II Timothy 2

II Timothy 2:11-13 – “If we …” statements

  • This is a statement of personal responsibility. These are things we must do.
  • If we die with Him in baptism, we also live with Him.
  • II Timothy 2:12 – Compare Daniel 2:44 regarding the reign of Jesus’ kingdom.

II Timothy 2:14-15 – “accurately handling the word of truth”

  • “Diligent” here is the same word as used in II Timothy 4:9. The idea is to make every effort. We must dig into the things that matter in God’s word and gain an accurate understanding. Don’t just stay at a surface level understanding.

II Timothy 2:16-18 – “avoid worldly and empty chatter”

  • Stick with the word of truth and avoid dangerous heresies.

II Timothy 2:19-22 – “useful to the Master”

  • Even though people may twist things, God’s truth is unchanging and He knows those who are His.
  • We must be the type of people who are putting sin out of our lives so we can be useful to God. Is this how I am living my life?

II Timothy 2:23-26 – “the Lord’s bond-servant”

  • Our goal is to get as many people to know Christ as possible. To that end, we need to remove anything from our lives that stands in the way of that goal, including our own egos.

II Timothy 3

II Timothy 3:1-5 – List of sins

  • II Timothy 3:1 – Regarding “last days,” see Acts 2:14-21. “Last days” seems to be a reference to the era of the gospel.
  • II Timothy 3:2 – “disobedient to parents”
    • God cares about this. See Deuteronomy 21; Ephesians 6:1. Children should be raised to learn to submit to authority.

II Timothy 3:6-7 – Error spreads!

II Timothy 3:8-9 – Jannes and Jambres

  • These names are not recorded elsewhere in the Bible. Extra-biblical sources indicate these are the names of the magicians that opposed Moses in Egypt.

II Timothy 3:10-12 – Timothy’s experience with Paul.