2 Timothy Chapter 2

vs 14

Once again Paul wants Timothy to remind these people of the truths of the gospel, and to warn them against arguing over words. What does arguing over words mean? It sounds to me like useless pedantry over specific words. Of course we get into that all the time - I mean, I do it on here comparing translations! No doubt they would have done the same thing, but more probably with the Old Testament (as they would have only had scraps of any NT books). And it doesn't take much imagination to see what sorts of wierd heresies come out of arguments over words in the OT.

The lesson for us is not to base too much on the use of any one word. Definitions of words help us to qualify meanings, and in a way we need to do it in a comparative way to understand how the word was naturally understood in its context. But focussing on words to the exclusion of their context in the whole is dangerous. A fine balance I guess.

vs 15

This exhortation to Timothy shows just how important it is to act the part. You can't just be given it (by laying on of hands or whatever) - you've got to live it.

Accurately handling is literally "orthotomeo", which means "cutting straight". The idea being that you cut a straight path, so you don't deviate. Only time that word is used in the NT.

vs 16

Well, I would continue writing about verse 16, but I have to go and pick up my stolen car! Praise the Lord for answering my prayer!

Anyway, back to study. It's quite important to find out what the definition of "godless chatter" is for you to make sense of this verse. It comes later down this passage.

The point being that if you get involved in this godless chatter, then it makes you ungodly.

vs 17

This verse was probably very meaningful to Timothy, because he knew who these guys were. But we've got precious little idea, so we can't really compare their teaching except for what Paul tells us about them here.

vs 18

It turns out that they have wandered from the truth. In talking about the resurrection of all people, they say it has already happened, which destroys some people's faith and also gives us a fair idea of what Paul means by 'godless chatter'. It's not godless because it's not about God - it's godless becuase it's not from God.

vs 19

I don't know where the second quote comes from. But the point is that even though these guys might talk a lot of crap, God's truth is laid on the foundation of Christ, not on what they say.

vs 20-21

Ok, wha? For those people who like to take things literally, tell me that this verse doesn't mean you should only have silver and gold things in your house. Of course, that would be dumb.

So what does it really mean? The point seems to be that if you clear away your ignoble purposes, then you will be ready to do noble purposes for God. In the context of the verse, we can assume that Paul is talking about the next few verses, and this is just an illustration.

vs 22

Our desires here are not necessarily to be controllable by us. We might still have a desire for some evil thing, but we are to flee it and replace it with a pursuit of godliness. We might not even have a great deal of desire for it at times, but we are to pursue it none the less. So should all the other Christians we know, so we should join together in doing it. Probably makes it easier, like having a diet buddy.

vs 23

To us having a quarrel might not seem like too bad a thing. But in a society where relationships are very important, this is dynamite. Breaking up relationships by having arguments about stupid things is just not on. And a lot of us are not immune from having these stupid arguments - me included.

vs 24

The way of the servant of God is not to quarrel, but to teach, and to be kind and not resentful. It's harder than it sounds, especially when you collect with it the stuff from the other verses.

vs 25

This attitude shows a hell of a lot of faith in God. A lot of the time we want our excellent arguments to sway people's opinions, and so we get quite passionate about them. But this says that we've got to do our instruction gently, in the hope that God will do the work. The truth is that God might not work in them, and they might just keep on going in their stupid ways. But to do it any other way denies the work of God in people's lives.

vs 26

We can't really blame them though. Paul says here that these people are trapped by Satan, and Satan takes them captive to do his will. I wonder if people outside of Christianity often feel trapped by the advertising pushy individualistic expectationist world out there?