We're going to look at 2 Timothy today. So who was this letter written to, Alfred? Timothy, that's right. Do you remember who wrote it? Timothy. No, Timothy didn't write it to himself. Who wrote it to Timothy? Paul. Paul wrote this letter to Timothy and he wrote it from Rome. Paul was a prisoner in Rome and he wrote it to Timothy who was probably still in Ephesus. And in this letter, we have Paul's last recorded words. It seems that Paul had been released from his first Roman imprisonment, which was from the years 60 to 62. That's where the Book of Acts leaves him. It seems that he had been released and had traveled, and during that time wrote 1 Timothy and Titus. So the year is around 62-64, and then by the time 2 Timothy was written, Paul had been imprisoned again. and in Rome, we find that in Second Timothy, where, for example, in verse 17, speaking of Anesphemus, but when he arrived in Rome, he searched for me earnestly and found me. So he identifies himself being in Rome, and he also identifies himself being in chains, being a prisoner, in chapter two, verse nine, and chapter one, verse eight. And this time, he saw his impending execution before him. So in chapter four, verse six, he says, the time of my departure has come. speaking actually very similarly to Peter, in 2 Peter, the time of his departure had come. There's a reliable tradition that's in accordance with this expectation that he was indeed executed by beheading, as would have befit him as a Roman citizen, in Rome during the persecution under Nero. That's a major wave of persecution that takes place in response to the great fire in Rome where he to take suspicion off of himself, starts blaming the Christians for starting the fire, and rounds up many of them, and would not be unusual for Paul especially to be targeted as a particularly troublesome leader of this sect of Christians. He had obviously been persecuted before. Now, one possible reconstruction of events is that Paul was arrested, possibly through the hostility of Alexander the Coppersmith. Certainly he had a number of enemies, adversaries that would be willing to turn him in, to get him in trouble. Possibly in Miletus. either Miletus or Troas. He probably was arrested in one of those two places. He speaks of leaving things behind there. He was abandoned by Demas, one of his co-workers, and then brought as a prisoner, perhaps through Troas, and then Corinth on his way to Rome, where he was when he wrote 2 Timothy. And so most of his co-workers were on assignment elsewhere. Titus had gone to this region kind of north of Greece. Other people were in different places. He kind of goes through that in this letter. Luke alone was with him. And so among other things, he's telling Timothy to come to him. He thinks that Timothy would still have time before Paul's death. And also to bring Mark with him so that Timothy and Mark would both be with him in Rome. Now, I mentioned a key passage from this letter, 2 Timothy 2, 8-9. Alfred, do you want to give what you have? Do you remember? Remember... What are we supposed to remember? Alright, do you want to? Very good, right? So we ought to remember Jesus Christ, and he is the offspring of David, which refers to his whole messianic identity, the promised savior, and that he is risen from the dead, which means he's still living and active today, as well as the significance of his resurrection for our salvation, like we talked about. in the sermon, and that though Paul was suffering for this gospel, which is all the more reason for Timothy to remember it, see how much I've sacrificed for it, but also contrasts the word of God with himself, that it is not bound, and that's in fact what he's urging Timothy to do throughout this letter, to preach the word, to carry on this word, even though I'm in chains, the word is going to go on, and I've preached this word throughout my life, And I'm gonna die, so I want you to keep preaching it until you die, and then other people keep preaching it until they die. Let's carry on and keep the faith and remember Jesus Christ. I have a breakdown there of the epistle, first two verses as is typical are a greeting, and then there's a thanksgiving for Timothy's sincere faith, as well as his tears, that Paul remembers. And interestingly, he points to both of their ancestors who walked in these ways. Paul thanks God, whom I serve, as did my ancestors. He's thinking about his ancestors, Jews that came before him who worshipped the same God, although under the Old Testament administration. And he also speaks to Timothy, of his mother and of his grandmother, who had also had the same faith. It dwelt first in Lois and then in your mother Eunice, and I am sure dwells in you as well. So, it speaks to the fact that not only are they going to be passing on this faith to future generations, but they themselves were carrying on a faith from previous generations. And also has a lot to say about the continuity of Old and New Testaments as well. Now, in verses 6 through 14, there is an exhortation to Timothy. Fan into flame the gift of God. Don't be ashamed of the gospel. Some people probably were tempted to do that as people were being imprisoned and persecuted, but to guard the deposit, the pattern of sound words that had been entrusted to Timothy. In verses 15 through 18, there's a contrast between two men who were faithless and one man who was faithful. Phygelus and Hermogenes were two men who had turned away from Paul. And I think we actually come across them in 1 Timothy also, or maybe it's later in this epistle. Later in this epistle, in verses 2, 17 through 18, it talks about how they had swerved from the truth, teaching that the resurrection had already happened. So there was both doctrinal error, and that manifested itself also in their approach to Paul and true Christians. But the other man here, Onesiphorus, He had a household, which is mentioned in chapter four, verse 19. And he himself had gone from Ephesus to seek out Paul in Rome and had found Paul there. And so it's contrasted to those who had turned away from Paul. Chapter two, verses one through two, Paul speaks of passing on these words that Timothy had received from Paul. He's to teach other men