2 Timothy 4:1-8 - TIMOTHY, TAKE THE BATON

2 Timothy 4:1-8

TIMOTHY, TAKE THE BATON

2 Timothy 4:1-2 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.

Susie: Paul issued a strong command to Timothy to continue in his calling before God in the person of Jesus Christ. He reminds Timothy that when Jesus returns to reign, He will act as judge for the living and the dead. There will be a judgement of believers, not in the sense of condemning, but in order to determine rewards because believers are judged “righteous” by the blood of Christ as soon as they trust in Him. He will judge non-believers who have condemned themselves already by not surrendering to Jesus, choosing rather to continue in sin.

John 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Susan: In other words, when we trust in, rely on, surrender to Jesus’s finished work on the cross and receive His free gift of salvation, at that moment we are judged righteous and redeemed. At that point, we are adopted into the familyship of God eternal, an irrevocable commitment.

Susie: Paul’s urgent command to his protégé was to preach, to proclaim the word, not just when it was easy or convenient, but when it was difficult and dangerous. He was to share the gospel not only when it seemed appropriate but even when some might think it inappropriate. He was to be prepared to tell others about Jesus 24/7/365 (Susan says 365¼). We are to be prepared at all times as well.

Susan: Reproving and rebuking are pointing out a person’s sin, shortcomings, and inconsistencies—the areas in which a person misses the mark. Exhorting is to encourage the person in righteous living, right behavior. We are to do that patiently by teaching sound biblical doctrine and maintaining our own integrity as a positive witness. You cannot preach and teach the word of God if you are not a living billboard of godliness. We are only able to be that poster child of righteous living by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit within us.

Susie: The fact that Paul said to do all this “with longsuffering” tells me that the task is not always easy, in fact many times it is extremely difficult. However, we are to persevere and to patiently guide a person to the truth. We are not responsible for the person’s response, only to lovingly present the gospel. We trust the Holy Spirit to draw those who will believe.

2 Timothy 4:3-4 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;  And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Susie: Let’s take a look at verse 3 in three other translations—Amplified, The Message, and The Voice:

AMP    For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine and accurate instruction [that challenges them with God’s truth]; but wanting to have their ears tickled [with something pleasing], they will accumulate for themselves [many] teachers [one after another, chosen] to satisfy their own desires and to support the errors they hold,

MSG    You’re going to find that there will be times when people will have no stomach for solid teaching, but will fill up on spiritual junk food—catchy opinions that tickle their fancy. They’ll turn their backs on truth and chase mirages.

VOICE because a time will come when some will no longer tolerate sound teaching. Instead, they will live by their own desires; they’ll scratch their itching ears by surrounding themselves with teachers who approve of their lifestyles and tell them what they want to hear.

Susie: We are definitely living in a time like that described above. People flock to teachers that take scripture out of context or ignore certain passages all together in order to make their own lifestyle seem acceptable.

Susan: These teachers take a grain of truth and define it by what people want to believe. We must always consider the context when studying and teaching the word of God. I, personally, don’t enjoy vegetables but have found a way to eat them in smoothies because they are good for me. The “vegetables” of God’s word, the need for repentance, the identification of certain behaviors as “abominations”, etc. are not tasty either; but they are a necessary part of a well-balanced scriptural diet.

Susie: Many people are looking for fairy tales instead of truth. Many people are preaching/teaching fables instead of the Bible. It is crucial for Christians to read and study God’s word on their own. In that way, we can discern sound teaching from ear tickling. Those of us who teach/preach have a responsibility to be sure we are handling the scripture accurately.

2 Timothy 4:5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

Susan: I like the way the Complete Jewish Bible renders verse 5 the best:

2 Timothy 4:5 (CJB)   But you, remain steady in every situation, endure suffering, do the work that a proclaimer of the Good News should, and do everything your service to God requires.

Susie: Timothy, along with all who are called to preach, needed to be rock-steady no matter what was happening around him. Paul encouraged him to face persecution and hardship “without flinching” according to the Amplified version.

Susan: Timothy was to face all trials tenaciously and fearlessly as an overcomer, knowing that God was with him.

Susie: We have that same promise of the presence of God through His Holy Spirit with us every day, everywhere, no matter what the circumstances are.

Susie: Timothy’s calling was that of a pastor/teacher; but he was to do the work of an evangelist, a proclaimer of the Gospel, as all believers are to be sharing the Good News faithfully. Paul exhorted Timothy to continue doing everything God expected of him as His servant.

Susan: The job of the officers of the church is not to do all the work themselves but to prepare the entire congregation to serve the Lord. We are all ministers of the Gospel of grace.

Ephesians 4:11-12 (CJB) Furthermore, he gave some people as emissaries, some as prophets, some as proclaimers of the Good News, and some as shepherds and teachers.  Their task is to equip God’s people for the work of service that builds the body of the Messiah

2 Timothy 4:6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.

Susie: Other translations make it clear that Paul is referring to the drink offering:

2  Timothy 4:6 (NKJV)      For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.

Notes from The MacArthur Study Bible:

a drink offering. In the OT sacrificial system, this was the final offering that followed the burnt and grain offerings prescribed for the people of Israel (Num. 15:1–16). Paul saw his coming death as his final offering to God in a life that had already been full of sacrifices to Him

Susan: From the moment of his conversion to Christianity, Paul’s life became a living sacrifice, daily dying to himself and surrendering to the will of the Lord. He laid his own will on the altar and picked up the will of God. He took up his cross and followed Jesus.

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Matthew 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Susie: Paul suffered many things in the name of Jesus in order to continue proclaiming the Good News:

2 Corinthians 11:24-28 24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.

Susie: Now Paul knew he was coming to the end of his journey and would soon face the executioner’s axe.

2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

Susan: For Paul, the Christian life was a marathon, not a dash or a sprint. It is something that required a steady pace and precision. Or it might be viewed as a relay in which he was now passing the baton to Timothy.

Susie: When Paul hit a wall—persecution, doubters, false teachers—he pressed on to overcome the wall and move the gospel message forward.

Susan: Paul had fulfilled the Apostle’s obstacle course that Jesus had set for him. He defended the Gospel message with fearless abandonment with his eye on the prize of the glory to come and the heavenly home the Lord prepared for him.

Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Colossians 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Susie: Even as the executioner sharpened the axe, Paul continued to serve the Lord. He knew his race was nearly over. What may have seemed like a defeat to those who would remove his head was actually a victory for a soldier of the Lord who served faithfully because it would re-united him with his Savior.

2 Corinthians 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

2 Timothy 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

Susie: The winner of the competition in the ancient Olympic games was awarded a circlet, a crown, of leaves. Paul knows he will be reward a crown of righteousness, not his own righteousness but that of Christ. When we trust in Jesus, yielding control of our lives to His Lordship, His righteousness is imputed to us. God sees us as righteous even though we still sin because we are covered with the righteousness of His Son. When we as believers die or when He returns, we will receive a crown of righteous as we are finally made completely like Jesus, righteous and holy, without sin.

QUESTIONS

1.        Who will ultimately judge every person who has ever lived?

2.        When was Timothy to preach the word?

3.        Define reprove, rebuke, and exhort.

4.        In what manner was Timothy to correct others?

5.        How do people scratch their itching ears?

6.        What was Timothy to endure?

7.        What did Paul mean by his “departure?”

8.        Who will receive the crown of righteousness?