II Tim 2
The Importance of Correct Doctrine; The Dangers of Incorrect Doctrine, & How an Approved Workman is to Share the Gospel
You
therefore,
my son,
be strong
in the grace
that is in Christ Jesus.
I believe that the therefore used here is an overall summary of Paul’s assessment of Timothy’s life. (See chapter one). Paul has build a foundation in chapter one, saying that Timothy is a genuine follower of Christ. Therefore he should be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
This scripture calls us to examine our lives before God, for confirmation. I.e., if we are really in Christ, we are encouraged to consider this until we can grasp the truth of it. Indeed, it’s often too wonderful to grasp – that we have been secured by our Savior as His own – that we are in the family of God. And, after attempting to come to terms with this, we are called to react to this truth. The reaction is to live a life that’s strong in the grace that’s found in Christ Jesus. These are great words of confirmation and encouragement to Timothy! What if Paul wrote you a letter like this? What if Paul said to you:
“You, therefore, my son (or daughter) (your name here) , because you have a relationship with Christ, and have been shown the truth of the Gospel, because you responded by confessing this truth and agreed with it, and allowed it to reign in your life through a reaction that began a relationship with Christ (i.e. repentance), – because you are in the righteous family of God, stand strong in the grace that comes to you through Christ Jesus, our Lord”.
I don’t see this as a command … I see it as a call to examine our life, and then to be encouraged after reminding ourselves again of such a fantastic truth! A Christian would respond to this with a Spirit-Born reaction of confidence and joy, – just from being reminded of this truth once again.
How do you think Timothy felt as he read this letter? Do you think he felt overwhelmed with a burden that he could never accomplish? -or- Do you think he was reminded of God’s presence which produced faith and confidence to continue living out a strong confession no matter how bleak the worldly situation? Do you think he felt joy that comes from confidence of knowing that his life has been confirmed by Paul? Do we have feel that Paul would have written about our lives with the same confidence as Timothy’s? Why or why not?
Paul is encouraging Timothy … and he’s going to follow onward from here with two specific ways to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Let’s look at the next section of scripture!
The things
which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses,
entrust
these
to faithful men
who will be able
to teach others also.
Suffer hardship
with me,
as a good soldier
of Christ Jesus.
No soldier
in active service
entangles himself
in the affairs of everyday life,
so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.
Also
if anyone competes as an athlete,
|
| does not
| win the prize
he |
| unless
| he competes
| according to the rules.
|
The hard-working farmer
ought
to be the first to receive
his share of the crops.
Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
The section above is indented in a way that forms an outline. Paul gives two specific ways to be strong in the grace of Jesus Christ. Then, Paul shows three examples of what he means by the second way to be strong in the grace of Jesus Christ.
A. Be strong in the grace of Jesus Christ by Preserving Doctrinal Truths of the Gospel.
B. Be strong in the grace of Jesus Christ by Suffering Hardships .
1) hardship as a reliable soldier, who’s focused on, (not distracted from), the goals of his commanding officer
2) hardship of an athlete who wins the prize according to the rules
3) hardship of a hard-working farmer, his reward comes at the end
Let’s look at that outline in a little more detail.
A. Preserving Correct Doctrine and Ignoring Worldly, Empty Chatter
This is a major theme of this chapter. Let’s take a quick survey of upcoming verses that center on this topic. (Hover the mouse over the reference to read the verse.)
- 2 Tim 2:8 – The single most foundational truth of the Gospel – this is to be taught and preserved by faithful men!
- 2 Tim 2:14 – Instructions to not get caught up in semantics wording arguments.
- 2 Tim 2:15 – Instructs us to study the Word with the goal of correct sharing.
- 2 Tim 2:16 – Warns against worldly chatter, which leads to godlessness
- 2 Tim 2:17-18 – Cites a current false doctrines causing the faith of some to be upset.
- 2 Tim 2:24-26 – Talks in detail about how to share the truth.
B. Suffering Hardships for the Sake of Spreading the Gospel: – Three examples of Paul’s
1. The soldier, who pleases his commanding officer stays focused on the task assigned to him. He doesn’t let the details of life distract him. He keeps the main thing the main thing! The commanding officer knows that this particular soldier is dependable, he gets the job done! In light of the discussion covered in this in this chapter, I think the application of this verse is something like this: Don’t be distracted from the central truths of the Gospel – and remember that our main focus is the great commission. If we look at religious activity today, we see people getting side tracked on strange spiritual things … We need to keep from being distracted, we need to keep the main thing the main thing. We need take the central truths of the Gospel, embrace them, and entrust them to faithful men who will go on to teach them to others.
