AM Bible Study Group; November 19, 2014
2 Timothy 2:8-10
Theme: Paul exhorts Timothy to devotion to an approved ministry—no matter what the cost—by calling him to remember certain things.
(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
A sanctified ‘memory’ is a great gift from God. But the benefits of ‘remembering’ are not found just in a sentimental look backward. A disciplined memory of certain things—a deliberate effort to recollect certain things and keep them ever before ourselves in our thinking—is essential to faithfulness in our service to Christ. It’s by faithfully looking back to the things we have been shown, and to the truths about them that we have been taught, that we become motivated to give our all for the cause of Jesus in the present.
Timothy needed such motivation. He was looking carefully at the cost that the apostle Paul was paying for his own faithfulness in preaching the gospel—sitting as he was in a prison cell as a criminal, and awaiting execution for his faith. But Paul was willing to pay the price because of the things that he made it his habit to remember. And passing these things on to Timothy would motivate him as well.
Notice the first word of our passage this morning: “Remember . . .” That comes in Paul’s letter as a command. And it is as much a command for us today as it was for Timothy back then. If we make it our habit to call certain things to mind, and to keep them there, we too will be motivated by a passion for the cause of the gospel; and we will serve Christ, in the areas of ministry He has appointed us, in such a way as to be approved of God.
What then are the things that Paul urges Timothy to remember?
I. REMEMBER JESUS AS THE RESURRECTED KING (v. 8).
A. According to the New King James translation, Paul writes, “Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead . . .” But in the original language, the word “that” is not present. It is better to translate this portion of verse 8 in this way: “Remember Jesus Christ—having been raised from the dead, of the seed of David . . .” In other words, it is vital ‘remember’ Jesus and to keep Him ever before us in our thinking.
B. But it’s important that we remember the right things about Him. Keeping Jesus in our thinking will only be of value if we believe rightly about Him. Many preachers say that they have Jesus before them in their thinking; but the ‘Jesus’ they think of is only a human teacher and religious leader. Paul urges that Timothy keep two great truths about Jesus in mind: His resurrection and His royalty. His royalty speaks not only of the promises concerning Him in the Old Testament, but also His right of rule as King of kings and Lord of lords. And His resurrection speaks not only of His suffering for sin, but also of the perfection of that work on our behalf and of His victory over death. These two affirmations are key to Paul’s preaching of the gospel. As Paul affirmed in Romans 1:1-4; “Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”
C. Remembering our Lord in terms of His resurrection and royalty are vital to having a motivation for the cause of the gospel—especially at times when it costs us greatly to proclaim it. The Lord Jesus Himself even drew upon these two realities when He spoke to the apostle John. John was suffering exile for the gospel on the Isle of Patmos; but the Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death” (Revelation 1:17-18). We serve the one who has conquered death and judgment; and holds complete authority over them!
II. REMEMBER THE GOSPEL FOR WHICH PAUL SUFFERED (vv. 8-9).
A. Paul affirms these truths about Jesus as being “according to my gospel, for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains . . .” Paul’s ‘prison chains’ are a significant feature of this letter. They are what may have tempted some to hold back or be ashamed (1:8, 16). But Paul was not ashamed to suffer for the cause of the gospel. He was completely persuaded that God would keep his eternal destiny in His hand—even “until that Day” (1:12).
B. Why would Paul be so motivated by the gospel, even though he suffered so much for it? It may be that he called it ‘his’ gospel; but it wasn’t because he had invented it. Nor did he receive it from man (see Galatians 1:11-12). Rather, he called it ‘his’ because he became utterly identified with the preaching of it. And he was so eagerly identified himself with it because he was overwhelmingly honored to have been given this gospel by God, and to have been called by God to proclaim it (Ephesians 3:1-13). Paul was not ashamed of this gospel, “for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes . . .” (Romans 1:16). Remembering the nature of this wonderful gospel will keep us motivated to proclaim it—and to even suffer for it as Paul did!
III. REMEMBER THE UNSTOPPABLE NATURE OF GOD’S WORD (v. 9).
A. Paul affirmed that he suffered trouble for the gospel—thrown into prison as if he were a common criminal. Paul himself could no longer go out and preach it publicly. In fact, his time of life on this earth—the time of preaching that gospel bodily to others—was about to come to an end (4:6-8). But he had no fear that the message would be silenced simply because he himself was silenced. He may be in chains, “but the word of God is not chained.” It remains “living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). As God Himself has said of His own word, “It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).
B. It’s greatly motivating to know that the word of God which we proclaim is not dependent upon the freedom that men may give it for its success. Even the incapacities of its preachers cannot keep it from its appointed purpose. It is that which God Himself sends forth, and which He gives success as He chooses. At another time when Paul was in prison—unable to proclaim the gospel personally—he nevertheless rejoiced in its life-changing power. Even if some were preaching it in order to add to Paul’s affliction, he said, “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice” (Philippians 1:18).
IV. REMEMBER THE ELECT OF GOD (v. 10).
A. The preaching of the gospel that Paul suffered for would be effective; and this was because the God who gives it success also has it in His sovereign purpose that it will save those He chooses. Paul wrote, “Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus . . .” Paul was absolutely assured that those who God has chosen for Himself (Ephesians 1:4) will indeed hear the message of the gospel, will believe it, and will be saved.
B. This, of course, doesn’t mean that we don’t have to proclaim this gospel. Just as the response to it is ordained of the sovereign God, so also is the means by which it is heard. “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:14-15). But the sent ones can proclaim it with absolute confidence in the success that God Himself will give it.
V. REMEMBER THE ETERNAL GLORY OF SALVATION (v. 10).
A. In closing, Paul, when he describes the salvation that comes through the gospel of Jesus, speaks of it as “with eternal glory.” How important it is to keep that in mind! No matter what we may suffer in the short term for the gospel, “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). Paul himself looked forward to “the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8).
B. If we would be motivated as we should be, we need to keep the glories of salvation—the salvation that is brought about by the gospel—ever in our view. That promise of future glory is to sustain us when our labors for the Lord seem frustrating and fruitless. At the end of 1 Corinthians 15, Paul wrote,
“So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’
‘O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?’
The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:54-58). How important, then, that we ‘look ahead’ to the promise of this future glory! As he wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18; “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”