Endurance not Escape

The story is told that Andrew Jackson's boyhood friends just couldn't understand how he became a famous general and then the President of the United States. They knew of other men who had greater talent but who never succeeded. One of Jackson's friends said, "Why, Jim Brown, who lived right down the pike from Jackson, was not only smarter but he could throw Andy three times out of four in a wrestling match. But look where Andy is now.” Another friend responded, "How did there happen to be a fourth time? Didn't they usually say three times and out?” “Sure, they were supposed to, but not Andy. He would never admit he was beat -- he would never stay 'throwed.' Jim Brown would get tired, and on the fourth try Andrew Jackson would throw him and be the winner." Picking up on that idea, someone has said, "The thing that counts is not how many times you are 'throwed,' but whether you are willing to stay 'throwed'.” We may face setbacks, but we must take courage and go forward in faith. Then, through the Holy Spirit's power we can be the eventual victor over sin and the world. The battle is the Lord's, so there is no excuse for us to stay "throwed"![1]

There are many things that will “throw” us in our walk with Christ. We are to follow Christ but the world has many other things to offer including potholes, roadblocks, u-turns, one-way streets, and traffic jams. The very people for whom Christ died often cause us to lose heart and give up on the path of righteousness and faith.

The Apostle Paul was concerned that Timothy endure to the end in his walk with Christ. In 2 Timothy chapter two, he offers encouragement and instruction to him regarding endurance versus escape. Everything he tells Timothy he may as well have spoken to us today for it has direct application in our own spiritual walk.

Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:1-26

Main Point: The believer in Christ can endure because the LORD Jesus has provided for us the wisdom and the power to endure to the end. However, each believer must make use of all the tools the LORD has given us – most importantly, the LORD Jesus Himself.

Outline:

Appeal for endurance (2 Timothy 2:1-7).
Example of endurance (2 Timothy 2:8-13).
Instructions for endurance (2 Timothy 2:14-26).

1. Appeal for endurance.

¹You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. ²And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. ³Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs--he wants to please his commanding officer. ⁵Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. ⁷Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this. (2 Timothy 2:3-7, NIV)

No one knows how long this road of life will run. You may have one hour, one day, one decade, or even one century left. But the LORD Jesus wants you to endure to the end. He is the One who keeps on loving you to the very end (John 13:1). And He wants you to remain faithful to Him to the very end.

So the Apostle Paul, writing by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, writes these words to Timothy. And we may take these words to heart in our own lives as well. Paul writes an appeal for endurance.

A. Get more grace.

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 2:1, NIV)

The Oxymoron of faith: the more faith you develop, the more dependent upon God you become. This seems to be a contradiction. Isn’t Billy Graham strong? Does he really need more of God in his life? The answer is yes.

The stronger your faith in God, the weaker your faith in yourself. People say “to be successful, you have to believe in yourself.” But the truth about success is this: to be successful, you have to believe in God and His power. That is how you become strong and deepen your roots of faith.

Spiritual strength is the recognition of true power and your own limitations – Jesus said, “apart from Me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5, NIV). On the other hand, “I can do all things through [Christ] who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13).

This is why Paul reminds Timothy, though he is a mature Christian and pastor, to “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (v1).

Are you a relatively new believer? You need more grace. Are you a long-time believer in Christ? You need a lot more grace. Wherever you are in life, whatever you may be doing, God speaks to you with this tremendous promise, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

B. Pass on more truth.

And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. (2 Timothy 2:2, NIV)

It has been said that at any point in time, we are only one generation away from a pagan society – a society that does not believe in God. If we were to withhold the gospel from the next generation, it would indeed become a godless society.

Paul urged Timothy to find faithful people, even faith-filled people, to entrust with the gospel message. “Teach them the truth so that they can teach others” is a paraphrase of this verse. Timothy could multiply his ministry further not by teaching more but by training others to teach.

This should be our goal as well. We need to pass on the truth about the LORD Jesus Christ to this generation and the next. Grandparents can be especially helpful in this role due to their accumulated life-experience and stage of life (generally not employed on a full-time basis).

We can endure with greater success if we get help. Timothy was not responsible for evangelizing the whole world. Neither are you.

Example: In a Bible Study Group, try to reach the door from where you stand (I assume you are not near a door). Now grab the hand of someone and have them grab a hand of someone else. Eventually you should easily be able to reach the door.

If you join hands with others, you will obtain a greater reach than if you try to do it yourself.

C. Keep on the right path.

³Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs--he wants to please his commanding officer. ⁵Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. ⁷Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this. (2 Timothy 2:3-7, NIV)

Endure hardship for the sake of the kingdom – do what is necessary to fulfill God’s plan for your life. If you have to sacrifice or suffer for it, so be it.

