The Word of God Cannot Be Chained

2 Timothy 2:3-15

Share in suffering like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴ No one serving in the army gets entangled in everyday affairs; the soldier’s aim is to please the enlisting officer. ⁵ And in the case of an athlete, no one is crowned without competing according to the rules. ⁶ It is the farmer who does the work who ought to have the first share of the crops. ⁷ Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in all things.

⁸ Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David—that is my gospel, ⁹ for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. ¹⁰ Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. ¹¹ The saying is sure:

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
¹² if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he will also deny us;
¹³ if we are faithless, he remains faithful—
for he cannot deny himself.

¹⁴ Remind them of this, and warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening. ¹⁵ Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.

Sermon:

          Much of today’s scripture likely sounds familiar. The images of a soldier and athlete are illustrations that Paul seems to fall back on quite frequently. They lift up the virtues of endurance and long-suffering. These are good qualities intrinsic to today’s scripture. Yet, I want to shift our gaze a little this morning and focus in on another key element of today’s passage – the hymn.

          Many of you may not have even realized that this passage contains a hymn. Yet, it does – even if we don’t have access to the music which was likely never written down. So what I want to do now is a bit of a group project. I want us to work through the theology of the hymn together. Sometimes we sing songs and take them into our hearts, but we don’t really take the time to examine their depth or lack of valuable content. So let’s take a moment to examine verses 11-13.

Overall Theme: Perseverance is neither Paul’s pet project, nor is it optional. It is a trademark of Christian life and service, a manifestation of our union with Christ.

The hymn’s first two lines work in parallel, each one asserting the positive outcomes of (first) our identification with Christ and (second) our perseverance.

The third line states a kind of equivalence or reciprocation: our denial of Christ results in his denial of us.

Then, perhaps generating surprise, the fourth line says our negative action, faithlessness, will not be reciprocated by faithlessness on Christ’s part, for “he remains faithful.”

The final words in verse 13, “for he cannot deny himself,” assert, following the lead of established Jewish convictions about God that Christ must remain faithful to his own self, character, or commitments.

“The big interpretive question here is how the hymn’s third and fourth lines (2 Timothy 2:12b-13a) relate to each other. People who are uncomfortable with the notion of God denying us tend to say that the fourth line trumps the third, that God’s generous faithfulness to us will keep God from ultimately denying those who falter. In contrast, others read the line about God’s steady faithfulness as indicating God’s commitment to justice: when God denies the deniers, that’s just God doing what divine holiness requires. As you consider this question, notice that elsewhere the letter holds out hope for those it considers Timothy’s opponents (2:25b-26). The overall sweep of the letter also insists that the gospel’s influence or reliability cannot ultimately be nullified by the faithlessness or destructive behavior of some.”[1]

This brings me to the theological point I want to make this morning. In verses 8-9 we hear the Paul say, “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David—that is my gospel, ⁹ for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained.” The message hear is pretty straightforward. Paul is preaching a theology of the cross. He’s pointing to the crucifixion and suggesting that we too will experience not only death but suffering too.

In the service of the Gospel, which compels us to try and save other people, we may not only experience suffering, but we are obligated to embrace it for the sake of something far greater than ourselves. Now that doesn’t mean we need to all embrace sadism, and embrace pain as a pleasure or a good in and of itself, I don’t think any of us want that. That’s not what the text is saying. It’s saying that we are part of something bigger than ourselves and that when we sacrifice for that greater cause we will “live” and “reign” with Jesus because we will have been faithful to our calling.

Now here’s the key part I want to focus on. Paul is referencing the fact that he has been chained, like a criminal, for the sake of the Gospel. But he says that, “the Word of God is not chained.” The message hear is pretty clear. Jesus Christ was not chained by death. Death could not keep our Savior. Instead, he became a victor over death and when we follow Christ – we too can conquer death. But I think we can go farther than even that here. I think it’s fair to say that this passage should be connected to the hymn we talked about earlier. After all, they’re in the same lectionary reading; and I think there’s a very good reason for that.

When we look back on the third and fourth lines of the hymn and the question they face us with – whether we want to prioritize God’s faithfulness or God’s justice – I think that we should remember the phrase, “But the Word of God is not chained.” God’s work in the world cannot be held back by our faithlessness or our failures. Even if we go down destructive paths, God is there at work not only in the world, but in our communities and in our lives ready to accept and forgive us. God is not inhibited by us. He is, after all, God. The Word of God moves and works in the world despite any opposition it may encounter and it often moves because of the sacrifices and sufferings we might bear out for the sake of other people.

This is the Gospel for us today. No matter what you’re enduring, God is there for you. Your sacrifices for others are part of a larger plan for justice and goodness, yes, but they’re also an expression of God’s work here and now. No matter what you might be carrying, God can relate. Jesus carried the weight of all the world’s pains on his shoulders and died, as a human, to participate in the things that are weighing you down. But Jesus also conquered death and suffering. He defeated it; and He invites you to follow him in that victory over death and darkness. That’s what baptism symbolizes; and if you’ve never been baptized please come and see me and we can talk about it. It’s a beautiful expression of what we believe and what God is doing in the world. Finally, we can be assured that even when we are faithless, God remains faithful, precisely because God’s Word cannot be chained. Jesus cannot be chained by our failures. He cannot be chained by our ineptitude. And Jesus cannot be chained by any powers or principalities that seek to stop His work. Our regrets cannot even chain Him down. So the best thing we can do is open ourselves up to Him and embrace the movement of God’s Word in our lives and our communities.

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[1] Matt Skinner, “Commentary on 2 Timothy 2:8-15” - http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=1835