Press On!

Introduction

I’ve always been a fan of Facing the Giants and the clip that you just saw was from that movie. The coach challenges his star defensive player to simply give him his best. To challenge him further to not give up at a certain point along the way, he put a blindfold to cover his eyes. Lo and behold, Brock was able to not only make it to the 50 yard line, but he was able to go from end zone to end zone, 100 yards while carrying another player on his back! He initially thought that he could only make it to the 30 yard line but he was selling himself short. The coach pushed him to dig deep and to keep on going - to press on!

Have you ever been in a situation where you didn’t think you had anything more to give? We can feel this way pretty often it seems. We work hard at our job and we come home and have more to do. We work hard on a project only to have another one take its place. This cycle can be depleting at times and it can leave us feeling empty. The good news, though, is that we know that as Christians we are never walking through these hard times on our own. We can press on and dig deep because we know that our God is with us and that He is for us! He has a plan for whatever it is that we are going through. Even though we might think that we’re at our breaking point, we know that our God is working in us and guiding us each step of the way. As we see in that clip, it certainly helps to have someone encouraging you to keep on going - friends, this is what we have in the Holy Spirit. He encourages us, convicts us, challenges us, and leads us. We just have to be obedient to keep on following.

The last few weeks we’ve been looking in Luke 15 in this series entitled Prodigal Children / Faithful God. Today, we move from Luke 15 to 2 Timothy 2 as we will continue this theme, but look at what a faithful follower of Jesus Christ looks like. As we do this, we must remember what is going on in context to 2 Timothy 2. Scholars almost universally agree that this is Paul’s final letter as he is nearing his death and imprisoned in Rome in the mid 60s AD. Despite the fact that Paul is about to be killed, he was not discouraged from the task at hand. As we will read today, even though he is chained, the Word of God cannot be chained. Paul knows that God has a plan and a purpose for all things under the sun. He knows that He is secure in Christ - and because of this, he encourages his spiritual son, Timothy. He does this to prepare Timothy to stay strong after his death. To continue to be a strong leader and point people to Jesus even in the difficult, dark days to come.

Paul’s charge to Timothy is like the challenge the coach gave to his player: 5 more steps! Don’t stop! Don’t quit! Press on! Press into what the Lord is doing and don’t you dare stop before He tells you to. May we be people who encourage one another and let us be obedient children who run the race before us with endurance.

2 Timothy 2:1–13 CSB

1 You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the concerns of civilian life; he seeks to please the commanding officer. 5 Also, if anyone competes as an athlete, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 The hardworking farmer ought to be the first to get a share of the crops. 7 Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. 8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead and descended from David, according to my gospel, 9 for which I suffer to the point of being bound like a criminal. But the word of God is not bound. 10 This is why I endure all things for the elect: so that they also may obtain salvation, which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. 11 This saying is trustworthy: For if we died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.

5 Challenges for Every Christian

In our text, we see 5 key exhortations from Paul to Timothy as he encourages and challenges him one final time. Maybe you’re thinking that these are just 5 challenges to Timothy, which is partly true, but these are 5 challenges for every Christian in the history of the church - I pray that we would be bold and accept these challenges this week and see how God uses us along the way.

Challenge #1: Be Strong in the Gospel (1)

Paul begins close to home with his first challenge. We see a therefore at the beginning of our text and if we go back to chapter 1, we see why this is so. Paul told Timothy this in chapter 1. 2 Timothy 1:13-14

2 Timothy 1:13–14 CSB

13 Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard the good deposit through the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

Why does Paul start off with therefore in chapter 2? Timothy is initially called to hold onto the pattern of sound teaching and to guard this with the Holy Spirit. As he does this, therefore, Paul continues to say to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Paul is encouraging his son in the faith to live out the Gospel and this can only happen whenever one actually knows the Gospel first. What is the result whenever someone knows the Gospel? They are supposed to live it out in a life marked by grace.

