_THE CHARACTER AND CONTENTS OF THE LAST EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL.--THE
NEMESIS OF NEGLECTED GIFTS._
"For the which cause I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the
gift of God, which is in thee through the laying on of my hands. For
God gave us not a spirit of fearfulness; but of power and love and
discipline."--2 TIM. i. 6, 7.
In the Second Epistle to Timothy we have the last known words of St.
Paul. It is his last will and testament; his last instructions to his
favourite disciple and through him to the Church. It is written with
full consciousness that the end is at hand. His course in this world is
all but over; and it will be closed by a violent, it may be by a cruel
death. The letter is, therefore, a striking but thoroughly natural
mixture of gloom and brightness. On the one hand, death throws its dark
shadow across the page. On the other, there is the joyous thought that
the realization of his brightest hopes is close at hand. Death will come
with its pain and ignominy, to cut short the Apostle's still unfinished
work, to take him away from the Churches which he has founded and which
still sorely need his guidance, and from the friends whom he loves, and
who still need his counsel and support. But death, while it takes him
away from much to which he clings and which clings to him, will free
him from toil, and anxiety, and neglect, and will take him to be with
Christ until that day when he shall receive the crown of righteousness
which is laid up for him.
If the shadow of impending death were the only source of gloom, the
letter would be far more joyous than it is. It would be far more
continuously a strain of thanksgiving and triumph. But the prospect of
ending his life under the hand of the public executioner is not the
thought which dominates the more sorrowful portion of the Epistle. There
is the fact that he is almost alone; not because his friends are
prevented from coming to him, but because they have forsaken him; some,
it may be, for pressing work elsewhere; others because the attractions
of the world were too strong for them; but the majority of them, because
they were afraid to stand by him when he was placed at the bar before
Nero. The Apostle is heavy-hearted about this desertion of him, not
merely because of the wound which it inflicts on his own affectionate
spirit, but because of the responsibility which those who are guilty of
it have thereby incurred. He prays that it "may not be laid to their
account."
Yet the thought which specially oppresses him is "anxiety about all the
Churches"--and about Timothy himself. Dark days are coming. False
doctrine will be openly preached and will not lack hearers; and utterly
un-Christian conduct and conversation will become grievously prevalent.
And, while the godly are persecuted, evil men will wax worse and worse.
This sad state of things has already begun; and the Apostle seems to
fear that his beloved disciple is not altogether unaffected by it.
Separation from St. Paul and the difficulties of his position may have
told on his over-sensitive temperament, and have caused him to be
remiss in his work, through indulgence in futile despondency. The words
of the text strike the dominant chord of the Epistle and reveal to us
the motive that prompts it. The Apostle puts Timothy in remembrance
"that he stir up the gift of God which is in him." Again and again he
insists on this and similar counsels. "Be not ashamed of the testimony
of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner; but suffer hardships." "That good
thing which was committed to thee guard through the Holy Ghost" (vv. 8,
13). "Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." "Give
diligence to present thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth
not to be ashamed" (ii. 3, 15). "But abide thou in the things which thou
hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned
them" (iii. 14). And then, as the letter draws to a close, he speaks in
still more solemn tones of warning: "I charge thee in the sight of God,
and of Christ Jesus, Who shall judge the quick and the dead, and by His
appearing and His kingdom: be instant in season, out of season; reprove,
rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching." "Be thou sober in
all things, suffer hardships, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil thy
ministry" (iv. 1, 2, 5). Evidently the Apostle is anxious lest even the
rich gifts with which Timothy is endowed should be allowed to rust
through want of use. Timidity and weakness may prove fatal to him and
his work, in spite of the spiritual advantages which he has enjoyed. The
Apostle's anxiety about the future of the Churches is interwoven with
anxiety about the present and future conduct of his beloved delegate and
successor.
The Second Epistle to Timothy is more personal than either of the other
Pastoral Epistles. It is less official in tone and contents, and is
addressed more directly to the recipient himself, than through him to
others. Three main subjects are treated in the letter; and first and
foremost of these is the conduct of Timothy himself. This subject
occupies about a third of the Epistle. The next and longest section
treats of the present and future prospects of the Church (ii. 14-iv. 5).
And lastly the Apostle speaks of himself.
It is not difficult to understand how even those who condemn the
Pastoral Epistles as the product of a later writer, feel almost obliged
to admit that at least some of this touching letter must be genuine.
