2 Timothy 2:1-13 • Staying Faithful No Matter the Cost
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Do you consider faithfulness and reliability to be more important than position or influence? Are you willing to stay faithful to Christ no matter the cost? What would that look like anyway? And why would you be THAT faithful in this hostile world? In the last article, we learned why we can stay faithful to God without shame. This is post #5 in the 2 Timothy blog series. In this post, we will look at how to thrive as we stay faithful no matter the cost.
The Challenge
Give it up
In the last year of His ministry on earth, Jesus called the crowd to Him along with His disciples and issued a challenge. We find it in Mark chapter 8,
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.” (Mark 8:34-35)
Later, Paul took that challenge and lived it out in his life. He gave up everything for Christ and chose to stay faithful to Him no matter the cost.
For more understanding of these verses in Mark, read the blog, “Dare to Be Different from Your World • Romans 12:1-2; Mark 8:34-35.”
Like a good soldier
Paul modeled this sacrificial living for his spiritual son Timothy. So he could write these words to Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 2,
“Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.” (2 Timothy 2:3-4)
Paul likely had a Roman soldier in mind as he wrote this. A good soldier does not get ensnared in worldly pursuits that take him away from his mission. Think political views, entertainment, and comfortable lifestyles. He / she puts their mission before themselves, endures hardship in order to fight a battle against a real enemy, and are willing to obey orders from their commander. Paul said that good soldiers choose to please their commanding officer and stay faithful to their leader.
A faithful Christian chooses to please the Lord Jesus Christ and stay faithful to Him no matter the cost.
No matter the cost
As Paul was writing this letter, the Roman Emperor Nero had begun an all-out assault on Christians. They were targeted as “haters of mankind” because of their refusal to participate in Roman social life that was intertwined with pagan worship. In and around Rome, scores of Christians were arrested and put to death in very gruesome ways.
Naturally, this would stir up fear among anyone claiming to be a Christian. This created a big problem for the churches because some Christians, being gripped with fear, were denying Christ in front of their tormentors and agreeing to worship Caesar in order to save their own lives. They were not choosing to stay faithful no matter the cost.
Through the past 2000 years, many Christians facing persecution have chosen to stay faithful to Jesus no matter the cost to them. Stephen was the first one. His story is in Acts chapters 6 and 7. We call them martyrs.
Our English word “witness” is a translation of the Greek word marturia, from which we get that word “martyr.” Any Christian who swears to tell the truth about Jesus Christ regardless of the consequences is a witness to the truth about Jesus. Those who are killed because of that witness are martyrs. They chose to stay faithful to Jesus no matter the cost. But, staying faithful no matter the cost requires endurance.
Staying Faithful Requires Endurance
Light and momentary troubles?
Earlier in his life, Paul wrote these astonishing words,
“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17)
As we read through the book of Acts and many of Paul’s letters, we see what happened to Paul over the years. Beatings, shipwrecks, being robbed, imprisoned, chased down, going hungry. How can he call those “light and momentary troubles?” Could you?
Jesus said to His followers that we will have trouble in this world. All of us. It doesn’t matter where you live, how much money you have, what kind of success you have gained, or how much faith you have. Trouble is part of living on this planet and among the people around us.
Any kind of suffering is painful. We don’t need to pretend that it isn’t painful. We can grieve over the losses or what is being denied to us that we desire. Jesus understands the pain we experience.
The need for endurance
Jesus wants to help us not only survive a lifetime of ups and downs but also to thrive as we live through them. For that, you and I need to have something called endurance, something that Jesus had and that the Bible says is good for us. Endurance is required to live this life and stay faithful to God no matter what. But endurance is only learned when there is a challenge to our comfort. Who likes that?
Biblical endurance is related to the word perseverance. By definition, perseverance is holding to a course of action, a belief, or a purpose without giving way. Holding to—without giving way. Staying faithful no matter what. That’s the picture of biblical endurance. And biblical endurance has both purpose and reward. So let us learn a few truths that will illustrate the purpose and reward for endurance. These truths help us to stay faithful to Jesus no matter what.
Four Truths about Endurance
Truth #1: Endurance is good for us.
Endurance in the Bible means “bearing under.” It’s holding up a load with staying power and stick-to-it-iveness. Endurance teaches us “staying power” for a long-term burden.
