2 Timothy 2: Suffer Hardship With Me and Persevere

Introduction

"Persevering isn't easy." That is how Thomas opens this message from the "Passing the Baton" series on 2 Timothy, preached at Église Baptiste Toulouse Métropole. It isn't easy in school, in middle school, high school, university or training. It isn't easy in family life or in a marriage. And it isn't easy when you can't reach the goals you keep aiming for.

Paul's second letter to Timothy is, in a way, the apostle's testament. He knows his end is near, and what someone says just before dying is often what matters most. His aim is to encourage Timothy to persevere, to become a disciple who looks more and more like Jesus, and to proclaim the Gospel.

That aim is ours too, and it can feel crushing: we can't change the way we would like to, and we meet a lot of indifference and resistance when we talk about Jesus. "If we are discouraged this morning, the words we are about to read are for us." In 2 Timothy 2:3-13, Paul piles up sources of encouragement: three trades, the memory of Jesus Christ, his own example and a hymn about God's faithfulness.

Outline of the Message

1. A Letter for Timothy, and for the Church

The letter is personal, but it is also addressed to the church Timothy serves. The closing words show it: "grace be with you," in the plural, not "with you" singular.
The preacher compares the church to someone looking over Timothy's shoulder at what Paul is writing to him, with many lessons to draw from it.
In chapter 1, Paul urged Timothy to fan the flame and not be ashamed of the Gospel. At the start of chapter 2, he asks him to guard this treasure by passing it on to faithful men who can teach it to others (2 Timothy 2:2).
The thread running through the passage is encouragement: again and again Paul finds other means, other people and other examples to push Timothy to persevere.

2. The Soldier: We Are at War

"Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus" (verse 3). That verb is frightening. Should this "module" really be included in a disciple's training, at the risk of discouraging those who want to serve? "Yes," says Paul, "it must be included," because suffering is an integral part of the Christian life.
The image takes us "from the comfort of our couch to the battlefield." When you belong to Jesus, you are at war: not a war in the streets, but a spiritual war to look more like Jesus and so that men and women find him as Savior and Lord.
The devil's strategy toward Christians is to say: enjoy yourself. There are good things to enjoy, but when they become your end goal, you forget that you are on a battlefield in Jesus' service.
John Stott reports that during the Second World War, the British greeted one another simply with the words: "We are at war." That was how they encouraged each other to hold on through the hardships until final victory.
The soldier doesn't entangle himself in the affairs of life if he wants to please the one who enlisted him (verse 4). The preacher tells of a trip to Australia with his family: six people, twelve big suitcases. Imagine a soldier dragging a suitcase onto the battlefield because he needs his cuddly toy and his duvet: unthinkable.
Paul isn't talking about sin here, but about the affairs of life. The question isn't "is it a sin?" but "what, in my normal life, keeps me from serving effectively?"
First example, the family. It is God's design, a blessed place to grow and to reflect the Gospel. But when it becomes the most important value at the expense of Jesus, "the barometer of our heart, our joy and our sorrow," it becomes the soldier's big suitcase.
Second example, leisure culture. We often hold firm on ethical questions, yet we are completely immersed in leisure. Playing sports, making music, macramé or sewing are all good. The question is whether it takes up too much of your time, your money and your joy.

