2 Timothy 1:1-7 • Staying Faithful without Fear
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Staying faithful to God does not prevent difficult things happening to us. Do you have a tendency to be timid or to be afraid when facing challenges? Fear can definitely keep you from staying faithful to God’s purposes for you. In the last article, we learned what it means to stay faithful to God’s truth. This is post #3 in the 2 Timothy blog series. In this post, we will look at how to stay faithful to God without fear regardless of our circumstances.
Listen to this post as a similar podcast from our To Be Found Faithful Bible Study covering the book of 2 Timothy in the New Testament.
Having a Legacy of Faith
Paul began his letter by greeting Timothy with words of affection and longing to see him. Then, he wrote this confident statement about Timothy:
“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.” (2 Timothy 1:5)
Your sincere faith, Timothy. There is no doubt about it. Some call it sticky faith because he stuck true to the faith his mom and grandmother taught him.
Timothy’s mother Eunice was Jewish as was his grandmother Lois. Even though Timothy’s father was a Gentile (Acts 16:1), Eunice passed along to Timothy “genuine faith,” which she shared in common with her own mother Lois. Through the influence of these faithful women, Timothy was equipped for a lifetime of usefulness for God. They gave him sticky faith in the true God.
Faith is an important aspect of staying faithful. So, let us make sure we know what faith is and what it is not.
What Faith Is
An issue of commitment
The word “faith” means a “belief, trust, and commitment of mind and heart to something or someone.” Faith is intelligent, decisive, and requires an act of the will. It is not a blind belief or mindless gullibility. It is not a life of passivity and doing nothing. Faith is also not a religious feeling like a tingle or good feeling from performing some ritual. It requires a deliberate action to choose to trust the information about God.
Christians of the first century AD recognized that the whole content of the gospel message is Jesus. They agreed that the information about Jesus was definitely true. They decided to trust God completely and believe in His Son Jesus Christ.
Simply put, faith is a full commitment to Christ. Instead of believing in your own ability to earn God’s favor, you now trust in what Christ has done for you. It is the difference between walking alongside a pool of water (seeing it is there) and jumping into the water (experiencing the water personally). That’s biblical faith.
Read more about biblical faith in this article, “The Gospel: God’s Cure for Our Fatal Sin Disease.”
An issue of credibility
Trust or faith is always an issue of credibility. It is hard to trust God if you don’t know Him. The more you know Him, the easier it is to trust Him. You don’t have more faith by talking about faith. Getting to know the object of your faith, your God, increases your confidence in Him. Knowing God’s character plus His promises gives you plenty of reasons to consider Him trustworthy. The Bible describes that confidence as having your feet firmly planted on solid rock with God as your Rock. He is a trustworthy God.
I heard Bible teacher Rebecca Carrell say that God’s plan for your life is simple:
Follow His Son. But, you won’t follow someone you don’t trust. You can’t trust someone you don’t know, and you cannot know Christ apart from His Word. (Rebecca Carrell, heartstrongfaith.com)
That is why we study the Bible. We have not physically beheld the risen Christ as the apostles did. We must see Him through eyes of faith and allow the gospels to leap off the page revealing our Lord. But Jesus isn’t just in the gospels. When you read the book of Acts, you can see how Jesus was repeatedly involved in everyone’s lives even after He ascended to heaven. Staying faithful to God’s truth in His Word is part of staying faithful to God.
Timothy had stayed true to God. Because of his sincere, strong faith, Paul encouraged him to fan into flame the spiritual gift that God had given him.
Fan into flame
The Greek word translated “fan into flame” literally means to “kindle up, inflame one’s mind.” The word picture is that of blowing on burning embers to invigorate a flame. Paul was saying to Timothy, “Keep using that spiritual gift. Don’t let it die out, Timothy. Keep using it and growing it.” That’s part of staying fresh and green, isn’t it?
Why would Paul need to stress for Timothy to fan into flame his spiritual gift? Timothy had been doing ministry with Paul for at least 17 years (50 AD-67AD). What might keep Timothy from using and growing his spiritual gift. We can find one reason in 2 Timothy chapter 1,
“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
Timidity. The underlying Greek word means cowardice and fearfulness. We can infer from several references in Paul’s letters that Timothy had a tendency to be timid or to be afraid when facing challenges. And when this letter was written, what Nero was doing to Christians at this time was horrible. Persecution was rampant. People were suffering. Holding your hand up and standing firm as a Christian made you a target. Fear can definitely keep you from staying faithful to God’s purposes for you.
To understand more of how fear affects us and what we can do, read the blog, “4 Truths to Walk from Fear to Faith.”
