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?

2 TIMOTHY 3:14-17 - EXCELLENT, ENCOURAGING NEWS

2 TIMOTHY 3:14-17

EXCELLENT, ENCOURAGING NEWS

2 Timothy 3:14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

Susan: Pursue holy living according to the sacred Scripture. Timothy had not only studied and learned Scripture but was confident in its authenticity as the word of God.

Susie: Timothy had been taught personally by Paul the apostle and had many opportunities to validate that Paul lived what he believed. He would have learned from Paul’s co-laborers as well and observed their righteousness first-hand. However, his instruction in Scripture began much earlier than his becoming acquainted with Paul.

2 Timothy 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Susan: From the time Timothy was a babe in arms, his grandmother, Lois, and his mother, Eunice, taught him the truth of the Old Testament Scripture. Since he was an infant, I would conjecture that they may have sung the Psalms to him as lullabies.

Susie: It is never too early to begin sharing God’s love and message with your children. Recite scripture to them, sing hymns and choruses as you rock them. Help them associate God’s word with lovingkindness. Prepare their hearts to be ripe for the sowing of the seed of the Gospel.

Susan: Timothy would have seen and witnessed the truth of God, not just in the words he was taught but in the behavior and lifestyle of his grandmother and his mother. Lois and Eunice were devout Jews who had mined out the truth of the gospel message like treasured jewels from the Old Testament. When they heard salvation through Jesus Christ preached, they joyfully recognized it as the fulfillment of the truth they had learned in Scripture and trusted Jesus as the promised Messiah.

Susie: Likewise, Timothy’s understanding of the Old Testament primed him to realize his sinfulness and need of a Savior. Then, when he heard the Gospel message, he received it, believed it, and surrendered to Jesus.

2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Susie: The literal translation would be that scripture is “God-breathed.” God breathed life into Adam after making him from mud, and He breathed His message into the human authors of the Bible. It was not their own worthiness or ability that inspired them but God’s choice to use them as His pen.

Susan: God implanted the truth, the reality of the scriptures into the biblical writers. Each human writer expressed God’s message through their own personalities, vocabularies, and experiences.

Susie: The Bible, both old and new testament, is God’s instruction for life and godliness. It points us to our need for a Savior, shows us how to know Him, and teaches us how to live as a member of His kingdom.

Psalm 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Susan: The word of God is evidence that highlights sin in one’s life. It can be used to rebuke someone who has strayed from the path of righteousness.

Susie: After reproving or rebuking someone, we should then use the word of God for correction. Correction is helping the person get back on track with the Lord, showing them how to turn from the sin that has been pointed out and turn toward the godliness that Jesus demands. This word for “correction” is used only here in the new testament. It was used elsewhere in Greek literature to mean lifting a fallen object or person up. We are not to be concerned with punishment but to point out a person’s fallen state with reformation and restoration in mind.

Susan: We need to use the word of God to share and show that those who have fallen can, in the power of Jesus, get up again and overcome sin rather than be overcome by sin.

Susie: Scripture gives detailed instruction in the right way to live as well as pointing out error. Instruction has the connotation of training a child; and believers, children of God, need to be trained in righteousness, right living with God and people. Instruction involves discipleship, teaching Christians, especially those who are newer to faith than yourself, the disciplines found in the word of God.

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Susan: Scripture teaches us how God created us to live. The word of God is not an a la carte menu. Every course, every nutrient found there, is necessary for successful Christian living.

Susie: Too often, we want to eat the appetizers and desserts of God’s word and shy away from studying the meat and veggies. However, 2 Timothy 3:16 teaches us that ALL scripture is profitable.

2 Timothy 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Susan: The scripture is the essential equipment, the toolbelt, the Christian uses to fulfill his or her divine destiny.

Susie: It is the orientation document, procedure manual, and complete guide for the servant of the Most-High God. All those who believe are in the employment of the King of kings. Therefore, all of us should study and apply the Bible diligently.

