The Word Lives On
At the end of his letter, Paul deals with some personal matters. He opens his heart to reveal how he feels about his approaching martyrdom, his personal needs, and his unshakeable faith in God.
Robert M. Solomon served as Bishop of The Methodist Church in Singapore from 2000-2012. He now has an active itinerant ministry of preaching and teaching in Singapore and abroad. He is the author of 19 books, including The Race, The Conscience, The Sermon of Jesus and Faithful to the End.
At the end of his letter, Paul deals with some personal matters. He opens his heart to reveal how he feels about his approaching martyrdom, his personal needs, and his unshakeable faith in God.
In the terrible world of the last days, Christian character must be demonstrated and Christian ministry must continue effectively.
Paul refers to two resources that would help Timothy maintain his Christian character in the godless world of the last days: godly mentors and Scripture.
It is imperative for Christians to be different from the godless people of the last days.
The ungodliness of the world can easily creep into the church. All that is needed are ungodly false teachers and ungodly listeners.
The “last days” in the Bible refer to the entire period from the ascension of Jesus to the cataclysmic end of history (Hebrews 1:2).
Timothy is to demonstrate two opposite actions (“flee” and “pursue”, v.22) with the same seriousness and strength.
Still thinking about the damage that false teachers were causing in the church, Paul turns to another metaphor (v.20).
Having urged Timothy to be a good workman of Scripture, Paul provides negative and positive examples. The false teachers were not good workmen of Scripture. They were lazy and engaged in “godless chatter” (v.16).
YMI (which stands for Why Am I?), is a platform for Christian young people all over the world to ask questions about life and discover their true purpose. We are a community with different talents but the same desire to make sense of God’s life-changing word in our everyday lives.
YMI is a part of Our Daily Bread Ministries.
Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible,
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