Calvary Road Baptist Church
“IT IS NOT ABOUT ME OR MINE”
Second Timothy 2.10
Let me begin by rehearsing several certainties about God that provide exceeding great and heartwarming comfort to the child of God. I will not attempt to rehearse everything we agreed on because it would take too long. These are just a few realities from God’s Word that will please God’s people sufficiently.
First, God is unfathomably enormous. That is, He is big, infinitely large. The word we use is omnipresent, meaning God is so huge that He is everywhere, both within and beyond the expanse of this physical universe.[1]
Next, God is unimaginably powerful. The word we use is omnipotent, meaning God is so powerful that His power is limitless, without limits, infinite, as illustrated by the fact that He but spoke the physical universe into existence, creating from nothing the time-space-matter continuum.[2]
Third, God knows everything. He is so smart that He knows not only whatever there is to know but also what could conceivably be.[3] Fourth, God is sovereign, meaning He is accountable to no one or anything, doing or not doing only what He chooses to or not to do. He is the boss.
I will label those four of God’s amoral, nonmoral attributes. They are descriptions of Him that have nothing to do with such things as ethics, morality, or values. Of God’s moral attributes, I will list that God is holy,[4] that God is love,[5] that God is true,[6] that God is good,[7] that God is merciful,[8] that God is gracious,[9] that God is long-suffering,[10] that God is just,[11] that God is faithful.[12] And I will stop there.
These attributes, some of which are nonmoral and some of which are moral characteristics of God, are without controversy in the Christian community. God so describes Himself in Scripture in these and in other ways that in no way contradict what I have stated thus far.
With a complete unanimity of agreement among Bible-believing people throughout history, let me land on two other pads of foundational truth about God that have to do with God’s children, those who have a conversion experience that is the consequence of repentance and faith in Christ, where they are made new creatures in Christ (Second Corinthians 5.17). If you are a Christian, these two landing pads speak to you and speak of you.
The first landing pad is Romans 8.28-30:
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
This passage reveals that God has an eternal plan that includes foreknowing us, predestinating us, calling us, justifying us, and someday glorifying us. If you are or will someday become a believer in Christ, your eternal destiny is secured. Additionally, verse 28 states, "All things work together for good to you who love God, to you who are the called according to His purpose."
Meaning? If you are a Christian nothing bad will ever be allowed to happen to you, only good. That good might be painful, might be gut-wrenching, might be disappointing, might involve chastisement, might include humiliation, might be profoundly discouraging at times, can be occasionally embarrassing, and might include feelings of joy on the upside and lonely periods of feeling isolated on the downside. But every life experience will be for your good, according to the God Who cannot lie.[13]
The second landing pad is First Corinthians 10.13:
“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
This verse, in perfect conformity with the rest of God’s Word, establishes that both your testings by God and the temptations your enemies devise against you are the common experiences of everyone else in the household of faith and that no one can rightly suggest you have traumas that are any worse than those experienced by so many other believers.
You, I, and everyone else who are God’s children fall somewhere on a spectrum of experiences, with none of us having it better than everyone else and none of us having it worse than everyone else. While you are unique, you are not unique in your life experiences, and neither am I.
These things are understood because they are indisputable and without controversy; turn with me now to Second Timothy 2.10 for a season of Christmastime preparation. Please find that verse and stand for the reading of God’s Word:
“Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.”
Especially during the holiday season, you will encounter people who are dealing with troubles, challenges, disappointments, discouragement, and who knows what else. So long as you cling to the Bible as your rule of faith and practice, with the certainty of Romans 8.28-30’s promise that God will only allow good things to happen to you as He takes you from here to eternity, and the certainty that your experiences are actually common and ordinary and not exceptional, First Corinthians 10.13, you can avoid falling into the trap others are so familiar with, and be in a position to minister grace to them.
As we who the Spirit of God indwells bear the fruit of the Spirit.[14] That includes peace, joy, love, and other things. We can understand from what the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy that it is not all about me or mine. It is not all about you or yours. That type of mindset is part of the unsaved person’s curse. They think life is all about them or theirs. We know better.
Let us learn from Paul’s reminder to Timothy what ought to be the focus of their lives but can never be so long as they are without Christ and the instruction of God’s Word. At no other time of the year will their God-dishonoring and selfish life orientation be so obvious as during Christmas.
Therefore, let us prepare for impactful ministry to others by clarifying what a God-honoring set of life priorities looks like.