QUESTIONS

1.        Describe Timothy’s spiritual heritage.

2.        If you were blessed with a strong heritage of faith, write about it.

3.        How are you providing a heritage of faith for your children and/or spiritual children?

4.        Write 2 Timothy 3:16 in your one words. Look it up in several translations. Memorize this verse in the translation that helps you understand it the best.

          5.  This passage emphasizes the       
               importance and effectiveness of      
               scripture. Do you feel you spend 
               enough time studying and eternalizing 
               God’s word? Do you have systematic 
               plan for reading the Bible?

2 TIMOTHY 3:6-13 - NOW, WORSE NEWS

2 TIMOTHY 3:6-13

NOW, WORSE NEWS

2 Timothy 3:6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,

Susie: Since the early church most often met in homes, the false teachers would seek out a vulnerable woman (possibly a widow) and hold meetings in her home.

Susan: They slithered in like snakes to spread their poisonous venom of false teaching.

Susie: They made sexual advances toward some of these women as another means of leading them astray.

2 Timothy 3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Susie: These people attended many meetings with these false teachers but never found the saving knowledge of the gospel message because it was not taught there.

Susan: These teachers presented themselves as prophets when, in fact, they were posers.

2 Timothy 3:8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.

Susie: You may be asking, “Who are Jannes and Jambres? I don’t recall those names in the book of Exodus.” John MacArthur can help us out with that:

Note from The MacArthur Study Bible:

Jannes and Jambres. Although their names are not mentioned in the OT, they were likely two of the Egyptian magicians that opposed Moses (Ex. 7:11, 22; 8:7, 18, 19; 9:11). According to Jewish tradition, they pretended to become Jewish proselytes, instigated the worship of the golden calf, and were killed with the rest of the idolaters (Ex. 32). Paul’s choice of them as examples may indicate the false teachers at Ephesus were practicing deceiving signs and wonders.

Susie: False teachers, now as well as in Timothy’s time, deny the truth of the gospel by trying to add or subtract from it. They added things such as specific works being necessary for salvation or the idea of a “higher knowledge” than scripture alone (Gnosticism). They subtracted the power to save which is found in Jesus alone. Judaizers insisted that converts adhere to the law as prescribed by the Pharisees (who, by the way, had added their own interpretation to it) and others taught that freedom in Christ was complete license to do as one pleased.

Susan: Jesus Himself addressed this issue:

Matthew 5:17-18  Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

2 Timothy 3:9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as their's also was.

Susan: Just as Jannes and Jambres were exposed as false, so these false teachers will be unmasked so all may see who they really are—deceptive imposters who are held captive by the spell of Satan’s treacherous web.

Susie: God will give His chosen children discernment to see these false teachers and those who follow them as foolish.

2 Timothy 3:10 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.

Susie: Timothy had learned the gospel and how the Old Testament scriptures validated its message directly from Paul. He knew firsthand that Paul’s life backed up what he preached. He lived what he believed and proclaimed. He remained intent on following the calling that Jesus placed on him to declare the good news to both Jews and Gentiles.

Susan: The persecutions that Paul endured could not persuade him to change his message or water it down. He stayed true to his impassioned proclamation of Jesus’s love to the lost no matter the cost. He preached repentance and the grace of God in sending Jesus to pay the ransom for theirs sins with His own blood.

Susie: Timothy had grown up in the region Paul referenced concerning his persecutions and would have known better than most all that Paul had suffered.

2 Timothy 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

Susie: Note that it does not say “may” suffer, but “shall” suffer. There are varying degrees, but to some extent every believer goes through some level of persecution. This can range from teasing or taunting to the extremes of being disowned by family or even suffering martyrdom.

John 15:18-21 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.

Acts 14:22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

2 Timothy 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

Susie: False teachers will increase as will the crowds who follow them as the time of Jesus’s return nears.

Susan: Some of these false teachers are so deluded under Satan’s spell, they honestly think they are helping people. However, they are leading them directly to damnation and hell.

Susie: If anyone teaches a path to eternal life with the Lord other than the gospel message that Jesus, the Son of God, lived as the God-Man, performed many signs as proof of His deity, died on the cross as the sacrifice for sins, was raised on the third day and is now seated in the heavenlies interceding for believers with the Father, RUN AWAY. If anyone teaches a salvation based on human effort or works, FLEE IMMEDIATELY!

