Alright, verse 1 and 2, Paul,
an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, according to
the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy,
my dearly beloved son, grace, mercy, and peace from God the
Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Verse 7 through 12, For God hath
not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of
a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed
of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but be
thou partaker of the affliction of the gospel according to the
power of God. Then Paul goes off on a doxology
or a eulogy, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling,
not according to our works, but according to his own purpose
and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began. but is now made manifest by the
appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death
and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. And the gospel reminds Paul of
something, whereunto I am appointed a preacher and an apostle and
a teacher of the Gentiles. Now watch verse 12. for the which
cause I also suffer these things. Nevertheless, I am not ashamed,
for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able
to keep that which I have committed unto him, against that day. Now those verses 9 and 12 will
principally make up our study of the morning. Let me begin
by saying that it is a blessing as as we read through and as
we study the scripture to come across those times and read of
the time that Paul confesses his faith in the Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. rejoices in his union with the
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And sometimes speaking very personally
of his relation unto the Lord Jesus and speaking of that very
great salvation which Christ had bestowed upon him. And also
often we catch him speaking of his call and his work into the
ministry which Christ had called him to do. It is Paul that wrote
in Romans 1.16, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for
it is the power of God unto salvation to them that believe, to the
Jew first and also to the Greek. It was the same Paul who wrote
in Colossians 2 and verse 20, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless
I live. He had his hope in Christ. He had his salvation in the Lord
Jesus Christ. And in Christ he knew that he
had everlasting life and eternal glory. I want you to remember
how tenderly he loved Timothy and trusted him in the work of
the gospel as a minister. We almost get the feeling that
in this epistle though, Paul is letting the mantle drop off
of himself and on to Timothy. One commentator called this epistle
quote, Paul's last will and testament for Timothy." And as Elijah let
the mantle fall upon Elijah, it here seems that Paul is letting
the mantle fall upon his young protege, even Timothy. Now before we wade out, let's
get some background on these things to solidify our study. All agree that I have read that
when Paul wrote this particular epistle, that he was under arrest
in Rome, in custody of Caesar, waiting for his case to be heard,
for he had appealed under Caesar. Now here in verse 1 through verse
8, He calls himself the Lord's prisoner. And in other places,
he speaks about this chain, as in Acts 28 and verse 20. 2 Timothy 1, 16, Onesimus, I was not ashamed of my chain,
for he was under house arrest and in shackles when these things
were written and said. And Paul, it would seem, had
resigned himself that he would never be a free man again. that he would never be free,
that his appeal to Caesar would end in a bad way. Later in the
epistle, he will write chapter 4, verses 6 through verse 8,
his expectation of his life at that time. In verse 5, he tells
Timothy, you make full proof of your ministry, or as the margin
has it, Fulfill your ministry. Perform the ministry of the gospel
of the Lord. And this emphasizes the solemnity
of the charge when we read in the 6th verse of the 4th chapter,
For I am ready to be offered. Literally in the Greek I think
it is, I am being poured out. The time of my departure is at
hand. And there are two things there
that he declared. In verse 7, I have fought a good
fight. I have finished the course. I
have run the race. I have kept the faith. And secondly,
in verse 8, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness
which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me and not
to me only, but to all of those who love his appearing. Thus,
I think Paul is anticipating that soon he will be dead, that
he will not go free from prison, and that both his natural life
and, how sad, his ministry are now nearing an end in prison
in Rome. And so to repeat, he is dropping
the mantle upon Timothy with full and final instruction and
exhortation how to exercise the ministry. Now, this following
is a quote that I took from John Gill, quote, The design is to
stir up Timothy, to be faithful and diligently discharge his
duty as a minister of the gospel, to abide by the truths that are
set out therein, and to suffer patiently and courageously for
the sake of the gospel." Now, on to that end, notice in verse
7. He reminds Timothy that God had
not given us a cowardly, timid spirit as ministers of the gospel. He has not made us timid about
it, but He had given us a power of love and of a sound mind. Some have the last self-control
or discipline. He has given us self-control
or discipline in this matter of serving in the gospel. Therefore,
verse 8, Do not be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord. Don't be ashamed of the doctrine
of Christ. Don't be ashamed of the gospel
