DAILY REMINDER – Today, December 16’s Bible reading is 2 Timothy 1-4.
NEXT DAY REMINDER – Tomorrow, December 17’s Bible reading is Titus-Philemon.
May God bless you with the reading of His WORD.
2 TIMOTHY Introduction
Paul’s second letter to his spiritual son Timothy was written around 66
A.D. during his second imprisonment now under
the Roman Emperor Nero. During this imprisonment, Paul was in a dungeon and in
chains. He knew that his time was coming to an end and he wanted to write
Timothy one last time. Most of Paul’s friends had deserted him, so he longed
for Timothy to come visit him. Paul also had great concern for the church because
they were encountering heavy persecution under Nero. Paul encouraged Timothy to
stay faithful in teaching the gospel and endure suffering if he must. Paul did
not want the church to fall away, become discouraged, nor divided when false
teachers came in their midst. The church needed to be prepared for dangerous
times, so Paul’s letter was one of concern, encouragement, and warning.
2 TIMOTHY – (16DEC19)
Paul’s Charge to
Timothy
[“Timothy,
my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made
about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, holding
on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have
suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith”
(1
Timothy 1:18-19)][1]
The Apostle Paul was Timothy’s
mentor and spiritual father. He desired for him to be efficient in the work
that he was called to do as an evangelist of the Gospel. Timothy had been quite
devoted to Paul, and it was with great appreciation and concern for him and the
body of Christ that Paul wrote instructions to help them flourish.[2] The strength of the
early believers relied heavily on those who preached and taught the gospel so
Paul modeled Godly behavior himself before his associates and taught them to do
the same as well as the church at large.[3] Paul took great
care to give Timothy guidance regarding various challenges that would present
itself when dealing with God’s people and those who sought to cause division. In
2 Timothy 2:14-26, Paul provides Timothy with a list of specific situations
that he may encounter and carefully empowers him with the tools necessary to
avoid any pitfalls.[4]
a.)
Timothy
was to warn the church to stay away from frivolous quarrels and debates (2
Timothy 2:14).[5]
When one thinks of the word warn, it is often associated with the feeling that danger could be
nearby or is lurking around. The danger that the church was facing was the
division that could be caused by false teachers. False teachings were being introduced
to the believers that caused those for and against it to come into conflict.
Therefore, Timothy was charged with warning the believers to not allow their
words to cause them to be a bad witness before others as they were to be a
living example unto Christ. He was employed to encourage the believers to stay
true to what they had been taught and not allow deceptive ideologies cause them
to become conflicted.[6]
b.)
Timothy
was to do his best to be a good servant of God and rightly handle God’s Word (2
Timothy 2:15).[7]
As previously discussed, there were a lot of false teachers
who were spreading heretical teachings throughout the church. These teachings
were contrary to the Gospel that Paul taught. Timothy was encouraged by Paul to
be a good servant who properly handled the word of God and provide spiritual
nourishment to the body.[8] A true servant of
God does not give his own philosophical ideas as the Gnostics did. The Lord’s servant
studies line upon line and precept upon precept to ensure that God’s people are
being taught the ways of the Lord properly, so that they may be a light unto a
dark world possessing the knowledge of God’s truth.[9]
c.)
Timothy
was to avoid godless chatter so that it would not spread like a disease throughout
the church body (2 Timothy 2:16-17).[10]
One of the things that can quickly cause division in a church
is erroneous teaching. Paul compares it to gangrene because it spreads quickly
and rots the body. Timothy was warned not to be a partaker of it and the way he
would be able to avoid it was by staying true to the word of God.[11] Avoiding
unfruitful debates and unproductive conversations with those who wanted to
spread their heresies was the way for Timothy to not only stay on course
himself, but to not permit it to take place within the body of Christ. The
false teachers considered themselves to be wise, but they were actually
mindless fools because they did not have the knowledge of God.[12] Godless chatter
can also consist of harmful talk that causes dissension amongst believers which
Paul warned against women who were partakers of this. A Christian must learn to
bridle the tongue and only allow words of righteousness to flow from within.[13]
d.)
Timothy
was to avoid youthful temptations and pursue the ways of the Lord (2 Timothy
2:22).[14]
There are a lot of temptations that young people can find
themselves in which Paul warned Timothy to be aware of. As one who was older,
Paul was probably reminded of his youth when he may have not made the best
decisions and wanted to help Timothy avoid similar pitfalls. As a leader within
the body of Christ, it was important that Timothy rose to the occasion to be a
role model for both old and younger Christians. Paul had already given
instructions as to how a leader was to carry himself, but he needed for Timothy
to understand that he would face various temptations and to place his trust in
the Lord’s ability to help him through it. The Bible says that Jesus defeated
the devil with the Word when He was tempted in the wilderness. Because Jesus is
the Word who was made flesh, He is able to give the believer victory over the
enemy, Therefore, Timothy was able to allow the Spirit that was within him to help
him flee from temptation.[15]
e.)
Timothy
was to instruct his opponents gently in hope that they will be convicted of
righteousness (2 Timothy 2:23-26).[16]
Paul had a strong desire for the church to model itself after
Christ. His instructions to Timothy were to help in that process. Nevertheless,
Paul knew that there were those in the church who would be in opposition to
what he taught. Therefore, Timothy was to try to win them over gently in love
with the expectation that they would come to the knowledge of the truth.[17] The Christian is
to always pray for God to help lead those to Him who are not yet of His fold
before a person’s time is done on earth. God does not wish for anyone to be
lost and Jesus came so that He could save the lost. No one is ever lost because
they have to be, but it is a willful choice that they make. A leader’s heart
should always be with the longing to see everyone saved and this was Paul’s
heart for the church that he desired for Timothy to model as well.[18]
[1]
1 Tim. 1:18-19 (New International Version).
[2]
Bruce, Paul Apostle, 214.
[3]
John MacArthur, Pastoral Ministry: How to Shepherd Biblically
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson Incorporation, 2005), 221-222.
[4]
Stacy E. Hoehl, "The Mentor
Relationship: An Exploration Of Paul As Loving Mentor To Timothy And The
Application Of This Relationship To Contemporary Leadership Challenges," Journal
of Biblical Perspectives in Leadership 3, no. 2 (Summer 2011): 37, https://www.regent.edu/acad/global/publications/jbpl/vol3no2/JBPL_Vol3No2_Hoehl_pp32-47.pdf.
[5] 2 Tim. 2:14 (New
International Version).
[6] Hoehl, "Mentor Relationship," 39.
[7]
2 Tim. 2:15 (New International Version).
[8] Hoehl, "Mentor Relationship," 39.
[9] Isa. 28:9-10 (New
International Version).
[10] 2 Tim. 2:16-17
(New International Version).
[11] Hoehl, "Mentor Relationship," 38-40.
[12] Prov. 18:2
(English Standard Version).
[13] Eph. 4:29 (English
Standard Version).
[14] 2 Tim. 2:22 (New
International Version).
[15] John 1:1 (New
International Version).
[16] 2 Tim. 2:23-26
(New International Version).
[17] Hoehl, "Mentor Relationship," 39-42.
[18] Ibid.
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