2 Timothy 4

Read Psalm 146

Verses 1-2
“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.”
1. Why does Paul mention Christ as judge when he charges Timothy to preach the Word?
2. In verse 1, what does Paul mean by mentioning Christ’s appearing and Christ’s kingdom?
3. What is Christ’s kingdom?
a. The kingdom of God is the authority and reign of Christ working through the Word and the Spirit to bring about redemption and transformation.
4. When is Christ’s kingdom?
a. “Now and not yet.”
b. Luke 17:20-21
i. “Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.””
c. John 3:1-3
i. “Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.””
5. Why does Paul mention Christ’s appearing and kingdom?
6. Why must the word be preached?
7. What does in season and out of season mean?
a. At all times.
8. Why must we be prepared to preach in season and out of season?
9. For what reasons would we want to teach others both patiently and carefully?

Verses 3-4
“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”
1. “For”
a. “What for?”
i. “We must be prepared to do these things because…”
2. “Human depravity shows just how careful pastors must be. For the Gospel would be quickly erased from people’s memories if godly people did not strive earnestly to preserve it…When Paul says that men will not put up with sound doctrine, he means not only that they will not like it and will despise it, but also that they will actually hate it.” (Calvin, 2 Timothy Commentary)
3. What does it mean for people to have itching ears?
4. Should we be surprised that people in the church will go after false teachers who tell them what they want to hear?
5. If people will not listen to or put up with sound teaching, what must the people of God be diligent to do?
a. “When principles that run against your deepest convictions begin to win the day, then battle is your calling, and peace has become sin; you must, at the price of dearest peace, lay your convictions bare before friend and enemy, with all the fire of your faith.” – Abraham Kuyper
b. “Peace is possible, truth at all costs.”- Martin Luther

Verse 5
“As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
1. Why is Timothy to “keep his head” or “be sober-minded”?
2. What types of things is Timothy to do?
3. How does a person fulfill their ministry?

Verses 6-8
“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”
1. “For”
a. “What for?”
i. Keep doing these things because…”
2. What is Paul preparing to do?
3. What does Paul call his death in verse 6?
a. If someone is departing from somewhere, what does that imply?
4. What might be Paul’s motivation for doing what he has done as a Christian?
a. Acts 20:24
i. “I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”
b. Christians do the things they do to make God known for two reasons:
i. They are compelled to share the joy they have received from being given grace and being forgiven.
ii. They are looking forward to their reward. A Christian’s reward is not a larger house in heaven or anything like earthly rewards. The reward that God gives to Christians is Himself. God gives them Himself because they desire nothing else, and because nothing else will satisfy them in the deepest way as being in His presence can.

Verses 9-17
“Do your best to come to me soon. For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth.”
1. Although Paul knows his time to be short, what is his mindset about the time he has left?
2. What does Paul plan to continue doing with the time he has left on earth?
3. What should be our attitude when things get tough or we know that our time is near?

Verses 18-22
“The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus. Do your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers. The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.”
1. Paul died for his faith. Church tradition tells us that Paul was beheaded and died a gruesome death. When Paul says that the Lord will rescue him from every evil attack or deed and bring him into His heavenly kingdom, what does he mean?
2. How does Paul end this letter?

Chapter Overview
1. How would Chapter 4 best be summarized?
2. How could these verses be applied to our lives?

Overview of 2 Timothy
1. What is the overall message of 2 Timothy?
2. What are some things we can take from book as a whole?

2 Timothy 3:10-17

Psalm 33

Verses 10-13
“You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived”
1."Timothy, you are not like the false teachers. The truth of Christ is evident in all aspects of your life. Christ is so evident in your life that you were even willing to support me in all of my persecutions. Although I went through many hardships, the LORD saw me through all of them. The persecutions I suffered are not something strange or random that will happen just to me; all people who live in the pursuit of knowing God will have trouble follow them. Godless people hate anything that has to do with God, so don’t be surprised when what has happened to me happens to you; godly people will be persecuted and all the while godless people will continue to become sicker and more twisted. Just as Christians grow more like Christ as they continue to know God, the longer that godless people do not know the truth the more evil they will become. The longer that godless people have sin in their lives the darker their minds will become so that they are all the more taken captive by evil and are unable to see the truth.”
2. Timothy has followed Paul’s teaching not only in holding to sound doctrine, but in ways that show Timothy’s wholehearted devotion to following Christ. Why would Paul be reminding Timothy of what he has done in the past and how he has lived?
3. 3 cities mentioned are in Galatia. Paul visited these three cities on his first and second missionary journeys. Paul was actually stoned by some of the people in one of these cities.
4. How many people who desire to live a godly life will be persecuted?
5. Why will people who seek the things of God be persecuted?
6. John 15:18-25
7. Why will evil people and imposters go from bad to worse?
8. In what sense are evil people themselves being deceived?

