“SEMPER FI!” AN EXPOSITION OF 2 TIMOTHY 4:1-8

Thesis: Christians can be encouraged to stay faithful to God by understanding the background of 2 Timothy and closely examining 2 Timothy 4:1-8.

I. The Context of the passage 2 Timothy 4:1-8

A. Authorship and dating of the Epistle

B. Recipient of the epistle

C. Purpose of the epistle

D. Important Themes of the Epistle

II. The Exposition of the passage 2 Timothy 4:1-8

A. The charge to stay faithful

1. The witnesses of the charge

2.. The nature of the charge

B. The reasons to stay faithful

1. False doctrine will increase

2. Legacy of the faithful

3. Others have quit

iii

“SEMPER FI!”: AN EXPOSITION OF 2 TIMOTHY 4:1-8

In 1883, the Marine Corps adopted the motto: “Semper Fidelis,” which is Latin for

always faithful. This motto guides all Marines to stay faithful at all cost1 to the mission at hand,

to each other, to the Corps and to their country, It is this mentality that drives soldiers to stay

faithful. They are always faithful no matter what. When the mission is easy and when it is more

difficult, even to the point of suffering hardships, torture and death.

Christians should possess the same mentality as the Marines. The Christian life is

difficult and even painful. It is estimated that 55,000 Christians are murdered every year.2 Most

western Christians will never experience such drastic persecution; however, they still face many

trying times. These trying times often make it difficult for Christians to remain faithful at all

cost. There are countless stories of Christians who have given up and ceased to remain faithful

till the end. Despite the alarming numbers of Christians who have given up, struggling Christians

can be encouraged to stay faithful to God by understanding the background of 2 Timothy and a

close examination of 2 Timothy 4:1-8.

CONTEXT

The first critical component necessary for meaningful in-depth Bible study, with proper

interpretation and application, is context. One must know who is writing, to whom they are

writing, their purpose for writing, and the historical situation at the time in which they are

writing. Before 2 Timothy 4:1-8 can be adequately examined, the context must be firmly

established as the bedrock upon which proper interpretation and application will be built. A

contractor would not build a house without first acquiring the necessary equipment and material,

1 U.S. Marine Corps, “Semper Fidelis: More Than a Motto, a Way of Life.” available from http://www.marines.com/main/index/making_marines/culture/traditions/semper_fidelis ;Internet, accessed 22 April 20102 John Mark Ministries, “55,000 Christians Are Killed for their Faith Every Year” available from http://jmm.aaa.net.au/articles/17718.htm Internet, accessed 22 April 20101

digging deep, and laying a proper foundation; therefore, we should not treat Bible study any

differently.

AUTHORSHIP AND DATING

The epistle of 2 Timothy is one of the three Pauline epistles which are grouped together

and commonly referred to as the Pastoral Epistles. The other two epistles in this trio are: First

Timothy and Titus. This title was first applied to these three epistles in 1726 by Paul Anton and

it is still the classification used today.3 There are several arguments presented by modern critics

against Pauline authorship of these three epistles. These arguments are adequately presented and

refuted by John MacArthur in his book, 1 and 2 Timothy: Encouragement for Church Leaders.4

The book of 2 Timothy was written by the Apostle Paul between the years 64 A.D., to 67

A.D.5 There are, however, others who contend for later dates in order to support their argument

against Pauline authorship. Dr. Thomas Constable, who contends for early Pauline authorship,

proposes two reasons as to why he believes it was written in the fall of A.D. 67. First, he argues

that early church tradition testifies that Paul was put to death shortly before the Roman emperor

Nero committed suicide in June of A.D. 68. Secondly, Paul penned this last of his epistles close

to the time of his execution, but before the winter of A.D. 67-686

Although a minority of modern scholars question the traditionally held position of

exclusive Pauline authorship7, both the internal and external evidence provide adequate proof in

favor of Pauline authorship. External evidence is provided by outside sources which testify and

3 W. R. F. Browning, "Pastoral Epistles." A Dictionary of the Bible. (Oxford University Press 1997)4 John MacArthur, 1 and 2 Timothy Encouragement for Church Leaders. (Nashville, Tennessee, Thomas Nelson, Inc 2007) p. 1-2. 5 Peter Williams. Opening Up 2 Timothy. (Leominster: Day One Publications, 2007)p 8- 11.