3. The Athlete and the Farmer: Paying the Price to See the Fruit

Paul doesn't choose these three trades by chance: they all say that it is worth paying the price to see the fruit.
The athlete isn't crowned unless he has competed by the rules (verse 5). These can be the rules of the competition: at the Berlin marathon, some influencers took a bike or the metro to post their times on social media.
They can also be the rules of training. You don't prepare for a marathon the way you prepare for a weightlifting competition: "It's rare to see a weightlifter win the Berlin marathon."
For the Christian life, the rule is the one found throughout the New Testament: deny yourself to put Jesus and others first. Just as Jesus gave his life to save me, I live this "joyful rule" of the Christian life, including accepting to be identified with Jesus when it costs a great deal, even to the point of prison and death, like Paul.
The farmer who labors must be the first to get a share of the crops (verse 6). We sometimes have a romantic picture of the farmer, sitting on his bench or in an air-conditioned, satellite-guided tractor. In Paul's day it was hard: rain, wind, scorching sun, sometimes whole nights of work, and no insurance for the harvest.
We also have a romantic picture of Paul's ministry, from city to city and success to success. Paul was led and blessed by the Holy Spirit, but we must also speak of his unwavering commitment, his work night and day and his tears for the churches.
"What joy when the harvest comes, everything that was hard seems forgotten," because the fruit is there and it was worth it.

4. "Consider What I Say": Lifting Your Eyes to the Goal

Why does Paul add in verse 7: "Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things"? The images are simple, a child could understand them.
It is because we tend to forget the glorious goal. The soldier in the mud forgets the coming victory. The athlete training in the rain forgets the success. The farmer up at five in the morning forgets the fruit. And the Christian plunged into suffering forgets the victory that is coming.
If, in suffering, we lift our eyes and keep our joy, "it isn't because we're better than others, it's the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts." He gives a renewed understanding to see that Jesus will have the last word.
All around us, people throw themselves body and soul into a fleeting fruit: a military victory, a sporting success, a harvest. And we would hesitate to invest ourselves in what is eternal?
Paul doesn't say this to make us feel guilty: "If you want to encourage someone, you don't push their head into the mud. You get them to lift their eyes and think about the goal." All of this flows from 2 Timothy 2:1: "be strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus."

5. Remember the Victorious One

And it doesn't end there. "Remember Jesus Christ" (verse 8). Timothy is a Christian and a pastor: does he really need this reminder? Yes, because Timothy, like us, can be prone to forget Jesus.
The preacher sums up the Gospel in four words with Greg Gilbert: God, us, Jesus Christ, our response. God is our creator and our judge. We have sinned and deserve to be separated from him. Jesus died in our place and rose again to give us new life. Salvation is for all who repent and place their trust in him.
Paul especially emphasizes the resurrection, to put Timothy "in victory mode." Jesus crushed death and defeated the devil, and he is your general. It is discouraging to follow a leader who racks up failures, or to back a party that gets 2% at every election. Our leader, though, is risen and victorious.
"Of the offspring of David" recalls God's plan: a Savior announced to David a thousand years before Jesus was born. Nothing is left to chance. God keeps his word, he has kept his word, he will keep his word.
What can make you forget Jesus? Too many things on your mind between work, family, friends, leisure and church. Relying on yourself first: "God helps those who help themselves." Worry that floods the heart like a torrent, over your life or the future of the country. Pain, which puts a veil over your eyes and paralyzes, like a rabbit caught in a car's headlights.
"My brother, my sister, this morning remember Jesus Christ." Remember his victory, his glory, his constant presence in your sufferings and his coming victory.

6. Encouraged by Paul's Example: God's Word Isn't Chained

In verse 9, Paul suffers to the point of being chained like a criminal. A Roman prison was no three-star hotel: cold, hunger, beatings, heavy chains that wound. The preacher admits that in his place, he would have kept his eyes fixed on nothing else.
Paul doesn't look at himself: "But God's word isn't chained." That "but" changes everything. Nothing and no one can stop God's word from saving lives.
That was true in the past: after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, owning or spreading a Bible was forbidden on pain of death, the galleys or imprisonment like in the Tower of Constance. The Gospel did not stop.
It is true today: the majority of our brothers and sisters around the world live under oppression for the name of Jesus, and oppression in China doesn't stop the Gospel from spreading there.
It will be true tomorrow, in Toulouse, in France and around the world, even after a frightening presidential election, even in case of budget bankruptcy, even if another country is invaded. The Church resists, the Church perseveres, and lives are transformed.
"I endure all things for the chosen ones' sake" (verse 10). Paul isn't writing from his sofa, like those coaches who live in Dubai and give advice on suffering. He is enduring everything at the very moment he writes, because he is thinking of the glory of those God will save.
In Acts 18, in Corinth, God encourages Paul: proclaim the word, for I have many people in this city. "The Gospel works."

