{11} It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; {12} If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us;
{13} If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
Even a cursory reading of 2 Timothy presents a Christian faith that is so much more than the easy believism of the modern church. In an attempt at relevance toward culture and also in hopes of evangelism, the American church has often been guilty of presenting an easy believism to a world that wants a “lite religion,” instead of the full bodied faith of the New Testament. It is difficult to interact with the teachings of the Apostle in 2 Timothy Chapter 2 without seeing that in the Christian faith blessings come from pain, success comes from steadfast work, glory comes suffering, and life comes from death. This sounds a lot harder than just being faithful in church attendance.
Paul now quotes from what many believe to be a Christian hymn. It is not a hymn which brings lightness to the heart or attempts to bring joy to a believer. It is a song of a battle cry. It is a didactic verse which states the principles of Christian endurance in a march toward war. This is not a song to sing which will lighten your load on the march. It is a song to sing while you march to remind you of the serious commitment we make when we agree to pick up the cross and follow him. There are 4 major facts in the song.
If you are saved you will live forever with Jesus in Heaven
{11} It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him;
Dying with Jesus is the idea of dying to self and coming alive in Christ. It is the picture of Christian baptism, the burial of the old life and the raising of the new. To use death as a metaphor was highly significant for Paul’s first readers. Many of them would be called upon to make costly sacrifices for the progress of the faith.
If we are faithful, God will bless our faithfulness
{12} If we endure, we will also reign with Him; …
Paul has already used illustrations of individuals who must maintain faithfulness if success is to come to them. The soldier fights for victory, the athlete competes for a crown, and the farmer toils for the harvest. Each illustration is a picture of a person whose success is intricately tied to his steadfastness to do what is necessary to make certain success is fully achieved. It is always a good feeling to get the medal for your achievement. But very often in ministry there is no indication that faithfulness has achieved a result. Here is the promise – God blesses faithfulness. It doesn’t matter if you see it on this side of Heaven – what you do for Jesus will bear fruit.
If we fail, God will never fail us
{13} If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
How many times do we fail as Christians? Let me count the ways I have failed … sorry I don’t have time to count them all this afternoon, I have to finish this devotion. It is difficult to number all the failures of our own faith. One of the first steps in a journey of failure is to remind yourself of all the times you have failed in the past. A good game face is not derived from the failures of the past but from a visage which portrays a bold attitude toward the fight. This promise is a reminder that our courage for the battle does not depend on us. God is faithful. He is always faithful. We are his family, his children, He cannot deny himself.
If you reject Jesus as Savior you will go to Hell
{12} … If we deny Him, He also will deny us;
Here is the cutting edge of the Gospel. To deny Christ is to not gain eternity with him. The phrase is reminiscent of the words of Jesus in Matthew 10:33, But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. Our march to battle is not for the prize of conquest or glory, it is for the souls of men. Recently I have been reminded of the song of my alma mater, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Soldiers of Christ in Truth Arrayed. Although written in 1860 by professor Basil Manly for the first graduation ceremony it’s word are just as relevant for the modern church. Some would think its prose to be dated. The only thing outdated is the first verse – the world is far more ruined than it was in 1860.
Soldiers of Christ, in Truth Arrayed
by Basil Manly Jr.
Soldiers of Christ, in truth arrayed,
A world in ruins needs your aid:
A world by sin destroyed and dead;
A world for which the Savior bled.
His Gospel to the lost proclaim,
Good news for all in Jesus’ Name;
Let light upon the darkness break
That sinners from their death may wake.
Morning and evening sow the seed,
God’s grace the effort shall succeed.
Seedtimes of tears have oft been found
With sheaves of joy and plenty crowned.
We meet to part, but part to meet
When earthly labors are complete,
To join in yet more blest employ,
In an eternal world of joy.
PRAYER
Lord, help me march, not to the beat of my own drum, but to the beat of yours. Make my feet strong when the path is hard. Let my heart and mind be set as steel for the proclamation of your truth to a world that needs the same hope I have found in you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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