Guard the Gospel
Sitting in the lower chambers of the filthy, stench-filled Mamertine Prison, the Apostle Paul awaited what was certain to be his execution.[1] The Roman Emperor, Nero, in his maddened lust for power and prestige, began a full-scale campaign of persecution upon the Christians in Rome, and Paul was arrested as his chief target.[2] It is against this backdrop that the Apostle would pen his final letter recorded in Scripture—a God-breathed, heartfelt letter to his beloved son-in-the-faith, Timothy.
For Paul, there was no one more dear to him than Timothy. As he wrote to the Philippians, concerning his young protégé, Paul said, “For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel” (Phil 2:20–22). Previously, Paul had written to Timothy, as a pastor to the church in Ephesus (1 Tim 1–6). The Ephesian church was in desperate need of healthy leadership and instruction, so Paul wrote Timothy to encourage and charge him to accomplish the work of putting the church in order.
Then, just a few, short years later, circumstances had greatly changed. Due to persecution from outside the church and opposition from within, Timothy had presumably become weakened in his resolve. And therefore, Paul wrote to Timothy, his beloved friend and partner in the gospel, with personal and passionate words of encouragement and determination. As Calvin rightly said:
“Paul had before his eyes the death which he was prepared to endure for the testimony of the gospel. All that we read here, therefore, concerning the Kingdom of Christ, the hope of eternal life, the Christian warfare, confidence in confessing Christ, and the certainty of doctrine, ought to be viewed by us as written, not with ink, but with Paul’s own blood; for nothing is asserted by him for which he does not offer the pledge of his death; and therefore this epistle may be regarded as a solemn subscription and ratification of Paul’s doctrine.”[3]
In short, within the context of 2 Timothy, as the Apostle Paul is preparing to leave this world and to be taken safely to Christ’s heavenly kingdom (2 Tim 4:18), he seeks to pass the gospel torch to Timothy, that he might carry on the Christian faith with resolute fortitude; a fortitude that begins by guarding the gospel.
Fan into Flame
Paul begins this sobering letter to Timothy, by saying:
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control (v. 1–7).
Paul begins this first part of his second letter to Timothy in much the same way that he did in the first one. This time, however, he starts the main body of the letter by recalling his fond memories of Timothy and reminding him of the reason he was asked to join the Apostle’s gospel ministry in the first place. And that reason was his sincere faith.
Considering that faith, Paul reminds his beloved friend and spiritual son of the personal way in which this gospel message has been handed down to him. Timothy had come to believe in Christ for salvation before Paul even knew him. The message of the gospel had been handed down to him from his mother, Eunice. And before she was a believer, the message was embraced by his grandmother, Lois. Thus, for Timothy, he was a third-generation believer.
And yet, Paul knew Timothy was experiencing a season of weariness and a loss of zeal. Therefore, he provides him with a vivid word picture. He compares the gift of preaching to a flame, and explains that in the same way that fanning, or providing air to a fire, causes the flame to engulf and spread, Timothy needs to “fan (his) gift into flame.”
Maybe you’re not a pastor, and you’re wondering if Paul’s instructions to Timothy have any significance for you. Well, it certainly helps us to see that the spiritual gifts God gives us are not without personal responsibility. Each of us, as believers, are given certain gifts by His grace, but they aren’t just given to sit dormant and to remain unused. God calls us to exercise those gifts for the edification of the church and for His glory. Sometimes, we just need to be reminded of why the fire is burning to begin with.
For Timothy, this fire was, at minimum, the gift of preaching and teaching. Many believe that the reason Paul is emphasizing this call for Timothy to fan the flame of his preaching gift was because he had been informed, either from Timothy himself, or from someone else, that his dear brother in Christ had begun to capitulate to the pressure of the false teachers in the Ephesian church. Part of this compromise, on the part of Timothy, had to do with the discouragement from slander, which he was now constantly dealing with, because Paul had been put in prison, once again. Therefore, Paul wants Timothy to be reminded of who he is, and who he's been called to be.
Guard the Good Deposit
In light of this context, Paul continues writing, in verse 8, saying:
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you (v. 8–14).
Although it would be easy to think less of Timothy, at this point, it’s important for us to attempt to put ourselves in his sandals, if you will. His mentor is the Apostle Paul. He’s been proclaiming the Word of God, on the authority of Paul’s apostleship, and in the process, correcting the bad theology and false teaching of those in the Ephesian church. He’s been fighting this fight for at least a few years, and now, Paul has been arrested by the Roman government as a criminal. All of a sudden, the detractors have more ammunition. Proclaiming the Word of God on the authority of a convicted criminal is nothing short of a scandal. Thus, the temptation for Timothy was to back away from the charge he had been given in Paul’s first letter. Fear and shame began to take precedence.
Therefore, Paul acknowledges that while the gospel message is going to be a scandal to some, Timothy is never to be ashamed of it, or to shrink back from proclaiming it. Jesus endured the suffering, and therefore, so can he, because it’s through the power of that message that souls are saved. And it’s for that reason that Paul calls Timothy, and by application, all believers, to guard the gospel. And yet, there are actually two aspects of guarding found in this section of Paul’s exhortation.
First, it begins with the Lord. Paul tells Timothy that the Lord is able to protect what has been entrusted to him. This deposit Paul references is the gospel ministry of which he has so diligently labored. Flowing from that confidence in God’s preservation of the gospel ministry, leads Paul to the second aspect of guarding found in this section. In other words, it is precisely because God is guarding the fruit of Paul’s gospel ministry, that he is able, in turn, to confidently call Timothy to follow his example in fulfilling it. Like Timothy, we, as believers, are called to follow the example of faithfulness and to protect the gospel ministry entrusted to us. And we can carry out this gospel ministry with confidence, because God always guards what He deposits.
Seek the Lord’s Mercy
Continuing in verse 15, Paul writes:
You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains, but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me—may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day!—and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus (v. 15–18).
Following his admonition to Timothy, the Apostle concludes this opening chapter of his letter by speaking openly about some of the individuals whom both he and Timothy know. As if to empathize with the challenges Timothy is facing, including the experience of rejection, Paul provides the names of two men who deserted him in the face of persecution.
In addition, Paul provides a positive example as well. It’s as if he wants to remind Timothy, with personal examples, that God preserves His people. While the false may flee, the people of God will persevere. Thus, as those who profess faith in Christ, we are in desperate need of God’s mercy. Whether it is the air needed to fan the flame of God’s gifts, or the strength needed to guard the good deposit of God’s gospel, it will only be accomplished through the abundant blessing of God’s mercy.
References:
[1] Sallust. The War with Catiline: The War with Jugurtha. United Kingdom: Harvard University Press, 2013, 133.
[2] Eusebius. Eusebius: The Church History. United States: Kregel Publications, 2012, 70.
[3] Lee Gatiss, Bradley G. Green. 1-2 Thessalonians, 1-2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon: New Testament Volume 12. United States: InterVarsity Press, 2019, 213.