Remembering and Responding - Hebrews 10:19-25

As Christians we believe that God has entrusted us with something precious. God has given us His Word and the Gospel and we have been called to steward the truth that has been given to us. This means that we should be committed to knowing the truth and protecting it from those who would try to distort it. As Paul gives Timothy some final instructions, this is a theme that comes up over and over: The importance to stewarding and standing for the truth. Paul goes to great lengths to remind Timothy of his responsibility to know the truth and guard it from those who would seek to twist or pervert it.

Extreme labor, frequent imprisonments, countless beatings and often close to death. This is the way Paul begins a description of his experience as a minister of the Gospel. He goes on to speak of being whipped, being beaten with rods, being stoned, being shipwrecked, being threatened, being hungry and without food. And that’s to say nothing of the emotional burdens. This description from 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 should add weight to Paul’s appeal to Timothy to share in his sufferings. As Paul calls Timothy to greater Gospel faithfulness, he repeatedly reminds him of the necessity of suffering. Why was Paul willing to suffer so much? Why would he call Timothy to this kind of suffering? In 2 Timothy 2:8-13 we get a look at what motivated Paul. Here he calls on Timothy to remember various aspects of Gospel and why it is worth suffering for.

The Apostle Paul was called by God and he gave his life fully for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His aim was to know Christ and to make Him known. And for the sake of Christ and His Gospel Paul endured suffering, imprisonment and eventually death. But through it all he maintained joy and hope and he believed that greater joy awaited him beyond this life. Near the end of his life, from a Roman prison, Paul wrote a letter to his faithful partner in the Gospel, Timothy. In this letter he is calling on Timothy to take up the mantle and continue the work of Gospel ministry. As we read this letter it serves as a good reminder to us that we too are called to this work. In chapter 1 Paul makes his initial appeal, calling Timothy to be unashamed and to commit himself to guarding, stewarding and proclaiming the Gospel. Now, as we come to chapter 2, it seems Paul is moving more into instruction. He’s giving Timothy instruction about the specifics of the ministry – what he should do and what he should expect. He is helping Timothy see what faithful Gospel ministry looks like.

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We probably all know what it is like to be in a situation where we are hesitant or slow to stand up for the truth of the Gospel. We are a people who are prone to struggling with fear and pride and timidity. For us, the first chapter of 2 Timothy is an important reminder. In 2 Timothy 1 Paul is exhorting Timothy to be bold and courageous and to stand firm for the sake of the truth. He’s calling on Timothy to be unashamed, willing to suffer, and to be a faithful guardian of the truth of the Gospel. As Christians it is a message that we need to hear and take to heart. While the heart of Paul’s charge is in 2 Timothy 1:8-14, in verses 15-18 he provides some examples for Timothy to consider. The first is a negative example of many people who were ashamed of the Gospel and who failed to be faithful. The second is a positive example of one man who was unashamed and who remained faithful to the Gospel even when it was inconvenient and dangerous.

In Isaiah 58:3 we hear a complaint from the people of God. Even though they were fasting and doing all of the outwardly religious things that they believed would please God, He seemed distant. They prayed, but it seemed like He wasn’t hearing their prayers. As we keep reading, we hear God’s response. The reason God felt distant, is because the people weren’t worshipping Him with pure hearts. They had an outward religion, but their hearts were wicked. As we come to Isaiah 59, we hear a lot more about the sinfulness of these people. In verses 1-15a Isaiah makes it clear that their sin has kept them separated from God and far from salvation. But then something unexpected happens. God sees their wickedness and responds, not with judgement on them, but by sending someone who will defeat sin and deliver His people. The Big Idea: In Isaiah 59 we are reminded of our sinfulness and of our inability to save ourselves. But we are also reminded that God has sent someone who can set us free from our sin – Christ our Redeemer.

There is something that is true in every generation. In every generation there are threats to the message of the Gospel. In every generation there are those who distort the Gospel and others who hope to discredit or even destroy the Gospel. Of course, as Christians we know that God will always preserve His Word and the Gospel will go forward, but it’s also important to remember that the primary way that He chooses to guard, protect and preserve His message of salvation is through us, His people. As Paul writes this letter to Timothy, he is writing in part to call Timothy to be a good and faithful steward of the Gospel. Paul knows that there will be false teachers and there will be enemies of the Gospel. So, Paul is calling on Timothy to be bold and courageous and to stand firm for the sake of the truth. He’s calling on Timothy to be a faithful teacher and a steadfast guardian of the truth.

