Put the brethren in remembrance of these things

This chapter commences with a warning against apostasy, declaring prophetically that in the latter days some shall depart from the faith. These are not the apostates but those who seduced them with doctrines of devils, and consistently spoke lies in hypocrisy. Having consciences seared with a hot iron they emphatically declared ‘bad’ what God had said was ‘good’ and to be enjoyed with thanksgiving; theirs was outright denial, just the same as Satan in his conversation with Eve in the Garden of Eden so long ago. It was Timothy’s responsibility to regularly remind the saints of these things and through such teaching he would himself become a good minister of Jesus Christ. Even today saints should be reminded time and time again of the dangers of wrong doctrine and poor behaviour.

There would be some who would despise Timothy and his teaching, solely on the basis that he was a young man. How young, we do not know, but certainly no novice in experience of the Lord and His people. To counter such disparaging remarks, and to support the repeated warnings he is called upon to give, Paul exhorts him to be an example of believers in what he said and how he lived. His life was to be pure, beyond reproach, and his prime characteristic was to be love in the Spirit. Such a life would invariably silence the ignorance of foolish men.

Unquestionably, Timothy had a gift for service for the Lord, but that gift had not only to be used, but maintained daily by reading and with a clear concentration on understanding doctrine. Further, he must bolster that gift by meditation on the word of God and be completely committed to the cause. Such dedication in service to his Lord and His people would be clear for all to see, and his personal ‘profiting’, or ‘progress’, would be obvious, thus ensuring that few would be so bold as to challenge him. Timothy must first take heed to himself and continue in the doctrine, because in that way he himself would be preserved, as would the assembly at Ephesus. Big challenges are here for all of us, and we should put ourselves and others in constant remembrance of the way forward in the things of God.