No Fear!

“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2Tim 1:7).

“No Fear!” You’ve probably seen it on the back window of a pickup truck, the back of a t-shirt, or on skateboard. It’s actually a brand focused on folks who love extreme sports like BASE jumping, rock climbing, or windsurfing. It’s all based on taking adventurous chances and hanging your life out over the edge. It’s radical. Rebellious. High risk, high reward. 

But long before anyone pulled on the first wing suit and jumped headfirst off a cliff, a man named Paul wanted us to know Jesus calls His followers to live an extreme life of no fear. “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (v7). In the final months of his own life, the apostle writes to his protege Timothy. With his own death on the doorstep, Paul encourages Tim to go for it. God has given each one of us His gifts. Don’t be shy. We’re to use them with courage, with power, with love, and with focus. 

No fear!

If you’re familiar with the little book of 2nd Timothy, you know it’s really not a book at all. It’s a letter from one friend to another. From a mentor to a student. From a spiritual father to his spiritual son. A real letter from a real person in a real place to another real person who’s dealing with real problems. This is no pie-in-the-sky-sweet-bye-and-bye, warm and fuzzy fable. 

Paul writes from prison. Specifically, from Death Row. History tells us he’s a dead man walking in Rome’s notorious Mamertine Prison. The apostle knows full well his appointment with the executioner is right around the corner (2Tim 4:6-7). His conscience is clear and he has no regrets (2Tim 1:3). He desperately hopes to stoke the fire of Tim’s faith in his own final days (2Tim 1:6). You see, the hotter our faith in Christ burns, the more our fear of failure fades.

No fear!

Paul begins by reminding Tim, “For God gave us not a spirit of fear” (v7). In other words, let’s begin by talking about what He did NOT give us. Specifically, fear. This isn’t the usual Greek word for fear (Gr. phobos). Instead, he pulls the wrapper off a shiny new term we don’t see anywhere else in the entire Bible. It’s deilia, which describes a a shameful lack of courage, cowardice, or timidity. It comes from a root word meaning dread. 

This is the kind of fear that freezes us in our tracks. Fear that freaks us out to the point that we don’t do anything. Fear that immobilizes. It’s certainly okay to do the wise thing and analyze the situation. We need to do that. But when analysis becomes paralysis, we’ve got a problem. Let’s be clear. I’m talking directly to the dude who’s hands on the keyboard right now. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve failed to act because of a lack of courage or confidence. 

The apostle reminds you, me, and Tim that anytime we have a “spirit of fear” (v7), it didn’t come from God. Don’t miss that. Not. From. God. Well, if it’s not from our wonderful Heavenly Dad who only gives good gifts (James 1:5, 17), then who’s the source? You get three guesses and the first two don’t count. I’m pretty sure we can pin this one on Satan. Yup, that’ right. The devil. Jesus Himself said our enemy’s number one mission is to “steal and kill and destroy” (Jn 10:10). I can’t think of a better way to short circuit the overflowing life Christ has for us than to freeze us in fear and doubt.

Before we move on and look at what God does give each one of Jesus’ followers, let’s not forget we worship One who is lavishly generous. He is the Great Giver. Paul drops a word here we translate as give (Gr. didomi) which means to entrust something of advantage or benefit, furnish, supply, assign, grant, bestow, or invest. It’s giving something of value, like depositing money with a banker. Let’s review just a few of His blessings. God gave us a fabulous universe to enjoy. He gave us life. The Father gave His Son for us. His Son gave His life for us. His Son gave His Spirit to us. His Spirit gave His gifts to us. The Great Giver gave and keeps on giving. And He wants us to be generous givers in His image.

Specifically, God gives us the Triple Crown of “power and love and self-control” (v7). In other words, God’s gifts are to be used with courage, with power, with love, and with focus. Don’t by shy in using them. Don’t doubt that God can use you. Don’t hesitate when you can do something good for someone else. And when you do, be focused with His gifts in order to do the most good. Power. Love. Self-control.

No fear!

“Power” (Gr. dunamis) is absolutely one of Paul’s favorite words. It seems like you’ll find it on just about every page of his letters to believers in Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Colossae, and Thessalonica. Interestingly, he doesn’t use it when writing his personal notes to Titus or Philemon. Only Timothy. Apparently Tim was timid. He clearly didn’t feel very powerful. I know there are plenty of times I don’t exactly feel like a tower of power myself. But remember, God didn’t give us a wimpy spirit. That’s just the enemy up to his devilish dirty tricks.

The Lord preps us for a life of fearless love. Once again, the apostle uses another one of his go-to terms: agape. This is far from a warm and fuzzy feeling. While there’s certainly an emotional side to it, God calls us to love that does. A love in action. A love with legs. Jesus tells His posse how we’re to follow His loving example of service and sacrifice. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn 13:34-35). It takes courage to love like He does. That’s why He gives us His spirit of fearless love.

Last and certainly not least, God pours into us a spirit of “self-control” (v7). Various translations can’t really decide exactly how to express the Greek word here (Gr. sophronismos). “A sound mind” (KJV, NKJV, YLT). “Self-discipline” (NIV, NRS, NLT). “Sound judgment” (HCSB). “Sobriety” (Douay-Rheims). It describes a calling to soundness of mind, moderation, coming to your senses, or even the curbing of desires. It’s a compound word that literally means “a rescued mind.” 

When God gives me spirit of self-control, my emotions are no longer running the show. I’m not simply doing only what I FEEL like doing. I’m doing what I KNOW I should do. God’s Spirit rescues my mind and produces His fruit in my life. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Gal 5:22-23). It’s anything but reckless. This spirit focuses His love and power in my life. Instead of being an random sprinkler, He mades me a firehose of fearlessness.