2. The athlete who wins the competition, pays careful attention to compete without breaking any of the rules. As a Christian, we should not disqualify ourselves from maximum potential service; we should not tarnish our serviceability with bad decisions which follow us for life. Towards the end of this chapter, we are given special instructions for how to share the Gospel as an effective workman; we need to obey these spiritual rules in order to deliver the message with power! Remember that we are not wanting to win intellectual arguments according to the flesh, we are wanting to reap spiritual fruit with the power of the Spirit. We need to serve our Lord, paying attention to the rules. Here’s a basic spiritual rule to remember: “I am the vine, you are the branch. Without Me you can do nothing.” If we want to win people into the Kingdom of God, rely on God, not the talent of men, – not great speakers, – not great programs, – not great presentations. No, obey the rules, rely on God through prayer to Him, faith in Him, work with a strong relationship with Him – work in the power of the Spirit! These are the rules for us, the athlete to win the prize without disqualifying ourselves by breaking the rules!
3. The hard-working farmer, works long and hard through the growing season. But the reward comes at the end of his work, during harvest season. We work hard all our lives, like Paul did. Likewise, we will enjoy the rewards of our life’s work in the end. ( BTW, when we read about this example of a hard-working farmer, receiving the rewards at the end of his life – think about how this probably had a personal meaning for Paul himself – being near the end of his life, and looking forward to the rewards of his work for Christ. )
Q. Do you think Paul was comforted by reading his own letter to Timothy as he’s being led to write according by the Holy Spirit? Do you think that Paul is moved to make these points and knows of people distracted from focusing on the main truths of the gospel? Do you think he has seen people become disqualified from maximum Christian service due to not sharing the Gospel correctly? Do you think he feels joy as one who fought a good fight, and eagerly anticipates the rewards of his own life? – and that he wants others to know his joy?
Remember Jesus Christ,
risen from the dead,
descendant of David,
according to my gospel,
for which I suffer hardship
even to imprisonment as a criminal;
but the word of God is not imprisoned.
Paul is giving reflective last words here. Reminding Timothy of some fundamental foundations of the Gospel.
- Remember that Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead!
When Paul says Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead, we need to understand what this implies: Jesus Christ possessed the power of God! What man, has ever rose from the dead? This is central to the basics of the gospel! Jesus Christ has power over something that terrifies us – death! He rose from the dead!
- Remember that Jesus Christ was a descendant of David!
The second point is also important! The gospel delivered by Paul was not something new, it’s age old from eternity. It’s foundations are firmly established in Old Testament, beginning with Gen 3:15. The reference that Jesus Christ was a descendant of David is also important, in accordance with Ps 110:1. In this verse, David, calls his own descendant, “my Lord”, to whom the LORD, ( God ) promises to make all His enemies a footstool! This was the promised Messiah, who was Jesus Christ, as Christ’s genealogy declares – and it is part of Paul’s gospel. It is not some kukki idea fabricated by men! It has been in the mind of God from the beginning- firmly established in great detail in the Old Testament! This same Jesus, was made the chief Cornerstone, the one that the builders rejected.
Paul also reminds Timothy that the Gospel is so important that he is willing to suffer imprisonment, and be labeled a criminal. But, he is very quick to remind Timothy that the Gospel is not imprisoned – it is active, and changes lives!
For this reason
I endure all things
for the sake of those who are chosen,
so that
they also
may obtain
the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.
For this reason refers to the fact that the Word of God is not imprisoned. The Word of God is able to save people. So, For this reason, Paul states that he will endure anything so that the Gospel can spread to those who are chosen – chosen to receive salvation in Christ Jesus, and eternal glory.
Recall earlier that Paul was encouraging Timothy to be strong in the grace of Jesus Christ. Then he stressed two ways to do this: (1) Preserve Doctrinal Truths, and (2) Suffer Hardships with Him. He gave three examples of how Christians suffer hardships. Now he has circled back to that point again, pointing out further motivations about why he is suffering hardships for the spread of the gospel! Notice that it’s for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.
In light of this, it seems very odd for someone to be a Christian without caring about other people. Indeed, the goal of Christianity is to live a life confessing the truth of God – Jesus Christ, for God’s glory, pointing as many people as possible to the Truth, and die, taking as many people as you can with you! For this reason, the Truth of the Gospel, we endure hardships, for the sake of those who will believe!
