The Lord Jesus and the Apostle John refer to, as well, this idea of being ashamed of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Mark 8 verse 38, Jesus says, if anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels. So what that means is if we persistently buckle under the pressure, and not just in an occasional way like Peter denying that we know Christ, indeed that will come up later in the letter, if we deny him he will deny us, so this theme goes on in 2 Timothy.
The really sober message here is if we claim to know Christ but never confess him, particularly before non-Christians, if we distance ourselves from him no matter what, we might come to church on Sunday and be one kind of person on a Sunday, but through the week one of the guys, one of the girls, just going with the flow, never speaking about our faith, never confessing Christ, indeed perhaps actively distancing ourselves not only from the Lord Jesus himself but his words, because if anyone’s ashamed of me and my words, the things that Jesus has to say about a whole range of matters, if we distance ourselves then come the day of judgement, no matter what we’ve professed by faith, and Jesus says he has the perfect knowledge of what our lives have truly been like, and says well you were ashamed of me all the time, you didn’t want to identify with me, you didn’t want to have anything to do with me, you denied me by your actions, by your whole life, even though you professed to know me, even though you had plenty of Christian friends at church, and what this verse is saying is Jesus will say, well you weren’t willing to identify with me, therefore I’m not willing to identify with you, depart from me, I never knew you. Very, very sobering this verse, and then I mentioned there about the Apostle John, he builds on this as well in his first letter, chapter 2 verse 28, where he again, he’s writing in all likelihood to the church in Ephesus, which is where he was based in his latter years, and he says, and now dear children continue in him so that when he, that’s Jesus, appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. So this whole idea of not being ashamed of Christ, not being ashamed of the gospel, being prepared to stand up and be counted for our faith is a hugely, hugely important issue, and in a real sense, what we see from these verses is it’s the acid test of whether we really believe, whether we really believe in Christ, whether we are prepared to stand up and be counted and confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord.
That’s really what Romans 10, 9 is about, it’s not just a one off, oh yes, I’m a Christian, and confess me at your baptism or when you join a church, but the actual tenor of your life is hiding what you believe and never putting your head above the parapet. This is what Jesus is addressing and indeed the Apostle John is addressing here as well. So Paul wasn’t ashamed of the gospel and Timothy shouldn’t be either, and of course by extension neither should we.
But as well as not being ashamed of the gospel, Paul urged Timothy not to be ashamed of him as the prisoner of the Lord. Now isn’t it fascinating that Paul doesn’t say a prisoner of Nero, which of course he was, and I think this is because he knows that ultimately he is the slave of Christ. Many of the letters often translated servant of Christ, but actually doulos means slave, so Paul very much saw himself as a willing slave of the Lord Jesus Christ and that his every experience is therefore governed by Christ’s providence.
He wasn’t pushing back against God because he was in prison and in horrific conditions, but he acknowledged that that was part of God’s good and wise providence in his life, and therefore he saw himself first and foremost as a prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ under his care, even though he was probably being anything but cared for by the jailer in that grim dungeon. The Lord meant for him to be in prison at that time in his life, and so Paul acknowledged Christ’s sovereignty in that matter. So before we come back, and come to look at Paul’s challenge to Timothy to join him in suffering for the gospel, we need to ask ourselves, well we’ve looked at shame, what about suffering? What does suffering for the gospel actually mean? What does it look like? Well the first thing is to realise is that Paul isn’t speaking here about general trials or suffering that we all experience.
Now the New Testament does address this, Paul addresses this himself in Romans chapter 5, and James addresses this in the first chapter of his letter, all kinds of trials. So this would include things like illness, things like bereavement, things like losing your job, things like family or marriage difficulties, things that are not exclusive to Christians but are part and parcel of the challenges of living in a fallen world. And God certainly is well able to mature us and refine us through these kinds of trials and suffering, but that’s not what Paul is speaking about here.
