The Faithful Saying

“It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us; If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.”  2 Timothy 2:11-13

This saying may have been a song or other memory device that Paul recommended as a summary of doctrine. It expresses important elements of saving faith. First, Christ’s vicarious death gives us eternal life in Him. We “were dead in...trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1), have been created “righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:24), and have “passed out of death into life” (John 5:24).

Second, standing with Christ in this life attests to our reigning with Him in the next. The “perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure.  This is a plain indication of God's righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering” (2 Thess. 1:4-5).
   
Also, denying Christ in this life will insure that He will deny us for eternity. “Whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 10:33). “He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels” (Rev. 3:5).

Finally, even our unbelief will not affect Christ’s faithfulness. “For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen...” (2 Cor. 1:20). “The sum of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting” (Psalm 119:160). “For I, the Lord, do not change” (Mal. 3:6).

May this faithful saying be your foundation in faith. It is a guide to salvation and an anchor for eternity.