Truth #2: Endurance makes us stronger.
Bible study alone won’t develop endurance. Just like load-bearing exercise makes your bones stronger, troubles that challenge your faith do that, too.
Truth #3: Endurance is necessary to grow up into maturity.
In the process of human development, the goal is to grow up into a fully functioning, responsible adult. That involves enduring challenges of life so we will grow into maturity.
But we don’t necessarily desire endurance. We get sidetracked with our comforts and our rights. Without endurance, we become satisfied with immaturity. We have men and women refusing to grow up into maturity. In the workplace. In the home. And in the church. God’s goal for us is to be mature and complete. Endurance is His tool to help us reach that goal
Truth #4: Endurance teaches us to depend on God more than on ourselves.
This popular saying is false teaching: “God doesn’t give you more than you can handle.” From 2 Corinthians 1:8-9, we learn that God allowed Paul and his co-workers to be under great pressure, far beyond their ability to endure. God’s purpose was for them to rely on God more than on themselves. God definitely gives us more than we can handle on our own.
Going through troubles is God’s will for us. He allows things in our lives to challenge us, to develop endurance in us. It is not so we don’t need Him any longer but in order to drive us to Him, to rely on Him, and to gain the confidence in Him so that we will depend on Him more. All of that is good for us! And there is a reward for endurance.
Read a longer discussion on endurance in this article, “1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13 • Perspective on Suffering.”
Endurance Leads to Reward
Besides that of a good soldier who endures the suffering of whatever it takes to prepare for battle, Paul gave Timothy two other illustrations taken from daily life.
“Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops.” (2 Timothy 2:5-6)
The athlete
Timothy would understand Paul’s reference to a competitor in the Greek games. An athlete has a goal—the finish line, the scoreboard, or the longest jump and throw. They work to be the best they can be. There are spectators watching them. There is a reward for obeying the rules.
Likewise, a Christian has a goal—to become like Jesus and go to heaven to be with Him when this life ends. Others are watching us as well. As we live in obedience to our Lord, that leads to the reward of a victor’s crown—victory over this life’s challenges.
The farmer
The farmer works hard to plant crops, tend to the plants, and enjoy the harvest. Through any planting season, there may be too little rain or even too much rain. Farmers have no control over that but must keep tending their fields, doing whatever they can to help the plants grow and stay healthy. Though the farmer plants and cultivates, God is the one who makes the plants grow. That involves trust and patience on the farmer’s part. The reward is the food on the table and to sell at the end of the season.
Likewise, we participate in God’s harvest of souls through our work. We share and teach but must trust in our God to grow His children. Much patience is required on our parts! The reward is that we join in the joy of new and growing Christians around us.
Paul’s reward
Paul reminded Timothy that endurance of suffering has purpose and rewards.
“This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.” (2 Timothy 2:8-10)
Paul looked at everything he endured during his whole adult life and still saw purpose. The purpose was the salvation of many people. And he reminded Timothy that though Paul might be chained, God’s word is not chained. The gospel is not chained. The purpose for enduring the present suffering had not changed. It was to stay faithful to Jesus Christ and His gospel no matter what. And the ultimate reward for staying faithful was the eternal glory he would receive as he was greeted by his Savior in heaven.
Our rewards
We have that same reward waiting for us as believers in Christ. But we have other rewards in the benefits we receive now as we learn to endure suffering.
- We get staying power for a long-term burden, which will happen sometime in our lives.
- We get stronger spiritual bones.
- We get mature faith that represents Christ well on this earth.
- We get the strength of the Lord on us as we depend upon Him more than on ourselves.
- And we get to love those who hear the gospel and believe in Jesus Christ because of our witness.
Staying faithful no matter the cost.
Read more about the rewards of endurance in this article, “2 Corinthians 4:7-5:10 • The Purpose and Reward for Enduring Life’s Challenges.”
In the next post, we will look at what it means to stay faithful through your words.
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
- Dare to Be Different from Your World • Romans 12:1-2; Mark 8:34-35
- 2 Corinthians 4:7-5:10 • The Purpose and Reward for Enduring Life’s Challenges
- 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13 • Perspective on Suffering
AI was not used to generate this post.