2 Timothy 1

This is the first virtual lesson for the Hope church, 14-15 year old boys’ Sunday School class!

Read 2 Timothy 1.

Introduction

This week, we begin our study of the book of 2 Timothy. Second Timothy was the last letter the apostle Paul wrote. He wrote it while he was imprisoned in Rome, likely being held in the Mamertine prison.

Paul wrote the letter to Timothy who was pastoring the church Ephesus at the time.

Paul Remembers Timothy

Paul thanks God for Timothy and reminds him that he is praying for him night and day. This is striking because while he is doing this, Paul is suffering in prison.

Paul tells Timothy that he remembers his tears. These tears were probably from the last time Paul saw Timothy. We don’t know exactly when this was, but we do see a glimpse of what it could have been like in Acts 20. In Acts 20, Paul is saying “good-bye” to the elders of the Ephesian church and it says that “there was much weeping”. Paul had poured his very life into these believers and they were devastated that they wouldn’t see them again.

Before Paul, Timothy’s mother and grandmother also poured their faith into him. We each need to be pouring ourselves out into others and being poured into by others who are further along in the faith.

Question 1 Who is investing into you like Paul did to Timothy? Who are you investing into like Paul did to Timothy?

Paul also recalls the spiritual gifts bestowed on Timothy. These were given to Timothy through the laying on of hands. Paul urges Timothy to fan them into flame.

Question 2 Do you know what your spiritual gifts are? How might you come to know what your gifts are? How can you “fan [them] into flame”?

Don’t Be Ashamed

Paul urges Timothy to make the most of the gifts that God has given him because God has given us a spirit of “power, love and self-control”. Because of this, Timothy should not be ashamed of the testimony of Jesus or of Paul.

I think today within Christianity, we tend to think that Paul was a pretty cool guy. He was like the Christian superman, casting out demons, making sorcerers go blind, preaching to hundreds of the most intellectual men of his day. Cool stuff. But he was not so highly favored in his own day. A lot of people spoke badly about Paul. Even as he wrote this letter, Paul was a prisoner of the world’s greatest super-power. Timothy would have been tempted to shy away from Paul.

However, even though Paul was so despised by the world, Timothy was being encouraged to join Paul in suffering for the gospel.

Question 3 Are you ever tempted to feel ashamed of God or God’s people? What truths can you remember to help fight these temptations?

Another reason to not be ashamed is because God saved us.

Question 4 According to this passage, why did God save us? What does it mean that God gave us “grace… in Christ Jesus before the ages began”?

These deep truths are what fuel Paul to be able to continue preaching in the face of so much persecution. Specifically, Paul says “I know whom I have believed.” His faith didn’t rest simply on what he had been taught by other men. We shouldn’t go against the good teaching we have received. He tells us to “follow the pattern of the sound words” that we have heard. But we should have a desire to know God in a deeper and deeper way. Paul had made his faith his own and had encountered God in a powerful way. Be active in your walk with God and pursue him. We have the promise that we will find him when we seek him with all our hearts.

Required Homework This week, continue to set a timer for two minutes every day and spend that time in dedicated prayer. If you’ve been consistently meeting the two minute minimum, consider upping the time to four or five minutes.

Paul closes the chapter remembering both those who deserted him as well as those who faithfully continued to serve along side him. We need to be like those who served God and his church even to the detriment of their own physical well-being.