Category: 2 Timothy

Today you should read: 2 Timothy 3:10-17

There is some good stuff in this section of Scripture.  I’m going to make a few observations on the well-known verses 16-17.

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

In verse 16, the phrase “inspired by God” is the Greek word theopneustos (theos=God, pneo=breath).  This means that the Scripture is God-breathed.  We can have confidence that the Bible we read is literally the Word of God.

The God-breathed words that we read are very profitable.  Specifically, the Scripture is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness so that we may be equipped to walk with the Lord and do as He pleases.  Let’s briefly break down the meaning of these profitable things from verse 16.

Teaching:  The Scripture teaches us how to live, about life, about God, about others, about how to treat people, etc.  Basically, the Scripture is sufficient to teach us about everything.

Reproof:  The Bible points out areas where we fall short.  God uses the Scripture to point out areas where we are doing wrong.

Correction:  Thankfully, the Bible doesn’t just show us where we fall short; it also shows us how to correct those areas and make us more like Christ.

Training in righteousness:  The Bible shows us how to live lives that are holy and pleasing to the Lord.  That’s one reason having consistent intake of the Bible is so important.  We need all the training we can to become more and more like Christ.

OK, so that’s a super brief breakdown of verse 16.  By way of personal application, I’ll leave a Bible study method that you might find beneficial based off of this verse.  You can use verse 16 as a template for studying the Scripture.

Teaching:  What is the subject of the passage? What is the issue being addressed?  The subject might be a character issue, a skill, an attitude, or an action.  What is the passage teaching you?

Reproof:  What wrong attitude or action might the Scripture be exposing in your life?

Correction:  What do I need to do to have the right attitude or action about the issue being addressed?

Training in righteousness:  How do I apply this to my life now?  How can I take the truth and apply it to my life so that I can live rightly?

Posted by:Rich Duffield

Today you should read: 2 Timothy 3:1-9

If you are as sensitive to your own sinfulness as I am, then reading the list given in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 can really hurt. Even though it doesn’t — or shouldn’t — describe Christians, I see so much of the “old life” (2 Corinthians 5:17) in it. And until Jesus comes back or I die, I have to deal with parts of that old life. I am eternally grateful, though, that God gives us His perfect Spirit to help us in this fight. There are two lists given in Galatians 5; one describes the “old life”, and the other displays the “new life” that is fighting to overcome the “old life”.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (Galatians 5:16-26, ESV)

The context of our passage today is concerning those who call themselves Christ-followers in the last days yet deny Jesus by their choices and lifestyles. Among them, we find false teachers and cult leaders. Such evil people will drag many into ungodly devotion to falsehood and false gods. We must be on guard today, even though this may describe something that is even more prevalent in the future. We must “keep in step with the Spirit” in such a way that we fend off evil teachers, and Satan himself (Ephesians 6)!

If you have questions about Jannes and Jambres, here is a quick ESV Study Bible note that may clear it up for you:

Jannes and Jambres are the names given in early extrabiblical Jewish writings to the Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses inEx. 7:8–13. In these writings, these men became key symbols of opposition to God’s truth. Though their names do not appear in the OT itself, they would be familiar to Timothy and other Jews; identifying the opponents with these archetypal enemies of God’s truth would have significant rhetorical power.corrupted in mind. Again false teaching is cast in terms of deficient thinking (see note on 2 Tim. 2:26). This is why divine aid is necessary for coming to the “knowledge of the truth” (2:7, 25–26). disqualified regarding the faith. In spite of their claims, these people do not have saving faith, since they oppose the gospel both in their teaching and in their living (see Titus 1:16).

Since we just concluded a detailed series through 2 Timothy, I encourage you to catch any of the messages you may have missed. You can do so at our website or via Vimeo:

CPCLex Media                        CPCLex on Vimeo

What were your thoughts on today’s passage? What did you learn? Blessings on your day!

Posted by:Todd Thomas

Today you should read: 2 Timothy 2:22-26

A few words stuck out to me when I read this passage:

• Run
• Pursue
• Arguments
• Fights
• Quarrel
• Difficult
• Oppose
• Escape
• Trap
• Captive

When I saw that all of these words were in just five verses I came to this conclusion:

Life is a battle and a struggle. We can’t coast through it.

We have been called to “run” from sin and “pursue” righteousness. This requires a life with the foot on the gas pedal, not coasting. Some people may think that it is enough to “run” from sin. They think, “as long as I am not doing this or that or going here or there then I am fine.” That is not the case. That is legalism. Following rules and regulations will not produce a righteous life, it takes the other side of the equation. We have to “pursue” a righteous life. It is also true, however, that this pursuit is not enough. This is the person who says, “I know I don’t always do what I should be doing and I go places I probably shouldn’t but at least I go to church and read my Bible so that should be enough.” It’s not. It takes the “run” and the “pursue” working in tandem. That is what makes life a battle and a struggle and that is why coasting is not an option. So how about you? Are you coasting or are you struggling? We won’t always win this side of heaven but sometimes the victory is in the struggle. If you are struggling and battling to “run” and “pursue” then you are on the right track. If you are not then I challenge you to figure out what is missing and take the necessary steps to make it happen.

Posted by:Robbie Byrd

Today you should read: 2 Timothy 2:15-21

Rightly Handle The Word of Truth…

Well, we should be pretty familiar with these verses!

After a whole teaching series on 2 Timothy, I hope you are beginning to grasp this book as a whole.

Today I want to just briefly help apply some simple verses to our lives:

In the passage we read today, Paul begins by telling Timothy to work hard, in order to rightly apply the Word of truth (v 15).  He follows, with the same theme, by telling Timothy to avoid irreverent babble (v 16), because it spreads like a disease (v.17).  Verse 18 says that Hymenaeus and Philetus have been telling people that they are already in heaven (basically) by saying they have already been resurrected, which has caused some to turn away from seeing a need for Jesus.

The Basic Summary:  Rightly handling the Bible matters.  It also is important not to argue about “theological” issues that don’t matter.  When we do this, it spreads like a disease, causing dissension in the church and actually hinders people from coming to Jesus.

Today’s “Walk-a-Way”

So, if rightly handling the Bible matters, how do I do it?  Here’s 3 basic ways:

1.  Read your Bible trying to understand the Author’s intent. 

God had an intention when He wrote the Bible through each biblical author.  It’s not ok to make the Bible say what we want it to say…or to wrongly apply it to our lives.  That’s dangerous because then we can just make the verses say what we want them to say.  If we do that, then where is the limit?  When interpreting God’s Word we must be faithful to God’s actual intention of each verse.

2.  Read your Bible with an intention to apply it to your life.

Rightly handling the Word of Truth involves putting this truth to work in our lives.  If we are not actively applying what we read in the Bible to our own lives, then we are not correctly handling it.  Then, as James says, “we are deceiving ourselves” (James1:22). This passage in 2 Timothy tells us to “work hard, so that we have no need to be ashamed.”  But if we are not applying it to our lives, then we have reason to be ashamed.

3.  Use the Bible correctly when applying it to other’s lives.

We can’t be using the Bible as leverage to support our own passions.  We can’t use it to gain control, change people to become what we want, or to accomplish our mission.  We must use the Bible, as we help other’s apply it to their lives, in a way that is reverently faithful to God’s purpose of the passage.  This applies for dads and preachers.  For moms and singles.  For businessmen and missionaries.  No matter our occupation or life-stage…when we minister to others we cannot use the Bible to promote our sweet-spots.

Let’s be people who correctly handle God’s Word.  It’s our unchanging standard of truth, and as best as we can, we need to keep it that way!

Posted by:Sam Cirrincione