2 Timothy, Part Fourteen
A Trustworthy Saying
2 Timothy 2v11-13
4th September 2026
Paul has been encouraging Timothy to persevere in the work of preaching the Gospel and caring for the church. In verse 9, he proclaimed that, even if we are persecuted and imprisoned, God’s word is not chained. He now says:
2 Timothy 2v11-13
Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him.
If we deny him, he will also deny us;
if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.
A trustworthy saying is a saying that is worth memorising and teaching. We'll look at it one line at a time.
If we have died with him, we will also live with him
We became Christians through repentance and faith. We have died to our old lives, to our selves, to our desire to choose how we live and what we think. If our repentance and faith are real, then our salvation is real. We live a new, resurrection life in Christ. Paul wrote these words to the church in Rome:
Romans 6v4-5
... don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were
baptized into his death?
We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that,
just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we
too may live a new life.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly
also be united with him in a resurrection like his.
Perhaps, though, Paul is saying more than this. This letter is about remaining faithful to God and to our ministry, whatever happens. Perhaps Paul is saying, "If we are martyred for Christ, that's not the end. We will live again - with Him". Martyrdom is not defeat - it's victory!
If we endure, we will also reign with him
The Christian life will involve enduring opposition from the devil and his demons. If lived properly, it will involve enduring opposition from people who hate God. Some Christians even have to endure opposition from other Christians, which is tragic. For some of us, all this opposition results in sever suffering, as Paul knew very well. Jesus warned us:
John 15v19-20
"If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is,
you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.
That is why the world hates you.
Remember what I told you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.'
If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also."
But we have been saved from the world, and will live for ever with Jesus in glory. Those of us who remain faithful to Christ through all the suffering will reign with Him.
If we deny Him, He will also deny us
If we choose not to endure the persecution that comes our way but to avoid it by denying that Jesus Christ is Lord and Saviour, then Jesus Christ will deny us as His redeemed people. I need to say three things about this.
Firstly, our eternal salvation is secure. No true Christian will ever completely deny Christ. Under extreme torture, a person can probably be made to say absolutely anything. A Christian can probably be made to say that Jesus is not Lord and Saviour. But he cannot be made to mean it! Many true Christians can wander away from the church, from Bible study and even from prayer, to a lesser or greater extent, but no true Christian will genuinely claim that Jesus is not Lord and Saviour. Ultimately, Jesus will not deny salvation to any true Christian.
Secondly, many people who attend church regularly, and live in a way that appears to be as consistent with Biblical teaching as the lives of many true Christians, are not Christians. The give Jesus lip service but they deny Him in their hearts. These people will not survive the Day of Judgement. Jesus said about them:
Matthew 7v22-23
"Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in
your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform
many miracles?"
Then I will tell them plainly, "I never knew you. Away from me, you
evildoers!'"
Thirdly, many of us - perhaps all of us - deny Christ to some extent. Perhaps we choose not to tell people that we're Christians. Perhaps we stay quiet when Christ is being slandered. Perhaps we don't stand up for the truth as often as we might. Perhaps we sometimes choose not to tell other people about the Gospel. We haven't denied Christ outright, or absolutely, but we have denied Him to some extent. Could it be that Christ responds by - as it were - denying us to some extent? We haven't lost our salvation but perhaps our prayers are not answered as quickly or as completely. Perhaps our sense of His presence and His favour are not as manifest as it once was. Perhaps He allows us to make bigger mistakes, and get our lives into a mess.
If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself
All Christians are faithless towards Christ to a degree. We still sin. We're still selfish, cowardly and dirty, at least in our inner thoughts. None of us stands up for Christ and proclaims the Gospel as much as we might. Christ will, to some extent, deny us. But that doesn't make Christ faithless; it makes Him just and wise.We must never, ever, ever, accuse Jesus Christ of faithlessness. Jesus Christ is perfect and His love for us is perfect. He will sometimes withdraw from us to a degree to chastise us, teach us, and train us. Jesus Christ is absolutely faithful. That's His character. He will always act in accordance with His character.