2 Timothy 2
1You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. 3Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer. 5Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules. 6The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. 7Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.
8Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, 9for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God's word is not chained. 10Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
11Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
12if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;
13if we are faithless,
he will remain faithful,
for he cannot disown himself.
A Workman Approved by God
14Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. 15Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 16Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. 17Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. 19Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his,"[a] and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness."
20In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. 21If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
22Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. 24And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. 25Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
Footnotes:
[a] 2 Timothy 2:19 Num. 16:5 (see Septuagint)
4 comments:
2 Tim 2:
Timothy was a pretty lucky guy. To imagine that Paul would be writing these timeless words of wisdom to one person is truly incredible. I'm sure that Timothy faced persecution I can't imagine, much like Paul, but I also can't imagine not being completely inspired and motivated by these letters. Most of this chapter is almost Proverbs, and I think I recognize a little of Proverbs 3 in v. 23. Also I really enjoyed the saying in v. 11:
11Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
12if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;
13if we are faithless,
he will remain faithful,
for he cannot disown himself.
Wow, I love the line, if we endure, we will also reign with Him.
Father, give us the strength to endure today and each day, and to go forth as Your servant Paul instructs. Let Your amazing wisdom sink into our hearts and our heads to help us grow to be more like You. Please keep a close eye over ER & fam, cas, jrs, timmcd6 and his fiancee, and my wife. We ask all these things in the name of Your Son, Jesus,
Amen
crb
6The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops
again, the chapter provides instructions to follow that we should really let soak in. I was intrigued by the verse above (dont mean to not see the forest through the trees but this stood out)...how does this verse relate to the verse(s) that say give your first fruits to the Lord? speaking about tithing.
2 Tim 2
All I can say is WOW. This is amazing stuff. So many things to apply to everyday living here.
Bottom line is this. Do all things for Him. All of the pety stuff people get caught up in are most likely selfish. Maybe it should be a rule that you have to read this before entering a church.
Father, hel us live out this chapter daily.
In Christ,
cas
An unbelievably practical chapter for all of us.
timmcd6, your question about how does the intro fit with the role of tithing within the Kingdon... Based on the context of the letter, I think Paul is using some accepted practices not to teach on tithing, rather to emphasize the need for Timothy to work hard, not deviating from his calling. It does not seem to be about tithing, but the question you raise is a good one, since if it was teaching about tithing it would obviously be at odds with other texts. I don;t know if this makes much sense. Hopefully it does:)
As far as some of the parts (other than what has already been mentioned), vs. 24And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. 25Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. stand out as a real challenge for me in our current age of rants, flaming someone who disagrees, or being a general prick to those who oppose us. Just look at the spirit of most of our politics and then look at the way we handle differences within the Body of Christ. Usually there is little difference in how we handle the differences. At least that is my observation from a few decades of this stuff. I pray that we will be strong enough to confront in love and grace within the Body of Christ.
Father, praise you for your grace and strength in changing our lives from rebellion to sonship. May you alone get the glory. Change the way we love and communicate in the Church today. May we live out your grace with others.
In Christ's name,
amen.
er
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