2 Timothy: Session 1

Things… have ben tough! With circumstances as they are, it seems like Christianity is under attack and that our nation is running from the biblical values that served as foundational elements in our making.

We’ve seen a lot this last year… and it appears that there is more on the horizon. And with all that is taking place, I often hear people speak of the “weight” of the trouble or the concerns they have regarding persecution.

No doubt… we are living in the last of the last days. And there are days in which we need some… encouragement! There are days in which we need someone to help us by speaking by speaking life to our situation.

Take 2 Timothy for example. As we get into this second letter from Paul to Timothy, it is important to note it’s purpose and the timing of when Paul wrote it.

First: what is the purpose of 2 Timothy?

Paul knew that Timothy needed encouragement as he faced the many difficulties of ministering to his congregation. There were still issues with false teachers from within the church and the strong possibility of increasingly severe persecution from outside the church. For these reasons, Paul challenges Timothy to guard the truth, preach the Word, endure hardship and fulfill his God-given purpose in ministry.

Timothy was still having issues with false teachers from WITHIN the church - this was an internal matter. The struggle remained which means Timothy resolve to preaching truth must be reinforced. It was NOT a time to give in or to give up. It was a time to stand for the truth of the gospel message. Paul was encouraging Timothy to not back down from this fight.

How do we as believers not back down from this fight in our own day and age?

Timothy was also facing the possibility of severe persecution for his faith - a threat coming from outside the church.

To be clear… as far as persecution goes… if using weather terms, I don’t know if we have even hit the level of rain showers yet. We see a sort of misting happening and maybe a few defined drops here and there. In Timothy’s day… it wasn’t just thunderstorm levels, it was severe, damaging, and destructive levels.

In this time period, who was ruling Rome? Nero. And what is Nero known for during his rule? Nero persecuted Christians very harshly. This was persecution that imprisoned and ended lives. It was frequent and it was severe.

Do we see believers persecuted for their faith in areas of this world today? Yes. Have we reached this level of persecution in the states? No. But are there steps being taken that could open up the door for this kind of persecution to take place? Yes. Should the church become timid in a culture that is heading this direction? No. In fact I would offer that no matter how severe the threat might be… our faith and witness should never be silenced.

Timothy is facing both internal and external issues in his ministry. False teachers could be found in the congregation and murderous threats could be found outside his congregation. Paul reaches out to his friend in hopes he will stay the course. And from where is Paul writing this letter? From prison.

So… Paul is writing to encourage Timothy to keep going strong in ministry… while he himself is in prison because of his ministry? What encouragement can be found in this?

Paul himself used to persecute the church… but after his encounter with Jesus… His life and his mission completely changed. The gospel message CHANGED or TRANSFORMED him. And no matter what his circumstances were, Paul considered it a joy to be a messenger of the gospel.

What greater message could we deliver today? What greater story can we tell? We often jump on the opportunity to talk sports, movies, kids, hobbies, politics and so forth but do we capitalize on the opportunities to tell the good news of the gospel like we should?

This is not said to shame us but to remind us of just how good the gospel news truly is! There is no other message that can transform the heart or set a life free!

Here’s the key: No matter our circumstance, the gospel message is a good, worth-while message.

Sounds like too obvious of a statement… but our circumstances can sometimes become a MAJOR distraction or even discouragement to our evangelistic efforts.

As we dive into the greeting of 2 Timothy, remember, this is being written by a guy who is in prison for his faith to a guy that is facing very real internal and external issues and the message is: Stay the course. Stay encouraged.

The Author Identified

2 Timothy begins with a customary and heartfelt greeting from the author of this epistle. Remember, we believe all of Scripture is God-breathed meaning God through His Spirit is who inspired Paul what to write. But Paul penned the words.

This letter opens in 2 Timothy 1 reading, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus.”

There are three things we can learn from this one sentence.

The author is Paul. Again, Paul is in prison and is facing execution for his faith. Nero is in charge and this guy is known for his severe persecution of believers. God CAN deliver Paul from his dire situation… but God also has a plan.

Consider that statement for a moment. Could God have delivered Paul from his prison bars that he found himself in? Sure He could have. He could have completely destroyed that prison! So why didn’t God deliver Paul from his death sentence?

God ALREADY delivered Paul from his death sentence! 35 years prior to this event, Paul, known then as Saul, had a face to face encounter with Christ. Paul met the very one he was persecuting with great prejudice!

Acts 9:3-4 records the events. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

Through this encounter, Saul realizes just how “blind” he was in his direction and Jesus sets him up on a new path. Had Saul kept going in the direction he was heading, he would have perished in his disbelief and truly faced death. GOD DELIVERED HIM FROM HIS SIN. And consider this for a moment… What God had delivered him from… was his self.

Saul was so sure of what he knew… until all that he “knew” was taken apart in one encounter with the Lord. BUT CONSIDER WHAT THAT ENCOUNTER DID FOR HIM. Not only was He set free from his wrong direction, but He was set free in faith. He now trusted in what is unseen, confident in hope who is Jesus Christ.