Verses 14-15
“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”
1. Paul wants Timothy to continue in not just what he has learned but what he also firmly believes. Why does Timothy need to continue in the things he is sure of?
a. What might happen if Timothy teaches on things he is not sure of?
2. “We must add to our faith the discernment to distinguish between God’s Word and man’s word so that we do not accept everything that is offered to us indiscriminately. There is nothing more alien to faith than a [gullibility] that accepts everything unquestioningly, no matter what source it comes from. For the basis of faith is knowing that its origin and authority are in God.” (Calvin, Commentary on 2 Timothy)
3. Timothy grew up learning the books we know today as the Old Testament.
4. How is the Old Testament able to make us wise for salvation?
5. How were people in the Old Testament saved?
a. Romans 4:1-15
6. If people do not truly know what it means to be saved or why they need salvation, do they have true faith?

Verses 16-17
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”
1. Is all of Scripture truly useful and important?
2. What does it mean for Scripture to be God-breathed or inspired?
a. What does breath allow us to do?
3. How important is it to believe that Scripture comes from God?
4. How is Scripture profitable…
a. For teaching?
b. For reproof?
c. For correction?
d. For training in righteousness?
5. Why is having all of our knowledge of God and of ourselves coming solely from the Scriptures important?

Overview
1. How would verses 10-17 of this chapter best be summarized?
2. How could these verses be applied to our lives?

2Timothy 3:1-9

Read Psalm 1

Verse 1
“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.”
1. “But”
a. But what?
i. “Even though God may grant repentance to people who are straying from the truth…”
2. The phrase “the last days” refers to the entire length of time after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. “The last days” refers to the entirety of this time up to the present and will continue to be “the last days” until the Second Coming.
3. Why does Paul want Timothy to be aware that the last days will be times of difficulty?
4. How does knowing what we can expect in living in the last days help to guide us in our living?

Verses 2-5
“For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.”
1. Paul is NOT talking about people out in the world who are openly opposed to Christ. Paul IS taking about people in the church who claim to follow Christ.
2. The dangers Paul mentions concerning the last days come not “from war, famine, disease, or any other…disaster…but it will come from the wickedness of depraved people.” (Calvin, Commentary on 2 Timothy)
3. What is at the root or what is the base sin of the sins listed in verses 2-4?
a. Lovers of self; people who worship themselves.
4. What are some of the sins listed in these verses that stand out to you as to what you see in the church?
5. In what ways is the modern church in America like our culture?
6. In what ways should the church in America be different from our culture?
7. What is the power of godliness?
8. Why is having a form or appearance of godliness but not having the power of godliness a bad thing?
9. Do people ever hide their faults by pretending that what they are doing is okay or even godly?
10. What should our attitude be towards people who live ungodly lifestyles but wear a front, or a mask, to disguise themselves as being godly?
11. Name some instances where people have appeared to be godly but were not truly godly.
12. When we are told to avoid such people or have nothing to do with such people, what does that mean?
a. Not to share close connection with people who are unrepentant in the church.
13. Why are we to have nothing to do with people who claim to know Christ but are unrepentant of their sin?
a. Distracts us
b. Tempts us to sin or be led astray
c. Easy to be led astray
d. When we are closely associated with these types of people and the evil deeds of the false teachers become exposed, our witness will be dampened. Although we may not be actively participating with people in their ungodliness, it may appear that we are in line with the false teachers or ungodly people’s way of life simply because people will associate us with them.

