NO REGRETS

Text: 2 Timothy 4:6-8

6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

1. Paul’s Present Circumstances (v. 6)

• Paul uses two descriptive figures of speech to describe his current circumstances as he awaits his trial and impending death.

  1) Drink

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  • When he says, “I am now ready to be offered” he is referring to a drink offering (i.e. a libation). This was a familiar part of Jewish customs in which a worshiper poured out (offered) red wine at the base of the altar. The wine represented the blood of a lamb given as a sacrifice.
  • Paul is saying he is now ready to be poured out, offered, like a drink offering before the Lord. His life is being poured out, drained, given to the Lord. (cf. Phil. 2:17)

  2) Departure

  • The time of my departure is at hand. When he speaks of departure, he is referencing his

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    .

  • Militarily the word meant to take down your

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    and move on. That is a great picture of death. The human body is a tent that we live in on earth. At death the spirit goes to heaven to live with Christ. (2 Cor. 5:1-8) -

  • The moment of death is a

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    of lodging. We go from lodging on earth to lodging in heaven. Paul saw his death as a relocation to a much better land.

  • Politically, the word was used to describe setting a prisoner

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    . This life we live can put us into circumstances that limit us – physically, financially, health, imprisonment, servitude, etc.

  • Paul was actually in jail. He was not free, but he knew that at his death he would be set free.

  • Agriculturally, the word meant to “unyoke the oxen.” It means to release the

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    . Being yoked to Jesus is easy, but Paul was yoked by many burdens, especially his burden for all the churches he planted and cared for.

  • Upon death, Paul knew that he would be set free from all his burdens.

  • And that is true for every believer. Death means freedom.

  • Nautically, the word meant to “take a voyage.”

  • Sailors used this word in the sense of a departure. They untied their ship from its mooring in order to launch the vessel.
  • Paul’s death released him from his earthly mooring to make the voyage
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    .

2. Paul’s Past Victories (v. 7)

• As Paul looks back over his shoulder he remembers and reflects upon his past victories.

  1) The good fight I have fought (v. 7)

  • The word for “fight” in Greek is agon, meaning “a striving for
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    .” It is the word from which we get our English word agonize.

  • Elite athletes know the agony of training. And on the day of the competition, they “agonize to achieve victory. They hold nothing back. They “leave it all on the field.”

  • Paul fought a good fight. He agonized and strived for victory. As he looks back, he sees he did well. He won.

  2) The race of life finished (v. 7)

  • Paul was coming to the end of his life and he was able to say, “All that God laid out for me to do, I have accomplished.”
  • I have finished my course” combines the ideas of
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    and
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    . It is a word that reminds of what Jesus said on the cross, “It is finished.”
  • Paul finished what God set out for him to do. He completed his mission.

  • We don’t get to choose our race track of life; however, we can prepare for it and run it faithfully to completion.

  • Paul’s course led him to what appears to be the end of his journey, but actually it was just a waypoint for another leg. The end of a journey on earth put him on a course toward glory.

  3) The faith I have kept faithfully (v. 7)

  • This declaration, “I have kept the faith,” has a double meaning. First, Paul
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    to trust in the Lord for his salvation. He never stopped trusting the gospel that he had been commissioned to preach.
  • Second, he
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    the treasure (gospel, faith once delivered…) entrusted to him.
  • He preserved divine truth with the purity in which he had received it

3. Paul’s Future Reward (v. 8)

• Paul gave an honest assessment of his current situation: I am ready to poured out and take flight.
• Paul looked back on his victories: fought the good fight, finished my course, kept the faith.
• Paul now looks forward to his future. He looked forward to being
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  for his faith. Paul was looking to be crowned with the crown of righteousness.
• The idea of a crown recalls the custom of a victorious athlete receiving a laurel wreath,
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  all that he was to receive.
• Particularly successful or noteworthy competitors received royal treatment upon returning home.

• City officials would break a large opening in the city wall and then cover it over with a brass plate engraved with his name. All his debts were cancelled as the victor was granted tax-free status for the rest of his life. Merchants often guaranteed the victor and his family a lifetime supply of food. A victorious athlete could literally rest on his laurels.

• The crown Paul refers to is not a laurel wreath but a crown of

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  . No one can earn righteousness. Paul couldn’t and neither can you. Paul’s faithful running and finishing well didn’t earn him any merit against his sin. Righteousness is a gift of God, given by grace to those who trust His Son.

• During life on earth, righteousness is
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  ; in eternity, righteousness is
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  .
• Paul finished the race and received what had been promised: a verdict of “not guilty” from the Supreme Judge in the court of heaven.

Application:

1) Do I have things in my life right now that I regret that can be mended or made better?

2) As I look to the future, do I do it with the assurance of reward and a future crown?