More Than New-Believer Basics: How The Gospel Powers Us to Persevere
2 Timothy 1:9-10
2 Timothy 1:9-10
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,
In 2 Timothy, Paul helps us to answer an important question that we as Christians need to be able to answer given the promise of persecution and suffering that accompanies following Christ (2 Tim 3:12). The question is this: When times get tough, and when rubber meets the road, what will power us to persevere? When we begin to experience the painful persecution that inevitably follows gospel proclamation, how will we endure?
In today’s verses, Paul, by mentioning the gospel in a letter focused on encouraging endurance in suffering, implies that the truths of the gospel have relevance to our pursuit of long-term obedience and faithfulness. By rehearsing the gospel to Timothy, a pastor who assuredly would’ve already known its ins and outs, he reminds us that the gospel is more than new-believer’s basics, and teaches us that the multi-faceted gem of the gospel is relevant to the day-to-day struggles we all have or will encounter in long-term obedience and faithfulness to Christ. In a word, Paul is implying to us that the glorious truths of the gospel can power us to persevere. And today we will look at just how.
Starting from verse 8 for the sake of textual continuity, Paul says, “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.”
Paul starts this gospel primer by saying that God has called us to a holy (holy means set apart) calling, meaning that He has called us to live according to the ways and wisdom of God’s Word, which vastly differs from the ways and wisdom of this world. Paul then highlights the undeniable God-centeredness of the gospel message when he says that God has saved us and called us “not because of our works but because of His own purpose and grace.” In other words, God has saved us not because of anything we have done or in light of any favor we have earned, but solely based on the gift of His grace that we can receive by faith. (Eph 2:8). The beauty and blessing of this truth for us as believers is that if God has solely and sovereignly accomplished our salvation, then God will also ultimately accomplish the completion and totality of our salvation, the day when we will be totally rid of the presence of sin and will be like our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (Phil 1:6, 1 John 3:2).
Paul also highlights in these verses how central Jesus Christ is in the gospel message. You cannot read these couple of verses without clearly seeing how much the name Jesus is repeated. Paul talks about how Jesus has always been the means through which God would restore His people to Himself, and mentions how the coming, living, dying, and resurrecting of Jesus fully perfected God’s sovereign and eternal plans (v9b). Then comes the last half of verse 10. I absolutely love this next phrase. It says, (referring to Jesus), “who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,”. The word abolish, in the original Greek, is katargeō, and it means to set aside, to wipe out, or to render inoperative. Using that definition in the context of the verse, we see that Jesus, through the gospel, enabled the possibility of eternal life, and set aside, wiped out, and rendered inoperative the eternal damning power of death for all who put their faith and hope in Jesus Christ. Because of the gospel, death no longer has the final say in the life of a believer. Because of the gospel, we can have life, and can no longer fear death. Oh, how we ought to praise God for the death-defeating power of the gospel!
“Jesus, through the gospel, enabled the possibility of eternal life, and set aside, wiped out, and rendered inoperative the eternal damning power of death for all who put their faith and hope in Jesus Christ.”
Now, incredible as these truths are, if you’re like me you may be asking, ok, but how do these gospel truths power us to persevere in suffering for the sake of the gospel? Does the gospel really have relevance for the believer after he or she has been truly saved? Yes, yes, and yes, and in more ways than we have time to talk about. But for now, I’ll highlight three ways in which the gospel powers us to persevere.
Firstly, remembering how the gospel has saved us can power us to persevere. Remembering the emptiness we felt and brokenness we experienced without Christ is a powerful antidote against spiriual apathy and lethargy. In times of weariness and fatigue in our walk with the Lord, recalling and reflecting on the story of how God saved us can encourage us and help us to kindle afresh our flame of passion for Him.
Secondly, remembering the eternal implications of the gospel for unbelievers can power us to persevere. Deep pondering of the gospel simultaneously causes consideration of the reason the gospel is needed in the first place, namely, the uncomfortable and yet unavoidable reality that those who do not hear the message of the gospel, and who do not put their faith and hope in Jesus Christ, will spend an eternity separated from God. An eternity spent being totally ignored, totally abandoned, and totally alone– the worst kind of torment. And did you catch the crucial word? Eternal. As the famous missionary C.T. Studd said, “Only one life twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.” Once the human being finishes the race of this life, they will either receive a crown, or a crucifix, will either be sent to hell or heaven, and will forever either be in glory or in gloom; only two possible outcomes, only two walkable paths, an eternity spent praising, or an eternity spent being punished by the God and Lord of all. It is a scary and sobering reality. And yet still, that’s exactly what it is– reality. Which is why it is simply absolutely essential that we endure in suffering for the sake of the gospel. As Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:10, “Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.”
“Once the human being finishes the race of this life, they will either receive a crown, or a crucifix, will either be sent to hell or heaven, and will forever either be in glory or in gloom; only two possible outcomes, only two walkable paths, an eternity spent praising, or an eternity spent being punished by the God and Lord of all.”
Thirdly and lastly, remembering the God-centeredness of the gospel can power us to persevere. Do you remember earlier when I pointed out Paul’s God-centeredness in his gospel rehearsal? Keeping God at the center of everything is crucial when it comes to enduring the marathon of life. Why? Because we can’t endure in suffering for the sake of the gospel without the power of God and grace that is in Christ Jesus (2 Tim 2:1). Without the strength of God that is made perfect through our weakness (2 Cor 12:9-10), the grape of our faithfulness would quickly shrivel up and become crackly and brittle. Without relying on our true vine, Jesus Christ, the supply of our strength and sweetness of our spiritual fruit would quickly vanquish, and endurance for the sake of Christ would be virtually impossible. (John 15:5) Without God carrying us on His wings and sustaining us by His strength, all initiatives of gospel faithfulness and proclomation are utterly useless and in vain.
So the final takeaway? We need the message of the gospel. We need the reminder that we’ve been called to a holy calling because of the eternal purposes and plans of our God, and that because of Jesus Christ we sinful creatures are no longer called wretched sinners but instead are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people for God’s own possession. (1 Peter 2:9) We need the reminder of the good news of Jesus Christ, the news that can calm anxious souls, free addicted minds, redeem wasted years, comfort hurting hearts, and transform spiritually dead lives—the news that can help power us to persevere through the sufferings of this marathon called life.
“We need the reminder of the good news of Jesus Christ, the news that can calm anxious souls, free addicted minds, redeem wasted years, comfort hurting hearts, and transform spiritually dead lives—the news that can help power us to preserve through the sufferings of this marathon called life.”
So today, and every day, let us pray that God will help us to remember and reflect on glimpses of the gospel. Titus 3:4-7 says, “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” What a beautiful encapsulation of the gospel! Truly, those who know the God of the gospel are those who know true life. By God’s grace, may it be this very gospel message that is the object of our passions, the center of our lives, and the power for our perseverance. Amen!