2 Timothy 2:2
And the things which thou hast heard from me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
2 Timothy 1:3-12
I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers in a pure conscience, how unceasing is my remembrance of thee in my supplications, night and day
longing to see thee, remembering thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;
having been reminded of the unfeigned faith that is in thee; which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and, I am persuaded, in thee also.
For which cause I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee through the laying on of my hands.
For God gave us not a spirit of fearfulness; but of power and love and discipline.
Be not ashamed therefore of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner: but suffer hardship with the gospel according to the power of God;
Who saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before times eternal,
but hath now been manifested by the appearing of our Saviour Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and incorruption to light through the gospel,
whereunto I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and teacher.
For which cause I also suffer these things: yet I am not ashamed; for I know Him whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to guard that which I have committed unto Him against that day.
As I was waiting before the Lord for this time that we are together, somehow the second verse in the second chapter of 2 Timothy impressed very deeply upon my heart.
There you find the apostle Paul telling Timothy, “The things which thou hast heard, these entrust to faithful men.” Whatever Timothy had heard from Paul, he was to entrust to trustworthy people. And these trustworthy people were people qualified to instruct others also.
I think probably this is why we are here at this time: that we may learn together to be trustworthy people, faithful people, that God may use us to instruct and to help others. So, God willing, we will use 2 Timothy as our book for these evenings, and we would like to point out from that book different things that we need to learn in order to be trustworthy and also to instruct others.
I believe, brothers and sisters, we all know that this second letter to Timothy was the last letter that Paul wrote. He wrote this letter shortly before he was martyred, and he wrote it to his beloved son, Timothy—his son in the faith.
It was a most difficult time. Paul was arrested and put in prison in Rome. If there were two imprisonments of Paul in Rome—and I believe there were—this second imprisonment was very different from his first imprisonment.
At the end of the book of Acts, we find that while he was in Rome, he was able to live in his own hired house. He was able to receive people who came to see him. He was able to teach and preach the kingdom of God without any hindrance. But in this second imprisonment, it was completely different.
He was a prisoner, a real prisoner. He was not given liberty, and he was waiting to be tried, even by Caesar—by Nero himself.
He told us that all Asia had left him. Why? Because the atmosphere at that time was so tense, and the pressure was so great. Anyone who professed the Lord, anyone who had any connection with Paul, would be under suspicion and would probably be arrested too.
Because of that most difficult situation, all Asia—those brothers and sisters among whom he had laboured with tears faithfully, year after year—all Asia left him. He was all alone.
At his first trial, nobody stood with him. But the Lord delivered him out of the lion’s mouth, and he was waiting for the next trial. In a sense, he understood that that would be his end.
Therefore, he wrote to Timothy, one who was nearest and dearest to him. He urged Timothy to come before winter because, in a sense, he probably felt that he would not be there when winter came.
But his main concern was not himself. He was not concerned with what would happen to him. He was concerned more with the testimony of the Lord Jesus.
During this difficult time, would the testimony of Jesus continue? He was concerned with the vessel of the testimony of Jesus. By the grace of God, he was able to be faithful to the very end. He could say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course.” But he was almost alone.
Even Demas left him at that critical moment and went to Thessalonica, one of those who had worked with him. So perhaps in the heart of Paul there was a deep concern: How could the testimony of the Lord Jesus be maintained? Who would be the vessel for that testimony?
He was soon to depart from this earth. Who would continue with the torch of the testimony of the Lord Jesus? He turned to Timothy. He hoped that Timothy would take over from him that torch of the testimony of the Lord Jesus.
And not only Timothy alone, but others who were of kindred spirit. He wanted to see that there would still be a vessel, a corporate vessel, to continue with the testimony of Jesus that Paul had so faithfully maintained throughout his life.