of our blessed Lord. Don't be ashamed of the message
of Christ that is committed unto us to preach. And then Paul adds,
nor of me, his prisoner. Do not be ashamed of the gospel,
nor of me, this prisoner. For if you would consider, the
Christ that we preach, and that Timothy and Paul were to preach,
was reviled and rejected by his very own nation. Christ was charged with blasphemy. He was put to death in the most
horrible, horrible, shameful, and painful way. The Jews rejected
him, calling him an imposter. and an enemy of Moses. At his death he had but few disciples
together around him. He was numbered with a transgressor. He hanged there on the cross
between condemned thieves. He was buried in a borrowed tomb,
and that was the case with our Lord. As for Paul, he was at
the time in prison, charged by his own countrymen as being a
heretic worthy of death. They said Paul does not deserve
to live any longer. Timothy's mentor, Timothy's father
in the faith, was a most despised man in Judaistic circle. And he was heavily persecuted. He was despised greatly on account
of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And as Gil said, for preaching
that gospel, he met with much persecution. And this came as
no surprise to the great apostle Paul, for it was said at his
conversion. In Acts 9 and 16, I will show
him how great things he must suffer for my namesake. Some of them Paul names. Some things that he suffered.
In 2 Corinthians 6, 4, and 5, he names affliction, necessity,
distresses, strikes, judgments, tumults, that is, caught up in
a few riots. in preaching the gospel, labors,
watchings, fastings. And then he exhorts Timothy to
be a partaker, to be a fellow partaker of the afflictions of
the gospel. that under the very power of
God, Timothy endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. II Timothy chapter 2 and verse
3. Now the mention here of the power
of God in the end of verse 8, especially the mention of God,
Jehovah the Father. Then notice the who. in opening
of verse 9. God in verse 8 and the Who in
verse 9. Verse 9 refers back, therefore,
to God, to eternal life, and as Paul tells Titus, In Titus
1 and verse 2, eternal life was promised before the world ever
began. When here in 2 Timothy 1 and
verse 9, we look at the last phrase, which, and to what does
this have reference, the nearest Antecedent there is the grace
of God. So he said that the Lord had
done a particular thing on our behalf. He says that our deliverance
and our calling are in accordance with an everlasting purpose which
was formed in and around and through Christ Jesus. It is a
purpose of grace. as Paul calls it. Patrick Fairbain, in his commentary
on the pastoral epistles, called it, and I quote, a brief but
graphic description of this manifested power of God in the matter of
salvation, unquote. He wants to emphasize to Timothy
and to us the greatness of this salvation, the blessedness of
it as it is declared in the Gospel. That not only is it worth all
acceptation, but it is worth being persecuted for. It is worth
being counted as an enemy for. It is worth all the riches and
all the wealth of this present world to preach and declare. and believe the gospel. Hear
Paul in Philippians 3 verse 8 and 9, I count all things but loss
for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom
I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them done,
that I may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having mine
own righteousness which is of the law, but that righteousness
which is of faith. I have counted all else lost
for the sake of the gospel and of Christ. We're going back to
II Timothy chapter 1 and verse 9. Notice in the past tense,
who has saved us? God has saved us. When we look
at verse 9, it is clear that Paul is not so careful as to
list the various aspects of salvation in their chronological order. For example, He says we are saved,
then He speaks of our calling and mentions the purpose before
the world lasts in the birth. Which in order of time, of course,
the purpose was first. For the purpose is eternal. then in time comes the calling. But as Paul said, the calling
is in accordance, in conjunction, in connection to the purpose
of God. Remember, Paul speaks in Romans
8 and verse 28 of them who are called according to purpose,
and the apostle Peter calls his readers in 1 Peter 1, and verse
2, elect according to the foreknowledge of God. Now dare we raise the
question, dare you form an answer in your very own mind concerning
salvation? And the first question is this,
when did God first design salvation for sinners. When did God first
design to save sinners and the manner of the saving of sinners? When did God will to save sinners? Was it before they fell or was
it after they fell? Was it before or after Adam and
Eve sinned and fell? Was it God's intent to recover
from the fall some? And was it God's intent to recover
all from the fall? a part of the race. Did God see
the fall and decide to send Jesus to die for all or for some of
those that were fallen in and through Adam? Now, according
to the Scripture, the answer is easy. God formed an eternal
purpose regarding salvation. That was before the world. It
is a covenant, a covenant of grace and redemption struck between
the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Son, before
the world in the purpose, was made mediator and surety of the
everlasting covenant. Some were chosen in Him as the
elect unto eternal life. Paul tells Titus again, chapter
1 and verse 2, eternal life promised before the world began. 2 Timothy 1.9, we look at the
last phrase now, which and to what has this reference? Well,
