Sermon Tone Analysis

As I look over these first two chapters in 2 Timothy, I tend to get a little weary!

So far in our study we have seen our commission to courage and to character.

We have been challenged to suffer for Christ and hold tight to the truth.

Last week Paul challenged us to character, which we defined as allowing the grace of God to strengthen us to make right choices.

Are you like me, sometimes looking at the challenge and wondering if you can do it?

I know many soldiers who, at times in their service, tire of carrying their pack and rifle, and just want to know if it was all worth it.

Is the work worthwhile?

Do I have the inner strength and the motivation to carry on in the face of tough circumstances?

Is all of the struggle worth it?

No doubt Timothy faced many of the same struggles.

He was the pastor of the church in Ephesus, but as we have seen he dealt with some mighty opposition.

He probably felt the same way you and I can feel as we walk with Christ, and so Paul takes some time to reassure Timothy that he can be confident that his service for the Lord is worthwhile.

Even when things might look bleak, Paul gives Timothy reason for hope.

Maybe you’ve felt some of the same in your life.

Is it worth it?

Can I overcome the hurdles, the pressure and opposition to committing my life for Christ?

Will it be worth the struggle?

Do my choices matter?

Is Jesus really standing with me in my life?

Paul assures us in our passage that we can be confident as we serve the Lord Jesus Christ with our lives, and tells us that Jesus loves us unconditionally, and also holds us accountable for our faithfulness.

2 Timothy 2:8-13, then, serves in this wonderful letter as our *Commission to Confidence*.

1.      /*God Overcomes Opposition ([[2:8-10|Bible:2 Timothy 2:8-10]]).*/

From our study so far in 2 Timothy, we can see that Timothy was in the middle of a dogfight in Ephesus.

Men like Phygelus and Hermogenes ([[1:15|Bible:2 Timothy 1:15]]) had abandoned Paul in his time of need.

Next week we will see that there are men like them in Timothy’s congregation in Ephesus as well[1]!

We can see that there was opposition from all sides in Timothy’s life: from outside the church (in the form of the Roman government’s imprisonment of Paul and persecution of other believers) as well as from inside it (Phygelus, Hermogenes, Hymaneus, and Philetus serve as examples).

\\  

Can you imagine the struggle Timothy must have been facing?

Here we have a young pastor, a man who appears to be a thoughtful and soft-spoken man.

His mentor in life is shackled and about to die.

Timothy’s shining example of godliness, his rock and source of strength in his walk with Christ, is humiliated and about to be executed.

If you were in his shoes, how would you feel?

I bet that I would be on the verge of tears, ready to throw in the towel and call it quits.

Maybe, just maybe he was thinking about all the setbacks in ministry and the opposition he faced, and wondered if it was worth the hassle.

Paul knows this young man, and so he begins our commission to confidence by reminding Timothy that God has overcome great opposition, and continues to do so.

/Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, /(*2 Timothy 2:8*)

It doesn’t take Paul long to get right to the heart of the matter with Timothy.

If Timothy has faced opposition, how does it compare with the opposition that Jesus faced?

Jesus had absolutely no sin in His life.

He obeyed the Father perfectly, and for His efforts was rejected by His people and brutally murdered.

Jesus knows opposition!

If that was the end of the story then we would be a sad and pitiful people, but that’s not where the story ends.

Paul comforts Timothy with the outcome of Jesus’ crucifixion: Jesus is risen from the dead!

That’s the very heart of the message of eternal life that Paul preached[2]: Jesus paid the ultimate price for the sin of the world and then, because of His perfect life and obedience, conquered death forever!

He fulfilled prophecy as the descendant of David, and also shines as the perfect example of David’s overcoming of suffering and opposition to be blessed by God.

This is the first part of Timothy’s comfort and confidence.

Yes, he was in the middle of opposition, but Jesus faced more opposition that he ever would.

