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20 Days in 2 Timothy

Ben Stuart

20 Days

A Poem of Grace

Day 8

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The saying is trustworthy, for:

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;

if we endure, we will also reign with him;

if we deny him, he also will deny us;

if we are faithless, he remains faithful—

for he cannot deny himself.

2 Timothy 2:11-13

Summary

Here at the end of his pump-up speech to Timothy, Paul pens a poem that is full of grace and encouragement to help his son in the faith remember the vast spiritual wealth that he has in Christ.

"If we have died with Him (Jesus), we will live with Him." Paul is using the same language that he used for our salvation in Romans 6:8 to talk about our conversion. Our association with Christ's death, burial, and resurrection comforts us because, by faith, we know our old selves and sins were buried with Him, and as He rose, we rose with Him in the newness of life.

"If we endure, we will also reign with Him." Paul is talking about perseverance. The saints of God, true followers of Christ, will suffer in this life. Jesus told his disciples in John 16:33 that they would have trouble in the world but to take heart because He had overcome the world. Enduring is evidence of our salvation, not something added to it.

In 1 John 2:19, John references people who left the community when things grew difficult, and he states that their leaving is proof that they were never really with them to begin with. Staying rooted in Jesus, even when it's hard, is one way to know you have truly trusted the Savior. God has promised that the good work He began in you He will bring it to completion. Those who have been justified by grace will also be able to endure hardship as a result of that same grace into Eternity.

"If we deny Him, He will deny us." God has left the choice to you, and He will honor our decision, so if we deny the identity of Jesus and the nature of His work, God will deny us in the eternal state.

"If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself." This part stresses people out. If we deny Him, He denies us. If we are faithless, He is faithful. These are not as antithetical as they may appear to you. See, there is a distinct and knowable difference between denial and faithlessness. They sound like synonyms, but they each have very different outcomes.

Think of Judas and Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane. Both denied Jesus, but Satan had entered Judas, and he did not repent. Denial looks like not believing in Jesus as the Son of God or what He did on the Cross. On the contrary, when Peter realized what he had done, he wept. After Jesus rose from the grave, he went after Peter and restored him. Why? Because if you have placed your faith in Jesus, He who began a good work in you is faithful to complete it. When you place your faith in Jesus, there may be moments of faithlessness. You may violate your integrity and make a mess of things. However, if you are His, He comes to find you. The Christian stumbles forward. It's all grace.

"If we have died with Him (Jesus), we will live with Him." Paul is using the same language that he used for our salvation in Romans 6:8 to talk about our conversion. Our association with Christ's death, burial, and resurrection comforts us because by faith, we know our old self, our sins were buried with Him, and as He rose, we rose with Him in the newness of life when we put our faith in Jesus.

"If we endure, we will also reign with Him." Paul is talking about perseverance. The saints of God, true followers of Christ, will suffer in this life. Jesus us in John 16:33 that we will have trouble in the world, but take heart, He has overcome the world. Enduring is evidence of our salvation, not something added to it. 1 John 2:19 talks about some people leaving the community because it got hard. That part of the community left because they were never really a part of them. Staying when it's hard is one way to know you have truly trusted Jesus. He promises that when he starts a good work in you, he will bring it to completion. See Philippians 1:6. We don't just get to be in Heaven with Jesus, we will get to reign with Him. We are co-heirs with Christ. That thought is mind-boggling.

"If we deny Him, He will deny us." God will honor our decisions, so if we deny Jesus and the nature of His work, God will deny us in the eternal state.

"If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself." This part stresses people out. If we deny Him, He denies us. If we are faithless, He is faithful.

What? The question is, what's the difference between denial and faithlessness? They sound like synonyms, but they each have very different outcomes.

Think of Judas and Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane. Both denied Jesus, but Satan had entered Judas, and he did not repent. On the contrary, Peter wept when he realized what he had done. After Jesus rose, he went after Peter and restored him. Why? Because if you have placed your faith in Jesus, He who began a good work in you is faithful to complete it.

When you place your faith in Jesus, there may be moments of faithlessness. You may violate your integrity and make a mess of things. However, if you are His, you find your way back by His grace. He comes to find you. Denial is not believing in Him or what He did. The Christian stumbles forward. It's all grace.

What's next?

Ben said that the Christian stumbles forward. It's the grace of God from beginning to end, for He cannot deny Himself. Take a few minutes to evaluate and discuss where you've stumbled as of late and the wonderful mercy of God to reach out to you in those moments.

Do you believe in Jesus, and that what He accomplished on the Cross has eternal implications for you?
How have you denied Jesus through your actions as of late? Have you confessed these sins to Jesus?
How have you seen the work of God in your life to bring you back to Him?
This could be an amazing opportunity to share where you have struggled with your family, small group, or accountability group in order to avoid returning to those sins. If you have that type of community, take this chance to confess to them. If you don’t have a group to confess to, ask God to lead you into such a community.
Thank God for how He has helped you through, brought you back, and strengthened you to endure. And also, thank Him for His promise that if you have put your trust in Him, you will make it to eternity with Him, to reign alongside Him.

Scripture References

1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,

2To Timothy, my dear son:

Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

3I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.

4Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy.

5I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

6For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

7For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

8So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.

9He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,

10but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

11And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher.

12That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.

13What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus.

14Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

15You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.

16May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains.

17On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me.

18May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.

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 people who will also be qualified to teach others.

18Even when I am old and gray,

do not forsake me, my God,

till I declare your power to the next generation,

your mighty acts to all who are to come.

3Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

4No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.

5Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing 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.

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.

3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

5and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.

6After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.

7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,

8and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

14And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.

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 remains faithful,

for he cannot disown himself.

8Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

6being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

19They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

14Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.

15Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker 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 departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some.

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 special purposes and some for common use.

21Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special 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.

4I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

23Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.

24And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.

25Opponents must be gently instructed, 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.

10You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance,

16For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

10I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

Ben Stuart

Ben Stuart is the pastor of Passion City Church D.C. Prior to joining Passion City Church, Ben served as the executive director of Breakaway Ministries on the campus of Texas A&M. He also earned a master’s degree in historical theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Donna, live to inspire and equip people to walk with God for a lifetime.