Feeding the Flames for Gospel-centered Disciple-making

Paul wrote 1 Timothy from Macedonia, hoping that he would soon be able to visit Timothy in Ephesus (1 Tim 3:14-15). In his first letter, Paul provided instruction on the nature and practice of the church, addressing matters such as false teachers, ministerial positions, widows, public worship, and wealth.

But the circumstances have dramatically changed in three or more short years. And in his second letter to Timothy, Paul, writing from “death row” as it were, focused on the personal ministry assignment of Timothy himself, knowing the essentialness of passing on a Spirit-fired, gospel-centered deposit of truth in disciples who would reproduce themselves in others, Others, OTHERS! (2 Tim. 2:2).

Paul was in prison because what he had been doing and saying was seen as an offense to the people in power. He was announcing a royal message, a “gospel” which collided head-on with the royal message on which the Roman Empire was built: the announcement of Caesar as Lord, the promise of his power to save the world, the prospect of his royal appearance in a city or province that obeyed his rule. “Paul in prison” meant “Paul out of favor with the powerbrokers of the day.” (N.T. Wright”)

Unlike previous imprisonments, Paul, according to tradition, wrote this second letter, and the final one we have from him, from an underground chamber in Rome's Mamertine prison. It was a dark, damp, depressing place. Based on the end of 2 Timothy, it seems Paul had already received a court hearing (2 Tim 4:16-18) and expected to be executed soon (4:6-8). Even though Paul mentioned that Luke was with him (4:11), we still picture the war-torn apostle alone and cold. He wanted his cloak, his scrolls (especially the parchments!), and to see Timothy.

The fact is that soon after he wrote this letter he was condemned and executed, by beheading, in Rome at the command of Nero. Paul sensed this; therefore 2 Timothy is not only the last letter we have from Paul, there is also a note of urgency and passion we might expect from a man who knew he would soon be executed.

I am borrowing heavily from Pastor David Platt’s excellent commentary on the Pastoral Letters. He writes, “Paul's words in 2 Timothy are not only deeply personal, but they are also deeply theological. This letter to Timothy is saturated with gospel-centered content. John Stott says, "Paul's preoccupation in writing to Timothy was with the gospel, the deposit of truth which had been revealed and committed to him by God." With this dominant theme in mind, Stott outlines 2 Timothy in four parts:

• Guard the gospel (chapter 1).
• Suffer for the gospel (chapter 2).
• Continue in the gospel (chapter 3).
• Proclaim the gospel (chapter 4).

“Indeed, this letter is both timely and timeless. For what can be more important today than to rightly guard and give the gospel to the next generation? It is often said that we are one generation away from the Christian faith become extinct! From a human perspective, if the gospel isn’t passed on to the next generation, it will be neglected, ignored, or abandoned in the next. We must keep guarding, suffering for, continuing in, and proclaiming the gospel.

“This gospel-centered focus speaks loudly to us, teaching us to fix our eyes on the primary truths of our assignment as disciples and disciple-makers. Paul was most passionate about the gospel for its exaltation of our King and the extension of His kingdom. (1 Cor 15:1-3).

“So what is the gospel? From this letter, we could describe the good news of Jesus with six shorthand descriptions. First, the gospel is Christological. It is about Christ. There is no gospel apart from Jesus - He is the Hero of the gospel (2 Tim 2:8).

“Second, the gospel is biblical. God has presented the saving work of Christ in Holy Scripture. Paul said that the Scriptures "are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus" (3:15).

“Third, the gospel is historical. Christ has appeared in human history (1:10) and will come again to usher in His heavenly kingdom (4:18). This grand narrative begins in Genesis and ends in Revelation, as the themes of creation, fall, redemption, and new creation unfold.