Whoever wrote it must have had some genuine letters of St. Paul to use
as material. It may be doubted whether any of the writings of that age
which have come down to us are more thoroughly characteristic of the
person whose name they bear, or are more full of touches which a
fabricator would never have thought of introducing. The person who
forged the Second Epistle to Timothy in the name of St. Paul must indeed
have been a genius. Nothing that has come down to us of the literature
of the second century leads us to suppose that any such literary power
existed. Whether we regard the writer, or the circumstances in which he
is placed, or the person to whom he writes, all is thoroughly
characteristic, harmonious, and in keeping. We have St. Paul with his
exquisite sympathy, sensitiveness, and affection, his intense anxiety,
his unflinching courage. We have the solemnity and importunity of one
who knows that his days are numbered. And we have the urgency and
tenderness of one who writes to a friend who has his faults and
weaknesses, but who is trusted and loved in spite of them.
In encouraging Timothy to stir up the gift that is in him, and not
suffer himself to be ashamed of the ignominy, or afraid of the
hardships, which the service of Christ entails, the Apostle puts before
him five considerations. There are the beautiful traditions of his
family, which are now in his keeping. There is the sublime character of
the Gospel which has been entrusted to him. There is the teaching of St.
Paul himself, who has so often given him a "pattern of sound words" and
a pattern of steadfast endurance. There is the example of Onesiphorus
with his courageous devotion. And there is the sure hope of "the
salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory." Any one of these
things might suffice to influence him: Timothy cannot be proof against
them all. St. Paul is persuaded that he is preserving the heritage of
undissembled faith which his mother and his grandmother possessed before
him. When he considers the character of the Gospel, of which he has
become a minister, and the gifts of which he has thereby become a
recipient, he cannot now become ashamed of bearing testimony for it. And
has the teaching of his old master, separation from whom used once to
make him weep, lost its hold upon him? Of the other disciples and
friends of the master, some have turned away from him, showing coldness
or dislike instead of sympathy and self-sacrifice; while others, at
great personal inconvenience, and (it may be also) great personal
danger, sought him out all the more diligently on account of his
imprisonment, and ministered to him. Will Timothy take his stand with
Phygelus and Hermogenes, or with Onesiphorus? And over and above all
these considerations, which are connected with this world, there are the
thoughts of the world to come. This is no mere question of expediency
and opportuneness, or of personal loyalty and affection to a human
teacher and friend. There is the whole of eternity at stake. To have
shared Christ's martyr-death is to share His endless life. To share His
endurance and service is to share His royalty. But to reject Him, is to
ensure being rejected by Him. Were He to receive faithless followers
among the faithful, He would be faithless to His promises and to
Himself.
For all these reasons, therefore, the Apostle charges his disciple to
"stir up the gift of God which is in him through the laying on of the
Apostle's hands." And the fact that he uses so much argument and
entreaty is evidence that he had grave anxiety about Timothy. Timothy's
natural sensitiveness and tenderness of heart made him specially liable
to despondency and timidity, especially when separated from friends and
confronted by sturdy opposition.
"That thou stir up the gift of God which is in thee." Literally "that
thou kindle up and fan into a flame." It does not _necessarily_ imply
that there has once been a bright flame, which has been allowed to die
down, leaving only smouldering embers. But this is the natural meaning
of the figure, and is possibly what St. Paul implies here. He does not
explain what precise gift of God it is that Timothy is to kindle into a
warmer glow; but, as it is one of those which were conferred upon him by
the laying on of hands at the time of his ordination, we may reasonably
suppose that it is the authority and power to be a minister of Christ.
In the First Epistle St. Paul had given Timothy a similar charge (iv.
14); and by combining that passage with this we learn that both the
Apostle and the elders laid their hands on the young evangelist:
"Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy,
with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery."[88] This talent
committed to his charge for use in God's service must not be allowed to
lie idle; it must be used with vigour, and trust, and courage. The very
character of the gift bestowed proves that it is to be used, and used
freely. "For God gave us not a spirit of fearfulness; but of power and
love and discipline." St. Paul includes himself in the statement. He,
like his disciple, has received this gift from God, and he knows from
long experience what its nature is. It is no "spirit of fearfulness;" no
"spirit of bondage leading to fear" (Rom. viii. 15). It was never meant
to produce in us a slavish fear of God, or a cowardly fear of men. To
feel awe and reverence when dealing with God,--to feel responsibility
when dealing with men,--is one thing. To abstain from action for fear of
offending either, is quite another. It is sometimes possible to avoid
criticism by refusing to commit oneself to anything; but such refusal
may be a sinful neglect of opportunities: and no error of judgment in
using the gifts committed to us can be worse than that of not using them
at all. Those are not necessarily the most useful servants who make the
fewest conspicuous mistakes.