That was the main concern, and that was the reason for this letter. Paul, as a veteran in the testimony of the Lord Jesus, as one who had gone through a great deal and was able to continue to the very end, was now going to hand over that torch of the testimony of Jesus to someone else. He wanted to make sure that this would happen. I believe that this is behind the second letter to Timothy.
Dear brothers and sisters, if the time in which Paul lived was a perilous time, a difficult time, can we say that we are living today in an easier time? As we are living at the end of the last days, we are living in very difficult and perilous times.
If you turn to 2 Timothy 3, Paul says:
But know this, that in the last days grievous times shall come.
Then he describes those difficult times. Oftentimes, when we read what follows, we probably think that Paul was simply describing the situation in the world. We read that men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, railers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, no lovers of good, traitors, headstrong, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.
We think that these are the symptoms of the world at large. But, dear brothers and sisters, if this is what the world is, there is no surprise. Why? Because this is what the world has always been. Can you expect the world to be better than what is described here?
But I do believe that Paul was not describing the world as it is. He was describing the religious world. Why? Because in the fifth verse he says:
Holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof. From these also turn away.
Now, if this is a description of the religious world, if this is a description of Christianity, would that be a shock to you? You would not be surprised if these were descriptions of the world. The world can be no better than what is described here.
But if these describe the Christian world, are you shocked that among God’s people you find people becoming lovers of self, lovers of money, and lovers of pleasure? Think of that. Among people who have a form of godliness, outwardly there is a form of godliness, and yet actually you find that people are lovers of self.
Christians, professing Christians, are lovers of self, lovers of money, lovers of pleasure. They are not lovers of good. They are not lovers of God.
When these things are true, we are truly living in very difficult times. It is difficult for anyone to be faithful to the Lord. It is difficult for us to maintain our first love.
No wonder the Lord says that a time shall come when people’s love will grow cold. No wonder the Lord said, “When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” He is speaking to Christians, to believers. Can He find faith in believers? Can He find that our love toward Him is not waxing cold? Can He find that we are still keeping that blessed hope toward Him?
Dear brothers and sisters, not only is the whole world falling apart, but the Christian world is falling away. We are living in a very difficult time.
I believe that the time in which we live is not in any sense easier than the time in which Paul lived. Even though in certain parts of the world you do not yet have physical persecution, when you find that God’s people are loving self, loving money, and loving pleasure instead of loving good and loving God—when this becomes the general condition of the church, the general condition of Christianity—how difficult it is for anyone to press on unto the goal.
How difficult it is to be alone, as if you were standing all by yourself. It is difficult.
The real issue in our days is this: whether the testimony of Jesus can be maintained in such difficult times. Where can you find vessels for the testimony of Jesus? Will there be people who are faithful, faithful to the testimony of Jesus? Will there be people who are trustworthy, that God can commit His testimony to them?
Will they not only stand—not merely survive, but stand? Will they not only stand themselves, but also be able to instruct other people, so that the testimony of Jesus may continue until He returns?
I think this is the real issue of our days, and I believe this is the reason why we are together. We are together at this time not merely for the purpose of gaining some knowledge, nor merely for the purpose of adding some spiritual stature.
We are gathered here because we feel that the testimony of Jesus is an issue with us. We want, by the grace of God, to be those who are trustworthy, those to whom He can commit Himself. And we want to instruct other people, that the testimony of Jesus will not be quenched, but will continue brighter and brighter until He returns. I believe this is our main concern.
This evening we would like to touch upon one thing: How can we remain faithful when we see all around us falling apart? What makes us press on without compromising?
I believe in 2 Timothy you can find a number of things that we need to learn together. This evening, we would like to mention the first one. It is found in 2 Timothy 1:9:
Who saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before times eternal,
but hath now been manifested by the appearing of our Saviour Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and incorruption to light through the gospel.
The first thing that Paul reminded Timothy of was this calling. Now, we know that Timothy was very different from Paul.
Paul was a natural leader. He was a person with a strong will. Paul was very aggressive; we would say that he was an extrovert. He was naturally outgoing and courageous.
