Listen to today's sermon:
The Holy Spirit inspired St. Paul to write to Timothy the following: “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well” (2 Timothy 1:5).
While in prison for proclaiming the one true Christian faith, St. Paul had much time to think. He had much time to pray. It would be so easy to feel sorry for yourself while chained in a damp room. It would be so easy to begin the blame game or just complain about circumstances. But St. Paul does not do that. Instead, he thanks God.
St. Paul remembers his forefathers who brought him up as he would grow up into becoming a Pharisee and later through Christ’s intervention, an apostle of Christ. Paul went from a persecutor of Christ into a courageous witness and missionary of Christ.
Paul remembers Timothy’s tears. He remembers that day when he parted from Timothy. Could Timothy had known that Rome had a bounty on Paul, his father of the faith? We don’t know. But we do know that final time brought tears upon Timothy. And any separation does bring sorrow.
As Paul thinks of Timothy, he is reminded of Timothy’s family. He tells of the faith that first dwelt in Timothy’s grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice. Paul speaks of their sincere faith. He says that same faith also dwells in Timothy.
You see, the Holy Spirit had worked a sincere faith in their hearts, one that showed itself also in the way Eunice and Lois instructed Timothy in the Old Testament when he was still a child. Through the Holy Spirit working in the hearts of his mother and grandmother, we can see how the godly examples of faithful parents and grandparents can bring eternal blessings to children and children’s children.
But did you notice what’s not mentioned by Paul? It is kind of striking. Paul never mentions Timothy’s father or grandfather. And when men are not mentioned in the Scriptures, it is usually for the better.
You see, if Timothy was to know the Scriptures, he wasn’t going to get that from his father. For Acts 16:1 tells us that his father was a Greek, a heathen, an unbeliever. Timothy grew up in a home with divided loyalties, much like so many homes today.
And when the head of the household will not lead the home, who ends up doing it? The mother. This is the case for Timothy. This is the case for so many households today.
But the good news is that Timothy was taught the faith from his mother, who learned it from her mother. Through the working of the Holy Spirit in his mother and indwelling in him, Timothy learned the sound words of Christian doctrine. Timothy became a disciple of Christ. Timothy received the laying on of hands. He was ordained to the holy calling of pastor.
But something happened to Timothy after he became a pastor. He changed. He became timid.
Something happens to us as we grow older. At some point in our lives, we all develop the virtue of hesitancy. Now, certainly the faith given to us through the Holy Spirit is still there, but that faith does not flow so smoothly through the mouth. We become timid. We hesitate to speak of the hope we have in Christ with others. We shut our mouths at family gatherings. We shut our mouths among our friends. We learned the virtue of hesitating. We have learned how to keep our mouths quiet.
Now, certainly a major part of why we hesitate and become timid is the hostile world around us. We desire to live in this hostile world, so we hesitate to speak of the good news we have in Christ with our friends, our family, our neighbor. We don’t want to cause a scene, so we keep our mouths quiet.
One person who did not keep his mouth quiet speaking of the sure and certain hope he had in Jesus Christ was Charlie Kirk. He spoke in some of the most un-Christian places: college campuses. He conversed with people who disagreed with him. He would have those who disagreed with him come to the front of the line to argue their opinions. Sometimes Charlie changed their mind. Other times he did not. Sometimes Charlie would change his own mind. But each conversation was rooted in God’s Word and for that Charlie was hated by many. He was called a bigot. He was called a Nazi, a fascist. He was called a white supremacist. He was called a homophobe, a transphobe. But for those who called Charlie names, did they truly know why? I tend to doubt they even knew why. They just heard it said by someone else and believed the lie.
In John 15, Jesus said to His disciples: “If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” … But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated Me without a cause’” (John 15:18-20a, 25).
Charlie was hated by many because he was faithful to God’s Word as he spoke on college campuses. And for being faithful to his Lord and Savior, he was assassinated last month. May we have the same courage of Charlie Kirk.
This is exactly what St. Paul was saying to Timothy. With a clear and gentle rebuke, St. Paul wrote to Timothy that God has not given Christians a spirit of fear.
Maybe Timothy was fearful because he went from an innocent and naïve faith and has now encountered a world that has killed its Maker. We all know of Christians who have walked away from the faith. We all know Christians who have chosen to leave Bible-centered churches to churches that are praised by the fallen world.
Timothy has learned to keep his mouth shut. He has learned to be ashamed of the testimony of God’s Word. And so have we.
We, too, have been confronted by a world that has rejected its Maker. We have all heard those false teachers in the world – on television and social media, in our places of learning. We know how persuasive those false teachers have been. We have all seen brothers and sisters depart from the one true faith. Despite our prolonged and gut-wrenching efforts to draw them back, we have watched them walk away. And we know faithful Christians suffer. We have learned how to keep our mouths shut. We have learned how to keep our mouths quiet. We have learned to conceal the deep love and the utter dependance we have on Jesus. We have learned how to conceal that hope when we chat with our friends and neighbors.
We all need St. Paul’s encouragement that he gave to this young pastor named Timothy. Did you notice how he encourages Timothy? He encourages him by summoning the little boy he once was. He says, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, … dwells in you” (2 Timothy 1:5).
The Holy Spirit dwells in Timothy. The Spirit of the One who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light dwells in Timothy.
And He dwells in you, too. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, how could anyone of us be ashamed of Jesus? Afterall, He “saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of His own purpose and grace, which He gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began” (2 Timothy 1:9).
In other words, Jesus has “redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.” (Second Article)
We received God’s grace not because of anything you and I have done, but by what God has done for us. We cannot even take responsibility for coming to faith. Eunice and Lois and your parents and grandparents certainly played a role, but it was the Holy Spirit who brought them and you to faith. For “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.” (Third Article)
This is how God does it. This is God’s way. You have faith “because of His own purpose and grace” (2 Timothy 1:9). Yours and my faith is all because of God’s grace from beginning to end. And He keeps us strong in faith through His Means of Grace as “He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth” through the preaching of His Word and the receiving of His Sacraments.
So, “follow the pattern of the sound words” that you have been taught “in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:13). Pay close attention to what God has said and done in Christ. Guard the good deposit. Read the Word, Hear the Word, live His Word. For there is nothing more important than God’s Word. Don’t be ashamed. Don’t be timid. But be courageous. Be childlike in the faith and look for opportunities to share with your loved ones, your neighbors, of the faith you have. For the One who destroyed death has also “brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:10). Amen.
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +
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