There is nothing of greater value than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is a truth that faithful Christians believe, but it’s also a truth that can be hard to live out consistently. We are prone to fear and may at times be timid in the way we live out and express our faith in Christ. As Paul writes to Timothy, his son in the faith and his partner in the ministry, he is writing to encourage him to Gospel faithfulness. Knowing that Timothy may be fearful or lack boldness, Paul exhorts him to not be ashamed and to be willing even to suffer for the sake of the Gospel. In 2 Timothy 1:8-14 the Paul is calling Timothy to be steadfast and faithful with the Gospel. While much of this passage is exhortation, in verses 9 and 10 Paul spends some time simply rehearsing the realities of salvation and the grace of God that has made salvation possible in Christ. As we spend time considering what Paul says about our salvation it should remind us of the beauty and value of the Gospel. It should also encourage and compel us to live faithfully and courageously for the sake of the Gospel. It should serve as a reminder of why the Gospel is worthy of our sacrifice and even our lives.

Near the end of his life Paul was imprisoned in Rome for preaching the Gospel. From that prison, knowing that he would soon be killed for his allegiance to Christ, Paul wrote a letter to his friend and son in the faith, Timothy. As Paul writes this uniquely personal letter he is aware of his impending death, but that’s not his focus. His focus is on encouraging Timothy to remain faithful. He writes to call on Timothy to press on and to keep doing the work in spite of the difficulties. He tells his friend and partner in the Gospel not to be ashamed of the testimony about the Lord, to guard the good deposit that has been entrusted to him, and to be a worker who has no need to be ashamed. He calls on him to guard the Gospel, to suffer for the Gospel to continue in the Gospel and to preach the Gospel. While this is a letter from Paul to Timothy, it is also an important letter for us. As God’s people we need to remember that we are called to faithfulness. As much as ever the Gospel needs to be guarded, preserved, proclaimed and passed on. We have a call to stand in the Gospel and for the Gospel and to be faithful to share this message of salvation with every person, no matter what difficulties may come. 2 Timothy is a good help for us as we consider our calling both individually and as a church, and what it means to be faithful.

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In Matthew 6 Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray by giving them a model prayer. When we pray that prayer that Jesus gave us, we begin by addressing God as our Father who is in Heaven. This is a way of addressing God that is packed full of theological truth and that should help us recognize the incredible privilege we have of coming to God in prayer. When we pray to God as our Father, we are acknowledging that through Christ we have been brought into the family of God. That through the sacrifice of Christ God has become our Father and we have been adopted as His children. But, with that said, He’s unlike any Father we have ever known, because He is our Father who is in Heaven. When we pray to our Father in Heaven we are acknowledging that He is the sovereign ruler over all things. When we bring all of this together, we should recognize the privilege of prayer. When we pray, we bring our requests to a Father who loves us and who is also fully capable as the God of the universe to answer our prayers. As we come to Psalm 146, we are being called to praise God. To praise Him because He is trustworthy. And His trustworthiness is proven in that He is both sovereign and compassionate. He is the creator God and He cares for the weak, the lowly, and the defenseless.

In Matthew 6 Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray by giving them a model prayer. In that prayer Jesus helps us see the kinds of things we should be praying for. That model prayer ends with this request: And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. When Jesus taught His disciples (and us) how to pray he included this request in which we ask for God’s help in our fight against sin. Psalm 141 is, in many respects, an expanded and more detailed version of that final request of the Lord’s Prayer. In this psalm we have David asking God to keep him from sin and to protect him from those who sin against him. What’s evident from this psalm is that David recognizes the seriousness of sin and he knows that he needs God’s help in order to put sin to death. As David prays for protection, both from sin and from other sinners, we have an example of how we should pray. This psalm should give us words that we can use in our own prayers as we strive to put off sin and honor God.

Psalm 139 is a psalm that’s known for what it teaches us about God. In this psalm David provides one of the clearest teachings in the Scriptures on the omniscience and omnipresence of God. Omniscience is the reality that God knows all things and omnipresence speaks to the fact that God is always present, everywhere. In this psalm David describes the full knowledge and presence of God and provides illustrations that add color and depth. But while this psalm is a go-to for understanding the nature of God, we miss the point of the psalm if we use it merely as a statement of theology. At the heart of the psalm is how David responds to these truths about God. As we see God for who He is it should impact the way we think and live. It should change the way we handle temptation and deal with loss. It should guard us from worry, keep us from fear and motivate our obedience.

It’s no secret that all of us are joy-seekers. We want to be content, to be satisfied, to feel secure, to feel protected - and under all of this is our desire for joy. As we come to Psalm 16 David is asking God to be his protector as he takes refuge in Him. But while David begins with this request the rest of the Psalm is made up of David expressing why he trusts God as his refuge.