7. A Hymn About God's Faithfulness

Paul ends with a song, and when things are hard, it is often the words of songs that come back to us. "This saying is faithful" (verse 11): this isn't beautiful, empty poetry, it is a sure word.
"If we died with him, we will also live with him." This is what baptism recalls: the old sinful self lies at the bottom of the water, dead with Christ. "If Jesus hadn't risen, we'd be drowning them," but he has risen, and we live a new life with him.
"If we endure, we will also reign with him" (verse 12). Football fans shout "we won" even though they weren't on the pitch. The Christian, though, can say it: Jesus' throne will be big enough for us to sit beside him and reign with him (Revelation 22:5).
"If we deny him, he also will deny us." This isn't about the stumbles of the Christian life, but about a radical, lasting denial, a deep rejection or "polite indifference." Those who said all their lives "I don't want you, God" will spend eternity in the place where God is not.
"If we are faithless, he remains faithful. He can't deny himself" (verse 13). Some commentators see this as a continuation of verse 12: God is faithful to his word, and if he says he will deny, he will deny. The preacher doesn't think so: when the Bible mentions God's faithfulness, it is to encourage us.
The hymn has a regular rhythm: "if we, we; if we, we; if we, he; if we, he." Only one line breaks the pattern: "He can't deny himself." This is "the unexpected nature of grace." It isn't logical for God to forgive us when we are unfaithful, but it is his nature to be faithful to his grace.
What is hard about perseverance is when we mess up, when we face our failures and our sin. But God forgives "77 times 7 times and even beyond" (Matthew 18:21-22). "If he has to lift us up 1,000 times, he will lift us up 1,000 times. 1,001 times. 1,002 times." This text doesn't say we can lose our salvation: when we belong to the Lord, he holds us to the end despite our falls.

Key Takeaways

Suffering is an integral part of the Christian life: when you belong to Jesus, you are in a spiritual war.
The affairs of life, even good ones, can become the soldier's big suitcase. The question is what keeps you from serving Jesus effectively.
The soldier, the athlete and the farmer show it: paying the price to see the fruit is worth it, especially for eternal fruit.
Remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead: your general is victorious and God's word isn't chained.
If we are faithless, he remains faithful. God lifts up a thousand times the one who comes back to the foot of the cross.

Personal Application

In what area of your life are you struggling to persevere right now: your studies, your marriage, your family, your witness?
What good or neutral thing has become your "big suitcase": your family, a hobby, your time, your money?
What makes you forget Jesus day to day: too many things on your mind, relying on yourself, worry or pain?
How can you lift your eyes to the fruit that is coming, and help a discouraged brother or sister do the same?
After a fall, do you come back to the foot of the cross, counting on God's faithfulness, or do you stay on the ground?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus" mean?

In 2 Timothy 2:3, Paul reminds us that suffering is an integral part of the Christian life. When you belong to Jesus, you are in a state of spiritual war: to look more like him and so that men and women find him as Savior. Like the soldier, the athlete and the farmer, the Christian pays the price to see the fruit.

What are the affairs of life that entangle the soldier?

Paul isn't talking about sin here, but about good or neutral things that keep us from serving effectively. The preacher gives two examples: the family, when it comes before Jesus and becomes the barometer of our joy, and leisure culture, when sports or music take up too much of our time, our money and our joy.

What does "if we are faithless, he remains faithful" mean?

For the preacher, 2 Timothy 2:13 is the unexpected nature of grace. The hymn has a regular rhythm, and this verse breaks out of it. God remains faithful to his grace: he forgives and lifts up the one who comes back to the foot of the cross, a thousand times if necessary. The text doesn't say we can lose our salvation: the Lord holds to the end those who belong to him.