It is a trustworthy statement:
For
if we died with Him,
we will also live with Him;
If we endure,
we will also reign with Him;
If we deny Him,
He also will deny us;
If we are faithless,
He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
Hey, do you want to know some trustworthy statements of the gospel? – the core truths of Christianity? If so, then this last letter from Paul has a lot of summary foundational truths for us to consider! Above we find one such foundational overviews of Christianity – apparently it developed into a faithful saying, … and it has several parts:
- If we died with Him, we will also live with Him
If Christ died, and rose again, then those who belong to Him, will live again! We understand this as an important part of the Gospel, that, if we died with Christ, we will live with Him. (Rom 6:8) Spiritually, by faith, we have died with Him, and so, as Christ was resurrected from the dead, we also have this promise of new life in Christ, which was sealed at the time of our salvation, and will be fully realized after our physical death, when we go to heaven to be with Christ for eternity.
So, if we have spiritually died with Christ, would it not make sense that we would stay true to this public confession of Him, and enduring treatment from the world for holding onto His teachings? This would involve not denying Him, even to the point of a physical death under Nero’s rule? – or, as the case is today, in countries where Christianity is hated and outlawed? Here, in the United States, it seems that those who profess Christ as the number one important thing in their life, struggle with simple things, such as not seeing a movie that has offensive language directly against our Heavenly Father.
- If we endure, we will also reign with Him
This goes with being persecuted, enduring whatever treatment the world give us for embracing Christ, and the hope we have in Christ because of receiving the gospel message. For those being persecuted, hearing Timothy repeat these teachings of God, given by Paul in this letter … gave great comfort. If we endure, we will also live with Him ( in heaven, after our death ).
- If we deny Him, He also will deny us
Isn’t Christianity simple? Here’s some black and white answers. If we’re ashamed of Christ, then He will be ashamed of us before the Father; If we deny Him, He will also deny us! Do not deny Christ! Suffer hardships if that’s what it takes to confess Him. According to Romans 10:13, we came into the family of God by faith that exhibited itself with a verbal confession! But that confession continues in our lives with actions! I’m not saying we are saved by works, but that if we are saved … then we will respond with a faithful pleasing confession of our faith … which is sometimes made with our actions!
- If we are faithless, still He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself
He cannot deny Himself seems to confirm that those who are saved have the deposit of the Holy Spirit of God living in them. And, if we have been born again, since the Holy Spirit is in us, God will never leave us or forsake us … a promise made by God … who can not lie … even if we are faithless! But, simply stated, do not be faithless ( which we all do from time to time because we are not perfect! ). Still there are faithful sayings that Paul confirms … If we deny Him, He will deny us!. Somewhere there is a balance that seems to keep this from being black and white … but Christians feel conviction – this is a hard place to be. Stay with Christ, be faithful, and if you fail, fall back on His grace, repent and get back to living in agreement with the Holy Spirit, living within you!
Remind them
of these things,
and
solemnly charge them
in the presence of God
not to wrangle about words,
| useless
which is | and
| leads to the ruin of the hearers.
We reviewed some important statements earlier, now Paul follows that section of scripture by instructing Timothy to remind these respectable, faithful, trustworthy men ( those to whom he will entrust all the public teaching of Paul to) of those things we reviewed earlier. Not only that, but Paul also instructs Timothy to solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to get off on worthless semantic views of scripture. Paul is wanting to preserve doctrinal truth by two ways: (1) Teach what is true, and (2) Don’t teach what is a lie. Both are equally important! How many times do we see people forcing scriptures to have some hidden meaning leading to some new deeper truth. So … Paul gives instruction to solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words because it’s useless and will ruin those who pay attention to such lies. What people are really saying is that they find the Gospel boring, and they need something new … and usually it has noting to do with glorifying God, or Jesus Christ, or highlighting some great aspect of our salvation – it’s just extra garbage that detracts from the glory of God.
Q. Have you ever been set back in your Christian walk to entertain some strange or new teaching that you thought may be true?
Be diligent
to present yourself approved to God
as a workman
who does not need to be ashamed,
accurately handling the word of truth.
But
| worldly |
avoid | and | chatter,
| empty |
--------------------------
'
'
'
'
'
for '
it
will lead
to further ungodliness,
and
their talk
will spread
like gangrene.
Among
them |
are Hymenaeus and Philetus, | gone astray
men | from the truth
who | saying that the resurrection has already taken place,
have | and
|
| they {have} upset the faith of some.
|
How do we enable ourselves to not wrangle over wording of scripture, that ruins those that pay attention to that stuff, and … become approved to God as a useful workman that knows how to correctly understand the Bible? Paul addresses that issue here. I have embolden the But above in order to show that this is the main topic being discussed. Paul is contrasting the Two Ways to Examine Scripture:
- In a godly manner – as God’s workman, approved and accurately sharing the Word of Truth.
