Faithfulness - 2 Timothy 2:1-15

By David Woods

Discussion: When you heard the word "faithfulness", what images or thoughts come to your mind?

I think one of the most often pointed to examples of faithfulness is the minister or missionary who labors in a certain field for many, many years.

You may find this startling, but I would suggest that a minister could serve his whole lifetime in a certain field of service, yet fail to be faithful.

I'll suggest something even more radical.  I would suggest a missionary could serve many years in a very difficult location, yet fail to be faithful.

As we discuss and study our scripture this morning, I want you to consider that possibility - and I would like you to think about what it really means to be faithful.

I would like us to primarily focus our attention on four verses of our text - 2 Timothy 2:3-6.  I find the main point of this lesson in verse three:

Big Idea:Faithfulness implies enduring hardship for Christ's sake.

Discussion:What is hardship?  Let's make three lists - 1) What hardship is not, 2) What hardship may be, 3) What hardship is.

(Is hardship being cussed about by freeway drivers because you obey the speed limit?  Is hardship having less money because you pay a 10% tithe?  Is hardship attending a church service even though you have a migraine?)

In our scripture we find three pictures of faithfulness - the singleminded soldier, the conscientious athlete, and the hard-working farmer.  These word pictures point out three essential qualities of faithfulness.

1. The faithful Christian is purposeful, v. 4.

Note what Paul says about the soldier here.  In order to faithfully serve his country as a soldier, the soldier cannot get entangled in civilian affairs.

An illustration of this is active duty soldiers of the U.S.  A number of retired military officers have become very famous for their statements and opinions on political issues.

But when you listen to most active duty soldiers commenting about politicians and political issues affecting the military, you will notice they are very reticent in getting involved in the political issue.

You see, they must avoid getting entangled in politics if they want to be a faithful soldier.  Our next president may come from a different party than our current president.

The soldier must faithfully serve whoever is the president, whether he or she be Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Independent - or something else.

Discussion:What are distractions for the Christian?

Discussion:How can you know if something is a distraction or a healthy side interest?

Discussion:Why do Christians sometimes allow distractions to remain in their lives?

2. The faithful Christian is principled, v. 5.

In verse five, Paul illustrates the faithful Christian as an athlete.  Now, when we think about athletes and faithfulness, the immediate idea that pops into our head is probably concerning self-discipline.

Interestingly, however, Paul's point in this verse is not about self-discipline.  Rather, Paul is talking about the fact that the athlete must compete according to the rules of his sport in order to be eligible for the prize he has won.  It doesn't matter how fast you run or how long you have trained, if you take a shortcut on the track, you are disqualified.

Discussion:What are some of the shortcuts Christians may be tempted to take?

Discussion:Doesn't God see the motive/desire/intent of our heart?  Why is God such a stickler?

Discussion:What are some ways we can be or become a more "principled" people?

3. The faithful Christian is persevering, v. 6.

Paul's third word picture of faithfulness is that of the hard-working farmer.  Actually, the point of this verse seems to be more about the reward of faithfulness.  The faithful farmer is the one who deserves the first taste of his crops.

But why does this farmer deserve to be the "first partaker of the fruits"?  It is because he labored - and labored faithfully.  In other words, we see the perseverance of the farmer in this verse.

Discussion:What are some of the reasons that a farmer would be tempted to give up on his crop?

Discussion:Can the Christian expect to see results of his efforts to grow spiritually quickly?  Can a Christian expect to see quick(word?) results from his Christian service/ministry?  Why?

Discussion:What are some of the cultural expectations that tend to make us think we should see results sooner?

    Earlier I made the possibly startling statement that a minister could labor for many years in a field of service - a hard place to minister - and yet fail to be faithful.  How could and why would I say such a thing?

I say this because, as our scripture teaches us, if you become distracted by other pursuits or take shortcuts or give up prematurely, you then fail to be faithful in your service to Christ.

Again, our scripture teaches us that faithfulness implies enduring hardship for Christ's sake.

Application:Are you truly willing to suffer hardship for Christ?