Sermon - 2 Timothy 1:1-14 “A Spirit of Power, of Love and of Self-Discipline”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sermon - 2 Timothy 1:1-14 “A Spirit of Power, of Love and of Self-Discipline”

October 6, 2013

I am continuing this morning with our look at a couple of letters written by the Apostle Paul to a young pastor he has discipled named Timothy. Today we turn to the book of Second Timothy and we find a change in tone. In the first book Paul speaks from his apostolic authority to help Timothy deal with problems in his church. Paul told Timothy to center his ministry on prayers for everyone and to help people to grow spiritually so they will become content with what they have and more generous. But in the second book Paul no longer speaks with authority. Now he speaks as a pastor helping someone with a crises of faith. We will get to this, but first let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

2 Timothy 1:1-14 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,

2 To Timothy, my dear son:

Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. 9 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11 And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.

13 What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

Paul begins his letter by reminding Timothy of his sincere faith. Why would Timothy need to be reminded? And why does Paul remember Timothy's tears? Timothy must be facing a crises. What could it be? We know that Timothy's preaching and teaching is being challenged by other false teachers. Timothy is proclaiming the gospel he learned from Paul. God forgives our sins through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, and in his resurrection we are promised eternal life. We can be assured of this good news through our faith. But Timothy's faith is failing. Why?

I think the reason the Timothy is questioning his faith is that his teacher and mentor, the Apostle Paul has been arrested and now sits on death row waiting for his execution. Church history tells us that Paul was beheaded during the reign of Nero. The letter we are looking at is summoning Timothy to come to Rome at once and bring some of Paul's personal effects. The impending death of Paul would have a significant impact on Timothy who would question his faith in a loving God at this trying time. And so Paul begins the letter by reminding Timothy that his faith did not come from him. Faith comes from somewhere else. So, what is the source of our faith?

According to Paul faith is something we learn. Timothy learned his faith from his mother and grandmother. We see from this that nurturing children in the faith in crucial. But today, with so many children ignorant of the faith we have to nurture people of all ages. That why the session of the church must provide for Christian education for everyone. We all need to learn Bible stories. We all need to learn about God. We all need to know what God expects of us. And so we all need to be in Christian education classes that nurture our faith, a faith that will sustain us when we need it.

But Paul also says that there is another source of faith. Faith is a gift from God, and Paul reminds Timothy that he experienced this gift when Paul laid his hands on him in his ordination. God uses the Holy Spirit to give us the saving faith in Jesus Christ. God blesses us with faith before we were born. Symbolically, the Holy Spirit delivers faith to us in baptism, confirmation and ordination. And so faith comes to us as a gift and is then nurtured by our family and church.

How do we know that all of this is true? How do we know if we have received the gift of faith or not? And can we be assured that this faith will remain even when in a crises we begin to have doubts? According to Paul we can know that we have saving faith in Jesus Christ if we have received the fruits of the spirit, power, love and self-discipline.

First, If we have the power to boldly proclaim our faith, even to those who think what we say is ridiculous, then we can be assured that we have received the gift of faith. For Timothy this means that he must continue to proclaim the gospel even to those who call it foolishness. He is not the change his message to please his audience. Rather he is to be faithful to scripture and to his teachers in the faith. He can do this because he has received power from the Holy Spirit to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.

Second, If we love one another in the church, even those who are contentious and oppose what we do, the we can be assured that we have received the gift of faith. For Timothy this means that he must continue to love his church even in the midst of problems. And love means more than just being nice to people, it mean to nurture their faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. He can love his congregation because God loves him and empowers him to love through the Holy Spirit.

And third, if we have self-discipline, keep ourselves away from sin, then we can be assured that we have received the gift of faith. For Timothy this means that he must live his life in accordance with God's will even if his church does not. Timothy has the ability to keep himself from sin because he has received the gift of self-discipline from God.

So we see from all this that if we can boldly share our faith with those outside the church, if we love one another just as God loves us, and if we stay away from sin, then we can be assured that we have received the gift of faith through the Holy Spirit. And if we have received this gift of faith, then we should nurture it by worshiping every week, praying and meditating on scripture every day, and finding a group to study scripture. That way the faith we receive as gift will grow in power, love and self-discipline.

Let us pray. Father in heaven, as we gather around this table today we ask that the bread we eat and juice we drink will nurture the faith you have given us. Bless us with power to proclaim the good news of forgiveness and eternal life. Bless us with the ability to love one another. And bless us with the ability to resist sin. This we pray in your son's name. Amen.