2 Timothy Study #2

“No Shame, No Fear, No Worries”

2 Timothy 1:12-18

Study #2 in 2 Timothy Series 

INTRODUCTION:

There is something incredibly beautiful about watching a little baby sleep. Lying there in her mother’s arms, wrapped in a soft blanket, the little one sleeps peacefully. I used to love to hold my little kids while they slept, just to watch their faces and listen to the soft little snuffly noises that they made. You see, a baby has no sense of fear because she has never been hurt or abandoned. She has no sense of shame to trouble her sleep because she has not lived long enough to do anything evil to feel ashamed of. And she does not worry about anything because her every need is taken care of. She has no shame, no fear, and no worries.

But how about you? Can you say the same thing about yourself? Most of us have done things in our past that make us feel ashamed when we think about them. And we have things we are afraid of because we have already experienced some bad stuff in our lives and are afraid that it might happen again. And we are subject to worry because the future seems unsure and unpredictable, and we all know people who have been victims of misfortune.

TRANSITION:

In this, our second study in 2 Timothy the Apostle Paul addresses all three of these issues: shame, fear, and worry. As he wrote 2 Timothy, he was a prisoner of Rome, already sentenced and awaiting his execution. He was an old man, in poor health. He spent his time chained to the wall in a dark, stinky dungeon cell. He knew that his time was short and that his ministry would soon end. However, despite all that he tells us that he is not ashamed, that he is not afraid, and that he is free from worry. How can that be? Let’s find out. 

NOTES on the Text:

Verse 12: For this reason, I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day. 

• “For this reason, I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed;” Let’s take the easy part first. He says, “I suffer these things.” By “these things” he is obviously referring to his imprisonment, and discomfort, and impending death. OK, but he says, “For this reason…I suffer these things.” What reason is he talking about? We have just parachuted into a context, so we need to stop and look around for just a minute to get our bearings before we press on. Is Paul referring to something he has just said, or to something he is about to say? While the second option is a possibility, I do not think it is the best choice here. If you think back to our last study when we looked at 1:1-11 I think you will start to make connections and understand what Paul is getting at.
• Paul is just saying that he knows that his present sufferings are entirely because he is a preacher of the Gospel. Look back at verse 8. In 1:8 Paul tells Timothy to not be ashamed of Christ, or the Gospel, or of Paul who was in prison for preaching the Gospel. Then in verse 9 Paul talks about God’s purposeful grace, by which He has saved us and called us, and because of which we have the promise of Heaven. Paul then goes on in verse 10 to say that Christ has abolished death and brought us life and immortality through His glorious Gospel. In verse 11 Paul says that he has been appointed as a herald, and a missionary, and a teacher of this Gospel.
• That argument leads us right up to verse 12 where he concludes, “For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed.” You see, his boldness came not from self-confidence but from God-confidence. The fact that he has been forgiven, cleansed, saved, called, commissioned, empowered, and credentialed by the King of kings leads him to see his present discomfort (i.e., imprisonment and being chained in a dungeon awaiting his execution) as just a bump in the road. He knows that he is suffering for righteousness’ sake and there is no shame in that. He is in good company, along with Jesus, and Stephen, and James the brother of John, and the prophets of old. In Matthew 5:10-12 Jesus told His disciples, “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are you when men revile you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in Heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” 
• But what is it that frees Paul from fear and gives him such courage in the face of impending death? Look at the rest of verse 12: “…for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”  Here we have one of the most remarkable little testimonies in all of Scripture. Paul tells us that he is not afraid of the future that awaits him because he has complete confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says “perfect love casts out fear” and Paul had experienced this first-hand. Look closely at his words here in verse 12: “I am not ashamed…I know…I have believed…I am convinced.” This is a powerful statement of faith…but based on what? Based upon his intimate knowledge of, and relationship with, the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says in effect, “Knowing Christ as I do, I have complete confidence in Him, that He will deliver on every promise He has ever made, and you can take that to the bank!” 
• “…I know WHOM I have believed” Normally we would say: “I know WHAT I have believed.” But the emphasis here is not on Christian doctrine but upon Christ himself. It is not WHAT we know that gives us holy boldness, but rather, WHO we know!
• But exactly what had Paul entrusted to Christ? Answer: Everything! His salvation, his hopes, his future, his whole life.
• Until when? “…until that day.” What day? The Day of Judgment when the Lord will reward the righteous and judge the wicked. You will see this same expression used down in verse 18.

Verse 13: Retain the standard [lit. pattern] of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.   

• “Retain the standard of sound words [i.e., of the Gospel, of biblical truth]” To “retain the standard” means to hold the bar high. Do not lower the standard to make it possible for more people to hop over the bar. We have seen the controversy for years in law enforcement, fire bureaus, and in the military. How do we accommodate the inclusion of women into these traditionally male roles? Answer: We lower the standard of physical strength and agility. We drop the bar so that more people can jump over it and get in. Please do not start sending me feminist hate mail. In some instances, this readjustment of expectations may be fair and just. However, in terms of holding firmly to the precepts and teachings of God’s Word, we have no right to manipulate the bar to fit with our own preconceptions. Yet this is going on everywhere we look—about marriage, homosexuality, theistic evolution, annihilationism, etc. In Titus 1:9 Paul says almost the same thing, “…holding fast the faithful Word, which is in accordance with the teaching, so that you will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.”  

Verse 14: Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure [lit. good deposit], which has been entrusted to you. 

