The Book of II Timothy was written about three years after I Timothy and was the last letter the Apostle Paul ever wrote. Paul had never made it back to Ephesus to relieve Timothy of his duty of standing against the false teachers and protecting the church. Instead, he had been arrested and transferred to a prison in Rome, where he was awaiting trial and was fully expecting to be executed. He wrote this second letter to his friend from a cold prison cell. These would be Paul’s last words to his young son in the faith; he was beheaded by Emperor Nero’s regime in A.D. 67, shortly after he sent this letter.
By this time Paul wrote this letter he had been a Christian for about 30 years; he had once been Christianity’s chief adversary, but then he experienced God’s transforming grace and become Christianity’s lead advocate. He had traveled all over the Mediterranean world preaching the gospel, planting churches, mentoring Christian leaders, and writing letters, which would become part of the Bible. Now Paul knew that his time on earth was coming to an end, so he wrote this final letter to Timothy to encourage him to remain faithful to Jesus Christ and the ministry of his Word. He begins this letter by reminding Timothy of his great heritage of faith.
A Heritage of Faith (3a)
After the Apostle Paul makes his customary personal greeting in verses 1-2, he immediately expresses thanksgiving to God for Timothy’s faith and faithful service. As he is about to encourage Timothy by reminding him of how his heritage of faith was established, he points to his own spiritual heritage when he says in verse 3, “whom I serve, as did my ancestors.” Like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Elijah, and others before him, Paul had been adopted into a great heritage of faith by committing his life to the Messiah, thus becoming a servant of God. Just as Paul had become a part of the great heritage of faith, Timothy had joined the ranks of the patriarchs, prophets, and his mentor Paul through his faith and service.
Being reminded that he was not the only one who has believed the gospel or has served God would have been incredibly encouraging to a young pastor. No doubt, Timothy felt isolated and alone in his ministry, but Paul reminded him that others had endured similar adversity and yet remained faithful to the end.
Really, all Christians are a part of a great heritage of faith. When we trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins and become his servants, we are adopted into God’s family and receive a heritage that links us with God’s people throughout the centuries. Like Timothy, sometimes we feel isolated and alone in our faith and ministry, but we must remember that we are supported by a great heritage of faith. Others have come through what we are going through and we are not alone. Today, we stand on the shoulders of Paul and Timothy and all the people that we read about in the Bible. Be encouraged, all Christians are a part of a great heritage of faith.
Establishing a Heritage of Faith
After Paul alludes to his own heritage of faith, he gives us three clues about how Timothy’s heritage of faith was established. A heritage of faith does not happen by accident; it is the result of an intentional and diligent process. If we want to establish a heritage of faith in our loved ones, we must implement the three clues that Paul highlights here in this passage!
1.) A heritage of faith is established by constant prayer. (3b-4)
The first clue to establishing a heritage of faith is constant prayer. In verse 3, Paul uses the phrase “as I remember you in my prayers day and night.” This does not mean that Paul just prayed for Timothy once in the morning and once in the evening, but it is a figure of speech that means that Paul constantly prayed for his young friend. This was no doubt a process that Paul began after he first met Timothy and took him on as a fellow missionary, and he continued to pray for him even though distance separated them. As Paul remembered the tears Timothy shed the when they said good bye to each other, he longed to see him again so that he might be filled with joy. But whether he was with Timothy in person or not, he prayed for him constantly.
If we want to establish a heritage of faith in someone, constant prayer is absolutely essential. Prayer sustained over a long period of time is difficult. Humans are prone to the “out of sight, out of mind syndrome.” Think about the way we pray—when a need arises; an accident, an unforeseen health concern, a death in the family, a spiritual problem—it is easy to pray about it for a while and then we eventually forget and move on to something else. Is there anyone in your life whom you pray for every day?
If we really want someone to come to faith in Jesus Christ, we should pray for them every day. If we really want someone’s life to be transformed by the gospel, we must remain on our knees. If we really want someone to grow and mature in their faith and use their gifts in ministry to others, we must continually lift them up to the throne of grace. As Paul did with Timothy, if we want to establish a heritage of faith, we must pray constantly.
3.) A heritage of faith is established by modeling the Christian life. (5)
After Paul tells Timothy that he prays for him constantly, he tells him that he is reminded of his “sincere faith, a faith that first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and now, I am sure dwells in you as well.” This verse gives us a unique look into Timothy’s family background and developmental years. The Book of Acts tells us that Timothy’s mother was a Jewish believer and his father was a Greek (and probably not a believer.)
Where did Timothy learn about the gospel of Jesus Christ? Who taught him the Holy Scriptures and nurtured his faith? Who took him to church and modeled the Christian life for him? His mother and grandmother! Their faith and faithfulness helped establish a faith heritage for Timothy. Their modeling of faith made such an impact on him that he put his faith in Jesus Christ and joined Paul’s missionary team when he came through his small mountain hometown.