the nearest antecedent is grace. Which grace? This grace. Notice what Paul says about this
grace. He says two things about this
grace that was given unto us. A, he said, it was given, it
was bestowed through Jesus Christ unto us. V. It was given before the beginning
of time or of the world. Now the reason that this is so
amazing is we might think of the reception of grace only from
the time that it actually begins to operate in our life, our heart,
and in our soul. And yet, according to Paul, grace
was on deposit in Jesus Christ before the world to be dispensed
in due time. Grace did not wait to become
existent at the time that it is effectually bestowed upon
the elect. Christ hath a full measure for
every elect. it having been stored up in him
since the establishing of the covenant of grace before the
foundation of the world." How can we forget what John's Gospel
tells us about Jesus? John's Gospel chapter 1 and verse
14, that the Word was incarnated. The Word became flesh. The Word tabernacled in flesh
and dwelt among men. And it says there that He was
full of grace and truth. The Lord Jesus Christ came from
the Father, full of grace. John 1.14 tells us this does
not mean that He was graceful as to His movement, actions,
and speech, and such like, or the carriage of Himself. That's
not the meaning. His being full of grace refers
to nothing else but the riches of God's grace in the saving
of sinners. The riches of His grace in the
saving of them. In other words, it's saving grace
that was deposited and given in Christ Jesus. He brought grace
from the God of all grace. I Peter 5. And verse 10, the
God of all grace. One wrote, this grace stands
absolutely alone in the New Testament. The word to describe all saving
blessing is by the word grace. Sinners are saved by grace. It is of grace that they are
saved and rescued. Now, looking at 2 Timothy 1.9,
there are two things that are clear here in this verse. Paul
wants to make it clear. First of all, he said, works
are absolutely totally excluded. Not of works, He says, they're
not the cause, they're not the ground of the grace of God or
of our calling. Not according to our work, but
according to His own grace. Says it right there in verse
9. How many times does Paul have
to say this? How many times must he beat the
merit mongers off with their meritorious type of salvation. Listen, Romans 9 and 11. Not of works, but of Him. that calleth." Ephesians 2 and
9, not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 3 and
verse 5, not by works of righteousness which we've done, but according
to His mercy hath He saved us. It has nothing to do with works. It has nothing to do with our
nobility, our ancestor, our ability, nothing whatsoever. Secondly, notice, grace is not
our doing. It is not something that we earn,
merit, or deserve, for it was given in Christ Jesus before
time. In no way is this grace controlled
by us or our actions. or our merit or whatever we might
or might not be. So the question is, if grace
is from eternity, how then shall it get down to us? If grace is
from eternity given and locked up in Christ, how then shall
that grace come down to earth and be the matter of our salvation? How shall it get into our soul? How shall it be shed upon our
unworthy being? Now, according to John 1, 16
and 17, of His fullness have we received, and grace for grace,
ah, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. who showers it upon us. In 2 Timothy 1 and 10, we have
a distinction that whereas, in the end of verse 9, He spoke
of the grace given us before the world began, Now here in
verse 10, He declares that it was manifested. It has been brought to light. It has been clearly revealed. It has been made known. It has been brought into its
proper light. And that, he says, by the appearing
of Jesus Christ in time or during or in history. Now, as in Titus
2 and verse 11, the grace of God that brings salvation has
appeared. It has appeared. It appeared
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, this is not to say that
grace was non-existent before the incarnation of the Son of
God in flesh. for remembering Genesis 6 and
verse 8, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. In that
distant time, Noah found grace. When in his generation all had
corrupted their way and were under a sentence of destruction,
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. We saw in another
study, in 1 Peter 1, 10-12, that was last Lord's Day evening,
that the prophets of God did tell of this great glory and
salvation to come. Though the Old Testament people
of God did hope in the coming Messiah, yet they, as it were,
looked through a glass darkly rather than as clearly, using
types, shadows, the ceremonial law, the sacrifices, the shedding
of the blood, and such things to picture Christ unto them and
to kindle their hope in the Messiah. But Paul is speaking here of
the fullest manifestation of that grace whereby both the Old
Testament and the New Testament believers rest. They both rest
in this grace of God, the grace of God in Christ Jesus, and have
their hope in His death, victory over death, and resurrection. Oh, what a passage in Hebrews
1, 1 and 2 puts it very well. Quote, God, who at sundry time
and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by
the prophets, hath in these last days spoken by or in his Son. What a way to begin that great
letter. The latter revelation being more
excellent and being more full than the former. Also, the latter
revelation is in the very Son of God and is the final revelation
of God unto men concerning salvation, eternal life, and such like.
