“Final Instructions in the Faith” 2 Timothy 1:1-4:22 (Overview)

“Final Instructions in the Faith” 2 Timothy 1:1-4:22 (Overview)

An Expositional Sermon
2 Timothy 1:1-4:22 (Overview Sermon)
“Final Instructions in the Faith”

Theme/Big Idea: Christ stands by and guards His people, so we live and suffer based on our love for Him rooted in the Bible, guarding the gospel, and standing by those in chains.
Aim/Appropriation/Application: Build your life upon your hope in Christ and nothing else.

Outline:
(1) Christ Guards Us, So Guard the Gospel (2 Timothy 1:1-2:26)
(2) Avoid Nominal Christians (2 Timothy 3:1-9)
(3) Love Christ’s Appearing by Living on the Bible (2 Timothy 3:10-4:8)
(4) Christ Stands by Us, So Stand by Those in Chains (2 Timothy 4:9-22)

Questions for Further Reflection
(1) What will you say if you have the opportunity to say something before you die? In your final farewell, what will you say?
(2) How did you first hear of the gospel of Jesus Christ? Are you thankful for that? How did a fellow member of our church, or a dear brother or sister in Christ first hear the gospel? What lives has God used to teach them the all-sufficiency of Christ?
(3) In the face of your death is this one of the things you will list as something you are thankful for, the people God has used to save those we discipled?
(4) Do you have the kind of affection Paul had for Timothy? The kind of love that weeps when we part and sheds tears over each other’s pain?
(5) Do you feel that your faith is weak and that what used be a zealous and joyful life has been eclipsed by weariness, the sorrows of sin, fear and anxiety, injustice and opposition? Are you tired? Think about what ways you might find encouragement in Jesus Christ to not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up (Gal. 6:9). What is your strategy to fight for your joy in the midst of your weariness?
(6) Do you see the salvation of the elect as a worthy cause to suffer for? Like Paul, will you endure anything for the sake of the elect? Would you die for the salvation of God’s people, knowing that it’s not our death that makes atonement and reconciles others to God, but our dying so that God’s people might hear of the one who has, Jesus Christ? Is your life an amplifier for the words of Christ, so that His sheep might hear His voice?
(7) God promises us that all who desire to live a godly life in Christ will be persecuted (2 Tim. 3:12). Is this a promise that you are prepared for? One way to identify false teachers is why their neglect to preach this truth. How does your heart respond to this? Are you willing to suffer for the sake of following Christ? Would you consider it a joy to suffer with Christ and His people? What fuels our hope in the face of suffering?
(8) If one way that we pursue to guard the gospel is to invest in men who can in turn invest in other men, what can we do as a church to make this investment to seek to raise up faithful Christians and teachers of the Bible?
(9) Do you see God changing your heart and life from the list of sin in 2 Timothy 3:1-9? What are ways that you still see your heart tending in these directions? Ask for God’s forgiveness through Christ, and beg of him for the gift of repentance and faith. What are you doing to fight your own self-deception? Do you have the appearance of godliness but deny the power of God in Christ to redeem you from your sin and change you? Are you a “nominal Christian” or a Christian in name only?
(10) How can we persevere in the faith, endure in suffering, and fight self-deception? Answer: Read the Bible. Why, and how does reading the Bible strengthen us for perseverance, endurance, and fighting for faith?
(11) Are you following the example of the Apostle Paul insomuch as he imitates Christ?
(12) What makes us wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ? Answer: The Bible. Why and how? What are the implications of this truth?
(13) Do you want to hear from God? Do you want to engage with God in a relationship? Do you want to approach Him in a way that wouldn’t demand you immediate destruction in the presence of his resplendent holiness? Read the Bible. What is keeping your from acceptably engaging God through His Word?
(14) Would you die for the spread of the gospel? “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matt. 10:39).