7For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 8Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; 9Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, 10But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel (2 Timothy 1: 7-10).
The second letter to Timothy is likely Paul’s last letter before he was executed under Emperor Nero. Paul is making sure that Timothy is grounded in sound teaching. There is a whole lot of theology in these verses. Paul reminds Timothy that he has been given the gifts of a spirit of power, love and a sound mind. Timothy is to use these gifts to continue to preach the Gospel unashamedly without fear.
It is important that the correct gospel be preached but it is equally important to preach it with love. In verse 9, we are reminded that God saves us and calls not according to what we do or who we are but according to His gracious purposes. The Creator gave these gracious purposes to us through Christ even before the world began. This fact should cause us to pause and be thankful. Our response then in love should be to preach the good news that Christ defeated death and offers all who will come to Him everlasting life. In a world that deeply needs to be restored to life there is no greater good news. The Creator is the abolisher of death.
The second letter to Timothy is likely Paul’s last letter before he was executed under Emperor Nero. Paul is making sure that Timothy is grounded in sound teaching. There is a whole lot of theology in these verses. Paul reminds Timothy that he has been given the gifts of a spirit of power, love and a sound mind. Timothy is to use these gifts to continue to preach the Gospel unashamedly without fear.
It is important that the correct gospel be preached but it is equally important to preach it with love. In verse 9, we are reminded that God saves us and calls not according to what we do or who we are but according to His gracious purposes. The Creator gave these gracious purposes to us through Christ even before the world began. This fact should cause us to pause and be thankful. Our response then in love should be to preach the good news that Christ defeated death and offers all who will come to Him everlasting life. In a world that deeply needs to be restored to life there is no greater good news. The Creator is the abolisher of death.
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