We live in a world, again, that is divided and difficult. How can we endure in such a world? How can we stay strong? By holding onto the grace of our Lord - by reminding ourselves of the Gospel and living in it day in and day out. So the answer to being a faithful Christian is partly found in reading God’s Word? Yep. What if I’ve already prayed the prayer and have been saved, do I still need to read the Gospel and remind myself of what Jesus has done? Yep. We have to remember that we are utterly powerless without Christ. Last Sunday night we discussed this very point as we looked at the cross and at what Jesus did for sinners like you and I. Romans 3:22-23

Romans 3:22–23 CSB

22 The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. 23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;

What do we deserve? Separation from God. What has Christ done for His church, though? He credits us with His righteousness. Not because of us or our works, but through His work in our place. Because of this, we find strength, grace, mercy, and boldness whenever we look at the Gospel and remind ourselves of what Christ did for us. As Danny Akin reminds Christians, “Meditate on the Gospel daily because you never outgrow your need for it.”

When was the last time you read your Bible and specifically looked at the Gospel message of Jesus Christ? In a stressful world, remember the peace that the Gospel brings to your soul as Jesus provides rest for those who put their faith in Him. Be strong in the Gospel.

Challenge #2: Teach Others the Gospel (2)

Paul continues on to instruct Timothy to not just keep his teachings to himself but to pass it on to faithful men and women who will teach others. This is the process of discipleship that we’ve talked about in the past. If you tell 1 person the Gospel and disciple them for 1 month and then do the same the next month and so on and so forth, you’ll disciple 12 people a year - that’s a good goal! But what if you did the same thing with the addition that the people you discipled copied your example? What would the result be? Rather than discipling 12 people, you’d have the potential to disciple 2048 people. How can that be? Because you’re not the only teacher - your goal as a leader/parent/teacher is to get your child/student/friend to be able to go out and disciple someone else! We’ve got to pass the Gospel message along to all people and making disciples is the Biblical model of doing exactly this!

The model in 2 Timothy is simple: Christ gave the Gospel message to Paul, Paul gave it to Timothy, Timothy was to give it to others, they were supposed to give it to others. This is our instruction as well. We have the Gospel message right here in our hands - we must share it with someone and train them up to do the same! What are some ways that we can give the Gospel message to others? Danny Akin shares this in an illustration close to home for me. He shares that in golf you have 3 types of clubs, woods, irons, and a putter. The woods are the biggest club that those are the big crowds - either preaching at church, sharing the Gospel at VBS, or to a large group of friends. Next you have irons, they aren’t as big but you’ve got to be really accurate with them. Irons are like small groups, Sunday school, Wednesday night, maybe a small group of friends/family where you can dig a little deeper. Finally you have the putter. There isn’t a whole lot impressive on the outside with a putter and many people think it’s easy to use - because putt-putt looks super easy! The putter is for really short distances near the hole - it is like one on one discipleship. As my uncle told me whenever I was first starting to golf in junior high, “Drive for show, put for dough.” What does this mean? Your big audience tools, preaching, public speaking, those might put you on a platform or something similar, but the make or break tool for a Christian and the make or break club for the golfer is the putter. We have to find people to invest our lives in and to give them the tools to share the Gospel with others.

Challenge #3: Suffer for the Gospel (3-7)

As Paul is writing this, he is in prison - he’s had his fair share of encounters with Roman soldiers and his next challenge to Timothy is to share in the suffering as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Paul doesn’t warn Timothy of the cost - Timothy is already on board! He is inviting him to suffer for the Gospel. Suffering and enduring hardships are common in the life of Christians and if we never suffer or go through hardships we should genuinely ask ourselves why that is the case. Sometimes we can create our own suffering in order to make ourselves feel good - there’s a temptation to do this during COVID and church persecution and suffering for the Gospel. Christians in Canada who have been jailed for attending church? That’s persecution. Christians in Afghanistan who are in hiding right now for their lives? That’s persecution. You and I having to do things a little bit different? That’s an inconvenience. We’re instructed to suffer for the Gospel or at least to be willing to. The soldier lives with strict devotion to his commander 24-hours a day and Paul’s challenge is for Timothy to have that same devotion to Jesus Christ. Do you have that level of devotion to Christ? If He calls you to move, would you say no or would you fervently pray about it? If He calls you to do something hard, would you say no or would you follow through? The soldier follows through without hesitation and that is the challenge here - even if it costs us.

