Tonight we conclude our study of 2 Timothy, our 17th New Testament book study at VBVMI
To this point, we could summarize Paul’s letter as an in-depth examination of a single problem – a certain weakness in the church at Ephesus
This problem may have also been a personal weakness for the pastor in Ephesus, Timothy
The problem?
Moving away from a ministry of clear, bold teaching and preaching of the word of God, in order to avoid persecution
As we’ve learned over several weeks, the church in Ephesus was a difficult assignment for a man like Timothy
It was pagan, worldly, and untrained in the Jewish scriptures
It was vexed by false teachers who sought to undermine the true Gospel
It was led by a young, relatively inexperienced pastor and teacher
And now the church was experiencing the beginnings of Roman persecution under Nero
Under those circumstances, many leaders in the church in Asia were already retreating from their public witness and ministry
Paul mentioned a number of men who had ruined their testimonies by shrinking back to save their skin
And Paul’s comments to Timothy have strongly suggested Paul was concerned that Timothy might follow them
So from Chapter 1 to 3, Paul has worked to reinforce the faith and diligence of Timothy
Paul’s asked Timothy to follow his example of suffering for the Gospel
He’s told Timothy not to neglect the gift God gave him for the purpose of fulfilling his ministry
He reassured Timothy he has a spirit of power and courage, which will strengthen him if he walks by the Spirit
Paul drew on numerous examples like soldiers, athletes and farmers to explain the need for perseverance
Paul emphasized self-discipline, patience and an enduring hardship knowing our rewards come at the end
And even if we should suffer persecution to the point of death, this is merely walking in Christ’s footsteps
In the end, the Lord will remain faithful to us no matter what
Finally, Paul put into perspective the false teaching and persecution Timothy was facing in Ephesus
He said Timothy had to avoid distractions
Steer clear of men who seek to move the church away from the the foundations of the faith
Some of God’s bondservants will fall prey to temptations, but that isn’t the last word
A faithful servant of God like Timothy can be useful to God in rescuing those who oppose the truth
And persecution wasn’t cause for excessive alarm either
The church was living in difficult times
Mankind is destined to progress from bad to worse, deceiving the weak in the church
And in the midst of these days, the church will be a target for persecution
Yet it will prosper, so long as it holds fast to what gives it strength
So long as the church continues in what it learns from scripture
And so long as it continues to teach it
That last point leads us into Chapter 4 where Paul concludes his letter with an everlasting charge to Timothy and the Church universal
You rarely find Paul giving instruction in his letters using such formal language
To solely charge means to declare or testify something under an oath
Paul says he issues this charge as a testimony from the Lord
In a sense, Paul says he’s not playing around here
He’s saying that his instructions to follow are specific directions from God Almighty to Timothy
And since they were recorded in scripture, then we know the Lord intended these words also be direction to the church
Moreover, Paul says his charge to Timothy is witnessed by God and Christ, the One Who will Judge the living and the dead
Paul is reminding Timothy that his faithfulness to this solemn charge will be evaluated one day by Christ
Notice there are two groups of people being judged: the living and the dead
And there are two moments mentioned: His appearing and at His kingdom
These pairs are linked intentionally
The living are the saved, and they will be judged at Christ’s appearing for the Church
This moment is commonly called the Rapture, when Christ appears to claim His Bride and call Her home
Following the Rapture, comes the judgment seat of Christ, when believers receive their rewards
But then the dead will be judged at the end of Christ’s kingdom
That judgment will be for the unbelievers
Which results in a penalty of the second death
So Timothy needs to consider carefully what Paul is about to say
He can’t dismiss it merely as good advice or optional
He is on notice
The Lord will remind Timothy at the judgment that he was told
And if Timothy isn’t faithful to this charge, there will be consequences
Of course, if he is faithful, then there will be rewards
The only thing Timothy won’t be able to do is claim he didn’t know
And likewise, anyone in the church working in a similar ministry role is similarly on notice
So then what is this charge? Three words…
In v.2 Paul says preach the word
Timothy’s charge is to preach the word of God
This the climactic verse of Paul’s letter
After all has been said about the problems in Ephesus and the risks of shrinking back, it comes down to one simple solution
The solution to dealing with false teaching: preach the word
The solution to misguided or deceived believers: preach the word
The solution to persecution: preach the word
The solution to apostasy in the church: preach the word
Let’s look more carefully at what Paul is charging Timothy to do
Paul said to preach the word
Notice Paul said preach the word, not teach the word
Merely teaching the word of God would not have been sufficient for Timothy to satisfy this charge
And it’s not enough for the church today
Biblical preaching moves beyond teaching in two essential ways
First, the Greek word for preach means to proclaim
Preaching is a public proclamation of truth
We can also conduct teaching in a public setting
But usually teaching is delivered to students in semi-private settings
Preaching is targeted at those who weren’t necessarily looking for instruction
So Paul calls Timothy to proclaim the truth publicly
Remember, pressure was building for Timothy and other pastors to hide, to avoid public witnessing so as to avoid persecution