This one verse speaks volumes about establishing a faith heritage in the people we love the most—our children and grandchildren. Faith cannot be inherited, but it can be influenced! No one can go to heaven because “my parents are Christians” or “my grandparents go to church,” but parents and grandparents can do a lot to influence the faith of their children and grandchildren by modeling the Christian life.
I am always amused when I hear parents say, “We are not going to take our kids to church because we want them to grow up and believe whatever they want to believe.” They fail to realize that by not taking their kids to church and by not encouraging faith that they are influencing their children against faith—neutrality is not really neutral! Despite what you hear people say about peer pressure, parents and grandparents still have more influence on children than anyone else.
Parents and grandparents, what are you doing to establish a heritage of faith in your children and grandchildren? Do you read the Bible to them and teach them the truths of the Christian faith? Do you pray with them? Do you bring them to church? Are you modeling a faithful Christian life? Do you recognize that everything you do and say influences your kids? Certainly there are some exceptions, but the proverb is generally true that “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
4.) A heritage of faith is established by encouragement in the faith. (6-7)
In verses 6-7 Paul encourages him in the faith by commanding him to “fan into flame” the gift that God gave him which he received when Paul laid his hands on him when he was ordained for Christian ministry. It appears that Timothy was prone to sickness and had a rather timid personality, so Paul encourages him by saying that “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Paul helped establish a heritage of faith in Timothy by encouraging him to remain steadfast in his personal faith and committed to using the gifts God gave him for ministry.
Like a fire that fades into a faint flicker, sometimes our faith and commitment to ministry diminishes under the pressures of life. As Paul did for Timothy, sometimes we need someone to come along and encourage us to fan the flame again. Sometimes we need to be the one doing the encouraging. When you see someone struggling in their faith or discouraged in their ministry, will you encourage them? A little bit of encouragement can make all of the difference and it is necessary for establishing a heritage of faith!
As I conclude today, I would like to tell you a story about a woman named Monica. Monica grew up in an excellent Christian home and exhibited a devout faith in Jesus Christ, but she married an unbeliever. As it turned out, her husband had a violent temper and a wondering eye. She was often the victim of his verbal assaults and endured his frequent adulteries, but she remained faithful to him and they had three beautiful children together. Her husband refused to allow the kids to be baptized, but he did permit Monica to take them to church.
Their oldest boy was intellectually brilliant and showed early signs of a bright future, but as he entered his teenage years he became lazy, developed a bad attitude, and engaged in reckless behaviors. Though he had learned the tenants of the Christian faith, he eventually refused to go to church with his mother. Things got even worse when he left home for college. He lived a hedonistic lifestyle, pursuing the pleasures of binge drinking and illicit sexual relationships. He instigated long strings of one night stands and shacked up with multiple women until he got one of them pregnant and had a child out of wedlock. As he bragged about his sexual exploits, he often used to pray the sarcastic prayer, “O Lord, grant me chastity, but not yet!”
Just when his mother thought that her son had sunk to the very depths of debauchery, he joined a type of religious cult and fell even further away from his Christian heritage. Although Monica often found herself on the edge of despair when she thought about her wayward son, she prayed for his soul every single day, typically with tears streaming down her face. She beseeched the Lord to bring her prodigal to his senses and deliver him from the mud and mire.
During this anguished period of prayer for her son, Monica consulted her pastor, who had himself had lived a life of decadence before he became a Christian. He declined to intervene because he observed that the young man was not open to hearing the truth. She persisted tearfully, but he refused to intervene. Nevertheless, the wise pastor consoled Monica that “the child of those tears shall never perish”, which she took as a sign from God and she constantly prayed for her son over the next nine years.
After her husband died, she moved to the town where her son lived, where she met a wonderful pastor. This pastor was a powerful preacher and Monica encouraged her son to go with her to church to hear him speak. He was so impressed by the pastor’s sermon that he started attending regularly. Through the influence of his mother’s prayers and the pastor’s sermons, her son put his faith in Jesus Christ and became a genuine born-again Christian.
Monica’s son was baptized, ordained to the Christian ministry, and became one of the greatest pastors, theologians, and philosophers in the history of the Christian church. Who was Monica’s son? Today we know him as St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, who lived from A.D. 354-430. He was the greatest of all of the early church fathers. Who is Monica? Today we know her as St. Monica, one of the greatest women and examples of motherly love in church history.
Without Monica’s constant prayers, modeling of the Christian life, and encouragement, who knows what would have ever happened to Augustine? There certainly would not have been a heritage of faith! How about you? Like the apostle Paul, Timothy’s grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice, and Augustine’s mother Monica, we can help establish a heritage of faith through constant prayer, modeling the Christian life, and encouragement in the faith! Will you do it?