6 Sonic Light, Thomas L. Constable, “Notes on 2 Timothy 2007 Edition” available from http://www.soniclight.com/constable/notes/pdf/2timothy.pdf ; Internet accessed 25 March 20107 SAGE Journals Online “A Reconsideration of Certain Arguments Against the Pauline Authorship of the Pastoral Epistles” available from http://ext.sagepub.com/cgi/pdf_extract/70/3/91; Internet, accessed 27 April 2010

collaborate the historicity and authorship of a document. The external testimony of the early

Christian church confirms the authorship of 2 Timothy. Dr. Daniel B. Wallace says, “Irenaeus is

the first explicitly to cite them as Pauline, though there are virtually definite quotations from

them in Polycarp, Justin Martyr, Heracleon, and perhaps 1 Clement. Even though they are

missing from Marcion’s Canon8.”9 Dr. Wallance goes on further to say, “Nevertheless, by the end

of the second century they [the Pastoral Epistles] are firmly fixed in every Christian canon in

every part of the empire and are never doubted by anyone until the nineteenth century.”10

Internal evidence is clues from within the document itself that confirms the authorship of

the document. The epistle of 2 Timothy, along with 1 Timothy and Titus, all claim to be written

by the apostle Paul11. There are also many personal references within 2nd Timothy which point to

exclusive Pauline authorship, especially in 2 Timothy 4:9-22. In this passage, he mentions

specific people, cities, and detailed information about personal situations. He also give specific

instructions about his personal belongings he had left at Troas with Carpus. After this brief

presentation of the evidence for Pauline authorship, one can, therefore, proclaim with a great

vote of confidences that 2 Timothy was written exclusively by the Apostle Paul in about 67 A.D.

shortly before his execution.

RECIPIENT

Timothy is the recipient of this final letter from the inspired pen of the Apostle Paul.12

This is clearly stated in the salutation and throughout the entirety of this letter. In the Greek

8 The Marcion Canon was developed by Marcion. He believed that the God of the Old Testament was not the same God as the New Testament. His grouping of alleged canonical books were missing the entire Old Testament, several New Testament books (included the Pastorals) and portions of books. His canon, although one of the oldest, cannot, therefore be, fully trusted.9 Dr. Daniel B. Wallace, “1 Timothy: Introduction, Argument, Outline” available from http://bible.org/seriespage/1-timothy-introduction-argument-outline ;Internet, accessed 25 March 2010. 10 Ibid.11 The Holy Bible: King James Version12 Ibid

language his name is Timotheos,13 which literally means “honoring God.”14 This is an appropriate

title for such an incredible man as Timothy.

According to the Biblical record found in Acts 16:1, his mother was a believing Jew and

his dad was a Greek Gentile. This verse also indicates that he was a native of Lystra and had a

great reputation among the believers within the surrounding community. It is speculated that he

was either converted to Christianity by Paul on his first missionary journey or by his

grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice,15 who are both mentioned as spiritual influences in his

life in 2 Timothy 1:5.

He had superb knowledge of the Old Testament according to 2 Timothy 3:16, but he had

not been circumcised until his decision to travel with Paul and his missionary team. He joined

Paul’s missionary team and traveled with them, but was left behind at Macedonia with Silas

when Paul was forced to leave. He later rejoined Paul at Athens and was sent to Thessalonica,

until he met up with Paul at Corinth to work alongside him again. He continued to travel with

Paul as his assistant and was often sent where help was needed but where Paul could not be

present himself.16

At some point, Paul left Timothy at Ephesus and instructed him to combat the false

teachers who were creeping into the church, oversee public worship services, and appoint church

leaders to serve. Paul had fully intended to rejoin him there, but was afraid he might be delayed.