Paul doesn’t stop with this analogy, though, as he continues to give the picture of an athlete competing and playing by the rules. We don’t always like playing by the rules and there have been some famous teams in previous years get caught of breaking rules. The Houston Astros were found guilty of spying on opposing pitchers/catchers during games and they would communicate what pitch was coming to the batter at the plate. They got caught cheating, yet they went on to win the world series. In our world, there is an idea that you have to cheat in order to win and sadly that idea carries over to Christianity too. People want God’s blessings without playing by God’s rules. They want the crown, but they don’t want to seek first His kingdom. They want the peace, but they don’t want to be His witnesses. Friends, we cannot take shortcuts, we have to follow His rules!

Paul transitions to use the image of a farmer and the farmer works hard but doesn’t get an applause from fans or his fellow soldiers. He works long hours but at least he does get a share of his labor. If the farmer doesn’t plow - he won’t reap. Paul’s charge here to Timothy is to keep on plowing.

His charges from verses 2-6 are to be a competent teacher, be willing to suffer like a soldier, be disciplined like an athlete, and work hard like a farmer. The Gospel is worth it!

Challenge #4: Focus on the Hero of the Gospel (8-13)

Hebrews 12 reminds us that we need to fix our eyes on Jesus. Paul tells Timothy a similar thing here in verse 8 as he says to remember Jesus! Maybe you’re here and you’re wondering why Paul bothers to do this. Timothy is a Christian, after all, why tell him to remember Jesus and what He has done? If you’ve been following along in our Bible reading plan, or if you’ve ever read the books of Exodus-2 Chronicles in your Bible, you’re reminded that the people of Israel often forgot the Lord. They forgot about His faithfulness and promises and they drifted into idolatry. We are tempted to do the same thing! This is why Paul says to remember Jesus. Remember that whenever you’re at your wits end and whenever your tank is running on empty, the tomb is empty and the throne is occupied. Remember Jesus and what He has done for you - His child!

Paul, writing this from prison, is literally bound and he is suffering. Yet, he reminds Timothy that the Word of God is not bound. Paul wasn’t living off of his multi-million dollar book contracts, and he wasn’t in the back of his new Ferrari or Gulf Stream private Jet. He was about to die. He was locked up. Yet, even with this reality sinking in, he had joy because he knew that he was suffering like the Hero of the Gospel suffered. Even though Rome locked him up, they couldn’t keep the Gospel locked up. Friends, this is why we endure. This is why we continue to share the good news in good and bad because we have assurance that the Word of God is still active and changing lives today!

It’s easy to focus on ourselves. It’s easy to focus on our feelings and emotions. It’s easy to focus on all the crazy stuff going on around us - however, that’s not the primary place we should focus on as Christians. We are not the hero of the story. It’s not about us and it’s not about building our own personal kingdoms - it’s about Him and expanding His kingdom as His servants. Paul shares that this is why he endures - the reason that Paul can have a smile on his face in prison and rejoice even though he is about to be killed is that he is convinced that God is going to use him and other Christians to help the lost become found. Paul shares that he endures all things for the elect - what does this mean? Some folks don’t like the word elect or they wrongly think that all people are elected. Biblically, we see the word elect used to describe God’s people in places like Deuteronomy 7:6 and 1 Peter 2:9 - His bride, the church. Read Acts 13:48 and you understand this term clearly as the Word penetrates the hearts of God’s people. There are expressions of sheep and goats throughout Scripture. Some people are sheep and others are goats. There’s a difference. There’s a difference between a Christian and a non-Christian. Not everyone is a Christian and not everyone in the Bible is the elect. Paul is convinced that there are lost people who, through the preaching and teaching of the Gospel, will be found - just as the younger brother in Luke 15 came home. We know that this is how God uses us on a regular basis as Romans 10 shares. Romans 10:14-15

Romans 10:14–15 CSB

14 How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.

We are called to point others to the hero of the Gospel. The hero of History! The one who changes everything. It’s not about us - we proclaim the name of Jesus because, “Some will believe if we preach the Gospel faithfully.” We don’t know who - but God does - and we trust that He will bring about a harvest and change the hearts of cold, lost, sinners to a heart of flesh and life.

