II Timothy

Episodes

1. 20

   The When, How, and Why of Timothy

   This closing sermon organizes both letters to Timothy around three questions: when, the importance of real history inside Scripture rather than timeless ideas; how, the actual bond of love between Paul and Timothy that carries the instruction; and why, the hope of Christ's resurrection that…

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   Aug 7, 1988

   38m
2. 19

   Paul's Humanity, Devotion, and Glory

   Paul's closing notes in 4:9-22 move in three steps: his plain humanity in 4:9-11, his devotion to ministry despite it in 4:12-15, and the glory and confidence of 4:16-18. Believers face death the way Paul did, in that order, with humanity first. No believer may skip any of the three.

   Jul 17, 1988

   35m
3. 18

   Confidence Outside Ourselves

   Paul grounds his confidence in his ministry entirely outside himself, in Christ's redemption, and he extends that confidence to Timothy. Two pillars of education pass that confidence on, and neither is self-reliance.

   Jul 3, 1988

   31m
4. 17

   A War Already Won

   The church's war, Christ against Satan, is already won in Christ, and its outcome is not in doubt. The catalogue of sins in 3:2-7 describes present conditions. Believers share in Christ's victory now, in the last days, before its final unveiling.

   Jun 26, 1988

   30m
5. 16

   Pastoring in the Last Days

   Pastoring is hard, and 2:24-3:9 ties that difficulty to the troubles Paul names as marks of 'the last days.' Other passages on the last days fill out the picture. Churches absorbed in their own serenity, expecting ease in place of the soldier's life Paul describes, labor under a real fallacy.

   Jun 19, 1988

   33m
6. 15

   A Stubbornness That Is Meek

   Paul seems to contradict himself, urging peace in one breath and naming false teachers in the next. The result is a proper stubbornness that stands firm without losing meekness. Christ himself shows how to take a real stand and remain meek.

   Jun 5, 1988

   24m
7. 14

   The Sufficiency of the Word

   Paul embodies the whole apostolic age in his own person, and he stays close to believers today. The Word of God is sufficient, against a modern impoverishment in practical theology and application-driven preaching that quietly assumes the Word alone is not enough. Believers come close to Paul...

   May 15, 1988

   25m
8. 13

   Paul's Last Words

   2 Timothy is Paul's last letter, and it joins a biblical pattern of last words, from Jacob and Moses to Christ himself. Paul's closing words work in three specific ways. The death of Christ, and in a lesser way the death of the apostles, means life for those who come after.

   May 1, 1988

   34m
9. 12

   Sonship, Christ's Central Mission

   Across these chapters Paul keeps returning to sonship, and believers receive their sonship and inheritance by grace. Christ's central mission was sonship itself, securing it for others by first possessing it perfectly. The pastoral epistles focus on resurrection, and that focus follows from the...

   Apr 24, 1988

   30m
10. 11

    From Babel to Babylon

    The city of God and the city of man stand opposed throughout Scripture, and the spirit of Babel's tower runs forward into Babylon and on into the present day. Genesis 11 records the founding moment of that spirit's resistance to God. A weakened doctrine of creation lets Babel's spirit take root...

    Apr 17, 1988

    30m
11. 10

    A Foundation That Stands Firm

    Two central theses anchor 2:19 against the false teaching of 2:18. Christ himself is the foundation of God that 'standeth firm,' a person and more than a doctrinal claim. Holding to him keeps the church from being shaken by the world.

    Apr 10, 1988

    19m
12. 9

    Paul's High View of Scholarship

    'Become like little children' suffers a real misuse, and Gilbert Tennent's shift in the pulpit from exegesis toward personal experience fed a broader problem. Paul puts real weight on scholarship in 2:15 and 4:13, asking for his books and parchments even from prison. The pastoral epistles give...

    Mar 27, 1988

    32m
13. 8

    Suffering Outweighed by Glory

    Suffering and glory run through 2 Timothy as a matched pair, and Romans 5 shows that the gospel's glory far surpasses the suffering that comes before it. Timothy stands in real danger of apostasy. Losing sight of heaven, more than any outside threat, makes believers fall away.

    Mar 20, 1988

    37m
14. 7

    Wrangling Over Words, Rightly Understood

    'Wrangling over words' in 2:14 has a right reading and a wrong one, and even the OPC's General Assembly has used the wrong one to shut down real doctrinal contention. Paul charges Timothy to contend for the true gospel. Avoiding necessary contention disobeys the text.

    Mar 13, 1988

    28m
15. 6

    Weakness That Testifies to Strength

    Timothy's weakness truly weakens his ministry, and Paul says so plainly. Paul's own weakness, by contrast, testifies to the strength of the gospel. Paul keeps his focus on Christ's resurrection, which answers every suffering either man will face.

    Mar 6, 1988

    30m
16. 5

    My Son: Paul and Timothy, God and Christ

    Paul calls Timothy 'my son' in 2:1, and the phrase reflects the Father's own relationship to Christ. Paul points to Onesiphorus again, this time to instruct church members who hold no office. Sonship is the real subject of what looks like personal correspondence.

    Feb 28, 1988

    33m
17. 4

    Onesiphorus, Who Held No Office

    Paul rebukes Timothy for fearing persecution, and he sharpens the rebuke by exalting Onesiphorus, who held no church office, over Timothy, who did. The exposition of 1:9-14 grounds that uncomfortable comparison. Office never replaces the courage Onesiphorus showed without it.

    Feb 21, 1988

    30m
18. 3

    The Gospel as Scandal

    The gospel was a real scandal and threat to the ancient world, and Rome and Athens objected to it in very different ways. Unbelieving Jews found Christ an affront to the law itself. Paul and Timothy refuse to be ashamed in the face of that real hostility.

    Feb 14, 1988

    34m
19. 2

    Jew and Greek United in Timothy

    Timothy was half Jewish and half Greek, and he embodied the union of Jew and Gentile in Ephesians 2:11-16. Paul's imprisonment and journeys, and the differences between his two letters to Timothy, set the scene. The charge 'Be not ashamed' draws its force from that embodied union.

    Jan 10, 1988

    35m
20. 1

    Timothy's Conversion, a Resurrection

    The pastoral epistles speak to every believer, beyond those in office, and they reveal a real intimacy between Paul and Timothy. Timothy's conversion was a kind of resurrection, a living example of the gospel's liberty. What happens to one convert shows what happens to the whole church.

    Jan 3, 1988

    36m