This necessitated the writing of his first letter to Timothy.17 After writing first Timothy, Paul was

rearrested, imprisoned, and on trial for his life. It is under these distressful circumstances that

13 Swanson, James. Dictionary of Biblical Languages With Semantic Domains : Greek (New Testament). electronic ed., DBLG 5510. (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.)14 M.G. Easton, Easton's Bible Dictionary. (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc. 1996.)15 John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck and Dallas Theological Seminary. The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures, V 2 (Wheaton, IL)p 397- 398. 16 Allen C. Myers, The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1987.), p 1006. 17 D. R. W. Wood, and Howard L. Marshall. New Bible Dictionary. 3rd ed.(Leicester, England) p. 1189

Paul penned this second, and final, epistle to Timothy. In this epistle he encouraged him to stay

faithful at all cost and to come to his side as quickly as possible; however, It is not known if he

ever made it to see Paul before he was executed.18

Even though Timothy was a great man of God, whom Paul trusted and desired to see

before his death, he still had his many flaws. Peter William describes a few of these flaws in his

practical commentary, Opening Up 2nd Timothy:

When it comes to character and temperament, Timothy seems to have had a very low self-image. He was of a diffident and timid personality and lacked those dynamic qualities we usually associate with leadership. Paul has to remind him that ‘God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline’ (2 Tim. 1:7).19

It is also inferred from 1 Timothy 5:23, that he had reoccurring health problems, because Paul

instructed him to drink a little wine for his stomach and his frequent illnesses. A practical

application can be made here: If God could used Timothy, with his many flaws, then he can use

any Christian who will devote himself to the task of staying faithful to God at all cost.

HISTORICAL SETTING

The historical backdrop behind 2 Timothy is extremely bleak. It was written from a cold,

dark and damp prison in Rome. John Phillips describes the scene in vivid details in his book:

Exploring the Pastoral Epistles, “He was in the condemned cell in Rome, a terrible hole in the

ground with a few wisps of stale straw for a mattress and a hard ledge for a bed. It was a dank,

dark, rat-infested place. Paul was lonely and cold. He was under sentence of death.”20 These were

horrible conditions in which Paul had be held. He was not even given the benefit of adequate

clothing against the cold and damp.21

18 Ebid.

19 Peter Williams, Opening Up 2 Timothy, p 14. 20 John Phillips, Exploring the Pastoral Epistles: An Expository Commentary. (Grand Rapids, MI, 2004) p. 31921 Kendell H. Easley, Holman QuickSource Guide to Understanding the Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2002), 336.

Paul was writing this from his prison cell to encourage Timothy to stand firm in the face

of difficulty and never give up. This was the time of the great persecution under the Emperor

Nero. As a political smoke screen, he had blamed the Christians for a fire that took place in

Rome. They were brutally murdered many of them, and in some cases used them as human

torches to light their pagan feasts. Many were also thrown to the beast for entertainment in their

great auditorium.22 This was an extremely harsh, dark time in the history of the Christian

Church, but it was also a great time of expansion of Christianity into the then known world.

PURPOSE

The main purpose for Paul’s second letter to Timothy was to instruct him come to see him

in Rome as quickly as possible and for him to bring John Mark with him as well. According to 2

Timothy 4:9-12, he had sent a man by the name of Tychicus to replace Timothy at Ephesus, so

that Timothy might join him at Rome.23 He also included some final requests about the

churches, in case Timothy and Mark did not arrive in time before he was executed.24

He also uses the epistle as an opportunity to encourage Timothy to stay faithful in the

face of great struggles. Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown describe this sentiment

well in their joint commentary set, A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and

New Testaments:

Hence he writes a series of exhortations to faithfulness, and zeal for sound doctrine, and patience amidst trials: a charge which Timothy seems to have needed, if we are to judge from the apostle’s earnestness in urging him to boldness in Christ’s cause, as though Paul thought he saw in him some signs of constitutional timidity.

22 Dr Sophie Lunn-Rockliffe, “Christianity and the Roman Empire.” available from http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/christianityromanempire_article_01.shtml#one ;Internet, accessed 25 March 201023 Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary (Wheaton, Ill 1997)

24 Franklin H. Paschall, and Herschel H. Hobbs. The Teacher's Bible Commentary: A Concise, Thorough Interpretation of the Entire Bible Designed Especially for Sunday School Teachers. (Nashville) p 766.

We can see this exhortation early in the epistle. In chapter one verses 6 -8 he tells

Timothy to rekindle the gift of God25 that was within him, because God had not given him the

spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. He also tells him in 2 Timothy 2:1-3 to

endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Paul had seen many faithful men cease from

staying faithful at all cost. Paul identifies one of these men to be a man named Demas, who

forsook him because he loved this present world more than his commitment to say faithful. Paul

did not want to see this happen to Timothy, his beloved son in the faith.