Verses 6-7
“For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.”
1. To worm or creep into people’s homes means using flattery or being cunning to get a person to let their guard down.
2. “For among them”
a. What type of people are people who lead others astray?
3. Will the people who are giving a false message about God always be easy to spot?
4. Why does Paul mention weak-willed women as the ones being targeted?
a. Is it just women that can be deceived?
5. What does the description about these women tell us about them and why they are easily led astray?
6. What does it mean for people to be “always learning but never able to arrive at or acknowledge the truth?
a. People can be easily led astray by various passions when they are both curious and restless. People are curious because they are interested in learning what the person who appears to be godly has to say, as the deceiver appears to take interest in and care about the person they are deceiving. When people are restless and do not have a firm foundation built on Christ, they are open to any suggestion that appears to give them rest and satisfaction. Often times, the blind begin leading the blind and both become increasingly ensnared in their own folly because they are blinded in their sinfulness.
7. “When every man is eager for what he can get, and anxious to keep what he has, this makes men dangerous to one another. When men do not fear God, they will not regard man.” (Matthew Henry, Commentary of 2 Timothy)

Verses 8-9
“Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.”
1. Jannes and Jambres are not mentioned explicitly in the Bible. Extra-biblical material has told us that these two men are the magicians/sorcerers mentioned in Exodus 7-9.
2. Exodus 7:1-3; 8:16-19
a. The magicians challenge Moses and for a time seem to be somewhat of a match for God and the plagues God brings on Egypt.
3. How are the false teachers like Jannes and Jambres?
4. How will the false teachers’ folly be made plain?
a. False Teachers are never allowed to get away with what they are doing. God allows spiritual error to advance, but only so far.

Summary
1. What is the overall message of verses 1-9?
2. What are some practical things we can take from these verses to apply to our lives?

2 Timothy 2:14-26

Read Psalm 15

Verse 14
“Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.”
1. Remind them of what things?
a. Remind them that God wants them to continue in the faith and that God is able to accomplish His purpose no matter how things look.
2. Why do people need to be reminded of spiritual truths?
3. “Quarrel about words” generally means not going on endlessly talking about topics for the purpose of trying to be clever or show off by out-smarting one another.
4. Why would “quarreling about words” hurt the hearers?
a. It might upset people whose faith is not strong.
5. “God’s purpose is not to pander to our inquisitiveness but to give us profitable instruction.” (Calvin, Comm. on 2 Timothy)

Verse 15
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”
1. If Timothy is concerned with being approved by God, who will he not be concerned with getting approval from?
a. What benefit would not getting caught up in other people’s business have for Timothy? For our lives?
2. How does a person rightly handle the word of truth? If your job is to teach and instruct people about the things of God, how is truth rightly handled?
a. The Word must be spoken to benefit the hearers.
b. Handle the word so that when you expound it, it lifts up those who hear it.

Verses 16-18
“But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some.”
1. What is gangrene and why is it so deadly?
a. Unless treated, gangrene spreads quickly to the areas near the infection and penetrates deep into the skin and bones until it finally kills the person.
2. If “irreverent babble” is compared to the spreading of gangrene, what will “irreverent babble” do to the church? How does this generally happen in real life?
3. Heresy and heretics had put questions in the believer’s minds about the stability and permanence of the church.

Verse 19
“But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.””
1. In this context, what is the phrase “God’s firm foundation” referring to?
2. What does the first quotation mean?
a. God knows who the true believers are.
3. What does the second quotation mean?
a. If people truly know God, they will eventually turn away from their sin. Believers may fall into error, but they will always turn from what is not of God at some point because the Holy Spirit will convict them.
b. Matthew 7:15-20 (Mention but maybe not go to)
i. Good trees bear good fruit and bad trees bear bad fruit. Good trees cannot bear bad fruit and bad trees cannot bear good fruit.
4. Should we judge people to determine if they are saved?
a. Yes AND no.

Verses 20-21
“Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.”
1. “The fate of the false teachers is also not yet fixed.” Although they may not yet be truly saved, ‘they too may turn from evil.” (Carson, NT Comm. On Use of the OT)
2. When people turn away from sin, the Lord will use them in mighty ways.
3. Why will turning away from sin prepare us for “every good work”?
a. God desires that the people who represent Him and show Him to the world live so that their lives declare His character. People will only see who God is when His character is manifested in us is such a way that people know that in order for us to be the way we are, there has to have been a supernatural work to account for how different we are.

Verses 22-23
“So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.”
1. Verse 22 tells us to do two things. What two things are we do to?
a. Flee things that lead into sin
b. Pursue the things of God.
2. Paul tells Timothy to develop relationships with people who “call on the Lord from a pure heart” but also tells Timothy to have no part of the controversies going on.
a. Does who we put ourselves around effect how we think and live?
3. What happens when people get too involved with other people’s business?

