All Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible 1995 Ed. (NASB95)

Paul the apostle was, for his time, an aged man (at least in his 60s). Doubtless, his face was filled with stress lines, as well as some from smiling. But the only way one could see these was with the aid of a small lamp that he used to write his letters. He sat at the bottom of a dark dungeon, enduring the putrid stench of his own waste and sweat.

He had traveled the great stretch of the northern Mediterranean coastlands, preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus for decades. On his body he carried the numerous scars of beatings and whippings, which he had suffered because of the name of his blessed Lord and Savior. And now he anticipated the short time it would take before he would be spiritually present with Jesus in heaven. After his final missionary journey, which much evidence shows was in Spain, he was arrested by the Roman authorities, convicted of treason against the Emperor for proclaiming Jesus as Lord, and sentenced to execution.

And now he awaited the hour when he would appear before the Roman government officials for the last time, and be forced to suffer the wicked sword for his faith in Jesus. But he didn’t merely confine himself to his inevitable fate, and do nothing practical. He thought of his young friend and student, Timothy, who was serving as a preacher, teacher, and overseer of assemblies across the Mediterranean. Before he was led to execution, he had to reach out to him one last time.

There were various reasons for this. First, Paul had to ask Timothy to visit him. Secondly, Timothy was suffering from cowardice, and the fear of people. He had to be encouraged. Lastly, Paul had to remind Timothy of the essential truths he had taught him, and warn him of the falling away from the faith that so many of their former missionary workers had committed, and was only to worsen.

This was Paul’s final letter — his final effort to summon his spiritual son to himself, and to remind him of what mattered most. If you were writing your last message to your son or daughter, what would you tell them?

As believers in western society, we know little of suffering for our faith in the Lord Jesus. Not so the Christians of the New Testament. Because they had few legal protections, a thoroughly hostile culture of paganism, with some Judaism, around them, and the deified authority of the Roman Empire and Emperor reigning over them, they were in danger of outward displays of hatred every day. And most of them experienced such animosity.

As a gospel preacher and assembly leader, Paul was one of those most affected by the assaults of unbelievers. And he knew Timothy was too. In order to encourage and warn his spiritual son, Paul says near the end of the letter of 2 Timothy that,

“. . . all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” (3:12)

Paul allows for no qualifications here, besides the general assumption that a believer has enough time on this earth to outwardly display godliness before a watching world. Take note of that again – if you have any desire to be godly – or “God-like” – then you will be persecuted. Now, Paul is not saying that you will suffer the worst persecution possible – such as death threats, loss of property, or things like that. The word for persecution simply means any mistreatment of any kind based on the fact that you’re obeying the Lord. So, if you don’t suffer any mistreatment of any kind from unbelievers in your life in response to your faithfulness, then it’s almost certain that you’re failing to be obedient to the Lord in your interactions with some of them.

This explains why one of the main themes of 2 Timothy is suffering for the gospel. One of Paul’s first charges to Timothy is to “join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God” (1:8). And this is the theme that I want to show you from this letter. In Paul’s last letter to his best friend, he gives several reasons why believers should suffer, and many ways how we ought to endure and respond to the suffering that comes our way for living godly lives.

Why the Gospel is Worth Suffering For

After writing an affectionate and powerful introduction to his letter, Paul soon gives Timothy a strong call to rouse himself in preparation for suffering service of the Lord, by reminding him of his giftedness, and of his spiritual power:

“. . . for this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.” (1:6-7)

So, the first reason Paul gives us for why we should be willing to suffer for the Lord is that He’s gifted us to carry out His will in the face of opposition, and He’s specifically gifted us with the Spirit – the Holy Spirit. Since Timothy was a special representative of Paul, it seems clear that he was specially gifted by the Lord to serve in that role. Thus, Timothy’s conversion, which I believe Paul writes about when he tells him that he’s been gifted “through prophetic utterance,” was  a special case in which Paul laid his hands on him. At that time, he not only was gifted with supernatural abilities, but he also received the Spirit, who is here described as giving “power and love and discipline.” But in spite of Timothy filling a special role in the early body of Jesus, all believers have the same Spirit living inside of them. Hence, we all have the Spirit that gives us power, love, and discipline (or “self-control”). Since we possess these characteristics from the Spirit, we should be empowered to endure suffering, be willing to love people in spite of their opposition, and control our attitudes and actions so we do what’s right, even though it will bring on persecution.

A second major reason that we should be eager to suffer for the gospel is that it’s the Lord’s testimony, as Paul calls it in verse 8. Therefore, rather than being ashamed of it, he’s implying to Timothy that he should be proud of it, just as he writes in Romans 1:16 – “For I am not ashamed of the gospel”.