THEMES

The major, overarching theme of this epistle is faithfulness in the mist of great troubles.

Dr. David R. Reid, who is the author of Devotions for Growing Christians, makes the following

observation about this theme: “The theme is “Encouragement to Faithfulness.” Paul encouraged

Timothy to remain faithful, even though others were falling away from the faith because the

Roman persecutions had begun.”26

Another theme in 2 Timothy is courage in the gospel.27 As was stated previously, Paul

exhorted Timothy to be courageous in the gospel and not to be swayed by fear. 2 Timothy 1:12,

16, 2:15

EXPOSITION

A proper foundation of 2 Timothy has been laid, now a solid exegesis of 2 Timothy 4:1-8

can be built upon this foundation. In this passage, the apostle Paul is coming to the end of the

final letter known to be written by the apostle. It is his most earnest plea for Timothy to stay

25 Louw, Johannes P. and Eugene Albert Nida. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament : Based on Semantic Domains. electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., (New York)V 1, p 655. 26 Dr. David R. Reid, “The Salutation of the Letter 2 Timothy 1:1-2” available from http://www.growingchristians.org/rfgc/2timothy/2timothy1a.html ; Internet, accessed 12 April 2010.27 Kendell H. Easley, Holman QuickSource Guide to Understanding the Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman)

faithful after his execution. It is also a plea for all Christians in general throughout endless ages

to sty faithful.

THE CHARGE TO STAY FAITHFUL

In verse 1 Paul gives the charge or admonition for Timothy to stay faithful to his ministry

in the church at Ephesus. The word charge is a military word28 carrying with it a tone of

authority, as if It were a command from an army general that demanded prompt obedience.

Kenneth Wuest adds further weight to this word , “The Greek word translated “charge” is

diamarturomai (διαμαρτυρομαι). In pagan Greek, it was used to call the gods and men to

witness. It was used in such an expression as, “I adjure thee.”29

WITNESSES OF THE CHARGE

Paul added further authority and urgency to his charge by reminding Timothy that this

charge was not something he could afford to neglect or take lightly. It was an urgent, solemn

charge30 given in the very presence of God ,and the Lord Jesus Christ. They were the

eyewitnesses of this charge, therefore, a failure to give heed to it would be a failure before the

eyes of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. the admonish for believers to be faithful is giving in the

presence of God. God is a firsthand eye-witness of this charge, which Paul is giving to Timothy

and to all believers throughout history. This means that God is presently observing the

faithfulness of every believer, or lack thereof. The eyewitness will judge the living and the dead

at His appearing and Kingdom.

There are some conservative dispositional Bible teachers, such as J Vernon McGee,

whom believe this is a clear reference to the rapture and the millennial Kingdom as separate

28 Warren W. Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the New Testament, p 651. 29 Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament : For the English Reader (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 2 Ti 4:1.30 Ibid

events. He argues that His appearing is the rapture and the Kingdom is the millennial kingdom,

which will be established after the great tribulation. Nonetheless, Jesus will return to judge the

living and the dead, and He will set up his literal millennial kingdom.

This judgment at this time will be two fold. First, the great white throng judgment. This is

the pace where every unbelievers will stand to be judged by the righteous judge. This final

judgment executed on the masses of unbelieving humanity is recorded in Revelation 20:11-15:

And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

In light of this dreadful judgment which is coming, Paul urged Timothy to stay faithful to the

task of preaching the word. It was imperative that Timothy stay faithful, so that he could possibly

save some from this horrible judgment

The second judgment is the Judgment seat of Christ, which is often referred to as the

Bema seat. This is the place where all believers will stand before God to give an account of his

faithfulness to God and the specific task He had called them to fulfill, or lack thereof. The

outcome of this judgment is drastically different than that of the Great White Throng Judgment.

At this judge rewards will be giving to faithful believers and taken away from others who were

unfaithful.31 Below are two of the Biblical passages used a proof texts for the doctrine of the

judgment Seat:

31 Duffield, Guy P. and Nathaniel M. Van Cleave. Foundations of Pentecostal Theology. (Los Angeles, Calif.: L.I.F.E. Bible College, 1983.)p 547

Romans 14:10-12 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

1 Corinthians 3:13-15 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

There are also many whom believe this judgment will also determine one‘s position in the

millennial kingdom of Christ on earth. In light of the fact that judgment is coming for the

unbelievers whom he was to preach to, and the day rewards would be giving to the faithful,

Timothy must be faithful to his ministry at Ephesus.

