SS06-25-06
“TIMOTHY: FAITH KEEPS GOD FIRST.”
2 TIMOTHY 1: 3-5, 6-7, 8, 13-14; 2: 1-7.
PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO 2 TIMOTHY 1.
Today’s lesson is designed to help us develop strong, enduring lifestyles of faith by acknowledging that even mature believers may need to renew their commitment to God and His purposes, and then committing to keep our priority on God and the work He gives us to do.
Living with Faith is like driving to work each day. The goal is to arrive at one’s destination safely and on time.
However, doing so is not easy. Sometimes construction on the road causes detours. Reckless drivers are a threat. Traffic jams slow progress. Living with faith isn’t easy either, for ungodly influences can tempt believers to turn from putting God first. The pressures of a secular society discourage spiritual priorities. But godly people of faith keep their priority on God and the work He gives them to do.
In Matt. 6:33 Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” Jesus clearly desires us to keep first things first. God and the work he gives us to do should be “job one”------our priority. We are here to serve Him (not self) and to bring Him glory (not merely bring ourselves pleasure and contentment).
If we seek God’s kingdom first, He promised in Matt. 6:33 to add whatever else we need: “all things (food, drink, clothes) will be provided for us.”
Paul reminded Timothy to keep God and the work He gave him to do first in his life, to finish well, and to fulfill his ministry to God’s glory. As we seek to develop strong, enduring lifestyles of faith that honor God, each of us would do well to pay close attention to Paul’s words to Timothy.
Each believer has a God-given ministry, and God desires each one of us to finish well and to glorify Him.
In 1 Cor. 4: 17 Paul called Timothy his child in the faith. Acts 16: 1-5 tells how Paul selected Timothy as a coworker in missionary work. Timothy joined the missionary team and was with Paul in his work in Macedonia. Paul entrusted Timothy with several special missions. He also wrote two letters to Timothy. These along with the letters to Titus ---constitute the Pastoral Letters.
In one sense they were personal letters, but in them Paul gave instructions about church or pastoral work. Because 2 Timothy was Paul’s last letter, written when he knew that death was near, this letter is more personal than his others.
In today’s lesson Timothy was the church leader in Ephesus. Ephesus was a pagan port city that was subject to all the evil influences modern Christians face. It was the location of the beautiful temple of Artemis (the Roman goddess Diana), one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
Magic was practiced as a way to influence Artemis to grant fertility to crops, animals, and humans. That kind of worship expression was as attractive to first-century pagans as it is to todays.
Extensive commerce surrounded the temple as silver shrines were made and sold as souvenirs to worshipers. The artisans who made the shrines were the people who opposed Paul during his first attempt to evangelize the city in Acts 19: 1, 21-41.
Ephesus also excelled as a seat of emperor worship. The Roman theater at Ephesus, which could seat 24,000 people and is still in use today, was the site of many Greek plays that promoted immoral conduct. A stadium for athletic contest was a prominent structure in Ephesus. During the athletic contest the contestants followed the Greek practice of competing in the nude. One area of the stadium was even designated for gladiatorial contests. Thus the Ephesians glorified sadistic brutality by humans against other humans.
Ephesus was also an international seaport. People from all over the world came through Ephesus as sailors and tradesmen to do business and sell their wares. Large caravans came overland from the Far East and loaded their goods onto ships bound for Rome. Surely the sights and sounds of Ephesus were an impressive experience. Most anyone could become caught up in its tumultuous life and forget his or her commitment to God.
Do you remember the day you accepted Jesus as your personal Savior? You probably remember the flood of relief when you realized your sin had been forgiven. You also likely remember the great joy you felt as you realized that Jesus had moved into your life to live with you.
You may remember the happiness you felt as you followed Him in baptism and church membership. You most likely remember the joy you experienced as you studied God’s Word, prayed, and walked with Him.
In that great event you made a commitment to God to live for Him the rest of your life. Think of that commitment as you study this Scripture. And as you recall your previous commitment to God, let me encourage you to keep God first in your life from now on.
Listen as Paul encouraged Timothy, the young church leader, to remain faithful to God and to keep Him first in his life no mater what. This lesson should be an encouragement for us today who are facing many of the same kinds of pressures Timothy faced to remain faithful to God.
PLEASE READ 2 TIMOTHY 1: 3-5.
Paul was in prison awaiting execution. He had been set free from his first imprisonment. During the interval between his first and second Roman imprisonments, he wrote Timothy, whom he had left in Ephesus; and he wrote Titus, whom he had left in Crete. Paul wrote this second letter to Timothy near the end of his own life.
Their culture did not seek to hold back sincere tears of grief.