But Timothy was just the opposite. Timothy was younger and less experienced, and by nature and temperament, Timothy was timid. He was not a coward, but he was timid. He was an introvert. He tended to look within himself.
He did not want to be a leader of any kind. He preferred to follow a leader. He would like to hide himself under the shadow of another person. All his life, up to that point, he had hidden himself under the shadow of Paul, and he felt very comfortable about it.
But here Paul was taken away from him. We do not know whether Timothy was with Paul when Paul was arrested, and whether Paul was literally torn away from him. Timothy may have wept bitterly when he saw Paul taken away. We do not know whether this was the occasion Paul had in mind when he said, “Remembering thy tears,” but it may have been so.
Paul was taken away from Timothy by violence. Timothy was left alone there in Asia, and all Asia left Paul. Yet Timothy was there, trying to recover, trying to rescue the situation, trying to help those brothers and sisters who at that moment were so frightened that they denied Paul. They did not know that person; they wanted to save themselves.
Timothy was left behind trying to rescue the whole situation. Probably he wondered what he could do. He wondered whether he too should hide himself. By nature, he would have loved to hide himself, but now he was exposed. He was thrust, as it were, to the front.
He was there alone, in a sense. This was a situation he had never met before. He was on his own. Of course, we know that you are never on your own, but humanly speaking, that was what it was.
Probably because Timothy was an introvert, he pondered and thought about the whole situation. He looked at it and probably said, “Well, it is hopeless. If this is the situation—Paul has been taken, and all Asia has left—what could I do? Let me hide myself. If only I can be faithful to the end, that is probably all I can do.”
“How could I rise up and try to restore the brothers and sisters into faith, into love, into faithfulness? I could not do that.” Probably he would have liked to hide his gift too. He would not use his gift; he would bury it so that he would not be so exposed.
Brothers and sisters, that was the actual situation. Paul knew Timothy so well. Even while he was in prison and was going to be martyred, he remembered him. He knew Timothy needed encouragement.
Timothy was not a coward. He was simply timid. He needed encouragement from Paul, that the gift God had given him might be rekindled, that he might be able to carry on—not only for himself, but for the testimony of Jesus. He was to give himself and fulfil his ministry.
But how could he do it?
Brothers and sisters, put yourselves in the same situation. Even though physically it may be different, spiritually and morally we are already in a similar situation today.
We need to be before the Lord and ask, “How can we be trustworthy? How can we stand, and not only stand, but instruct others, that the testimony of Jesus may be carried on?”
What are the essential ingredients that we must have within us? If we do not have these ingredients within us, we will not be able to stand and continue. But if, by the grace of God, these ingredients are within us, then we find that we can go on. This is what we need to consider very seriously before the Lord.
Number one: remember the calling.
Whenever a person is put into such a situation as Timothy was, it is a time for that person to remember the calling. In other words, if we are clear concerning our calling, that will be like a rock upon which we can stand.
Now, dear brothers and sisters, we know that we are saved. But Paul said, “Who saved us, and called us with a holy calling.” It is not merely a matter of being saved.
Thank God that He has saved us. If He had not saved us, where would we be? We can never cease thanking Him for saving us. But the verse says, “Who saved us, and called us with a holy calling.”
Remember, brothers and sisters, we are not merely saved. We are not saved by chance, as if somehow God just picked us up and saved us. No. We are called with a holy calling.
I think the first thing that we must remember is that we are called.
I often say that we are not volunteers; we are drafted. If we are volunteers, when there is first love within us, we volunteer. But when our first love begins to grow cold, then we volunteer to leave. It is all up to us. That is being a volunteer.
But, dear brothers and sisters, you must remember that God needs no volunteers. He always drafts people. We are called, and by being called, He has drafted us. He has called us with a holy calling.
Now, if He has called us, there is no escape. Whether you like it or not, you are called. Your calling is not left to your choice.