Third, and most importantly, the gospel is worth suffering for because it’s the gospel that God used to save us and call us to Himself. Paul reminds Timothy that God “has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity” (1:9). In other words, it’s because the same God who calls us to suffer is the One who has saved us from sin and called us to be holy that we ought to be delighted to suffer for the message He used to grant us these graces.

Although Paul will go on to note several more motivations for suffering for the sake of the gospel, he concludes the beginning of the letter by urging Timothy to fulfill one of the main purposes of enduring suffering. This purpose is to guard or protect the gospel. He gives this command:

“Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.” (1:14)

Evidently, this treasure is the good news of the Lord Jesus, since this has been the object of Paul’s encouragements to Timothy from the start of the letter’s body. From this point forward in the letter, he mainly explains how Timothy needs to protect the gospel from distortion, shame, and arguments against it. And the only way that a believer can protect the gospel that lives within him in this world is by suffering for its promotion.

How Believers Need to Suffer for the Gospel

In light of his charge to guard the gospel of salvation, Paul begins his detailed instructions to Timothy as to how he should do this with one of the most important principles we can remember regularly – we must rely on the Lord’s power, and not our own. So, Paul prefaces all the more detailed instructions for Timothy with:

“You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” (2:1)

It’s because we are powerless in ourselves to be worthy guardians and proclaimers of the gospel that we must as much as possible rely on our Lord and Savior to grace us with strength to live out the gospel. It’s only then that we’ll be able to have the manly attitude (at least for men of God) that’s required to face persecutions and afflictions directly because of the gospel, as Paul next illustrates in his soldierly charge to Timothy:

“Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.” (2:3-4)

It’s a key part of our suffering for the gospel that we view ourselves as fighters in the spiritual war against the devil and his demonic hordes. And since we are fighting, we must be eager to experience trials, afflictions, distresses, discomforts, pain, and loss in this war. Paul goes on to add that a good soldier of Jesus will avoid getting entangled, or ensnared in “everyday life,” so that he can please the heavenly Commander. What are the ”everyday” affairs? They are any pursuits and ambitions that distract the soldier from his “active service,” or warfare. In other words, we as believers shouldn’t be obsessed with, distracted by, or infatuated with, the temporal, frivolous, or trivial things of this world, but focus on our heavenly mission.

The third method by which Timothy needs to suffer for the gospel is by deriving encouragement and zeal for his task by sympathizing with the great suffering of his greatest leader and mentor, as Paul continues the letter by reminding him that for the gospel,

“. . . I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned. For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus . . .” (2:9-10)

Actually, there are two ways here by which believers should learn to suffer for the Lord’s work. As noted, it’s first by sympathizing and identifying with those who are suffering worse than us for Jesus. Paul was in prison, but Timothy wasn’t. But second, it’s by remembering that our suffering will be used by the Lord to save people. These are the “chosen” of whom Paul speaks. Notice that he suffers so that they will obtain salvation. Thus, just as Jesus suffered for the salvation of the world, so also can we suffer to have the Lord use our circumstances and responses to bring the gospel to those He chose to save before they were even created.

Fourthly, Paul commands his friend to suffer by diligently working to precisely understand and teach the gospel in this famous verse:

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” (2:15)

As most people who have done intense manual labor know, physically exerting yourself to the point of exhaustion is uncomfortable and sometimes painful. This is the type of work that Paul is calling Timothy, and all believers who preach the gospel, to engage in. He here pictures Timothy as a craftsman engaging in masonry, with God as his manager, and “the word of truth” as his raw material. When he calls Timothy to “be diligent” in making himself “approved to God” by “accurately handling” the word, he’s not mincing words. The Greek term for “diligent” refers to concentrated, excruciating, and wholehearted effort to the goal that’s aimed at. And how will Timothy achieve his approval from God? By literally “rightly dividing” the word, or to paraphrase, “cutting it straight.” In using masonry imagery, Paul is emphasizing that such learning and teaching must be precise, relevant, and clear. This is the way that all teachers and preachers of the gospel ought to conduct their study and teaching of the truth. And such laborious efforts will require you to suffer.

On the flip side of this positive instruction is Paul’s warning to Timothy to “refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels” (2:23). This will cause suffering for us because both the world, and sinning believers, are obsessed with foolish and unknowing speculations, or groundless and useless opinions and beliefs. But such ideas must simply be shunned from our consideration. If we truly do this in our relationships with people who are propagating such things, there’s no doubt that we’ll offend them, and bring upon ourselves disdain, criticism, and sometimes hatred. Yet in order to remain focused on promoting the gospel, those ideas that would detract from it must be avoided and despised.

