you hear these rich gospel truths? All these wonderful promises are being recounted by Paul when he was in the pit. But Paul is hardly heard complaining. Instead he is giving thanks and praise to God for what he has done in Timothy!
3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.
In typical Pauline fashion, we have this prayer that might be confusing because of the many clauses that interrupt Paul’s though… But if we remove some of the clauses for just a moment, we can better understand why Paul is giving thanks to God…
He says I thank God… as I remember you night and day
(and what does Paul remember)
v4 as I remember your tears… 5I am reminded of your sincere faith.
Paul gives thanks for Timothys faith, because faith is another gift that comes from God! So from the onset of this letter, we see how much God has done… God has given life in Christ Jesus, God has made a way for us to have peace through his grace and mercy… and the means to this grace is faith.
See how much gospel we would be missing if we just skipped Paul’s introduction?
Since grace and faith are free gifts from God that lead to our salvation, we have a good reason to give thanks to God today, just as Paul did for Timothy! Our heavenly Father certainly knows how to give his children good gifts!
In the first five verses we God’s free gift of salvation implied, but if it wasn’t clear enough already it is made explicitly clear in v 6
6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands,
We will certainly be returning to this verse again. But hopefully we see clearly that our salvation is entirely a free gift from God!
But some might be thinking,
I have faith because my parents told me about Jesus,
Or I came to believe in Jesus, because a preacher explained the gospel to me.
Well, that’s not entirely wrong in thinking this.
While the first 5 verses are filled with glorifying God for all that he has done, Paul also realizes that God works works through human activity.
Let’s read Paul’s introduction again:
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,
2 To Timothy, my beloved child:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.
Notice the familial language that fills these verses:
2 To Timothy, my true child in the faith:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Timmothy is Paul’s beloved Child
Look at the familial language that Paul uses about himself in v3
3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day.
Paul has a heritage of faith that he belongs to, and so does Timothy.
5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.
Timmothy had faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, because God gave him a mom and grandmother who also believed. And not only that, but Timothy also had faith because of Paul trained Timothy.
2. God's gift of salvation is delivered through human activity.
2. God's gift of salvation is delivered through human activity.
Let’s strike a balance between these first two points in case there is any confusion. Because on the surface it might seem like this is a contradiction. But I can assure you, there is no contradiction going on here.
Salvation is 100% a free gift of God… not partially a gift from God and another part from man… Salvation is entirely God’s doing. In fact, the Scriptures are clear that God chose us in love before he laid the foundations of the world! God has done all the work in saving us from our sins! And yet the message of salvation is always delivered through human agency.
Let me illustrate it this way: When we receive a birthday card in the mail, it’s not because the mailman thought to write you for your birthday. Nor did he pay for the postage, and he certainly didn’t slip a gift-card into the envelope either. Rather you receive a birthday card because someone who loves you sent you a the card. But if the mailman didn’t deliver the letter, you would not have recieved it.
So too, salvation is a gift that is entirely from God, that has been delivered through human activity!
This is a perplexing mystery. Paul compares it to placing a treasure into a jar of clay.
So while it is true that salvation belongs to the Lord, we need to be biblically balanced lest we become the frozen chosen… Who are the frozen chosen you ask? They are those who have no zeal for missions, who have no love for those who are lost and dying in the world apart from Christ. If we sit around talking about God’s purpose of election and predestination only to forget about the great commission, then I fear our hearts are as cold as ice. For if the gospel is not preached from the mouths godly men and women, then there will be no salvation for those who are lost.
Parents, notice this; Timothy’s faith found its roots in the faith of his grandmother and mother. And your children will also believe the gospel if you teach them the gospel.
6 Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Every parent would do well to meditate on Proverbs 22:6
But it’s not just our children who need to hear the gospel.
Yeah Timothy had Jewish mom and grandma who trained him the Scriptures, but what about his dad? Acts 16 fills in what we don’t see in 2 Tim.
1 Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek.
From the appearance of it, Timothy’s dad was not a believer, and so Paul became a father in the faith to Timothy. This is why Paul called Timothy his beloved child for Timothy became like a son to Paul.
Very similarly, my own dad did not have a Christian father. But he was discipled by an older couple in the church who taught him the Scriptures as if he was their own son.
Church, we have a great responsibility to train up another generation in the way of the Lord. For you wise saints, don’t think that you’ve already done your time, for your time is hardly done until your race is finished. Keep on serving him through gospel proclamation so that you might make passionate followers of Jesus! And for those who are idle perhaps because weary, or afraid… I haven’t forgotten about you either. V 6-7 will give instruction for us.
But it’s not just those in the church who need the gospel. For we also have a great responsibility to preach the gospel to those who haven’t heard it yet. The great chapter on God’s sovereign purpose of election is Romans 9 But what comes after Romans 9. This is obvious… it’s Romans 10. But what might not be as obvious is the connection between romans 9 and 10. Romans 9 opens with Paul’s desire for his fellow kinsmen to be saved. And this desire launches Paul into an appeal for missions in Romans 10.
Listen to how Paul puts it,
14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
A theology that leads to a zeal for missions and evangelism is not a theology that is ignorant of God’s purpose in election, rather our knowledge of God’s sovereign purpose in election ought to fuel our zeal and urgency for getting the gospel out to those who have not yet believed in Jesus Christ!
The only way the gospel is spread is through the mouths of godly men and women who make the gospel known. Friends, we belong to a faith that has been passed down for thousands of years.
