2 Timothy 2
2
Doing Your Best for God
1-7So, my son, throw yourself into this work for Christ. Pass on what you heard from me—the whole congregation saying Amen!—to reliable leaders who are competent to teach others. When the going gets rough, take it on the chin with the rest of us, the way Jesus did. A soldier on duty doesn’t get caught up in making deals at the marketplace. He concentrates on carrying out orders. An athlete who refuses to play by the rules will never get anywhere. It’s the diligent farmer who gets the produce. Think it over. God will make it all plain.
8-13Fix this picture firmly in your mind: Jesus, descended from the line of David, raised from the dead. It’s what you’ve heard from me all along. It’s what I’m sitting in jail for right now—but God’s Word isn’t in jail! That’s why I stick it out here—so that everyone God calls will get in on the salvation of Christ in all its glory. This is a sure thing:
If we die with him, we’ll live with him;
If we stick it out with him, we’ll rule with him;
If we turn our backs on him, he’ll turn his back on us;
If we give up on him, he does not give up—
for there’s no way he can be false to himself.
14-18Repeat these basic essentials over and over to God’s people. Warn them before God against pious nitpicking, which chips away at the faith. It just wears everyone out. Concentrate on doing your best for God, work you won’t be ashamed of, laying out the truth plain and simple. Stay clear of pious talk that is only talk. Words are not mere words, you know. If they’re not backed by a godly life, they accumulate as poison in the soul. Hymenaeus and Philetus are examples, throwing believers off stride and missing the truth by a mile by saying the resurrection is over and done with.
19Meanwhile, God’s firm foundation is as firm as ever, these sentences engraved on the stones:
god knows who belongs to him.
steer clear of evil, all you who name god as god.
20-21In a well-furnished kitchen there are not only crystal goblets and silver platters, but waste cans and compost buckets—some containers used to serve fine meals, others to take out the garbage. Become the kind of container God can use to present any and every kind of gift to his guests for their blessing.
22-26Run away from childish indulgence. Run after mature righteousness—faith, love, peace—joining those who are in honest and serious prayer before God. Refuse to get involved in inane discussions; they always end up in fights. God’s servant must not be argumentative, but a gentle listener and a teacher who keeps cool, working firmly but patiently with those who refuse to obey. You never know how or when God might sober them up with a change of heart and a turning to the truth, enabling them to escape the Devil’s trap, where they are caught and held captive, forced to run his errands.
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2 Timothy 2: MSG
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.
2 Timothy 2
2
Timothy’s Conduct. 1#This passage manifests a characteristic deep concern for safeguarding the faith and faithfully transmitting it through trustworthy people (2 Tm 2:1–2; cf. 2 Tm 1:14; 1 Tm 6:20; Ti 1:9). Comparisons to the soldier’s detachment, the athlete’s sportsmanship, and the farmer’s arduous work as the price of recompense (2 Tm 2:4–6) emphasize the need of singleness of purpose in preaching the word, even at the cost of hardship, for the sake of Christ (2 Tm 2:3).So you, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2And what you heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will have the ability to teach others as well. 3Bear your share of hardship along with me like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.#1:8; 4:5; Phlm 2. 4To satisfy the one who recruited him, a soldier does not become entangled in the business affairs of life.#1 Cor 9:6. 5Similarly, an athlete cannot receive the winner’s crown except by competing according to the rules.#1 Cor 9:25. 6The hardworking farmer ought to have the first share of the crop.#1 Cor 9:7–10. 7Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.#Prv 2:6.
