WEEK 10 HOOK 2 Timothy 1:1 18 Church History: Throughout the past 2,000 years, many Christians have suffered for the cause of Christ. Some were tortured, exiled, imprisoned and killed. Every one of the disciples, except for John, was martyred, and experienced death for Christ. Below are some examples you need to know: Stephen in Acts 7 (death by stoning) Peter (crucified upside down) Mark (dragged through the streets of Alexandria) Polycarp (burned at the stake) Justin Martyr (beheaded) John Huss (burned at the stake) Dietrich Bonheoffer (hung at the Flossenburg Concentration Camp) This is only a small sampling of people who have given their all for the cause of Christ. Many of them have extraordinary stories of courage, humility and love while they met their end. How are Christians being persecuted today? What stories can you recount? How can we live like these martyrs in the face of uncertainty? Personal Story: Share with your class a time when you were persecuted for your faith. Note that e although the persecution we have faced pales in comparison to the persecution faced by martyrs, it is still persecution. It could include being ridiculed or degraded for your faith. Help your class understand that if they are living boldly for Christ, then they can expect to experience persecution.
WEEK 10 BOOK 2 Timothy 1:1 18 Background: Paul s thanksgiving (1:3 5) leads directly into strong exhortations to Timothy (1:6 14; 2:1 13) with an intervening paragraph that provides positive and negative examples of his exhortation (1:15 18). In light of his imminent death, Paul urges Timothy to continue in faithfulness for the sake of the Gospel in spite of hardship. 2 Timothy 1:1 7 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus, 2 To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. ESV Study Bible: In typical Pauline fashion, this letter opens with thanksgiving to God for the recipient. Paul notes that both he ( my ancestors ) and Timothy ( your grandmother your mother ) have a heritage of faith. Verse 6 marks a shift from the opening thanksgiving to Paul s first exhortation to Timothy, a passionate challenge to continue following in Paul s footsteps (cf. 3:10 11). With 2 Timothy being written 3 4 years after 1 Timothy, what is Paul s focus? What is remarkably the same as the first letter? What does this tell us about Paul? 2 Timothy 1:8 12 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, 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, 10 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, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 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. ESV Study Bible: These verses summarize the gospel for which God s servants suffer. They are a reminder of the power of God on whom Christians rely. Paul s exalted language suggests he is also arguing that such a glorious message is worthy of their suffering. Paul contrasts works, which do not save, with God s purpose and grace, which brings life. God, who saved us our Savior Christ Jesus. In the Pastoral Epistles, Paul often describes both God the Father and God the Son as Saviors of their people (cf. 1 Tim. 1:1; 2:3; 4:10; Titus 1:3 4; 2:10; 2:13 [and note]; 3:4, 6). How can we not be ashamed of the Gospel? How are we often ashamed of our faith? What would Paul consider suffering for the Gospel? What images come to mind? What is Christ guarding until our lives end or we are raptured? 2 Timothy1:13 18 13 Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. 15 You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains, 17 but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me 18 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. ESV Study Bible: Asia was the Roman province in which Ephesus, Timothy s current place of service, was located. all turned away from me. Key people who could have supported Paul, perhaps in his arrest and imprisonment, failed to do so, and so it appeared as if all had deserted him (cf. 4:16, a reference to a more specific event). There is no further information about Phygelus and Hermogenes. These details highlight the low situation in which Paul found himself and probably help explain why Timothy, the faithful one, was such a source of joy for Paul (see 1:3 5). What was entrusted to Paul, then Timothy, and now us? What is the value of Christian community as seen in these verses? Why is it important that we grow spiritually together, not independently?
Another Perspective: Bible Knowledge Commentary: If Timothy s ministry were marked by power, love, and self-discipline, he would be able to stand tall against his opponents, and would not be ashamed to testify about our Lord (cf. 1 Cor. 1:6), or ashamed of Paul His prisoner. Though Paul was held in a Roman prison (cf. 2 Tim. 1:16; 2:9), yet he called himself Christ s prisoner that is, a prisoner for Christ s sake and purpose (cf. Eph. 3:1; Phil. 1:12 14; Phile. 1, 9). With this reminder of his own condition, which was far graver than Timothy s, Paul exhorted Timothy to join courageously with him in suffering for the gospel (cf. 2 Tim. 2:3), for it is just in such circumstances that the power of God is made manifest (cf. 2 Cor. 12:9 10). 1 Class Discussion: Have your class discuss how they can be marked by God s attributes. Encourage your members to share people they know who look different and live differently than most believers. Ask what makes them different and how that person became the way they are. Note that most godly people do not give any credit to their own actions but seek to be full of God s qualities which they naturally do not possess. Holman New Testament Commentary: Paul s words reverberate with his awareness that death was drawing closer. He was anxious that Timothy comprehend the importance and urgency of following through with his instructions. He told him to guard the apostolic revelation: the good deposit that was entrusted to you. Each generation is so charged, for the gospel must be preserved in purity. We must protect it from destructive teachings. It is a serious responsibility, for we handle the very words of God. But we must also admit our inability to fulfill so noble a task. This is why Timothy and all Christians must guard Christ s gospel with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. Paul again reminded us of this wonderful gift of God, this person of his Spirit who enables us to perform what God calls us to do. This is a great picture of the Christian life and responsibility. God grants to us his gifts of grace and his Spirit of life gifts freely given as we trust Jesus Christ as Savior. Our responsibility is to respond with obedient trust, not to gain salvation, but to express love, and to fulfill the calling of God upon our lives (Eph. 4:1). 2 Class Discussion: Have your class discuss our responsibility of protecting the Gospel. Ask your class how they have seen churches change the Gospel to fit the culture. Note that adapting the Gospel to culture is not progress but a distortion of God s message to the world. Share with the class how the Gospel can be shared in new and creative ways, but it need not be changed in order to reach more people. 1 A. Duane Litfin, 2 Timothy, in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, 2 Ti 1:8 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985). 2 Knute Larson, vol. 9, I & II Thessalonians, I & II Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Holman New Testament Commentary, 270 71 (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000).
WEEK 10 TOOK 2 Timothy 1:1 18 Famous Places: In ancient Rome, crowds by the tens of thousands would gather in the Colosseum to watch as Christians were torn apart by wild animals. Paul Rader, commenting on his visit to this famous landmark, said: I stood uncovered to the heavens above, where He sits for whom they gladly died, and asked myself, Would I, could I, die for Him tonight to get this gospel to the ends of the earth? Rader continued, I prayed most fervently in that Roman arena for the spirit of a martyr, and for the working of the Holy Spirit in my heart, as He worked in Paul s heart when He brought him on his handcuffed way to Rome. Those early Christians lived on the threshold of heaven, within a heartbeat of home, no possessions to hold them back. 3 Christians for centuries have endured horrendous hardships and persecution. While most Christians today do not experience persecution to the point of death, persecution exists nonetheless. We have now studied how Paul, in his final days on this earth, desired to give Timothy some final instructions on what to do and how to carry on in the spreading of the Gospel in the face of persecution and certain death. Here, in this letter, is Paul s legacy laid out clearly for us to see. What can you do to build a godly legacy for those who come after you? Challenge: Charge your class to have the heart and faith of a martyr. Ask them to take an inventory of how they spend their time and energy. Use this time to encourage and redirect their focus and remind them that we are not of this world. 3 Paul Rader, Acts 5:41 No Possessions Held Them Back, www.bible.org