WORD From The Woods
2 Timothy 2:1-13
“You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. The saying is trustworthy, for:
If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
if we are faithless, he remains faithful--
for he cannot deny himself.”
Last week, we read about how Paul reminded Timothy of the importance of the gospel, how it must be central to Timothy’s life and ministry, and that he had entrusted Timothy with this mission. In this passage, Paul charges Timothy to entrust that same gospel ministry to other faithful men. This is the heart of the Christian life, the transfer of the gospel from one faithful Christian to another, and from generation to generation. It’s important to notice that Paul said to entrust the gospel mission to “faithful” men. We should be ready to share the hope of the gospel with anyone and everyone, but it’s important that we recognize other Christians who are remarkably faithful in Christ. These are the people that we should build deep relationships with and stand shoulder to shoulder in life and ministry. Paul goes on to put this in a military context when he tells Timothy to be a good soldier of Christ. The most important part of this that Paul points out, is to trust in the one who enlisted us and aim to please Him, who is Christ. But the next most important thing is that we can trust our fellow soldiers. That’s why it’s so crucial that we build a life in and around a body of faithful Christians that we can trust with our life, the kind of people that we would go to the ends of the earth with as fellow soldiers of Christ. We can stand with other faithful Christians in this way because of our common aim in Christ. When people get too caught up in worldly “civilian” pursuits as Paul put it our aim becomes selfish and we end up hurting the greater gospel mission. So much more could be said on this subject, but the point is to keep our aim fixed on Christ and seek unity with others who are doing the same. And dwell on the trustworthy saying that Paul used at the end of this passage!
God Bless and have a great week! -Terry-
2 Timothy 2:1-13
“You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. The saying is trustworthy, for:
If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
if we are faithless, he remains faithful--
for he cannot deny himself.”
Last week, we read about how Paul reminded Timothy of the importance of the gospel, how it must be central to Timothy’s life and ministry, and that he had entrusted Timothy with this mission. In this passage, Paul charges Timothy to entrust that same gospel ministry to other faithful men. This is the heart of the Christian life, the transfer of the gospel from one faithful Christian to another, and from generation to generation. It’s important to notice that Paul said to entrust the gospel mission to “faithful” men. We should be ready to share the hope of the gospel with anyone and everyone, but it’s important that we recognize other Christians who are remarkably faithful in Christ. These are the people that we should build deep relationships with and stand shoulder to shoulder in life and ministry. Paul goes on to put this in a military context when he tells Timothy to be a good soldier of Christ. The most important part of this that Paul points out, is to trust in the one who enlisted us and aim to please Him, who is Christ. But the next most important thing is that we can trust our fellow soldiers. That’s why it’s so crucial that we build a life in and around a body of faithful Christians that we can trust with our life, the kind of people that we would go to the ends of the earth with as fellow soldiers of Christ. We can stand with other faithful Christians in this way because of our common aim in Christ. When people get too caught up in worldly “civilian” pursuits as Paul put it our aim becomes selfish and we end up hurting the greater gospel mission. So much more could be said on this subject, but the point is to keep our aim fixed on Christ and seek unity with others who are doing the same. And dwell on the trustworthy saying that Paul used at the end of this passage!
God Bless and have a great week! -Terry-