
Strengthen Your Resolve
Text: 2 Timothy 1:8-12
8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an 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,
10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
11 Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
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.
1. Timothy, Strengthen Your Resolve (vv. 8-9)
The word “therefore” in verse 8 draws upon the thought expressed in the preceding line. Paul had just sought to inspire Timothy to work the ministry God had given him to do knowing that God did not give him the spirit of fear, but of love, power, and sound mind.
So how do we strengthen our resolve?
Note four actions Paul gives Timothy in verses 8 and 9.
1) Don’t be ashamed of the
- Jesus’ testimony is His overarching
2) Don’t be ashamed of
- As Paul writes this letter, he is alone in a jail cell because no one except Luke dared to be close for fear of arrest and persecution.
- We strengthen our resolve when we stop
3) Be willing to
- In our text, Paul doesn’t consider himself a prisoner of Rome or Nero. He calls himself a prisoner of Jesus Christ. As far as Paul was concerned, he was suffering on death row because
- Paul didn’t intentionally seek out persecution, but he intentionally expected it and bore it when necessary.
- Why? It was for the sake of the gospel.
4) Anchor your life in the Lord’s sovereign
- Everyone wants God’s grace – His unmerited favor. For the most part we see grace as being something that brings God’s good stuff to us, His kindness, His blessings, His salvation, etc.
However, Paul’s perspective on grace exceeded the idea that grace brings the good stuff of God to me.
1] He saw grace as an eternal gift that once received puts us at odds with Satan’s world system and therefore invites
2] He rejected any sense ofIt was Paul’s humility that allowed Him to rest in God’s grace which resulted in peace.
In verse 8 he said that he suffers according to the power of God.
- For Paul, suffering in the life of a Christian falls under the authority of God. God doesn’t do evil, but he will use even the bad to accomplish his purposes. This is why Paul could even see his prison experience as a part of God’s sovereign grace.
- Jesus’ testimony is His overarching
2. We Get To Communicate God’s Plan
- V. 10 – God’s plan from the beginning but now made manifest by Jesus is the
- Before Satan and sin even entered the picture, God the Father, Son, and Spirit said, “This will be the plan of salvation. It will accomplish My purpose. It will be based on My grace, and salvation will be given to people who trust in My Son.”
And another part of that plan was that it would be communicated by the very people who are the recipients of grace.
Timothy, we have the astonishing privilege of communicating God’s plan of salvation with the rest of the world.
Paul describes himself as being “appointed” in verse 11. The word appointed means “to place” usually with a strategy in mind. Paul was appointed by God in the furthering of His plan.
Paul uses three titles to refer to his appointment by God.
1) Preacher – herald, envoy, proclaimer
2) Apostle – one sent out, an envoy, a messenger
- An apostle was similar to a preacher in terms of messaging, but much different in terms of authority. A preacher can only relay a message. An apostle is authorized to make decisions as a representative of the one who sent him. His word carries
3) Teacher – an instructor
- This is a person who passes knowledge to his students.
- An apostle was similar to a preacher in terms of messaging, but much different in terms of authority. A preacher can only relay a message. An apostle is authorized to make decisions as a representative of the one who sent him. His word carries
3. God Guards Our Entrustment (v. 12)
- In verse 8 Paul had commanded Timothy to not be ashamed. Now in verse 12 Paul declares that he is not ashamed. And the reason Paul was not ashamed is that he trusted God to guard what he had committed to Him, his soul in salvation.
God entrusted Paul with the gospel. Paul entrusted God with his soul.
Verse 12 is Paul’s invitation to Timothy and to you and me to entrust our souls to God’s care. We trust Him not just with the initial act of salvation, but with all our
As Paul’s sufferings increased, he strengthened his resolve. He did this not by his own power, but God’s power as he submitted himself to God. The more he yielded to God, the more God granted to him supernaturally what he naturally lacked in the area of his resolve.
Paul so trusted Jesus that he had no reservations, no hesitations, no contingency plans. He put his faith in Jesus; therefore he proclaimed the gospel unceasingly.
Application:
- If we are going to strengthen our resolve we must be convinced that God will ultimately vindicate and reward the life we live for Him.
Paul spoke of entrusting to God. The term “entrustment” also means “
Are we resolved to trust God with the little and the much in what we perceive the good and the bad?
Timothy needed to strengthen his resolve to trust God. And so do we.
And here is the good news: God is able to keep everything that we entrust to him. The more we believe that, the more bold we become in following Him.