Keep On Keeping On

Keep On Keeping On 2021 02 14

2 Timothy 3:10 – 17  

In World War II, more 70 million people lost their lives.  The casualties on the Allied side are estimated to be over 60 million, compared to more than 10 million on the side of the enemy.  Twice as many military personnel, and more than ten times as many civilians died on the Allied side as on the Axis side.  During what became known as the Battle of Britain, the enemy bombers pounded England – especially London – relentlessly.  Yet the British and their allies did not give up, in spite of many disasters and incredible losses of life, both at home and overseas, and in the end, the battle was won, and the aggressors defeated.

Many lives would have been spared in the war if the Allies had surrendered to the enemy early on.  Yet the facts of history that came out after the war show that the final cost had they surrendered would have been incalculable.  The cost of victory was high and with it came tremendous suffering.  Yet because they decided to keep on keeping on, the final victory was won.

As Christians, we are in a battle that is much more serious than world wars.  The cost is very high, the casualties are many, and the suffering often great, but the cost of surrendering is infinitely higher.  Without Christ, human beings from all time are deceived by the enemy and march blindly into hell.  Though the struggle is great, the cost often high, and the suffering often great, we are told to keep on keeping on, knowing what we have learned and been assured of, that Jesus Christ the Son of God came to Earth and became a man, laying aside His power and glory, died for our sins, was buried, and rose from the dead; and that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but has everlasting life!

2 Timothy 3:10 – 17

Paul was in jail when he wrote this letter to his young friend, Timothy, probably not long before he was executed.  After living a life of great hardship as a missionary, he was, rather than complaining, praising God and encouraging Timothy and all who trust Jesus Christ as their Saviour to keep on keeping on, because while the cost may be high, the reward is greater.   As he concluded his letter in the following chapter, he said, “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”  2Timothy 4:8 Paul knew that for the believer, the best is yet to come!  Yet in this life, there are facts and principles that the Christian needs to remember and be encouraged by as he recognizes that God’s word is true:

I  Real Christians Suffer  vv 10 – 12

1. The counterfeit church of this age preaches a doctrine of ease, wealth, fun, entertainment, excitement – anything but the truth…
   1. According to this false gospel, you can have all your problems in this life solved by becoming a Christian. These include health, wealth, and emotional challenges.  Unfortunately, they leave out the really big one – the spiritual challenge of sin that sends millions to hell.
   2. Real Christians – those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God and show their faith by living in obedience to Christ, WILL suffer persecution of many kinds. Yet no matter how great they are, they pale in comparison to the blessed future that every true Christian has.
      1. You have been freed from the penalty of your sins and have everlasting life! Even if, like Paul, you one day lose your life for the gospel, you will gain infinitely much more than you lose!  “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”  Philippians 1:21
   3. Our passage says that “…all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” What a powerful indictment of our western Christianity! Have you been persecuted for your faith in Jesus Christ?  Or do you fit very well into the society you live in?

II  Things Will Get Worse  v 13

1. The world continues to cry out for world peace, yet it doesn’t happen.
   1. Secular humanism has long declared that the key to peace is education, yet the world continues to become more dangerous as unrest continues to circle the globe, even in this day of the greatest access to education the world has ever known.
   2. Wars are fought in the name of peace, only to usher in even greater tyrannies than they remove. What’s going on?
   3. God said this would happen. Sin has corrupted everything and continues to corrupt.  Evil men and seducers – charismatic leaders – will get worse and worse, deceiving others and themselves being deceived.
      1. Don’t be surprised by what you see going on in the world and don’t be surprised when you find you have fewer and fewer rights even in this western world because you are a Christian! God said this is going to happen.

 III  Keep On Keeping On  v 14

1. Keep your eye on the mark.
   1. Continue in the truth that you have already learned.
   2. Continue in the truth that you have been assured of, knowing of whom you have learned it.
      1. If you have been taught by those who stand on the whole word of God, keep on keeping on, trusting that same word of truth.
      2. If what you have been taught does not line up with what the Bible says, then go where the teaching does line up with the word of God and keep on keeping on.
      3. Never move to or take a job in a town where there is no Bible believing, Bible teaching church unless you are a church planter. God does not want you there!

 IV Trust God’s Word  vv 15 – 17

1. The word of God is able to make you wise unto salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
   1. The plan of salvation is in the Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments
   2. The power of God is in the Bible. Psalm 29:4 says, “The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.”  The Bible IS the voice of God in written form.  “All scripture is given by inspiration of God,” our passage says, or God-breathed.  It is the word of God given directly by God as clearly as if it was spoken aloud to the writers of the books of the Bible.
      1. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
      2. Romans 1:16,17 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”
   3. The Bible is the directly inspired Word of God, so you can trust it to give you the instructions you need to keep on keeping on.
      1. It is profitable for doctrine – for teaching the truth.
      2. It is profitable for reproof – the meaning of the Greek is to convict a person of error and of sin.
      3. It is profitable for correction – for setting you back on the right path.
      4. It is profitable for instruction in righteousness – discipling, discipline – as a parent trains a child, God’s word trains the believer.
   4. Trust God’s inspired word because it is most useful to make you able to keep on keeping on, thoroughly perfected for the good works that God has for you to do.

V  Conclusion

There is a saying that if you’re going to talk the talk, you need to walk the walk.  It’s easy to say some words, maybe pray some prayer someone tells you to pray, say you are a Christian, and then keep on doing the things you’ve always done.  But if you have really put your faith in Jesus Christ the Son of God, it will change you and it should show.  You should be walking godly in Christ; that means keeping on keeping on in obedience to Jesus Christ, looking to him for direction and wisdom in every area of your life.   If you really are living the way you should be living, you are going to suffer persecution of one form or another, because you will be living in opposition to the god of this world, who wants everyone to perish with him under the wrath of almighty God.  But you, as a true believer, are in Christ and not under wrath, but under grace!  You have been freed from the bondage of sin and given everlasting life!  So, keep on keeping on, reading your Bible, spending time in prayer, attending the church services and doing the good works that God has called you to do.