March 21, 1982 (Ordination of H. Paul Widen)
Bethlehem Baptist Church
John Piper, Pastor

 

KINDLE THE GIFT OF COURAGE

 

Whenever a passage of Scripture contains a command, or an admonition, that almost always proves to be the main point of the passage. Everything else is generally written to explain or motivate the admonitions. Sometimes a passage of Scripture contains several admonitions and we must ask how they relate to each other and then how they are motivated. 2 Timothy 1 contains five admonitions addressed to this younger minister. First, in verse 6, Timothy is admonished: "Rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of [Paul's] hands." Then, in verse 8, there are two admonitions, one negative and one positive. Negatively, "Do not be ashamed of testifying to our Lord, nor of me his prisoner." And positively, "But take your share of suffering for the gospel in the power of God." The fourth admonition is in verse 13: "Follow the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus." Then the final admonition of the chapter comes in

verse 14 (which I translate with the NIV to avoid the ambiguity of the RSV): "Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you -- guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us."

When we query these admonitions their unity begins to emerge. What is the gift in verse 6 which Timothy is to rekindle? And what is the good deposit in verse 14 which he is to guard? The gift referred to was given through the laying on of hands in an ordination service described in 1 Timothy 4:14. There Paul said: "Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophetic utterance when the elders laid their hands upon you." Therefore the gift of verse 6 is not the Holy Spirit himself which all believers possess, but some special enabling or empowering of the Spirit for ministry. So when Paul says in verse 14 guard the good deposit through the Holy Spirit, I think he is saying almost the same thing as rekindle the gift of God within you. The good deposit and the gift of God are essentially the same thing, namely, Timothy's call to the gospel ministry and the special empowering for his call granted through the laying on of hands.

The admonition of verse 13 gives a partial description of what that rekindled gift or guarded deposit will look like, namely, faith in God's grace and love for his flock: "Follow the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus." But faith and love take many forms and overcome many obstacles to ministry. And the specific form that Paul has in view here when he urges Timothy to rekindle his gift is courage and boldness; and the obstacle he sees standing in Timothy's way is shame and cowardice. Notice the connection between verses 6 and 7. "Rekindle your gift … for God did not give us a Spirit of timidity but a Spirit of power and of love and of self-control (or sound judgment)." This connection must mean that the gift which is flickering in Timothy's life is the gift of courage and boldness. Evidently he is beginning to act as if the Spirit who endowed him is a spirit of timidity rather than power.

The admonition of verse 8 then confirms that what Paul means when he says, "Rekindle your gift," is, "Stir up your former boldness for Christ." For verse 8 says, "Do not be ashamed then of testifying to our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but take your share of suffering for the gospel in the power of God." Rekindle the gift of God which once made you an unashamed, bold witness to Christ, willing to suffer for him in faith and love.

There are two very clear confirmations that the main point of this whole chapter is Paul's desire for Timothy to overcome shame and accept suffering boldly. Paul drives this point home by citing himself and Onesiphorus as examples of bold and unashamed witness to Christ. Notice first verses 11 and 12: "For this gospel I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, and therefore I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed." This is a clear parallel to verse 8 where Paul told Timothy not to be ashamed but to share in suffering for Christ. But also notice verses 16-18: "May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus for he often refreshed me; he was not ashamed of my chains, but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me eagerly and found me. May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that Day." Unlike Phygelus and Hermogenes (v. 15) Onesiphorus was bold and courageous in his love for Paul and was not ashamed or fearful to be identified with the prisoner of Christ. And this too is a clear parallel to verse 8 where Paul told Timothy not to be ashamed of testifying to the Lord nor to be ashamed of Paul his prisoner.

I conclude, therefore, that the generating principle of this chapter is Paul's deep desire that his son in the ministry not shrink back in fear or cowardice or timidity from the open proclamation of Christ and the suffering that may come. The main point of the text therefore is (and this is God's word for you, Paul): Go on rekindling the gift of courageous gospel witness and do not be ashamed to suffer for the testimony of Jesus. Do not think, if you leave this place tonight endowed with unique spiritual courage through the laying on of hands, that there will be no need for rekindling it later on. The lamp of spiritual power threatens to go out again and again. Our oil runs low. The lamp flickers. The winds of doubt and discouragement blow. The flame continues to burn only through vigilant guarding and rekindling. Spiritual endowments can be snuffed out through careless inattention. Take heed, therefore, and resolve from now until the great day of reckoning to guard the good deposit by the power of the Spirit and to keep the flame of courageous gospel testimony burning hot in your life.