Why bring this all up? Because Saul’s “circumstances” were telling him he was going the right way until Jesus told him otherwise. His circumstances were leading him to perish. But even while in prison for his faith, NO EARTHLY AUTHORITY COULD TAKE AWAY THE FREEDOM HE HAD RECEIVED IN JESUS CHRIST!

And that brings us to the second thing we can learn from the greeting. Paul is an “apostle of Christ by the will of God.”

First, what does it mean to be an apostle? Although Paul was not a part of the original twelve disciples, his apostleship came from his encounter with Christ we spoke of just a moment ago.

An apostle is a messenger of Christ - someone Jesus directly delegated authority for certain tasks. Paul expressed that his delegation came from Jesus on the road that day.

Secondly, why does Paul include the phrase “by the will of God” when speaking of his role as an apostle?

Because Paul’s encounter was no accident. Paul’s transformation took place by design. God would use the man who was breathing out murderous threats against the church to be one of the greatest voices of the church of all time.

Now… was Paul given a choice? Did God force His hand on Paul or could Paul still make the choice NOT to serve Jesus? Jesus gave then Saul instruction to go to town to receive instruction. Saul could have said, “I don’t think so.” Saul could have rejected the call… but instead he followed the direction.

All of this was God’s will… but Paul still had the choice to reject it. But because he didn’t, in his humbleness, Paul realized that is was only by the will of the Father that he had been transformed.

God’s will and desire is for ALL to come to repentance… but we know that not all will. Is it God’s “will” for anyone to go to Hell? No.

Third, we see in this greeting the line, “in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus.” Paul is choosing to speak life in accordance to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus.

If you find yourself in prison for your faith but you have Jesus… you have all that you need. If you find yourself struggling with internal false teachers and external persecution but you have Jesus… you have all that you need.

YOUR OUTWARD CIRCUMSTANCE does not change the NEW LIFE that God has given you in Christ Jesus. It is a PROMISE!

Sometimes it doesn’t “feel” like the promise is being fulfilled and I would argue that in those moments… we are too focused on the circumstance instead of almighty God. We cannot forget the promise… whoever believes in Him WILL NOT PERISH but will have eternal life. That’s a life that NO CIRCUMSTANCE of this world can take away!

The Recipient

Verse 2 reveals who the letter is addressed to.

2 Timothy 1:2 reads, “To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.”

This is a very personal correspondence. Paul refers to Timothy as “my dear son” highlighting the strength of the relationship between the student and the teacher.

Paul was pouring into this young minister. Paul was his mentor. He didn’t tell Timothy what he wanted to hear… Paul expressed to Timothy what he needed to hear. There was trust in this relationship. There is wisdom in this relationship. There is tested truth in this relationship.

Paul wishes for grace, mercy, and peace from God and from Jesus to be poured out upon Timothy.

This is MORE than a simple catch phrase or standard greeting line. This is a heartfelt desire of Paul’s regarding the well being of Timothy.

Although Paul is suffering, he does not desire for Timothy to have to go through what he is experiencing. Grace, mercy and peace from God is what he longs to see for his brother.

Thinking of these three terms, consider how Paul himself had experienced grace, mercy, and peace.

Grace - when facing the “thorn in his side” Paul was assured by God that His grace is sufficient for him… God’s power was made perfect in Paul’s weakness (2 Corinthians 12:1-10)

Mercy - when facing Jesus on the road to Damascus, Saul could have been destroyed for his persecution of the church. But Christ had not come for revenge… he came to redeem. Saul experienced the fullness of God’s mercy through his conversion.

Peace - I consider Paul’s words in Philippians 4:13. This passage speaks of the contentment or the peace that Paul had found in Jesus. No matter what his circumstance looked like, Paul found his strength in Jesus. For me… that is a peace that surpasses all understanding!

I truly believe the mentor desired for his student to experience this same level of grace, mercy and peace - NO MATTER WHAT.

Sometimes we need to be reminded of God’s grace, mercy and peace, and sometimes we need to remind others of God’s grace, mercy and peace. But my point here is simple: We need to be pouring into others as well as being poured into ourselves.

We need to invest in others but also make room for others to invest in us.

There are a few key ingredients that need to be present: first, a relationship built on trust. Second, an understanding of truth needs to be established. We are NOT interested in sowing or investing earthly “wisdom.” We want to plant the seed of God’s Word into their hearts and we want to receive that same truth in our lives.

Timothy knew that Paul wasn’t feeding him agenda or opinion. Timothy KNEW Paul was hearing from God.

Wrap Up

It doesn’t matter so much what’s going on on the outside… what matters is who is living in the inside. Having God in your heart is what makes ALL the difference.

God’s grace is sufficient. God’s mercy is complete. God’s peace surpasses all understanding. What more could we ask for? What more could we HOPE for?

Do not become distracted by the worries of the world. NEVER FORGET the truth that God has delivered you and WILL deliver you daily so long as you remain faithful in your walk. Look to God for your strength and press on… for the life you have is promised in Jesus Christ and that is something this world can never take away!