No, he’s speaking about suffering for the gospel, suffering that is a direct consequence of his preaching and his standing up and being identified with the Lord Jesus Christ. And again, as Colin was sharing with us last week, Timothy co-authored a number of Paul’s letters, in particular 2 Corinthians. Paul had had many, many years of ministry up to this point, and it might be helpful for us because no doubt Timothy would have had these verses in his mind as he reads here Paul’s letter, exhorting him to share in joining with Paul in the suffering for the gospel.
So we read in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, we are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed, perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not abandoned, struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body.
So then death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. And then from chapter 11, in the same letter, Paul says, I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely. I’ve been exposed to death again and again.
Five times I received from the Jews the 40 lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was pelted with stones.
Three times I was shipwrecked. I spent a night and a day in the open sea. I have been constantly on the move.
I’ve been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles, in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea, and in danger from false believers. I have laboured and toiled and have often gone without sleep. I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food.
I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak? And I do not feel weak.
Who is led into sin? And I do not inwardly burn. Well, this was the kind of suffering that Paul was now exhorting Timothy to share in. What an enormous challenge.
Timothy had known firsthand the kind of life that Paul had lived. And now, as Paul’s life’s coming to an end, he’s saying to Timothy, if you’re going to be faithful to the gospel, there’s going to be an inevitable suffering that could be as bad as mine. You need to be ready for it.
And you need to be not ashamed of the gospel because the temptation now is going to be far greater than it’s ever been with me being out the picture. And no doubt Timothy would feel overwhelmed with the burden of what that would be like, what that would mean. And in his own strength, it would be utterly impossible for him to suffer in that way, which is why Paul makes sure that Timothy knows this key truth, which is endurance is only possible by the power of God.
And that’s why he says that the spirit God has given us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline. Join with me in suffering for the gospel by the power of God. Nothing else will enable us to endure, but Paul was living testimony here that he was able to endure it.
He wasn’t some kind of superhuman Christian. He was weak in many ways as he expresses that in his letters to the church at Corinth. But he said that his weakness was there, that he was able to display the spirit’s power, helping him through all the various trials that he had to go through.
And it’s true for us as well, endurance is only possible by the power of God. Timothy had to embrace that now as well, and so do we if we are serious about guarding the gospel for our own generation. If we are Christians, we have all received the spirit of power and love and self-discipline.
So let’s look now at the great incentive that Paul gives us to respond to that call to courage, and it is the gospel itself. We read there, he has saved us and called us to a holy life. Notice that there’s both negative and positive aspects to this.
It’s God’s gospel. It’s not primarily Paul’s gospel, although he does refer to it on one occasion as that, but it is the gospel of God as we read in Romans chapter one. And we could say the negative side of it is salvation itself.
We all need to be rescued, to be saved from the wrath to come. We are all sinners before a holy God. We have broken his laws.
We have spurned his goodness, rebelling against his perfect will by putting our own selfish desires first. All of this incurring his righteous eternal judgement. All of us need to be saved from that, but praise God that as we’ll be remembering shortly as we celebrate communion together, Christ has died for our sins that we might be saved from that eternal judgement.
I think one of the reasons why we are exhorted, and it is our practise to do this weekly, we must never lose the wonder of that or take it for granted. And that’s why gathering together to break bread is so important that we remind ourselves each week of how great our saviour is and how great salvation is. Jesus’ blood has purchased forgiveness for us for all of our sins.
But notice that there’s also a positive aspect to the gospel here as well that’s inseparable from salvation, and that is the call to holiness, the call to a holy life. And this rarely gets referred to in most evangelism these days, but it’s all over the New Testament. And what we find again and again is that every Christian is called to lead a holy life.
It’s not some second experience for those that are specially committed. Every single Christian is called to lead a holy life. It’s never an optional extra.
It’s an essential part of our response to the gospel. So let’s ask ourselves, are we committed to that call to holiness in every area of our lives? Living as God would have us live, walking just as Jesus did, loving, forgiving others, putting to death our sinful actions and desires. In short, no longer living for self, but for Christ.
That in case we should be overwhelmed by that responsibility, Paul goes on to speak of the gospel being all of God’s eternal purpose and grace. He says, not because of anything we have done, but because of his own purpose and grace. That’s remarkable.