Galatians 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

QUESTIONS

1.        What group of people did false teachers target with their charming deceptiveness?

2.        In what ways do false teachers deny the truth of the Gospel?

3.        Why could Timothy be certain of the truth as taught by the Apostle Paul?

4.        Read 2 Timothy 3:12 again. Do you believe this applies to believers today? How does this make you feel?

5.        Do you believe the prophesy of verse 13 is coming true even now? Why or why not?

2 TIMOTHY 3:1-5 - FIRST, THE BAD NEWS

2 TIMOTHY 3:1-5

FIRST, THE BAD NEWS

2 Timothy 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

Susie: The last days are now. They started when Jesus was raised from the dead and ascended back to the Father and will continue until His return to earth to reign.

Susan: The word translated “perilous” is the same word used to describe the two demon- possessed “fierce and savage” men that lived in the caves of the Gadarenes. As the time of Christ’s appearing draws nearer people will get exponentially more evil.

Matthew 8:28 (AMPC) And when He arrived at the other side in the country of the Gadarenes, two men under the control of demons went to meet Him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce and savage that no one was able to pass that way.

Susie: False teachers will abound even appearing to be “Christians” but masking every kind of treacherous wickedness. Paul lists several of these characteristics in the next verses.

2 Timothy 3:2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

Susan: People will be narcissistic, self-centered, and selfish, never thinking of anyone other than themselves.

Susie: They will never be satisfied with what they have, instead greedily envious of their neighbors.

Susan: They have an insatiable, unquenchable desire for things.

Susie: They will be full of pride, boasting of their own deeds rather than giving the glory to God for their accomplishments.

Susan: Blasphemy is glorifying anyone or anything above God. It is crediting the work of God to anyone or anything other than God Himself.

Susie: The first time I realized “disobedient to parents” was in this list I was teaching elementary school. It was easy for me to look around and see that this trait is increasing at an alarming rate. We see news reports of children committing atrocious crimes and running wild. Disrespect toward parents is almost the norm rather than a rare occurrence. On television and in movies, disobedient children are depicted as “cute.” There is nothing cute about sin.

Susan: Ungrateful people ascribe credit everywhere else but where it is due and ascribing value to everything that is not valuable, preferring the temporal rather than the eternal.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

Susie: Holiness is being set apart, pure and clean, to God to be used for His purposes. People will be unholy—seeking self-gratification rather than His kingdom.

2 Timothy 3:3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

Susie: Most people think of not having natural affection as pointing to living a homosexual, lesbian, or transsexual lifestyle. That is one aspect of this. But consider this: I have noticed an increased number of heinous crimes perpetrated against children by their own parents, even their mothers. It is not natural for a mother to assault or even kill her children. Incest is not natural. All these things fall under the title of “not having natural affection.”

Susan: Trucebreakers do not honor a written or verbal agreement, whether that is a contract between two people or a disarmament agreement between countries.

Susie: Bringing a charge against a person whom you know is innocent, testifying falsely—these things make the news as well. This type of lie is usually perpetrated to save a person’s own life or reputation at the cost of another’s.

Susan: The word translated “incontinent” is used only in this one place in the Bible and means “without self-control.” That can be unable to control the tongue (running off at the mouth), the temper (hotheadedness), or the members of the body:

Romans 6:13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

Susie: Fierce, ferocious, savage, impetuous, easily enraged are descriptive of people who behave in an uncivilized manner with total disregard for others. I think of someone who purposely mows down bystanders with their vehicle.

Susan: It reminds me of the soldiers using a tank to flatten Christians gathered in Tiananmen Square in China or those who used jetliners to blow up the World Trade Center. All that maniacal behavior because of differences in ideology.

Susie: Acts of savagery are on the increase, and unfortunately so are those who get twisted enjoyment from watching them.

Susan: These evil-doers despise those who tenaciously pursue godliness above all else, those who run after righteousness, faith, charity, and peace (see 2 Timothy 2:22).

