2 Timothy 1:1-14.                             Guard the good deposit!!!                                           2/10/16

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,

² To Timothy, my dear son:

Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

³ I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. ⁴ Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. ⁵ I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

⁶ For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷ For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. ⁸ So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. ⁹ He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, ¹⁰ but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Saviour, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. ¹¹ And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. ¹² That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.

¹³ What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you. This is the encouragement and challenge that is placed before us today. We have the most valuable thing in life extended to us; and we are here encouraged to guard it for dear life so that you did not lose it.

This again is reinforced in the fact that this morning we have had the baptism of another young person into God’s family. This person has received from God the greatest gift that anyone could ever get: Forgiveness of sins and the assurance of eternal life in heaven with God. All as a free gift!

Now the challenge for this young person and her parents, as it is for each one of us, is to guard this great gift so that we do not lose that which is of utmost importance to us all. It is so easy to lose this gift, in our present age, if we are not careful. So many have turned their backs on this gift and have lost it. They then will go on to spend the rest of eternity in hell instead of in heaven. So this is important stuff.

Now look, we know the importance of guarding a great gift in this world; Even though that gift is of far less value in the big picture of life. You see, for instance, if I were to give this child today, or any one of us for that matter, a million dollars in cash, what would our attitude be? What would we do to protect it and make use of it throughout life?

Would we put it in the back corner of a shelf in the house and forget about it; and not even worry about it getting lost or stolen? Not tell our kids that this gift is there for them and the value of it? Would we put it away in the bank and not make any use of it throughout our life?  Or on the other hand would we guard it carefully and use it extensively?

Yes, we would be overjoyed with the gift, guard it carefully, and live it up: Even though this gift is only going to last at the max seventy or eighty years. Here this morning in baptism we have experienced the giving of a gift that will last for all eternity – and have great blessing for this life and the next. In fact, it is the gift that rescues us from an eternity separated from God in hell. Instead it joins us into God’s family and gives to us all the good that we could ever want that will last forever in heaven.

So with this in mind, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. The embers of this gift has been given to us, so let us fan it into full flame, so that we can be warmed in the glow of all that this gift entails for us.

As our understanding of this gift grows the greater will be the hope, confidence and certainty that will be ours. This will enable us to live boldly in the midst of the rough and tumble and coldness of the world around about us. It does not take away the troubles and difficulties but gives us what we need to see our way through them, knowing that in the end all things will work out for the good of those who are in Christ Jesus.

As the reading goes on to remind us that: The Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. So we are given good qualities that we need to get through this life well. We have the power to face and work our way through life with all that this sinful world throws at us. It enables us to love with the love that focusses on the wellbeing of the other person. Also at a time, when we are encouraged to give in to our every whim and desire, we are given the Spirit that helps us to be self-disciplined; which is important.

At the same time, we are encouraged to not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord. Christianity is more and more being derided in our society today. In fact, there is a great push to get rid of its influence on our lives today. Attitudes toward creation, homosexuality, divorce, euthanasia, abortion and more is but a tip of the iceberg.

As a result, many Christians are ‘going quiet’ on the faith and the importance of Jesus Christ and his death on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. Even churches and their leaders are succumbing to the pressure to change what God has to say in the Bible on these subjects. Yes, we are ashamed of our moral failures, but not in the truth of God and his Word.

The call is for us to withstand the derision and persecutions that ae coming our way. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. Let us remember that our Lord Jesus himself was continually facing criticism and sufferings; and even faced death on the cross. But he did so in order that good may come our way. He suffered and died so that forgiveness of sins, life and salvation could be extended to each one of us. With God’s help we to can withstand the pressures that are placed on us so that the Good News of Jesus Christ may be heard, understood and received by others today as well.

Remember also that Jesus has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. He has good things in mind for us, here and in eternity if only we do not ignore him and turn our backs on him. It is not that he is a ‘kill joy’ or dull and boring God, but he wants to help us avoid so much of the trouble and heartaches that we bring on ourselves by going against what he tells us is clearly good for us.

He wants us to have peace, joy and hope in the midst of a society that is desperately struggling to find meaning, purpose and happiness that it knows should be there for them, but cannot achieve it. He has all of this and more for us, if only we would sit up and take notice. Despite that fact that he and his ways are so readily disparaged and rejected, they are the only way for us to achieve what we know should be there for us.

This love and goodness that we need was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Saviour, Christ Jesus. Here let us remember that he truly did exist in time and his death and resurrection is irrefutable for those who care to look seriously. There is more proof for him and his death and resurrection than there is for almost anything else.

Let us also remember that his death on the cross and his resurrection was already written about hundreds and hundreds of years before he even set foot on this earth. All of his promise have come true, so we can rely on what he has for us in the Bible.

So we can be sure that he is for real and what he says in the Bible is for real too. We can also then be sure of all that he promises for us who are here today. He loves us, forgives us, and has eternal life with him for us in heaven. He also has good ways for us to live and act here on this earth. We can have every confidence to go forward boldly to take him and what he says seriously.

Because of Jesus’ life death and resurrection, we can be sure that he has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. So we can get on with life taking seriously Jesus Christ and all that he is and has done for us.

Also as we are encouraged here to do, we will guard carefully this most precious gift that has ever been extended to us. It is the best thing we could ever hope to have, so we will endeavour to do all that we possibly can to ensure that we do not lose it.

What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus.  Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

We will ever seek to do so, because all glory and honour belongs to our great God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and forever. AMEN.

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish