Let’s continue our study of 2nd Timothy 2 by amplifying the point of running the race to win. We noted that Paul wanted Timothy and us to reflect on what he pointed out in the first 6 verses of chapter 2.
In verse 8 He challenges Timothy and us to remember who we are running for: “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David.” Jesus Christ was born into the royal line of David. Check the genealogies listed in Matthew 1 and Luke 3, which the writers used to affirm Jesus Christ’s royal blood.
He is the promised Messiah. Paul put it this way in Galatians 4:4, “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law.” The redemption price was His death on the cross. This one, the Messiah, our redeemer, was “raised from the dead.” That glorious, miraculous victory gives Jew and Gentile the confidence needed to face and overcome whatever enemy we encounter. Therefore remember Jesus Christ, the one we are running for.
In verses 9-14 Paul tells us why we are running in the race. The gospel Paul proclaimed is God’s answer to the sin sick condition of all who are in the world. Paul suffered as an apostle, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. He endured such suffering “For the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.”
God will be faithful in fulfilling His plan. He chooses to do so through His servants. And even “if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.”
