TIMOTHY, my son, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry.
For I am already on the point of being sacrificed; the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
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Paul’s second letter to Timothy is generally accepted to be the final Epistle written by him. It is written to Timothy, a beloved spiritual child who has been led to the faith by Paul himself by the laying of hands. The Epistle appears to have been written from Rome whilst Paul was undergoing a period of incarceration, probably for the final time and just before his death, which Paul would have been expecting.
So Paul is in a reflective mood. He exhorts Timothy to be firm in the faith. He reminds him that he is to preach the faith and be ready always to convince, rebuke, exhort and teach the true faith to those around him. Because sometimes, teaching takes extreme courage and daring. Teaching entails the taking of risk. You must teach what is true and correct and not what is pleasing to man. Christianity is not a popularity contest nor are we, who teach the faith, called upon to “tone down” that which has been handed down in the Gospels. This means, of course, that we must know our faith. We cannot teach something we do not know or understand. And make no mistake: this is a life-and-death matter. The great risk of teaching is this: if you tamp down the teaching so as to make it palatable to the listeners because you are in fear or because you seek some material gain then you are at risk of condemning yourself. The truth is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. People may change but not the truth. So therefore arm yourself with the truth of God so those who do not know or those who deliberately seek not to know or those who are being mischievous can be corrected into proper doctrine.
Teaching the word is an honourable activity. But even more honourable than teaching is proper teaching without fear or favour. As Paul says elsewhere, in First Corinthians: “for though you might have 10,000 instructors in Christ, you do not have many fathers.” A Father is one who looks unshakeably to the real truth without fear or favour. Teachers indeed may propound doctrine that is not necessarily sound for their own perverted reasons, whereas a true father always cares for the spiritual well-being of his children. And there is the difference: a teacher may seek self-advancement but a true father has only the welfare of his spiritual child uppermost in his mind.
So how does Paul carry out his duties as spiritual father to Timothy? In this intensely personal Epistle, Paul tells Timothy to be vigilant, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist and fulfil generally his ministry. That ministry is to establish the true faith. One is reminded of the parable of the sower where the word of God was able to bring forth much fruit provided that the soil of the heart had been properly attended to. That in essence is what Timothy must do – without fear or favour. After all, just as everyone is equal in the sight of the Lord so should everyone be equal to Timothy, and Timothy should be like the rays of the sun or the falling of rain – equal to all and before all. Even if he must be poured out like a libation and even if his time is at hand, he cannot waver but must maintain steadfastness to the truth.
Here’s the thing: even in the face of death the spiritual shepherd cannot look away from his obligation to protect the sheep. Between his safety and the safety of sheep it will always be the safety of the sheep first. Between his comfort and the comfort of the sheep it will always be the comfort of the sheep. Between self-sacrifice and sacrifice of the sheep it will always be self-sacrifice. The true pastor never loses sight of sound doctrine and maintains it even in the face of oppression and any personal danger. Take note: nothing is as simple as it seems. A good Shepherd may well be prepared to give up his life for his rational sheep but what if the good Shepherd is confronted with a situation where his rational sheep are being put to the slaughter periodically by wolves that want the Shepherd to leave his faith, the Shepherd being the only one who can stop this senseless slaughter by apostatising from his faith? What is a shepherd to do: allow life to be lost because he insists upon being true or to save life at the risk of his own soul? You see, nothing is a simple as it may at first seem.
However, Paul is now coming to the end of his life and there is almost a note of relief when he declares: “I have fought the good fight, I finished the race, I have kept the faith.” There is, of course, only one good fight and that is the fight to ensure that the word of God is spread throughout the land in accordance with the great commission given by Christ to his disciples. We are reminded in First Corinthians to run the race in such a way as one may be able to obtain the prize of the promise. In other words, whilst we teach, we strive and it is only at the end of the race that we are able to say: yes, we have run that good race. Yes, we have fought that good fight, neither deviating or being diverted and, yes, we have kept the faith. In that way we have been true to Christ and have earned our crown of glory in his kingdom.
Although our fellow servants may let us down, Christ will not. Although some people are weak, we in the faith become strengthened by our faith and act as beacons for those who are weakened by the ways of the world, in order that they may return back to the fold.
Paul reminds us all that at the end of all this pain and suffering on earth, the Crown of righteousness will be received by those who have not wavered, for the Lord God is a righteous judge. As Christ declares: “I can of myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and my judgement is righteous, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the father who sent me.” (John 5:30). Make no mistake, we will all be judged on whether we have fought the good fight; we will all be judged on whether we have finished the race in accordance with the rules of the race; we will all be judged on whether or not we have kept the faith.
May we all be found worthy.
