No Fear

2 Tim 1.7 Paul confronts Timothy's fearfulness

Paul was stirring Timothy up because he was naturally a timid person. He was easily shaken by setbacks. Paul gives Timothy the reason why he must not let this spirit of fear shut him down: because the spirit of fear does not come from the Holy Spirit. Timothy must learn to identify that his anxieties and worries were the remains of his old self trying to exert themselves where they no longer belong.

This is one of the key understandings that will help us grow into very strong Christians: correctly identifying what is from the Spirit of God and what comes from our old sinful self. Dealing with fear provides us with an excellent example. When we are too timid to do a good work, we might think we are being humble, or we might be telling ourselves that we don't want to make a mistake and muck up God's work. Whatever excuse we use, we can expose fear by noticing how it works against what the Spirit of God wants to produce in us.

The Spirit of God is the Spirit of power. Fear is the total opposite of that. Fear is powerlessness. Fear is an admission that we have no power and cannot do what lies in front of us. Fear is unbelief. It is refusing to believe that the Spirit of God will strengthen us to do what is too hard for us but what God intends us to do..

The Spirit of God is the Spirit of love. Fear paralyses us so that we cannot do acts of love. The act seems too costly to us;too uncomfortable – so we turn away from it. The spirit of fear robs others of God's love they should have experienced through us. The Spirit of God is the Spirit of love who not only assures us that we are loved by God but enables us to complete the acts of love that others need. For example, when you are too ashamed to speak up and share from the Bible the promise that encouraged you, your fear is failure to love. The person who needed that encouragement goes without because of your fear. The Spirit of love drives out fear – he expells it – because when the love of God for us occupies our thoughts, we no longer live under the fear of punishment. We know that God is for us. We need to fan into a flame the gift of God, so that fear does not stop us from loving as we should.

The Spirit of God is the Spirit of self-control. Fear is the opposite of self-control, because instead of us being in control of our thoughts, feelings and actions, we are ruled by fear. It controls us and won't allow us to do what we know we ought to do. However, the Spirit of God puts us firmly in union with Christ. We don't see ourselves any longer as fragments being blown around by the winds of chance. We know ourselves to be firmly grafted into Christ and he in us. So our true self – our true identity – is clear to us. I am no longer a rebel or an enemy of God. I am no longer a cast-off. I am at home in Christ.

It is no longer “I” who live, but Christ who lives in me. The life that I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2.20). I have self-control because the Spirit of God encourages me to act confidently as I truly am, a son of God. I choose not to be blown around by the chill wind of fear.

So, Paul's argument to cut down Timothy's fearfulness is that he has a new Spirit at work in his life now and he must not allow the old fearful attitude control him. He must stand up confidently in the Spirit of God, by faith. He must put to death his fear and step out in faith in the Christ who provides the Spirit of power of love and of self-control.