STUDY THEME: EQUIPPED FOR REAL LIFE. 2 TIMOTHY 3: 1-4:8.
2 TIMOTHY 3: 1, 10-13, 14-17; 4: 5-8.
PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO 2 TIMOTHY 3.
Back on October 1 we began our study of “how we should be equipped to live a real life.” This study theme has already focused on four goals for Christians: We are to “Take Hold of Truth,” and guard ourselves against false teachings such as those being taught by false teachers who Paul warned in Acts 20:29 would ravage the flock like a pack of savage wolves. Paul taught that believers can avoid the dangers of a shipwrecked faith by grounding their faith in the gospel of grace.
Our second lesson based on 1 Timothy 4: 6-16 advised us to “Take Hold of Godliness,” that we may become stronger Christians developing and demonstrating godly lifestyles.
October 15 in 1 Timothy 6 the lesson challenged us to learn to be content that we may be equipped for real life by realizing the dangers of greed and the letting go of materialistic values that keep us from real contentment and taking hold of the values that strengthen real life.
Last Sunday Mrs. McDow helped us answer the question, “How can we be more useful to God.” The lesson from 2 Timothy 2: 17-16 was designed to help us be equipped for real life by identifying how we can be more useful in God’s work and then committing to be more useful to God.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Smith were voted by Immanuel Baptist Church to be the Senior Adults of the year” because they take hold of opportunities to be more useful to God. Each of us should realize that every believer can be used by God to do His work in the world, if we “Take Hold of Usefulness.”
Today in 2 Timothy 3 and 4 Paul teaches us how we can “Take Hold of Endurance” by developing faith that will endure difficult times. Paul is telling us that endurance is a mark of a faithful follower of Christ. We are advised in the news media of incidents in the world today that prove that living for Christ is not always safe and easy.
Life in general can be hard, but living for Christ can be doubly hard. Not only do believers experience the same everyday difficulties that non-believers face, but also we have the challenge of swimming against the current of a secular culture. The siren songs of culture lure us to conform to cultural values. To remain faithful to Christ, believers must develop a faith that endures difficulties.
Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3: 1, “But know this: difficult times will come in the “last days.” The early Christians believed that Jesus would come back in their lifetime to take them to be with Him. They believed they were living in the “last days” and lived each day in expectation.
In the passage we studied last week, Paul gave direction to Timothy about how to deal with false teachers. The goal in confronting those who taught incorrect doctrine was to bring them back into the truth.
Beginning in Ch. 3 Paul warned Timothy that his work with these false teachers would not be easy. “But know this,” meant for Timothy to keep continually in mind this reality as he worked and ministered.
The reality Timothy was to keep in mind was that difficult times would come in the last days. Difficult was a common Greek word, but it was only used twice in the New Testament. Matthew also used the word to describe the two demon-possessed men Jesus encountered in the region of the Gadarenes. The word there is translated “violent.” So we understand difficult times as being particularly perilous and dangerous.
In 2 Timothy 3: 2-9 Paul described what will make these times so difficult. The difficulties will arise from the self-centered worldly attitudes of people. The word “lovers” appears repeatedly in Paul’s description in the context of self. What such people lack is love for other people and for what is good.
When you read through their characteristics, you might think they would be opposed to religious or spiritual expression. After all, they are described in vs.2 as “blasphemers” and “unholy.” In spite of that, however, they will put up a front of religiosity, “holding to the form of religion” in vs. 5. The problem will be that while they may be outwardly religious they deny religion’s power.
They
may be the most difficult people to reach. Religious, but they
have fashioned a religion around what they want to believe
and practice rather than conforming their beliefs and
practices to the one true faith in Jesus Christ. Such people see no
need for the gospel. To make matters worse, they will spread their
brand of self-centered religiosity to others.
Paul wrote
that this would take place in the last days. What did Paul
mean by the last days? Some Bible students restrict this to
the final days before the Lord’s coming. They point out that Paul
used the future tense to describe them in vs. 1. He wrote that they
shall come.
Others do not deny that Paul was including the final days of this era, but they believe that the N.T. uses the phrase last days to refer to the entire period between Christ’s first and second coming. Thomas D. Lea, for example, wrote: “The phrase refers to that entire time from the completion of Christ’s redemptive work until His return. Christ’s life, death, resurrection, and ascension have inaugurated the last days.”
