2 TIMOTHY LESSON 3


     In the previous lesson, Paul had instructed Timothy, and in turn
all of us, how to fight the good fight for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We will now resume the lesson in II Timothy 2:13 "If we believe not,
[yet] he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself."

     Paul is saying here, if we choose not to believe, it does not
make the gospel any the less the Truth. The gospel is Truth, whether
we believe it, or not. Every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of
God is True. He will keep every promise He has ever made, whether we
benefit from it, or not. It is our choice to believe and receive the
promises, or not believe and be rejected of Him.

     II Timothy 2:14 "Of these things put [them] in remembrance,
charging [them] before the Lord that they strive not about words to no
profit, [but] to the subverting of the hearers."

     Paul is saying here, do not get caught up in petty doctrinal
differences. Arguments over doctrinal differences are of no use to
anyone, except the devil. Arguments divide the people. Really there
are so few absolute things that must be conformed to, to be a
Christian.  Of course, the main one is to believe that Jesus was God
manifest in the flesh, that He died for our sins, and that He rose
again. This is what I mean about basic. I can worship with those who
believe these few things. We may not agree on whether a woman should
preach, or not.  We may not agree on the exact length a man's hair
should be. We may not agree on the dress code of the church, but I can
worship with them, if this is the only petty things we disagree on.
This is what Paul is speaking of. Stay doctrinally sound on the
important things and don't argue about the rest. You would think
Christians of different denominations were not of the same family of
God, when you hear them argue about these petty things.

     II Timothy 2:15 "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a
workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth."

     Just a handful of lessons on the Bible at any school is not
enough to prepare you to minister. Paul told Timothy, stay in the Word
of God. Continually study and learn more each day. The only way to
rightly divide the Word of Truth, is to stay in the Bible studying
every day, and let the Holy Spirit of God teach you the meaning of the
Scriptures. Learning Words will not help you. Learning the meaning of
those Words will make you strong in the Lord. Learn what each
Scripture means to you as an individual. Let God speak to your heart
in His Word.

     II Timothy 2:16 "But shun profane [and] vain babblings: for they
will increase unto more ungodliness."

     Some people cannot discuss the Bible without winding up in an
argument. Run away from that type of argument. Titus 3:9 " But avoid
foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings
about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain."  This type of
thing does not help anyone, and it definitely hurts the participants.

     II Timothy 2:17 "And their word will eat as doth a canker: of
whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;"

     "Canker", in this Scripture, means gangrene. The Word of God
brings life. The word of man brings death. In this case, the death is
a poison that spreads through the blood system. He is saying, that the
false words that Hymenaeus and Philetus said were very destructive.
These two were bringing heresy into the church {the body of Christ}.

     II Timothy 2:18 "Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that
the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some."

     Now, we see what the error in the message they were bringing was.
This reminds me so much of the people in our day, who say that the
teachings in Revelation have already happened. I will just ask you one
question pertaining to that. When was every human on the earth marked
with a number in his right hand or in his forehead? You see how silly
some of these things are. This, in my opinion, is caused by not
studying the Scriptures thoroughly. The terrible thing is that some
other people believed this lie.

     II Timothy 2:19 "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth
sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let
every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity."

     The foundation that the church is built upon is the Rock {Jesus
Christ}. Winds of false doctrine can come and go, but the church will
not be moved from that foundation. We, Christians, are the church.
When we plant our feet on that solid Rock, we are secure in Him. Our
name is written in the Lamb's book of life. When you put your faith
and trust in Jesus Christ, you will not fall. If you are a Christian,
you are trying to become more Christ-like every day. The desire of our
heart is to please Him. We have departed from iniquity, and we are
travelling on the road that leads to heaven.

     II Timothy 2:20 "But in a great house there are not only vessels
of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to
honour, and some to dishonour."

     This probably is speaking of the different types of people who
make up the church. Some of the people who profess Christianity do not
have a very deep walk with God. In fact, some of them are like the
wood spoken of here. Wood symbolizes the world. This means that they
have not gotten the world out of their walk. The earth is the same
thing, their Christianity will not hold water. The silver means
redemption. I would say the vessel of silver has experienced
redemption. They would know Jesus as Saviour. The vessel of Gold,
would be the one who had made Christ Lord of his life, as well as
Saviour. They would be letting Christ live in them. Gold symbolizes
God. Those who have not given up their worldly ways would be vessels
of dishonor. The silver and the gold would be vessels of honor. These
vessels of dishonor are like the lukewarm Christian, who has not
allowed God to remove the world from their lives.

