Staying Strong in Stormy Times
Part 4
“Finish the Race!”
Last time we twice read the words “But you!” as Paul addressed his son in the faith, young Timothy. Yes, says Paul, last days people are going to be godless and choose the wrong path, But you, Timothy” have patterned your life after me, as I have patterned my life after Christ.
And then again in 3:14 Paul says, “But you”–you Timothy are to continue walking in the truths you have learned and become assured of by God.
Now in chapter 4: 6-8 Paul turns to his own situation and says, “I’m ready”–he is ready to meet Jesus. In verse 6 he describes his life like being poured out as a drink offering and he is aware that his time to die has come.
But I want us to listen to what Paul is able to say at this point. He knows he is near death and not because of old age. He is near death because he will soon be martyred.
But his response in vs. 7 is triumphant: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
There was a battle to fight, a race to run, and a faith to keep, and by God’s grace he’d accomplished them all!
The great Apostle is able to look at his life and say with satisfaction that he has run the race and has kept the faith.
Here is why this matters. Look at verse 8. Paul knows that there is the “crown of righteousness” reserved for him to be given to him on that day.
But look at the rest of verse 8. “…and not only to me, but to all those who have loved his appearing.”
Paul knows what is waiting for him and it is waiting for you also. The crown of righteousness will be awarded to you on that day if you too fight the good fight, finish the race, and keep the faith. Paul is ready for the Lord’s appearing! Are you? Are we?
Please notice that all three images–a fight, a race, and a faith to keep–illustrate the need for great endurance.
Paul has fought the good fight. He did not step out of the ring. He did not stop fighting the works of Satan, or preaching the gospel in the face of intense persecution.
Paul has finished the race. He did not sit down during the race. He did not give up during the race. He endured and continued in the race until he finished.
And he kept the faith. He did not let go of his faith when life became difficult. He held on and put his hope in Christ throughout his entire life.
Likewise, living in these last days requires great endurance so that we are ready for the Lord’s appearing. Jesus is coming back with his reward. Can we say today that we have fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith? Can we say these words if we were to die today? Are we ready?
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The next few verses are hard to read. Listen to how he ends this letter. You might expect this letter to end at verse 8 because it is a powerful, uplifting passage. It is how we want an encouraging speech to end.
But this is not how Paul ends. No, he informs us first that he is alone. He is going to remind us that fighting the good fight, finishing the race, and keeping the faith is a difficult and sometimes lonely path.
Listen to verses 9-12. “Please come as soon as you can, for Demas has left me. He loved this present world and went to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Bring Mark with you when you come, for I need him. (Tychicus is gone too, as I sent him to Ephesus.)”
Paul says there is no one left with him right now but Dr. Luke. Some of his co-workers needed to be sent out to do the work like Titus, Tychicus, and Crescens. But there are also painful words here. “Demas has deserted me because he loved this present world.”
In Philemon 24 we read that Demas had been a fellow worker with Paul. But now Demas has deserted him, loving this world more than the world to come.
We are not told what Demas loved so much in this world that led him away. Maybe he wanted to protect his life and health. Maybe he wanted to fulfill his fleshly desires. Maybe the hardships of following Jesus were too much and he gave up. We do not know what the reason exactly was. But we do know the cause: he loved this present world.
Here’s the thing. We cannot finish the race if we love the world. I hope we hear this warning from the apostle Paul. We will not keep the faith, we will not fight the good fight, and we will not receive the crown at his appearing if we love this world.
Listen to what the apostle John wrote:
“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:15–17 NIV)
If anyone loves the world, then the love of (and for) the Father is not in them. It is as simple as that! If there is something in this world you love, then you are going to fail. It is your weak spot and Satan is going to exploit it. Satan will take that love of the world and press you to leave the Lord over it.
Loving the world makes us defenseless against the attacks of the adversary. Demas succumbed to it and Paul writes this down as a reminder and warning to us all.
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Then next we read of some of his deep hurts as he drops another name–Alexander. Demas deserted Paul because he loved this present world. Alexander stabbed Paul in the back in a manner of speaking. Paul says that Alexander did great harm to him.
We are not told exactly what Alexander did. But here is another person claiming to be a follower of Jesus who ended up opposing Paul and his teachings.
We noted in chapter 3 Paul’s description of the godless character of last days humanity, including those that claim to be Christian but prove otherwise. This will cause times of difficulty for the true Christian because those who claim to follow Jesus are going to show that they are only lovers of self. They have only an appearance of godliness.
So Paul tells Timothy to watch out for Alexander just like he warned about all of the other false Christians, and the need to avoid them (3:5). The bottom line is people will disappoint you, let you down, discourage and even disillusion you.
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Moving on from Demas and Alexander, Paul next testifies how the whole church let him down. At his first defense (when he appeared before Nero in a Roman court), not one Roman Christian showed up to stand by him. Everyone deserted him. How painful that must have been! Just when he needed someone to stand with him not a single person showed up.
This is also what happened to Jesus in his darkest moments while on this earth, everyone deserted him and ran away. So it was for Paul. Yet listen to Paul’s words in verse 16. “May it not be counted against them.”
People hurt Paul and broke his heart by their actions. But he prays it may not be counted against them. They wronged him but he forgives them. So how did Paul, alone and hurt, get through? How did he finish the race? Look at verse 17:
“But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth.”
The Lord stood with him and gave him strength so that he could preach the word. Perhaps Paul pictures himself like Daniel who alone had been cast into the lion’s den. But he was delivered from the lion’s mouth.
Paul praises the Lord for rescuing him, and will continue to rescue him from every evil work and bring him safely into the heavenly kingdom. Even after all of the desertions and all of the hurts, Paul maintained his faith in God and leaned on Him to carry him through.
Sooner or later people will let you down. But God will not let you down! The Lord gave Paul the strength he needed. Paul relays this to Timothy so that he will be strong in the face of the hurt and hardships. The Lord will strengthen you also as you fight the good fight, finish the race, and keep the faith!
So in closing let’s apply this to our own lives. How will you finish your race? Will you finish like Paul? Paul was abandoned, alone, had no one to support him, and had great harm done to him. You have probably had those times and those moments in life also.
But you and I cannot let others keep us from finishing our race. We cannot let what others do to us make us stop fighting the fight. We cannot fail to enjoy the crown of righteousness waiting for us just because people hurt or abandon us. We cannot let them take our reward away from us by giving in.
And we must not lose what is laid up for us by turning back and loving this world. Paul says “Be ready when it is convenient or inconvenient, stand strong in the faith, proclaim the word, endure hardship, and finish the race!”
Let’s stay strong in the Lord and the power of His might!