Chapter 1: What are the key themes in Paul's final letter to Timothy?
Hey Bible Readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble and I'm your host for The Bible Recap. If you're doing our New Testament plan, you finished book 21 today. And if you're doing the whole Bible, you finished your 60th book. This is also our last of Paul's letters, or our final Pauline epistle, if you're feeling fancy. But you can only say it like that if you're wearing a monocle.
I have to make some jokes because this day in the reading plan always makes me sad. It's where our time with Paul comes to an end. He's in prison in Rome, probably for the second time, and he's awaiting his trial and expects to be executed. And he's right. He writes this letter to his mentee Timothy to give a few final instructions, but it also seems just out of loneliness.
He's been abandoned by lots of people because he keeps landing in prison, which not only means it's easy for people to forget him because out of sight, out of mind, but also because his frequent imprisonments have added up to a less than stellar reputation. When bad things keep happening to a person, it's easy to assume they're doing something wrong.
But as we know, Paul is in prison for doing something right, the very best thing. In verses 6-7, he reminds Timothy, and probably himself, that if we don't actively engage in the gift of our faith, we'll default to fear. But because God has granted us faith, we have access to power, love, and self-control through his Spirit.
Fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and self-control. Because of what's happened to Paul as a result of preaching the gospel, Paul probably worries that Timothy will shrink back from speaking the truth. So Paul challenges him. Don't let this deter you. Don't be ashamed of the gospel.
And don't be ashamed of me here in prison. There is nothing to be ashamed of. This is a badge of honor. In verses 8-9, Paul invites Timothy into this suffering and says this is what God has planned for them all along. He says, In verses 12 and 14, he uses the word guard twice in a way that paints a beautiful picture for us of what he's been saying all along.
In verse 12, he says, I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. In verse 14, he tells Timothy, By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. So God's guarding Paul, but Timothy has to guard himself? No, he reminds Timothy that the Holy Spirit who dwells within him is doing the work.
Paul demonstrates here how God is at work in us and through us to accomplish what he has promised to us and for us. God is guarding us, and as his Spirit works in us, he engages us in that process. Paul encourages Timothy to dig his heels in even more, to do the hard work of spreading the gospel and to not be surprised when it's challenging.
If you're committed to something, there will always be some level of difficulty that you can't undercut. Paul is willing to endure whatever it takes for the gospel to reach those who will believe, and he wants to impress this same urgency on Timothy. Do not abandon the gospel, no matter what.
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Chapter 2: How does Paul encourage Timothy amidst challenges?
Paul dealt with some of these same guys in his first letter to Timothy, and they're still causing trouble. Paul has never had a problem correcting people who preach another gospel, but what he doesn't want is for Timothy and his congregation to waste time getting wrapped up in arguments with false teachers that end up going nowhere. Paul basically says, God will deal with him.
God isn't fooled by outward behavior or appearances. He knows which hearts belong to him, and he'll sort it all out in the end. Maybe Timothy is inclined toward debate and Paul feels the need to restrain him a little bit. There's a certain kind of zeal that comes with youth and since Timothy is still young, Paul reminds him how to handle these scenarios with wisdom.
He says, flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies. You know that they breed quarrels. I love that Paul doesn't just tell him what to run from, but what to run after. Flee your fleshly impulses, pursue the things of the Spirit.
Those things are at opposite ends of the spectrum, so you can't run in both directions at once. If you're going to serve God, you can't always be seeking out an argument. You have to spend your words teaching people and doing it with patience. And if you do have to correct someone, be gentle about it, he says. Don't put any speed bumps in the way for people.
Our hope isn't that we'll make a great point or win the argument. Our hope is that God will grant them repentance and free them from Satan's grip. In chapter three, he lists the kind of people he wants Timothy to avoid. When I read lists like these, I think it's always a humbling exercise not to think about who I need to avoid, but to see how many places I can identify myself on the list.
Here it is. Lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness but denying its power.
Paul says to beware of those who claim to believe but don't demonstrate that they have a relationship with Jesus. In Ephesus, some of the people like this have started seeking out vulnerable women who don't have the best discernment. These women were likely even paying the false teachers money to teach them their lies.
In verse 7, he says they're always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. That sounds exhausting. In verse 12, he tells Timothy and us what to expect when it comes to following Jesus. He says, Paul goes on to say that Scripture is what will help us grow wise in the midst of trials. It's what keeps us afloat.
In chapter 4, he gives Timothy some rich advice that could apply to all of us. Because even though we may not be pastors, we're all ministers. We're all teaching people who God is with our lives and our words. He says to preach the word with patience.
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