I think the calling is one of the most wonderful things in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Everything in the gospel is wonderful, but I think this calling is a most wonderful thing in the gospel.
Why? If you really know that you are called, it makes all the difference. Calling is always related to purpose. God never calls anybody without purpose.
We may not know the reason why God saved us, but certainly when God calls us, He has a purpose behind it. He does not call us without any purpose in view. Our God is too practical for that.
I believe that you are all familiar with Romans 8:28. We often say, “All things work together for good to those who love the Lord.” Whenever we go to a hospital or visit brothers and sisters who have some problem or sickness, and we do not know how to explain it or how to comfort them, that is the verse we use.
We say, “All things work together for good to those who love the Lord.” So long as you love the Lord, everything will turn out good.
But we do not quote the whole verse:
And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to His purpose.
You love the Lord—why? Because you are called according to purpose. If you do not know your calling, if you do not know why you are called, brothers and sisters, how can you love the Lord? Or even if you do love the Lord, probably it will be only for five minutes.
We are called according to purpose. God has a noble and glorious purpose, and because He has that purpose in Himself, therefore He calls us.
If you read on in Romans 8, you find:
For whom He foreknew, He also foreordained to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren:
and whom He foreordained, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified.
We are called according to purpose, and that purpose was purposed before time. In eternity past—you cannot measure it with years—even before time began, God foreknew us.
Whom He foreknew, He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. Dear brothers and sisters, that is our calling. Our calling is not merely being saved. Being saved is not our calling.
Do not think that you are called to be saved because there is so much room in heaven and therefore you are called to fill heaven. This is not your calling. You are called to be conformed to the image of God’s Son.
That is what you are called to be: “Whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He should be the firstborn among many brethren.”
God wants His only begotten Son to be the firstborn among many brethren. That is your calling. Because He has called us, He justifies us; and He not only justifies us, but He glorifies us. Everything is related to this matter of calling.
But, dear brothers and sisters, do we really know our calling? What is our calling? In the Word of God, you find it described in many ways because our calling is so all-inclusive.
First of all, let me say this: whenever we touch upon this matter of calling, our minds immediately drift to the area of what we are called to do.
“I am called to be a teacher. I am called to be a prophet. I am called to be a missionary. I am called to be a housewife. I am called to be a doctor. I am called to be a nurse.” Whenever we think of calling, immediately we think of what we do.
My brothers and sisters, calling is not primarily related to doing. Calling is primarily related to being. We are called to be; we are not first called to do.
We are called to be first, and because we are what we are called to be, therefore we are able to do what we should do. Never put doing before being. God is interested in what we are, or what we will be, rather than what we do or what we can do for Him.
Here in Romans 8, we are called according to purpose. What is that purpose? To be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. That is being; that is not doing.
Number two: when we think of calling, we immediately think in terms of individuals. But no matter who you are, where you are, or what you are, we are all called with one calling—not many callings. We share the same calling.
Take the letter to the Ephesians, for example. In Ephesians 1:18, Paul prays that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, “that ye may know what is the hope of His calling.”
Then again, in Ephesians 4:1, he says:
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called.
And in Ephesians 4:4:
There is one body, and one Spirit, even as also ye were called in one hope of your calling.
Here you find that there is one calling. It is His calling, and it is our calling. We need to know the hope of His calling, and we need to walk worthily of the calling wherewith we have been called.
According to Ephesians, what is that calling with which He has called us?
Ephesians 1:22-23 says:
And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,
which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.
Ephesians 4:4 tells us that there is one body and one Spirit. Then Ephesians 4:16 says:
From whom all the body fitly framed and knit together through that which every joint supplieth, according to the working in due measure of each several part, maketh the increase of the body unto the building up of itself in love.
And Ephesians 5:30 says:
Because we are members of His body.
It is evident, according to the letter to the Ephesians, that we are called to be the one body of Christ. That is what we are called to be.