Verses 24-25A
“And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness.”
1. When conflicts arise, why must we remember to be kind to all of the people surrounding the conflict?
2. Why must we be able to teach others?
a. So that we are able to communicate what we believe clearly so that other people will understand what we are saying. If we are able to communicate what we believe so as to rightly understood, there will be less of a chance of having people misunderstand and stray from the intended meaning that you are conveying.
3. Why must we endure evil patiently?
4. Why must we correct people who have strayed from the truth with gentleness?
a. We ourselves may be wrong.
b. People are not likely to listen to us if we are rude or belittling to them.

Verses 25-26
“God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.”
1. Who grants people repentance and leads them to the truth?
a. God.
2. Will people ever repent or know the truth without God granting them this ability?
3. Is it possible that people who are leading others astray will one day turn to the LORD and see the truth?
4. Should we ever give up on being Christ to other people even if it seems that it is doing no good?
5. How should we respond to and interact with people who are straying from the truth?

Summary
1. What is the overall message of verses 14-26?
2. What are some practical things we can take from these verses to apply to our lives?

2 Timothy 2:1-13

This nights study had many good insights from you all. We delved into verse 13, a difficult verse, together and came up with many good insights, insights that never even entered my mind (thanks Nick!). The theme of 2 Timothy is becoming pretty clear, as many of you have mentioned to me both during and outsiden of the study.

Next week is Valentine's Day. I am planning on being there but we will NOT be studying 2 Timothy that night. We will be studying Psalm 32, as it is what the Lord has put on my heart. I figured it would give a little bit of a break from 2 Timothy and would be good to do because many people might not be there because of Valentine's Day.


Read Psalm 136

Verse 1
“You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus,”
1. After Timothy is reminded of what has been occurring in and among the church, Paul moves on to exhort Timothy about what he should do and how he should respond to all that is going on.
2. “What God requires from us in His Word, He also supplies by His Spirit, so that we are strengthened in the grace that He provides” (Calvin, p.305, Commentary on 2 Timothy).
3. What does “being strong in the grace” or being “strengthened by the grace” “that is in Christ Jesus” mean?
4. How are we strengthened by God’s grace?

Verse 2
“and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”
1. When the verse 2 speaks of entrusting faithful or qualified men with the task of teaching, what is meant by the word faithful or qualified?
2. What qualifies a person to teach?
3. Why is it important that the men who Timothy entrusts to teach the church be faithful or qualified?

Verse 3
“Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.”
1. If a person was a good soldier, how would they share in suffering to help their side win?


Verse 4
“No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.”
1. If a person was a soldier who was off at war, why would they not want to get involved in civilian affairs?
2. What consequences might getting involved in civilian affairs have on you or the war that you are there fighting?
3. Going back to 2 Timothy, how does the metaphor in verse 4 apply to our spiritual life?

Verse 5
“An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.”
1. Why would an athlete not be considered the winner unless they competed according to the rules?
2. Why would doing sinful things to advance God’s Kingdom be a bad thing to do?
3. What application does this verse have for our lives?

Verse 6
“It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.”
1. If you are a farmer, what must you do to have a harvest?
2. On Judgement Day, if we expect to reap some reward for our service to God, what must we do until Judgement Day comes if we want to have a reward?
3. We are saved totally by grace but in order to be saved we must persevere until the end. While God does demand that those whom He saves persevere, He also enables and causes people who truly know Him to persevere.
a. 1 Peter 1:3-5

Verse 7
“Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.”
1. Why does Paul specifically tell Timothy to think over these things?
2. How does God usually teach us about who He is?
3. Although Timothy has to be the one to think over Paul has said, how will Timothy get the proper understanding of what is being said?

Verse 8
“Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel,”
1. “risen from the dead”
a. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead gives evidence that what Jesus taught is truthful and that Jesus truly is God. Jesus’ resurrection also shows that because His claims were true, we can share in the benefits that His death and resurrection for us.
2. “Offspring of David”
a. Who was David?
i. David was a king of Israel whom God promised that Christ would be descended from. David was promised that Christ would reign on his throne forever.
b. Why would Paul mention Christ being the offspring of David?
i. Christ is a real person who has a real connection to real people that had real promises made to them by a real God.
3. Why is Timothy being told to “remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel”?

