A."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.” (2Tim. 1:12)
B.We all know very well the hymn based on this verse, but let us now consider the verse itself so that we may know its lessons and applications for us.We will do so by studying the verse in six parts.
II.I ALSO SUFFER
A.Paul had suffered tremendously for the cause of Christ.
1.During Paul’s ministry of the gospel, he had suffered at nearly every place he went.
a.It was foreordained that Paul would suffer, for the Lord said, "I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake” (Acts 9:16).
b.As soon as Paul was converted to Christ and began preaching, the persecution against him began.This persecution is chronicled throughout the book of Acts (see chap.9-28).
c.Paul gave his own account of his sufferings in 2Corinthians 11:23-33.
2.Even as Paul wrote 2Timothy, he was in alone in a Roman prison cell (1:15; 2:9; 4:6-11, 16-18).
B.Likewise, it is expected that all Christians will suffer for the Lord.
1.Paul wrote, "Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2Tim. 3:12).
2.This abuse may be physical as Paul and many other early Christians suffered, but it may also be verbal as Jesus indicated in Matthew 5:10-12.Of course, verbal persecution often leads to physical abuse and other hardships (consider Heb. 10:32-34; 13:3).
III.I AM NOT ASHAMED
A.Despite his suffering, Paul was not ashamed of his work in the gospel of Christ.
1.If Paul had suffered in the same ways for any other reason than the gospel, then he likely would have been ashamed.To have been beaten, imprisoned, rejected by his own people, and even rebuked by political leaders would normally have brought tremendous shame, but Paul was not ashamed of these things for Christ’s sake.
2.Paul explained why he was not ashamed of any of these things in 2Corinthians 12:10 – "Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong” (2Cor. 12:10).
3.The strength that Paul found in weakness came through the powerful gospel of Christ that he preached.Notice Romans 1:16 – "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
B.Truly, no Christian should ever be ashamed of serving the Lord Jesus.
1.For Christians who suffer for Christ, the right attitude was demonstrated by the apostles, who rejoiced "that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name” (Acts 5:41).
2.Shame is a subjective state of mind.The things that cause a person to be ashamed reveal that person’s mind and values.
a.Those who make themselves subject to the ways of the world will be too ashamed to turn away from the world to follow the Lord.
b.Those who subject themselves to the Lord by following His word will not be ashamed when worldly people scoff, mock, reject, and persecute them.Indeed, "if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name” (1Pet. 4:16).
IV.I KNOW
A.Paul had a personal relationship with the Lord whom He served.
1.Paul had first seen the Lord on the road to Damascus as he was on his way to persecute Christians (Acts 9:1-9; 22:4-11; 26:9-20).From that time, he knew who His Lord was, and he served Christ.
2.It was the Lord Jesus Himself who had given Paul the gospel that he preached (Gal. 1:11-12).
B.Every Christian must come to know the Lord.
1.The prophet Jeremiah foretold of this knowledge and the new covenant in Jeremiah 31:31-34 (see Heb. 8:8-12).In that prophecy, God said, "I will put my laws into their minds, and I will write them on their hearts.And I will be their God, and they shall be My people, and they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, and everyone his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,' for all will know Me, from the least to the greatest of them.”
2.The knowledge of Jesus Christ is essential for any person to obtain eternal life.
a.In John 14:6-7, Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”
b.In John 17:3, Jesus prayed to the Father, saying, "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
V.I HAVE BELIEVED
A.Paul believed in the promises of Christ, and he lived in anticipation of receiving them.
1.Paul’s belief in Christ’s promises of the resurrection, eternal life and heaven motivated him to give up his former ways of life and to relentlessly press on in the service of the Lord.This is the message of the third chapter of his letter to the Philippians.
2.Notice that knowing Christ and believing in Him are not the same.
a.Paul knew Christ by experience, but he had not experienced the resurrection, eternal life or heaven.For these, he had to wait and believe that Christ would deliver His promises.
b.In other words, Paul had faith, which is "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Heb. 11:1).
B.All Christians must practice their beliefs in order to attain eternal life.
1.The kind of belief that was present in Paul is necessary for all Christians.This is the saving belief of John 3:16 – "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”Also see John 11:25-27.
2.Such belief is much more than a mental acknowledgement.It is a motivation that transforms a Christian’s life.Jesus even described this belief as a work in John 6:29.
VI.I AM CONVINCED
A.By the word of God and many convincing proofs, Paul was persuaded to believe in the Lord.
1.Paul was first convinced that Jesus was the Lord when he saw the light on the road to Damascus.From that time, Paul was convinced that he must serve Christ.
2.Once Paul was convinced, he then worked the rest of his life to convince others about Jesus.
a.He did so by the Scriptures (for examples, see Acts 13:43; 18:4; 19:8, 26; 28:23, 24).
b.Notice this exchange between Paul and King Agrippa from Acts 26:28-29 – "Agrippa replied to Paul, ‘In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian.’And Paul said, ‘ I would wish to God, that whether in a short or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me this day, might become such as I am, except for these chains.’”
B.Likewise, all Christians obtain knowledge and faith by the word of God.
1.The purpose of the Scriptures is to convince men concerning the gospel of Christ.John wrote of his book, "…these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30-31).
2.To be convinced is to have a conviction, and faith is "the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1).Truly, "faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17).
VII.I HAVE ENTRUSTED
A.Paul surrendered his life completely unto the Lord Christ.
1.Paul’s trust in the Lord is evident in this statement: "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21).
2.Notice how Paul gave up his previous life so that he could say, "But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ” (Phil. 3:7).
B.In the same way, all Christians should trust the Lord with everything they have.
1.Jesus requires this trust of His followers.In Matthew 16:24-25, He said, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
2.When Christians entrust Jesus with their eternal future, they place their hope in Him.This hope is confirmed and secured through the resurrection of Jesus (1Pet. 1:3; 1Cor. 15:20; Heb. 6:19-20).