The gospel doesn’t begin with us and it doesn’t end with us. It begins and ends with God. It’s not about our performance, but about his wonderful saving grace.
In fact, Paul says that God’s grace was given to us before time began, before the universe was created. We were in the heart of God before he created anything. Just let that sink in.
I was so excited this morning because I did write most of this yesterday, but as we were singing this morning, we have been loved with everlasting love and led by grace, that love to know. Maybe that really is a word for us today. How do we experience that grace? Well our salvation is rooted in eternity, but it’s revealed in history, in Christ Jesus, through his coming to this earth, as we see in verse 10.
It has now been revealed through the appearing of our saviour, Jesus Christ, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. As Paul is facing his own death, when he summarises the gospel elsewhere or indeed unpacks it very fully in letters like his letter to the church at Rome. It’s fascinating here that perhaps here more than any other part of his writings, he’s focussing on Christ being triumphant over death as he looks to his own death and sees that because Jesus has destroyed death and brought life and immortality, life beyond the grave to light, Paul need not fear, and we need not fear.
Christ has conquered death through his own death and resurrection. One of the Puritans wrote, I think it was John Owen wrote a book, did he? The death of death in the death of Christ, and it’s so true. Now, let’s remember that death is still our enemy, and that is one of the greatest tragedies about the push for assisted suicide, both in Hollywood and Westminster, that death is seen not as an enemy, but actually as a friend, to be welcomed early, but an absolute tragedy for those who are not ready to die.
Death is still our enemy. It is the last enemy, as Paul says, but for the believer, it has lost its sting. Jesus has turned the grave into a doorway to eternal bliss with Christ forever.
So Paul says to Timothy, don’t be ashamed, don’t be afraid, take courage, stand firm in the gospel. So let’s ask ourselves, are we ashamed of the gospel? Are we more concerned about being accepted by the culture, by our circle of friends, than being faithful to Christ? The call of the gospel is not to comfort, but to courage, and the God who calls us will equip us. Well, secondly, let’s move on to our second point, verses 11 to 14, a confession of confidence.
That’s what we were singing together earlier, where Paul says that he was, that this is no cause for shame. He wasn’t ashamed, because I know whom I have believed. But let’s, before we come to that, let’s look at verse 11, where Paul testifies of his own experience.
He says, exhorting Timothy to share his own testimony, he says that he was appointed as a herald and an apostle and a teacher. Now, if you just want to turn back in your Bibles just briefly to Acts 26, we do have a tremendous little kind of insight into what it was that Jesus commissioned Paul to do, Saul of Tarsus, as he was better known then, on that Damascus road. Let’s look at Acts 26, verse 15, where Saul says to Jesus, who are you, Lord? And he says, Jesus says, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.
The Lord replied, now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you, same word, as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles.
I am sending you to them. Now, listen to this verse, amazing verse, verse 18, to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. I think that verse should be as well known as John 3, 16.
You’re not going to find a better verse anywhere in the New Testament that sums up what true biblical conversion means than that one. And that drove Paul for the rest of his life and ministry. It was that message that he was a herald to proclaim, probably proclaiming the good news of the gospel to one and all.
He was an apostle with a divine commission and authority from heaven, from heaven itself, to formulate the gospel and to lay down the doctrinal foundation for the church along with the other apostles for all time. That’s what Paul says in Ephesians 2, 20, that the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. So there is an authority to Paul’s words and message that we’ll see shortly.
And then thirdly, he is a teacher giving clear instruction to Christians. And we have the benefit of that, so much of that, in the 13 letters from Paul in the New Testament. Now, Timothy wasn’t an apostle, and there are none today in the same strict sense as the New Testament apostles, all of whom had to be witnesses to Christ’s resurrection.
That was why the risen Christ had to appear to Paul or Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus road so that he could say, along with the other apostles, yes, I have witnessed with my own eyes the risen Christ. But it is the same message and it’s the same commission that the church has throughout the rest of the gospel age. This should permeate every area of church life.
We shouldn’t limit sharing the gospel and teaching to Sunday services. We need as much as we can get. Every aspect of church life should have a teaching element within it.