The last couple of verses in this text deal with what some scholars think to be an early Christian hymn that Paul is using to challenge Timothy even more to live for Christ. This hymn talks about the idea of death and life. The Christian life isn’t so much about living for ourselves and maximizing our freedoms - Christian freedom is asking yourself this: How do I love my neighbor as Christ does? How can I point them to Jesus? This is Paul’s call here and it echoes that of Jesus whenever He said that if anyone wants to be His disciple they must: Deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him. This leads to death - the death of our sinful, human self. We have to kill ourself and if we die with Him, if we follow Him and kill our sin, we know that we will live with Him. We have to lay down our comforts for the Gospel. And if we do this, if we endure through hard times of persecution and temptation, we know that we will reign with Him. This is good news! But, there’s a catch. If we deny Him, we see that He will deny us. Jesus Himself shared this truth in Matthew 10:33

Matthew 10:33 CSB

33 But whoever denies me before others, I will also deny him before my Father in heaven.

We cannot deny the hero of the glory He is due. Finally, we read “if we are faithless, he remains faithful.” What does this mean? In the Greek, the word in the Greek for faithless is in the present tense - meaning the person is presently faithless. Someone who is not trusting in God’s Word/promises and someone who lacks genuine faith in God. To this person, what is the result? Some take it to be encouragement for the Christian who is struggling. If you are a Christian struggling to trust in God’s Word, take heart because God is faithful and He keeps His promises! Others, though, are more dreary with this line and say that Paul is sharing that to those who are faithless, meaning they reject Christ completely, and do not believe in Him - to those people - Christ is faithful and He will not lower the standard. This becomes a threat. You better be faithful and trust in Christ because if you don’t, He is faithful to fulfill His threat and He will deny those who deny Him. However you interpret verse 13, we know that our God is faithful and we are reminded that we must not deny our Lord.

We press on and we give Him thanks for all that He has done - and in moments where we struggle to trust in His timing and plan, we pray for strength and we look to the Gospel to remember what He has done.

Challenge #5: Work Hard for the Gospel (1-15)

While we didn’t look at verses 14-15 in our opening reading, it’s impossible to not talk about the need to work hard after studying this text. In the next section, Paul shares that Christians should 2 Timothy 2:15

2 Timothy 2:15 CSB

15 Be diligent to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.

We are called here to correctly teach the Word of Truth and to present ourselves to God as one approved. What does this require? It requires accuracy to handle the Word correctly. It requires hard work and careful study. It requires late nights and hard conversations. It possibly involves uncomfortable conversations in your own mind as you come to understand that the way you used to think about something in the Bible was absolutely wrong.

We have to work hard for the Gospel in order to fulfill our call as children of God. This is not for the faint at heart - this is something that we will spend the rest of our lives doing and growing towards.

Conclusion

Just as we saw in our opening clip, there is value in hard work. For the football player, he didn’t know how far he could go. He didn’t know his limit but his coach pushed him so that he could find out. We need these types of people in our life to help us press on and be the Christian teachers, soldiers, athletes, and farmers that Paul challenges us to be.

In the last 3 weeks we’ve seen different people. The first 2 of whom were lost for different reasons. They were welcomed home by the Father, but we didn’t get a chance to see how they lived a changed life. Today we come to Timothy - Paul’s son in the faith - and we see several challenges for Christian living. Why do these matter so much? Why should we care about pointing people to the Gospel or working hard for the Gospel whenever we are suffering and struggling? Because of the truth we find later in this very chapter in 2 Timothy 2:19

2 Timothy 2:19 CSB

19 Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, bearing this inscription: The Lord knows those who are his, and let everyone who calls on the name of the Lord turn away from wickedness.

There will always be people who teach false things, live in unrepentant sin, and reject Christ. Why should we press on whenever we live in such a hard world? Because the Lord knows those who are His. This is our confidence! The Lord knows us - we belong to Him. We are sealed by His Spirit and we will be with Him for all eternity as His children. What is the human evidence that we belong to Him, though? The second part of this verse: Let everyone who calls on the name of the Lord turn away from wickedness. This is our command. Live as a new creation. Press on in hard times. Accept these challenges and work hard for the cross of Christ because we have been called out of darkness into His marvelous light. Let our response be one of celebration of God’s faithfulness and lets in turn be faithful children and expand His kingdom. If you’re feeling down and out, just remember that your King isn’t in a tomb, He’s reigning on His throne. Trust in Him.