There will be no further revelation of this. The final is made in
Jesus Christ. Now when we look at the last
half of verse 10, 2 Peter chapter 1, we see Paul here naming two
great accomplishments of Christ's appearing and of His death. Number one, look at that statement. He abolished death. What a statement from the apostle. He abolished death. Then our
mind says, well, how so? There still is death in the world. There still is death on every
side and every hand and even the saints. of God are yet dying
and going the way of all flesh, and yet Paul insists he has abolished
death. I think this is equivalent to
Hebrews 9 and verse 26, that he appeared in the end of the
world to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, and yet
is there much sin and many sinners in the world. I think of 1 John
3 and verse 8. For this purpose the Son of God
was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil. And yet, says Paul, He goes about
like a roaring lion. Still, the death of Christ is
the death of death and sin. The death of Christ is the death
of death and of sin. Let me say it this way, it, death
and sin, received a deadly blow when Christ died upon the cross. But Paul says a second thing,
not only did he abolish death, but look, he brought life and
immortality to light through the gospel. He not only abrogated
death, but he set life and immorality In a clearer light than ever,
He triumphed over death. He is alive forevermore. He died and was buried, but raised
without seeing any corruption. And this is declared and set
forth. It's made known. It's proclaimed in the gospel
that His life and immortality is set in the clearest light,
in the triumph of Christ over death and hell. and the grave,
and the devil. The gospel, you see, is not a
trial. The gospel is not an offer. We do not offer Christ, we proclaim
Christ in the gospel. It is a proclamation. We do not offer salvation through
a dead man, it is finished. He is alive forevermore. Christ will save his people from
their sin. Matthew 121, for such he came. When Paul says, This revelation
is declared in the gospel. When we preach the gospel, we
preach the victory of our Lord over death and hell and the grave,
that He bore our sin and put them away. But then come to verse
11. And the casual mention of the
gospel in the end of verse 10 makes Paul declare his connection
to the gospel. That he was appointed a preacher,
an apostle, and a teacher of the gospel. He was a herald of
the gospel of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. In fact, when
you read the New Testament, you find Paul even speaking possessively
of the gospel, he says, my gospel, as in Romans chapter 2 and 16. In 16 and verse 25, my gospel,
the apostle said, because he received it directly by revelation
from Jesus Christ. He did not learn it from the
other apostles in Jerusalem and he did not learn it in school. He received it directly from
the Lord Jesus Christ. And he says here in verse 11,
it was committed to my trust. Coming to verse 12 in Paul's
statement of faith. Yes, his confession in the face
of death. First of all, he said, it is
on account of these things, in verse 11, that he suffered the
things that came upon him. He says over in chapter 2 in
verse 10, I endure all things for the sake of the elect that
they may obtain this great salvation. Acts 28 and 20, he says, for
the hope of Israel, I am bound with this chain. He says in Ephesians
3 and verse 1, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles. Paul suffered much for the Gospel. His fateful proclamation of the
Gospel put Paul again and again in harm's way, time after time. Nevertheless, look what he writes.
