As the pressure mounts on believers from our politically correct society, where will we find strength? Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 2.1
A friend sent me this story of an Italian coffee shop:
‘I sat with a companion in a well-known coffee shop in a town near Venice, the city of lights and water. As we enjoyed our coffee, a man entered and sat down. He called the waiter, placing his order saying: ‘Two cups of coffee, one on the wall.’
We heard this with interest. He was served a cup of coffee but paid for two. When he left the waiter put a piece of paper on the wall that said ‘A cup of coffee.’ While we were still there, two other men entered and ordered three cups of coffee: ‘Two on the table. One on the wall’. They paid for three cups and left and another piece of paper went up on the wall. We were intrigued. We eventually left.
After a few days we had a chance to go to this coffee shop again. A very poorly dressed man entered. As he seated himself, he looked at the wall and said to the waiter: ‘One cup of coffee from the wall.’ The waiter served coffee just as for others. The man drank it and left with no charge. We were amazed. The waiter took off a piece of paper from the wall and threw it in the bin.
Now there was no mystery. The matter was clear to us. The care shown by the people of this place to the poor brought tears to our eyes.’
Picture of grace
The story is a picture of grace; free kindness to the needy, no matter who they are or how undeserving they might be. And Paul’s words to Timothy say, You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 2.1). Strength, courage for difficult times is found in God’s grace. It is not found first of all in more commitment or grit, but in taking hold of God’s grace for us.
Terrible times
Timothy lived in difficult days. As Paul writes he himself is facing the death penalty for his faith (4.6). Timothy lives in difficult times because he lives in ‘the last days’ as we do. Paul describes them as ‘terrible times’ marked by aggressive pleasure seeking, god-lessness, arrogance, abusiveness and persecution (3.1-5,12).
Antagonism towards Christianity is on the increase. A church leader spoke recently of being at a meeting concerning the village school. A man he knew and thought of as a friend got up and said he felt the church had far too much influence in the school and children must be protected from the ‘toxic nonsense of Christianity.’ In the past, Christianity may have been denounced as ‘nonsense’, but now it is seen as ‘toxic nonsense’.
In a recent consultation by the Equality & Human Rights Commission on discrimination because of beliefs in Britain. It was reported that the largest number of responses came from Christians.
Recently we have seen the Christian owners of Ashers Bakery in Northern Ireland convicted of discrimination for following their consciences in being unable to provide a cake promoting same sex marriage.
All this should not surprise us. The tide is powerfully running against God’s people and all they stand for.
But where will we find the strength to stand for Christ and not be ashamed? It is found, not in slicker gospel presentations or bigger and glossier conferences, but in God’s grace in Christ.
Grace for salvation
Nothing undermines confidence and courage like salvation by works. We imagine our standing with God depends on how well we are doing as a Christian. We can never be certain we’ve done enough. And not sure that God loves us or is with us, we crumble before an arrogant world. But in 2 Timothy, Paul has already explained what he means by grace. ‘[God] has saved us and called us to a holy life – not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Saviour.’(1.9,10).
It’s not by works in any way. Grace was given, not earned; it was given before time began so it cannot depend on us; it has been revealed not in us, but in Christ.
Christ has done it all. We should rejoice in this always. But sometimes in an imbalanced preaching of holiness, evangelicals have toppled over into a functional gospel of partial works. We feel our own shortcomings and think they undermine our standing with God. Confidence and courage evaporates.
We need to listen afresh to Martin Luther*: ‘Let us learn here of Paul to fully and truly believe that Christ was given, not for feigned sins, nor for small, but for great huge sins; not for few, but for many; not for conquered sins, but for invincible sins…I say not this for nought, for I have often proved by experience, and I daily find what a hard matter it is to believe that Christ was given, not for the holy, worthy, righteous, and such as were his friends, but for wicked sinners, for the unworthy, and for his enemies which have deserved God’s wrath and everlasting death…Suffer not thyself to be drawn away by any means from this most sweet definition of Christ, which rejoices the very angels of heaven: that is to say, that Christ is no Moses, no lawgiver, no tyrant, but a mediator for sins, a free giver of grace, righteousness and life: who gave himself, not for our merits, righteousness and godly life, but for our sins’.
Christian, Christ is your Saviour – always. And whatever sins are yours, Christ has died for them and you are safe. Grace! Herein is confidence and courage.
Grace for significance
How shall we be courageous when we are despised by the world? The answer is not to accept the world’s estimation of us but to understand who God has made us by grace. Clues to the Christian’s true significance are scattered everywhere in 2 Timothy 1 & 2. Why is Timothy Paul’s son (2.1)? It is because he has been born again through the word Paul preached to him and so has become God’s son too! Again we find grace in Christ Jesus (2.1) because the Christian is in Christ – united to him. That woman looks nothing special. Yes, but do you know who she is married to? Her husband is Jesus Christ – the Lord of the universe. Move over Michelle Obama. She truly is the first lady! Again the Holy Spirit dwells in us and furthermore to us has been entrusted the good deposit of the gospel – the antidote to all the world’s sicknesses and sins (1.14). And in Christ we inherit life and immortality and glory (1.10)! Significance is written all over us. The world in its blindness didn’t see who Jesus was, so don’t be surprised that they don’t recognise who you are. But by God’s grace we hold our heads high!
‘But we are just a small, tumble-down church,’ you say. Maybe. But God loves the small and loves to use those that the world writes off as small and of no consequence. He loves to choose the foolish to shame the wise and the lowly to shame the big and glamorous – so that the glory goes to him. Little church – take courage! By God’s grace you could not be more significant.
Grace for suffering
In this antagonistic last days’ environment, it will be tough. As he faces death, Paul has put his cards on the table for Timothy; Join me in suffering for the gospel (1.8). How shall we find courage to suffer? By the power of God, says Paul (1.8).
In God’s economy there is a principle that when we suffer for the gospel it advances the gospel. Jesus teaches us this: I tell you the truth, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds (John 12.24). Paul knows the truth of this dynamic of suffering, For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you (2 Corinthians 4.11,12). And as we believe the gospel, which is the power of God for salvation, and we understand that our suffering is not in vain we find strength / power / courage to suffer. And suffering for Christ will lead to glory (4.7.8).
How can we find courage for difficult times? We find it by drinking deeply of God’s grace from the free cup of salvation. Preach the gospel to yourself everyday.
JEB
* Luther’s Commentary on Galatians 1.4
This article is taken from an address given at this year’s Affinity Conference at Carey Baptist Church, Reading.
