Title: Paul's Confession at Twilight (2 Timothy 4:7...
Contents
Paul's confession at dusk (2 Tim 4:7-8) 2001.12.30. Retirement worship service
Paul makes this confession at the twilight of his life. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; from now on there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. "(2 Timothy 4:7-8)
Paul, a Pharisee in Judaism, was a pioneer in persecuting Christianity, but met the resurrected Jesus on the road to Damascus and experienced regeneration. I took it. Paul's testimony has no limits, but he wants to receive grace again through today's Word.
Paul testifies that he fought the good fight
Verse 7 - 'I fight the good fight' The apostle Paul describes his life as a good fight, reminiscent of athletics, which can be counted as a representative feature of the Roman era. 1 Corinthians 9:24-25 - "Do you not know that in the field all runners run, but only one wins the prize? Run in the same way that you may win. / Everyone who competes for victory is temperate in everything. We want to gain a crown that is perishable, but we want to gain an incorruption.” Looking back on his religious life, Paul feels a sense of victory and satisfaction for living his best life.
I testify that I have finished my race.
It's easy to start something, but it's hard to finish it. Quitting and giving up halfway is common. It's easy to have a good start, but not easy to have a good end. When a prominent doctor was advised to write his autobiography, he flatly refused. "I've seen a lot of people drop out of that last lap," he said. We often see a good life ending with a shameful end. Therefore, Paul's retrospective words, "My course is finished," are deeply impressive.
The satisfaction of reaching the finish line is a very valuable satisfaction. Among athletics, the marathon is the one that attracts the most attention. The marathon was adopted as an athletics event from the 1st Athens Games in the 1896 modern Olympics, and ran from the marathon to the Olympic Stadium in Athens. When the distance at this time was measured later, it was found to be 36.75KM. However, depending on the conditions of the venue of the Olympic Games, it ran around 40km. After that, 42.195KM was decided as the official distance. Completing the entire marathon course requires great endurance and patience. The origins of the marathon race are very interesting and moving. In 490 B.C., when the Greek commander Myrtiades defeated the invading Persian army at Marathon in the northeast of Athens, the Athenian soldiers continued to run about 40 km to announce the Greek victory. It is a game made after the legend of the people of Athens who fell and died on the spot. The story of a Greek soldier is commemorated throughout the Olympics because he ran the race to the point of death to complete his mission.
1 Corinthians 9:24 - 'Do you not know that all runners on the field run, but only one gets the prize? Run in the same way that you may win.' The race for the gospel ministry is a long-distance race and an obstacle race. . However, the person who overcomes all those obstacles and runs to the end wins the prize. Therefore, the saints who want the heavenly reward must not stop the race of faith. Loneliness and loneliness often come and you get tired often, but the more you do it, the more you have to run the race of faith. Hebrews 12:12-13 - 'Therefore, lift up your weary hands and your feeble knees, / Make straight paths for your feet, so that lame legs may be healed without being broken'.
I testify that I have kept the faith.
Competitors take an oath to abide by the rules of the game. It is not an act of following the rules of the race for a marathon runner to run on a shortcut other than the race course in the middle because it is too hard and painful, or to ride other equipment or take a break. Likewise, believers who live a life of faith must keep their faith just as athletes run by keeping the rules of the game. Faith here is allegiance to Christ and, in a narrower sense, personal faith.
It is indeed difficult and painful to keep the faith in the good fight against the evil forces, facing Satan's constant challenges and sometimes even life-threatening. For this reason, there are many cases of betrayal of faith, of stumbling, or of complete corruption. Judas Iscariot was completely destroyed and became Satan's food, and Peter once committed the folly of denying the Lord. However, after receiving the Lord on the road to Damascus, Paul never gave up his faith and was always faithful to the Lord. He kept his faith in the face of any persecution, threat, tribulation, hardship, and hindrance, and his faith shined brighter when he faced death.
"I kept the faith" This means "I lived by faith from beginning to end." It can be said that it is a very important attitude in life. It is very difficult for a person to live day to day. It is not easy for a married couple to live their entire lives together. Especially in today's era, this is even more difficult. So there are a lot of "changing partners" along the way. It is very difficult for a person to live a life like this. Friendships between friends are not easy to stay the same for a lifetime. There are many people who abandon their friendship because of small differences of interest. How precious are friendships? How happy would it be to have a friend with whom you can confide in your worries, a friend you can go to first when you are upset, and a friend you can go to when you want to cry and cry all night? But in this day and age, it is difficult to find such friendship. This era doesn't last long.
This is also true of faith. It is also a great blessing to maintain a life of faith consistently throughout your life. I try and make up my mind, but this doesn't work. So Jesus said to Peter, "Are you going to leave too?" asked. That's why he asked the disciples as they all left the Lord's side.
It is not so easy to go only one way. There are times when we have to forsake our own interests in order to follow only one path, the path of faith. Sometimes there are hardships. We cannot keep our faith until the end if we do not have the determination to endure any injustice or misunderstanding.
I testify that the crown of righteousness has been prepared.
Verse 8 - 'From now on there is prepared for me the crown of righteousness' Paul was convinced that he would receive the crown of righteousness from God in the future. Here, the crown of righteousness refers to the reward for righteous works given to Paul, who was consistent in good works within the will of God. God never turns away from the hard work the righteous are going through in order to fulfill the missions they have received for God on this earth. Whether in this life or in the life to come, He will surely reward you for your hard work.
James 1:12 - "Blessed is he who endures temptation, for after being approved by this he will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him." Now all that remains before Paul is to receive the crown of righteousness. I don't know if it's the result. How happy and hopeful it is to be able to stand up with hope instead of fear, confessing that you have victoriously lived your life of faith before the Lord even when you are nearing death in the future.
Think about what is success and what is failure in our lives. Donald W. McCullough, in his book Finding Happiness in the Most Disappointing Places, said that it is easier to say 'Happiness is not like this' than to say 'Happiness is this way'. He also said that the following things are not happiness.
- Feeling satisfied with yourself
- feel good
- Feeling confident
- Feeling like you've accomplished something
- Feeling detached from human suffering
- Feeling like you can do whatever you want
- Feeling free from stress and conflict
- Feeling accepted by the world
He says that happiness is not just a good feeling. So, what is true happiness? True happiness is the state of mind that comes from establishing a right relationship with God. So true happiness is being strong enough to handle both happy and unhappy feelings.
We all want to be happy. However, true happiness is not living doing what one wants to do, but achieving a true goal, that is, fulfilling the will that God, the Lord of our lives, has given to each of us, and is a state of mind that comes from enjoying fellowship with God.