It should be gospel-centred and Christ-focused, with a view to discipling everyone within the Greenview community there. And as George Fermor used to say, we should never take off our spiritual L plates. And notice that Paul here is suffering as a direct consequence of his faithful preaching, because he says there, that is why I am suffering as I am.
He’s in chains not because he’s broken any law or behaved inappropriately or as a threat to societal order, but simply because he has faithfully preached the gospel. That was unacceptable to Nero and his tyrannical regime. And yet in verse 12, he says, this is no cause for shame because I know whom I have believed.
Notice that it’s not what I have believed, even though Paul understood the gospel better than anyone alive at that time, but whom I have believed. His confidence is not in a creed, although of course the creed matters. His confidence is in Christ.
Christianity is not merely a set of theological propositions. It is all about a person. In Philippians 3, Paul said that he wanted to know Christ.
And now as he nears the end of his life, he says, I know him. The verb is in the perfect tense, which really is giving the sense of I have known him and I’m continuing to know him right to the end of my life. Paul knows Jesus and because he knows him, he trusts him.
And because he trusts him, he’s not afraid. So let me ask you, do you know Jesus in this way? Few of us are likely to have any kind of suffering like the apostle Paul had, but surely with the very mild suffering that we have to face in our lives, is it really beyond us to have the same love and the same knowledge of Christ, the same trust in him for whatever trials we have to go through? Or do we simply just know about Jesus without any real personal experiential knowledge? And Paul goes on, I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him. You may have a translation that flips that and says what he has entrusted to me.
So in case you have such a translation, I’m going to deal with that as a little interpretive challenge just now, just briefly. Now the word here entrusted is the same word used again in verse 14, where he says to Timothy, guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you. And commentators are kind of split roughly 50-50, whether it’s simply repeating what was said earlier, that it’s a case of the gospel having been entrusted to Paul, and now it’s going to be entrusted to Timothy.
Or does it mean, as the hymn says, that Paul has entrusted something to God? The Greek could be translated either way. And I think it does work. Both interpretations, both renditions would work.
Something has been entrusted to Paul and Timothy by God, the gospel, the good deposit, but also Paul has entrusted something to God, undoubtedly. God entrusted the gospel to Paul, but Paul has entrusted his soul, his preaching, his understanding of the gospel, and his concern for all the churches to God, all of that he’s committed to God for safekeeping. And God is able to keep all of it until the day of Christ.
So Paul says, I know Christ, I trust him, he will guard what I have given him and what he has given me, and you, Timothy, must do the same. So as we go to look now at verse 13, what you heard from me keep as the pattern of sound teaching with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Let’s be clear what Paul is saying here.
The gospel is not ours to guess what it might mean, as Colin was saying this morning. Christianity is true, because I sense it just seems right to me, governed by our feelings or perhaps our experience. There are many, sadly, within the evangelical church that are allowing their experience to dictate their theology, and that’s disastrous.
No, what Paul is saying here is that his teaching to Timothy needs to be preserved because it is inspired by none other than the Holy Spirit himself. The gospel is not ours to guess, it is ours to guard, to protect, to proclaim without delusion. We are not permitted to tamper with it.
We’re not called to tailor it to cultural tastes. We’re called to treasure it and pass it on faithfully. So how do we do that? Well, in three different ways.
First, with our mind, we should follow Paul’s teaching. This is hugely important for our current generation because it’s Paul’s teaching, rather than Jesus for the most part, on a range of issues that is especially under attack in our culture today and also within the church. Paul is called a misogynist, a dinosaur.
Well, Paul may say that, but Jesus doesn’t mention that, so we’ll go with Jesus’ silence on the issue rather than Paul’s clear teaching on the issue. Unbelievably, there are evangelicals that are actually coming out with this just now, and the reason is because many branches within the evangelical church are seeking to address the massive cultural changes that we’re experiencing, allegedly to try and make the church more culturally relevant and attractive to young people. So issues like leadership in the church, biblical morality, the nature of marriage, human identity and ethics, as well as deeper issues such as the exclusive claims of Christ and the real possibility of transformation in Christians’ lives.