8#The section begins with a sloganlike summary of Paul’s gospel about Christ (2 Tm 2:8) and concludes with what may be part of an early Christian hymn (2 Tm 2:11b–12a; most exegetes include the rest of 2 Tm 2:12 and all of 2 Tm 2:13 as part of the quotation). The poetic lines suggest that through baptism Christians die spiritually with Christ and hope to live with him and reign with him forever, but the Christian life includes endurance, witness, and even suffering, as the final judgment will show and as Paul’s own case makes clear; while he is imprisoned for preaching the gospel (2 Tm 2:9), his sufferings are helpful to the elect for obtaining the salvation and glory available in Christ (2 Tm 2:10), who will be true to those who are faithful and will disown those who deny him (2 Tm 2:12–13).Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David: such is my gospel,#Rom 1:3; 1 Cor 15:4, 20 / Rom 2:16; Gal 1:11; 2:2. 9for which I am suffering, even to the point of chains, like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained.#Phil 1:12–14. 10Therefore, I bear with everything for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, together with eternal glory.#Col 1:24; 1 Tm 1:15. 11This saying is trustworthy:
If we have died with him
we shall also live with him;#Rom 6:8.
12if we persevere
we shall also reign with him.
But if we deny him
he will deny us.#Mt 10:22, 33; Lk 12:9.
13If we are unfaithful
he remains faithful,
for he cannot deny himself.#Nm 23:19; Rom 3:3–4; 1 Cor 10:13; Ti 1:2.
III. INSTRUCTIONS CONCERNING FALSE TEACHING
Warning Against Useless Disputes. 14#For those who dispute about mere words (cf. 2 Tm 2:23–24) and indulge in irreligious talk to the detriment of their listeners (2 Tm 2:16–19), see notes on 1 Tm 1:3–7; 6:20–21. Hymenaeus and Philetus (2 Tm 2:17), while accepting the Christian’s mystical death and resurrection in Christ through baptism, claimed that baptized Christians are already risen with Christ in this life and thus that there is no future bodily resurrection or eternal glory to come. The first quotation in 2 Tm 2:19 is from Nm 16:5; the other quotation is from some unidentified Jewish or Christian writing.Remind people of these things and charge them before God#Before God: many ancient manuscripts read “before the Lord.” to stop disputing about words. This serves no useful purpose since it harms those who listen.#1 Tm 6:4. 15Be eager to present yourself as acceptable to God, a workman who causes no disgrace, imparting the word of truth without deviation.#1:8; 2 Cor 6:7; Eph 1:13; Col 1:5. 16Avoid profane, idle talk, for such people will become more and more godless,#1 Tm 4:7. 17and their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,#1 Tm 1:20. 18who have deviated from the truth by saying that [the] resurrection has already taken place and are upsetting the faith of some.#2 Thes 2:2. 19Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands, bearing this inscription, “The Lord knows those who are his”; and, “Let everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord avoid evil.”#Is 28:16; 1 Cor 3:10–15 / Nm 16:5; Jn 10:14.
20In a large household there are vessels not only of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for lofty and others for humble use. 21If anyone cleanses himself of these things, he will be a vessel for lofty use, dedicated, beneficial to the master of the house, ready for every good work.#3:17. 22So turn from youthful desires and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord#Those who call on the Lord: those who believe in Christ and worship him as Lord, i.e., Christians (Acts 9:14–16, 20–21; Rom 10:12–13; cf. 2 Tm 2:19, literally, “Everyone who names the name of the Lord”). with purity of heart.#Gal 5:22; 1 Tm 6:11 / Rom 10:13; 1 Cor 1:2. 23Avoid foolish and ignorant debates, for you know that they breed quarrels.#1 Tm 1:4; 4:7; 6:4; Ti 3:9. 24A slave of the Lord should not quarrel, but should be gentle with everyone, able to teach, tolerant,#1 Tm 3:2–3. 25correcting opponents with kindness. It may be that God will grant them repentance that leads to knowledge of the truth,#3:7; 1 Tm 2:4. 26#Some interpreters would render this passage, “Thus they may come to their senses and, forced to do his (i.e., God’s) will, may escape the devil’s trap.” This interpretation of the Greek is possible, but the one accepted in the text seems more likely.and that they may return to their senses out of the devil’s snare,#1 Tm 3:7. where they are entrapped by him, for his will.
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