October
17th 2 Timothy 2 B. Active in Service Teach your Disciples
1: Thou therefore, my son, be strong
in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2: And the things that thou hast heard of
me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be
able to teach others also. 3: Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier
of Jesus Christ. 4: No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of
this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. 5: And
if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive
lawfully. 6: The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the
fruits. 7: Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all
things. 8: Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the
dead according to my gospel: 9: Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even
unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound. 10: Therefore I endure all things
for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in
Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 11: It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead
with him, we shall also live with him: 12: If we suffer, we shall also reign
with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: 13: If we believe not, yet he
abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.
Be
an example Timothy
14: Of these things put them in
remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to
no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers. 15: Study to shew thyself
approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing
the word of truth. 16: But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will
increase unto more ungodliness. 17: And their word will eat as doth a canker:
of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; 18: Who concerning the truth have erred,
saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.
19: Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The
Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of
Christ depart from iniquity. 20: But in a great house there are not only
vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to
honour, and some to dishonour. 21: If a man therefore purge himself from these,
he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use,
and prepared unto every good work. 22: Flee also youthful lusts: but follow
righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a
pure heart. 23: But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do
gender strifes. 24: And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle
unto all men, apt to teach, patient, 25: In meekness instructing those that
oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the
acknowledging of the truth; 26: And that they may recover themselves out of the
snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
Having encouraged Timothy to hold on
to the faith he next encourages him to become inwardly strong in the gracious
empowering of Christ and to entrust these truthes that he has learnt from me to
faithful men who will become able to teach others also. Paul is interested in
Timothy but he is also interested in the disciples of Timothy. And Paul says
there are two criteria to look for in these men. The first is faithfulness and
the second is the potential ability to teach others also. If these men are not
willing to make the commitment to be faithful then they are unsuitable to be
candidates for Timothy’s special attention. And they must be bright, articulate
and have the heart of a teacher. And then Paul moves back to the teacher. He
says to Timothy endure the hardship with me like a soldier of Jesus Christ. And
like a soldier do not get all tied up in the things of this world. But seek
only to please your commander. If a man enters into the Olympics he is not
medalled if he breaks the rules. And don’t forget that the fruit-grower is the
first to taste the fruit. May God help you to understand these things. Don’t
forget that Jesus Christ was a Jew and he was raised from the dead according to
my gospel. It’s because of this that l suffer as an criminal and l am even in
prison – But the message of the gospel is not imprisoned. Paul says it is for
the truth of the Gospel that l suffer that believers might be delivered from
error. It is a trustworthy saying that if we die with Christ we will also be
raised with him. If we suffer with him we will also reign with him. If we
publically deny him he will publically deny us. If we cease to believe, yet he
remains faithful he cannot go back on his word. Some believers find that in the
struggles of persecution they publically deny Christ and he then refuses to
publically own them. However even if we loose faith in him he still stands by
his word. Our salvation is still secure even if we are in disgrace. Tell your
disciples all of these things giving them a solemn responsibility before the
Lord not to argue over words to no purpose. These things only undermine those
who hear it. Paul says, get ready, quickly, to present yourself to the Lord as
one of his faithful workmen. A workman that is not ashamed of himself because
he rightly differentiating the truth of scripture. This means to understand and
to interpret scripture in such a way that it is correctly applied. But turn
your back on godless and childish talk because they just increase godlessness.
And the ideas are destructive like gangrene. Then Paul names two men Hymenaeus
and Philetus who he says have erred from the truth by saying that Christ has
come already and that the resurrection is past. They greatly disturb the faith
of some believers. However in spite of these things the rock solid truth of God
stands as secure as ever. The Lord knows those that belong to him (even if we
don’t) and everyone that does call themselves a believer are to forsake sin. In
a great villa there are not only vessels of gold and silver but there are also
vessels of wood and clay. Some are honourable and others dishonourable. If a
man forsakes sin he will be a vessel of honour, holy and usable in the masters
service and ready for every good work. God can use large and small vessels gold
and silver but never dirty vessels. So, says Paul, run away from the desires of
young men and pursue righteousness, faith, charity and peace with all of those
who call on the Lord with a pure mind. But stupid and ignorant discussions
refuse, because they give birth to heated arguments. Paul gives a general
principle to Timothy says, the servant of the Lord has a moral obligation not
to be involved in pointless arguments but to be tender hearted to all men (he
cannot join one side of the argument) He is to be able to teach and patient and
in humility instructing those in error who contradict themselves. Maybe God
will give them a change of mind to accept the truth and they will escape the
snare of the Devil who has captured them against their will.
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