2 Timothy 1:6 Why I put you in remembrance that you stir up the gift of God, which is in you by the putting on of my hands. I put thee in remembrance. Timothy was not to create a gospel, but to preach one. The facts and doctrines were matters of revelation, and Timothy had the humbler task of expanding and applying them. All through his gospel was to be that of the faith once delivered to the saints. I. REMEMBRANCE IS NEEDED. Why? Memory is liable to slumber and to sleep. Do we mourn over this fact, and ask why this precious faculty was not stronger? Consider! Could you live in peace or joy at all, if all your sorrows and bereavements kept their clear details before your mind? No; their harrowing spectacles would deaden all the springs of life, and crush the heart. If those past griefs preserved their fulness life would be unendurable. There is a beautiful side, therefore, even to forgetfulness. Memory may slumber, but it does not die. It may be awakened and quickened for high and noble ends. Thus all Christians need to be "put in remembrance," that they may hold fast the Word of life. II. REMEMBRANCE IS COMPREHENSIVE. There are many springs to be touched. We become proud, and need to remember, as the Hebrews did, that we "were slaves." We become self-dependent, and need to be reminded that "without Christ we can do nothing." We become so interested in life that we try to make "home" here, and forget that we are pilgrims and strangers. We become negligent, and forget that responsibility is great and time is short. - W.M.S. Parallel Verses KJV: 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. |