I am not ashamed. I'm not ashamed of the gospel
or of Christ. Not ashamed of the way of salvation
declared therein. Not ashamed to suffer for it. He had no sense of shame on this
account. He preached that the death of
one who died a shameful death on the cross is the only way
of salvation. He preached the gospel when it
was to the Greeks' foolishness and unto the Jews' stumbling
block, 1 Corinthians chapter 1. He had complete confidence
in his relation to Jesus Christ. And in his profession saying,
I know whom I have believed. Or the margin has it, trusted. I know whom I have trusted. His faith or trust rested only
in Jesus Christ. He had cast aside all former
ground of trust that he might have. You can read that in Philippians
chapter 3, verse 4 through 10, where he said he counted all
but done for the sake of Christ. He threw away his ancestry. threw away his Pharisee-ism that
he had been so good at and so proud of, cast aside his circumcision
as having any merit to justify him, his religious zeal, he counted
it also as done. He was perfectly content with
Jesus Christ as his Savior. He staked His salvation of His
soul. He sought no more than Christ. He believed that Christ was the
Son of God and the Jewish Messiah. What's more, I know that He is
able to keep or to guard that which I have committed unto Him
against that day. Now the word keep here Foulasso
can mean to keep, to guard, preserve, to isolate, or to watch. And the word committed can mean
to surrender, to yield up, to instruct, to transmit, to give
over. Some interlinears use the word
deposit, that which I have deposited with Him. He is able to guard
that deposit. Paul believes strongly in the
preservation of the saint, that they're all his own deposit with
Christ, that he will lose none which the Father hath given unto
him. 1 Peter 4 and verse 19, let them
that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping
of their soul unto him as unto a faithful creator. They have committed their soul.
to one who is a faithful creator. I read one time of an old time
saint who said these words, and don't you take them wrong, let
him that died for my soul see to the salvation of it. not that
he would live careless, but that Christ had undertaken to bring
many sons to glory, that he which hath begun a good work in you
will perform it until the day of Christ Jesus. Paul believed
himself saved by Jesus Christ. You may say, well, I guess so. Jesus personally, powerfully
appeared to him. He received revelation. He was
caught up into the third heaven. Nothing like that has happened
unto us. Be that as it may, he rested
his soul on Jesus Christ. He knew who he believed. He knew
why. He believed it. He had a spiritual
saving knowledge of Jesus Christ which contented his soul as to
its great salvation. You wonder why so many in Christendom
profess such an admiration for this Apostle Paul. Why do they
always speak well of the Apostle Paul? I don't think they would
like him in person. He was dogmatic about doctrine
as he could be unyielding. Unyielding about the truth. the
love and unity of the church. And there are people today who
love unity more than they love the truth of the gospel. They
will cast aside truth for the sake of unity and then have no
truth. The gospel that Paul preached
was an offense. The modern gospel is smooth and
all-inclusive. What would the apostle say if
he could appear today and see some of these gigantic goat barns
that we have in the world today called churches? What would Paul
say about that? Today, the gospel is preached
almost apologetically. It's like, I'm sorry to have
to tell you this. It hurts me to tell you this,
but you're a sinner. It's kind of like that in preaching
the gospel. Trying not to offend. Leaving
the converts either unsure of heaven or trusting in a lie. the gospel that we have today. Of Paul's expectation, I turn
to 2 Timothy 4 and would like to read you a passage in closing. It is verse 6 through verse 8.
I am now ready to be offered The time of my departure is at
hand. I have fought a good fight. I
have finished my course. I have kept the faith. Henceforth
there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord,
the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day, not to me only,
but also unto all of them that love his appearing. This is the
hope to which the saints are begotten in regeneration. When God regenerates his elect,
He begets them unto this wonderful and lively hope of final salvation,
glory, and deliverance in Jesus Christ. I know, can we say, whom
I have believed. I know what I believe. I realize some people know what
they believe and they're wrong. But then again, I know there
are people who know what they believe and they're right because
it's based upon the Scripture. Thank God for that passage.