Brothers and sisters, you are not merely called to do something for the Lord. You are called to be the body of Christ. This is your calling.
This calling is something that we share together because no one person is the body of Christ. It takes all those who are saved to be the body of Christ. This is our calling. It is a glorious calling.
What is the body? A body contains the riches of the head, and a body expresses the glory of the head.
God has made Christ head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all. We are told in Colossians that all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Christ.
The fullness of the Godhead—who can fathom it? All that God is dwells bodily in Christ because Christ is the fullness of the Godhead. And Christ is our Head. He fills us with Himself, so that we become His body, the fullness of Him who filleth all in all.
Put it this way: as Christ is the body of God, so we are the body of Christ. The Godhead is so rich that it needs a body to contain it, and that body is Christ. Christ is so rich that He needs a body to contain Him, and that body is the church. We are that body.
Just think of it. It is not merely a matter of being saved. We are called to be that body in which the fullness of Christ dwells.
All the riches of Christ are stored, as it were, in that body; and because of that, they are expressed through that body, that the Head may be glorified. This is our calling.
If we realize what our calling is, will that not give us strength in a time of trouble?
Of course, in Romans 8 we find that we are called to be conformed to the image of Christ. Oftentimes we think of this verse individually, and personally it is true that all things work together for good to those who love the Lord and are called according to purpose.
But as you read on, you find that it is corporate. We are to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He may be the firstborn among many brethren.
It is not that He may be a brother to you alone, but that He may be the firstborn among many brethren. In other words, many brethren will take their character from Him. He will characterize all of us.
Why does He need many brethren? Because no one little brother can express Him fully. That is the way we are to be conformed to the image of Christ. Do not think that you alone will be conformed to the image of the complete Christ. You cannot. You are only one of the brethren.
Just as in the New Jerusalem there are twelve foundations, twelve precious stones—not merely one stone—and all these precious stones are different, yet when you put them together, you see the glory of Christ, the fullness of Him who filleth all in all. So it is corporate; it is not merely individual.
Our calling is not only a glorious calling because we are called to be the body of Christ. Our calling is an eternal calling because He called us even before the foundation of the world.
According to Philippians 3:14, our calling is an upward calling:
I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Our calling is not something cheap or low. It is not an earthly calling. Our calling is an upward calling. It is a high calling. How high?
If you read what precedes this, you find that it is as high as Christ Himself: that we may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed unto His death; that we may attain unto the resurrection from among the dead; that we may apprehend that for which also we were apprehended by Christ Jesus.
In other words, that upward calling is none other than gaining Him, that we may gain Him as He has gained us. That is our calling.
According to Hebrews 3, it is a heavenly calling:
Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, even Jesus.
It is a heavenly calling. We are called to that city which descends from heaven. There is nothing earthly about it. There is nothing worldly in it. It is spiritual. It is heavenly. It is all Christ. It is a corporate expression of Christ Himself.
Now, brothers and sisters, this is our calling. If we know what our calling is—that we are called with such a glorious, eternal, upward, heavenly calling—do you think that will encourage us, in spite of everything around us decaying and falling apart, to press on?
We must press on because we are called with such a wonderful calling.
Now return to 2 Timothy 1:9:
Who saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace.
We are not called according to our works. Do not think that you are better than anyone else and therefore you are called. Do not think that you have accumulated so much merit that He calls you. Not at all.
You are called not according to your works. It has nothing to do with what you are. It has nothing to do with what you have done. As a matter of fact, according to what we are and what we have done, we do not deserve to be called. We deserve to be cast away.
We are not called according to our works, but we are called according to His own purpose and grace.
Oh, brothers and sisters, I just love this. We are called according to God’s own purpose.
Sometimes I feel myself so unworthy. Sometimes I feel that I could not make it. I do not believe I can make it because I am such poor material. Sometimes I feel that if it were left to me, I would just slip away.
