2 Timothy Study #8

“Following Christ When Life Gets Hard”

2 Timothy 3:10-17

Study #8 in 2 Timothy Series 

INTRODUCTION:

Paul wrote a lot of letters, and we love reading them. After all these centuries we’re still reading his epistles. But if he had ever written a book, I’m sure it too would have been a bestseller. A short biography of his life is included in the Book of Acts and little bits of his autobiography are sprinkled throughout his letters.

However, in 2 Corinthians 11:21-33 Paul tells us about what it had cost him to follow and serve Jesus Christ. He’s not bragging. He’s not looking for sympathy. He’s not claiming to be super spiritual because of all the persecution he had endured. He is simply explaining that to be a follower of Christ can be dangerous, very dangerous indeed.    

TRANSITION:

As American Christians we have a hard time relating to the concept of religious persecution because we have never experienced it. From its founding the citizens of this country have enjoyed freedom of worship. As a result, when we hear of Christians in other countries being murdered, tortured, and imprisoned we cannot wrap our minds around that reality.

But it’s true. For 2,000 years Christians have been persecuted for loving Jesus and wanting to follow and serve Him, and it’s still going on today. Moreover, as Paul explains in this letter and in others, in the last days that persecution is going to spread. It is going to get worse. As evil and spiritual darkness advance Christians can expect to experience more and more persecution.

But how are we to respond when the hard times come? Where can we turn? What can we cling to? In our study for today of 2 Timothy 3:10-17 Paul explains that we can depend on the Lord, on His character, on His proven track record of taking care of His people, but most of all, we can rely on His Word, the Sacred Scriptures.

NOTES on the Text:

Verse 10: Now you [Timothy] followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance,

·       “Now you…” Paul has just described in verses 1-9 the kind of people that will threaten the earth in the last days, and which Timothy must contend with in his own day. But it’s obvious that Paul drew a clear dividing line between Timothy and those ruled by the wicked spirit of the last days.

·       “…you followed…” This is what made Timothy different from the spirit of his age. He had carefully followed and learned from Paul’s “teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, and sufferings.”

·       “followed” means that Paul did not merely teach Timothy these things in an academic sense. No, Timothy learned these things by carefully imitating Paul’s example. The best kind of Christianity is not only taught, but also caught by seeing it lived out in other people.

o   It all began with Timothy catching Paul’s “doctrine.” The reason Paul lived the way he lived was because he believed certain things. What we believe will determine how we live.

o   Timothy caught Paul’s “conduct.” There was just a certain way that Paul lived, and Timothy was around him enough to learn it and follow it.

o   Timothy caught Paul’s “purpose.” Paul’s life had a purpose. It was not without direction. He was going somewhere, and that purpose had been established by God. Timothy saw that in Paul, he caught it, and he wanted to live his life that way too.

o   Timothy caught Paul’s “faith, longsuffering, and love.” You could see in Paul that he had a “faith” not everyone had, and Timothy wanted to catch it. Paul was “patient” with the little irritations of people and life in a special way, and he had a “love” that made him stand out. Remember all of these flowed forth from the “teaching” – the Truth – Paul held on to and Timothy carefully followed. 

Verse 11: …persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me!

·       “…persecutions, and sufferings…” Timothy also caught these from Paul. We might think that the person who lives their life with the right teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, and love would be loved and accepted by everyone – but they are not. Jesus told His disciples that the world would hate them, and He was right.

·       “such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra” Paul reminded Timothy of the specific occasions of persecution which he endured.

o   At Antioch, where Paul was kicked out of the city for preaching the Gospel (Acts 13:50).

o   At Iconium, where Paul was almost executed by stoning (Acts 14:5).

o   At Lystra, Timothy’s hometown, where they stoned Paul and left him for dead (Acts 14:19).

·       “…and out of them all the Lord rescued me” Paul remembered this as he sat in prison and awaited his execution. He knew that God was completely able to deliver him again, or that He might not. Paul was completely at peace, leaving it in the Lord’s hands. Persecution was not going to stop Paul from following hard after Jesus Christ.

o   Persecution must not stop Christians today nor in the future. We may not face much violent or even economic persecution in our culture right now, but that day is coming. 1 Peter 4:4 describes the mind-set of many of those who socially persecute Christians: “They think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you.” 

o   If we are not willing to have others think us strange; if we are not willing to be rejected by some for the sake of Jesus Christ; if we are not willing to be an outcast before some people, then we can never be true followers of Jesus Christ.

Verse 12: Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.   

• In fact, some level of persecution is certain for people who carefully follow Christ. Peter said, “Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.” (1 Peter 4:12) And Jesus, knowing that He would suffer, He warned the disciples they would be treated the same because of their identity with Him. “Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20).
• In our own day, Christians are being persecuted all over the world – in China, in Iran and the rest of the Muslim world, even in Russia, where a strong anti-missionary law was passed not long ago. And we can face persecution in a social way today.
• Christians are persecuted for the same reason Jesus was persecuted: “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” John 3:19. 