Other Bible students believe that the faith that dwelt first in Lois and Eunice was the faith in God that believing Jews had. “This faith in the God of the Bible had first live in his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice. Their faith was the expression of the faith of a “true Jew” which found its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. The pair had a genuine expectant faith for the Messiah of the O.T. When they heard the gospel, they believed upon Jesus Christ as the Messiah for who they had hoped. They passed their faith on to Timothy.
Remember that this was a mixed marriage in which only one parent taught their son the faith. Eunice’s faithfulness and success in raising a believing son should encourage many parents who have the full responsibility for the religious faith of their children.
A Christian heritage is a precious gift and a serious responsibility. Do you have such a legacy? Are you leaving such a legacy for your family?
Dr. Robert Dean said that during the time he was writing this study, his mother died at 98 years of age. She and his father had been married 74 years. Her life was her family and her church. She and the father left Dr. Dean, his sister, their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren a Christian heritage.
During the final years of her life, Dean’s mother’s memory began to fail her. She realized that the darkness was closing in on her. Only after her death did the family realize how much courage she showed in trying to remember. They found notebooks in which she wrote the names of all her friends and family members. She even kept track of when she had contacts with each one.
But about two years before her death, the notations ended. As long as she was able, she read her Bible; and right up to the last days she prayed for the Lord to call her home. Dean, his sister, wife and son were with his mother when she breathed her last. The Lord had answered her prayer. She went home.
PLEASE READ 2 TIMOTHY 1: 6-7.
Timothy had a legacy not only from his mother and grandmother but also from Paul and other mature believers who influenced his life. Vs. 6 speaks of Paul laying his hands on Timothy in connection with the reception of a gift.
In 1 Timothy 4: 14 Paul wrote, “Do not neglect the gift that is in you; it was given to you through prophecy, with the laying on of hands by the council of elders.”
In connection with selecting new church leaders, Paul warned, “Don’t be too quick to lay hands on anyone.” This is the biblical basis for ordination. At some time in Timothy’s past a group, probably including Paul, had set Timothy apart for ministry and prayed God’s power to abide on him. Many times during the early church’s history the coming of the Holy Spirit into the lives of new Christians accompanied a laying on of ….hands.
Paul’s comment about the blazing gift of God more likely suggests the fire of the Holy Spirit in his life. In this verse Paul specifically said, through the laying on of my hands, not through the laying on of hands by an official church group. Thus Paul was calling Timothy to yield himself to the leadership and power of the Holy Spirit.
Paul’s strong personal interest in Timothy expressed itself in a great desire that Timothy be yielded to the power of the Holy Spirit rather than to fear of anything or anyone. Paul declared that God has given His servants a spirit of…power, love, and sound judgment.
God’s power is available on a continuing basis. The word rendered love is the Greek word agape, which refers to Godlike love such as that expressed in John 3: 16.
The word translated sound judgment, is a word that means “control” and thus indicates self-control or self-discipline. Paul probably had in mind the idea of God’s control over one’s life in contrast to control by someone else who could generate fear rather than confidence in God. God’s kingdom and Christ’s church can be built up effectively by this kind of servant.
Second Timothy 1: 6-7 is seen by some people as evidence that Timothy was easily intimidated. Why else would Paul need to challenge him to stir up the gift of God and to warn him against the spirit of fear? Before we make this assumption, however, consider these facts.
The biblical accounts of Timothy’s deeds do not support the assumption that he was a timid person. After listing the assignments Paul had given Timothy, Tommy Lea wrote, “It is unlikely that anyone who had already accomplished the assignments previously mentioned lacked courage or forcefulness.”
Also consider what Paul wrote about Timothy in Philippians 2:20-22: “For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s. But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel.
Timothy himself was a highly regarded Christian whom Paul enlisted n the ministry during his second missionary journey and who traveled extensively with Paul. Also, Timothy’s mother and grandmother evidently had trained him in memorizing the O.T. from childhood. In other words, Timothy’s mother and grandmother had been great models of godly character and faith before him.
The word translated stir up in vs. 6 means “to kindle afresh” or” to keep a fire going.” This was a need of Timothy’s, but is it not a need in each believer’s life? Without tending, the fire burns low and fails to give off as much heat.
Dr. Dean wrote, “My grandparents had a fireplace that burned coal. When the fire began to die down, my grandmother would stir up the coals or put new fuel on the fire. Paul used this as a spiritual lesson. The fire of our zeal tends to cool. It needs to be stirred up and have new fuel added.
The Greek word for fear in vs. 7 is not the usual word for being afraid but a word that refers to fear of persecution that results in cowardice. The contemporary English Version reads, “God’s Spirit doesn’t make cowards out of us.” Many of Paul’s fair-weather friends had deserted him after he was sentenced to die in 2 Tim. 1: 15; 4:10. Paul was encouraging his spiritual son to be courageous in the persecution that was coming.