First, THE WHAT OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH
Notice the opening phrase of our text, where is set before the reader a correct overview of Christian faith in action. Paul writes,
“Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes.”
Reflect with me on the Apostle Paul’s summation of his life and ministry as a template for Timothy to emulate and also for you and me to copy for our lives. Recall that Paul wrote to the Corinthian congregation that they should,
“Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.”
Therefore, Paul’s life was an example we would do well to follow. Consider this opening phrase from two perspectives, first negatively and then positively.
Negatively, what can we discern about the life of faith and service that Paul did not demonstrate to others? First, Paul provided for Timothy (and us) the justification or the basis upon which he lived his life of service and ministry. This would be why he did what he did as a pattern of life. The word that we will consider more carefully in a moment is “therefore,” translating two Greek terms diὰ toῦto, essentially meaning “because of this.” Second, “I endure all things.”
In the previous verse, verse 9, Paul mentions his suffering and troubles as an evildoer, even being imprisoned. The “all things” he endured, then, certainly included beatings, false accusations, and legal charges and featured the likely imprisonment in Rome he wrote this letter. Third, “for the elect’s sakes.” More on what this phrase means in a moment, but for now, let’s consider what it does not mean. Notice that it does not refer to Paul. He did not live, love, serve, and suffer for himself, for his sake. Paul’s life of faith and service to God and Christ was not a life lived for Paul. If Paul did not go through what he went through for himself, then you should not approach your life as your life, as a journey for yourself, as an experience for personal achievement, or as a means of reaching personal goals and objectives. Not that you should not do your best, but Paul certainly lived his life for Christ.
This verse shows that Paul did not live his life for himself. Why is it so profoundly important for children to grow up in homes where they are not the center of attention, where they are not always the focus of the adults in the room, where it is not all about them? Because God never intended anyone’s life to be about him, but about Him! Parents do a terrible disservice to their children by making them the center of all attention and focus of family goals and activities because it sets kids up for profound disappointment, either as adults or in eternity. Love? Yes. Affection? Yes. Encouragement? Yes. Attention? Of course. But the parents are to be honored, not the children. It is God Who is to be served, not the youngsters. And you raise them as children and demonstrate to them as adults that God and Christ and ministry are more important to you than they are. It harms children if their parents behave otherwise. So much for the negative.
Positively, what can we discern about the life of faith and service that Paul demonstrated to others and that we should demonstrate to others? Let’s begin to address this question by circling back to the first word in the verse, “Therefore,” from the short phrase diὰ toῦto, synonymous with “because of this.” Because of what? What immediately precedes this in Paul’s letter? The end of verse 9 reads, “the word of God is not bound.”
As ironical as it may seem, Paul discerned early on that the suffering and persecution he endured, and you and I would do well to grasp that the suffering in various ways that we are faced with, has no necessary adverse effect on our effectiveness as ministers of the Gospel. How does verse 9 end? “But the word of God is not bound.” What does that mean?
Think of being handcuffed. Think of being hog-tied. Think of being restricted, inhibited, impeded, or with a constriction limiting progress. None of these notions applies to the Word of God when a believer in Christ suffers from one cause or another. Remember when Paul suffered a terrible physical malady and three times pleaded with God to take it away, but God told him, in effect, “No”? Second Corinthians 12.9 begins God’s response to Paul’s pleadings for healing. God said to Paul,
“My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”
How did Paul respond to that answer to prayer? Second Corinthians 12.9’s end and verse 10:
“Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”
Paul grasped that he was a more effective channel of blessing in his ministry when he was suffering than when he was not. But that is not all. What do we know happened directly due to Paul’s arrest and imprisonment in Rome? Look with me to Philippians, the letter Paul wrote from Roman imprisonment, to understand what great things God did using him while he was in prison. Closing out his letter to the Church in Philippi, he wrote in Philippians 4.21-22:
21 Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you.
22 All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar’s household.
Paul evangelized other prisoners, his guards, and who knows who else while he was in prison, members of Caesar’s household! Consider, as well, the impact Joseph had when he was in prison, the impact Daniel had in the lion’s den, and the consequence of Paul and Silas spending a night in the Philippian jail. Bad consequences? No. Great consequences. Those other prisoners, Roman soldiers who guarded Paul and others he came in contact with while imprisoned, were among the elect for whose sake he was willing to suffer.
