The first of these pressure-points was ridicule. Paul discusses it in chapter 1, where he urges Timothy not to be ashamed either of the Lord, the gospel or himself.

What a powerful weapon of Satan shame is! A disciple of Jesus Christ may be strong in many ways, able perhaps to stand against the worst kinds of physical threats. We may tell Jesus, as Peter did, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you” (Mark 14:31). But if even a little servant girl makes fun of us, saying, “You also were with that Nazarene,” a moment or two later we can be found denying we ever knew Jesus or professed the gospel. Peter said, “I don't know what you're talking about” (Mark 14:68, 71). In Asia everyone else had deserted Paul. It would have been easy for Timothy to go with the flow and so dissociate himself from Paul and the gospel he had fully and fearlessly taught.

Paul was concerned for the preservation of the gospel. This note runs throughout the letter like a leitmotif, and in the first letter too: “Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care,” says Paul at the end of the first letter (1 Tim 6:20). In the second letter he tells him: “Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us” (2Tim. 1:14); “continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it” (2Tim. 3:14, 15); and “I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Tim. 4:1, 2). The text I am focusing on says, “You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Tim. 2:1, 2). Paul had preserved the wholeness and purity of the gospel in his lifetime. He was about to be martyred. So he commits his charge to Timothy, who is instructed to guard the gospel too.

We are freed from sin's bondage. Before we died to sin and were made alive to God, we were slaves of our sinful natures. Sin was ruining us. But even when we could see that clearly and acknowledge it, which was not often, we were still unable to do anything about it. We said, “I’ve got to stop drinking; it's killing me.” Or, “I am going to ruin my reputation if I don't stop these sexual indulgences.” Or, “I’ve got to get control of my temper,” or “I must curb my spending,” or whatever. But we were unable to do it. And even if we did get control of some important area of our lives, perhaps with the help of a good therapist or friends or a supportive family, the general downward drift was unchanged. We really were non posse non peccare (“not able not to sin”), as Saint Augustine described it.

Yesterday we looked at the first reason why the idea that God’s grace should lead to sin is irrational and unthinkable. The second reason why the antinomian objection is unthinkable is because it overlooks God's means of saving sinners. Earlier we looked at the grace of God in our justification. Justification is the act by which God declares a person to be in a right standing before his justice due to the death of Jesus Christ. This is a wonderful truth, but it is not all that is involved. God justifies, but Jesus also redeems. God forgives, but the Holy Spirit also makes us spiritually alive so that we can perceive and embrace that wonderful forgiveness.