Second Timothy 2:12

“If We Be Dead With Him”

2 Timothy 2:12-13, “if we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: if we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.”

People don’t like to suffer and don’t want to suffer. Usually people will do anything they can to avoid suffering or to get those they love to escape suffering. But sometimes God calls a Christian to suffer for Christ. The Bible says those that will live Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But sometimes, some Christians God calls to suffer for him. The perfect example of this is the Apostles. They had a special calling and it included suffering for Christ.

In life it just may be that you have a cross to bear for Christ. Pick it up daily and follow him. Jesus bore a cross, the cross. Is it really so bad if God calls you to suffer? We are told one important thing about suffering in 2 Timothy 2:12, “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him.” We shall reign with him. To reign with the King of kings; to be a king in eternity, all it takes is suffering.

This verse is conditional, that is why it says “if.” If God calls you to suffer and you deny him, he will deny you. If God wants you to suffer for him but you refuse and avoid it, then why would God let you reign with him?

Why would a person deny Jesus? God is love. Why deny him? If you are faced with death for you or your family, you might be tempted to deny him. There really are many reasons a person might deny Jesus. We just mentioned one. Another is because they might be ashamed of the gospel. It really logically makes no sense to be ashamed of the gospel. The gospel is about forgiveness of sins. People should be ashamed of their sins, not of God’s forgiveness. Romans 1:16 says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

If I, a Christian, am living in sin or has unconfessed sins, I might be ashamed of the gospel. That is why we should keep our sins confessed. If we keep our sins confessed then we have no reason to be ashamed. 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

2 Timothy 2:12-13, “if we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: if we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.”

In the story of the gospels where Peter denies Christ the same Greek word for deny is used as is used here in 2 Timothy 2:12-13. Peter’s denial was his greatest failure but remember that God did forgive him. In talking about denial here this verse probably is not talking about blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. You probably could apply the verse to a person denying or rejecting Jesus as their Savior, but I think the main point has to do with being a witness for Christ.

“If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.” Denial can be connected to a failure in someone’s faith or having a weak faith in God. Thank God that just as it says in the book of Revelation, Jesus is the faithful witness. God is faithful and even if you are not, God will still keep his promises.

2 Timothy 2:11, ”It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him;” What does it mean to be dead with him? Romans 6:4, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Romans 8:10, “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.”

To be dead with Christ is something that happens at salvation. You become dead to sin, freed from sin. Remember that you are crucified with Christ therefore you should in all practical aspects be dead to yourself and your own selfish desires. A person who is dead with him and lives with him is not going to deny him. Do not forget that you are dead with him and alive with him.

Don’t ever make the mistake of thinking that temptation won’t come your way. It Will. If you boast and say that you will never deny Christ, you are making the same boast that Peter made before he denied Christ. Instead of boasting, remember these verses and these truths and pray that God will give you grace in your hour of temptation, if such a temptation comes your way.

I am crucified with Christ. I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. I am dead with him and I live with him.

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