2 Timothy Theme • Staying Faithful to God by Choice

2 Timothy Theme • Staying Faithful to God by Choice
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How important is faithfulness to you? Are you generally faithful to your commitments? Do you expect others to be faithful as well? What about faithfulness to God? What do you think that should look like? This is post #1 in the 2 Timothy blog series coordinating with our To Be Found Faithful Bible Study covering the book called Second Timothy in the New Testament. We are going to learn together what lifelong faithfulness to our God means. That includes how to stay faithful to His truth, to His people, to His ways, and to His purposes for our lives. We will also see that our faithful God is the One who enables us to do so. The wisdom of His Word and His Spirit living inside us together give us the ability to make that choice to live faithfully to our God every day. Ready?

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.

Psalm 92 and Lifelong Faithfulness

When you read your Bible, do words sometimes leap off the page at you? When that happens to me, I know the Holy Spirit is deliberately capturing my attention at that moment. I need to know something today.

That happened to me several years ago when I was reading in the book of Psalms. As I read Psalm 92, I ran across these verses at the end:

“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, ‘The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.’” (Psalm 92:12-15)

One verse especially grabbed my attention—verse 14. The righteous who are planted in God’s house will still bear fruit in old age, staying fresh and green.

I have read this verse before, and nothing special happened. But this time was different because I am definitely in the old age category. For everyone reading this blog or listening to the podcast who is growing older, this verse is for you. In reality, it’s for all of us.

To stay fresh and green. What would that look like? And, why is that a concern for all of us who are growing older every day?

What Does It Look Like to Stay Fresh and Green?

The analogy

For a plant to stay fresh and green means that it is alive, still growing, and bearing fruit, flowers, and seeds. It is faithful to what it is called to do—be a healthy, productive plant. The opposite would be to dry up and wither or develop hardened stems that no longer bear fruit.

For a Christian, staying fresh and green means to stay faithful to the Lord and useful to Him in bearing fruit for Him. The opposite would be to develop hardened hearts and resistance to bearing fruit.

I am a gardener. As I am out in my yard, I notice that some plants definitely develop hardened stems over time with fewer leaves, fewer blossoms, and much less fruit. That can happen to Christians in old age as well. I have seen “retirees” retire not only from their day jobs but also retire from serving in the local church, retire from having compassion on the lost, and retire from discipling younger believers. They often say, “We’ve been there, done that. Let the younger folks do the work.”

Sadly, it is often the older Christians sharing alarmist information on social media about how bad our country is getting and how hopeless everything is. Their eyes are not on making disciples in their neighborhoods or retirement centers.

I don’t want to get that way. I don’t want to get hardened like that.

Biblical examples of developing resistant hearts with age

When you read the Old Testament, you often read the lives of kings who started off as godly men in their youth. But somewhere in their aging, they become proud and stubborn, more interested in relying on their own preferences and experiences than on God and His Word. You can see this in the lives of these kings:

The “how do you” question

I keep asking myself, “How do you maintain a lifelong faithfulness to God no matter what happens to you?” 

In many of his last letters, and especially in 2 Timothy, the Apostle Paul showed us in his life and in his words how we can stay faithful to Jesus for a lifetime.

Let’s first look at the background of this letter. Where had Paul been in life? How did Timothy fit into the picture?

About Paul and Timothy

Paul

When Paul wrote this letter, he had been a Christian for more than 30 years. From the beginning, Jesus told Paul to go to those who were called Gentiles (that is, anyone who was not Jewish) and preach the gospel to them. Paul spent the first three of those years just getting to know Jesus and learning what to teach about Him to others. Then, he traveled to many places in western Turkey and Greece to preach the gospel. Many people believed the message, and new churches were formed. We can follow three of those missionary journeys as we read the book of Acts.

Meeting Timothy

The letter called Second Timothy (2 Timothy) was written to a young man named Timothy who was Paul’s friend and co-worker. Timothy was a teenager when he met Paul. You can read his story in Acts chapter 16. His family lived in central Turkey in an area known as Galatia. His father was a Greek man. We know nothing of his faith. But, Timothy’s mom and grandmother were faithful Jewish women who taught the Old Testament scriptures to this boy they loved so much. As the women heard Paul preach, they believed in Jesus, and so did Timothy. That makes Paul his spiritual father.

Timothy may have seen Paul heal a lame man in his town. That would have been exciting! He may also have watched as an angry mob threw stones at Paul and left him for dead. Yet, he also knew Paul survived.

Traveling with Timothy

Paul invited Timothy to travel with him on his second missionary journey. Over the next few years, Timothy helped Paul as he preached throughout Greece. He carried money collected by the Philippian church to Paul in Corinth for his needs there. Timothy could be trusted. When Paul was in Ephesus teaching the Ephesians about the amazing power of God, Timothy was there too.

When Paul was under Roman house arrest for two years, Timothy was right alongside him much of the time, unselfishly taking care of Paul’s needs. By now, Timothy was a young man of about 30 who for 10 years had been learning how to teach about Jesus and serve God’s people well as he watched Paul do it. Timothy was teachable!

After being set free, Paul and Timothy traveled to visit the churches they had founded. When they got to Ephesus, Paul recognized some men in the church were teaching error about Jesus. Paul wanted to go on to visit his friends in northern Greece, but he didn’t want to leave the Ephesian church in turmoil. So, he left Timothy to teach truth to the church there while Paul went on to Macedonia. From there, he wrote the letter we have called First Timothy.