- In a worldly manner – with fleshly fascinations that lead to empty talk of no spiritual value.
Here are some of my personal comments I have on worldly and empty religious talk:
- Beware of anyone claiming to have a recent, or deeper, special or private (2 Peter 1:20) insight from God. ( see Heb 1:1-2 | the ultimate, last, and best ever Word from God is Jesus Christ. That word was a complete living example that declared, demonstrated, and unified us with God. ) Put any new teaching to this test: Does this teaching detract from Jesus Christ, and my relationship, through the grace of Christ Jesus, with God the Father? Remember that this whole cosmos was created by Him, for Him and He upholds all things by the Word of Power.
- According to Paul, spiritual deceptions will spread like gangrene. This reveals two characteristics: (1) False teachings cause damage ( like gangrene ). (2) False teaching will spread ( i.e. “become popular”, as gangrene increases over the area that it infects ).
- Much of the time, deceptions do not come from Scripture at all – often they are dreamed-up fantastic ideas … and can be presented with much excitement and enthusiasm.
- Much of the time, deceptions result in more unrighteousness! Beware of false doctrines that go against the doctrine of Purification! Although it’s true that salvation is not based from our works, but on Christ’s righteousness as a free gift offered to us by faith in Him, God is interested in us being useful vessels for His service … which involves our ongoing purification from the heart! So, here Paul is warning that, worldly and empty chatter … will lead to further ungodliness.
Finally, Paul not only encourages Timothy to become approved in using the Word of God, he shows an example of false doctrines that were being taught at the time of this letter by Hymenaeus and Philetus. Yep, it appears that Hymenaeus and Philetus were teaching something similar to “Christ has brought such new life to us that the resurrection has happened already, Heaven on Earth, Your best life now!” — Sound familiar? The results of this was that it upset the faith of some!
So, false doctrines taught by false teachers can and do upset the faith of some. What does that mean? Glad you ask … Read on …
Nevertheless,
the firm foundation of God stands,
having this seal,
“The Lord knows those who are His,”
'
and,
'
“Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.”
The section above starts off with, Nevertheless, and it directly connects the previous thought – the thought about false teachings upsetting the faith of some – with what comes next. So … even though false teaching may upset the faith of some, nevertheless, the foundation of God stands on two truths, (regardless of false teaching ruining the faith of some). These truths are:
(1) God knows those that are His own
(2) Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.
So … there seems to be two different ways to interpret this section of scripture:
- Even though it is possible for Christians to be deceived, (because we are human), still – God knows those who are His own
– or –
- If someone becomes deceived with false doctrines, then – they did not truly belong to God, because: God knows those that are His own … implying that they would have been protected from believing a lie!
Which view should we take on this? The key is to note that both statements are equally relevant to the discussion at hand! Why both? Because they are connected by the word, and; otherwise, Paul could have stopped with the first statement. Let’s ask some questions: How does the second statement, Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness, contribute to understanding about the faith of some being ruined due to false teachings? Also, exactly do we mean by wickedness? To answer this, let’s recap with just the second statement: The faith of some has been upset, Nevertheless … Everyone who names the name of the Lord is {supposed to} abstain from wickedness. Wouldn’t this seem to imply that wickedness refers to believing false teachings that ruin those that may pay attention to them? Specifically, the false teaching of Hymenaeus and Philetus. They were teaching that the final resurrection for believers had already taken place, which was upsetting the faith of those that believed them. This is definitely wickedness! It ruins those that buy into that lie, causing them to become unusable for spreading the gospel – they diverted their attention away from the gospel and started exploring all the imaginations of that lie. Certainly someone who thinks he’s saved, but is really lost, can be carried away to believe a false doctrine like this. But, we want to consider the question: Can a true Christian be led astray to believe something as wrong as this?
Let’s look once more at the two seals of foundational truths Paul mentions, this time, let’s see if we can identify who’s responsible for supporting that truth. The first one, God knows those that are His. has nothing to do with our actions – it’s a truth that rest with God alone, and His character. The second, Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness, seems to be a command for believers to follow, implying the possibility of disobedience. If this is the case, how would we keep from breaking this foundational truth command – how do we abstain from this wickedness? The answer it to look at Paul’s previous instructions to Timothy. Studying scripture with the goal of correctly understanding it, so that we could be approved by God, rightly sharing it with others? We need to abstain from the wickedness of being susceptible to believing false doctrines by Studying the Word of God!