But then, when I remember that He has called me according to His own purpose—not because of what I am, not because of what I do or do not do, but because He called me according to His own purpose—that it is the good pleasure of His will, even before the foundation of the world, that He has called me according to His own purpose in Christ Jesus, then I have something to fall back upon.
Dear brothers and sisters, this is the only thing I can fall back to. When there is nothing else that you can fall back upon, there is a rock there: He has called us according to His own purpose and grace.
Why grace? Because without grace, that purpose cannot be reached. He has not only called us with purpose, but He has also supplied us with grace to fulfil that purpose.
Where did He place that purpose? In Christ Jesus—not in you and not in me. He has called us according to His purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus.
This purpose is in Christ Jesus. This purpose is not in you; it is not in me. It is in Christ Jesus and given to us. Because it is in Christ Jesus, it will never change.
Even the grace that is given to us is in Christ Jesus. Because grace is in Christ Jesus, it will never change. And when did He call us with that purpose and grace in Christ Jesus? Before time began.
Even before time began, God called us according to His own purpose and grace in Christ Jesus. The root goes all the way back to eternity, and the root goes all the way back to Christ. This is our firm foundation. This is the rock upon which we stand.
God has already supplied all the grace necessary for us to fulfil that purpose. Then this purpose and grace were made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
When the Lord came upon this earth, what God had purposed in eternity past, and the grace that He had already given to us in Christ Jesus, became manifest. It was no longer a secret, no longer something hidden. It was made manifest.
Now we know that we are called according to His purpose. We know that there is grace given to us to fulfil that purpose. Brothers and sisters, what else do you want? Everything is here. He supplies the purpose, and He supplies the grace.
Christ “abolished death, and brought life and incorruption to light through the gospel.” What is the gospel, the glad tidings? Christ has annulled death and brought to light life and incorruption.
What is death? Death is coming short of purpose. Death cuts off the way to the fulfilment of purpose. But Christ has already annulled death, and He has brought to light life and incorruption.
It is by life—by that incorruptible life, what Hebrews calls an indissoluble life, by that eternal life—that we are able to arrive at that purpose.
He has already taken death away. Anything that stands in the way of that purpose, He has already removed. He has given us life, and that life has within it an element of incorruptibility. It cannot be corrupted.
By that life, we are brought into the fulfilment of that calling. Dear brothers and sisters, it does not depend upon you or me. It is all according to His grace, by His life, and because of His purpose.
It is not merely a matter of whether you want to continue or want to drop out. It is not merely a matter of whether you will be faithful or will not be faithful. A much bigger issue is before us: it is His testimony.
We are called to bear that testimony, and there is sufficient grace given to us to accomplish what He has called us to do, if only we look off unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith.
Now, dear brothers and sisters, this is the secret. How could Paul stand under such difficult situations and be faithful? Not because he was stronger than anybody else, nor because he was better than anybody else.
Paul was able to be faithful to the very end because he knew he had been called. That calling was like an anchor that anchored him in Christ.
Not because Paul was stronger, but because he knew the grace of God. He depended on the grace of God, and he made it.
Brothers and sisters, the same is true with us today. If we make it, it is because we are called according to purpose. If we make it, it is because we know His grace. His grace is sufficient for us.
I believe that when Paul shared this with Timothy, Timothy was strengthened. We know in history that Timothy was able to carry on the torch of the testimony of Jesus. He was able to continue with the testimony of Jesus.
Dear brothers and sisters, this is what we hope: by His grace, we will go on.
O heavenly Father, how we pray and thank Thee that Thou hast called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to Thine own purpose and grace, which has been given to us in Christ Jesus.
We do praise and thank Thee that Thy purpose has already been manifested, and Thy grace has already been manifested, because Christ has already come.
O Lord, we have heard the gospel. We have received Thy life. We do pray that we may be those who know our calling, remember our calling, and know how to depend on Thy grace.
O, how we praise and thank Thee that Thou wilt accomplish what Thou hast purposed. In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.