God Has Not Given Us a Spirit of Timidity

In one paragraph

On the last Sunday of 2018, the pastor walked through the opening verses of 2 Timothy as a New Year's message, focusing on what God has given believers to face the future without shame or timidity. The letter is Paul's final one, written from a Roman prison under Nero, and its personal, urgent tone shaped the whole sermon. The core idea was simple: God has not given us a spirit of cowardice but of...

Read together

1. 2 Timothy 1:1 Paul introduces himself as an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of life
2. 2 Timothy 1:2 Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord addressed to Timothy
3. 2 Timothy 1:3 Paul thanks God whom he serves with a clear conscience as he constantly remembers Timothy in his prayers
4. 2 Timothy 1:4 Paul longing to see Timothy, recalling his tears, so that he may be filled with joy
5. 2 Timothy 1:5 Paul affirms Timothy's sincere faith that first dwelt in his grandmother Lois and mother Eunice
6. 2 Timothy 1:6 Paul reminds Timothy to kindle afresh the gift of God through the laying on of hands
7. 2 Timothy 1:7 God has not given us a spirit of timidity but of power and love and discipline
8. 2 Timothy 1:8 Do not be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord nor of Paul as prisoner but join in suffering for the gospel
9. 2 Timothy 1:9 God saved and called us not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace
10. 2 Timothy 1:10 Christ Jesus abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel
11. 2 Timothy 1:11 Paul was appointed as preacher, apostle, and teacher
12. 2 Timothy 1:12 For this reason Paul suffers but is not ashamed for he knows whom he has believed and is convinced He is able to guard what was entrusted
13. 2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is God-breathed, cited as a key theological statement hanging on this book
14. 2 Timothy 2:15 Study to show yourself approved, a workman that need not be ashamed, cited regarding Paul asking for scrolls
15. 1 Timothy 4:14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift received through prophecy when the elders laid hands on Timothy
16. 1 Timothy 5 Paul's instruction to Timothy about younger widows and being drawn away from ministry
17. 1 Timothy 4:8 Physical training is of some value, cited in context of discipline
18. 1 Peter 4 Each one has been given a gift to use for the upbuilding of the church
19. 1 Peter 2:21-23 Christ suffered for us leaving an example, was reviled but entrusted himself to Him who judges rightly
20. Hebrews 10:23 Hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm for God can be trusted to keep his promise

Talk about it

1. Paul opens his letter to Timothy with grace, mercy, and peace. What is the difference between grace and mercy as Pastor Nathan described them, and can you think of a time when you received one or both of those from God or from another person?
2. Pastor Nathan said that to encourage someone is literally to fill them with courage, and he pointed to Paul's repeated affirmations of Timothy's sincere faith as an example of that. Who in your life right now could use that kind of specific, personal encouragement, and what would you say to them?
3. Paul tells Timothy that God has not given us a spirit of timidity but of power, love, and a sound mind or discipline. Looking at the several translations Pastor Nathan walked through, which word or phrase for that third quality speaks most directly to where you are right now, and why?
4. Pastor Nathan described Timothy as someone who appeared to be shrinking back from his calling, and Paul's letter was in part an effort to rekindle the gift God had placed in him. Have you ever found yourself pulling back from something you believed God had gifted and called you to do? What caused that, and what helped or could help stoke that fire again?
5. Paul says from a Roman prison, for this reason I also suffer, but I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed. How does the certainty Paul expresses, that God is able to guard what has been entrusted to Him, speak to whatever uncertainty or fear you are carrying into the new year?