who are to teach others, so to carry on this faith past each of their lives and to raise up other preachers to proclaim this word. And then in verses 3 through 13 of chapter 2, Timothy is told to endure suffering as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. The idea of suffering and persecution and opponents. is a major theme, and that includes this trustworthy saying, if we have died with him, we will also live with him. If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we deny him, he also will deny us. If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. And so it is a call unto endurance. in chapter 2, verse 14, through chapter 4, verse 5. Admittedly, that's a large passage and probably could be divided up itself. But is telling Timothy, and likewise the rest of the church, to avoid the ungodly ways of false teachers and to be a faithful minister of the word. And so he contrasts them in several ways. Avoid irreverent babble, rather. and those who have swerved from the truth. Cleanse yourself from that which is dishonorable. Flee youthful passions. And here, youthful passions, we can think of a number of things that might be youthful passions, but especially the tendency to anger and quarrelsomeness is probably foremost in his mind. And instead, pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Don't have anything to do with these foolish controversies, but faithfully, gently, lovingly correct these opponents. Don't let them get you flustered. Don't let them get you to respond in a like, a similar attitude, but rather correct them, but do so in a way that you actually hope that God might bring them to their senses. Talks about how there will be times of difficulty that Timothy will encounter, but at the same time encouraging Timothy that they won't get very far, the people that oppose the truth. And so endure. Part one of examples for Timothy is Paul himself. You have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith. You know what I've suffered? In fact, Paul had suffered in Timothy's own hometown in Lystra, where they first thought Paul and Barnabas were gods, and then they stoned Paul. And then when Paul came back to Lystra, he took Timothy from that city with him. So he knew what Paul had suffered and knew that that's the way which he was now following in. And so in chapter four, Paul exhorts Timothy to preach the word, be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, and exhort with complete patience and teaching. And then as he comes to the end of this letter, verses six through eight, Paul speaks of his impending martyrdom, his coming death. For I'm 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. And so these are Paul's words as he reflects on his death, looking to the crown to come. and reflecting on his past life that he had endured as he hoped Timothy would also do and likewise all Christians since then. in the last verses of the epistle, then he gives final instructions and greetings. This is where we have a lot of that historical context to the extent that we have it. Oh, I left this person who's sick in Miletus and I've left my parchments and books and troas and basically has the impression that things were rushed and not all maybe arranged as he had meant it and Timothy's gonna pick up the pieces on his way to to Paul to be with him at his end. There's final greetings, including to Prisca and Aquila, his old friends from, initially from Rome, but who also had lived in Ephesus and seems to have been there then. The Lord be with you, grace be with you. And at the end there, that's a, you is plural. So the idea that even though this is directed to Timothy, that there was things to be, it was to be also passed on, the instruction, to the rest of the church. So any thoughts or questions on 2 Timothy so far? Do you remember who 2 Timothy was written to? Timothy. Yeah, and who wrote it? That's right. Was it his last letter? Yes, it's not last in the Bible, but it's the last letter that Paul wrote. We have several themes here. I think the trustworthy saying in chapter two, it draws on a lot of other scripture passages that we can think of. It's possible that this was a saying that was around that Paul didn't just come up with. in this occasion, something like a creed or at least a common saying. But the first one refers to the idea of baptism and conversion. If we've died with him, we'll live with him, something that Paul talks about in Romans 6. In the second line, the need to endure to the end, something that Jesus talks about in Matthew 10, to the one who endures to the end will be saved. The third line speaks about Apostasy, if we deny Him, He will also deny us. That's why we shouldn't deny Him, right? What should we do? Confess Him before men. Acknowledge Him before men and He will acknowledge us before His Father in heaven. The fourth line, I think, tends today to be interpreted differently than commentators have seen in the past. If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. I think I tend to take the older position. Usually people today look at that and say, well, even though we still sin as Christians, he remains faithful to save us. Well, that's true, but I think Here, when he's saying, if we are faithless, it's referring to apostasy, falling away, like denying. And if men apostatize, if men forsake, that doesn't change the fact that Jesus will be faithful to his word, and that, as Calvin says, our faith is founded on the eternal and unchangeable truth of Christ, in order that it may not waver through the unsteadfastness or apostasy of men. So something that Timothy was to be encouraged with, even as he saw Demas and others perhaps fall away, that Christ remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. Mentioned already, there's this emphasis on passing the faith down from generation to generation to keep the faith. to, that means to guard it, to preserve it, you know, to keep it from getting distorted by error or lost through a lack of study, that we forget some truths, but to keep this system of truth and hand it from one generation to the next. And we see in the epistle that it happens both in the family and in the church. that you have Timothy's mother