The last thing many of them wanted to do was speak publicly about Jesus
Yet Paul says this is precisely what must be done
Proclaim the word of God
Whether on a street corner, in a synagogue or while standing before kings and authorities, give a public testimony to the truth
Secondly, preaching includes a call for the hearer to respond
Like teaching, a truth is delivered to the ear
But unlike teaching, preaching demands a response from the heart
Preaching takes a teaching, proclaims it publicly and demands the audience come to a conclusion about what they hear
Paul wants Timothy to drive the people of Ephesus to make a personal response
Here again, Timothy was leaning toward working only in safe places, with existing Christians where he could avoid rocking the boat
A pastor thinking like that can “preach” to the converted or choose his moments to avoid drawing attention to himself
But Paul demands that even as the culture was pressuring Timothy to be quiet, Timothy should pressure the culture to decide for Christ
And the thing Timothy was to preach was the word, meaning to proclaim the scriptures
Timothy wasn’t free to preach whatever message he desired
He was called to preach the word of God
Paul’s saying that all good preaching is predicated on teaching the Bible
Any so-called preaching that does not unfold the meaning of scripture has no authority or power
It’s merely pontificating
It lacks the authority of scripture
Furthermore, the conclusions of that teaching must agree with scripture
A pastor’s interpretation must be exegetically sound
His conclusions must be those intended by scripture
The preacher is not free to invent his own message, his own theme, his own response
In short, the Lord doesn’t need men to repackage His word or to dress it up with gimmicks or distill it down to three perfectly aliterate points
Contriving a preaching style that places the attention on ourselves, rather than on the meaning of the text, only distracts people from the word of God
Honest preaching emphasizes the power of the text and leads the preacher to fade into the background
Preaching the word means approaching the word of God honestly, dividing it rightly, and returning to it consistently
Paul issued this charge to protect the church, but Paul knew his charge would not be popular
Many pastors wouldn’t like the demands and risks that come with preaching the word amidst persecution
And many congregations won’t be happy to sit under the word of God
Especially if the result was conviction or a call to suffer for Christ
Which is why Paul adds in v.2 that this charge must be kept “in season and out of season”
A season refers to a period of time, whether short or long
So in season means a period of time when preaching the word of God is acceptable, easy and approved
Conversely, out of season means a time when preaching the word is unacceptable, difficult, and likely to result in rejection or persecution
Timothy’s charge – and the charge of all pastors – is to preach the word of God without interruption and without concern for how it will be received
Preach it in season means taking full advantage of those times when preaching the word is acceptable
Out of season means the opposite of course
The church has been enjoying a season when Bible teaching was acceptable, going back to the 18th century
Even today, most places in the world still allow the Bible to be taught
And some still desire to hear it
But that’s changing
• Today, it’s easy to find pastors and churches that have forgotten Paul’s charge
Many claim to preach the word from the pulpit but do nothing of the sort
Some even have the phrase “bible church” in their name
Yet when you listen to what is actually preached on Sunday, you find very little true preaching and even less of the word
In other cases, churches have intentionally moved away from preaching the word
They will tell you they’ve done so intentionally
And their justifications are usually many of the same reasons why pastors in Timothy’s day were retreating from doing so too
Some pastors will tell you their congregations won’t tolerate the word, since they will likely be confused, offended or “turned off”
Others will tell you that they are more comfortable with topical, “light” sermons (usually they aren’t qualified to divide the word)
Others don’t see why teaching the Bible from the pulpit is necessary (another indication of biblical illiteracy)
Still others claim they do preach the word, but in reality their sermons don’t meeting the biblical definition
What’s most ironic about our situation is that Paul gave Timothy this charge to counteract those same situations in Ephesus
In Ephesus the church had those who wouldn’t tolerate the word or were ready to persecute the church if it preached about Jesus
And there were those who preferred ear-tickling worldly chatter about myths or other favorable topics
And there were those who remain forever untaught though they were always pursuing some novel teaching
And there were those who taught falsely
This is the biggest shame in the church today
Weak pastors who refuse to teach the word who are setting themselves up for a poor judgment having failed to keep this charge
But even worse, their disobedience has resulted in generations of believers unequipped to serve Christ
The apathy or outright apostasy of pastors has contributed to millions of believers entering Christ’s presence poorly prepared for their own judgment
In vs.3-4 Paul says this pattern will only grow worse as our age progresses
Paul says a time will come when the church itself will not endure sound teaching
The Greek word translated time is literally season
So a time will come when Bible teaching will be out of season
You’ll know it when you see it because the church will be anti-doctrine but pro-myth and excitement
Believers won’t just be disinterested or ignorant of doctrine
They will be against doctrine
They will call it divisive, boring, unnecessary, confusing, etc.
