Friday
Friday
Resisting the Pressures of the World
Evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you [Timothy], continue in what you have learned.
2 Timothy 3:13–14
Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy was his last, written shortly before his martyrdom. His main concern is still what will happen to the gospel when he will no longer be there to guide and teach the church.
In 2 Timothy 3:1–5 Paul warns Timothy that the “last days” (which Jesus inaugurated) would include “terrible times” (v. 1), and he goes on to give a vivid sketch of them. He lists nineteen characteristics, the most striking of which is misdirected love. People will be lovers of self, lovers of money, or lovers of pleasure instead of lovers of God and of goodness. Indeed, society will be “without love” (v. 3). This absence of authentic love will sour people’s relationships. Paul is afraid lest Timothy be swept away by a torrent of self-centeredness, and he urges him instead to stand firm and resist the pressures of the prevailing culture.
In 2 Timothy 3:10 and 14 Paul twice addresses Timothy with the same two little Greek monosyllables su de, meaning “but as for you.” In stark contrast to contemporary culture, Timothy is to be different and, if necessary, to stand alone.
Paul describes Timothy’s position in terms of a “following” of Paul, especially of his teaching and his manner of life. Then he exhorts Timothy to continue in the same path: “Continue in what you have learned” (v. 14). Thus verses 10–13 describe Timothy’s past loyalty to the apostle, and verses 14–17 urge him to remain loyal in the future. He has good reason to do so—partly because he knows from whom he has been learning (namely Paul, whose apostolic authority he has come to accept) and partly because he has known the Holy Scriptures from childhood and accepted them as theopneustos (literally, “God-breathed”) and profitable.
The same two grounds apply today. The gospel Christians believe is the biblical gospel, vouched for by both the prophets of God and the apostles of Christ. We are thankful for this double authentication.
For further reading: 2 Timothy 3:1–17