• The “treasure [or deposit]” that Paul speaks of here is the Gospel, the message of salvation by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. In Romans 1:16-17 Paul wrote, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, for in it the righteousness of God is revealed.” 
• Paul tells Timothy to “guard” this treasure that has been entrusted to him. In a sense every Christian is an armed guard for the Gospel, not to keep people away from it but to keep anyone from twisting it or watering it down so that it loses its potency and meaning. Notice, “Guard, through [i.e., by means of] the Holy Spirit who dwells in us…” The Holy Spirit is the source of our power and authority to “guard” the treasure. A Brinks guard relies upon his training, his armored vehicle, and his weapons to help him guard the treasure under his care. But as Christians we have something far more powerful. We have the eternal God, who is our strength and the One who empowers us to guard the Gospel by living it out in all its fullness without any compromise. 

Verse 15: You are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. 

• “You are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me.” Paul states that Timothy knows that “all who are in Asia” had deserted him. Now we know that this is hyperbole, a deliberate exaggeration to make the point that many had turned their backs on Paul after he got arrested and imprisoned for the second time in Rome, either out of shame or out of fear of the Romans. We know it is hyperbole because Timothy and the Ephesian church were in Asia and Timothy certainly had not deserted Paul, and neither had a lot of other people. However, Paul was obviously hurt and disappointed that so many had left him high and dry, just when he needed them the most. 
• Here Paul mentions the names of two people who had turned their backs and deserted him in his greatest hour of need. We do not know much about these two fellows. This is the only biblical text that even mentions them. But they very well may have been the ringleaders and the main cause of the trouble. In his first letter to Timothy Paul speaks of those who were opponents of his mission and his authority. These may be the very fellows he had in mind. Apparently, they were two professing Christians from Ephesus with whom Paul got acquainted while he ministered in Asia. We do not know exactly what they did but the text implies that Hermogenes and Phygelus probably led the movement to abandon Paul and disassociate from him, possibly out of fear that they might be considered equally guilty by their association with him. We cannot know for sure. However, the fact that Paul singles them out by name tells me that their behavior came as a great shock and surprise to him. He thought they were made of better stuff. I believe that he was both hurt and disappointed by their actions. Of course, we only hear Paul’s side of the story here, but I am inclined to believe that he was right, and they were wrong in this matter. I imagine that when Timothy received this letter and read it publicly to the congregation in Ephesus, these two guys must have looked and felt like two cents waiting for change. They probably started looking for the nearest emergency exit or a hole to climb into.
• Have you ever been abandoned by someone who you thought would always be there for you and would stick by you through thick and thin? I have, and I can tell you that it really hurts. That is why that verse in Proverbs 18:24 is precious to me. It says, “There is a Friend who sticks closer than a brother.” The writer is talking, of course, about the Lord. Others may abandon you, but He never will! 

Verses 16-18: The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains; ¹⁷ but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me— ¹⁸ the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day—and you know very well what services he rendered at Ephesus. 

• Paul mentioned the names of those who abandoned him, but here he names someone who was a special blessing to him, who often refreshed his spirit, who was the exact opposite of the two guys mentioned in the previous verse. This man was an example of faithfulness and Christian love, in sharp contrast to Hermogenes and Phygelus and others who had abandoned Paul. Evidently a loyal friend of Paul, Onesiphorus, whose name means “help-bringer, or profit-bearer” took the risks and made the effort of journeying to Rome and hunting up Paul in prison when others were avoiding Paul or deserting him. It seems that Onesiphorus hailed from Ephesus and was an active member of the Christian congregation there where Timothy was the shepherd. Paul’s recollections of his ministry at Ephesus suggest that Onesiphorus might have been a deacon in that church. His kindnesses to Paul in the Roman prison came at a time when Paul was alone and friendless, and they were deeply appreciated. The references here in 2 Timothy to the “household of Onesiphorus”, and not to Onesiphorus himself, suggest to some that Onesiphorus might have died before Paul wrote this second letter to Timothy. That could be true, but it was also common to address a person’s household to include the person along with all those who were associated with him. Onesiphorus is mentioned only here and in 2 Timothy 4:19.
• “…[May] the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day” We saw this same exact phrase up in verse 12 and it means the same thing here: the coming Day of Judgment of Christ. Paul is expressing his desire that Onesiphorus should receive special kindness from the Lord in repayment for the special kindness that this godly man poured out on Paul in his hour of greatest need. 

CONCLUSION:

Look again at verse 16: “The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains.” Do you have people in your life who refresh you? We all need those. There are people in this world who are “energy vampires.” Every minute spent with them drains you of emotional and spiritual vitality. Then there are people who seem to speak peace and truth and love into your life, that can refresh your soul and spirit, the way a glass of cold water quenches your thirst. Onesiphorus was this kind of person and proved to be a great blessing to Paul. 

As Paul sat in that dark cell awaiting his execution he could truly say, “I am not ashamed.” He had been radically saved through the power of the Gospel, and he knew that if God could save him, then He could and would save anyone who repented and turned to Christ. Moreover, Paul could truthfully say, “I am not afraid,” because he knew that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord and even if he lost his life physically his eternity was a sure thing because it rested firmly on the promises of God. And lastly, he could say with all truthfulness, “I am not worried,” because he knew the Lord Jesus personally, and knew that the Lord was watching over him.           

With these assurances Paul could lay down and sleep like a baby. No shame, no fear, and no worries! How about you? Do you have the sweet assurance that your deepest darkest sins have been forgiven and that your place in Heaven is guaranteed by the promises of God? Have you experienced the freedom from fear and worry that plague so many people, because you “…know WHOM you have believed and are convinced that He is able to guard what you have entrusted to Him until that day”? If you do not have that peace and assurance then you need to meet my friend, Jesus, so that you too can live with “no shame, no fear, and no worries.”