Another factor that helps us understand Paul’s words and see that Timothy was not timid was that Paul felt that this letter might be his last time to say anything to his younger son in the faith. He was in the same position as a father whose son is leaving home to be on his own. The father wants to remind his son of all the things he has been taught and warn him of some of the dangers he will face.
The Lord had not given His people a spirit of cowardice but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. The Holy Spirit gives us these aspects of the human spirit. Paul wrote in Eph. 1: 19-20 that the power available to believers is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.
No one is able to stand boldly in the face of trials and temptations, but His Spirit enables us to remain true. The love that casts out fear is the love from God that enables us to love brothers, neighbors, and even enemies. The Greek word rendered sound mind can mean either “self-control” or “sound judgment.” Either meaning descries a quality that enables a believer to show courage in place of cowardice.
All of us who have driven a vehicle for any length of time have come upon detour signs. They are put in the road to help us avoid road hazards that are caused by construction, floods, or some other disaster.
Detour signs are also placed in our lives by Satan to lure us into taking a different route than the one God wants us to take. These detour signs are designed to keep us from completing God’s mission. They usually feature a temptation to take a route that seems to be more appealing but one that does not achieve God’s purpose. Such a detour may even place us in opposition to God’s purposes for us.
People who love God above all else should watch out for competing lifestyles that demand equal billing with God and that cause us to take detrimental detours in life.
TEACHER READ 2 TIMOTHY 1: 8.
Paul was in his second Roman imprisonment, and it was during Nero’s persecution. Yet Paul referred to himself as the Lord’s prisoner.
Paul’s emphasis that Timothy rely on the power of God suggests that God’s Spirit would grant Timothy the courage and strength to be a powerful witness to Christ even in the face of suffering.
Paul urged Timothy not to be ashamed of either Paul’s own imprisonment or of Christ. The opposite of being ashamed of the message of God’s work in Jesus Christ is to be a bold witness about Jesus’ saving work and to bear suffering for the Lord cheerfully. The Greek word for testimony is the root for our English word martyr. This suggests that one who bears testimony of Jesus lays his or her life on the line to be a witness.
Persecution can be intimidating. There is a sense of failure and weakness when someone else seems to have the power of life and death over you. The Roman government was telling Christians to shut up or face death. This was extremely intimidating, thus Paul encouraged his young friend to not be intimidated into silence and shame but rather to be bold in his witness.
People show they are ashamed of the gospel by denying it and forsaking those who are suffering for Christ, but they do so mostly by remaining silent when they have opportunities to speak for the Lord.
Under the threat of persecution some people deny their faith. Sometimes they forsake those who are suffering for Christ’s sake. Persecution is very real in some places, but for many American Christians ridicule is the worst they endure for the Lord.
Paul was not ashamed of the gospel, and his boldness kept him in danger wherever he went. He was not born naturally bold. His boldness was by the power of God. The same power was available to Timothy and is available to us.
One of the detours from the way of Christ is to remain silent when we have an opportunity to speak up for Christ. Thus we must be willing to be a partaker of the afflictions of the gospel. It denotes a readiness to share, if need be the same afflictions that others have endured for the sake of the gospel. A new word seems to have been coined to express this thought. It means to take one’s share of ill-treatment.
PLEASE READ 2 TIMOTHY 1: 13-14
Vs. 13-14 give us an insightful picture of Paul’s concerns for Timothy. He was concerned that the true message of faith in Jesus Christ not be changed or diluted. He was also concerned that Timothy hold fast to the work and message that God and Paul had called him to.
In vs. 11 and 12 Paul had claimed that God, who is trustworthy to keep His promises, would keep Paul secure. In like manner, Paul told Timothy to hold on to….sound teaching because God would sustain him in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
Since the Holy Spirit was living in Timothy, he could confidently hold on to the message and ministry that had been entrusted to him. Paul charged Timothy to guard…that good thing entrusted to you.
The words guard and entrusted suggest the idea of guarding a deposit. Both Jesus Christ and Paul had made a major deposit in Timothy’s life. Thus Timothy was to guard through the Holy Spirit that deposit by using it.
Vs. 9-12 focus on the gospel of salvation by grace that Paul preached, on the Lord’s coming, and on Paul’s testimony. One of the detours that was a threat to Timothy’s generation was persecution from the outside; another was false teaching that threatened to invade the church. Thus Paul wrote Timothy to hold fast to sound words. These were the words he had heard from Paul, words spoken in faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus.
In vs. 14 Paul repeated two key words from his testimony in vs. 12. One is the word that means “to guard” or “to protect.” The other refers to a “deposit” or to “that which has been entrusted to the care of someone.”
In vs. 12 Paul wrote that he had entrusted his deposit to the Lord. In vs. 14 the two words refer to Timothy keeping what has been entrusted to him: “That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.” Paul used the same two word in 2 Timothy 6: 20: “O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust.” Paul was reminding Timothy that God was counting on him and others of his generation to keep the trust after he was gone. Paul was calling his young friend to guard and advance the good news of Jesus. Paul had held high the cross, now he was passing it on to Timothy. Anything that kept Timothy from fulfilling this task was a detour on the way of the cross.
