2 Tim 1: Guard the Gospel

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Sermon Outline

Text: 2 Tim 1:8-14

Intro

Beginning a new book – 2 Timothy – 4 chapters
3 Sundays then Easter Sunday
Perfect – 2 Tim 4 is a fitting passage for Easter Sunday
Encourage you to read this letter over and over – only 4 chapters

Outline

This week (wk 1): Paul gives Timothy the charge to guard the gospel

1 Tim 1

14 Guard, through the Holy Spirit who lives in us, that good thing entrusted to you.

What is that good thing? The gospel. Paul says, Timothy, guard the gospel.

Next week (wk 2): Paul gives Timothy the charge to suffer for the gospel

1 Tim 2

3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

1 Tim 2

8 Keep your attention on Jesus Christ as risen from the dead and descended from David. This is according to my gospel. 9 I suffer for it to the point of being bound like a criminal, but God’s message is not bound.

Not suffering for suffering’s sake, but suffering while keeping one’s attention on Christ.

Week 3: Paul gives Timothy the charge to continue in the gospel

1 Tim 3

13 Evil people and impostors will become worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed…

Timothy, you heard the gospel from a young age, now continue in it

Week 4: Paul gives Timothy the charge to proclaim the gospel

2 Tim 4

1 I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and because of His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching.

Paul’s final charge is to proclaim the gospel, be persistent in proclaiming Christ

Pastoral Epistle

Anyone in ministry or thinking about going into ministry needs to read this letter
Context: 1 Tim 1:8 – So don’t be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, or of me His PRISONER…
Imagine the scene – Paul has been faithful in guarding the gospel, he has been faithful in suffering for the gospel, he has been faithful in continuing in the gospel, he has been faithful in proclaiming the gospel for decades
He has planted churches, he has seen the multitudes come to faith in Christ, amazing things have happened through his life
Now he is in a dark, dank dungeon
Put yourself in Paul’s shoes. What would be going through your mind?
Complaints, self-pity, how did I end up here, Lord, where are you?
Due to persecution, Paul knows he’s about to be martyred
In terms of ministry, things are not that encouraging
2 Tim 1

15 This you know: All those in • Asia have turned away from me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.

Apostasy in Asia
What if a successful ministry was Paul’s primary goal in life? He would have been depressed.
Macedonian vision – what was that? what a waste?
How does Paul define success?

2 Tim 4

6 For I am already being poured out as a •drink offering, and the time for my departure is close. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

How does Paul define fighting the good fight and reaching ultimate victory?
How does Paul describe the exhilaration of crossing the finishing the race?
Answer: I’ve kept the faith
Shout of victory: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith, I made it to Jesus!
Running – hardest part is to keep going, every step is a battle of the will – I want to give up
Some of us – you came here and you want to throw in the towel. If not now, then you have felt like that way in the past? Or you will feel tempted to quit in the future.
For Paul, victory was simple. Keeping the faith.

Paul’s life and ministry is coming to an end, what next?

No self-pity party, no complaining
Instead, he looks to the future
He’s concerned about future generations having a chance to hear the pure gospel and be saved
His attention focuses on one person, Timothy
Odd strategy – you want to save the world and yet you focus on a single person
Not focusing on a big movement or hosting a large conference – this is how man thinks
Jesus – invest in 12 men, 1 of whom fell away
God’s methods haven’t changed – don’t be carried away with the world’s ways, the glamour, the impressive methodologies, stick to what works.
I am saved, now let me in turn share with one other person

Paul’s was very specific in his instruction in his first letter to Timothy – 1 Timothy

Primary responsibility was to teach
He needed to combat the heretics
He needed to order the church worship
He needed to select and ordain elders as well as the rest of the leadership
He needed to establish structure around the relief and ministry of its widows

Now in 2 Timothy, Paul is ready to pass the baton to Timothy

His own apostolic ministry is ending
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith
Now Paul’s attention shifts to the future generations
Think about it – God through Paul had us in mind in Pasadena in the year 2014
He wanted us to receive a pure gospel
Question – how can a pure gospel be transmitted throughout the generations?
Paul starts with Timothy and what does he tell him?
2 Tim 2

1 You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

You, Timothy, be strong in the grace of the gospel, then commit this gospel to faithful men who will in turn teach others.