Going along with this refusal of foolish hypotheses, those who would promote them must also be corrected, which will again bring the suffering of persecution on us. But Paul’s order to Timothy is clear:

“The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition . . .” (2:24-25)

Notice the apostle’s instruction to act patiently when you’re wronged, since the Lord’s work of preaching and teaching the gospel demands the endurance of hostility and opposition. In addition, mistreatment shouldn’t only be borne patiently, but opponents must be corrected gently, or with the appropriate attitude, manner, and tone. Gentleness is the quality of facing opposition with as much peaceableness and consideration as possible, so that an opponent may be able to deal not with the emotions of the corrector, but with his arguments. Also, it demonstrates to the opponent that he’s not the enemy, but rather his false teaching.

To conclude our look at Paul’s explanation of rightly suffering for the gospel, we’ll next examine his final charges for his spiritual son, and how they apply to us today.

Face Persecution Expectantly, Directly, and Soberly

To return to where we began with Paul’s teaching to Timothy on persecution, I would remind you that Paul reminds Timothy of his experiences of persecution, and then promises that all pursuers of godliness will be persecuted (3:12). But how does Paul follow this promise? By pointing Timothy to the Scriptures of God’s Word, which contain all the truth and wisdom he needs to obtain eternal life, and to persevere in suffering for the gospel. He writes these famous words which are key in our endurance of suffering for the Lord’s sake:

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (3:16-17)

We would do well to thoroughly understand these words and live them out every single day. The Scriptures are here said to be sufficient for providing us with all we need to suffer joyfully and faithfully in our service of the Lord. They will also train us to become more righteous as we study, learn, and apply them to our lives. This is implied by the statement that Scripture profits its student so he’ll be adequate, or complete, and therefore fitted out for every good deed.

The second to last way in which Paul charges Timothy to suffer for the gospel is by regularly, holistically, and earnestly preaching it. He presents this charge in these inspiring words:

“I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.” (4:1-2)

Now why would Paul insist that Timothy engage in the most likely acts to rain down persecution and hatred on his head? He lists three reasons in the first verse. First, because this charge is given to Timothy on God’s behalf, or in His presence, with Him witnessing. Second, because Timothy’s going to be judged according to his faithfulness in preaching the word. And finally, because Jesus will soon “appear” and complete His kingdom on the new earth. Thus, Timothy, and all preachers of the gospel, must preach it at all occasions, with all helps, with all patience, and with all the teaching necessary. And these principles shouldn’t only be heeded by those called to routinely preach the gospel, but to all believers, since it’s all of our task to bear witness to the gospel.

The last manner in which Paul instructs Timothy to suffer for the gospel is with soberness, or clear-headedness. Living in this distracting, distressing, and deceptive world, along with our sinful desires and temptations whispering in our ears at our weakest moments, it’s easy to let suffering push your mind into thinking about vain, foolish, and selfish things. So Paul wanted to give Timothy one last reminder that the Spirit who lived inside of him was the Spirit of discipline and self-control. Hence, the conclusion of Paul’s last series of orders is this:

“But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (4:5)

Although most believers aren’t gifted nor called to work as evangelists as Timothy was, these instructions are just as relevant for us all. As we strive to suffer for the gospel in our strivings against sin, we too must be sober in everything, must endure hardship, must evangelize, and must fulfill the ministry, or literally “service,” that the Lord has given to each one of us.

How Well are You Suffering for the Gospel?

As you seek to practically and specifically apply these teachings to your life, here are some questions to ponder:

  1. Are you relying on the Holy Spirit to empower you to love others and discipline yourself to be godly?
  2. Are you proud of the gospel, so that you’re excited to share it with others?
  3. Do you daily remember God’s gracious saving and calling of you to holiness?
  4. Are you being careful to guard the gospel as a precious treasure you hold within your heart?
  5. Are you relying on the Lord to strengthen you to endure hardship like His good soldier, and avoiding earthly entanglements?
  6. Do you regularly remember the great suffering of your harshly treated brethren throughout the world?
  7. Are you diligent to precisely represent God’s Word, to refuse foolish speculations, and to gently correct opponents of the gospel?
  8. Do you have an expectation of persecution against your godly life?
  9. Are you preaching the gospel as the Lord gives you opportunity by any possible means?
  10. Finally, do you think soberly in all types of situations, including hardships, so that you can fulfill the services that the Lord gives you to do?