Verse 13: But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

• “Evil men” refers to the obvious, open enemies of Jesus. “Impostors” refers to those who appear good and many think of as fine, but they are actually destructive forces among Jesus’ followers.
• These two kinds of people, “evil men and impostors,” will “proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” Paul gave us insight into how many people are effective deceivers among God’s people.
• Motives are important, but we can sometimes place too much importance on them. Much harm has been done by people who were sincerely deceived and who tried to do wrong things out of wonderful motives – and because others look at their wonderful hearts, they accept their dangerous deceptions. We can’t always go only by motives in others; we must measure them also by the TRUTH.

Verse 14: You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them,

• This is the key point to this section, around which the rest of the section develops. It is also the answer to the question implied in the title of this study: “How do we follow Christ when life gets hard?” The command itself is simple enough to understand. Paul told Timothy to “continue” – it is the same ancient Greek verb as when John wrote, “…therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning.” (1 John 2:24).
• It was as if Paul wrote this: “Timothy, you learned these things. Right now, you firmly believe them. Now, you must continue in the things you have learned. The important thing is to abide in them, to continue in them, to never let them go.”
• “You, however…” or “But you…” Timothy was to strongly set himself against the course that some other men took. These men were described earlier in the letter. Timothy, as a man of God, was to live differently from them.
• To accomplish this he must “continue in the things he has learned and become convinced of” What things? The things that are true, that are eternal, and things that have been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt.
• You must “continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of…”  The plural suggests that Paul is not talking about only one thing, but many. The core is faithfulness to God’s Word, but throughout the letter we see that this also refers to a pattern of ministry Timothy had learned from Paul. The past tense, “have learned” suggests that this was something that Timothy was once assured of, but perhaps now he wasn’t so sure. Perhaps he wavered from time to time, so Paul called him back to this.
• “…knowing from whom you have learned them” It was as if Paul wrote, “Remember, Timothy: you learned these things from me.” Paul was too humble to say his own name here, but it certainly seems that is what he meant.
• Paul led him to Christ.
• Paul gave him ministry opportunity.
• Paul taught him by both word and example.
• Paul laid hands on him in ordination.
• Paul guided and mentored him in the midst of ministry.
• So, Timothy was to remember who taught him these things, “…knowing from whom you have learned them”. Paul’s idea included:
• Remember how strongly and confidently I believe these things.
• Remember the love with which I believe these things.
• Remember the urgency with which I believe these things.

Verse 15: and that from childhood you have known the Sacred Writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

·       “…and that from childhood you have known the Sacred Writings” Timothy was raised in a Christian home. Although his father was not a believer, his mother and grandmother certainly were, and they raised Timothy in “the fear and admonition of the Lord.” Both ladies, Eunice his mother, and Lois his grandmother, were devout orthodox Jewesses. They lived in the city of Lystra, which was in Asia Minor. At some point they heard the Good News about Jesus, the Christ. Most likely it was Paul who led them to faith. They in turn passed the message on to Timothy. It became part of his heritage.

·       “…the Sacred Writings” is another name for the Holy Scriptures. Specifically, Paul refers to the Old Testament, because that is what Timothy would have learned from his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice.

·       “From childhood you have known” Timothy had known the word of God from his earliest years; yet see how strong the exhortation is from Paul that he continue in them! Nothing is assumed; the furthest thing from Paul’s mind is an attitude that says, “Well of course we are all founded on the Bible, and we can assume that and move on to other things.” For Paul this was never assumed, not even with his trusted protégé, Timothy.

·       “…from childhood you have known the Sacred Writings” It is as if Paul said this: “Timothy, continue in what you received from me. But never forget that it didn’t start with me; it’s a heritage that was passed on to you. You learned all this long before you ever knew me. You encountered this heritage through the Holy Scriptures.”

·       We are happy to belong to the same Church as Moody and Spurgeon, and Luther and Calvin and Zwingli, the same Church as Wesley and Whitefield, and Polycarp and Ignatius. We are part of them, and they are part of us, because we are connected by our trust in the same Jesus, revealed to us by the same Holy Scriptures.

·       “…which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” Paul tells Timothy to continue in the things he had learned, because of their great value. There is no wisdom greater than this in the world. Your wisdom about 20 other subjects means nothing if you are not wise for salvation.

·       This is something that each generation must acquire for itself and then hold on to – the appreciation for the wisdom of the Bible, and a deliberate forsaking of any human wisdom that opposes or replaces what the Bible teaches. We don’t think for a moment that mere Bible knowledge saves; there are those who know the words of the Bible well yet are not wise for salvation. Yet those words mixed with faith do make one wise for salvation. 