THE NATURE OF THE CHARGE

The nature of this charge is given in verse two. He ordered Timothy to, “preach the

word.;” This is an imperative command32 and could be read this way: “You preach the word!”

The word preach is from the Greek word κηρύσσω - kerusso, which literally means to officiate

as a herald.33 Kenneth Wuest, in his word studies from the Greek New Testament, offers the

following practical describes of the historical usage of this word:

At once it called to his mind the Imperial Herald, spokesman of the Emperor, proclaiming in a formal, grave, and authoritative manner which must be listened to, the message which the Emperor gave him to announce. It brought before him the picture of the town official who would make a proclamation in a public gathering. The word is in a construction which makes it a summary command to be obeyed at once. It is a sharp command as in military language. This should be the pattern for the preacher today. His preaching should be characterized by that dignity which comes from the consciousness of the fact that he is an official herald of the King of kings. It should be accompanied by that note of authority which will command the respect, careful attention, and

32 A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, 2 Ti 4:2. (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, 1997.)33 James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible : Showing Every Word of the Text of the Common English Version of the Canonical Books, and Every Occurrence of Each Word in Regular Order. electronic ed., GGK3062. (Ontario: Woodside Bible Fellowship., 1996.)

proper reaction of the listeners. There is no place for clowning in the pulpit of Jesus Christ.34

Paul continues with another imperative command35, “be instant in season, out of season;”

In other words: You persist conveniently and untimely. Timothy was to be faithful as a herald of

the King at all times. When it was easy and the word was well received, and when it was not. He

is exhorting Timothy and saying, “You preach at all times, in any situation, and at all cost!”

We can draw the following connection between this verse and chapter 3. In chapter three,

Timothy is given a warning about the dangerous times that were coming, and the apostasy that

would occur in the last days. In chapter 4 he is challenging Timothy to stay faithful to his

ministry as a preacher in these difficult days, even though many would cease from staying

faithful to the Lord and the ministry. There is a practical application to be made here. Christians

must endeavor to stay faithful even when others are falling away and turning into false doctrine.

Paul continues on to instruct Timothy in regards to the purpose of his preaching. In his

preaching he was to reprove, rebuke and exhort. These are also imperative commands which can

be read as: You reprove! You rebuke! You exhort! The word rebuke means, “expose, refute, show

one’s fault, implying that there is a convincing of that fault.”36 Timothy was to uses the word of

God to expose people and convince them of their faults. The word rebuke means “to express

strong disapproval of someone—to rebuke, to denounce.”37 Not only was he to expose one’s

faults, but he was also to express strong disapproval of their faults. The word exhort means, “to

cause someone to be encouraged or consoled, either by verbal or non-verbal means“38 Dr. Warren

34 Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament : For the English Reader (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 2 Ti 4:2.35 James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible36 James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages With Semantic Domains : Greek (New Testament), electronic ed. (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).37 Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, vol. 1, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament : Based on Semantic Domains, electronic ed. of the 2nd edition. (New York: United Bible societies, 1996), 435.38 Ibid, 305.

W. Wiersbe sums up these three elements of preaching this way:

Preaching must be marked by three elements: conviction, warning, and appeal (“reprove, rebuke, exhort”). To quote an old rule of preachers, “He should afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted.” If there is conviction but no remedy, we add to people’s burdens. And if we encourage those who ought tobe rebuked, we are assisting them to sin. Biblical preaching must be balanced.39

Paul moves on to discuss two other elements which should accompany Timothy’s

preaching. He instructed him that his preaching must be accompanied with all longsuffering and

doctrine. The word longsuffering means, “a state of emotional calm in the face of provocation or

misfortune and without complaint or irritation40 He was to preach at all times; reprove, rebuke

and exhort, but he need to do so with longsuffering. If a preacher lacks longsuffering in his

ministry then he is almost certain to fall and become unfaithful.

Timothy was also to preach the word with all doctrine. He was not to simply encourage

everyone and improve their lives, but he was also to peach doctrine. He was to preach on such

doctrine as: the nature of Jesus, depravity of man, redemption, justification, imputation,

eschatology and many other monumental doctrines. There is plenty of preaching going on in

today’s pulpits, but very few preachers focus much on doctrine anymore. This is a travesty!