But it’s not just human effort that has kept the gospel intact. Rather, the Christian faith has endured for all these years despite much persecution and trial, because of God’s sovereign will to fill his people with his Spirit so that they can make passionate followers of Jesus from one generation to the next through the proclamation of the gospel.
There is a generation that is coming up after us that will be ashamed of the gospel if we don’t do our part in discipling them. This leads us to the final point I want us to see this morning.
3. We must steward the gift of God.
3. We must steward the gift of God.
Remember, Paul is writing from his prison cell. He is nearing death and a new generation was about to pick up the mantel of ministry as he and the rest of the apostles were dying.
And so Paul is reminding Timothy of his call as an apostle by the will of God
Paul reminds him of his mission to declare the gospel so that others could find life in Christ Jesus
Paul said he served God with a clear conscience as his ancestors did before him…
And Paul laid all this out before Timothy so that he could see that he was cut from the same cloth as Paul was, for Timothy was Paul’s beloved child in the faith.
But remember, there was also growing opposition that threatened Timothy. And the young and timid pastor was beginning to shrink back from the faith. With this in mind, Paul said,
6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
The entire introduction has been building up to these verses.
For this reason…
Because of Timothy’s sincere faith that he recieved by grace as a free gift from God
and because of Timothy’s heritage of faith that instilled the Scriptures into him from a young age…
For this reason…
I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God.
What is the gift of God you might ask? Well there are a few indicators that might help us understand what Paul is writing about here.
From the immediate context, the gift of God seems to be the Spirit of God…
v7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control...
Paul is talking about the Spirit that God who produces good fruit in our life.
Furthermore, Paul tells Timothy that the gift of God dwells in him… again this could be in reference to the Spirit of God, but it could also refer to Timothy’s faith “dwells in him” v 5
also, Timothy recieved the gift of God, by the laying on of Paul’s hands as he said in v 6… many think what Paul is talking about here is the ordination of Timothy as a pastor. Such a gift could be one of the teaching gifts that are given by the Spirit for the edification and building up of the church…
So what is the gift of God that Paul talking is about here?
The gift of God is faith, that is accompanied by the Spirit of God who equips the saints for every good work that God has prepared for them to do.
We don’t need to split hairs over what the gift of God is in this verse, because point that Paul is making is abundantly clear. It is time for Timothy to rekindle this flame that is growing weak so that he can carry out the work of the ministry that the Lord has prepared for him to do!
And this flame, this gift of God, is in Timothy because God has placed it in Timothy. But that flame needs to be rekindled and stewarded by Timothy. Oh how easy it is for us to let the gift of God dwindle into a few smoldering embers…
A day or two of neglected prayer here and there
A week or so without cracking open the pages of God’s Word
Jamming our schedules so full of work and family activities that we are too tired to gather with the people of God.
And before you know it, the gift of God will will have become a cold coal of a heart that hardly feels any zeal or passion for the things of God.
Then add a little bit of persecution or trial to that cooling coal will be entirely extinguished.
And what are the indications of a fire that is growing cold?
7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
If the gift of God has grown cold… you will be driven by fear rather than faith, and you will lack power, love, and self-control.
If the gift of God is burning out, then you will look like the children of Israel when they disobeyed God by not entering into the promised land… What happened to them do you remember? They doubted the power of God, for they saw their enemies were strong. And so they were filled with fear.
There are may a days where I have been afraid like this. Fear seems to be a weakness of mine and many other young Christians today. We are constantly afraid of criticism and rejection. And because we are afraid of man, we disobey God who we ought to fear more than we do. What a wicked sin fear is, for it is owing to the fact that we have let God’s gift grow cold.
But let us not be like that wicked generation that disobeyed God because of their fear, but instead may be be like the generation that came after them! For God gave them a command with a promise.
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
We don’t need to be afraid, because our God is with us. You see, people of the flesh run away from their shadows, but this is not so for those who have the Spirit of God.
1 The wicked flee when no one pursues,
but the righteous are bold as a lion.
It’s no wonder Jesus told his disciples to wait for the Spirit of God before sending them out to the nations. For such was the power that was with the early church had when the Spirit dwelt with them!
31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
Might we be like the righteous people of old, who did not shrink back when opposition came their way, for our God has given us a Spirit of power… but the power that comes from God doesn’t look like a the power of a high school bully… no not at all
6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
There are many men who are powerful in the strength of their own might. But don’t be fooled, this is not the power that comes from God. Saul too, was strong and tall, but he could not defeat the giant that was before him.
But the Christian, though he is small, has the Spirit of God who gives him the power that comes from God. And such power is ruled by love and self control. So do not try to manufacture the power of God in your own might, but instead seek the power that the Lord supplies. So fan into flame the gift of God
fan the gift of God by meditating on the Word day and night…
fuel the flame through unceasing prayer
rekindle that fire it through fellowship with the people of God
Let the bellows blow through your passionate worship
And as that fire burns, use the gifts of God for his glory.
Do not burry the gifts that God has given you in fear thinking that the master… but instead use God’s gifts for the Glory of his name! Do all these things in the strength that the Lord supplies, and as you work remember, you are justified by grace through faith apart from your works, and God is with you therefore, do not be afraid. And when he returns, you will look forward to those wonderful words. Well done thy good and faithful servant… may this be our aim… and when our Lord calls us home, might we be found faithful. To this end, let us ask the Lord for his help.