Jesus conquered the worst opposition in history, and as believers we share in His victory.

Paul calls Timothy (and us) to keep the truth in mind of Christ’s overcoming of all opposition.

The way he tells Timothy to “remember” in the Greek text[3], Paul is encouraging him to keep the truths of Christ’s victory front-and-center.

The first reason we can be confident as Christians is simple: Jesus overcame the worst opposition imaginable, and even overcame death!

//

/for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned./

(*2 Timothy 2:9*)

//

Paul next moves from Jesus’ victory over death to his own imprisonment.

Again, it would only be natural for Timothy to feel a little dejected as a result of Paul’s imprisonment.

Paul begins by explaining the charges against him.

He is suffering the hardship of imprisonment, and makes it clear that his imprisonment was the worst kind[4].

He was being horribly mistreated, his only crime being a commitment to tell people about Jesus.

The main point here, though, isn’t about Paul’s imprisonment.

The point of this verse is about the word of God!

Even though Paul is bound like a violent offender, nothing that Rome could do to Paul could stop the word of God.

Even if Paul is clapped in irons, the word of God cannot be imprisoned!

A wicked government can silence the messenger, but Paul rejoices that it cannot silence the message.

Verse 10 explains what Paul means:

/For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus /and /with/ it/ eternal glory./

(*2 Timothy 2:10*)

Here Paul explains for Timothy why he is chained.

To get his point we are going to have to slow down a little here and pick our way through this verse.

Is it because Rome hates him?

No.

Is it because Satan wants his message silenced?

No.

There are three key words that we must observe in this passage before we can understand what Paul means when he explains his incarceration:

 

* /Also/: Paul tells us that he is in prison for the benefit of the benefit of “the ones who are chosen.”

He says it is for the sake of the chosen, so that they /also/ have an opportunity.

Paul is in prison so that others like Timothy, and like you and me, can have the same benefit he had.

Paul has had a great opportunity, and he wants to “pay it forward” to us!

 

* /And…it/:  If you look closely at the NASB Bible here, you will notice that the words “and” and “it” at the end of this verse are italicized.

When we see italicized words in the NASB it means those words have been added for emphasis or clarity by the translators.

They are not in the text of the Greek New Testament!

Most times I agree with the translators, but here I think they missed Paul’s point.

If we read the end of the verse without the “helping” words, it reads, “so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.”

That captures Paul’s heart here.

Why is Paul in jail?

Not because he has failed, but for our benefit.

God allowed Paul to be arrested and bound so that the work could carry on without him.

Paul knew that he was going to hear “Well done, good and faithful servant!”[5]

It seems here, though, that Paul knew that if he had been allowed to continue the church would have depended upon him too much.

God took Paul out of the picture of ministry to show Timothy (and all the other churches Paul had founded) that they could get along without their spiritual father.

God could work through them just like He worked through Paul, and the church would grow regardless of Paul’s ability to lead it personally.

The Word of God would carry on when Paul couldn’t!

Having their leader imprisoned was no barrier to Timothy being a good servant of Christ; in fact, it provided him the opportunity to earn the same type of reward that Paul knew he had ahead of him.

Serving Christ and expanding His work is not a matter of personality.

Let’s think about how verses 8 through 10 give us confidence to live for God:

 

* We know that anything that we could possibly go through is no match for the suffering that Jesus underwent to pay for our eternal life.

Jesus overcame the worst treatment imaginable, and conquered death!

Christians share Jesus’ resurrection, so the worst punishment our society could possibly dish out to us has lost its power to scare us.

Jesus overcame death, and since death has no hold on us we can have confidence in serving Christ.

* Even when obstacles appear (such as Paul’s imprisonment), the word of God can’t be imprisoned!

What looks like a setback or a defeat can actually, in the hands of our mighty and loving God, be a great victory.

* God removes obstacles to our serving Christ, even taking things that we may love out of our way so that we can serve Him fully.