Great plan but there is only one problem – Timothy

Timothy was not the kind of guy on paper that you would choose to make sure that a pure gospel was preserved and transmitted faithfully to the next generation
Paul and Timothy – so different
Paul was a go-getter, he was disciplined, he knew the OT backwards and forwards, he was seasoned veteran in terms of religious leadership
On top of that, Paul was a fighter, if you were his enemy, he would go after you, he persecuted Christians and murdered them, he had that kind of zeal
When he became a Christian, all of that ambition and self-discipline and knowledge and passionate zeal was channeled toward the gospel
We should not be surprised that God chose Paul to carry the torch of the gospel to the Gentile world
But Timothy? Lord, are you making a mistake?
It’s hard for a younger leader to step into the shoes of their predecessor
Think of how Joshua must have felt stepping into the shoes of a Moses
Or Elisha stepping into the shoes of an Elijah
Or Peter and Apostle Paul stepping into the shoes of Jesus
Timothy must have felt a similar sense of anxiety thinking about Paul and his leadership and his impact and now God was asking him of all people to carry the baton?

On paper, Timothy didn’t look much like a leader

From 1 Tim 4:12 and 2 Tim 2:22, we know that Timothy was young. Probably in his mid-thirties.
Also, from 1 Tim 5:23, we also learn that Timothy was prone to illness
In addition, he was timid in his temperament. He was shy. An introvert. He was intimidated by people – read 1 Cor 16:10-11
1 Cor 16

10 If Timothy comes, see that he has nothing to fear from you, because he is doing the Lord’s work, just as I am. 11 Therefore, no one should look down on him. Send him on his way in peace so he can come to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers.

Timothy was young, he was physically weak, and he was shy – not the kind of leader who makes you as a follower feel secure or confident
By looking at Timothy, a verse comes to mind – God truly must use the foolish things of the world to shame the wise

2 Tim 1:1-7

Quick word to parents

It’s not by accident that Timothy is who he is
Timothy was raised by a godly mother and a godly grandmother – 3 generations of God’s faithfulness – what a blessing!
In ministry, I meet certain students – they seem different, mature – then I get to meet their parents – ah, now it makes sense
Parents, don’t miss out on the short window of opportunity that God has given you to raise your kids in the Lord (18 years will go by in a flash)

2 Tim 1:6-7

What is Timothy’s gift that Paul is referring to?
Some debate. Some think, it’s gift of the pastorate. Ordination. Laying of hands – ordination service. Paul has empowered him to pastor well.
Another possibility is the gift of evangelism – read 2 Tim 4:5
I think Paul leaves the identity of the spiritual gift vague for a reason.
We all have a gift and so this advice directed to Timothy applies to all believers
Important principle regarding spiritual gifts – if gifts are not exercised, they can atrophy
Physical muscles
Spiritual gifts are like a fire – if you don’t keep adding wood to a fire and fanning it, what happens? It dies off. But with wood and proper airflow, a dying fire can be revived into a roaring flame.

What made Timothy reluctant to exercise his spiritual gift to the point that it was like a dying ember?

He was fearful in general, that was his personality
He was reluctant to evangelize for fear of persecution
He was fearful to pastor and to teach and to lead probably due to the presence of older, vocal church members who were good with their words

Testimony

I had a strong desire to evangelize in my early years, no one told me to, but I filled up my schedule meeting people, I was excited to share about my faith
Sad to say, but over time, the gift of evangelism in me has cooled
Part of it is God telling me to re-prioritize
Part of it is my own laziness or lack of heart
What Paul tells Timothy to do is so true – use it or lose it
The more I fail to exercise the gift, the harder it gets to use it when the opportunity presents itself

Lately, God has been teaching me about spiritual gifts in the context of a local church

