The Living Bible (382 page)

2 Timothy

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2 Timothy
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From:
Paul, Jesus Christ’s missionary, sent out by God to tell men and women everywhere about the eternal life he has promised them through faith in Jesus Christ.

    
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To:
Timothy, my dear son. May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord shower you with his kindness, mercy, and peace.

    
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 How I thank God for you, Timothy. I pray for you every day, and many times during the long nights I beg my God to bless you richly. He is my fathers’ God and mine, and my only purpose in life is to please him.

    
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 How I long to see you again. How happy I would be, for I remember your tears as we left each other.

    
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 I know how much you trust the Lord, just as your mother Eunice and your grandmother Lois do; and I feel sure you are still trusting him as much as ever.

    
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 This being so, I want to remind you to stir into flame the strength and boldness
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that is in you, that entered into you when I laid my hands upon your head and blessed you.
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 For the Holy Spirit, God’s gift, does not want you to be afraid of people, but to be wise and strong, and to love them and enjoy being with them.

    
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 If you will stir up this inner power, you will never be afraid to tell others about our Lord or to let them know that I am your friend even though I am here in jail for Christ’s sake. You will be ready to suffer with me for the Lord, for he will give you strength in suffering.

    
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 It is he who saved us and chose us for his holy work not because we deserved it but because that was his plan long before the world began—to show his love and kindness to us through Christ.
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 And now he has made all of this plain to us by the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ, who broke the power of death and showed us the way of everlasting life through trusting him.
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 And God has chosen me to be his missionary, to preach to the Gentiles and teach them.

    
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 That is why I am suffering here in jail, and I am certainly not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to safely guard all that I have given him until the day of his return.

    
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 Hold tightly to the pattern of truth I taught you, especially concerning the faith and love Christ Jesus offers you.
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 Guard well the splendid, God-given ability you received as a gift from the Holy Spirit who lives within you.

    
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 As you know, all the Christians who came here from Asia have deserted me; even Phygellus and Hermogenes are gone.
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 May the Lord bless Onesiphorus and all his family because he visited me and encouraged me often. His visits revived me like a breath of fresh air, and he was never ashamed of my being in jail.
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 In fact, when he came to Rome, he searched everywhere trying to find me, and finally did.
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 May the Lord give him a special blessing at the day of Christ’s return. And you know better than I can tell you how much he helped me at Ephesus.

2 Timothy
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O Timothy, my son, be strong with the strength Christ Jesus gives you.
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 For you must teach others those things you and many others have heard me speak about. Teach these great truths to trustworthy men who will, in turn, pass them on to others.

    
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 Take your share of suffering as a good soldier of Jesus Christ, just as I do;
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 and as Christ’s soldier, do not let yourself become tied up in worldly affairs, for then you cannot satisfy the one who has enlisted you in his army.
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 Follow the Lord’s rules for doing his work, just as an athlete either follows the rules or is disqualified and wins no prize.
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 Work hard like a farmer who gets paid well if he raises a large crop.
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 Think over these three illustrations, and may the Lord help you to understand how they apply to you.

    
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 Don’t ever forget the wonderful fact that Jesus Christ was a man, born into King David’s family; and that he was God, as shown by the fact that he rose again from the dead.
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 It is because I have preached these great truths that I am in trouble here and have been put in jail like a criminal. But the Word of God is not chained, even though I am.
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 I am more than willing to suffer if that will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen.

    
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 I am comforted by this truth, that when we suffer and die for Christ it only means that we will begin living with him in heaven.
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 And if we think that our present service for him is hard, just remember that some day we are going to sit with him and rule with him. But if we give up when we suffer, and turn against Christ, then he must turn against us.
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 Even when we are too weak to have any faith left, he remains faithful to us and will help us, for he cannot disown us who are part of himself, and he will always carry out his promises to us.

    
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 Remind your people of these great facts, and command them in the name of the Lord not to argue over unimportant things. Such arguments are confusing and useless and even harmful.
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 Work hard so God can say to you, “Well done.” Be a good workman, one who does not need to be ashamed when God examines your work. Know what his Word says and means.
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 Steer clear of foolish discussions that lead people into the sin of anger with each other.
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 Things will be said that will burn and hurt for a long time to come. Hymenaeus and Philetus, in their love of argument, are men like that.
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 They have left the path of truth, preaching the lie that the resurrection of the dead has already occurred; and they have weakened the faith of some who believe them.

    
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 But God’s truth stands firm like a great rock, and nothing can shake it. It is a foundation stone with these words written on it: “The Lord knows those who are really his,” and “A person who calls himself a Christian should not be doing things that are wrong.”

    
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 In a wealthy home there are dishes made of gold and silver as well as some made from wood and clay. The expensive dishes are used for guests, and the cheap ones are used in the kitchen or to put garbage in.
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 If you stay away from sin you will be like one of these dishes made of purest gold—the very best in the house—so that Christ himself can use you for his highest purposes.

    
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 Run from anything that gives you the evil thoughts that young men often have, but stay close to anything that makes you want to do right. Have faith and love, and enjoy the companionship of those who love the Lord and have pure hearts.

    
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 Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish arguments, which only upset people and make them angry.
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 God’s people must not be quarrelsome; they must be gentle, patient teachers of those who are wrong.
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 Be humble when you are trying to teach those who are mixed up concerning the truth. For if you talk meekly and courteously to them, they are more likely, with God’s help, to turn away from their wrong ideas and believe what is true.
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 Then they will come to their senses and escape from Satan’s trap of slavery to sin, which he uses to catch them whenever he likes, and then they can begin doing the will of God.

2 Timothy
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You may as well know this too, Timothy, that in the last days it is going to be very difficult to be a Christian.
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 For people will love only themselves and their money; they will be proud and boastful, sneering at God, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful to them, and thoroughly bad.
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 They will be hardheaded and never give in to others; they will be constant liars and troublemakers and will think nothing of immorality. They will be rough and cruel, and sneer at those who try to be good.
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 They will betray their friends; they will be hotheaded, puffed up with pride, and prefer good times to worshiping God.
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 They will go to church,
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yes, but they won’t really believe anything they hear. Don’t be taken in by people like that.

    
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 They are the kind who craftily sneak into other people’s homes and make friendships with silly, sin-burdened women and teach them their new doctrines.
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 Women of that kind are forever following new teachers, but they never understand the truth.
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 And these teachers fight truth just as Jannes and Jambres fought against Moses. They have dirty minds, warped and twisted, and have turned against the Christian faith.

    
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 But they won’t get away with all this forever. Someday their deceit will be well known to everyone, as was the sin of Jannes and Jambres.

    
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 But you know from watching me that I am not that kind of person. You know what I believe and the way I live and what I want. You know my faith in Christ and how I have suffered. You know my love for you, and my patience.
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 You know how many troubles I have had as a result of my preaching the Good News. You know about all that was done to me while I was visiting in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra, but the Lord delivered me.
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 Yes, and those who decide to please Christ Jesus by living godly lives will suffer at the hands of those who hate him.
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 In fact, evil men and false teachers will become worse and worse, deceiving many, they themselves having been deceived by Satan.

    
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 But you must keep on believing the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know that you can trust those of us who have taught you.
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 You know how, when you were a small child, you were taught the holy Scriptures; and it is these that make you wise to accept God’s salvation by trusting in Christ Jesus.
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 The whole Bible
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was given to us by inspiration from God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives; it straightens us out and helps us do what is right.
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 It is God’s way of making us well prepared at every point, fully equipped to do good to everyone.