Peter’s speech at Pentecost in Acts 2: 16-39 proclaimed the fact, and the writer of Hebrews 1: 2 reaffirmed its truth. Paul lived in the last days, and we too live in the last days because we live in anticipation of Christ’s return.
Paul’s description of moral declension has been used to denounce outbreaks of corruption that have appeared throughout church history.
Another factor in support of this view is that after listing the terrible sins of the last days, Paul told Timothy in 2 Tim. 3:5 to “avoid these people. This shows that Timothy had to deal with such people in the first century. Evil people and persecution have always been present. The presence of the sins Paul listed in vs. 1-9 during human history does not rule out a final outbreak of the worst evils near the time of Christ’s coming. It is not either-or but both-and.
Paul referred to these perilous, difficult and terrible times. The only other use in the N.T. of the Greek word rendered perilous is in Matt 8: 28, which describes the dangerous, violent behavior of two demoniacs.
In vs. 2-5 Paul started by mentioning those who were “lovers of their own selves” and then added a list of terrible sins and sinners. Among these is the charge that they have “a form of godliness” but deny its power. So they were supposedly religious people who live evil lives. Paul told Timothy to avoid such people. In vs. 6-9 Paul added other sins to this litany of evil. They exploit women. They are “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. In fact, they “resist the truth.”
2. PLEASE READ 2 TIMOTHY 3: 10-13.
One of the things these evil people do is to persecute Christians. Paul told Timothy to expect this. Paul knew persecution from personal experience. When he wrote this last of his letters, he was a prisoner facing execution. Up to this time, the Roman government had not persecuted Christians. In fact, as the Book of Acts shows, the government often protected them.
But then Nero blamed Christians for a great fire in Rome, for which many people believed Nero was responsible. He launched a terrible persecution against the Christians in Rome. That began a period of persecution that lasted off and on for about three centuries.
Paul wrote Timothy about persecutions that took place at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra. These are detailed in Acts 13: 50-52; 14: 2-6; and 14: 19-20. In one situation, Paul was stoned and left for dead. Since Timothy was from Lystra, he knew about these incidents
These were not the only places Paul faced difficulties, but they were locations with which Timothy certainly was familiar.
Now, Paul was not seeking sympathy for the hard life he had led. On the contrary, he contrasted the depth of what he experienced with the greatness of God. What persecution I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from them all. In the next verse Paul would bring up the surety of difficulties in the believers’ life but not before he proclaimed the surety of God’s deliverance.
Timothy knew Paul well, and the apostle used that knowledge of his teaching or doctrine and manner of life as an example for Timothy to follow. Timothy knew that his friend, mentor, and fellow worker wasn’t being egotistical. He was simply trying to model for Timothy how to live a victorious Christian life.
Paul knew that he was soon to die. He would no longer be there for Timothy, but he knew Timothy would remember what Paul taught and how he lived, especially how he endured persecution. Before Paul ended this letter he would testify of his confident hope in the face of death.
In vs. 10 Paul listed some qualities of his Christians life. It was a life of purpose. The Greek word ordinarily is used of God’s purpose. This is the only time in Paul’s writings he used the word for human purpose. Paul felt that his purpose was to do God’s purpose.
Paul had always lived with purpose: but before the Damascus Road, he lived for the wrong purpose. Many people never discover any real purpose for living. The only way to find ultimate meaning in life is by faith in Jesus Christ. Paul lived with such faith. This word describes his faith in and his faithfulness to the Lord.
Long suffering is the word for patient forbearance in dealing with difficult people and situations. Charity is agape love. It is far more than the charity in modern English. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:3 that if someone gave all he owned to feed the poor, and had no agape, he has nothing.
Patience refers to enduring difficulties. Endurance is a key word in this lesson. In vs. 11 Paul reminded Timothy of the persecutions that he endured. This is a different Greek word, but it means to “bear up under.” Paul did not want to leave the impression that his endurance came from his own strength. Therefore, he added, but out of them all, the Lord delivered me. In vs. 12 Paul declared clearly, all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Jesus predicted in John 15: 20 that the world would persecute His followers as it had persecuted Him. History has borne out this prediction
Why is this true? Why do some people persecute Christians? Persecution is a part of the believer’s life. Such persecution is tied to the believers’ union with Christ. It is for all those who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus. The world is hostile to the kingdom of God, and when we align ourselves with that which the world hates, we can expect nothing less than persecution, according to John 15: 18.
