Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead, according to my gospel, (9) for which I suffer as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained. (10) Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. (13) This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him we shall also endure with Him. (12) If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He will also deny us. (13) If we are faithless, He also remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.

The second letter to Timothy was written by the apostle Paul. He wrote this letter of encouragement and warning while a prisoner in the Mamertine prison in Rome. He is soon to be executed for preaching the gospel but in this letter Paul is joyful, steadfast and certain in his faith – the point here is that we must have Paul’s faith to have his serenity. Trust is always quiet. Paul is bound in prison but the word of God is never bound – the Lord will continue through the agency of other men/women. He endured all suffering for the encouragement of Christians that they, like Paul, do not doubt they are children of God and that their salvation is in Christ Jesus. Every believer is a child of God; all men are God’s creatures but not His children by natural birth. We are saved by grace in faith, stand in grace and are to walk in grace. We are not called to fight/earn our way to heaven, (we cannot,) but in faith we are called to contend against every thing that impedes our progress.

Paul references Jesus as of the seed of David meaning He was true man who completed his work of redemption by His resurrection from the dead with divine acknowledgment and acceptance. Salvation is in Christ Jesus; earned by Him and grounded in Him. If we are faithful to the Lord we shall daily cause our nature in Adam to die and we shall become partakers of heaven in Christ. But if we deny the Lord, He will deny us. If we in word or deed are ashamed of Christ, He will be faithful to His threat of punishment, for God must be true to His essence. A faithless unreliable man the Lord cannot reward but with the “reward” of unfaithfulness. This is a challenge to the reality of this passing world. Mere profession of faith does not save. Our unbelief cannot change God’s plan or purpose nor alter his truth.

From the Problem of Pain by c.s. Lewis: “Some will not be redeemed. There is no doctrine which I would more willingly remove from Christianity than this, if it lay in my power. But it has the full support of Scripture and, specially, of our Lord’s own words; it has always been held by Christendom and it has the support of reason. If a game be played, it must be possible to lose it. If the happiness of a creature lies in self surrender, no one can make that surrender but himself (though many can help him make it) and he may refuse. I would pay any price to be able to say truthfully “All will be saved.” But my reason retorts, “Without their will, or with it?” If I say “Without their will ” I at once perceive a contradiction; how can the supreme voluntary act of self-surrender be involuntary? If I say “with their will,” my reason replies “How if they will not give in?”