Suffer for the Gospel

2 Timothy

Paul’s second letter to Timothy is not an instruction for pastors. It’s a challenge to all Christian believers everywhere to prove the saving nature of their faith by remaining faithful to the Gospel when all around are turning from it to man-pleasing alternatives.

It’s a command to every Christian to endure the shame and suffering which such faithfulness to the Gospel will provoke. It’s a call to all believers to continue the Christ-mandated, self-perpetuating, church-building task of Gospel witness to the world – not as an optional extra for keen Christians, but as the God-glorifying proof of a genuine and living faith that truly saves.

For both believer and unbeliever no message matters more than this, Paul’s last message to the church.