There are plenty of folks who are hooked on the adrenaline rush of extreme sports. You can have hang gliding, helicopter skiing, and parkour. Listen to Paul’s advice. There’s nothing more radical than leaning into God’s spirit “of power and love and self-control” (v7). Take the leap. I dare you.

No fear!

Grace Comes Full Circle

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit” (Philippians 4:23).

All great stories finish where they started. The end of the movie or book wraps up with a strong connection to the opening scene. Everything that’s happened to the main character in the beginning has a whole new meaning in light of all that’s occurred. Think about Rosebud in “Citizen Cane”. There’s the box of chocolates in “Forrest Gump”. How about the opening and closing cemetery scenes in “Saving Private Ryan”? 

Our man Paul loves ending his letters in the same place he starts them. Philippians is certainly no exception. Once again, he bookends his note with God’s amazing grace. “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit” (v23). The very last verse mirrors the opening lines. “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil 1:3).  Bookends of grace. That only makes sense. God’s glorious Gospel starts with grace and it ends with grace. The apostle wants us to know that Jesus’ grace always comes full circle. What goes around comes around.

Paul kicks off every single letter with greetings of grace. And he ends each one with more of the same. Every. Single. One. Don’t believe me? Let’s take a quick tour just to be sure. 

Romans 1:7 and 16:20. 

1 Corinthians 1:3 and 16:23. 

2 Corinthians 1:2 and 13:14.

Galatians 1:3 and 6:18.

Ephesians 1:2 and 6:24.

Colossians 1:2 and 4:18.

Philippians 1:2 and 4:23.

1 Thessalonians 1:1 and 5:28.

2 Thessalonians 1:2 and 3:18.

1 Timothy 1:2 and 6:21.

2 Timothy 1:2 and 4:22.

Titus 1:4 and 3:15.

Philemon 3 and 25.

Be sure this is no quick cut-and-paste. The apostle isn’t wasting his time with some generic throw-away filler. One reason is that each and every word of Scripture is inspired by God’s Spirit (2Tim 3:16). Second, you didn’t just swing by Office Max for a pack of the papyrus used by authors like Paul in the first century. He’s not just scribbling randomly. There’s no waste when it comes to grace.

So just what is this grace that he talks so much about? The Greek word is charis, which means undeserved kindness, goodwill, and favor. The best way to try and wrap your brain around it is as a totally unexpected gift. It’s God’s blessing from the blindside. Grace is so surprising because we’re so rebellious. It all started when our first parents fell for the lie of a satanic snake (Gen 3:1-7). We continued our terrorist campaign against God’s kingdom throughout the centuries (Rom 5:10; Col 1:21). That’s when the craziest thing happened. Instead of dropping His divine hammer and putting a stop to this ridiculous revolt, He sent His sinless Son to rescue us and bring us into His family (Jn 3:16; Rom 5:8). We did nothing to deserve to be saved. As a matter of fact, someone once said the only thing we bring to our salvation is the sin that makes it necessary. A great definition of grace is God’s descending one-way love. 

Yeah, so grace is a big deal. A VERY big deal. Paul wants us to never forget where we would be without God’s overwhelming and undeserved goodness headed in our direction. But notice the subtle difference from the apostle’s grace greeting at the beginning of this letter (and others) with what he writes here at the close. The epistle lifts off with “grace TO you” (Phil 1:2) and lands with “grace…WITH your spirit” (v23). Grace comes TO us. Grace stays WITH us. And that’s EXACTLY how it works in every one of Paul’s letters. Grace TO you. Grace WITH you. Feel free to check those verses I listed above. I’ll wait right here.

The apostle opens each letter by personally delivering the grace of Jesus. Then he signs off reminding us of the overwhelming goodness from God to us in Christ that never ends. Grace TO us. Grace WITH us. It’s this mind-bending benevolence that rescues us in the first place. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9). Once God overwhelms us with His grace and uses His kindness to turn us back to Him (Rom 2:4), all we do is place our trust in who Jesus is and what He’s done for us. He lived the perfect life of obedience to God’s Law we failed to live. He died the death for our sin we should have died. He rose to new life we don’t deserve. By placing our faith in Jesus, we embrace His grace. 

Christ’s grace is to “be with your spirit” (v23). The Greek word here (Gr. pneuma) basically means breath or wind. Think pneumatic. More specifically, Paul is talking about our very life spirit and the immaterial part of our human personality (Lk 8:55; Acts 18:25; 1Cor 5:3; 2Cor 7:1). Remember that God created us in His image (Gen 2) and He Himself is spirit (Jn 4:24). In a letter to the church in Rome, the apostle says our own soul/spirit connects with the indwelling Spirit of God in such a way that we know without a shadow of a doubt that we’re God’s very own kids (Rom 8:16). In other words, God’s grace goes deep inside us and touches us in a powerful way. Jesus doesn’t apply it topically. Or as the Message so wonderfully crafts this verse, “Receive and experience the amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, deep, deep within yourselves” (v23 The Message).

Everything starts with grace. It ends with grace. Just like it does in Paul’s letters, God’s goodness bookends our lives. It goes deep into your very soul and impacts every aspect of your life. Because of His grace, I love because I’ve been loved. Because of His grace, I give because I’ve been given. Because of His grace, I serve because I’ve been served. It starts with grace. It ends with grace. Once the goodness of Jesus pours into my life, it has to flow out. You see, grace always comes full circle. What goes around comes around.