2 Timothy 2:1

STRENGTHENING GRACE

‘Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.’

2 Timothy 2:1

The Holy Spirit speaking through St. Paul does not say ‘be strong’ merely. That would only end in despair. It is not ‘Be strong,’ but ‘Be strong—be strengthened in the strength that is already freely given to thee.’ God has loved thee, God has baptized thee, God has marked thy forehead with His cross, God has laid His hands upon thee and made thy very body the temple of the Holy Ghost, God has poured into thee all the strength thou dost need. Does the hand feel withered? There is a power to stretch it out. Does the body, the will, feel paralysed? There is a force, not thine own, supernatural, within thee, through the indwelling of God the blessed Spirit, that shall lift thee up to go on thy way rejoicing. ‘My child, be strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.’

I. Try to lay hold of this difference: on the one side it is like that saying to the branch lying in the street, ‘Rise up, bear leaves, bear flowers, bear fruit!’ The Bible teaching is, ‘Branch in that tree, branch grafted by God’s own hand into that living tree, with the sap all flowing through thee, bring forth fruit in due season.’ The one teaching is like saying to the rusty iron tossed aside into the dust-heap, ‘Send out on all sides sparks of light, and life, and warmth.’ The other is like saying to the same bit of iron in the middle of a furnace, heated by God Himself, ‘Become radiant, let the fire kindle, let the warmth diffuse that has come into thee from God, by Whom thou hast been placed in the very midst of the fire of heaven.’ That you cannot do better, of course you cannot, than the words of the text; not ‘Be strong,’ but ‘My son, my daughter, my child, let the power that is within be manifested, be strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.’

II. How utterly deficient we are in this.—Who amongst us is not tempted to be satisfied with weakness when we are called to power?

(a) We are told to repent.

(b) We are called to believe.

We hold back and we lose power.

III. The power of God is ‘made perfect in weakness.’—You are feeling the reaction. You did once work with a will, you had once a bright hope, you did once find joy in the Lord: it has gone, you cannot claim it, you cannot recall it. You can! There is the power of the living God, with all the joy and the peace and the hope and the force that shall crush under thy feet every doubt of the world, the flesh, and the devil.

—Bishop G. H. Wilkinson.

Illustration

‘About the fifth or sixth century, in one of the very cold climates of Europe, a great persecution was raised against the Christians. It was determined that not one single man or woman who acknowledged Christ should be allowed to live. And there forty young men, all young, all in the prime of life, and they were taken to a great castle in those northern wilds. They were led into the courtyard, and there was seen a fire blazing with all its genial warmth. And then they were led into the rooms with comfortable couches, and into great baronial halls spread with costly viands and food of every kind. And one by one they were told, “Give up your Christianity, give up Christ, let nobody know you are a Christian.” Oh, what a parable it is of the way Satan whispers, “You will fall one day; you had much better make no profession. It will be very hard to bear to be quite alone and laughed at and made the offscouring of the earth. Eat, drink, and be merry. There is the warm fire, there is the companionship of all whom you love and respect. Just give up the Crucified.” And these men said what St. Peter said in the olden time, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. We have the mark of the cross on our forehead. We belong to Jesus Christ. We are strong in the grace that is in Jesus Christ. We shall die if you like, but we keep the truth.” Oh, would to God every man and woman here would say that when they go into business tomorrow, when they go out to the world, “I am on the side of Christ.” And they went out these forty men, and the cold was piercing, and they made a rough chant to keep the circulation going. “Lord Jesus,” they sang, “here are forty warriors come out to die for Thee. Grant that forty warriors may wear the crown in paradise.” ’