And now to help you (and the rest of us) do this I want to apply some of the incentives of this text to you, Paul. The first one may seem a bit unusual. The first thing Paul does to stir up Timothy's boldness is to remind him that the faith which timidity denies was a faith which lived in the heart of his mother and grandmother. Verse 5: "I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt in your grandmother, Lois, and your mother, Eunice, and now I am sure dwells in you. For this reason rekindle the gift of God." Is this an appeal to mere sentimentalism? I think not. It is an appeal to the experiential evidence of the value of faith. You may be young and untested, Timothy, but consider your mother and your grandmother. Did not this faith serve them well? Do you really want to deny by your timidity the faith which carried them through life and death? Paul, I hope you never forget that I apply this text to you and your father. In the years to come when the lamp flickers and the winds of doubt and discouragement come, remember your father. You have been called to bear courageous witness to a faith that lived in him before it lived in you and carried him through life and death.

The second incentive for Timothy to rekindle his gift of courage is the recollection of his ordination. Paul reminds him in verse 6 that he had received this gift through the laying on of Paul's hands. And I don't think Paul means his hands alone but his along with all the elders as described in 1 Timothy 4:14: "Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophetic utterance when the elders laid their hands upon you." This is not an empty ritual tonight. When the church at Antioch prayed and fasted and laid their hands on Paul and Barnabas to commission them for missionary service, it was not for nothing. They expected that in answer to their prayer, and through the laying on of their hands, God would give Paul and Barnabas what they needed for their mission. And my prayer today has been that through the laying on of our hands tonight the Lord might bestow upon you a new measure of courage and boldness in the gospel so that you are never ashamed of Christ and are always willing to endure hardship in obedience to him. And so in the years to come when the lamp flickers and the winds of doubt and discouragement threaten to put it out, remember not only your father, but your ordination and the special anointing of God through the laying on of our hands.

The third incentive Paul gives to Timothy to rekindle the gift of courage is in verse 7: "For God did not give us a Spirit of timidity, but of power and of love and of self- control." When Timothy is tempted to be ashamed of the gospel and to withdraw weakly in silence, he should remember that the Spirit which dwells within him is the Spirit of God. Therefore, as verse 8 says, he should "take his share of suffering for the gospel in the power of God." The Spirit of God is not a Spirit of fear and if we yield to fear we have ceased to walk by the Spirit. There is a power beyond the resources of man which we can have by faith, and which we must have if the fruit of our labor in the gospel is to endure to eternity. Therefore when the lamp flickers and the winds of doubt and discouragement blow, remember not only your father and your ordination, but also remember that the Spirit which dwells in you is the mighty Spirit of God himself and he never inspires timidity in the gospel but only courage and love and sober judgment.

The fourth incentive for courage in ministry is that God has called you freely through grace and destined you for eternal life. Verses 9 and 10: "God saved us and called us with a holy calling, not in virtue of our works but in virtue of his own purpose and the grace which he gave us in Christ Jesus ages ago, and now has manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." You know well, Paul, that God's calling into the Kingdom and into the ministry is owing not to anything in us but solely to his free grace and sovereign purpose. And since this grace and purpose have been manifested in the appearing of Jesus who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light, then we may be sure that God's purpose in our calling is for our good and will lead to eternal life. Now you are called to take your share of suffering for the gospel. But you may do this without shame or fear because in the gospel your own immortality has come to light. In Christ you are indestructible. Never be ashamed therefore of the gospel, and do not fear those who can only kill the body.

And now one final incentive not to be ashamed but to suffer gladly for Christ: the testimony of Paul in verses 11 and 12: "For this gospel I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, and therefore I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me." (I think this translation is correct rather than the one that says Paul has committed or entrusted something to God. These are the same words used in verse 14 where Timothy is to guard his good deposit.) The point is that Paul has been called to fulfill a mission as preacher, apostle and teacher. That is the deposit that God has entrusted to him. Will he endure to the end in faithfulness? Or will the suffering put out the lamp of his courage and leave him in shame? His answer: "I am not ashamed because the one whom I trust is faithful and will guard what he has committed to me." Paul, when we ministers have done all we can do to rekindle our gift and follow Paul's word, and guard our good deposit, in the end our hope and our confidence are not in ourselves and what we can do, but in God. If we know who it is that we have trusted, we will never doubt that he can and will keep our lamp burning and not allow us to abandon the gospel in shame.

In summary then, Paul, remember your father's faith, remember your ordination, remember that the Spirit who dwells in you is a spirit of power and love, not timidity, remember that the God who called you by his grace will give you eternal life, and remember whom you have believed, that it is he who guards what he has entrusted to you for the great day of reckoning. Therefore, be of good cheer. And from this day forth rekindle the gift of courageous witness which I pray God the Holy Spirit will pour out upon you through the laying on of our hands.