2 Timothy 2:1-14

Rachel Workman: 2 Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. ² You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.

³ Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴ Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them. ⁵ And athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules. ⁶ And hardworking farmers should be the first to enjoy the fruit of their labor. ⁷ Think about what I am saying. The Lord will help you understand all these things.

It can be hard to see this world and not want to be a part of it. Thank you Jesus for your grace and for loving me even though I don't deserve it.

⁸ Always remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, was raised from the dead. This is the Good News I preach. ⁹ And because I preach this Good News, I am suffering and have been chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained. ¹⁰ So I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen.

¹¹ This is a trustworthy saying:

If we die with him,
    we will also live with him.
¹² If we endure hardship,
    we will reign with him.
If we deny him,
    he will deny us.
¹³ If we are unfaithful,
    he remains faithful,
    for he cannot deny who he is.

Verse 13 brings it home. If we are unfaithful he remains faithful. We are undoubtedly unfaithful. But thank you Jesus for remaining faithful. If the faith of Jesus depended on our faithfulness not one person on this earth would receive salvation.

¹⁴ Remind everyone about these things, and command them in God’s presence to stop fighting over words. Such arguments are useless, and they can ruin those who hear them.

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John Burnett:  2 You therefore, my ^[a]son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. ² 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.  God calls us to remain true to the gospel of grace and entrust it to others who will remain true. ³ Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.  If you are living the Christian life the way it should be, you will suffer hardship.⁴ 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. ⁵ Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he ^[b]does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶ The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops. ⁷ Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. The Holy Spirit gives us understanding and like the athlete analogy, the rules of repentance and faith in Christ’s death and resurrection must be followed to win the prize.

⁸ Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, ^9 [c]for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned. ¹⁰ 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. ¹¹ It is a trustworthy statement:

For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him;  What a better way to go than to die for the sake of the gospel.
¹² If we endure, we will also reign with Him;
If we ^[d]deny Him, He also will deny us;
¹³ If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.  What wonderful promise of Him remaining faithful, even when we are not.

¹⁴ Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers.

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Allen Michaels:  ¹You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Paul tells Timothy to be strong but not with just natural strength. This is the power to live the Christian life. Timothy can only get this power by the grace that is in Christ Jesus. This grace is the kindness of Christ. He gives strength to those who ask him for it. With the help of Christ, Timothy will be strong. ² And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. ³ Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. The Christian life is like a war. This is because there are enemies who fight against it. All followers of Christ must be prepared to suffer for what they believe. So Paul tells Timothy to join with him and other Christians and take a share of the suffering. He must serve Christ as a good soldier fights with the army. But Christians do not fight against people. The fight is against the forces of evil.  ⁴ No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. A soldier in the fight needs to concentrate on the task. He must not let anything disturb him or stop him. He must put all of his effort into the fight. His aim is to please the one for whom he is fighting. Like soldiers, Christians should work hard to do what the Lord wants. They should not get involved with things that would prevent them from doing this. Their main purpose in life is to please the Lord whom they serve.

⁵ Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. Paul is saying that the Christian life is like a race. Those who believe should train hard. They should accept the discipline of the Lord. This is so that they can do what he wants. But in this race, there is not only one winner. God promises the crown of life to all who love and trust him to the end of their lives (James 1:12; Revelation 2:10). ⁶ The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. ⁷ Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

⁸ Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, Jesus Christ was and is God. But, although he was God, he was born as a man. He was born to Mary who was of the family of David. This shows that he was the Messiah. He was the one whom God had promised to send.

What Paul writes here is similar to what he wrote in Romans 1:3-4. There he wrote that the Holy Spirit declared Jesus to be the Son of God. He did this when God raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus is the Son of God. Timothy is to remember, not a dead Christ, but the living Lord. Jesus suffered and died. But now he is alive. This should encourage Timothy, as he will have to suffer for Christ.

The fact that Jesus Christ died and rose again is the heart of the gospel. This is the good news that Paul preached.

⁹ for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. ¹⁰ Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. Paul is willing to suffer for the good news. That is because God saves those whom he has chosen by this gospel. So Paul is suffering for them so that they may believe in Christ Jesus.

It is true that when we accept the gospel, we choose Christ. But before we came to him, God chose us. So Jesus says, ‘You have not chosen me but I have chosen you’ (John 15:16).

Those who do accept the gospel will have salvation. They will have the salvation that is in Christ Jesus. Paul and all who believe have this salvation now. Their future life will be with Christ. And they will share the glory that he has.

¹¹ Here is a trustworthy saying:

If we died with him,
    we will also live with him;
¹² if we endure,
    we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
    he will also disown us;
¹³ if we are faithless,
    he remains faithful,
    for he cannot disown himself.

Timothy would have known these words. They were from a Christian song or poem. Paul says that the message of these words is true.

In this part of the song or poem, ‘we’ means the Christians and ‘him’ means Christ. There are four lines. Each one shows the actions of Christians and the result or the reaction of Christ.

1.         If we have died with him, we shall also live with him (verse 11)

2.         If we do not give up, we will also govern with him (verse 12)

3.         If we refuse him, he will also refuse us (verse 12)

4.         If we do not believe, he will remain true. He cannot deny who he is (verse 13)

Death with Christ will result in life with him. Death with Christ is death to sin even as Christ died to sin. It is in the death of Christ that Christians have died with him. The death of Christ has freed them from sin. As they believe in Christ, it is as if God has put their old life into his death.

They receive a new life now. Christians should consider that they are dead to sin. And they should consider that they are alive to God. The Lord has also promised them that as Christ rose from the dead so they will rise. They will live with Christ and never die again.