2 Timothy 2-4 (July 16th)

I hope everybody has had a great week so far! I’ll be picking up the rest of the second letter of Paul to Timothy? Why did he write two letters to Timothy, as Allycia asked? For our benefit of course! Let’s dive in!

The second chapter of 2 Timothy makes one of my favorite illustrations of our faith in Jesus Christ. 2 Timothy 3 says “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” Paul makes the case that we are indeed soldiers for our faith and our God Jesus Christ. And then we can make no mistake that this is no easy task, as picking up our cross daily is not something to be taken lightly. Paul alluded to this fight of faith in his previous letter to Timothy, and he continues with it here. We must fight the good fight of faith and suffer hardships and trials in our war as a good soldier for Christ! I’m sure the guys here can agree with me here, as boys and men we have the innate desire to fight for something righteous and what better cause than for Jesus?

In the third chapter, Paul touches on a number of topics including a reminder to avoid false teachings, and to be strong in the Truth, otherwise we shall be swept away by lies. He instructs us to avoid these false teachings and the people who follow them. This leads Paul into his next topic—scripture. In 2 Timothy 3:16 (ESV) he says “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” If we are soldiers for Christ, then what is our weapon? The answer is scripture. From the Word, we can discern what is right and what is wrong, what is important and what is not, and how to not only to follow Jesus but to serve Him! This ties together with the entire point that Paul is trying to make—we are the soldiers, the Word is our weapon, and the war is for the souls of men against those who lie and twist scripture in order to deceive and capture followers. Let’s not forget the devil, as Paul had said earlier with 2 Timothy 2:26 “and they may escape from the snare of the devil, after being capture by him to do his will.”

In the final chapter of this letter, Paul charges not only those in his ministry but us as well to preach the word. That we must carry on this fight of faith, this war against the evil world system, the believer’s sinful human nature and Satan. It is commonly believed that Paul wrote this letter to Timothy in order to pass the mantle of leading this fight to him. Paul was later martyred in Rome, and he rightly believed that the end of his ministry was near. He writes in 2 Timothy 4:6-7 “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Looking back on his life, he was satisfied that he had served the Lord well, and was ready for the ultimate sacrifice. It is humbling to think how almost every apostle was either martyred or exiled for their faith and evangelism for Jesus. It is the ultimate testament of faith, and something we should all remember as serve Christ as good soldiers of faith.

In all, these last chapters of 2 Timothy make the case that if we believe in Jesus, then we are soldiers in his war. That we must fight the good fight, to fight against those false teachers with our weapon—the Word. As we see with Paul, sometimes in a war it is necessary for soldiers to give everything—including their lives—for the cause. While such an extreme is unlikely in our lives, it nevertheless is something to remember as we proclaim our faith and fight the good fight.