Instead, they will seek for other, more exciting teaching, which Paul calls ear-tickling teaching
The term tickling of ears is particularly revealing
Tickling produces laughter in a child
But it’s counterfeit joy, because it’s not coming from the inside
It’s external stimulation, and once the stimulation stops, so does the joy
Tickling the ears refers to a satisfaction or joy that is temporary and external only
It’s teaching that never penetrates the heart to create lasting impact
And its enjoyment or value ends the moment the preacher stops talking
It’s entertainment instead of edification
When this season comes upon the church, congregations will gain the upper hand over their shepherds
Congregations will begin to seek for (or as Paul says, “accumulate” or collect) teachers that meet their desires
Collecting suggests people maintaining a stable of religious teachers, like the way we collect recipe books
The point is no one is truly submitted to authority in this area
If someone says something we don’t like, we simple walk away
And we pick another teacher off the shelf
We only stick with the guys or gals that give us what we want
It’s a key problem in the last days church…no one submits to authority
That’s why Laodicea is the city Jesus chose to represent the last days period of the church
The name of the city means the people ruling themselves
So it is in the last days church with everyone collecting teachers that tell them only what they want to hear
Secondly, the word desires is literally translated lusts
The desires the last days church wants fulfilled are lustful desires, not spiritual desires
The church isn’t seeking to collect strong theologians who advance their spiritual growth
Rather, they look for men who feed their desire for money, power, strength or other lusts
Of course, a church that won’t tolerate sound doctrine, and wants easy, feel-good entertainment, will embrace myths instead of the truth
The truth of scripture is always hard to hear because it challenges the sin of prideful hearts
No one’s flesh likes to hear they aren’t perfect and lovable as they think they are
No one likes to hear they may face sufferings in this life
Everyone finds doctrine difficult at first
That’s true because our flesh is in constant rebellion to God and His word
And those who follow the pattern Paul outlines here are Christians living in the flesh
No wonder our church has become such a fleshly, carnal community
Paul said the antidote for this is to preach the word
Preach the word to build up your congregation’s ability to hear and appreciate the wisdom of God
Preaching the word keeps pastors from falling into a lazy pattern of repeating ear-tickling, folk-wisdom sermons
Preaching the word will correct the church’s shameful descent into biblical illiteracy
And preach the word to counter false teachers
Name a problem in the church and I’ll name the solution: preach the word
This charge hasn’t changed down through the centuries
When it’s been observed, the church has been strengthened and prepared to serve Christ
It’s been ready to rebuke false teaching
And it’s been prepared to face persecution
But when this charge is set aside, ignored or forgotten, the church grows weak
Godliness wanes…
Faithfulness is in short supply…
And false teaching becomes endemic
We’re watching a changing of seasons happening today
Congregations are increasingly intolerant of in-depth Bible teaching
They demand ear-tickling messages from the stage
So many pastors are moving their preaching in that direction to keep and attract larger audiences
We’re entering a time when the word is decidedly out of season, which is all the most reason why we need pastors to reprove, rebuke, exhort and instruct their congregations with the word
To reprove is to convict a person of sin by an appeal to their emotions (an emotional appeal for repentance)
To rebuke is also to convict but through an appeal to the intellect by explaining why a change is needed
To exhort is to encourage action in response to the preaching
To get people to move away from the wrong things and toward the right things, we need a fulcrum capable of dislodging their disobedient hearts
And the word of God is that divinely appointed tool
So when they don’t want to hear the word, that’s when they most need to hear it
That’s why Paul adds it must be done with instruction and patience
You have to teach people from the word to prepare their hearts to understand and obey it
And you need patience for that process, especially in times when people don’t want to sit for the word
Like a parent trying to get a young child to eat their vegetables
They won’t like it at first, but if you stick with it, they will come to appreciate the benefits
Then Paul turns again to encouraging Timothy to do better
Paul gives Timothy three steps to fulfilling his call in ministry
First be sober
To be sober means to be level-headed, ready for whatever comes
So don’t live naively without an awareness of the dangers and trends
Secondly, endure hardship
Don’t take the responsibility of pastoring without appreciating that it comes with difficulties
Pastors who take the path of least resistance, or whatever makes their congregations happy, aren’t fulfilling their ministries
Finally, do the work of an evangelist
Timothy probably wasn’t an evangelist, but Paul is saying his pastoral ministry must not forget it’s evangelistic potential
A pastor is always an evangelist if they work their ministry properly
That is by preaching the word publicly and with a call to repentance
This is the call for every minister, but Paul is particularly concerned that Timothy takes up this role
Paul uses two euphemisms from the daily Jewish life to speak about his impending death
First Paul says he is being poured out as a drink offering
Every day priests performed daily sacrifices in the temple
The final act of the sacrifice was to pour out a drink offering on the ground
Paul compares his life of service to the Lord as the contents of that offering cup
His entire service was like that precious liquid being poured out
Eventually, the cup goes empty, and so it will be for Paul’s earthly life
Like the liquid, Paul’s life will be a sacrifice given to honor the Lord
Secondly, Paul was preparing to depart from the earth
Departures were a common occurrence in ancient life
Journeys were required for commerce, religious observance, family visits, etc.
