BUILT TO LAST: HOW TO OUTLIVE YOUR LIFE

Dondi Costin 

2 Timothy 1-2

Pondering the words of your best-case obituary and aspiring to live up to those words for the rest of your earthly life delivers a constant reminder that this life is not all there is. That perspective should inspire you to live with eternity in view and motivate you to love God and others (Matthew 22:34-40) like never before. It should also compel you to help others experience the abundant life that only Jesus Christ can give (John 10:10), long after you’re gone.

1. Fan the flames of faith in your family. (1:1-7)

Paul considers Timothy a “beloved son” (1:2) and is thankful for his own faithful forefathers (1:3a), unceasingly prayerful for Timothy (1:3b), mindful of Timothy’s tears (1:4a), and anticipates being joyful should he see Timothy again (1:4b).

He is also mindful that Timothy’s faith is a product of a faithful grandmother (Lois) and mother (Eunice) who understood that their most important task was to nurture his faith. Which is the most important task of every family and every church.

2 Timothy 3:14-15 (NIV) 14But, as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” 

Luke 8:19–21 (NIV) 19Now Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd. 20Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” 21He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.”

UVA’s Institute for Family Studies recently published a major report titled “Passing the Torch: How Faith Moves Across Generations,” which affirms what the Bible has told us since the dawn of time: “Research consistently shows that families are the single most important factor in whether children adopt and maintain faith into adulthood. Congregational programs, clergy leadership, and peer networks matter as well, but they are most effective when reinforced within the home.” 

“Using data on American adults aged 25+ who were raised in a Christian faith,” the report gives helpful recommendations for both parents and pastors.

Recommendations for Parents

1) Be your children’s role model for faith

2) Prioritize strong marriages and parent-child relationships

3) Make faith formation a joint effort

4) Build religion into everyday family life

5) Make faith a regular topic of family conversation

Recommendations for Pastors

1) Guide parents—not just children—as part of religious education

2) Support strong marriages and coparenting relationships

3) Actively engage fathers

4) Create space for community

5) Invest in youth ministry[1]

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (NIV) 4Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

Timothy was raised in a faithful home and became a faithful believer, but Paul knew that, left to his own devices, Timothy might allow his youth (1 Tim 4:2; 2 Tim 2:22), sickly nature (1 Tim 5:23), and timid personality to stand in the way of obedience to God. So, he reminds Timothy to “stir up the gift of God which is in you” (NIV “fan into flame”) so he could live up to his potential.

2 Timothy 1:6-7 (NKJV) 6Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 

2. Stand firm in the face of fear. (1:8-12)

After reminding Timothy of how his faith had been firmly established, Paul tells Timothy that he should not let fear hold him back from living and sharing the gospel.

Barriers to Sharing the Gospel:

Proximity – “I don’t know any lost people.”

Inadequacy – “I don’t have what it takes.”

Personality – “I’m too shy.”

Ignorance – “I don’t know what to say.”

Rejection – “I’m afraid of being rejected.”

Reputation – “I’m afraid of what people will think of me.” 

Busyness – “I’m too busy to help others find heaven.”

Apathy – “I just don’t care enough to leave my comfort zone.”

Regardless of our fear, God has called us to stand firm in faith. You can either settle for a lifetime of excusing your disobedience by staying the comfort zone of “That’s just the way I am,” or you can follow the sovereign lead of “The Great I AM.”

So, which will it be: “That’s just the way I am” OR “The Way of The Great I AM”?

2 Timothy 1:8 (NKJV) 8Therefore 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.

2 Timothy 1:12 (NKJV) 12For 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.”

2 Corinthians 4:17 (NKJV) 17For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory….

2 Peter 1:3 (NIV) 3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

Living with an eternal perspective (“until that Day”), having been “persuaded” that God is exactly Who He says He is, and that “He is able” to keep His promises is the key to standing firm in the face of fear. This stance is the essence of living by faith.

1 Corinthians 3:10-15 (NIV) 10By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 11For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. 14If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

Hebrews 11:6 (NIV) 6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

1 John 4:4 (KJV) 4Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

3. Hold fast even when friends falter. (1:13-18)

2 Timothy 1:13-14 (NKJV) 13Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. 14That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

Regardless of what society demands that Scripture ought to say, God commands us to “hold fast the pattern of sound words” He has given. The NIV says we are to “Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us” (1:13).

Jude 1:3 (NIV) 3Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.

Our job is to UPHOLD not UPDATE the Word of God.

Many of Paul’s closest friends abandoned him when it became too costly for them to stay true to the one who had invested so much in them, but Onesiphorus stood by his side (2:16-17).

Are you driven more by the fear of God or the fear of man?

2 Timothy 1:18 (NKJV) 18The 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.

4. Pass the faith through faithful fingers. (2:1-13)

2 Timothy 2:1-2 (NKJV) 1You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 

Paul encourages Timothy to follow the lead of Onesiphorus in strength and commitment (2:1). Just as Paul has passed the faith to Timothy, Timothy must now pass the faith to faithful men who will teach others (2:2). Focus must be on Sound Doctrine (“the things you have heard from me among many witnesses”) and Solid Teaching (“faithful men who will be able to teach others also”).

