In this session we continue the study of 2 Timothy with Joby Martin in a RightNowMedia video series.

When we remember the gospel of Jesus, we draw strength from him to pass his message of good news to others, even in the face of difficulty.

In this session we will learn to know that Jesus, by his grace, imparts strength to us as we share his gospel with others. To feel confident that God can deliver his message of salvation through us. To trust the power of God and his Word and share his message of good news with others.

OPEN
What is your favorite war movie? In the movie, what does it look like to be a good soldier?

We learn from great movies, stories, and from history that being a good soldier requires knowledge of your side’s mission, a commitment to carrying it out, and trust in your commanding officer. As Paul illustrates in this passage, these principles resemble the task given to Christians. In today’s session, we’ll learn what it looks like to be a “good soldier of Christ Jesus.”

A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus
¹You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, ²and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. ³Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. ⁵An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. ⁷Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

⁸Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, ⁹for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! ¹⁰Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. ¹¹The saying is trustworthy, for:

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
¹²if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
¹³if we are faithless, he remains faithful—

for he cannot deny himself. – 2 Timothy 2:1-13 ESV

Show RightNowMedia Session 2: 2 Timothy 2:1–13 (11 minutes).

DISCUSS
Joby opened this session by saying that the bulk of his teaching would revolve around the idea of disciples making disciples—or followers of Jesus who create more followers of Jesus—which he said is the ongoing task of the Christian life. How familiar are you with the biblical idea of discipleship? What experience do you have with being discipled and with being a disciple-maker?

In the opening line of 2 Timothy 2, Paul gives a directive to Timothy. He says, “be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” To “be strengthened” is passive, meaning to “acquire” or “receive” strength from another source—namely, from the grace that Christ supplies. We are called to continually draw strength from the grace that is ours in Christ. In what ways are we strengthened by God’s grace offered to us in Christ? Personally, how do you actively seek to “be strengthened”?

Paul’s first sentence in chapter 2 doesn’t end there, though. The strength Timothy receives from Christ is meant to empower him for the work Paul is calling him to do, which is to teach the message of the gospel to others—to disciple other disciple-makers. To what extent have you been participating in the work of making disciples? Who are you discipling right now?

The idea of being strengthened by Christ, and our need to be strengthened, carry forward into Paul’s next statement, as he implores Timothy to “share in suffering,” or endure hardship, “as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” Throughout his time following Jesus, Paul modeled what it means to suffer and endure well. In what ways have you suffered because of your Christian faith?

Paul employs the illustration of being a soldier for Christ in verses 3–4. What point is Paul trying to make with this illustration? In what ways do we sometimes take the idea of being a soldier for Christ too far?

As a good soldier of Christ, Timothy is not to get entangled in “civilian pursuits,” or things that distract from the mission. What “civilian pursuits” do you find it difficult to stay away from? What does it look like to keep yourself focused on pleasing Christ and staying on mission in all that you do?

Paul includes the image of an athlete and a farmer as well. Whereas Paul emphasizes allegiance with his soldier illustration, here he mentions following rules (athlete) and working hard (farmer). Combining all these illustrations, what is Paul communicating about the work Timothy is being called to do? How would you summarize verses 3–6 in one sentence?

In verse 7, Paul concludes his line of thought by encouraging Timothy to “think over” what he’s said, “for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” How often do you set aside time to simply “think over” what you’re learning in the Bible or what you’ve learned in a sermon? To what extent do you trust that God will enable you to understand what you’re learning?

How can you more intentionally engage your mind in the practice of worshiping and reflecting upon God?

Joby said after all the hard work implied in Paul’s three illustrations, Paul “brings us right back to the gospel” with his call in verse 8 for Timothy to “remember.” What does Paul tell Timothy to remember? How important is it important to regularly remember the good news that Jesus died and rose from the dead? How often do you remember Jesus’s death and resurrection? What practices do you have in place to help you?

Joby said that “we are saved to good works not by good works” How are those two ideas different? In what ways is it better that we are saved to good works and not by our good works?

Paul goes on in verse 9 to describe himself as being “bound with chains as a criminal.” Yet he follows that with a forceful exclamation: “But the word of God is not bound!” In other words, God’s words won’t be hindered or impeded by anything. In what ways does it encourage you to know that God’s words can’t be hindered? How can the reliability of God’s words help strengthen you for the work of disciple-making?

To a degree, Paul answers the previous question for us. Because the word of God is not bound, Paul “endure[s] everything for the sake of” those he’s discipling—“the elect,” he calls them—that they “may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus.” He gives us a model to emulate. How willing are you to endure hardship so that others “may obtain salvation”? Why are you willing or unwilling? How can you increase your willingness to “endure everything” for the sake of discipling others in the gospel?

In verses 11–13, Paul includes a series of if-then statements, which are inherently conditional. But these statements are unique in that they point to the faithfulness of God and his Word. They all hinge on one word, “for,” and the statement that follows: “he [Jesus] cannot deny himself.” Which of Paul’s if-then statements stands out most to you? Why? Taken together, what do these statements communicate about Jesus? What do they communicate about us?

If Jesus cannot deny himself, then what he says in the Scriptures is true, including that he empowers people like you to spread his message of salvation and to disciple people in the truth. What could it look like for you to believe that Jesus cannot deny himself? How might believing the undeniability of Jesus’s words change your own discipleship and the ways you disciple others?

What fears keep you from giving yourself more fully to the work of disciple-making? How can you keep Paul’s words to Timothy in the previous chapter—that God has not given you a spirit of fear—in the forefront of your mind as you pursue discipleship?

LAST WORD

Since its inception in the first century, Christian discipleship has turned the world upside down. One message of good news, delivered from one person to another, is the mechanism God has used to bring men and women from death to life, conforming them into the image of his Son by the power of his Spirit through the work of discipleship.

And Jesus’s command still stands: “Go and make disciples” (Matt. 28:19) who make disciples (2 Tim. 2:2). This week let’s commit to taking seriously the words of Jesus, who will not deny himself—let’s be disciple-making disciples.