The Truth: Pass It On
What do we leave behind? As we age, we begin to think more about it. Extensive plans go into transferring accumulated wealth to loved ones. But in light of the Lord’s soon return, what will the next generation carry on from us in the spiritual realm? When a believer leaves behind little spiritual impact, invests sparingly into spiritual progeny, or transmits mere moral axioms, it is a true tragedy. In 2 Timothy, Paul reflects upon the most important matters of life: what God entrusted to him concerning the truth of the Word of God. He wants to ensure that what he passed along will continue to be passed down to others. This article will engage the theme woven through 2 Timothy about the Word: preaching, teaching, doctrine, the faith, and standing against what is false. We must pass on the truth of the Word of God.
The Procedure Manual
The source of Timothy’s teaching and preaching would be the holy Scriptures, or holy “writings.” Paul describes it as the Word believed to bring “salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (3:15).1 Timothy may have possessed much of the available New Testament that was accessible to him by this point, such as Luke’s Gospel and Paul’s letters. 2 These letters supported what Timothy heard Paul preach “among many witnesses.” (2:2). The Word of God likewise is our only guidebook.
Timothy was additionally to do the “work of an evangelist” (4:5) and was charged to “preach the word” (4:2). The preacher was like the messenger of a king who publicly proclaimed official announcements from the palace courts. In the same way, Timothy must publicly announce the message of the gospel of the grace of God, using the source of the same holy Scriptures that made him wise unto salvation (3:15). Preaching is the divinely instituted method of spreading the gospel to the masses, demonstrating through it the power of the Spirit of God. The world considers the method of preaching and its message of victory through a cross foolishness (1Co 1:18,21). Worldly wise thinking can creep into our minds, reducing our perception of the importance of preaching the Word. We must continue today to preach the Word in obedience to God.
The Preservation
Paul writes to Timothy desiring that what he gave him would continue intact. Paul said, “I have kept the faith” (4:7), meaning that he passed on the same body of doctrine that he received by revelation from the Lord. Paul notes elsewhere of his confidence in Christ that, through some remnant, the truth he passed along will continue to be preserved until the Lord returns and judges His servants at the Judgment Seat of Christ (1:12). We, like Timothy, receive the Word from Paul via the Lord and must ensure we are among those the Lord uses to perpetuate the truth fully intact.
Paul tells Timothy about his responsibility to “hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me” (1:13). Timothy would not receive new revelation to pass along but would take the perfectly preserved teaching he received from Paul and share it. He needed faith and love in Christ Jesus to hold on to it.
Timothy required divine help. The Holy Spirit is necessary to hold the pattern of truth (1:14). Spiritual entrustment requires spiritual power to guard against evil power. In 2 Timothy, Paul names individuals in each chapter who were involved in intentionally destructive behavior: Phygellus and Hermogenes, Hymenaeus and Philetus, foolish people of the same character as Jannes and Jambres, and Alexander the coppersmith (1:15; 2:17; 3:8; 4:14). Such a Satanic attack against truth was manifested through men and women who turned away from suppliers of truth, introduced false doctrine intentionally, stood against the Bible, or separated themselves from believers walking in truth. Opponents can rise in local assemblies and attack the truth from all fronts when least expected. Well-meaning believers can be misled. Thus, we must move forward to declare God’s truth in reliance upon Him.
The Perpetuation
Paul reminds Timothy that he won’t bear alone the responsibility of preserving truth. Paul was entrusted with truth from God, passed it to Timothy, who is now to entrust it to other faithful believers. Paul commands Timothy, “The same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2:2). One of the qualifications of a teacher is faithfulness. We must remember that the role of a teacher or preacher is not to entertain or to find novel things in the Scriptures but to pass along what the text of Scripture says. Faithful men will aim to make the Bible understandable.
Timothy is to teach teachers and also non-teachers. When Paul says, “who shall be able to teach others also,” the “others” are a different kind (heteros). Bible study is for teachers and non-teachers alike. Every believer’s first purpose in learning the Word of God is for their own spiritual benefit, and afterwards they are able to pass it along to others. The believer reads it to be “complete, equipped for every good work” (3:17 ESV). Pleasing God comes from applying and obeying with a right understanding the Word of God.
Potential Perversion
Finally, knowing what is true is vital because falsehoods and almost-truths abound. False teaching was a particular concern to Paul, as it should be to us. A false teacher (or teaching) is identified by their opposition to the words of Paul. Paul noted in 1:15 that all in Asia turned away from him. Dismissing Paul is not a novel and modern concept! Valueless arguments, unwillingness to hear the truth, and causing trouble result from unprofitable teaching and discussion that “eat as doth a canker” (2:14,17,23). They bring ruin, ungodliness, error, an overthrow of faith, immoral and godless behavior, and deception (2:14-18; 3:1-5,13). False teachers teach and preach on a very shallow level, turning away their hearers from the truth (4:3-4). Good teaching preserves us from evil teaching that leads to a lifestyle opposed to the Word of God, which is “the snare of the devil” (2:26). In last-days conditions, it is imperative to systematically, continually and preemptively teach and convict with truth from the Word of God for the preservation of believers and local assemblies.
1 Bible quotations in this article are from the KJV unless otherwise noted.
2 Paul quotes Luke 10:7 as “scripture” in 1 Timothy 5:18. Peter refers to “all” Paul’s epistles as “scripture” in 2 Peter 3:15-16.