But God has a solution for us.
God’s Solution to Fear
Power, love, and self-control
“For God did not give us a Spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
Fear is designed by God to alert us to danger so that we will take action against it—the opposite of being timid.
To combat fear, God’s Spirit provides three things to us: power, love, and self-control. What do those mean and how do they help us to stay faithful in spite of fear?
- “Power” (Gr. dynamis) means “the power of God to make you strong and able.” It is God’s power manifested in us that gives you the ability to stand against opposition. God’s power also gives you the confidence to do the work of God. God’s power for you and in you.
- “Love” (Gr. agape) means unconditional love, God’s kind of love. God gives you love for the believers in your church community. People are tricky and something difficult. We need God’s love to overcome fear of people so that we can do the work of God. He loves you and is with you as you go through anything.
- “Self-control” comes from the Greek word sophronismos, meaning “soundness of mind, moderation, self-control, disciplined mind.” God gives us a sound, disciplined mind so that we can maintain composure in difficult situations. It is the opposite of hysteria. A sound mind helps you to avoid getting caught by arguments and other distractions from teaching the truth. It is making the choice to trust God’s goodness in what He chooses to do rather than you freaking out
Responding to life’s hardships
When we have God’s power, love, and discipline, we can view life’s hardships as opportunities for Christ’s power to take control and direct us. This is confirmed in 2 Corinthians chapter 12,
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)
Our weaknesses allow Christ to shine in strength through us. He promises to give us mercy and grace in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).
The Bible teaches that we can face life’s realities and any fearful situation with courage and peace by entrusting ourselves and our loved ones to a God who loves us dearly. I believer that you and I can learn to do that and apply faith to any fear.
Apply Faith to Any Fear
Here is a process to help you apply faith to any fear in your life.
- Confront it: What fears do you have right now? Think about them. The worst ones, the real ones, and the imaginary ones.
- Ask about each one: What is my worst-case scenario? Consider just one of those fears. What is the worst that could happen? Think realistically—what is reasonable not everything that is possible.
- Consider this: If the worst I can imagine happens, could I handle it through the presence and power of Jesus Christ? As a believer, you have the power of the One who created the universe living inside of you. Can He help you get through anything? Yes!
- Remember these four truths about God and speak them to yourself: God loves you, He knows what is going on in your life, He can do something about it, and you can trust His goodness in whatever He chooses to do.
- Pray: Prayer is simply talking to God about anything and everything. Thank the Lord for His presence and His goodness. Ask Him for the courage and peace to ride out the storm. Where the Bible is clear, you can claim God’s promises by faith. Anytime, you can ask for deliverance and protection. But, you cannot hold God to promises He hasn’t made, such as immunity from natural calamities, illness, and troubles.
- Live life securely in Him: Take common sense precautions. Be wise in the world. Trust God to show you what to do and to give you strength when you are weak.
Confront any fears you have right now. Ask what is the worst that could happen about each one. Consider if Jesus could get you through whatever happens. Talk to God about it and ask Him to help you through whatever happens. Then, live life securely in Him as you take common sense precautions.
Read the full process in the blog, “Miriam • Learn to Apply Faith to Any Fear.” You can download a bookmark with this process on it.
Where There Is Faith
Paul’s words to Timothy reminded him of his faith in a trustworthy God.
“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. ” (2 Timothy 1:7)
Dear friends, God may not choose to rescue you from everything that is threatening you. Thinking rightly may not make the trouble go away or make life easy again. But you will be better able to walk forward with the courage and peace to face whatever hits you. You can choose to apply faith to any fear!
Doing that frees you to keep using and growing the spiritual gifts that God has given you. It frees you to serve Him even while living in a hostile war zone.
You may remember the group 4Him and their popular song from the 90s, “Where there is faith.” The chorus is beautiful and fits our lesson today.
Where there is faith, there is a voice calling, keep walking. You’re not alone in this world. Where there is faith, there is a peace like a child sleeping, hope everlasting in He who is able to bear every burden, to heal every hurt in your heart. It is a wonderful, powerful place where there is faith. (“Where There Is Faith,” from the album Simply 4Him)
In the next post, we will look at what it means to stay faithful to God without shame.
Let Jesus satisfy your heart with His faithfulness. Then, make the choice to stay faithful to Him for the rest of your life.
All of the above information is covered in the To Be Found Faithful Bible Study covering the book of 2 Timothy in the New Testament.
Related Resources:
- 2 Timothy blog series
- 4 Truths to Walk from Fear to Faith
- Miriam • Learn to Apply Faith to Any Fear
- Apply Faith to Fear bookmark
AI was not used to generate this post.