PLEASE READ 2 TIMOTHY 2: 1-7.
If Timothy was to guard the gospel for the present and the future he needed to look, first of all, at himself. Paul used tender language (my son) to issue a firm expectation (be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.).
Paul strongly emphasized that all ministry is done in God’s grace in Jesus. Salvation itself was a gift of God’s grace, not earned in any way. It was given freely without cost, yet it is so costly that no one can buy it. The same is true of ministry to others. It is also a gift of grace. While ministry cannot be earned, it must be faithfully carried out in the power of the same grace that gave it. Timothy was to be strengthened on a continuing basis by staying in touch with the source of that power, Christ Jesus.
But Timothy was no one-man army. He was one of many with the same mission. Timothy, however, had a key mission. After Paul was gone, Timothy was heir to the gospel that Paul had preached. Timothy was accountable for sharing what he had heard from Paul among many witnesses. Paul charged Timothy to commit these truths to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
This is how Christianity has endured and grown over the centuries. The faith is shared from generation to generation. Each generation passes on the faith to the younger generation. Who taught you the Bible? Who led you to Christ? Who has helped you grow in Christ?
For many of us, the answers are people of an older generation, many of who are now with the Lord. When youth and children reach your age and answer these questions, will your name be among those they remember?
In vs. 3-6 Paul compared Christians to three kinds of people; soldiers, athletes, and farmers. Notice the points of likeness to each of these. Endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Paul often used military analogies for Christians. He spoke of believers putting on the whole armor of God in Eph. 6: 11. He urged believers to “fight the good fight of faith” in Tim. 6: 12. Soldiers must be able to endure hardship; so must Christians.
When soldiers march off to war, bands are playing and people are cheering, but battle conditions are grim and filled with danger and death. Christians are inspired by worship and fellowship, but they go forth to a life that involves hardship and must be endured with faith and courage.
The second mark of Christians as soldiers is total commitment and concentration: “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life”. “Soldiers on duty don’t work at outside jobs.” “ No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs.” Christians cannot compromise their commitment by conforming to the pressure of the secular world.
The third mark of Christians as soldiers is “the desire to please their commander:” “that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.” This is why when soldiers admire and respect their commander they will obey his orders. They have a loyalty to their leader. As Christians, we desire to please our Lord and Savior.
Vs. 5 refers to athletes. The King James Version calls him a man who strives for masteries. The Greek text, however, uses a word from which we get our words athlete and athletics (athleo). “If anyone competes as an athlete, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.
This is only one of many athletic analogies in Paul’s Letters. Elsewhere Paul referred to wrestling, to racing, and to boxing. Any serious Christian has certain characteristics of an athlete. These include discipline, practice, endurance, and maximum effort. Paul mentioned here playing according to the rules (except he strive lawfully). A team can have so many penalties that they lose a game.
By violating the rules, individual athletes can make themselves ineligible for the honors and recognition they seek. Some well-known athletes have cast a shadow over their accomplishments by things such as gambling or the use of illegal drugs or steroids. Christians must play by God’s rules to be winners in the game of life.
Some Bible students interpret the word lawfully in light of the rule of the Olympic games that required each one to sign an oath that he had practiced for 10 months before the event. Discipline and practice are also requirements for Christians.
Paul compared physical and spiritual exercise in 1 Tim. 4: 7-8. While conceding that physical exercise has value, he emphasized the eternal value of spiritual exercise, declaring, “exercise thyself…unto godliness.”
Third, Paul compared the Christian to the husbandman that labored or to “the hardworking farmer.” He “ought to be the first to get a share of the crops.” A good harvest is the result of the farmer’s hard work and the blessing of God.
Farmers work hard, but they must trust God and patiently wait for growth to come. Christians must have this combination of hard work as we do all we can do and patience to trust God to do what only He can do.
Paul closed this section of his letter with personal words for Timothy. He reassured Timothy that the Lord would give him the understanding he needed.
The lasting lessons in 2 timothy 2: 1-7 are:
Each generation of believers is to pass on their faith to the next generation.
Christians are like soldiers who must fight the good fight of faith.
Christians are like athletes who must discipline themselves and follow the rules.
Christians are like hardworking farmers who patiently wait for the harvest, expecting to be blessed with an abundant return for their labor.
God gives understanding of His Word.
IN JULY WE WILL MAKE 5 DECLARATIONS OF DEPENDENCE. WE BEGIN IN EXODUS 1 AND 2 AS WE PROMISE TO TURN TO GOD FOR HELP.
A.V. DAUGHERTY altav@swbell.net http://www.theweeks.org/av/