Preachers must stay faithful to preaching the whole counsel of God and not just the parts that are

easily received by the congregation, for he will be held accountable on the day of judgment.

Paul then moves on to give Timothy three reasons as to why he should stay faithful to this

charge, which was given in the presence of God and the Lord Jesus.

39 Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1996), 2 Ti 4:1.40 Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, vol. 1, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament : Based on Semantic Domains, electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.

FALSE DOCTRINE WILL INCREASE

The word for in verse 3 is an adverbial conjunction, which is a conjunction that

elaborates on a verbal idea in some way. It can indicate the time, cause, condition, place,

purpose, result, etc, that help relate the circumstances of the verbal ideas conveyed by the words,

phrases, or clauses it joins.41 In this particular context it is being used to present reasons as to

why it was imperative for Timothy to stay faithful to his ministry at Ephesus.

First of all, he needed to stay faithful because false doctrine would increase. Paul said,

“for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrines.” It can be paraphrased this

way:”BECAUSE there will come a time when they will not accept nor tolerate accurate

instruction” Timothy needed to stay faith so that God could use him as his mouth piece of truth

in the dark times which were coming. In the near future many would not accept, nor put up with

good teaching. If God needed Timothy to stay faithful in his day, he especially needs believers to

stay faithful in this generation of false teaching.

Paul then gives the contrast. They would no longer endure sound doctrine, but instead

they would heap to themselves teachers having itching ears, and they shall turn their ears from

the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. They would increase to themselves teachers who would

tell them what they wanted to hear. This is exactly what is happening in the world today;

however, on an even greater scale. There are plenty of teachers on television who teach what the

viewers want to hear. This is why it is so important for believers to stay faithful and be lights in

this dark world in which they live. For error to flourish both sides of the transaction must

cooperate.42

41 Michael S. Heiser, Glossary of Morpho-Syntactic Database Terminology (Logos Bible Software, 2005; 2005).42 John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck and Dallas Theological Seminary, The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983-), 2 Ti 4:3–4.

Paul then issues another imperative command in verse five. He says, “but watch thou in

all things” The word but is a logical contrastive which suggests an oppositional thought or

relationship to the word, phrase, or clause to which it is connected.43 Paul is saying that times

will be hard, people will reject the truth, and others will depart from the faith, but Timothy: “You

watch in all things! You endure afflictions! You do the work of an evangelist! You make full

proof of your ministry.”

The word watch means to be sober-minded, awake, and alert.44 1 Thessalonians 5:6-8

says, “Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 7 For they that sleep

in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. 8 But let us, who are of the day, be

sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.”

There is a very important practical application to be made here. In order for Christians to stay

faithful in these last days of apostasy they must be alert at all times. They also must not let their

guard down even for a moment, for fear that they too may be lead astray by the trickery of the

evil one.

Paul then moves on to command him to endure afflictions, which means: “To suffer evils,

hardships, troubles.” The verb is aorist imperative. It is a sharp command given with military

snap and curtness.45 Earlier in this epistle, in 2 Timothy 1:8, he said, “Be not thou therefore

ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the

afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God.” He is honestly admitting the challenges

that Timothy will face as a Christian; however, he is also charging him to suck it up, eat a little

crow, and to shake it off. This is great advice for Christians in every generation. Problem, trails,

43 Michael S. Heiser, Glossary of Morpho-Syntactic Database Terminology (Logos Bible Software, 2005; 2005).44 Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament : For the English Reader (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 2 Ti 4:5.45 Ibid

and storms will come into the life of a Christian, but through the power of the Holy Spirit the

Christian can faithfully endure them all.

Paul then moves on to another imperative command, “You do the work of an evangelist!”

Many will reject the truth, increases to themselves teachers who will tell them what they want to

hear, and depart from the faith, but Timothy you continue on doing the work of an evangelist.