We need to keep Paul’s sound teaching on all these matters. The Greek literally means life-giving words, pure and unadulterated, as the pattern, a model, a framework, a biblical theology, if you will, maybe even a systematic one, because the Bible’s teaching works together as a coherent whole, and Paul is several pieces of the jigsaw, we could say, in terms of that pattern, in terms of that form. Paul describes it in Romans 6, verse 17, when he said that the believers at Rome, although they had been slaves to sin, had now wholeheartedly obeyed that form, that pattern, that mould of teaching to which they had been committed.
You might think Paul would have said, you know, which has been committed to you, which is the sense here, but no, here is this mould that all of us have to fit in a theological pattern. Now, it’s not a straitjacket, don’t think of it that way, but it’s something that is life-giving and healthy, that will protect us, that will bring us life and spiritual nourishment as we carry on in our pilgrimage. We all need to fit into that mould of the Bible’s teaching.
Colin has kindly agreed to have a podcast to look into a bit more detail about these issues that are in the letter, in particular in this first chapter, remember the view, so do watch out for that in the next couple of weeks, where we’ll have a discussion on these matters in a bit more detail. So first of all with our mind, but next with our heart, Paul says that the good deposit is, or the pattern of sound teaching has to be kept with faith and love in Christ Jesus, because the way in which we hold to Paul’s pattern of sound teaching is as important as our belief in it. The late Francis Schaeffer, possibly commentating on this verse, once wisely said, there is nothing more ugly than an orthodoxy without understanding or without compassion.
We need to see Paul’s teaching through the filter of the gospel, that’s what with faith in Christ Jesus means, and with a deep love for people, that’s what with love in Christ Jesus means, speaking the truth in love. And then thirdly, we hold fast to and keep Paul’s pattern of sound teaching with the Spirit who indwells us. Once again the Holy Spirit is mentioned here, the secret of everything in the Christian life, not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord.
God help us if we neglect the essential work of the Holy Spirit in all that we seek to do for Christ. We perhaps think of the good deposit of the gospel as like a family heirloom, a priceless painting for example. You don’t repaint that painting to match your living room, you keep it intact, you protect it, you pass it on to the next generation.
So how can we apply this verse to ourselves? Well, it is a pastoral epistles, so I’m taking my courage in both hands, a word for the elders here, because of course in every church it’s the elders that have the primary responsibility for leading each church in preaching and teaching, and the elders here are doing a great job, and I think that we need to acknowledge that. We really are blessed to have such fine Bible teaching in this church, and I certainly find it particularly encouraging in the last couple of years for these occasional series that we’ve had going a bit deeper. For example, the one on the doctrine of scripture, on the attributes of God, and on assurance.
These are all hugely important matters for every Christian. So can I say to the elders, first of all, thank you, but also don’t sit back on your laurels. Remember that Timothy here is called to sort out huge problems in the church at Ephesus.
No other church in the New Testament had more investment in it from the Apostle Paul. There were his three years of teaching there in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. There was his majestic letter to the church, and his farewell teaching on that retreat that he had with the elders that we read of in Acts 20.
There’s also First and Second Timothy, which are addressing problems in Ephesus. First John that I mentioned earlier, because it’s widely believed that’s where he ministered in his later years, and let’s never forget the personal letter from the Lord Jesus himself in Revelation chapter two. No one can say that the church at Ephesus didn’t know what God required of them, that somehow hadn’t been adequately taught.
No church had been better taught than the church at Ephesus, yet they were still plagued with serious false teaching that had to be addressed time and time again. But what does this tell us? Surely no church is exempt from this danger, and in my work at the Institute and with my knowledge of Scottish churches, I have seen formerly solid evangelical churches cave in to liberalism in one form or another and abandon biblical truth. It’s an absolute tragedy, so let’s pray that it doesn’t happen here.
So for the rest of us, do we ever pray about this? Do we pray that every ministry at Greenview would be guarding the deposit faithfully and not compromising or neglecting it? Our culture, and indeed Christians, don’t need a diluted gospel. We all desperately need a clear gospel, one that will address the whole of life and give soul-satisfying answers to all the confusion and mess in our culture. God’s word has the answers, so we need to be crystal clear on what they are.