And journeys took significant time, requiring separation for a time
So Paul is implying he will be separated from Timothy soon but only for a while
In both examples, Paul is referring to a death he must of known was coming soon
In Acts 9 Jesus says He would show Paul what he must suffer for the sake of Christ
So I presume Paul may have known when and how he would die
And therefore, he had insight to know his death was coming soon
So to encourage Timothy, Paul shares his state of mind as he faced death in Nero’s prison
Paul was reflecting on his testimony of service
He says he fought the good fight, that is the fight for the Gospel
He finished his course, which means he fulfilled his mission and calling as revealed to him by the Spirit
And he kept the faith, meaning he has kept the very same charge he put before Timothy
Notice these phrases tie back to the metaphors Paul used in the previous chapter
He told Timothy to think like a soldier or an athlete
And here he says he knows he has fought and run as he should
That’s the best any servant of God can hope to know at the end of a life
That our testimony is a testimony of faithful execution of our duties
That’s the call Paul is placing on Timothy, hoping to inspire him to an equally good testimony
If Paul had reason to believe that Timothy could emulate Paul, then certainly any of us have the same potential
Don’t ever believe the lie that Paul was special and the rest of us stand no chance to do as well
What Paul received he has given us in scripture
So if we take advantage of what we’ve received in the word, then we too have potential to equal his testimony
When we do, we might also equal his reward
Paul says that there is a crown of righteousness laid up for him in Heaven
This crown refers to Paul’s reward for fulfilling his ministry
The Bible often speaks of our eternal rewards as crowns of one kind or another
We see believers in the throne room in Heaven casting their crowns before the throne
But scripture also says our rewards are tangible gifts in the Kingdom on earth
Our reward will be a portion of Christ's inheritance of land in the Kingdom
And it will be an opportunity to reign with Him
So where do crowns fit in?
The answer is that crowns are the symbols of our reward
We receive the crowns like badges of honor while we are in the throne room waiting for the Kingdom on earth to begin
Once the Kingdom begins, we move from Heaven back to the Earth with Christ
At that point, we will receive the tangible rewards represented by our crowns
Notice Paul says that this crown will not be his exclusively
It will be shared by all who loved His appearing
This is a subtle way of referring to a life of faithful ministry
A person who “loves His appearing” is a person living with eyes for eternity
It describes someone who was focused on that moment all the days of their walk on earth
So Christians who live their lives with an expectation for the Lord’s return and all that it brings will be motivated to serve Him well, as Paul did
In that faithful service they will be well-rewarded
That’s Paul testimony
And it can be ours as well
It’s not out of reach…it’s not too late
We have this book to motivate that outcome, so use it as it was intended
Now the letter comes to a close with Paul giving final instructions concerning men who he knew or worked with in ministry
Paul begins asking Timothy to visit him in Rome before he dies
Evidently, he didn’t expect to live much longer
We don’t know if Timothy made it or not
When Paul did die, he would have died the death reserved for Roman citizens
Roman citizens were not crucified
But that hardly means they died easily
As Walter Lock explains:
Next Paul gives Timothy instructions concerning a number of people, probably to remind Timothy what was at stake
These men were probably other leaders in Asia, perhaps the men Paul mentioned earlier in the letter
He seems to have wanted Timothy to understand how high the stakes were
So as to give him added motivation to stay the course
First, Demas was a Christian who chased after the pleasures of the world
He deserted Paul as we read, running to Thessalonica
Others, Crescens and Titus (not the same as the book) did the same fleeing to Galatia and Dalmatia
The word flee suggests that Paul’s arrest was cause for all three of these men to flee
Paul says Luke remained, which is a strong testimony to Luke’s faithfulness
As a result of staying so close to Paul, Luke was able to write the Gospel by his name and the book of Acts
Luke’s primary source for both books would have been Paul
Faithfulness leaves open a door for the Lord to accomplish great things through us
After Luke, Paul mentioned another interesting name
Mark had previously abandoned Paul and Barnabas during an earlier missionary journey, which Luke records in Acts 13
Now Paul asks Timothy to bring Mark with him to Rome
Because Mark can be useful to Paul
A simple example that a moment of unfaithfulness doesn’t have to be the last work in our testimony
Pick up and move on in faithfulness and you too can be useful again to the Lord
Paul then mentions Tychicus was coming to Ephesus to see Timothy, perhaps to accompany him to Rome
And when you come, bring a cloak Paul says
The cloak was left at Troas with a man named Carpus and perhaps Paul was enduring cold weather in prison
It’s the closest Paul comes to letting on about his suffering in his circumstances
He also desired books or scriptures
These would have been Old Testament books that Paul wanted to read
Imagine Paul, a man who probably had the scriptures memorized, still wanting to read God’s word as he faced death?