We see life through the lens of our gifting
Easy to become judgmental because we all think our view is comprehensive and totally accurate
If you have a pastoral gift – you’re always thinking about unity, we need to care for our members, how come no one cares about our members? We need to start small groups, schedule fellowship activities, we need to hold one another accountable
Evangelist heart – why are we not reaching more people for Christ? Why are there so few salvations? We have Jesus. We have all we need. We can’t be self-engrossed while the world is going to hell. We need to get out there.
Mercy ministry – why are we not serving the poor and the elderly, social justice? We have so much, it’s time to give to those who have so little.
Prophetic gift or healing gift or the gift of tongues – how come others can’t hear from the Lord like I can or heal disease or pray in tongues? I must be a super Christian.
When it comes to spiritual gifts, humility is important
We need to lay down our gifts
It’s not MY gift. The spiritual gift I have is the Lord’s. He gave it to me for the purpose of building up the body.
2 Tim 1:7
Don’t be afraid to use your gifts. Fear is not from the Lord.
Also, realize that the gifts were given to empower us, but it was given for the purpose of loving our fellow brothers and sisters and to exercise sound judgment, not be judgmental
Spiritual gifts need to be kept ablaze, kindled or rekindled, exercised, not used as a means of pride or judgment against others
We have to give room for others to exercise their gift
The evangelists are going to have a tendency to be out there, that’s good, they are exercising their gift, that means they might not be around as much
It’s the job of the pastor and others with a pastoral gift to reel these evangelists back a bit at times to remind them to prioritize their relationship with Jesus and not become ministry-focused

2 Tim 1:8-12

This next section is the gospel
What is the gospel? 2 Tim 1:9-10
Much in the same way that spiritual gifts must be exercised, the gospel must be shared verbally and and the gospel ought to be visible through our actions.
Satan’s strategy is to keep us fearful and ashamed – so that we keep our mouths shut and our lives hidden
In America, no one is under direct persecution for our faith, no one is in danger of imprisonment or death because of our faith in Christ, at least not yet.
Yet, aren’t most of us quite silent and our lives hidden? Would others be able to tell, that’s a disciple of Jesus.
What causes us to to be fearful? What are we fearful of?
We fear that if we open our mouth and proclaim Christ, we will be ostracized, or rejected, or ridiculed
We just want to fit in

Testimony

Minority in this country, all I ever wanted was to fit in
It’s hard to fit in if you are the son of an immigrant family
Bowl cut, neon clothes from a flea market in Korea, kimchi in my lunch box
Malibu Classic – Dad – PhD student – I was ashamed, didn’t want to be dropped off in front of school
I was ashamed about being a Korean American, I was ashamed about being relatively poor, I was ashamed about my parents

The same thing happens in our lives as Christians

Because we want to fit in, we don’t speak up
Being ashamed leads to silence

The opposite of being ashamed is being shameless

Shameless sports fan – you can’t tell a shameless sports fan to be quiet
Clippers game – front row, Sixers Iverson jersey, I’m the only one shouting
Shameless parent – brags about his or her kid

Our silence communicates two things

One, you are ashamed about Christ, He does not mean much to you, what He has done for you on the cross is not worth mentioning
Two, our silence communicates that Satan has won because the gospel will no longer be on your lips and therefore no one around you will have a chance to believe in Jesus
God can still save lost sinners headed toward hell supernaturally through visions and dreams apart from the Christian witness, but for the past two thousand years, the verbal witness of Christians has been the primary vehicle of salvation for the nations.
Is that going to change with our generation? Because we are ashamed, we are fearful, we just want to fit in.
Heaven forbid if our friends or coworkers label us a Jesus fanatic
Will the gospel message stop with us? Will we force God to change His means of salvation, from using human vessels to accomplish redemption and now due to our silence, we are forcing God to bypass human agents and save people miraculously without human participation?

We may not be under the threat of persecution in terms of losing our lives, but we feel subtle persecution, don’t we?

First century – Romans would kill you if you said your allegiance was to Jesus over Caesar
Speaking up for Jesus back then led directly to suffering because this world hates Jesus
We may not be currently facing death if we profess Christ
But when we proclaim Christ, we risk being an outsider
When you pray before a meal, you risk the stares of your coworkers
When your labmates swear and use the Lord’s name in vain, you have a choice, do you speak up or do you remain silent?
When others tell dirty jokes, do you laugh along or do you risk being labeled a prude?
You just want to fit in
What if the first century believers were fearful and they just wanted to fit in? Then, the gospel would have stopped and maybe we wouldn’t be here in a worship service.