Tune in to the podcast to hear more. Well, finally, let’s look thirdly at a contrast in character, verses 15 to 18. And we see here that Paul gives us two examples, one negative and one positive.
So first of all, in verse 15, you are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. These two names, we know nothing else about them, but they’re forever etched in scripture as examples of cowardice and compromise. As I said, we don’t know much about them, but we know this, when the pressure came, they bailed.
They couldn’t handle the shame that was associated with Paul’s imprisonment or the cost of loyalty to the gospel. Paul was possibly relying on a number of character witnesses from the province of Asia, which is modern day Turkey, including Ephesus, to come and help him at his trial, but none did. The message is, perhaps, I really needed them to be here for me in Rome, but they’ve just stayed put in the province of Asia.
How incredibly hurtful to Paul, who had spent and been spent on their behalf so sacrificially. We need to grasp how devastating this was to Paul in that gloomy dungeon, in horrific living conditions, desperately needing Christian fellowship, desperately needing encouragement. Well, his prayers were answered.
What a contrast with, in verses 16 and 17, where we read about Onesiphorus. May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. There’s that reference again.
On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. What a beautiful picture. Onesiphorus wasn’t ashamed.
He left his family in Ephesus. He left the church that he faithfully served, and he pursued Paul. It was dangerous.
Paul was shunned. Plenty of Christians would have been ashamed of him, but Onesiphorus went, no doubt, door to door, prison to prison, because there were many prisons in the huge city of Rome, until finally he found Paul. What an incredible joy that must have brought to the Apostle Paul.
Onesiphorus, no doubt, brought much needed supplies for him, because prisoners were not given food and water. They had to rely on friends and family bringing them. Onesiphorus refreshed Paul, but more than that, and this does come through in the word that Paul uses, he refreshed his soul.
He brought spiritual refreshment, fellowship, encouragement. His name means bringer of benefit, and that’s exactly what he did. He took risks to stand with Paul and be a blessing to him.
As we close, Paul prays that just as Onesiphorus found him, on that day, on the day of Christ’s return, Paul prays that Onesiphorus would find mercy. Now, does that mean that he and his household weren’t Christians? I don’t think so, but like the Apostle Peter, who in his first letter urged his readers to set their hope on the grace to be brought to them when Christ is revealed, future grace at his coming, Paul also knew there is a future aspect to God’s mercy. Paul knew that he and Onesiphorus, indeed all of us, need to pursue Christ in every area of our lives, just like Onesiphorus had sought hard to find Paul, searching hard after Christ, seeking after him until we find him, especially during trials and suffering.
As God said to Jeremiah, you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Now, this isn’t just a verse for non-Christians. It should be our aim every day of our lives, seeking Christ in every area.
So as we close, which are you? Are you like Phygellus and Hermogenes, or are you like Onesiphorus? Are you disappearing into the shadows when things get hard? Are you drawing near to strengthen the saints and stand in particular with those who are faithful to the gospel, in particular in times of discouragement? We need Onesiphoruses in our day, men and women who will refresh weary saints, who will seek out those who are suffering, who will not be ashamed of the chains that come with faithfulness. Paul’s words to Timothy are the Spirit’s words to us today. Don’t be ashamed of the gospel.
Don’t be afraid to suffer. Guard the good deposit. Encourage like-minded Christians.
And you say, well, that’s a pretty tough call. Well, yes, it is. But it’s ultimately not up to us.
By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us in verse 14. So we look to Christ. We trust him.
We proclaim him. We guard the gospel. We encourage the saints.
And as we do, we’ll know the mercy of God now and on that day. So I couldn’t finish without just seeing the thread through this chapter of eternity. Verse one, the promise of life.
Immortality, verse 10. Until that day, verse 12. On that day, verse 18.
Although it was Jonathan Edwards who first said it, perhaps Paul had a similar motto for himself to, Lord, stamp eternity on my eyeballs. Martin Luther put it perfectly when he said, there are two days in my calendar, this day and that day. Well, may we too have that motto.
And may all of us so live this day that we are ready for that day.
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