We get some clues from the persecutions that Jesus suffered. Some of His enemies considered Him a threat to their power and position. Some acted out of ignorance and prejudice. Some just went along with the crowd. The scariest kind of persecution comes from those who persecute others because they think they are serving God, as did those in John 16:2. That had been true of the persecutions by Saul of Tarsus according to Philippians 3: 6.The same factors hold true of the examples of persecution in the rest of the New Testament.
Persecution can be expected because evil people and imposters will become worse. Imposters was a word used outside the N.T. to refer to jugglers, wailers, and howlers. It has an occultic element to it because the person howled out an incantation or spell. Someone engaged in this practice was like a sorcerer, trying to deceive and cheat others. Paul did not see such people as magicians but people who were not what they appeared to be. They would become worse, progressing further into the bondage of sin and taking others with them. They were not only being deceived, but they were deceiving and leading others away from the truth.
Persecution takes many forms, all the way from ridicule to death. Many Americans are surprised to learn that more people were killed for their Christians faith during the 20th century than in all previous centuries put together.
In our country persecution usually takes the form of ridicule. Yet even ridicule is enough to cause some believers to conform to the world rather than face ridicule. Yet, we are aware that Christians all over the world are living in a world that is hostile to Christ and to His loyal followers.
As Christians, we should expect to be persecuted if we live Christian lives. We should meet persecution with patience and endurance because it will be worth it in the end. Ultimately, the Lord will rescue us.
3. PLEASE READ 2 TIMOTHY 3: 14-17.
In vs. 14 Paul changed the subject from the practices of the evil people and imposters to what Timothy was to do: “But as for you.” Timothy had been exposed to the truth, truth that he had learned and firmly believed, and he was to continue in it. Continue is the same term used by Jesus in John 8: 31 when He told the people to “continue in My word.”
Jesus used the same word translated “remain” in John 15:5-7 to describe the disciples’ dependent relationship with Christ and His word in the parable of the vine.
The
truths in which Timothy was to remain continually immersed in were
truths he not only had learned but he firmly believed. This
phrase is from an old Greek verb that means, “to make reliable.”
Timothy not only knew what God’s word said but he had found it
totally reliable: therefore, he was a firm believer in God’s
Word.
Timothy was not being introduced to something new. He
was being encouraged to continue to remember what he had learned,
to remember the certainty of what he had been taught, and to
remember his teachers.
Vs. 14 refers to more than one teacher. He had first learned from his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois. When he was a child, they taught him the Holy Scriptures. This shows the importance of parents teaching their children the Word of God.
Perhaps Timothy was also convinced of the reliability of Scripture because of how he saw it lived out in others. He firmly believed, knowing those from whom he learned. That would certainly include Paul and perhaps the “many witnesses” Timothy had around him. Paul’s reference to Timothy’s childhood makes us also think of the example of his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice. Jews would boast that their children were immersed in the law as infants and drank it in with their mother’s milk.
They boasted that their children would forget their names before they forgot the law. The reality is that children typically began receiving instruction in the Scriptures around age five. We can assume this was the case with Timothy. Although Timothy’s father was not a Jew, both his grandmother and mother had a “sincere faith” that they taught to Timothy.
Paul also had been one of Timothy’s teachers. They not only had taught him the content of the Scriptures but also convinced him that the message was reliable. His teachers had assured him about what they had taught. For his part, Timothy had learned what he had been taught.
The Bible has two main purposes. One is to make someone wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. The Bible points to Jesus Christ as Savior. It touches the heart and makes people recognize that true wisdom is found in Him. Timothy thus was ready to respond to the gospel when Paul preached it in his hometown. He recognized that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Scriptures and received Him by faith.
His faith was not inherited from this mother and grandmother. They taught him the Scriptures, but he had to receive Christ for himself. The other purpose of the Bible is to show believers how to live the Christian life.