Like a baton being passed from one runner to the next in a 4 x 100 relay race, effectiveness is as much about the handoff from one runner to the next as it is about the individual skill of the four runners. If anybody drops the baton anywhere along the way, everybody loses. The primary job of every family and every church is to make sure nobody drops the baton.

Deuteronomy 6:1-2 (NIV) 1These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. 

Paul knows that outliving his life means he must ensure the faith is successfully passed from one generation to the next. That’s what he wants his legacy to be.

Ephesians 4:1-6 (NIV) 1As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Ephesians 4:11-14 (NIV) 11So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.

He then gives three models of what ministry faithfulness looks like:

1. Good Soldier (2:3-4) – “Endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” who is “engaged in warfare,” not distracted by “affairs of this life,” and is set on pleasing his commanding officer. A good soldier is dedicated to a cause greater than himself.

Ephesians 6:10-11 (NIV) 10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 

2 Corinthians 10:3-4 (NIV) 3For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

Matthew 6:24 (NIV) 24No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

James 1:8 (NKJV) 8A double-minded man [is] unstable in all his ways.

1. Competitive Athlete (2:5) “If anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.” A competitive athlete is disciplined in every way.

1 Timothy 4:7-8 (NIV) 7Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

1 Corinthians 9:24 (NIV) 24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

1. Hardworking Farmer (2:6) “must be first to partake of the crops.” A hardworking farmer is diligent, doing what must be done to enjoy dividends from his labor. (1 Corinthians 9:7-12; 1 Timothy 5:18)

Law of the Harvest: You reap what you sow, later than you sow, and more than you sow.

As much as these three examples inspire, nothing motivates more than when we “Remember … Jesus Christ” and his Resurrection from the dead.

There is no better way to outlive your life than helping others outlive theirs by opening the door to eternal life for them.

Paul summarizes this powerful section with lines from what may be a hymn to highlight life in Christ, the glorious result of endurance, the consequences of denying Christ, and God’s forever faithfulness (2:11-13).

Romans 6:5-8 (NIV) 5For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. 8Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

Romans 8:17 (NIV) 17Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Matthew 10:32-33 (NIV) 32Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.

Hebrews 10:23 (NIV) 23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

5. Fight the good fight all the way to the finish. (2:14-26)

a. Choose your battles wisely. (2:14)

Proverbs 20:3 (NIV) 3It is to one’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel.

b. Train the way you fight. (2:15)

2 Timothy 2:15 (NKJV) 15Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV) 16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Corinthians 4:1-2 (NIV) 1Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.

c. Never back down from a good fight. (2:16-18)

2 Timothy 2:16-18 (NIV) 16Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. 17Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. 

d. Fight like a winner, but don’t punch down. (2:19-23)

Fight to be Approved rather than Ashamed.

His Declaration (v. 19): “The Lord knows those who are his” (and He cannot forget them). He declares you righteous. He calls you holy.

His Expectation (v. 19): “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”Live righteously. Be holy.

The Greek word for “foolish” is the word from which we get the English word “moron.” What the NKJV renders as “ignorant” is rendered “stupid” in the NIV.

“Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty, and the pig likes being dirty.”

Here’s the general rule: Fight off the False Teachers and Hold off the Heretics. But just Ignore the Ignorant, Don’t Mess with the Morons, and Simply Stay Away from the Stupid until they straighten up and fly right.

Exercising biblical discernment in these matters is the key to faithfulness in your family, the church, and the world. Besides, you can’t call folks stupid morons because verses 24 and 25 says we “must not quarrel but be gentle to all … patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition.”

e. Fight to win souls, not just arguments. (2:25-26)

2 Timothy 2:25-26 (NKJV) 25in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

2 Timothy 2:25-26 (NIV) 25Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

John 8:44 (NIV) [The devil] was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

1 Peter 5:8 (NIV) 8Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

2 Corinthians 7:10 (NIV) 10Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret…. 

2 Peter 3:9 (NIV) 9The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 

Proverbs 11:30 (NIV) 30The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.

2 Timothy 4:7 (NIV) 7I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. 

The best way to Outlive Your Life is fan into flames to bring as many as possible to heaven with you. That represents the fight of our lives.

How to Outlive Your Life 

1. Fan the flames of faith in your family. (1:1-7)
2. Stand firm in the face of fear. (1:8-12)
3. Hold fast even when friends falter. (1:13-18)
4. Pass the faith through faithful fingers. (2:1-13)
5. Fight the good fight all the way to the finish. (2:14-26) 

And if you’re going to be a fighter, you must have a fight song.

“Fan the Flames!” (TRBC Version)

Fan the Flames! Fan the Flames!
Fan the Flames of Timothy!
Fan the Flames! Fan the Flames!
Fan the Flames to Victory!
Fan the Flames and be true
To the Savior Who died for You

Let the fire in His Name set the Spirit aflame
Of the One Who makes all things new!

[1] Jesse Smith and Jane Lankes Smith, Passing the Torch: How Faith Moves Across Generations (Washington, DC: Institute for Family Studies and Communio, 2026), https://ifstudies.org/report-brief/passing-the-torch-how-faith-moves-across-generations.