THE END REWARD FOR CHRISTIAN BELIEF

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing.

2 Timothy 4:6-8

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The Christian life on this world is more a marathon than a sprint. I definitely can attest to this through the last 30 plus years of dedicated service to the Gospel.

To have this kind of longevity, one can’t do it in their own power or ability. No mere human has the capacity to persevere and endure through life’s challenges and still maintain a faithful commitment to share the good news of Jesus with others.

Point in case is the Apostle Paul, the greatest evangelistic role model any Christian could ever have outside of Jesus Himself. Once confronted and then transformed by Christ during his Damascus experience, Paul would dedicate the rest of his life to the Gospel and the Great Commission calling. He would go on many missionary journeys to places foreign to him but all had one commonality. They had lost souls that needed saved, even when they were reluctant to see or admit it.

In fact, it was common for Paul to meet staunch resistance to his missionary work as Satan worked to try and thwart him every step of the way. Need a summation of what Paul experienced during what is widely believed to be thirty years of Gospel ministry? Here’s what he details about that:

I have...been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 2 Corinthians 11:23-28

Indeed, the Apostle Paul went through a lot of hardship and difficulty while going wherever the Lord might lead him to make disciples. He knew what it was to live the good life but he also understood the suffering that came when things weren’t so good.

How did he make it through it all?

It’s not a secret because he told us in the fourth chapter of his letter to the Philippians. There he writes:

I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Vv. 12-13

Paul lived for Jesus with every ounce of his being but note that this wasn’t a panacea to prevent him from suffering. As we read from his own words in 2 Corinthians, he endured a lot of punishment and persecution for the cause of the Gospel but through it all, he learned one important truth.

He could do everything and anything through the strength of Christ.

And so can we.

Paul knew that he could make it in the here and now through Christ and he also knew that his eternal future was secure in Christ. Look again at his words in today’s passage from the fourth chapter of 2 Timothy:

For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing. Vv. 6-8

It’s important for us to remember that Paul was at the end of his ministry (and life) as wrote to his ministry partner and pastor of the Ephesian church, Timothy. Remember how I said that devoted Christian service over time is more a marathon than a sprint. Paul attests to this through his own testimony. For although his life was coming to a close:

He had fought the good fight.

He had finished the race.

And he did both while sustaining and maintaining faith, faith that Jesus was with him even to the end of the age, just as He had promised (Matthew 28:20), faith that because He believed in Jesus and proclaimed Him to everyone he met that he would inherit everlasting life, the crown of righteousness, the end reward for his Christian belief.

Friends, the words of Paul refocus on the truth that we should embrace and rejoice in every day. Because although this life of Christian service isn’t easy, we know we can do all things through Jesus...and we know the best is yet to come on that day when we conquer death and the grave to receive our own crown of righteousness, joining Paul and all others who chose to place their trust in Jesus as Savior.

Thanks be to God for the gift of His Son!

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.