Verse 9
“for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!”
1. What does Paul mean he says that the Word of God is not bound?
2. Isaiah 55:1-11

Verse 10
“Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.”
1. “Therefore”
a. What’s it “there for”?
i. Because the Word of God is not bound…
2. Why does Paul want the elect to obtain salvation?



Verse 11
“The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him;”
1. What is the connection between us dying with Christ and us living with Christ?
Verse 12
“if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us;”
1. What is the connection between us enduring and us reigning with Christ?
2. Why will Christ deny us if we deny Him?

Verse 13
“if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.”
1. God is always faithful to do what He says He will do.
a. Isaiah 48:9-11
b. Ezekiel 36:16-32
2. What does it mean that God “cannot deny Himself”?

Overview
1. How would verses 1-13 of this chapter best be summarized?
2. How could these verses be applied to our lives?

2 Timothy 1:13-18

The notes below are all that we got to on the third night. It is only about five verses, but is worth looking over.

1. Prayer Requests
2. Read Psalm 95
3. Pray for time of fellowship and study
4. Review from last week.
a. What were verses 8 through 12 talking about?

Verse 13
“Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.”
1. Do not deviate from the message that Paul taught in any way. Put God’s Word before you. “Follow the pattern” literally means to put a vivid picture before you; a vivid picture right before your eyes so that you see the message of Christ clearly and as it is in its purest form.
2. Why is it important for Timothy to not deviate or change the message he received from Paul in any way?
3. The sound words consist “of faith and love, which have their source and beginning in the knowledge of Christ” (Calvin, p. 301, Commentary on 2 Timothy).

Verse 14
“By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.”
1. What is the good deposit that was entrusted to Timothy?
2. By the power of God that is inside of you, protect and preserve yourself from leaving the message of Christ that you have received.
3. Philippians 2:12-13

Verses 15-18
“You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains, but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me— may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that Day!—and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus.”
1. These verses are reflections of the results of people’s staying or straying from the message of Christ.
2. What is Paul’s purpose in mentioning these people?
a. Two-fold:
i. Information
ii. To show the reality of what will happen to us when persecution or hardship comes if we deviate or turn away from the true message of Christ.
3. Hebrews 3:7-14
4. Verses 15-18 show that when trouble came to the church, the people had two drastically different responses to the hardships.
5. If standing up for certain beliefs or ideas will greatly cost the people who stand up for these beliefs, is it possible for people to remain neutral or passive in the situation?
6. What are people’s motivations for continuing or leaving the faith when persecution comes?

2 Timothy 1:8-12

"I don't know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future."
-Martin Luther King Jr.

The notes below are my notes for 2 Timothy 1:8-12. I did not get to some of the things that are on the sheets below, as time and the Lord's leading did not allow. This study was definitely on the deeper (or deepest) end of knowing who God is. For those who attended, thanks for trudging through some of this deep and hard stuff with me. I pray that it was beneficial to you and that God will give us the eyes to see how it applies to our lives and the confidence that we can have in God. I have yet to figure out to format the notes below so that they look how they would in a word document. At the bottom of my notes is the handout that I gave to you all about the foreknowledge of God (God's knowing the future) and free will.

Teaching through books without skipping any parts is a tough job to do and keeps us honest and dependent on God. Teaching all parts of a book is not always the most entertaining way to teach, but I do know that God will bless us for being committed to seeking to understand who He has revealed Himself to be in the Scriptures and learning how to work through the Bible in a way that shows how real people in real situations interacted with God and how He spoke to their (and our) real and specific needs. There is such a diversity in Scripture in how certain principles are applied in different situations that a "one-size fits all" answer often doesn't help; we need to know the heart of God by seeing His Word dealing with specific needs and then use that to see how our living God will likely speak to us in our needs. I was very grateful to hear the prayer requests last night and hope that God will allow us to be open and honest with each other more and more as we meet together. God has gifted each of you uniquely and the body of Christ cannot function properly without you using your gifts and insights to help equip us to serve the world. God desires you to use your gifts not only for this Bible study, but in every area and place that you go to with believers to have fellowship.

If anyone has any thoughts or questions on any of this, feel free to contact me or leave a message on the comments section on this post.



