THE CHRISTIAN LIFE!
2 Timothy 4:7
- I HAVE KEPT THE FAITH -
As we enter into this, the last lesson from Paul’s closing words to His dear
son in the faith, Timothy, we want to look at three very important points;
starting with something that has been present in each of these lessons; “I”.
Individual Responsibility
-
Paul states that “I have kept the
faith” –
2 Timothy 4:7. He is literally
saying, me, an individual, and a committee of one!
Where has Individual Responsibility Gone?
We have become a society of, [it’s
not my fault]; [it’s
not my responsibility]; and [I’m
a victim]. Well my dear brethren, we are not guided by the whims and
trends of society!
The “I Have” declares loudly for
all of us, a lesson in personal responsibility!
This is not only something Paul stated at the close of his life, but
something he continually demonstrated and taught the saints.
-
Demonstrated
–
1 Thessalonians 2:10
“You
are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and
blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe”
1 Corinthians 4:1-2
“Let
a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of
God.
2
Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.”
1 Corinthians 4:6
“Now
these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and
Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is
written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the
other.”
-
Taught
–
2 Corinthians 5:9-11
“Therefore
we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.
10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one
may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has
done, whether good or bad.
11
Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well
known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.”
Ephesians 4:16
“from
whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint
supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does
its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”
Paul did not blame those around him in order to fail (2
Timothy 2:17),
he did not complain about being forsaken as a reason to fail (2
Timothy 4:10),
nor did he use the mistreatment he received to toss off his responsibility (2
Timothy 4:14).
It was in spite of all this that he was able to say
“I have kept the faith”.
Nothing should ever be done to diminish or minimize the individual’s
responsibility in their service to the Lord! This is one of the greatest
lessons we can learn for a proper
“Christian Life”.
1 Corinthians 13:13,
instead of faith, hope, and love; there are far too many Christians, who are
practicing faith, hope, and LUCK!!!
The Faith
–
Now, I don’t want to make light of a very serious subject; however, based
on today’s standards for this particular subject, there is no telling
what Paul has kept! There seem to be as many non-biblical applications for
the subject of faith as there are stars in the sky.
Rather than look at all the misapplied versions of this subject, we want to
draw our attention to a couple of very specific Biblical understandings.
-
A Unique Vernacular.
God’s word
creates for all who are trained by it, an extremely unique vernacular (a
standard native language). This is a language of
unity, and of
singularity, after the nature of
God Himself, note:
Ephesians 4:3-6
“endeavoring
to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were
called in one hope of your calling;
5
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
6
one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all,
and in you all.”
Just as all the ‘Ones’ listed by
the Apostle Paul, there cannot be many faiths, but a singular one! This same
rule is used to describe ‘Doctrine’
(always in the singular when referring to that which comes from God –
Doctrine of Christ,
2 John 9; Doctrine of the Apostles,
Acts
2:42; the plural form of doctrine is only used in scripture
associated with that which comes from men or ungodly sources,
Colossians 2:22;
1 Timothy 4:1;
Hebrews
13:9), and to describe the ‘Gospel’
(also always used in the singular, when referring to the Gospel of Christ,
Romans
1:16; anything apart from the singular use of this term is
designated as such,
Galatians 1:6;
“Different Gospel”).
Now, since we now know that there is only [one
faith], and
Hebrews 11:6, tells us that we have
to have it in order to please God, how do we do away with the nonsense and
come to an understanding of the ONE
FAITH?
Exercise –
Galatians 1:11
“But
I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is
not according to man.”
Paul states here to the brethren in Galatia that the Gospel (singular) is
what Paul preached and that it was not of human origin.
Galatians 1:16
“to
reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not
immediately confer with flesh and blood”
Here Paul identifies beyond a shadow of a doubt the singular subject of the
Gospel is God’s Son. This corresponds with the subject that Paul opened his
letter to the Roman Christians with: see –
Romans 1:1-6;
which also states that the Gospel could not be preached without preaching
obedience to [the faith];
Romans 1:5.
Galatians 1:23
“But
they were hearing only, “He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the
faith which he once tried to destroy.”
Finally, as Paul relates to the Christians in the churches of Galatia, the
circumstances surrounding his conversion, commission, and then the attempts
to join brethren; he reveals the words of those who remembered him when he
was guilty of persecuting them. Note what these early Christians recognized
the Gospel to be; “The Faith”.
The Good News, the Gospel, is The
Faith!
It is the entire Gospel of Jesus Christ that Paul, at the end of his life,
states he has kept. Every command given by God for our benefit (1
John 5:3),
every transformational bit of knowledge given through the mind of Christ (1
Corinthians 2:16),
and every good work he was created in Christ Jesus to accomplish (Ephesians
2:10).
There is nothing in ‘The Faith’
that describes anything passive, everything is active; which becomes a segue
to the final point.
Kept the Faith –
We now know what [the faith] is;
but Paul also wants us to comprehend in his own demonstrated life, which
having the faith is only a part, there is the expectation that one keeps it
as well! This establishes the difference in Christians in word and
Christians in practice!!! See:
James 1:22.
It can easily be said that the greatest detriment to the cause of Christ, is
that of hypocrisy. This is true in every facet of our service to the Lord;
note the words of John concerning the practice of Christian love:
1 John 3:18
“My
little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in
truth.”
Since we now know for sure that ‘The
Faith’ is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we must also appreciate that it
contains a comprehensive system unto salvation. It comes to all men in two
distinct portions:
-
Conversion –
The Gospel of Jesus Christ was that which was to be brought to every man and
every nation for the purpose of creating out of them, disciples –
Matthew
28:18-20;
Mark 16:15-16;
Acts
26:17-18.
-
Doctrine –
Jesus commanded His chosen that as they taught, then baptized, they were to
continue to teach all that they had been commanded by Him (The Doctrine of
Christ) –
Matthew 28:20;
Romans
6:17-18;
2 John 9.
With this clear understanding of the internal workings of ‘The
Faith’, we can go to the instruction of the Apostle Paul to see just how
he kept ‘The Faith’.
Romans 10:9-10
“that
if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that
God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with
the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Three important things come out of this vital instruction!
1.
Heart –
The Bible understanding of the heart is not the blood pump we know the word
to represent; it was the essence of an individual, their center, and where
everything they are originates (the inner man). To this, we learn that
centered in that place of origin, God is expected to be sanctified (a
created holy of holies in our heart, where God is supreme),
1 Peter
3:15.
2.
Vocation –
We, as servants of the Lord are taught to make our
“calling” an election sure,
2 Peter
1:10. The word calling comes from the Greek understanding of a
vocation. To literally be known by what you do! Here in our text it is
confirmed that soul saving obedience is demonstrated in righteousness (being
right with God, as demonstrated), thus the servant of God’s vocation!
3.
Vocalization –
Noticeably and purposefully, the last of the instructions in souls saving
obedience is the vocalization of whom we are and whom we serve. In other
words, if the first two points are not in order, it does not matter what we
may state orally; however, if the first two are in order, they speak as
loudly as our words.
What We Learn –
Our valediction is being written every day we draw breath. We know, as we
have known since obeying the Gospel, what it is we are to keep! This is the
epitome of individual responsibility.
We were converted to ‘The Faith’;
we are to be devoted to ‘The Faith’!
Paul’s own life is an illustration of the importance of using every tool at
our disposal (Ephesians
6:10-20;
2 Peter 1:5-11), in order to truly ‘Keep
The Faith’.
The Christian life is one spent in preparation for this same day as Paul has
also prepared for. Live to say:
2 Timothy 4:7
“I
have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the
faith.”