Today (or should I say two-day?) is Tuesday, 2/22/22. Two verses from 2 Timothy chapter 2 are quite encouraging for us today (or is too-day?), and we start with:
The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
2 Timothy 2:2
All by itself, this excellent verse speaks of discipleship and passing the baton of God’s truth from one generation to the next. If you break down the verse, you see that Paul is highlighting four generations: Paul to Timothy to faithful men to others!
But looking at this verse in context brings something else to the table, and why this passing the baton of God’s truth is so crucial. In verse 1, Paul writes a very profound encouragement:
You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
2 Timothy 2:1
We’ll come back in a moment to why this verse has such rich depth for us. Because we have to chase the context a bit further, as verse 1 starts with therefore – which means, it’s tied into what has come before. So then, 2 Timothy chapter 1 ends with two groups of people. The first is negative, which is in verse 15:
You are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes.
2 Timothy 1:15
Instead of being faithful and supportive and there in times of need, these men – which include but is not limited to Phygelus and Hermogenes – turned away.
In contrast, the positive is the house of Onesiphorus in verses 16-18:
The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains;
but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me—
the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day—and you know very well what services he rendered at Ephesus.
2 Timothy 1:16-18
Onesiphorus didn’t turn away from Paul, but actually turned toward him at great lengths, searching through Rome to find Paul – which had to be no small task.
Putting all of these pieces together, Paul is warning Timothy that some will disappoint you. In a moment of need, instead of being there to help and serve you, they will be embarrassed and turn away. How do you stop this?
First is the need to be strong in the grace of Christ Jesus. What is this grace? It starts with Jesus’ life and death in your place. He died on the cross and rose again for the forgiveness of your sins. By His grace, you stand before God without any sin. But Jesus also lived in your place, perfectly obeying God’s laws. By His grace also, you stand before God completely righteous! This amazing truth is the Gospel which Timothy and each Christian believes. Being strong in this grace is holding fast to it, repeating it to yourself, applying it to yourself, sharing it with others. It’s not a new grace, it’s just deepening your appreciation and use of this grace from Jesus.
Then it is passing along this grace of Jesus Christ to others. Take this amazing truth of what Jesus has done to you and for you and entrust it, give it away to trustworthy or faithful men. Let them be strong in this grace as well. And as they personally were entrusted with this amazing Gospel grace, they will in turn entrust others.
In summary, the way to develop godly people who will not turn away in times of conflict is to be strong in the Gospel grace of Jesus Christ and then entrust this Gospel grace to others. Then, when troubles or persecution come (and they will; Jesus promised us this), not only do you have grace from Christ, but you also have help and service from your fellow believers.
Also two-day we turn to a second verse to investigate, and that is 2 Timothy 2:22:
Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
2 Timothy 2:22
As with verse 2, this excellent verse stands well on its’ own. It’s a running verse, as in running away from youthful lusts, and running towards four qualities: righteousness, faith, love, and peace. But it’s not a solo run; you run with others, who are described as calling on the Lord from a pure heart. The battle with sin and temptation is necessarily difficult. One cannot fight this battle alone. Not only do you need to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus (as in 2 Timothy 2:2), but you need your fellow brothers and sisters with you.
Yet, as with verse 2, the context adds some depth of meaning to the instruction of verse 22. Verses 20 and 21 picture vessels in a home:
Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor.
Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.
2 Timothy 2:20-21
In our house, we have paper plates, regular plates, and then nice china plates. The paper plates we use and then throw away – not giving them much care or attention. Our regular plates are frequently used and cleaned. Here and there one drops on the floor, is shattered, and then thrown away. Care is taken, not for the plate itself, but to make sure no one gets hurt from the shards on the floor. But then the nice china plates are highly prized, especially by my wife. We use these on special occasions, like a holiday or birthday; we take care in bringing them out, in using them, cleaning them, and putting them away.
Paul makes this comparison to believers with the goal in verse 21 of being a cleansed vessel, sanctified (or set apart for a specific use, like the nice china plates), useful to the Mater, prepared for every good work. That’s what Paul encourages Timothy to be, and we can make application to ourselves too. So, how do we get to that point of being cleansed, sanctified, useful, and prepared?
Verse 22 gives us the answer: run away from youthful desires, and run with one another to righteousness, faith, love, and peace. The more that we run together towards these, the more we will be useful to the Master.
What these two verses encourage my own heart two-day is that God readily knows and understands my weaknesses. He knows how I’m prone to buckle under challenges and difficulty. But He doesn’t protect me from these, shielding me in some divine bubble. Rather, He supplies me with all that I need to endure and grow. Part of what we need for this is the grace that is found in Christ Jesus, but another part is found in each other.
The pandemic has forced many of us to define ‘what is church?’ We can be prone to define church as a building where we gather once a week for about 90 minutes or so. Thus, church is a limited location, both in terms of physical space and time. But Jesus intends His church to be so much more than that, because the church isn’t a building, or even a service. Church is His body, His people regularly interacting with each other for mutual help and benefit. Key to who I am as a Christian is both my relationship with Jesus Christ, and my relationships with my fellow believers. I need help from them just as they do from me.
So two-day – be strong in grace of Christ Jesus. And reach out to another believer – to encourage them and be encouraged by them!