2 Timothy 2

Read 2 Timothy 2.

Be Strong in the Faith

After considering examples of faithful men who had given themselves fully to the Lord’s service, Paul encourages Timothy to be strengthened in his faith. He also encourages him to find similarly faithful men to whom he can handoff the faith. These men are strong in their own faith and thus are able to teach others. The church needs men like this, who serve Christ not just when it’s easy and fun, but when something is on the line. Are you such a man?

Continuing in this vein, Paul considers the analogy of the soldier. A good soldier doesn’t get caught up in civilian life on the ground while he is on duty. He isn’t site seeing or consumed with everything he sees around him. Similarly, when we give our lives to Jesus, we are enlisted as his soldiers. Our mission isn’t to see how much of this world we can enjoy and partake in while still basically doing what Jesus wants. Instead, we are to be keeping a singular focus on the one who died for us and be seeking to please him. Are we enjoying ourselves too much in this world? Are there specific places we can see we are “suffering” for Jesus?

A lot of times, I’ll hear people say “what’s wrong with this?” when speaking about some activity. This is not the right question. Instead we need to be more focused on advancing the cause of Christ and less on how much fun we’re having.

Question 1 Paul lists three occupations as examples of how we ought to live. What are they? Explain how each one exemplifies something about our Christian life.

Paul says he is “bound in chains” for Jesus. He also says that he endures all things for the sake of the elect.

Question 2 Some misunderstand the idea of God’s election to think that we don’t have to do anything to reach the lost. How is this reasoning wrong? How should the doctrine of God’s electing some to be believers influence our daily lives?

Paul next mentions a little saying that had been going around at the time.

If we died with him, we will also live with him…

Question 3 Do you consider yourself (i.e. your ambitions, dreams, desires, etc.) as being dead? Do you hold onto a little bit of your life and want to keep that for yourself?

Paul had given up his whole life for Jesus (Acts 20:24, Gal. 2:20), but then Christ himself was living through him.

if we endure, we will also reign

Paul was faithful to the end and had this hope. Will you be faithful and not start to hold things in your life as precious?

if we deny him, he also will deny us

Jesus didn’t deny us, we can’t deny him.

If we are faithless, he remains faithful

This promise is amazing! As Hudson Taylor said, “We may fail - do fail continually - but he never fails.”

Question 4 Think about this last line (“If we are faithless…”) and write down some ways in which this truth is helpful in your day-to-day life.

An Approved Worker

We need to be ones who rightly handle the Word of God. There are plenty of people who get stuck on minor points and blow them out of proportion. There are others who twist Scripture to say something it doesn’t. This talk spreads like gangrene (rotting flesh) and stinks. We must be men who know our Bibles, understand doctrine, and who are controlled by that knowledge to lead a life with less sin. We can also know that even though these false teachers will continue to mislead many, the Lord is still in control and knows those who are his and will preserve them.

Paul’s next analogy is different utensils that are used throughout the house. He notes how some are for “honorable use” and some “dishonorable”. Here, he wants us to see ourselves as holy unto God. If you are a Christian, you must realize that your life is no longer your own, but you have been set apart to be used only by God. You can no longer open yourself up to be used by Satan for “dishonorable” things.

I know that right now it may feel like nothing is happening (we’re all stuck at home). However, we still need to be “ready for every good work”. If during this time of isolation we start to think “no one sees what I’m doing. I can’t serve God right now. I’ll just enjoy a little bit of sin and clean it up later.” That thought process will spread and you will be unfit for service when the opportunity arises. Instead we flee these passions and pursue God and his righteousness.

Question 5 Paul says to flee “youthful passion”. List several examples of these passions. For each one, also write down how you can practically flee this temptation.