Paul the apostle is at the end of his life. He is imprisoned in Rome for the third time, but this will be the final time; as he will not be getting out. In fact, he is headed for his death. Paul senses this. Although he was not sure in times past, this time felt different. It seemed that he knew that his life was coming to an end. Therefore, he decides to write his final letter to a son in the faith, Timothy.
The book of Timothy is filled with powerful truth for us as believers as it marks the final words of the Apostle Paul. Paul begins chapter 1 by reminiscing the last time that he saw Timothy and encouraged him to fan into flame (stir up) the gift of God that is in Him through the laying on of hands. As he was a young man, leading a church in a wicked city, Paul reminded him not to be afraid. For fear is not of God. He reminded Timothy that God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind. What a great reminder that is for us today as well!
Paul continued by challenging Timothy to not be ashamed of Jesus and to not be ashamed of him. People of faith had become ashamed of Paul since he was in prison. For whatever the reason, they began to desert him, and some possibly even walked away from the faith. However, Paul encouraged Timothy to not be like these people, but to guard the truth and not be afraid of suffering for Christ like he had.
That brings us to our scripture for today found in chapter two:
2 Timothy 2:1
“You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”
Paul encourages Timothy to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. In other words, there is a grace that is given to us through Christ. There is a grace that is available for us as believers. This grace allows us to be faithful followers of Jesus. It allows us to live a victorious Christian life. It also allows us to fulfill the call of God on our life. Not by our own strength, but by grace.
So, what is grace? Grace is God’s unmerited favor. But that is a broad description of what grace is. So what does it mean in this context?
Grace = An enabling agent of God that gives people the ability to accomplish His will
Grace gives us the ability to love, serve, forgive, witness, etc.
Grace is a tool that God uses to save, transform, and empower you.
If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, then grace is operating in your life. In fact, grace operates in our life in 3 ways:
By grace you have been saved…
We continue in grace; we grow as believers in grace
Grace gives us the ability to remain faithful under pressure
Paul tells Timothy to be strong in this grace. To say that we can be strong in grace means that we can also be weak in it. To be weak in grace is to be strong in yourself. However, to be weak in yourself is to be strong in grace. However, we must rely on it. We must lean on it. We must walk in it.
To be a fruitful Christian, you must be strong in the grace that is in Christ
So Paul encourages Timothy to be strong grace. For what purpose?
2 Timothy 2:2 - “The things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”
Paul challenges Timothy to pass on the same message that he heard from Paul to “faithful men.” Faithful men are not just people who simply believe in God. Instead they represent believers who would faithfully raise up disciples in sound doctrine as well. Paul encouraged Timothy to invest in the next generation of faithful followers of Christ.
Like Timothy, we are called to invest in the next generation of believers. We bear the weight and responsibility of discipling those around us.
Get them:
However, we cannot do this in our own power, we do this through the grace of God. We can teach what we know, but people catch who we are. If we are operating in our own strength, then we will only raise up people who are like us. However, if we are walking in grace (strong in grace), then we will raise up followers of Jesus Christ. Why? Because we are leaning on grace. We are leaning on the power of the Holy Spirit. Then it is no longer us, but the grace and the anointing working both in our life and in theirs.
1 Corinthians 15:10 NIV
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.”
Paul had traveled the known world at that time leading people to Christ and planting multiple churches. He saw miracles take place, lives transformed, and communities no longer the same. Yet, Paul says that it was not him and what he was able to do in his own ability, but rather the grace of God that was working in and through his life.
The grace of God is upon your life as well. He is strengthening you to invest into the next generation what it means to follow Jesus and to make disciples. Therefore, walk in that grace and be strengthened by it. God strengthens us when we take a step of faith and begin investing in others. So let us go and begin raising up faithful men and women for Christ.
How do we raise up faithful men and women? It only comes through the process of making disciples. There are people that I have discipled who are serving the Lord. However, there are some who seem to be doing their own thing. It is hard not to imagine, “what did I do wrong?” However, I am reminded that even Paul had people who even fell away from the faith. However, amongst the ones who reject his message and those who ended up falling away, there were those who became faithful followers of Christ. However, he had to scatter his seed. And from doing so, believes like Timothy, Priscilla, Titus, Epaphroditus, Philemon, and more. All faithful men and women of Christ.
Let us invest in the next generation of believers just as Paul did.
So how do we make disciples?
Pray, witness, share the gospel/ testimony)
Get them plugged into church, community, etc)
To be a follower of Christ, to obey His teachings in God’s Word, etc.
Do so, not in your own power, but through the strengthening power of God’s grace in your life. His grace is enough!!
