Power, Love, and a Sound Mind

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.  Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.”  II Timothy 1:7-9

Christians are always being encouraged to “exercise” their faith, meaning faith must be a major part of one’s life.  Just like muscles, faith needs to be exercised in order to become stronger and more enduring.  An unused muscle gets weaker and weaker until it becomes atrophied and nearly useless, just dead weight.  This principle can be applied to Timothy’s position as a pastor and evangelist, but also to anyone who is a follower of Christ.  Scripture tells us that “without faith, it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6a).  Isn’t a believer’s entire relationship with the Lord built on faith?  We can’t see Him, but we know, by faith, that He is real, and that whatever He says He will do.  It is knowing that what we trust the Lord for, He will provide (Hebrews 11:1).  “Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus”.

Any man who is called into the ministry experiences fear.  It is a huge responsibility to stand before people and proclaim God’s word.  A pastor becomes a target when he stands before a congregation and preaches repentance of sin.  Both the saved and the lost get uncomfortable when their sins are examined by the preaching of God’s word.  Some go home and have “fried preacher” for lunch, criticizing him for “meddling” in their lives, for the clothes he wore, and even disparaging his family.  If folks have that much of a problem with their pastor, they need to get right with God, and then they will see the pastor with different eyes.

Some preachers have actually been threatened.  Some in larger churches have a “security detail” which accompanies them in large crowds.  Missionaries on foreign soil have been murdered by locals who disagree with them, envious of losing their power as their constituents receive Christ just like the religious leaders trumped us charges on Jesus to have Him executed because they feared losing control over the people.  Ungodly secular leaders and politicians, sense danger from believers, not violence, but rather a loss of control.  They don’t understand the power that Christ has in the life of a truly born-again believer, so they try to eliminate believers starting with the pastors and preachers.  We see this very thing going on in our nation.  Christians have become almost like second-class citizens.  Evangelicals get blamed for all sorts of problems, but they are the ones actually attempting to right the wrongs.  It is just that worldly politicians don’t want to believe that it is God who is really in control.  It was no different in Paul’s day.  He experienced violence from those who hated him, and he knew Timothy would also be in danger of these predators.

God never meant for His people to be fearful.  He is the One in control, not Satan.  People can only do what God allows, and He has given His preachers and all followers the spirit of power, love, and a sound mind to overcome the fear that ungodly men try to instill in the hearts of God’s people.  When God’s people display this power, love, and a mature and logical mind, they are able to forgive their enemies, thus diminishing the enemy’s power over believers.  A mind that operates under the power of the Holy Spirit helps believers discern truth and lies and make right decisions.  Believers are not to be ashamed of the gospel of Christ because this gospel is necessary for salvation to those who believe it (Romans 1:16).  Jesus said that if we are ashamed of Him and His words among the sinners of the world, then He will be ashamed of us when He returns in the glory of His Father with His holy angels (Mark 8:38).  This reminds me of the time when Peter denied Jesus three times when He was on trial, and Jesus turned and looked at Peter (Luke 22:61).  I can’t imagine the shame that Peter felt, but then how many times have I been ashamed to speak up and tell others about Jesus?

Paul also cautioned Timothy, and us, that if we follow Christ, we will suffer.  Is it not preferable to suffer for a good cause?  Is it not a privilege to suffer for the One who suffered and died to save us from an eternity of the wrath of God?  God could have left us in our sins which would have brought on sin’s own suffering in this life and in eternity, but He chose to bear the penalty of our sin and give us His righteousness in exchange.  Peter wrote in I Peter 2:20 that to accept and suffer patiently for doing the right thing is acceptable with God, thus suffering is inevitable for the believer.  Matthew Henry made the point that if believers had worked and earned their place in God’s kingdom, then it would be much more difficult to suffer for it whereas in receiving salvation purely of grace, undeserved, not of works, then “we must not think much to suffer for it”.  I suppose another way to say that is that if we worked for our salvation, we likely would not expect to suffer, but, because it is of free grace, any suffering is worth it.  Since our Lord and Savior suffered, why would we, as His followers, think we could avoid suffering?

The coming of Christ to suffer and die for our sins was evidence of God’s plan of salvation.  Jesus’ death and resurrection was proof that death was abolished, and light and immortality was made available by the gospel of Jesus Christ.  He knew that He would suffer but chose to obey His Father and become the way of salvation for all those who would repent of sin, believe in Him, and be committed to Him always.  For that I am eternally grateful.