Verse 8
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,

1. “Therefore”
a. What’s it “there for”?
i. Connect this thought to the previous verse (or verses)
b. What is Paul connecting the thought in verse 8 to?
i. The family of faith, who we are because of Christ, and the weapons/tools God has given us to overcome fear and be a witness for Him.
2. Paul views himself as the Lord’s prisoner and NOT as a prisoner of the empire.
3. Why would Paul view himself as the Lord’s prisoner instead of viewing himself as a prisoner of the empire?
4. “share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God”
a. God has ordained that the Gospel would come to pass primarily through suffering. The suffering may not necessarily be persecution. Suffering for the gospel may simply be living to make Christ known. Making Christ known always comes at the expense of the person doing it.
5. Colossians 1:24
a. In this verse Paul does not mean that he is adding to the atoning work of Christ. Paul does NOT mean that the work Christ did on the cross was not enough; in fact, Christ’s work is more than enough. What Paul is saying is that Christ propagates the gospel to the nations through people. Christ is not here on earth as a human being to give Himself over in love by serving others so that people will know Him. Because Christ is not physically here on earth to serve others so that they will know Him, He gives us the task of acting on His behalf. We act on behalf of Christ by living through the power of the Holy Spirit so that people see Him living and moving through flesh and blood. When people see that we can hope and joy in any type of situation and that we have the ability to love even our enemies, they will see that something is different about us. When a person who knows God responds to life situations much differently than how the majority of people would respond to the same situation, people who see the believer’s response will think it is strange. When people who do not know God see believers living the way that they are, they will respond in one of two ways. They will turn to God, repent and receive Him, or they will hate us because how we live reveals them for what they truly are.
b. John 15:18-25
6. Suffering for the sake of the Gospel is a gift from God. Suffering is a gift from God that He calls us to participate in.
a. Acts 5:40-42
i. Background: God was at work among the early church so much that it was creating quite a stir in Jerusalem. Because of the jealousy of the Jewish officials, the Apostles were arrested and commanded not to speak in the Name of Jesus ever again. After the Apostles respond by telling the officials that they will not obey them, a council member stood up and convinced the other Jewish leaders that if what the Apostles were teaching were not of God it would eventually go away. The council member also told the Jewish officials that if the teaching was of God, no one would be able to stop the Apostles no matter what anyone did to them.
b. Philippians 1:29
c. Matthew 5:20
d. Philippians 3:8-11 (especially verses 10 & 11)
7. For what reasons would a person willingly suffer for the sake of the gospel?
8. Why would God use suffering as the primary means for how the Gospel would be most fully displayed?


Verse 9“who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,”

1. God “saved us and called us” not because of what we have done, could do, or would do but “because of His own purpose and grace”.
2. What was God’s purpose or motivation for creating all that He created?
3. How does God’s grace relate to His purpose in creating all that He has created?
4. God’s plan for Christ to come was not an afterthought. God knew what Adam would do before He created him. In Romans 5:14, Paul writes that Adam “was a type of the one who was to come”. The verse does NOT say that Christ was a type of Adam; the verse states that Adam was a type of Christ. The purpose of having Christ come into the world came BEFORE Adam.
5. Colossians 1:15-17
6. In some sense, God has allowed or ordained all that has or will ever take place in history from beginning to end. However, this DOES NOT mean that people do not have free will or are not responsible for their actions.
7. See Handout.
8. People are responsible for their actions because they are the ones who actually do the action. God does not force anyone to act sinfully nor does He cause people to act against their will. God knows all things before they happen and although He allows or ordains all that ever will actually come to pass, people are still responsible for their actions because they are freely doing whatever it is that they are choosing to do. God is also not the author of sin. God is not the author of sin in that He never does nor can do anything that is sin. God can allow sinful events to occur and even in doing this He never is or does evil in ANY way at all.
a. Acts 2:22-23, 36-41
i. God ordered that Christ die in the way that He did and God still holds the people who actually did it responsible.