Paul recognized that had he not been unjustly accused, transported across the Mediterranean in shackles, and thrown into a Roman jail cell, those who came to Christ through his witnessing and praying would never have had an encounter with the Gospel and come to know Christ. This, then, is the what of the Christian faith lived out, that the unsaved will never grasp. For them, suffering and difficulties are roadblocks and obstacles that cause them to complain and feel sorry for themselves. For the child of God, on the other hand, they are opportunities God gives us to reach the elect.
We Now Turn Our Attention To THE WHY OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH
The concluding phrase of our text presents a correct overview explanation of the Christian faith as it is properly lived out. Paul writes,
“that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.”
Here we see fleshed out a bit the comment I made a moment ago. We are shown why Paul’s life was an example we would do well to follow. Consider this closing phrase in two ways:
First, as to the means:
“that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus.”
The word “they” is a pronoun that refers the reader back to the closest previous noun it is linked to in verse 9; the elect. But what is elect? And who are the elect? This is a simple concept that is tragically confused by so much fear and prejudice. Elect, from the Greek ἐklέktos, pertains to being selected or chosen.[15] Election is selection. Do not allow your prejudices or personal fears to get in the way of what it means to be numbered among the elect. It is a simple notion.
Election signifies someone has been chosen. In First Thessalonians 1.4 reference is made to the new Christians in the Thessalonian congregation as those whose election was evidenced by their work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope. In the verse before us, the elect are those who have been chosen but who have not yet come to faith in Christ. It is for them, those chosen who are not yet converted to Christ, that Paul’s Gospel ministry was so energetically pursued. How do we discover who the elect are? How do the elect become Christians? The elect obtain, they experience, the salvation which is in Christ Jesus. But how? The answer to both questions is via the Gospel message Paul proclaimed, the Gospel we should proclaim to everyone, the Gospel that is not impeded, slowed down, or interfered with by any Christian’s suffering, sickness, persecution, or opposition.
Obviously, it certainly appears that sickness, suffering, persecution, opposition, and other things impede the progress of the Gospel. But looks are sometimes deceiving in the spiritual realm. We learn from Paul’s thorn in the flesh experience, and we learn from the verse we are presently looking at, that God is so wise, so powerful, so sovereign, that because “the word of God is not bound,” and because God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness, nothing can stop the advance of the ministry. Except, perhaps, the Christian who stops pushing the Gospel out or the professing Christian who will not even begin to witness to anyone.
Too many times for me to remember, I used to remind Larry Arnold that the greater part of his life’s service to God might very well be those seasons of prayer offered up while he was flat on his back the last years of his life here on earth, before his promotion to glory. Good reasons to keep on keeping on for the salvation of the elect? I think so. Paul said so.
Would you like for your sickness, your suffering and heartaches, the difficulties in life you are experiencing, and everything else, to end up being utterly meaningless, to count for nothing? Then do not witness when you are sick. Stay home from Church when you are in pain. Do not radiate Christian joy and delight in ministering to the spiritual needs of others, because you are focused on yourself. When you are griping or feeling sorry for yourself, your suffering has not stopped the advance of the Gospel, because it cannot. Rather, you have stopped the advance of the Gospel, by not making best use of the challenges God has graciously brought your way.
Do not choose to misuse what God brought into your life to help you serve Him in your weakness. That would be like Jacob describing the days of his life as few and evil, though God used him and his son Joseph remarkably. Or Jonah grumbling and griping when God worked through him so effectively in Nineveh. Beloved, there are so many good reasons why God challenges us to “count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.”
Your suffering can be the means by which God is glorified through your ongoing testimony of His grace and glory, and it is a sad day when we who are God’s children lose sight of the fact that our difficulties and challenges are the means through which God works in the lives of others to bring them to Christ. It was so with Paul, so why not with you?
Then, there is the end:
“the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.”
Sometimes Christians become so used to the word salvation that the thrust and meaning of the word loses its significance over time. That is why I frequently ask children who tell me they want to be saved what the word “saved” means to them. There is no right or wrong answer, since what they tell me provides insight into what they seek and if they are truly awakened to their need for salvation.
That said, the salvation Paul refers to is the dramatic and eternity-altering rescue of someone who is in great danger, but who can do nothing whatsoever to improve his situation. He is damned, and he is doomed and utterly helpless to remedy his situation because he is also dead. He desperately needs the intervention of Another. There is no other but the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the unique Savior of sinner’s sins, and that’s good because the issue that looms large between the sinner and God is this issue of sins.