I want to end with some good news and some bad news

Good news – 2 Tim 1:12 – God guards
Bad news – 2 Tim 1:13-14 – we also have a responsibility to guard
We are to Hold On To and to GUARD what? Sound teaching of the gospel.
Both God and us have a role in the salvation of the world
Both God and us have a role in our own salvation
God guards, but we guard, too
God’s sovereignty and human free will – both are held in tension
2 Tim 1:15 – many believers from Asia have turned away, Phygelus and Hermogenes have fallen away
They had the gospel, it was in their hands, but they didn’t guard it, they didn’t hold on to it and salvation it appears slipped through their fingers

How do we guard the gospel?

1 Tim 4:16
We need to pay close attention to two things: our life and our teaching
Teaching is straightforward
Are we keeping Jesus at the center? Is the preaching gospel-centered?
Are we preaching grace, salvation by grace alone and faith alone?
Paying close attention to our lives is harder.
In our daily life, are we ashamed to speak? That’s much harder to answer than do we believe in our head that Jesus is the most important person in my life.
Examine your speech in the past week. How much did you speak to others about Christ?

There is a danger when we focus on teaching and divorce what we know to be true in our head and hearts from our lives.

It gives people a false security of salvation
Teaching and life always go hand in hand
You can get the RIGHT teaching down but still lead life that is so WRONG in the eyes of God
Right now in America, there is a danger of easy believism – I believe Christ died for my sins (check), I believe He rose from the grave (check), I must be saved
Full gospel – wrath of God plus God’s grace
Many incomplete gospels out there – God loves you, God has a purpose for your life, God will give you meaning and purpose, but there is zero mention of sin
Good news of the gospel is only good news in light of some seriously bad news
Bad news – sinners going to hell
We need to get our teaching right, preach a full gospel, God’s wrath poured out on Christ due to our sin so that those who repent and place their faith in Christ can be pardoned and forgiven and saved
Right teaching is important, but it’s only part of it
What about your life?

To close, I am going to cheat a bit and seize the moment when the kids are not in the service to address a topic.

2 Tim 2:18-22
What is proof that we are God’s, that we are truly His, that we are saved?
We have v19 – turned away from unrighteousness
We have v21 – been set apart for God to be an instrument of good works
This speaks of personal purity and holiness
What is one area that we need turn away from esp in our day and age?
v22 – youthful passions

Sexual Purity

Thank God – I didn’t grow up with computers and 20Mbps download speeds. High school – AOL 56Kbps speed – that was considered fast
Some of you are engaged in relationships and you know you are crossing the line – take God’s Word seriously. Get married or break up.
If you are addicted to porn, you have no business in a relationship. You think porn addiction stops when you get married. It doesn’t.
If you are addicted to porn, you need to get help
Put accountability in place – don’t even open your computer past midnight alone, sell your laptop and put a desktop in a public place
Flee from youthful passions, flee from even the possibility of sin
You need to guard the gospel – what you are taught needs to match how you live
1 Cor 6:9-11
The unrighteous will NOT inherit God’s kingdom
Don’t deceive yourself
You don’t have to be perfect because we all fall
But we need to guard the gospel that is in us. Our teaching + our lives.
If you are struggling with sexual sin, then you need to be brutally honest and seek help
You need to fight sin in your life because only those who have TURNED AWAY from unrighteousness can have assurance of salvation because the Lord says, he or she is mine
If you remain in your sexual immorality year after year, decade after decade, you will not be saved
1 Cor 6:11 – by God’s grace, the Holy Spirit comes and we are changed
Our desires change, our desires are sublimated, elevated, we no longer settle for cheap substitutes because we have experienced the beauty of the Lord
When we guard our teaching and guard our lives, then we can claim v11
This is the testimony of the believer – we have been sanctified, we used to struggle with porn and sexual addiction, PAST TENSE, but by the grace of God and the blood of Jesus, I have been washed, I have been changed

Conclusion

Examine your teaching and your life.
Have you been guarding the gospel in your thoughts and your actions?