The sacred Scriptures have a unique purpose, which no other writing can accomplish—to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Other books may offer good instruction regarding science, mathematical principles, or how to make a good pie or cake, but only the sacred Scriptures reveal the way to salvation.
Through the Scriptures we learn of our need for salvation and the process by which we are saved. The Scriptures also instruct us how we are to grow in that salvation. All of this is grounded in the message of Christ Jesus for Scripture is a testimony to Him. Even the O.T. points us to Christ, and He is the key to understanding it.
Jesus said in John 5: 39, “You pore over the Scriptures because you think you have eternal life in them, yet they testify about me. The aim of Scripture is to point us to salvation by faith, and it does this by pointing us to Christ Jesus.
Vs. 15-16 is the key Bible passage about the Bible itself. What did Paul mean by the Holy Scriptures? In Greek the terminology literally means “sacred writings.” This is the only use of this title in the N.T., but Josephus, a first century Jewish historian, used it to refer to the O.T. Scriptures. And this is obviously what it means here also.
Some people have tried to make it mean all kinds of so-called sacred writings, but the context clearly is against a general meaning. Paul thus was referring to the O.T. This was the Bible for the early church.
Concerning the Holy Scriptures, Paul continued, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. What do we mean when we say that all Scripture is inspired? The Greek word for inspiration literally means “God-breathed.” This is a unique kind of inspiration. People sometimes use the word inspiration more generally to call some writing, some art, and some music “inspired.”
They mean it shows particular beauty or power.
The Bible does all this and more because God’s Spirit inspired the writers to record the Word of God. Many individual parts of the Bible make the claim to be God’s Word, but nowhere is this great truth set forth so clearly and powerfully as here. That’s why you may have noticed in the front of Hobb’s commentary and other LifeWay periodicals the statement of faith about the Bible. “We believe the Bible has God for its author; salvation for its end; and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter and that all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. The 2000 statement of The Baptist faith and Message is our doctrinal guideline.
Having observed the effect of the Scriptures upon Timothy’s life led Paul to state why the Scriptures are so effective—they are inspired by God. Paul may not have been trying to convince Timothy of the inspiration of the Scripture, for this was commonly accepted among the Jews.
The last part of vs. 16 gives four purposes of the inspired Scriptures. The word doctrine refers to teaching. We are not only to study the Bible for ourselves but also teach it to others. This is the primary task of the Sunday School. Some denominations have Bible study for children but not for adults. This overlooks the nature of the Bible.
We never graduate from Sunday School because no one ever plumbs its depths and because the Bible speaks to us in every stage of life. It is always fresh and new as we have different experiences that enable us to find answers we had not noticed before.
It is a wonderful testimony to the power of God that He could use so many writers, allowing them to retain their unique style of writing, yet work through them so He said exactly what He wanted to say.
The Scriptures are not inspiring in that they share information about God. The Scriptures certainly do share information about God, but the idea of inspiration is not limited to that. Inspiration goes far beyond that, in that the Scriptures owe their origin and distinctiveness to God Himself. Further, the verb is not active, meaning that the subject is doing the action. In other words, the Scriptures themselves are not doing the inspiring. Rather, the verb is in the passive form, meaning the action is happening to the Scripture. God is the One causing the Scriptures to be inspired. The words of Scripture come alive because God has breathed them into being.
Reproof and correction are two sides of the same coin. The first is the power of the Word of God to bring conviction of sin. Heb. 4: 12 says “The word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword.” But the same Word of God corrects those whom it reproves.
Instruction in righteousness is part of teaching. Bible teaching has both spiritual and moral power. The Bible shows us how we ought to live, and it shows us how to live a life pleasing to God. The result is that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. Those who would serve the Lord find strength and direction through the Word of God.
All Scripture is inspired! Some people may try to make a distinction between the individual parts of Scripture being inspired and the whole of the Scripture being inspired. Some people might reason that as a whole the Bible is inspired yet admit there are flaws in certain parts. However, Paul’s wording indicates a belief that each individual part of Scripture is inspired by God. If all the individual parts are inspired, then we can conclude that the whole of Scripture is inspired.
There is always meaning and purpose in God’s work: therefore, because each and every Scripture came from God, each and every part is useful or profitable.
