Chapter 2
2 Timothy 2:4-5 - There is a lesson here about focus. Paul instructs Timothy not to get entangled in daily life, but to carefully guard his allegiance and trust God for everything (vs. 4). Then in the next verse he explicitly states that you will not be rewarded unless you compete according to the rules, even if you win the race! What are the rules? Complete allegiance and devotion to the person of Jesus Christ. Have you built a big church? Good for you. Too bad you might not get a reward for your labor, if you took your eyes off Jesus and stopped listen to Him. How many mega-church pastors will have no reward in Heaven for their labors might surprise us all!
2 Timothy 2:6 - As inevitable as the farmer receiving produce from his crops, is as we who labor for Christ will certainly be rewarded, if we will simply do what we are told. That seems to be the hard part, however. Selfish ambition tends to creep in, and we are easily enticed to do more than the Lord has asked us to do. It is in His name, of course. We wouldn't want it to appear selfish, even if it is selfishly motivated.
2 Timothy 2:9 - This is a sober reminder that martyrdom is not glorious in the natural realm. When Christians are persecuted, they suffer as criminals. People hate them. They are mocked, scorned, and rejected by society. While their temporal suffering gains them eternal glory, they suffer as one who is a blight on society. Martyrdom is not something to which one should aspire.
"The word of God is not bound." What a beautiful statement of the power of the word of God! Paul is bound by chains, but the Word is not.
2 Timothy 2:11-12 - It is interesting to note that the direct object "him" (as in "If we died with Him") is missing in verse 11 and 12a. However, when in verse 12b Paul speaks of denying, the noun and direct objects are present in the text. So verse 12b would read, "If we deny [Him], He will also deny us." Paul wanted to leave no doubt in his reader's mind as exactly to whom he was referring.
2 Timothy 2:16 - This verse is much needed in this world. Paul uses a verb of command "avoid." That means avoid conversations of other people that are "worldly" and contain "empty chatter" (NASB). And do not do the thing yourself! This is not a suggestion. If we fall into this, we fall into sin. Period.
2 Timothy 2:19 - "The Lord knows the ones that are His." This phrase employs a substantive participle for "the ones". It is present and active, which would suggest that it is those who persist in following Christ as a disciple that belong to Him. As opposed to the American idea that if you have prayed a prayer in the past, you are His, almost regardless of your life at the present. That theology has no place in the Bible.
The firm foundation has two aspects: (1) Election, and (2) Holiness.
2 Timothy 2:21 - On the heels of a statement about holiness, Paul continues this line of thinking to say that it is obligatory for a Christian to cleanse himself from evil. There are two sides to the Christian coin: (1) God makes us holy, (2) We make ourselves holy. Here Paul emphasizes man's responsibility to walk in purity and holiness. God will do a lot to help make you holy, but He will not do everything. Some thing are left to your choice.
2 Timothy 2:22-26 - Paul endeavors to describe in detail what it looks like to have cleansed yourself. In the end, we are not useful to the Lord when the following evils are still in our lives.
2 Timothy 2:26 - This verse poses an important question: "How much control can the devil have over a Christian?" Answer: As much as he or she gives him. I have seen pastors give in to the work of Satan to oppose a work of God. It is foolish to make too many assumptions about a person's salvation. The only proof of a person's salvation is the bearing of fruit. If a person is taken captive by Satan and never repents in his whole life, then he was never a believer. Rather, he was a false professor and the church never caught it.
