Crowns have taken on a whole new place in our society where little girls desire to be princesses and Hallmark makes movies about royalty becoming common. Crowns are seen as a dream unattainable, yet if we read the Bible we will find an opportunity to receive a crown at the end of this life and the beginning of our new life. This crown will be a reward. We all like rewards, yet few of our rewards will have the title of a crown. Paul gives Timothy a charge as he builds the letter to the reward he will soon receive at the Judgment Seat of Christ. It will be the crown of righteousness.
Paul starts this passage by giving Timothy the charge to keep preaching and spreading the gospel of Christ. He knows his death is close. He had been sentenced to die by Nero, and it is evident by this last section of his letter that he wanted Timothy, his son in the faith, to keep pressing forward. The word charge in Greek means to urge earnestly. With everything in him, Paul wanted the gospel to go forward. He knew from his own life that Timothy would face obstacles that would take great strength and resolution to stay focused on the prize.
II Timothy 4:1-2 “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”
Paul instructs him in verse 3, that there will come a time when people will not listen to sound doctrine. They will seek pleasures and desire preachers who make them feel good and approve of their lust for the flesh.
II Timothy 4:3 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;”
They are so committed to their own sin and comfort, that they will turn away from the truth and turn to fables. They would rather listen to pretty stories than hear the gospel.
II Timothy 4:4 “And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
It is amazing to me that this letter could have been written today! Our television networks and pulpits are full of preachers who have compromised the gospel to keep an audience. Some refuse to preach anything that is negative, and yet, the Bible is full of negative. Jesus said far more about Hell than He did Heaven. Some have deleted this subject from their messages because it makes their audience uncomfortable.
They will give an account to God for leading others away from the gospel and into the fire. Paul warns Timothy that there is coming a time when this will be the popular preaching of the day, but don’t succumb to it.
II Timothy 4:5 “But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.”
He challenges him to continue and be aware of the coming trials and afflictions, but keep pushing forward!
He then changes gears to let Timothy know he is ready to die. Timothy must have been saddened greatly by the news of his imminent death. Paul had been a good friend, mentor, and father in the faith. Paul knows how he would feel so he tells him, he is “ready to be offered.” Paul is not saying he was anxious to die, but that it was very close.
II Timothy 4:6 “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.”
He makes the statement that he has fought the fight, kept the faith, and finished well. He has no regrets for the stands he has taken for Christ. He was determined to finish well and he did.
II Timothy 4:7-8 “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”
Paul would not live to see the second coming of Christ, but he would soon stand in His presence. He also stated that on the day that he would stand before Christ, at the Judgement Seat of Christ, he would receive the Crown of Righteousness. Why, because he longed, while on this earth, for Jesus to come. It is one of the characteristics of a true Christian that he sincerely desires the return of his Savior, and would welcome his appearing in the clouds of heaven now!
Do you long to see His appearing? If you don’t and you call yourself a Christian, you are lacking in your knowledge of Christ. To know Him is to love Him. When you love someone, you want to be near them, when they are away all you can think about is when they will return. That is evidence of your love for them. You only feel that way about those you have experienced. You have been with them through joys and sorrows. You feel at one with them in your thinking and your actions. You can’t wait to be with them, so you can know them better.
Does this sound like a love story in progress? Well, it is! This is how we are with those we “fall in love” with, and it should be the same with Jesus. He already loves us and longs for us to love Him. He already knows all about us and loves us with all our faults. It is our turn to get to know Him. As we do, we will long for His coming. We will long to see His face. Our love for others may consume us, but they will pale in comparison with our love for Christ. To know Him is to love Him, to love him is too long for Him.
This Crown of Righteousness will be given to those who long for His appearance!