The spirit with which we are endowed is a spirit of _power_, whereas a
spirit of fearfulness is weak. Faintheartedness cannot be strong. The
fainthearted mistrust themselves and others; and they discourage
themselves and others. They anticipate dangers and difficulties, and
thereby sometimes create them; and they anticipate failure, and thereby
often bring it about. It is only by acting, and by acting vigorously and
courageously, that we find out the full power of the spirit with which
we have been blessed.
Again, the gift which God has bestowed upon us is a spirit of _love_:
and more than anything else perfect love casts out the spirit of fear.
Fear is the child of bondage; love is the child of freedom. If we love
God, we shall not live in terror of His judgments: and if we love men,
we shall not live in terror of their criticisms. Moreover, the spirit of
love teaches us the nature of the gift of power. It is not force or
violence; not an imposing of our own will on others. It is an
affectionate striving to win others over to obedience to the will of
God. It is the spirit of self-sacrifice; not of self-assertion.
Lastly, the spirit with which we are endowed by God is a spirit of
_discipline_. By discipline that cowardly indolence, which the spirit of
fearfulness engenders, can be kept down and expelled. If it be asked,
whether the discipline be that which Timothy is to enforce in ruling
others, or that which he is to practise in schooling himself, we may
answer, "Both." The termination of the word which is here used
(=sôphronismos=) seems to require the transitive meaning; and slackness
in correcting others may easily have been one of the ways in which the
despondency of Timothy showed itself. On the other hand the whole
context here speaks of Timothy's treatment of himself. To take a more
lively interest in the conduct of others would be discipline for himself
and for them also. There may be as much pride as humility in indulging
the thought that the lives of other people are so utterly bad, that it
is quite out of the power of such persons as ourselves to effect a
reformation. This is a subtle way of shirking responsibility. Strong in
the spirit of power, glowing with the spirit of love, we can turn the
faults of others, together with all the troubles which may befall us in
this life, into instruments of discipline.
The words of the Apostle, though primarily addressed to ministers, in
reference to the spiritual gifts bestowed on them at their ordination,
must not be confined to them. They apply to the gifts bestowed by God
upon every Christian, and indeed upon every human being. There is a
terrible penalty attached to the neglect of the higher faculties,
whether intellectual or moral; a penalty which works surely and
unerringly by a natural law. We all of us have imagination, intellect,
will. These wonderful powers must have an object, must have employment.
If we do not give them their true object, viz., the glory of God, they
will find an object for themselves. Instead of soaring upwards on the
wings supplied by the glories of creation and the mercies of redemption,
they will sink downwards into the mire. They will fasten upon the flesh;
and in an atmosphere poisoned by debasing associations they will become
debased also. Instead of raising the man who possesses them into that
higher life, which is a foretaste of heaven, they will hurry him
downwards with the accumulated pressure of an undisciplined intellect, a
polluted imagination, and a lawless will. That which should have been
for wealth, becomes an occasion of falling. Angels of light become
angels of darkness. And powers which ought to be as priests,
consecrating the whole of our nature to God, become as demons, shameless
and ruthless in devoting us to the evil one. Not only every minister of
Christ, but every thinking man, has need from time to time "to stir up
the gift of God that is in him," to kindle it into a flame, and see that
it is directed to holy ends and exercised in noble service. God's royal
gifts of intellect and will cannot be flung away, cannot be left unused,
cannot be extinguished. For good or for evil they are ours; and they are
deathless. But, though they cannot be destroyed they can be neglected.
They can be buried in the earth, till they breed worms and stink. They
can be allowed to run riot, until they become as wild beasts, and turn
again and rend us. Or in the spirit of power, or love, and of
discipline, they may be chastened by lofty exercise and sanctified to
heavenly uses, till they become more and more fit to be the equipment of
one, who is for ever to stand "before the throne of God, and praise Him
day and night in His temple."
FOOTNOTES:
[88] The assertion that this laying on of hands is a mark of an age
subsequent to the Apostles, ignores the plain statements in Acts vi. 6
xiii. 3; comp. viii. 17; ix. 17; xix. 6; and Heb. vi. 2.