The Legacy of Faith
By Jeff Cranston
Timothy was a young man who responded to Christ’s call to help build His church. He was one of the apostle Paul’s special assistants. Along with Titus, Timothy tackled some of the tough assignments in the churches that Paul had founded. Timothy was brought up in a religious home and had been led to faith in Christ by Paul himself.
Timothy was so devoted to Christ that his local church leaders recommended him to Paul, and Paul added him to his “missionary staff” (Acts 16:1–5). Paul often reminded Timothy that he was chosen for this ministry. Timothy was faithful to the Lord and had a deep concern for God’s people. But in spite of his calling, his close association with Paul, and his spiritual gifts, Timothy was easily discouraged.
Throughout this summer, we will be walking verse-by-verse through this beautiful book of 2 Timothy, which is actually a letter from Paul to Timothy.
When Paul wrote 2 Timothy, he was a prisoner of Rome facing imminent death because of his preaching and spreading the gospel. It was a dark hour indeed. But Paul’s great concern was not himself. His concern was for Timothy and the success of the gospel ministry. Paul sent a man named Tychicus to replace Timothy in Ephesus so that Timothy might join Paul at Rome: “ … make every effort to come to me soon … ” (2 Timothy 4:9).
God would soon move Paul off the scene and Timothy would have to take Paul’s place and continue to give spiritual leadership to the churches. It would not be an easy task, but Timothy could succeed with the Lord’s help.
Paul mentors his young protege in how to face difficult times. He reviews with him the surrounding culture and its dangers and warned him of coming opposition. Paul speaks as a mentor, particularly at the end of his letter, and charges Timothy to lead with conviction, to preach the gospel just as he had received, and to bring on other leaders to be as faithful as he has been. This kind of labor, he reminds Timothy, will bring a heavenly crown reward. Let’s take a look at 2 Timothy 1:1-5:
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my beloved son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day, longing to see you, even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy. For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well.”
Your life is in His plans.
“ … an apostle of Christ by the will of God …” (2 Timothy 1:1a)
Paul was called as an apostle by the will of God. Paul, therefore, is writing Timothy not merely as a dear friend and mentor but as a divinely commissioned ambassador of God the Father and God the Son. This is not a letter wherein he is offering some brotherly counsel to Timothy, but rather, Paul is declaring divine truth with firm, heavenly authority.
Your life is in His hands.
“ … according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus … ” (2 Timothy 1:1b)
There is a wealth of meaning in this snippet of the verse. Paul here indicates that his apostleship is due to divine appointment, he now further declares that this appointment is in order that he may proclaim the gospel which he calls, “the promise of life.”
This is the very essence of the gospel. It offers life in all its fullness to those who submit their lives to Christ, to those who call Christ Jesus as Lord. When Christ Jesus is our Lord, when we truly belong to him, then He imparts to us the life which is life indeed.
Much of the blessedness of this life is then quickly summed up when Paul writes, “Grace, mercy, peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.” Only in his letters to Timothy does Paul unite these three luminous terms. Elsewhere he speaks of “grace” and “peace,” here he adds “mercy,” and these three together appear to include all that Paul could wish for Timothy in this world and the next; and yet, the enjoyment of all that they signify is for everyone whose hope and trust are in, “God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.”
As members of God’s family our lives are in His plans and our lives are in His hands.
Your life is to be invested in others.
“ … my beloved son … ” (2 Timothy 1:2a)
This descriptive phrase, “Timothy, my beloved son,” is much stronger than how Paul opened his first letter to Timothy. In 1 Timothy 1: Paul writes, “Timothy, my true child in the faith … ” It is not that Paul loved Timothy less when he wrote that first letter, but that Paul is now expressing it more. As Paul’s life draws to a close, he realized in a deeper way how dear Timothy was to him.
Timothy’s parents had given him physical life, but it was Paul who brought him the good news of eternal life in Christ. Just as there is joy in physical parenthood, there also is joy in spiritual parenthood. There is many a Christ-follower whom God never gave the gift of a physical child, BUT, who has known the joy and the privilege of being a father or mother in the faith. There’s no joy in all the world like the joy of bringing one soul to Christ. Your life is to be invested in others.
Your life is to be marked by prayer.
“ … as I constantly remember you in my prayers, night and day … ” (2 Timothy 1:3)
When Paul was unable to sleep in a dungeon-like prison cell, what did he do? Grumble? Complain? No. He saw his prison as a place of prayer.
Perhaps you feel imprisoned by past decisions. “I can’t believe I married him.” “I can’t believe I’m stuck in this dead-end job. The Lord could have used me for greater things.” What can you do? Do what Paul did. Use the opportunity to pray night and day, for that’s the most powerful ministry that there is.
If you’re stuck in a boring job or a difficult relationship, don’t try to find a way out. Instead, say, “The dungeon I’m in gives me the opportunity to do what I might never have done were I in another place or another ministry: I can pray night and day.”
Eternity will reward those who, because they are in what seems like dungeons on earth, lift themselves and others in prayer to the very gates of heaven.
Your life should exhibit confidence in others.
“ … even as I recall your tears … ” (2 Timothy 1:4-5)
Timothy cried. He was sickly sometimes, and he fought timidity as well. But even though he was sickly, emotional, young, and timid, Paul saw in Timothy one who had a desire to serve the Lord with all his heart, one whose priority was the kingdom of God. And Paul exhibited tremendous confidence in Timothy because of all that.
“ … I am mindful of the sincere faith within you … ”
The word “sincere” literally means “to be without wax.” Dubious pottery and crockery salesmen in Paul and Timothy’s day sold cracked pottery by filling the cracks with wax. No one knew until something hot was poured into the container. And then it was too late. Sincere means to be “unhypocritical.” To be real, without any pretense or false façade.
Faith had come and taken up residence in Timothy’s mother’s heart and in his grandmother’s heart and was now alive in his own life. These two mothers were completely sold out to Christ. They were drop-dead serious about their faith. And Timothy knew it. No one knows better than a child whether a parent’s faith is genuine.
Parents, if you want to instill authentic faith in your children, then you take your own faith seriously. If you’re just going through the motions spiritually, your kids will eventually see it, and tragically, many do the same thing when they are older.
As you demonstrate your faith consistently by reading the Bible, praying, attending worship, bringing your kids to programs that help them grow spiritually, and by participating in the life and mission of the church, you will send a strong message to your children.
Faith is not hereditary, it is learned.
I’m convinced that a parent has to be more interested in having his or her children know the Bible than being able to speak another language before they are 5-years-old or bring home trophies or even straight A’s from school. A godly parent is more interested in:
Their children’s souls than in the clothing they put on their bodies …
Their children’s eternal life than their success in this life …
Their children’s relationship with Jesus than their popularity in the world …
Their children’s standing before God than their social status …
Their children’s spirituality than their intellectual, musical, or athletic accomplishments …
Timothy’s family environment was fertile for his faith development. Both his mother and his grandmother held their faith deeply and shared it freely. How fertile is the environment in your family for the reproduction and the nurturing of authentic faith in the lives of your children and grandchildren? Moms and dads, grandmothers and grandfathers, are you passing along a legacy of authentic faith to your kids?