Paul in prison; Timothy in Ephesus

After more traveling, Paul was arrested again and thrown into a cold dungeon in Rome. He knew that he would soon die. By this time, the Roman emperor Nero had become more wicked in his hatred for Christians.

Paul felt very lonely because many of his friends had left him. Only his doctor friend Luke was still with him in Rome. Other friends were taking care of the churches Paul had founded, including Timothy who was still pastoring the church at Ephesus.

Paul wrote another letter to Timothy, Second Timothy—the last one he wrote that we have in our Bibles. Paul asked Timothy to come right away and bring his coat and scrolls he left behind in Ephesus. Paul was not sure Timothy would get to Rome before Paul was killed. It was a very sad time!

So this letter contains Paul’s last words of encouragement to Timothy and warnings that Nero’s hatred of Christians would cause many believers to suffer. In his letter, Paul reminds Timothy to stand firm on the truth he had heard from Paul. Don’t let the bad teachers win. Don’t give up because of suffering. The Holy Spirit would be his continual helper and guide. Paul was basically telling Timothy throughout this letter to stay faithful no matter what.

Read more about Timothy’s life in “Acts 13-16 • Finding Your Purpose During the Adventure.”

Stay Faithful No Matter What

What does it mean to “stay faithful?” It always helps to understand what you are being asked to do. Right?

Jesus illustrates faithfulness

Jesus told a parable to His disciples in Matthew chapter 25. A man entrusted some treasure to his servants while he went away. When he came back, he evaluated how faithful the servants were with the treasure. The master’s response to the two faithful servants is probably familiar to you,

“‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’” (Matthew 25:23)

Faithful servant. You have been faithful.

Definition of faithful

The definition of faithful is “unwavering in belief, consistently loyal.”

We all want those closest to us to remain faithful to us—a spouse, family members, friends, and co-workers. We feel such security when we know their loyalty is consistent and unwavering. Faithfulness is an important character quality.

Our God and faithfulness

Our God is a faithful God. He is consistently loyal to those whom He loves and who place their trust in Him. God desires that we also be faithful to Him—to be unwavering in belief and consistently loyal to Him throughout our lifelong spiritual walk.

Here’s the great news: Our God is also the One who enables us to live faithfully as we choose to do so. We make the choice. He empowers us to live out that choice.

2 Timothy and Faithfulness

As we study 2 Timothy, we will see faithfulness encouraged and lived out. We will see the importance of staying faithful to Jesus.

Paul’s choice

Paul made that choice and declared the reasons he did that in this familiar verse from 2 Timothy chapter 1:

“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.” (2 Timothy 1:12)

We will see the importance of staying faithful to God’s truth from His Word and what we learn from those who have taught us truth.

This is what Paul tells Timothy in chapter 3:

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it,” (2 Timothy 3:14)

Continue. Stay firm on what you know to be true.

Paul knew His God. He knew God was trustworthy. Paul chose to be unwavering in belief and consistently loyal to the Lord Jesus Christ—even as an old man in his 60s, in a Roman dungeon, with memories of persecution and beatings still engraved in his brain, and awaiting execution at any moment.

Paul chose to stay fresh and green and write this beautiful letter of encouragement that not only fed Timothy’s soul but millions of other Christians who have clung to its verses for the past 2000 years. We learn from Paul how to make choices to stay fresh and green while we are growing older. You can do that too.

Warnings

In his letter, Paul warned Timothy about two men who had departed from the truth over time. Do you know some Christians who have departed from God’s truth over time and become unfaithful to God in that way? We see it all over the internet when it happens. Faithfulness requires lifelong choices to stay fresh and green while growing old.

Make Choices to Stay Fresh and Green While Growing Old

I thank God for older mentors in my life who did stay fresh and green until death. They have taught me several things we should do in order to stay fresh and green,

  • We must choose to stay tuned to the needs of the women around us—all ages, young to old—and desire to reach them and teach them.
  • We must approach Bible study with fresh eyes every day, looking for the new things the Lord will be teaching us and how we can share that with someone who needs to know it.
  • We must recognize God’s work in our life every day, not just what He did years ago. As Psalm 96 verse 1 says, “Sing to the Lord a new song.” It’s okay to share the good old song of how I came to Christ. But, being aware of God’s presence and goodness daily gives you a new song to share about what the Lord is doing in your life today. That’s staying fresh and green.

As I am now getting “old” in my 70s, I look around and realize the younger women are leading the ministries and doing the teaching. Yes, that is as it should be. Yet, I long to continue having influence and letting Jesus bear fruit through me. I desire to stay fresh and green and not get hardened.

I love the older women in my Bible studies who are still passionate about Jesus and serving Him. My momma was still teaching children’s Sunday School into her 80s. Staying fresh and green is a heart attitude and a choice we must make even through declining physical and mental capabilities.

Read about women who stayed fresh and green as they aged in “Never Too Old to Have Impact” on Bible.org.

What We Will Learn Together

Through this 2 Timothy blog series, we are going to learn together how to stay faithful to our God—lifelong faithfulness. We will learn how to be unwavering in belief and consistently loyal to Him as we live each day. We can stay faithful to His truth, to His people, to His ways, to His reputation, and to His purposes for our lives. And, our faithful God is the One who enables us to do so. The wisdom of His Word and His Spirit living inside us together give us the ability to remain faithful, to stay fresh and green and fruitful for Him. The choice is up to you and me. Will you make that choice to live faithfully to your God every day? Will you choose to stay fresh and green for Him as you are growing old?

In the next post, we begin looking at what it means to stay faithful to God’s truth.

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.

AI was not used to generate this post.

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