2 Timothy 1 - How Can I Be Assured I Am Going to Heaven?

Insight for Living Commentary Introduction to 2 Timothy

Click Here to Read or Listen to 2 Timothy 1

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus. To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

This is Paul's second letter to young Timothy, who has been the pastor in Ephesus for 4 years now. Ephesus was the largest and most influential church in the early 1st century. As you can read in the commentary by Chuck Swindoll, Paul was still in prison and would be beheaded for faith not too long after he wrote this letter. Timothy and the believers in the church were starting to be persecuted more by the Roman Emperor Nero. 

Thanksgiving

3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

Timothy was a third generation Christian, who had his faith passed down to him from his mother and grandmother. This is the way God meant for the church to grow organically through the family. While it is very important to have great children and youth ministries in a church, the primary place for faith development should be in the home. Parents need to be their children's primary faith mentors, and the church can be their biggest ally in developing their kids to be Christlike. 

Appeal for Loyalty to Paul and the Gospel

6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. 9 He 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, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11 And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.

In 1 Timothy Paul referenced when Timothy was set apart for ministry, and the elders laid hands on him ordaining him to be a pastor in Ephesus. The laying on hands was the primary way the church administered th Holy Spirit anointing a person for the work of ministry. The Holy Spirit is likened to a flame that either be fanned into greater influence, or quenched and put out. The Holy Spirit has given each of us a gift, but we continued to need to fan it into a flame by using it in the church. 

It appears Timothy had an issue with timidity, which was natural for someone so young who is in a position of authority over those possibly much older than him. But Paul reminds him that the Holy Spirit who lived him did not give him a spirit of timidity but one of power, love, and self-control. 

When I was a young pastor, I was a little bit like Timothy. This verse really helped me. It reminds us that our power and confidence comes from God not us. If we are feeling fearful or anxious, we need to ask the Holy Spirit to fill us with His presence and peace. Peace is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. You can't be in fear and at peace at the same time. 

Because of this Timothy could be bold to proclaim the gospel despite some of the consequences of doing so. Paul urged Timothy to join him in suffering for the gospel, which he was doing from prison. 

Most of us in the West don't face these kinds of fears when we decide to preach or share the gospel. But we are increasingly being persecuting in more subtle ways in our culture. Christian are seen as "out of touch", "bigoted", "judgmental", and "hypocrites". We are shunned because of our views on being "pro-life", "traditional marriage between a man and a woman". and "we are created either male and female in God's image." Though some men have some feminine qualities, or some women have some masculine qualities, it doesn't change the fundamental nature of being created either male or female.  

In these issues, which are all in play in the upcoming election, Christians who don't follow the "Woke", "DEI", "Pro-choice", or "LBTQ+" agendas are seen as racist, homophopic, and misogynistic. Holding on to traditional Christian values is seen as abnormal and antiquated in our world today. I.e. We have our heads in the sands.  

So though are battles are not the same as Timothy and Paul's were, we certainly have big ones of our own. 

Not only did God save us through Jesus, but called us to a holy life. The grace we have been given was there before the beginning of time showing us that God's plan to save us started before he even created us. It was this gospel that Paul was appointed to be a messenger for and though he was in jail he counted it a joy to suffer to Jesus as he awaited to receive the crown that never fades away. 

Faith for Paul was not just a fanciful emotion or pipe dream, but faith grounded in reason. Paul knew what he believed and how it was grounded in the historical life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. He was confident, assured, and secure in his hope that for him to live was Christ and to die was gain. 

"Because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day."

Paul then uses a financial term to describe how the Holy Spirit is like a downpayment guaranteeing our future inheritnce. 

What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

The Holy Spirit is the deposit which assures us that our eventual home is in heaven. You can KNOW you are going to heaven, which the Holy Spirit testifies to you. You never have to doubt your salvation because it is not based on what you have done, but what Jesus did on the cross. If we could earn our way to heaven then Jesus died for nothing. 

Give God thanks today for the gift the Holy Spirit, who assures us that we are saved when the devil tries to get us to believe his lies. The devil wants you to doubt if you are saved, or maybe that you are not a "good enough" Christian to go to heaven. That is an outright LIE!

Examples of Disloyalty and Loyalty

15 You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. 17 On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. 18 May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.

Along those lines Paul had partners in ministry that were loyal to him like Timothy and someone named "Onesiphorus", but others who deserted him probably fearing for their lives. Rather than deserting Paul because he was in prison, Onesiphorus found him and minstered to and encouraged him. 

Give God thanks today if you have someone who "has your back" and will encourage you to stay the course regardless of what happens to you. We all need friends who can bear our burdens when they are too much for us. It is a joy to have friends like this and to be a friend like this! 

Who do you encourage? Who in your life needs encouragement? Who encourages you?