and grandmother passing on this faith, and that's from his infancy. Timothy had known the Holy Scriptures, and that's not talking about Paul. Paul did continue to teach him, but he didn't know him since his infancy. So through the family, this faith was passed down, but then it's also passed down through the church, through Paul, through Timothy, through the men that would be raised up like them to preach the Word, and so through both of those means, to pass this faith that's contained in Scripture from one generation to the next. And in Scripture is that other emphasis that's written down next to it, the importance of Holy Scripture. We have that classic text. I think I mentioned when I was preaching in 2 Peter, how both Apostles, as they come to the end of their lives, what do they reflect on? We have some of the clearest passages regarding the importance of Scripture. Just as at the end of Moses' life, or the end of Malachi, at the end of the Old Testament, you have this exhortation to remember the written word of God, and Paul talks about that here. that scripture is able to make you wise for salvation, so it's sufficient for saving knowledge, and it's all breathed out by God, so it's God's word, and all of it's profitable, and it's profitable for teaching, telling us what to think, reproof, correcting wrong ideas, correction, especially correcting wrong practice, and training in righteousness, telling us how to practice, how to live. that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. Man of God there probably refers to Timothy. The only other time it's used in the New Testament, it's directed to Timothy, you, oh man of God. So that Timothy would be fully equipped to lead the people of God in faith and in life. Everything that the church needs to teach, to teach people how to live a life that pleases God and what they need to believe for salvation. It's sufficient for faith and life. There's no need to have any practice or any doctrine delivered to God's people that's not found in Scripture. So if Scripture doesn't tell us to pray to the dead, we don't need to pray to the dead. What we have is sufficient in Scripture. There's extended reflection on the character of the Lord's servant. Usually we think of elder qualifications in 1 Timothy and Titus, but there's similar content here in 2 Timothy, although it's a little more personal in the way it's given. I think last week I mentioned I'd try to calculate Timothy's age again because I didn't have the numbers all before me. So Timothy had joined Paul about 14 years before this time. So if 2 Timothy is written in 64, it could have been written in 65 or 66, but if it was written in 64, that would have been 14 years after Timothy joined Paul. And at this point, he's still told to flee youthful passions. He was a youth when 1 Timothy was written. And that term youth could refer to someone between 20 and 40 years of age. So think about if maybe he was around 20 when he joined Paul, then he could have been in his mid-30s by the time 2 Timothy was written. And he was probably ordained when he left Lystra. The reference to the council of elders laying their hands on him is probably that time in Acts 16, one through three, where it mentions that the brothers in Lystra and the surrounding towns approved of him as he was sent out with Paul. In chapter three, it mentions the last days. But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money. Not every love is good, right? Usually love is good. Alfred, is love usually good? Yeah, but it's not gonna be a lover of self or lover of money. There's some loves that aren't good. and proud and arrogant. So what's this referring to? These are people that Paul expected Timothy to come in contact with. He tells Timothy, avoid such people. So he portrays Timothy as living in the last days, that these are the type of people you're going to expect to come across. And this is both a challenge to God's people as we live in this age, there will be people like this, but Paul also gives him an encouragement and he compares them to Janice and Jambres. Now, who was Janice and Jambres? Thomas, do you remember coming across them in scripture? Well, their names are not mentioned in scripture, but everyone in Paul's day knew what those people were. It's the names that were given to the Egyptian magicians in the days of Moses. So when Moses sent the plagues, there were magicians in Egypt who opposed the truth. And for a time, were able to keep up in imitating the miracles that Moses did. Remember, he put the staff down and it became a snake. They were like, oh, we can do that too. And they put their staffs down and it became a snake. Of course, Moses' staff ate up the others. But for the first couple of plagues, they keep up with it. Eventually, though, their folly became plain to all. They weren't able to keep up with the plagues that God sent. And the magicians themselves said, this is the finger of God. And so Paul says, just as Janus and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also opposed the truth. Men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith, but they will not get very far, for their folly will be made plain to all, as was that of those two men. So, again, these things written in the Old Testament were written for our learning, that we can expect false teachers to be like the Egyptian magicians, perhaps deceiving for a time, but their folly being made plain to all, and they won't get very far. All right, any other thoughts or questions on 2 Timothy? All right, well, let's remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as is proclaimed in the gospel that Paul taught, which Jesus himself authorized. Let's pray. Lord God, we thank you for your word and for your servant, Paul, that you raised up from his sin and blindness to be an instrument unto salvation among the nations. We thank you for using him to write your word and your message to your church in all ages. We pray that you would help us to keep the faith, to preserve it, and to hold fast to it ourselves, that it would dwell in us as it has dwelt in others before us, and as we pray will dwell in those after us. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.