That is why you must remember during this holiday season, even with your personal suffering and other challenges, that those lost folks you cross paths with are plagued by sins that bar their access to God and to heaven while guaranteeing the damnation of their soul in eternal Hellfire. Why so? Because God is holy, and sinners are defiled and unclean. God is right, while the unsaved are so utterly wrong. The best efforts of the unbeliever are only offenses to God, His holy nature outraged by the presumption that a wicked person could possibly do something to counter God’s demand for justice.
What we seek, once the salvation from our own sins has been secured, is the salvation of the elect we encounter. Not knowing who they are, we witness to everyone, invite everyone to Church, and show hospitality to whoever we can as we witness and love them. And we do not let our personal issues distract us by thinking “Woe is me,” or stop us. Did persecution stop Paul? Did physical challenges stop Paul? And are we not to use Paul as a model to copy? The goal is not religion. We do not seek to persuade others to turn over a new leaf. Our goal is to bring the lost to repentance and faith in Christ, even if our witness and prayers are offered up from a hospital bed or when getting about with a walker. It is in Christ that salvation is found. And when you have Christ eternal glory is yours.
Let us be especially spiritually sensitive over the next several weeks. You will have two issues before you. On one hand, you will have physical challenges in the form of pain or sickness or disability. With those things, only you will affect the advance of the Gospel if you allow those challenges to distract or stop you.
On the other hand, you will encounter people who are as discouraged as you might be if you were not a child of God directed to count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations. The difference between you and that person is Christ. So, tell them the difference. Tell them of Christ.
Our Savior is our King and He is triumphant. It is His preference to send His subjects, to send us, through various challenges, not so we will be stopped from serving Him, but as a means of serving Him through the challenges we face.
Therefore, let us live for Him, love Him, and serve Him no matter what. And not just for Him should we do what we do. Let us also do what we ought to do for the elect’s sake, for the sake of those God will use to reach with the Gospel despite our issues and challenges.
And who knows? Some of the elect that we reach through it all may turn out to be our own children and close family members. It is not about us. It is not about ours. It is about the Lord and for the elect’s sake.
__________
[1] Psalm 139.7-10
[2] Genesis 1.1
[3] Psalm 139.1-6
[4] Le 11.44-45; 19.2; 20.3, 7, 26; 21.8; 22.2, 32; Jos 24.19; 1Sa 2.2; 6.20; 2Ki 19.22; 1Ch 16.10, 35; 29.16; Job 6.10; Ps 16.10; 22.3; 33.21; 51.11; 71.22; 78.41; 89.18; 99.3, 5, 9; 103.1; 105.3; 106.47; 145.17, 21; Isa 1.4; 5.16, 19, 24; 6.3; 10.17, 20; 12.6; 17.7; 29.19, 23; 30.11-12, 15; 31.1; 37.23; 40.25; 41.14, 16, 20; 43.3, 14-15; 45.11; 47.4; 48.2, 17; 49.7; 54.5; 55.5; 57.15; 60.9, 14; 63.10-11; Jer 50.29; 51.5 Eze 20.39; 36.20-22; 39.7, 25; 43.7-8; Ho 11.9; Am 2.7; Hab 1.12; 3.3
[5] 1Jo 4.8, 16
[6] Jer 10.10; Joh 3.33; 17.3; Ro 3.4; 2Co 1.18; 1Th 1.9; 1Jo 5.20; Re 6.10; 15.3; 16.7
[7] Psalm 25.8; 34.8; 69.16; 86.5; 100.5; 106.1; 107.1; 118.1, 29; 119.68; 135.3; 136.1; 145.9; Jeremiah 33.11; Nahum 1.7; Matthew 19.17; Mark 10.18; Luke 18.19
[8] Ps 37.26; 103.8; 116.5
[9] Ps 77.9; 86.15; 103.8; 111.4; 112.4; 116.5; 145.8
[10] Ex 34.6; Nu 14.18; Ps 86.15; Ro 2.4; 1Pe 3.20
[11] De 32.4; Ne 9.33; Isa 45.21; Zep 3.5; Ro 3.26
[12] De 7.9; Isa 49.7; Jer 42.5; 1Co 10.13; 1Th 5.24; 2Ti 2.13; Heb 10.23; 1Pe 4.19
[13] Titus 1.2
[14] Galatians 5.22-23
[15] Bauer, Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2000), page 306.
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