Faithfulness and Effect

The Rev’d Stephen E. Stults
St. Barnabas Anglican Church
Sixth Sunday after Trinity, 2011
July 31, 2011
Faithfulness and Effect

2 Timothy 2:11-13 11 It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: 12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: 13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

St. Paul is encouraging his “son in the faith” and the first bishop of Ephesus with some wonderful words of encouragement and admonishment in today’s New Testament lesson. Timothy, as we all know, was the Apostle Paul’s protégé and a great young leader of the early Church. Paul evidently spent considerable time coaching, exhorting and guiding him in the ways of effective ministry. Even today, soon-to-be ordered deacons have 1st Timothy 3:8-13 quoted to them by their examiners as instructions in ministry. These are the verses that say things like: “…the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre”; and to be:”Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.” Evidently, our bishops find these words as instructive now as they were then.

Today, Paul seems to be reminding Timothy of some bedrock truths of Christianity and their effects on the world, concerning both believers and nonbelievers. For example, he tells him to “consider” what he says, and prays that the Lord give him full understanding of it. He reminds Timothy that Jesus Christ, “the seed of David”, was raised from the dead according to Paul’s Gospel. Two things are of interest here. First, Paul finds it important to mention “seed of David” to Timothy. This may have been just a title of honor, but in actuality, it means much more. Paul may have wanted to remind Timothy that Christ is the real Messiah, foretold by the prophets descending from the house and lineage of David. He is true Messiah, the Appointed One and no other. Also, as prophesied, he was raised from the dead “according to my gospel.” Personally, I’ve always taken the “my” in “my gospel” to mean the Gospel of Jesus Christ that St. Paul was preaching. I think this is valid. However, there has been scholarly speculation, no doubt specious at best, that Paul was preaching another form of Christianity that he himself had written. A better view is that Paul was referring to Luke’s gospel, which was the Gospel to which Paul had the easiest access. Luke the beloved physician was Paul’s constant companion for large parts of his ministry. Any other views are really not helpful, but tend to distract from the truth Paul is proclaiming.

St. Paul then mentions that because of this Gospel he is regarded as an evildoer, even unto bounds, yet the Word of God is not bound. We may be reminded of the trouble Paul had his entire ministry from the jealous Jews who dogged him as he planted churches in the ancient world, and of his eventual martyrdom at the hands of the Romans. Despite this trouble, there seems to be a sense of joy and exultation that the “the word of God is not bound.” Paul and other evangelists have planted the Word all over and it is bearing fruit. Because of this, in spite of his incarceration while he waited to be brought before Nero the second time, Paul is joyful. If only all of us could have such faith under such circumstances!

Paul then comes to three statements, followed by a pronouncement of God’s faithfulness to Himself. In fact, all of these statements have to do with faithfulness. He says: (2 Timothy 2:11-12): “It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: 12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:” Then, the pronouncement: (2 Timothy 2:13):”If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.”

If we examine these statements, we find truth that affects not only the household of faith, but also those who have chosen to remain outside it. First, “if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him.” Simply, this refers to the Christian being dead to the world, but alive in Christ. That is, we Christians have to turn a blind eye towards, and even actively avoid, many of the things of this present world in order to be faithful to Christ. We must strive, as much as possible, to keep ourselves “pure and unspotted by the world.” This doesn’t mean we oughtn’t to have fun, or to be actively engaged in the world, but we must reject and avoid the non-God ordained pleasures and activities that will draw us away from Him.

The second statement, “if we suffer, we will reign with him” needs some examination. While the Authorized Version translates it as “suffer”, the actual Greek word is u`pome,nw (hupomeno), which means to remain, abide, to persevere under misfortunes and trials to hold fast to one's faith in Christ; to endure. Most modern translations use the world “endure” rather than suffer. Yet, the meaning is clear, we believe. If we persevere, endure, or stand fast in the faith of Christ, we shall reign with him in Heaven. In short, those who cling to the faith in Christ will have the reward of His Presence forever.

Next, Paul tells us, “if we deny him, he will deny him.” This is chilling and real, yet it should not be a source of concern for those struggling to be faithful day by day. Even Peter denied Christ, but later repented and found grace. All of us, in some fashion, great or small, have denied Christ in some way in our lives. Yet, this is not the point. What is meant here is the great, final denial, a decision to go away from the Lord. This often begins with a gradual falling away, until one has demonstrated over many years that one is not with the Lord. There are also those who adamantly refuse to believe, to their own eternal detriment.

Paul sums this up by saying that even if we don’t believe in Him, God will remain true to Himself. Despite our unbelief, God is and always will be God. One version says: “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself.”

What this really means for the non-believer is that God will remain true to Himself no matter what our position. If one chooses, finally, to reject Him, so be it. He will let that decision stand on the Day of Judgment and let that soul depart into the nether regions without God. He will not suddenly turn and save that soul who has not chosen God, despite the outpourings of grace towards it for an entire lifetime. There must be finality, and so it will be. Even Christ cannot save in the afterlife. Once this earthly life is past, the die is cast for eternity.

These are chilling but just words from St. Paul. God loves us. He sent us His beloved Son and after that, the greatest evangelist the world has ever known to proclaim our salvation.
He gives us a lifetime to repent and be saved. He will love us forever if we, however imperfectly, return His love.

In the final analysis, Paul urges his bishop, Timothy, to remind his congregation to listen to this sound teaching and to “charge” them not to argue or dispute about words. In other words, don’t debate the words of the Gospel, but rather believe them. So much of Christianity, even today, is embroiled in debate or contention over various issues in the Church. Meanwhile, our adversary the Devil marches on. One commentator says this: “At the time of the great Communist revolution in Russia, the Orthodox Church was engaged in a tremendous argumentative crisis over the making of church vestments! Many a time, Christians have plunged into useless and silly arguments while the citadel of their faith was destroyed.” How true.

In the end, we don’t want to be “right” about intra-Church issues necessarily, but right about our faith in Jesus Christ. All else is meaningless, and may in fact destroy the faith of many. Useless argument may “subvert” the faith of those who hear us argue.

We must disregard the discordant voices of those in the Body. Instead, you must “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” , meaning we must pay attention to the important matters that pertain to the salvation of our souls. If we do this, all will be well with us, now and forever.

2 Timothy 2:9 “Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.”