We have three examples to consider:

Serve like a soldier – FOCUS! Do not get distracted by earthly things or people or places or circumstances. Make sure that your life pleases the Commander-in-Chief, the LORD Jesus Christ.
Obey like an athlete – OBEDIENCE! The athlete who takes steroids gets caught and loses the opportunity to compete. The athlete who runs the race but trips up his opponent is removed from the race. Jesus Christ is King and has the right to rule. You will not be rewarded for a lazy, undisciplined life. Nor will you enjoy the peace of God by disobeying God. You must listen and obey the word of the LORD. That is the “rule” of the Christian life.
Hope like a farmer – REWARDS! The farmer does not sweat and toil over the land for nothing. He hopes for and expects to be rewarded at the time of harvest. You also will not sweat and toil for the sake of the gospel for nothing. You will be rewarded with every spiritual blessing in Christ in this life (Ephesians 1:3) and with eternal rewards in Heaven (2 Corinthians 5:10).

So the appeal is to endure in the Christian life: getting more grace, training others, and keeping on the right path.

Is this really possible? Next we look at the example of the Apostle Paul.

2. Example of endurance.

⁸Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, ⁹for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God's word is not chained. ¹⁰Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
¹¹Here is a trustworthy saying:
   If we died with him,
       we will also live with him;
   ¹²if we endure,
       we will also reign with him.
   If we disown him,
       he will also disown us;
   ¹³if we are faithless,
       he will remain faithful,
       for he cannot disown himself.
(2 Timothy 2:8-13, NIV)

It was the blind Helen Keller who said: “The world is full of suffering, it is also full of overcoming it...” [2] I daresay that Helen Keller saw more with blinded eyes than most of us see with two good eyes.

Paul was an overcomer. Yet he did not endure suffering by his own will and tenacity. He was an overcomer by faith. He kept his eyes on Jesus Christ.

A. Motivation for endurance.

“Remember Jesus Christ” (v8) is the call to endure. You are not in this alone. You cannot endure it alone. You need Him! He is our motivation – our reason for persevering in faith.

“Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David” (v8). The Bible points us to two great motivators: (1) His resurrection from the dead and (2) His fulfillment of hundreds of prophecies about his birth, life, death, burial, and resurrection. These are the most well attested facts in all of ancient history.

⁴ For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. ⁵Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. (1 John 5:4-5, NIV)

B. Purpose for endurance.

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 2:10, NIV)

Paul points our his (and our) purpose for endurance. All for the sake of the “elect” (v10). God wants everyone to be saved. As believers in Christ, we should desire what God desires for every person in our family, neighborhood, and on this entire planet.

Just who are the elect? There is much controversy, passion, quarrels, and even bitter dissension within the body of Christ over this doctrine. People get into heated debates (arguments where there is much heat and not much light) over election and predestination. Is it individual election or corporate election? Is it foreordained or foreknown? The most critical question is this: on what basis does God elect you?

Somehow, the simplicity of this answer eludes many theologians. Jesus said:

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. (John 6:47, NKJV)

The issue of election boils down to this: if you trust in the LORD Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are elected. If you reject Christ, you are not elected.

Therefore, we must persevere in the faith and run the race with a bold witness for Christ so that others “may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory” (v10).

3. Instructions for endurance (2 Timothy 2:14-26).

There are a couple of major points that come out of this passage regarding enduring versus escaping. Some people just give up hope and quit the race. Others engage in religious activity to escape any meaningful spiritual challenge that would change their life. Still others apply pressure on others to avoid any personal attention on their lack of faith.

A. The LORD’s servant must not quarrel.

¹⁴Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen... ²³Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. ²⁴And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. ²⁵Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, ²⁶and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. (2 Timothy 2:14,23-26, NIV)

Quarrels among married couples are common. Someone once said, “There are two sides to every argument and they are usually married to each other.”

“Quarreling” is from a compound word in the original Greek meaning to “strive or make war about words.” This does not mean that we should not disagree but should never disagree disagreeably.

A deacon came to his pastor for advice. He had attended church for 25 years and was a respected leader in the church. He said, "Pastor, I've got something to tell you. I've never told this to a soul, extremely difficult to tell you this now, but my wife and I have had a fight every day for the past 30 years of our marriage.” Pastor was shocked. He really didn't know what to say to this church leader. Playing for time to gather thoughts, said, "Every day?"

"Yes, every day!" said the deacon.

"Did you today before you came to church?"

"Yes."

"Well, how did it end up?"

"She came crawling to me on her hands and knees."

"Oh really…What did she say?"

"Come out from under that bed you coward and fight like a man!" [3]

If you are going to serve the LORD, you must not quarrel. This is a direct command. But this is written to the “LORD’s servant” (v24). The word “servant” is from a Greek word meaning “bond-servant,” one who has voluntarily and totally given up his rights to another, submitting his own will and desires to the will of his master. What a beautiful picture of a believer in the LORD Jesus! You must give up your “right” to quarrel and instead:

Be kind to everyone (v24).
Gently instruct those who oppose you (vv 24-25) – The word “gently” is the word meekness. This is not weakness but power under control of the Holy Spirit.
Refuse to become bitter and resentful (v24).

