II Timothy 2: Remember

"Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David - that is my gospel." (vs. 8)

With every sentence, Paul strives to impart to Timothy the essence of ministry and Christian maturity.  He charges his student in 2:8 to "remember" the core truths of the faith, which Paul refers to as his gospel.  The key ingredients are Jesus Christ who was both resurrected from the dead and the promised fulfillment in the line of David.  Just as we receive communion "in remembrance of" Christ, so, too, is the gospel a remembrance of Jesus' identity and victory.

Paul goes on to share some good news in the next few verses.  He writes,
"The saying is sure:
If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he will also deny us;
if we are faithless, he remains faithful - for he cannot deny himself."

Here is what I hear Paul saying: It seems that there are four alternatives open to believers.  Dying with him (taken to mean baptism, joining the faith, taking up our cross) equates to sharing in the resurrection with him and enjoying eternal life.  If we persevere and endure persecution and see the Christian life victoriously through to the end, then we will also reign with him.  The worst scenario is one of denying Him who once was our life.  To do that - assuming that saints can fall away, an assumption I believe - is to cut ourselves off from Christ's life-giving power.  Rejecting Him means being ourselves rejected.  Finally, the next "least worse" alternative is to be faithless, meaning to give up and go through the motions, to continue as a believer but not with any passion or heart.  In that case, Christ will not give us up but will remain faithful even where we have been faithless, because we are still a part of His body, the Church, and He will not lose a part of Himself.