The word evangelist means, “one who brings good news”46 The idea is, “let your work be

evangelistic in character. Always be a bringer of good news. Be ever reaching out for lost souls

in your teaching and preaching.” 47

Timothy was ministering in tough times that were only going to become worse, but it is at

the darkest moments when the light of the gospel is needed the most. Kenneth Wuest offers very

practical application for all Pastors, “But the local pastor should be evangelistic in his message

and methods. He must ever be reaching out for the lost both in his teaching, preaching, and

personal contacts.”48

Finally, he comes to his last imperative command, “You make full proof of your

ministry!” The phrase make full proof means, “to cause a thing to be shown to the full, to carry

through to the end, to fully perform.49 The word ministry is referring to Christian work in

general, covering every mode of service.50 Paul is urging Timothy to carry his ministry through

till the very end. In military terms he is saying, “Semper Fi!“ Stay faithful to your mission until it

is accomplished. This is a quality that many Christians are lacking today. Many are easily

persuaded to throw in the towel when hardships come into there lives. Paul is charging all

Christians to stay faithful to their ministry and their Christian duties at all cost.

46 Ibid47 Ibid48 Ibid49 Ibid50 Ibid

THE LEGACY OF THE FAITHFUL

In verse six, Paul then moves on to give Timothy a second reason as to why he needed to

stay faithful. The word for is adverbial causal, which is a subordinating conjunction that

expresses the basis or ground of an action.51 It can be translated as because. Paul is saying, “You

be faithful, because I am now ready to be offered and the time of my departure is at hand.”

The phrase, “ready to be offered” means, “to pour out an offering as an act of worship or

ritual observance—‘to pour a libation, to pour out an offering.52 Lawrence O. Richards describes

this picture well in his book, The Bible Readers Companion: “The O.T. drink offering was added

to the sacrifice, not to make the sacrifice effective but to add a sweet smell. Paul sees his coming

death as adding nothing to Jesus’ one sacrifice for sins. But his death is, to Paul, the final offering

he can make to the Lord.”53 It is in the present tense,54 which means it had already began. He

was presently being poured out at that very moment. He would continue to be poured

out until his execution was completed.

Paul then says, “and the time of my departure is at hand.” The word departure means, “to

unloose, undo again, break up.” It meant “to depart.” It was a common expression for death. It

was used in military circles of the taking down of a tent and the departure of an army, and in

nautical language, of the hoisting of an anchor and the sailing of a ship.55 Paul is saying, “You be

faithful Timothy because, my time here on earth is nearing an end and I am going to be unloosed

51 Michael S. Heiser, Glossary of Morpho-Syntactic Database Terminology (Logos Bible Software, 2005; 2005).52 Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, vol. 1, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament : Based on Semantic Domains, electronic ed. of the 2nd edition. (New York: United Bible societies, 1996), 534.53 Lawrence O. Richards, The Bible Readers Companion, electronic ed. (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1991), 844. The details of this part of the Old Testament sacrificial system are outlined in Numbers 15:1-12, 28:7.54 A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, 1997), 2 Ti 4:6.55 Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament : For the English Reader (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 2 Ti 4:6.

from this port to sail on into eternity.”

He then begins to reminisces about his own faithfulness to the Lord in verse 7. He says,

“I have fought a good fight, I finished my course, I kept the faith.“ Here he is making use of his

favorite analogies to describe his life of faithfulness: a Greek wrestler, a Greek runner, and a

Roman soldier.56 Since Paul was a Roman citizen,57 he had been exposed to both the athletic

competitions in the Greek stadium, as well as the Roman military. He also knew Timothy would

be able to visualize his analogue almost instantly.

The phrase, “fought a good fight” is a direct reference to Greek wrestling; however, “the

Greek is not restricted to a fight, but includes any competitive contest, for example, that of the

racecourse.”58 It is in the perfect tense, speaking of an action completed in past time with present

results. Paul fought his fight with sin to a finish, and was resting in a complete victory. What a

happy ending to a strenuous, active, heroic life. He says in his colorful Greek, “The beautiful

contest I, like a wrestler, have fought to the finish, and at present am resting in a complete

victory.”59

He also mentions a footrace, “I have finished my course.” The word course, “refers to a

race course, the cinder path of the present day college athletic field“60 This is in the perfect tense

as well. Paul is describing himself as Greek runner. He has crossed the finishing line and he was

resting at the goal. His life’s work is over61 He had endured hardships, persecutions,

imprisonment, and many other thins, yet he kept running till he finished the race.