It’s perhaps the best example in all his writings of how much Paul valued the word of God
One commentator observed:
Then Paul warns Timothy about Alexander
He’s probably the same Alexander mentioned in 1 Timothy 1
He did much harm to Paul, and we might guess it was either false teaching or maligning Paul’s character
Either way, Paul warns Timothy to steer clear of the man but asks for no retaliation or punishment
The Lord is judge and that man would see the consequence of his actions
Lastly, Paul wraps up the letter with a few instructions
These are the last recorded words of the Apostle Paul
He sums up the desertions as “no one” supported him, but he doesn’t want the offense counted against them
Paul’s words are similar to Christ’s situation at death
No one was with Him and yet He asked that their offense be forgiven
Paul reflected Christ’s heart even as he reflected his death
Including knowing the Lord stood with him in his suffering
And more importantly, Paul knew that the Lord was at work accomplishing eternal things through Paul’s sufferings
Paul was able to preach his message in Rome again and write a few more letters
Paul makes an intriguing reference to being rescued out of a lion’s mouth
It was probably meant metaphorically, drawing from the book of Daniel
A prophet persecuted by a godless ruler, yet God uses the situation to bring Himself glory
So it has been with Paul for many years as he ministered in and around the Empire to Gentiles
But eventually every prophet dies, even Jesus
The ultimate rescue, of course, is our rescue from the second death
So that as we pass from this life we enter a new eternal life
In v.18 Paul talks of that rescue
That kept Paul’s spirits up and gave him the strength and courage to face death without denying the faith or concealing the message
This testimony of how he was preparing for death must have strengthened a young pastor worried about persecution
The seeds of the faith have been watered by the blood of martyrs over the centuries
And Paul’s example illustrates how this works
One man standing firm in the face of death inspires the next generation
Not because we share a death wish, but because we share the same perspective of death
It’s a rescue from a fallen world and a sinful body to live in glory in an eternal Kingdom with Christ
The letter concludes with greetings
Priscilla and Aquila were living in Ephesus leading a house church
They are mentioned in the book of Acts and were obviously important to Paul
And then Onesiphorus who is mentioned in Chapter 1
Paul then informs Timothy of what came of two of Timothy’s associates
Erastus remained at Corinth
But interestingly, Paul left Trophimus sick at Miletus
Paul had the apostolic gift of healing, but he either didn’t use it here or the Lord didn’t allow him to heal
This reminds us that the apostolic gifts were intended to serve a greater ministry purpose
They were not ultimately to serve earthly needs
Paul adds an urgent request for Timothy to travel before winter, when travel would have been harder and Paul would have been missing that cloak all the more
He adds greetings from a few men who were in the church of Rome and must have known Timothy from Ephesus
And most importantly, Paul tells Timothy that the Lord is with him in Spirit
The Holy Spirit living in each believer is the Lord living in us
So while we await for the appearing of the Lord, He is literally present with you now
That’s why Paul ended with grace be with you
You have been saved by the grace of God, but His grace didn’t end there
The grace of God is with you, living in you, teaching you and leading you into righteousness
Lean on him for understanding and let him bring you to the end of your life one day with a similar outlook
And one day, we’ll all be together with him, admiring each others’ crowns
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org
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