Q. What do you suppose would happen if we took this command – to study scripture – seriously? Do you suppose we would be left wide-open to being deceived by false doctrines? Do you think we could disobey one of the foundational seals of truth that we Name the Name of the LORD, but do not abstain from the wickedness of believing false doctrine?
Be comforted by understanding that God know those who are truly His, but, we are called to abstain from wickedness. We should study the Word to rightly apply it so that we will not be deceived by false doctrines! But if we are faithless, still, God remains faithful, and He knows those that are His! In short, just obey the call, understand the Truth of the Word, preserve correct doctrines by taking the things that Paul taught in the presence of many witnesses, and entrust these to faithful men who will embrace them and teach them to others also! I thank God for the environment of the Church, where we are corrected, and encouraged to stay on course with correct doctrine! This organization is something that Christ promised would endure, and the gates of hell would not prevail against it!
Now
in a large house
'
' | | gold |
' | not only | and | vessels,
' | ' | silver|
there are | '
| '
| ' | of wood
| but also vessels | and
| ' | of earthenware,
| '
| and
| ' some to honor
| '
| and
| some to dishonor.
-----------------------------------------------
'
'
'
'
Therefore,
if anyone
cleanses himself from these things,
'
'
' | for honor,
he | sanctified,
will be a vessel | useful to the Master,
| prepared for every good work.
|
| flee
| ' from youthful lusts
| '
| '
| and
Now | ' | righteousness, |
| ' | faith, |
| pursue | love | with those
| | and | who call on the Lord
| | peace, | from a pure heart.
|
|
| foolish |
But refuse | and | speculations,
| ignorant |
knowing
that they produce quarrels.
The Lord’s bond-servant
must not be quarrelsome,
but
{must} be
kind to all,
able to teach,
patient when wronged,
with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition,
if perhaps God may grant
{to} them repentance
leading to the knowledge of the truth,
and
they may come to their senses
and
escape from the snare of the devil,
having been held captive by him to do his will.
Q. Why are we to refuse these foolish and ignorant speculations?
A. Because these speculations produce quarrels! – and the Lord’s bondservant should not be quarrelsome.
Q. How we are to refuse these foolish and ignorant speculations?
A. If we are refusing these speculations in a way that produces arguments – then we are doing it wrong!
To help us understand how we are to refuse these ignorant and foolish speculations, Paul gives Timothy two areas of our life to work on in order to become useful as the Lord’s bond servant – an area to avoid, and an area to promote – both affect how approachable we are for others. They are:
- We should not be:
- quarrelsome
- But we should be:
- kind to all
- able to teach
- patient when wronged
- correcting those with opposing views with gentleness
Look again at the first two item in the list of things we SHOULD BE doing: be kind to all and, be able to teach. I’m not so sure there should be a comma separating these. I think when you’re kind to all then you are making yourself able to teach I do not think being able to teach is talking about our knowledge, but rather, how approachable we are from how kind we are to others.
So …. we need to correct them with gentleness, so that, (looking at the end of this section ) if/when God grants spiritual understanding, they will a freedom to come to their senses. If they change – they are your sisters and bothers in Christ, and they need to feel you’re invitation to join you as such – not that you are an enemy arguing with their viewpoint.
Q. What are these foolish and ignorant speculations, anyway?
A. Whatever they are, the end of this passage suggests they are things that hold people captive in the snare of the Devil. Perhaps these speculations are what people imagine will happen after death, keeping them from the Truth. Perhaps they are what people imagine about how God will treat them, keeping them from the Truth; perhaps they are misconceptions of salvation, keeping them from the Truth.
We need to remember that repentance is a humbling and difficult thing to go through. Proving ourselves right and someone else wrong will not produce conversions from false beliefs! At the same time, we do not want to keep from sharing; we do not want others to think we are comfortable with these foolish and ignorant speculations. There is a balance, which is found and met in genuine love for the other person – and we seek to strengthen our relationships with other people.
We are also given a two key principles for us to realize here, which is, although we are dealing with things of the will of man, still it’s God that leads people to repentance, and Satan that keeps them in captive bondage to serve Satan and sin. This is worth saying again in a different way. We either serve God by righteousness, or we serve Satan by sin. Both righteousness and sin are the results of our spiritual condition, coming from our heart and will. We need to remember that it’s not always totally up to us, it’s a partnership of our heart with God or Satan. We need to remember this in order to have compassion for, and to pray for those that are blind. We need to remember that we were also once blind, and that God moved in our lives to show us who Jesus was.