Verses 10-12“and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me”

1. Although God had planned and determined that Christ would come, the plan of Christ to come to earth and die would, in some sense, not actually be accomplished until Christ actually stepped into time and did it. Christ’s stepping into time to live as a human being and then dying on the cross for the sins of the world brought the original purpose of God to light.
2. From eternity, God had planned to undo all that His creation would do to try to thwart His plan. God has shown that even when what He creates acts against His will, He still is accomplishing His purposes through it. “God did not just overcome evil at the cross. He made evil serve the overcoming of evil. He made evil commit suicide in doing its worst evil” (John Piper, Spectacular Sins, p.12).
3. Paul is convinced not only that God ordains whatsoever comes to pass and that Christ coming to die was God’s original plan but Paul was also convinced that God had appointed him to be one of the people to proclaim God’s message about Christ to the world.
4. What type of impact would knowing how well God has orchestrated history have on how we deal with difficulties that may arise in our life?
5. How would knowing that God is able to accomplish His purpose without anyone ever being able to thwart that purpose prepare us to face hardship or persecution?
6. In verse 12, Paul says that he knows whom he has believed. He does not say he knows what he has believed, but whom he has believed.
7. What is the difference between believing God and believing in God?
8. How does believing God help us?
9. This verse shows us “most excellently the power of faith by teaching us that in the most desperate plight we should glorify God by not doubting that He will be true and faithful and that we should accept the Word with the same assurance as if God Himself had appeared to us from heaven…Faith always connects God’s power with His word, which it does not think of as something remote and distant but rather something inward which it has in its possession. Thus it is said of Abraham in Romans 4:20,” “No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised” (Calvin’s Commentary on 2 Timothy).
10. If we were to summarize what verses 8 through 12 mean, what would these verses tell us?
11. What practical application do these verses have for our lives?



The Foreknowledge of God and Free Will
“God, from all eternity, did—by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will—freely and unchangeably ordain whatever comes to pass. Yet he ordered all things in such a way that he is not the author of sin, nor does he force his creatures to act against their wills; neither is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established.”
3.1 of the Westminster Confession of Faith, Modern English Study Version.

“Although—in relation to the foreknowledge and decree of God, the first Cause—all things come to pass unchangeably and infallibly; yet, by the same providence, he orders them to occur according to the nature of second causes, either necessarily, freely, or contingently.”
5.2 of the Westminster Confession of Faith, Modern English Study Version.

“But it does not follow that, though there is for God a certain order of all causes, there must therefore be nothing depending on the free exercise of our own wills, for our wills themselves are included in that order of causes which is certain to God, and is embraced by His foreknowledge, for human wills are also causes of human actions; and He who foreknew all the causes of things would certainly among those causes not have been ignorant of our wills.”
Augustine, City of God, 5.9.

2 Timothy 1:1-7

Background of 2 Timothy:
2 Timothy is believed to be Paul’s last letter. His missionary ministry was over, as he was in prison on account of the Gospel of Christ. Paul knew that his death was certain and near at hand. Paul writes this letter as a second letter to Timothy, a leader in the early church. Timothy’s father was Greek and an unbeliever while his mother was Jewish and a Christian (see Acts 16:1). Because of Timothy being from mixed ethnicities, he was very likely subject to mistreatment from both Jews and Gentiles, as Acts 16:1-5 attests to. Timothy was a very young, timid, and very sickly person; seemingly not a likely candidate to lead the church through the severe persecution that had arisen that was only getting worse. Paul writes this letter to Timothy as a type of “last will and testament” and uses his last writing to bring some encouraging words to give this follower of Christ courage for the future ahead of both Timothy and the church.

Chapter 1:1-7

Verses 1 & 2: Introduction

Verses 3-5: Remember where you came from.
1. We have a family of believers. Other believers serve as:
a. A source of encouragement.
b. A source of joy
i. Not a joy in themselves but a joy in that they show us that God is at work in our midst.

2. We have a legacy of faith.
a. God has always had a people to carry out his plan.
b. We are connected to a story larger than ourselves.
i. We are in some sense connected to all believers who ever lived or will live. God uses people to make the Gospel known. This connects us together because we heard about Christ from other people and people will know about Christ because other people tell them.

Verses 5-7: Remember what you have.
1. If we are born again having the Holy Spirit inside of us,
a. We have faith.
i. Having faith means that we “believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6, ESV)
b. We have the power to persevere to overcome fear. (Revelation 12: 7-11)
c. We have the ability to respond in love. (1 John 2:7-10; 4:7-21)
d. We have the ability to base decisions on the character of God and on truth rather than on something that is fleeting or has no stability like our emotions. (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 2:6-16)

Note: see Ephesians 1:3 and 2 Peter 1:3-4 for this topic as well.