“Fourth, the gospel is doctrinal. Christians treasure the wonderful truths of the gospel. Second Timothy speaks of many important doctrines: the promise of life (1:1), sovereign grace (1:9), Christ's victory over death (1:10), the Spirit's indwelling (1:14), the person and work of Christ (2:8), election (2:10, 19), glorification (2:10), union with Christ (2:11), repentance (2:25), and future rewards (4:8).

“Fifth, the gospel is personal. It must be received personally by faith, just as Timothy, his mother, and his grandmother received it (1:4-5).

“Sixth, the gospel is practical. It has to do with all of life, from our families to our finances, from our schooling to our purity. Our relationships in the church, our ministries of word and deed, our affections and our fears - the gospel has practical implications for all of these things.

“The gospel is practical for both the believer and the unbeliever. To the lost, the gospel is the only message of salvation and hope. It proclaims that this world and the people in it are broken, lost, hopeless and helpless to fix their condition, but that Jesus has offered Himself as the payment for sin and the redemption of the world.

‘For believers, the gospel reminds them of their position before God, their present power, and their eternal future. The gospel gives the believer strength to endure suffering and the trials of ministry. One reason Paul was preoccupied with the gospel in this letter is that he knew Timothy's one hope for persevering until the end was found in the grace of Christ Jesus. We too will finish our leg of the race only as we rely on the benefits of our union with Christ. It is this gospel that Timothy was called to treasure, love, and proclaim.”

1. The Various Things that Contributed to the Making of a Gospel-centered Disciple – 1 Tim. 1:1-5

Disciples are not some Christians who got an upgrade. It’s not Christianity 2.0. Disciples are those who become followers of King Jesus, and following isn’t optional. Jesus declared in Matthew 16:24: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

A. Disciples Must be True Recipients of the Promise of the Life that is in Christ Jesus - 1:1- “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,”

Perhaps you have never thought of the gospel, or of Christianity, as, "the promise of the life which is in Christ Jesus"? Not life to come so much as life right now. It is generally agreed that one of the big problems faced by old and young alike is how to look at life. And one of the big obstacles in coming to a satisfactory view of life is that Christianity is seen somehow as a detour - that if you are a Christian, you have to give up most of the exciting things about life. But Christianity is anything but a detour around life. It is a highway right straight through the middle of it. It is the key to life; the fulfillment of the hunger and longing of human hearts.

As Paul awaited death, he knew there was the promise of life for those who are in Christ Jesus of which he was already in possession of and would soon die into a fuller and forever experience of this life. The gospel gives life because at the heart of our message is a person, Jesus the Christ, who is Himself "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). John says, "The one who has the Son has life" (1 John 5:12). Paul also writes that Jesus "abolished death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel" (2 Tim 1:10). Indeed, this theme runs throughout the Bible, for in Genesis and later in Revelation, we read of people eating of the tree of life and drinking from the water of life.

B. Disciples Need Mentoring Relationships that Resemble Spiritual Parenting – 1:2: “To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Paul mentions three shaping influences or three means of grace that God used to transform Timothy into a reproductive man of God (1 Tim 6:11, “But as for you, O man of God”) Timothy, like all of us, was maturing in the faith, but was still a work in progress. The three means of grace that the Spirit of God used to transform this child of God was a personal mentor, a godly heritage, and the Holy Spirit and His gifts.

1. A Personal Mentor - 1:2: “To Timothy, my beloved child”; 1 Tim. 1:2: “my true child in the faith”; 1 Tim.1:18: “my child”; 2 Tim. 2:1: “my child”. Also, he calls Titus “my true child in a common faith” (Titus 1:4).

To be clear, Timothy and Titus are not Paul’s biological sons. Nor are they legally adopted sons. They are more than that. They are “true” sons, he says. Paul viewed Timothy and Titus, and multitudes of others, as his own spiritual children, and the one whom others would be able to say, “Like father, like son.”

1 Cor 4:14-17, “I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me. That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.”