PLEASE TURN TO 2 TIMOTHY 4: 5-8.
4. PLEASE READ 2 TIMOTHY 4: 5-8.
These verses show that Paul expected to be executed soon. His testimony is in vs. 6-7, but before that he gave a final charge to his young friend Timothy. He told him that the time would come when people would listen only to preachers who told them what they wanted to hear. But Timothy was to preach the truth.
He told him to do four things in fulfilling this charge. First, “keep a clear head about everything” or “watch thou in all things.” Timothy should remain alert and think clearly.
Second, Timothy was to endure afflictions or hardship. The word literally means to “suffer evil.” Paul had made plain that serving Christ can be difficult. Timothy would not be delivered from it; he would be delivered through it.
Third, Timothy was to do the work of an evangelist. Some in the early church in Acts 21: 8 and Eph 4: 2 were called evangelists, but then as now, every believer is to tell the good news of Jesus Christ.
Fourth, Timothy was to make full proof of his ministry. In other words, he was to fulfill his ministry by remaining true to his calling. In vs. 9 Paul urged Timothy to come to him soon. Paul knew his days were numbered, and he didn’t know if Timothy would arrive in time. Therefore, as far as Paul was concerned, this was his last chance to communicate with his son in the ministry. So he wrote concisely, emphasizing what was most important.
Vs. 6 clearly shows two things. Paul knew that the time of his death was at hand or close. And his words show that he was ready for death.
Paul used two comparisons to show this. He said that he was now ready to be offered (“I am already being poured out like a drink offering.”) When the priests offered a drink offering, wine was poured out beside the altar in connection with a burnt offering.
When Paul was in prison the first time in Rome, he used the same words in Phil 2: 17, to describe how he was offering himself in dedicated service. Now he used the same metaphor for speaking of his life being poured out in death for Christ. He made this clear when he wrote, “and the time of my departure is at hand.”
Paul used this same imagery in Phil 1: 23 also. The difference between Phil. 1: 23 and 2 Tim. 4: 6 was that Paul was fairly sure that he would be released in the former but he was sure he was about to die in the latter.
On both occasions he was ready because dying would be like departing to be with Christ. The idea of departure is a picture either of a boat departing from the pier or of a camp being broken up to move to a different location. Both are beautiful pictures of the death of a Christian.
Vs. 7 contains three short statements of Paul’s about his readiness to die because he had fulfilled his purpose of living for the Lord. Each metaphor reflects that his life had not been easy, but in God’s strength, he had endured faithfully to the end.
I have fought a good fight. Life had been a struggle. It involved warfare against evil and for God. Paul had fought and won.
I have finished my course or race. Paul had often compared his life to a race. In Phil.3: 12-14 he said that he had not finished the race but was pressing on to God’s goal for him. Now he said that he had come to the finish line in the way God wanted.
I have kept the faith. Paul may have been saying that he had been true to the teaching of Christ or that he had kept the trust that God had given to him. Would that this could be said of each of us when we come to the end of our lives!
In vs. 8 Paul referred to a crown of righteousness that the Lord would give him. The phrase “of righteousness” may refer to the crown either as a reward for righteous behavior or as a gift consisting of righteousness awarded by the Judge when He returns. Either way Paul was not boasting of something he had achieved. He always emphasized that he was a trophy of God’s grace. This crown was not for him only but for all them also that love His appearing. A beautiful picture of this is in Rev. 4: 10 when the 24 elders cast their crowns before the throne of God. They realize that any rewards are gifts of God’s grace. We all must endure faithfully to the end through God’s grace, to receive our crown of righteousness.
NEXT SUNDAY WE BEGIN A FOUR LESSON STUDY FOCUSED ON SELECTED PASSAGES FROM THE BOOK OF ISAIAH. ISAIAH EXTENDS AN INVITATION TO MAXIMUM LIVING FOR GOD.
THE FIRST LESSON POINTS OUT THAT LIFE HAS TWO POSSIBLE DIRECTIONS WITH TWO CONSEQUENCES---THE WAY OF LIVING IN RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD AND THE WAY OF SINFUL REBELLION. EACH OF US MUST CHOOSE.
A.V. DAUGHERTY altav@swbell.net http://www.theweeks.org/av/