2 Timothy 2

     2:1-10.  The Christian life, especially for those entrusted with the defense of the truth, is a war, a constant battle.  But it is not without its reward in the end.  Part of that duty is to pass on the good deposit to other faithful men.  Timothy is urged to keep up the struggle, and to keep his eyes on the prize.  Especially remember that Jesus is risen from the dead, the promised seed of David, the Christ, our true conquering king (8).  For him, and for the sake of his elect for whom he died, Paul is not ashamed to be bound as a criminal (9-10).  But the word of God is not bound (9, KJV).  God’s salvation of the elect has been secured from all eternity, determined by the eternal covenant between the Father and the Son (1:9), but it is brought to pass in time by the foot soldiers of the cross (3), who are willing like their Savior, to endure all things.

     2:11-13.  This trustworthy statement is a good summary of Paul’s message to Timothy and to us.  You have to die with Christ to live with him (cf.Ro.6:3-11).  Enduring faithfulness is the issue.  No matter how faithless men may be, Christ is always faithful and true.  God cannot deny himself.  (Cf. Mk.8:34-38.)

     2:14-18.  We can’t say for sure what the false teachers were teaching, but that is part of the lesson.  Proclaim the truth accurately, not allowing anyone to sidetrack the message with endless departures from it, which only leads to greater distortions and further ungodliness.  Most likely these men were teaching that the resurrection did not involve the corrupt body at all.  The spirit only is raised, and that had already taken place (see 1 Cor. 15, esp. v. 12).  No doubt there were many versions of how this played out, but the hallmark of it all was that the faith of some was upset, and that it led to a disregard of sins of the flesh.  There are many versions of it today as well, most of them somehow eliminating the seriousness of sin, the general resurrection to judgment, and hell.  At death, a loving God takes the spirit to heaven, if it comforts you to believe it, with no future judgment.  Or whatever works for you.

     2:19-22.  Of course Paul is not saying that God chooses people based on their purity, but that if they are not abstaining from wickedness, they take his name in vain upon themselves, for the wicked are not his.  You shall know them by their fruits.  The church is a large house, a mixed multitude, but those who make no growth in sanctification do not bear the brand marks of the Master’s ownership.

     2:23-26.  But don’t give up on people too soon.  With gentleness, God may grant repentance to some, leading to the knowledge of the truth.  And the truth shall make them free of the devil’s snare.