Passing on the Faith - Sermon Notes dedicated to my mother

These are sermon notes from Mother's Day...a bit late, yes, but my mum's birthday was last Saturday and I thought I would write these up in relation to that.


Passing on the Faith
2 Timothy 1:1-7
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy; When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

2 Timothy 3:14-15

But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Paul sees the instrumentation of the lineage in Timothy's faith. He understand the true impact and influence that a family has in passing on faith and a correct understanding of Biblical Christianity. In verse 3, he draws a clear relating line between him and his fathers. He serves the God of his fathers' faith. He believes what his forefathers believed. Each person has a special and personal belief, but the majority is what has been passed on. We are who we are because of the families we have been given. 

Paul thanks Timothy for his true and genuine faith, most likely because he has seen a lot of false and imitated faith. He connects it with a direct line to his lineage, his mother and grandmother. It is clear these women raised and hammered him with the Gospel and true faith. He was a child of the covenant, handed down the faith of God by two believing mothers. Timothy was who he was by how he was raised.

Paul tells Timothy to not only know where his faith came from, but from whom the faith came from. Too often we want to abstract God from our family life. But Paul make an emphasis on how vital family is, how God is connected to family, and by how the faith is passed down. To give up the faith now, would mean Timothy turns his back on his godly ancestors...and visa versa. If a child were to abandon his parents and/or their teachings, he is also abandoning his faith.

Christianity is the life of the mind, and as such it must be taught from infancy...that is when the mind begins its growth and forming. Lois and Eunice are spoken to have raised Timothy in a Godly way from the early years of childhood. It is our responsibility to take our faith that is passed down to us and to pass it down to our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. It is our Godly duty to praise and glorify God through our children and the passing along of our faith.