     II Timothy 2:21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he
shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's
use, [and] prepared unto every good work.

     This is speaking of what these earthly vessels of dishonor can do
to become vessels of honor. Notice, that the individual must decide to
get rid of this worldliness. Come to Jesus, and ask Him to burn out
the worldliness, and leave a vessel of honor. Gold and silver just
become more pure as the heat is applied to them. The wood will burn up
as heat is applied. The trials {heat} just removes the worldliness.
This is called, being tried in the fire. Fire purifies and makes holy.
When God gets through refining us, we are holy in His sight. We are
set aside for His purpose. Now, we can do good work that the Master
has for us to do the way He would have us do it.

     II Timothy 2:22 "Flee also youthful lusts: but follow
righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord
out of a pure heart."

     We have spoken so much in these lessons about putting our flesh
to death that our spirit might rule. The flesh and its lust are what
cause us to sin. If we put our body under the control of our spirit,
we will make the right decisions. Faith, charity, and peace are fruit
of the Spirit. These are things that automatically come when we are in
right standing with God.

     II Timothy 2:23 "But foolish and unlearned questions avoid,
knowing that they do gender strifes."

     This is what I said earlier. Most misunderstandings of the Word
of God come from people who have not truly studied the Word of God.
The worst thing a person can do, is to pick one or two Scriptures out
of the Bible and base what you believe on that. Another problem is to
just read one writer in the Bible, and base what you believe on his
writings. To avoid strife, do not discuss the Bible with people that
do either of these things. They are not well rounded in the
Scriptures. A person must study the entire Bible thoroughly to truly
understand its meaning. The Holy Spirit must be your guide as you
study the Word to open your understanding. You will never know all
there is to know, but this will give you a working knowledge.

     II Timothy 2:24 "And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but
be gentle unto all [men], apt to teach, patient,"

     The servant of the Lord is speaking of those who preach, or
minister in some capacity. They should not engage in arguments that go
nowhere. They should be of a gentle nature. They should be willing to
teach when needed and be patient while others are learning.

     II Timothy 2:25 "In meekness instructing those that oppose
themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the
acknowledging of the truth;"

     Those that oppose themselves are those who have not accepted
Jesus as Saviour. They would be their own worst enemy. Some men have
never been taught the Word of God. This, then, would be teaching
someone who did not know the Word. To be able to get them to listen,
it would be necessary to teach from meekness, not in a threatening
manner. They would not listen to threats. I Corinthians 1:21 "For
after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it
pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that
believe."  If your preaching or teaching could cause the people to
believe, they would be saved. The main thing is stay with the Truth.
It is the Truth that sets them free.

     II Timothy 2:26 "And [that] they may recover themselves out of
the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will."

     It must be an act of the person's free will to believe and
receive salvation. Until they believe, they are under the curse of sin
and death. The devil has them snared. The Truth of the gospel will set
them free. In Jesus, sin and death are defeated. Remember, it is an
act of our own free will to get out of the snare of the devil by
believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise God! Jesus set us free.






























                        2 Timothy 3 Questions


1.  Quote 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 13.
2.  What is Paul really saying in this?
3.  What was Paul wanting them to put in remembrance?
4.  What good do arguments of doctrine do?
5.  The author says she can worship with you, if you believe what
    basic things?
6.  What are some of the foolish doctrinal differences that split
    churches and should not?
7.  Study to show thyself _________ unto God.
8.  A workman that needeth not to be _________.
9.  How are the only ways you can be qualified to rightly divide the
    Word of God?
10. Learning the Words of the Bible will not help you, what will help
    you?
11. Shun profane and vain ______________.
12. Quote Titus chapter 3 verse 9.
13. What does the word "canker" mean in verse 17?
14. Who are the body of Christ?
15. What false statement had Hymenaeus and Philetus made?
16. What does the author believe causes people to believe an untruth
    about the Word of God?
17. Let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from ________.
18. Who is the Rock the church is built upon?
19. What is the seal the Christian has?
20. Quote 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 20.
21. Which are the vessels of honor?
22. Which are the vessels of dishonor?
23. What do these vessels symbolize?
24. What does wood symbolize?
25. What does silver symbolize?
26. What does gold symbolize?
27. What are the vessels of dishonor like?
28. What should a person do to become a vessel of honor?
29. Flee youthful _________.
30. What are some of the fruit of the Spirit that show up in your life
    when you flee youthful lust?
31. What kind of questions should we avoid?
32. What must the servant of the Lord be like?
33. What is meant by opposing themselves?
34. Quote 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 21.
35. That they may recover themselves out of the _______ of the ______.