56 Ibid57 Acts 22:25-3058 Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, A. R. Fausset et al., A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 2 Ti 4:7.59 Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament : For the English Reader (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 2 Ti 4:7.60 Ibid61 Ibid

He then moves on to his last analogy, “I have kept the faith.” He is referring to the

Roman army. This word Kept mean, “to keep by guarding.”62 “The faith” here is the deposit of

truth with which God has entrusted Paul.63 This word is also in the perfect tense. Paul had

guarded and proclaimed the truth and was now waiting to be with Christ any moment. Kenneth

Wuest offeres the following colorful translation of this verse:

The desperate, straining, agonizing contest marked by its beauty of technique, I, like a wrestler, have fought to the finish, and at present am resting in its victory. My race, I, like a runner, have finished, and at present am resting at the goal. The Faith committed to my care, I, like a soldier, have kept safely through everlasting vigilance, and have delivered it again to my Captain.64

Paul is saying, “I have stayed faithful and I am now departing from this world, therefore, you

must continue on and stay faithful. My race is over, but your race is still going and you must stay

faithful because of the legacy of faith I am leaving for you.

Then in verse 8, Paul boldly proclaims with great confidence and full assurance,

“Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness” He had accomplished mighty

things for the Lord and had endure many trials, yet he remained faithful. As a result, he had

great confidence that he had a crown of righteousness reserved for him in heaven. Kenneth

Wuest provides an insightful definition for “crown of righteousness. He says, “Crown” is

from the Greek word stephanos, referring to the victor’s crown, a garland of oak leaves

or ivy, given to the winner in the Greek games. The victor’s crown of righteousness is

the crown which belongs to or is the due reward of righteousness.65 A practical

application must be made at this point.. Paul was on the threshold of death, yet he was

at peace because he knew he had been faithful. He had fought a good fight, finished his

62 Ibid63 Ibid64 Ibid65 Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament : For the English Reader (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 2 Ti 4:8.

race, and kept the faith. He was also confident that there was a crown of righteousness

waiting for him in heaven. The only way a Christian can face death with the same peace

and confidence as Paul is by staying faithful at all cost. If Paul had not been faithful

then this passage would have been much different. When you reach the end of your life

will you be able to face death with peace and confidence because you had been

faithful?

OTHERS HAVE GIVING UP

Paul is nearing the end of his final letter and in verse 9 he urges Timothy to come quickly

to see him. In verse 10, he gives the reasons: “because Demas hath forsaken me” Demas was one

of Paul’s coworkers66 and is mentioned in Philemon as a fellow-laborer, but now he had forsaken

Paul. Kenneth Wuest offers the follow definition of the word forsaken:

To abandon, desert, leave in straits, leave helpless, leave in the lurch, let one down.” This tells us that Demas had not only left Paul so far as fellowship was concerned, but he had left him in the lurch also, so far as the work of the gospel was concerned. He had been one of Paul’s dependable and trusted helpers.67

The reason why he had left is because he loved this present world. The life of a

faithful laborer for the Lord was to hard for him and he would rather have the comforts

of the world. Paul urges Timothy to stay faithful because many have ceased to be

faithful and have left a huge gap. This gap must be filled in order for the cause of Christ

to continue to move forward. There is a huge gap in Christianity today, because people

have given up and have ceased to be faithful. Christians must keep their eyes on the

Lord and pledge to remindful no matter what may come their way.

After being presented with the background of 2nd Timothy and a close examining 2

66 Allen C. Myers, The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1987), 277.67 Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament : For the English Reader (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 2 Ti 4:10.

Timothy 4:1-8 it is, therefore, impossible for a Christian to formulate any valid excuses for their

lack of faithfulness to God, and the ministry they have been given from Him. Paul was in a cold,

dark prison for preaching the Word of God and was on the brink of execution, yet he approached

his death with great peace and confidence in knowing he had been faithful. He fought a good

fight, finished his course, and kept the faith, and he was confident of receiving his reward in

heaven for his unwavering faithfulness.

He wrote 2nd Timothy at dark time and charged him to stay faithful at all cost. This same

charge of faithfulness is given to all Christians in the presence of God. At the judgment seat of

Christ every Christian will stand before God and give an account of his own faithfulness. Many

Christians throughout the centuries have suffered many hardship, yet when they died, “Semper

Fidelis,” could have been chiseled on their tombstones. What will your epitaph read?

.

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