Based on 2 Timothy 1 (New King James Version)
“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, a beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain; but when he arrived in Rome, he sought me out very zealously and found me. The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day—and you know very well how many ways he ministered to me at Ephesus.
We see through this passage one very crucial thing: loyalty. And even more exactly, loyalty to the Lord. Here we see people who were loyal to the Lord and others who were not. Some who were so loyal that they even worried about the faith being passed from generation to generation, and others who abandoned the Lord to follow the world. Loyalty is something crucial in the Lord and for two reasons, which we will see later.
But in order to understand this issue of loyalty, it is necessary to understand why there is such a thing as loyalty. Free will is what needs to exist for loyalty to mean anything. Without free will, loyalty would have no point. God made man with free will. He did not make us robots, nor did He set its path beforehand. In general, we are all free to choose our path, whether to follow the Lord or not, whether to be faithful to Him or not. As Joshua said in ancient times: “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15. And the Word also says: “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.” Deuteronomy 30:15. So, we are free to choose, to decide our path, whether we want life or death. Even being in the Lord, each person can decide to remain in the Lord or leave the path as those from Asia did, such as Phygellus and Hermogenes. Even Judas Iscariot himself could have decided otherwise with the Lord. Everything had to be fulfilled, but it is up to each person how the Word of God is fulfilled in them. As it is written: “Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!” Matthew 18:7. So, each person has the power to choose whether they want to be loyal to the Lord or not, whether they want to obtain life or follow death.
And why then does this free will exist? Because God subjected everything to love. And in love, there is no obligation. Everything in love consists of choice, of decision, of choosing. So, this matter that one has no power over oneself when involved in love is not true. A person finally chooses what to love, even people. We are beings made with reason, because God created us that way (we are not the product of a cosmic accident). We are not animals, nor irrational beings, although many today heading that way due to their sin (but that is a message for another day). This is what the Word says: “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.” John 3:19-20. So, each person chooses either to love God or to love sin. Loyalty goes hand in hand with love. A person is loyal to the one they love, in the general course of things.
Having said this, what are the two reasons why we should be loyal to the Lord? The first is considering everything we owe him. God chose to love us, as it is written: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. God did everything without any obligation. God does not owe anyone anything. We owe everything to Him, even the air we breathe today. And the second reason is, because if we are not loyal to Him, if we do not abide in Him, we will not have salvation. As the Word also says: “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. ‘I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.” John 15:4-6. “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:7-8. And that is why God urges us in this manner: “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.” Hebrews 12:1-3.
So then, do you understand that you should be loyal to the Lord because He deserves it, and because it is the only way to legitimately attain salvation? Lord bless! John. Support Israel. Pray for Israel. God will bless those that bless Israel.