Following Christ in this way will enable you to endure this life with dignity.

B. The LORD’s servant must study God’s word.

¹⁵Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. ¹⁶Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. ¹⁷Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, ¹⁸who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. (2 Timothy 2:15-18, NIV)

We have stated before that faith comes from hearing and obeying the word of God. Here we see a key to endurance is to “do your best” to study God’s word. Reach the point in your personal study that, though you do not know all the answers, you know where and how to look for them. Here are some basic tools that every believer should obtain for study:

Concordance:

How many of you have a tool for searching the Bible? A good concordance is a book that has every word of the Bible in alphabetical order with every reference to that word in the Bible. This is a great tool to help you begin studying so that you can “present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (v15).

If you have access to the internet, there are many wonderful sites for studying the Bible. One of them is http://www.WordTruth.Com – the site I have developed. Another site you should look at is http://www.BibleGateway.Com. You can search the entire Bible in seconds for any verse or reference word you need to find.

Bible Dictionary and Encyclopedia:

The Holman Bible Dictionary is a good one-book reference tool. It has the advantage of not only explaining many words and concepts from the Bible, but it also tells you how to pronounce those difficult words and names.

Again, if you have access to the internet, you can find online Bible dictionaries such as Easton’s, Smith’s and others at http://www.StudyLight.Org and http://www.BibleStudyTools.Net.

Word Studies:

The classic word study books are Vine’s Expository Dictionary and Strong’s Concordance. Without having to know a foreign language, these provide insight into the original Hebrew and Greek words translated into English in your Bible. You can find Strong’s on the internet at http://www.jcsm.org/StudyCenter/kjvstrongs/. Vine’s New Testament word studies are at http://www.menfak.no/bibel/vines.html or http://www.antioch.com.sg/bible/vines/.

Commentaries:

Commentaries can be helpful to explain a passage of Scripture through word studies and Bible exposition. Just take care to study what the Scripture passage actually says first and compare Scripture with Scripture as opposed to just taking what one commentator has to say. Commentaries are NOT the inspired word of God but can be helpful to explain the sense of the passage along with helpful background information. Also, commentaries should be the last resort of study, not the first.

There are many, many commentaries on every book of the Bible. Each commentary book is expensive ($25-$40). I recommend the New American Commentary series as well as the New International Commentary on the Old and New Testament. On the internet, you can find a good set of classic Bible commentaries at http://www.gospelcom.net/eword/comments/.

C. The LORD’s servant must purify his life.

¹⁹Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness."
²⁰In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. ²¹If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
²²Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. (2 Timothy 2:15-18, NIV)

Endurance requires that you purify your life. Nothing will cause you to stall and sputter along the road of life like impure thoughts, ungodly words, and unrighteous behavior. Your life commitment to Christ must be to daily look to cleanse these from your life so that you can be filled with righteous desires and the power to carry them out by the Holy Spirit.

Two theological students were walking along a street in the Whitechapel district of London, a section where old and used clothing is sold. "What a fitting illustration all this makes!" said one of the students as he pointed to a suit of clothes hanging on a rack by a window. A sign on it read: SLIGHTLY SOILED -- GREATLY REDUCED IN PRICE.

"That's it exactly," he continued. "We get soiled by gazing at a vulgar picture, reading a course book, or allowing ourselves a little indulgence in dishonest or lustful thoughts; and so when the time comes for our character to be appraised, we are greatly reduced in value. Our purity, our strength is gone. We are just part and parcel of the general, shopworn stock of the world.” Yes, continual slight deviations from the path of right may greatly reduce our usefulness to God and to our fellowman. In fact, these little secret sins can weaken our character so that when we face a moral crisis, we cannot stand the test. As a result, we go down in spiritual defeat because we have been careless about little sins. [4]

That is why the Bible tells us to “Flee youthful lusts” (v22). On a moment-by-moment basis we must recognize the impure in our lives and take a 180 degree turn and run fast to get away from it. Run instead to the righteousness of the LORD Jesus.

This purification process is the heart of a child of God and the path to endurance. For the Bible says:

²Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. ³Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. (1 John 3:2-3, NIV).

Conclusion:

Endurance in the faith requires that we develop a certain way of thinking. It is that God loves us and knows what is best for us. Not only does He know but He leads us in the way that is best. Not only does He lead us but He provides for us what is best. Now C.S. Lewis, the late Christian Apologist, stated well one of our fears as a Christian:

We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us. We are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.[5]

No one looks forward to suffering for Christ. That is precisely why God never tells us the potential suffering nor the potential joy ahead. The one would cause us to turn back and the other would cause us to stand still and wait. But it is the LORD Jesus Himself who beckons us simply to “Follow Me!” (Matthew 4:19).