2 Timothy 3:4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

Susie: They turn their backs on and even betray those to whom they have made commitments.

Susan: They are reactionary, rushing in before thinking things through. They are haughty and arrogant, thinking higher of themselves than they should, always putting themselves first.

Susie: These types of people are into the pursuit of pleasure above all else. Instant gratification takes the place of pursuing excellence. Satisfying urges replaces waiting upon the Lord and doing His will.

2 Timothy 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

Susie: These people may look somewhat like Christians on the outside but inside are not truly empowered by the Holy Spirit. A closer examination of their teaching and their lifestyles reveals them for who they are—imposters.

Matthew 23:25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.

Susan: A polished appearance, how many jewels they wear or don’t wear, a large following, or the size of their bank account, or even the amount they donate to charity does not necessarily denote authentic godliness. True holiness is demonstrated in a person’s character, integrity, devotion to God and to the study and application of His word are better indicators of a person’s heart condition.

1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

Susan: Timothy is to turn away from these types of people, to avoid them at all cost. Do not associate with them other than to try to lead them to the truth of Jesus Christ.

QUESTIONS

1.        Do you believe we are living in “perilous times?” Why or why not?

2.        2 Timothy 3:2 lists several characteristics of many people in the last days. Which do find the most surprising? Why?

3.        What comes to minds when you read the phrase “without natural affection?”

4.        Who do evil people despise?

5.        What do these sinful people love rather than loving God?

6.        What are the characteristics of a person or ministry who truly follows Jesus? 

2 TIMOTHY 2:22-26 - GENTLY GUIDE TO GODLINESS

2 TIMOTHY 2:22-26

GENTLY GUIDE TO GODLINESS

2 Timothy 2:22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Susie: Youthful lusts are not limited to sexual impurity but to any passion that draws one away from the pursuit of godly purity.

2 Timothy 2:22 (Phillips)Turn your back on the turbulent desires of youth and give your positive attention to goodness, faith, love and peace in company with all those who approach God in sincerity.

2 Timothy 2:22 (MSG)      Run away from infantile indulgence. Run after mature righteousness—faith, love, peace—joining those who are in honest and serious prayer before God.

Susan: Rather than being distracted by the temptations of this world, be in relentless pursuit of all things that bring pleasure to the heart of God. Continually submit to being refined by the Holy Spirit’s fire.

Susie: Timothy was the leader of the believers at Ephesus and was called to pursue godliness alongside them as well as be an example to them.

2 Timothy 2:23 But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.

Susan: Paul warns Timothy for the third time not to be antagonistic with false teachers because it would just fuel their fire.

2 Timothy 2:24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;

Susie: Rather than engage in superfluous debates over false and sometimes silly teachings, Timothy was to gently admonish the believers to stick with the truth of the gospel and the scriptures. Even though we are prepared to defend the truth, we must always keep a proper attitude of humility.

1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear

Susan: Timothy and those he trained to follow him were proficient in the art of teaching as gifted to them by the Holy Spirit.

Susie: Rather than being argumentative, condescending, or condemning toward false teachers and those they were leading astray, Timothy was to use his gift of teaching to lead them to the truth in the hope that the Lord would draw them into right relationship with Himself. Even the non-believer who heard the gospel message could be led to belief by the Holy Spirit. This should always be our hope and prayer for those who oppose the message of salvation, that they may be brought to repentance and believe.

2 Timothy 2:26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

Susan: It is as if these people were hypnotized, mesmerized, under Satan’s evil spell. God, through Timothy’s teaching, would help them see the enemy for who he really is. Then Jesus would enable them to break free of the devils web of deception.

2 Timothy 2:26 (Phillips) They may come to their senses and be rescued from the power of the devil by the servant of the Lord and set to work for God’s purposes.

QUESTIONS

1.        What attributes should we pursue?

2.        Rather than endlessly debating with false teachers, what should we continue to teach?

3. What is the proper attitude for a preacher/teacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

4.        What is the main goal of teaching others about the truth of Jesus?