Verse 16-17: All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; ¹⁷ so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. 

Military training is all about preparing the recruits for what they will experience in real wartime situations. In the same way, God is concerned that Christians be trained, equipped, and armed to enter the spiritual battle and come out alive. The primary way we get trained, equipped, and armed is through God’s Word, the Bible. As Christians we live in the middle of a spiritual battlefield. Oh, it is not Afghanistan, or Syria, or Lebanon but it is a battlefield, nonetheless. And there are many Christian soldiers that are feeling totally tapped-out, tired, and running on empty from being so long on the front lines. Spiritual refreshing and renewal come from our time spent with God and with His Word. This is the only way that the Christian soldier can get reinvigorated. But why is God’s Word so important? I can think of

7 Good Reasons to Read, Study, Memorize, Practice, and Review the Word of God:

1.    It leads us to know Jesus (cf. verses 14-15).

·       Shines the way through the fog to Him.

·       Brings us to salvation (“leads to salvation”)

·       N.B. the words in verse 14, “learned,” “convinced,” and “knowing.”

 

2.    It trains us to live for Jesus. (cf. verse 16)

·       It is the God-breathed Book, therefore “profitable.”

·       For teaching = line upon line, precept upon precept.

·       For reproof (rebuke) = Stop doing that!

·       For correction = Start doing this instead! (Hebrews 4:12)

·       For training = Emphasis on the doing. (James 1:22-27)

 

3.    It equips us to work for Jesus (cf. verse 17).

·       Through the Word we learn how to be clothed in righteousness

·       We acquire the tools to be effective workmen (2 Timothy 2:15)

·       We learn of the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)

·       It makes us “adequate” = “Up to the job,” a value word referring to character.

·       It makes us “equipped” = With the needed skills and tools (e.g., carpenter, plumber, mechanic, soldier, etc.)

 

4.    It arms us to fight for Jesus.

·       Cf. Ephesians 6:10-18 = “Fully armed” with both offensive and defensive weapons

·       Defensive = Kidney-belt of TRUTH

·       Defensive = Bulletproof vest of RIGHTEOUSNESS

·       Defensive = Combat boots of PEACE

·       Defensive = Shield of FAITH

·       Defensive = Helmet of SALVATION

·       Offensive = Sword of the Spirit, the WORD OF GOD (the unsheathed sword)

·       Offensive = PRAYER (the loaded gun)

 

5.    It guides us to walk with Jesus.

·       Psalm 119:105 “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” = It shows the trees of temptation, the rocks of harm, and the “snake” on the trail.

·       Solomon, the wisest of all men says of God’s Word in Proverbs 6:21-23, “Bind them continually on your heart, tie them around your neck. When you walk about, they will guide you, when you sleep, they will watch over you, and when you awake, they will talk to you. For the commandment is a lamp, and the teaching is light, and reproofs for discipline are the way of life.”

 

6.    It purifies us to glorify Jesus.

·       Cf. 1 Peter 2:12, “Live such good lives among the pagans that they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.”

·       Matthew 5:16, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in Heaven.”

·       How can we be pure? Cf. Ephesians 5:26, “…by the washing of water with the Word.”

·       The Psalmist in Psalm 119:9-11 asks the same question and then answers it. “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to Your Word. I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You.”

 

7.    It encourages us to hope in Him.

·       Our society is full of hopelessness. It says, especially to young people, “There is no meaning to life, there is no value to life.” A rampant hopelessness has invaded our culture, and so many popular entertainers have become gurus of the gospel of hopelessness. (e.g., Kurt Cobain, the rock singer from Nirvana, who blew his brains out, or Robin Williams, or Marilyn Monroe)

·       All around us this gospel of hopelessness is being preached, but the Word of God contains the Gospel of Hope. Paul writes in Romans 15:4, “For everything that was written in the past (i.e., the OT) was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have HOPE!” The Scriptures will bring us the hope we need to face the dark and confusing times that will surely come into our lives.

·       The prophet Jeremiah wrote the Book of Lamentations in which he speaks of his own confusion and sense of loss because of what was happening in Israel. In Chapter 3:18-20 he says: “My strength is gone and all that I had hoped for from the Lord. I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness, and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.” He is clearly tapped out and in effect he is saying, “God, where are You? I do not know what to do!” Have you ever felt that way?

·       Then in the very next verse, in 3:21, it is as if Jeremiah turns a corner from the shadows of the alleyways into the bright light of the street where the sun shines through. And he says this: “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope. Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is Thy faithfulness!”

CONCLUSION:

As Christian soldiers we need to rely heavily on the Lord and on His Word to equip us and prepare us for the battles we face every day, and also the battles we will fight in the future. We need to take time every day to be in the Word and in prayer. To the degree that we know the Lord and His Word will we be able to follow Him when life gets hard.