He introduces Timothy in verse 2 as his "dearly loved child" and says many other wonderful things about his loyal disciple. Commending Timothy to the Philippians, Paul confesses, "For I have no one else like-minded who will genuinely care about your interests... you know his proven character, because he has served with me in the gospel ministry like a son with a father" (Phil 2:20, 22). And Paul extends a greeting to his son: "Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord" (2 Tim 1:2). In this triad Paul highlights the indescribable love of God. God gives grace to the desperate, mercy to the guilty, and peace to the restless - all of it through Christ.

Almost immediately the question arises, “What exactly do you do in a mentoring relationship?” Verses 3-4 show us two essentials behind the act of mentoring: love and prayer. A true mentor must start here. Paul's love for Timothy is expressed beautifully in verse 4: "Remembering your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy." This is the picture of a faithful believer's confidence before death and a loving mentor's attitude toward his disciple.

From this starting point, I see some lessons for us who desire to mentor others. Paul helped Timothy in three areas: calling, character, and competency. In terms of calling, Paul encouraged Timothy to use the gifts God had given him to live out his calling (2 Tim 1:6). As for character, Paul urged Timothy to pursue godliness, endurance, love, and other Christlike qualities (3:10-12). As for ministerial competency, Paul coached Timothy on how he should respond to people appropriately (2:16, 23-26; 3:5), study the Word diligently (2:15), preach the Word faithfully (3:16-4:2), and do the work of an evangelist constantly (4:5). If you are an older leader, invest in a Timothy. Help him fan the flame of his calling, develop Christlike character, and grow in his competency.

We must understand clearly and compellingly the importance of life-on-life discipleship. As a pastor or church leader, it is often easy to overlook or neglect Pauls’ model. In 2 Timothy 2:2, Paul instructs Timothy to invest in other men the way Paul invested in him.

It is absolutely essential if we are to build Jesus’ standard disciples to engage in life-on-life relationships. Our reliance upon an institutional format of professional clergy doing the work of the ministry and laypersons “paying, praying and staying out of their way”, is total negligence of the New Testament model. In 2 Timothy 2:2, Paul instructs Timothy to invest in other men the way he had invested in him.

2. A godly heritage - We should not overlook Paul's reference to his ancestors (v. 3). In verse 3, Paul expresses his love for his disciple by thanking God for him. Paul mentioned that he thanked God like his "ancestors." Paul was not being disloyal to his Jewish ancestors by believing in Jesus. His faith was the fulfillment of their faith and hope. When Jews come to Christ, they are, in a sense, coming home - all the way home.

Whether he has in view his immediate ancestors or the patriarchs of the nation does not matter. What is important to note is that Paul understood Christianity not as a deviation or apostasy from Judaism, but as its fulfillment.

I love John Piper’s paraphrase of the essential nature and fruitful value of seeing disciple-making as spiritual parenting: “Timothy, I believe with all my heart, that your faith, even though it’s rooted in your mother’s and your grandmother’s faith, is “sincere” - authentic, really yours. You are your own man. You are not mama’s boy. You are not grandmother’s boy. Your faith is yours, even though it was first your mother’s and grandmother’s.

“Don’t feel less authentic because of that lineage. My ministry, my service to God, is also “from my parents” (verse 3). I too have been deeply shaped by my lineage. Don’t begrudge this family influence, Timothy. Glory in it.

“And if you are wounded, or sorrowful, or timid, because your father was so absent or so passive in your spiritual upbringing, remember: I am your father. I don’t call you “my beloved child” (2 Timothy 1:2) for sentimental reasons, or merely because God awakened you under my preaching. I call you my beloved child, because I am right now being a father to you.

“The grace that I am delivering to you right now is coming from your heavenly Father (2 Timothy 1:2) and flowing through the words of your spiritual earthly father. That is what I am, and love to be. That is why I long to see you that my joy may be full. I love you. I never had a son. You never had a father who connected spiritually. That is who we are. This is a grace for us, son. Be strong in it (2:1). That’s the first thing Paul says to deliver grace and power and courage to Timothy.”