Christ Jesus Our Hope

Crown of Righteousness (875)
Next, we will consider the crown of righteousness.

2 Timothy 4:6-8
6For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.
7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
8Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

At the time of this writing, Paul was near the end of his life and ministry. When he wrote that he was “being poured out as a drink offering,” this was a figurative way of saying that his life, which was now about to end, had been poured out in service to God. Because Paul had finished the race, he would receive the crown of righteousness, which Jesus Christ, the righteous judge, would give him.
Earlier in his life, Paul had said he had not yet attained the prize (crown). But at the end of his life, Paul had been shown that the crown was now laid up for him. In the ancient Games, the victor’s crown was customarily given out on the last day of the Games. Paul’s race had ended, and he would receive the crown of righteousness on that day, referring to the return of Christ. (The “righteous judge” and the word “lord” in verse 8 both refer to Jesus Christ.) Whether this is called the “crown of righteousness” because God is not unrighteous to forget one’s labor of love, or because Jesus Christ is a righteous judge, or because Paul contended lawfully according to the rules, or for some other reason is not clear. What is clear, however, is that this crown is given to all who love his appearing. What does this mean?
First, we must understand that the verb in 2 Timothy 4:8 is in the perfect tense and should be translated as “have loved” his appearing. It isn’t a sudden love for Christ’s appearance but love that someone has shown throughout his life.
Second, if we read the context, we see that to love his appearing is explained by a contrast:

2 Timothy 4:1-10
1I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:
2preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.
3For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,
4and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
5As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
6For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.
7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
8Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
9Do your best to come to me soon.
10For Demas, in love with this present world [age], has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.

To love his appearing is contrasted with loving this present world or present age. The Scriptures explain why Demas forsook Paul: because he loved this present age, which the Scriptures call an evil age (Gal. 1:4). Biblically, love is not an emotional response but a decision of the will. Thus, to love the appearing of Jesus Christ is to live mindful of the age to come, to live in light of his Return. Priorities in life are set based on his Return. Those who love Jesus Christ’s appearing will invest their time and energy in light of future realities, not in light of the present age alone.
For Paul, to “love his appearing” also meant contending in the good contest, finishing the race, keeping the believing: this would include faithfully executing and completing the call and office of his apostleship, which was given to him by Jesus Christ. It doesn’t mean he lived a perfect, faultless life. It means he was faithful to do all that God, in Christ, had called him to do. He did not quit. He contended according to the rules. Paul finished the race. That is to say, it isn’t enough to start the race. One must finish in order to receive the crown. Dropping out midway disqualifies one for the prize (crown).