Week 18

Monday, April 28

2 Timothy 2

         

Commentary

In contrast to those who turned away from the faith that Paul mentioned in the last chapter, he tells Timothy to lean on Christ for strength and to pass on God’s truth to faithful men, who can then pass it on to even more people. Paul shows us two big priorities for Christians here. First, we should have pastors who are strong in the faith, bold and passionate in preaching the Word, and able to raise up and train more teachers. Second, we should all be passionate about passing on the faith to those around us and to the next generation – especially our children. If Paul teaches Timothy, and Timothy teaches just four men, and those four men teach four more, there is an explosive, exponential spread of the gospel that will result. Never underestimate how God will use your faithfulness – obey him in faith and watch as God works, even through everyday people like you and me.

Paul then gives three metaphors for the Christian walk: serving as a soldier, competing as an athlete, and working hard as a farmer. Suffering is an intrinsic part of life in a fallen world, but even more so for Christians - we are to die to ourselves and live for God, pursuing him and leaving worldly, useless, sinful things far behind us. We are to follow and serve God as he commands us, knowing he will certainly reward us.

Timothy must remember the gospel and apply the gospel to his life daily. Gossip and false teaching have no place in the church and these will poison a church if left unchecked. Pastors in particular, and churches in general, must watch out for these sinful influences. Pastors are to correct and redirect blatant, unrepentant sinfulness and false teaching, but must do so with love and gentleness. The aim of pastoral rebuke is not to put down or scare away, but to expose the errant person’s sin in the hopes that he will recognize his sin and repent. If you are in Christ, then God has already given you this kind of rebuke and you should rejoice for it. Love your church members, love your pastors, protect the innocent, and stand behind your pastors when they do need to rebuke and correct.

 

Application/Discussion

1. The Bible is all about Jesus, so why does Paul emphasize that Timothy should remember Jesus and the gospel story? How does Paul’s reminder to Timothy highlight our tendency to wander from the truth or set wrong priorities in our churches or personal walks of faith?

2. Paul uses the metaphor of gangrene, a deadly, rotting disease, to describe false teaching that is left unchecked in a church. How can false teaching poison a church? How can you recognize what is false teaching and what is not?

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for his convicting, disciplining, saving, and sanctifying of his people.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in pursuing godliness, recognizing false teaching, and fleeing sinful influences.

3. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help for your pastors in leading, teaching, and disciplining wisely and faithfully.

Tuesday, April 29

2 Timothy 3

 

Commentary

          In our reading today, Paul reminds Timothy that false teachers will certainly come – he should not be discouraged, then, when he encounters them. Instead, Timothy is to press on in faithfulness, just as Paul and his grandmother and his mother have taught him and exemplified for him, and cling to God’s Word, which is fully sufficient for everything God commands us to do and to be. Timothy will certainly encounter hardship, but this is a guaranteed part of following Jesus.

          God’s Word gives us guidance, instruction, and encouragement so that we can follow God faithfully and joyfully. Timothy, just like each of us, is to trust in God’s Word because it is completely true and never-changing. At this time, the New Testament is still being written, so the Scriptures that Timothy grew up learning and that Paul specifically points to is the Old Testament. law, the psalms, the historical writings, and the prophets are all God-breathed and just as God breathed as the Gospels and the letters of Paul. We need God’s Word to guide us in every part of life – our private and family worship, our jobs and school, our churches, and more.

          If you are not growing as a Christian or you find yourself in the same sins or the same worries again and again, consider how much you are reading God’s Word and whether you are praying through it and applying it to your life. If you have trouble reading God’s Word, make it a habit to open your Bible every day and pray before and after you read and seek counsel from your church’s pastors. If you have truly come to know Christ through repentance of your sins and faith in him, you will love God’s Word more and more as you read and the Holy Spirit works in you.

Going Deeper

If you would like to dive a bit deeper into this passage, see this incredible message from rapper and preacher Shai Linne:

·      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAjuhV2pog

 

Application/Discussion

1. Have you ever had to suffer specifically for your faith? If you have, how did you respond and how did that experience help you draw closer to God? If you have not suffered for your faith, why do you believe you have not? Perhaps you have been fortunate so far in your walk with the Lord, but perhaps you have not encountered suffering because you are not living as boldly and on mission as God commands.

2. Does your life reflect the truthfulness and importance of God’s Word? Would the people closest to you be surprised to know you are a Christian or that you take obeying God’s Word in every aspect of your life seriously?

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for his salvation, his sanctification, and his Word.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in living a godly life, being on mission for him, and using your suffering to draw closer to God.

3. Pray for the salvation of two lost people you know by name and ask God to give you the opportunity and the boldness to witness to them soon.

Wednesday, April 30

2 Timothy 4

 

Commentary

As Paul closes this letter, his very last letter, he gives Timothy a powerful exhortation to preach God’s Word, especially because people will desire to turn away from God’s Word to hear what their sinful hearts crave. Instead of letting these folks discourage him, Timothy is to remember what God has called him to and be faithful in that calling. Paul recognizes that the end of his life on earth is fast approaching and uses my favorite metaphor for the Christian life – being poured out as a drink offering. God calls us to be living sacrifices, to use our lives entirely for his purposes as an act of worship. Like Paul, we should be pouring out our lives, every bit of who we are and what we have, to serve God in obedience and worship. What could possibly be better than using your life in this way? For all those who know Christ, our temporary suffering here on earth will be accompanied with God’s comfort and joy and we will have an eternity of bliss when God calls us home! Like Paul and Timothy, we will find our share of suffering and opposition as we follow the Lord, but he will be with us, he will protect us, and he will bring us home in his perfect timing.

Paul also details my favorite request of his in this passage. He asks Timothy to visit him and to bring his coat, his writing supplies, and his scrolls – the scrolls of the Scriptures. Perhaps the most brilliant of the Scripture writers, Paul was certainly the most thoroughly theologically trained and he wrote more books of the Bible than any other single author. Yet in his last days or weeks, as he laid in a jail cell awaiting his execution, he did desire his friend, his coat, and even his writing supplies, but more than anything, he wanted the comfort of God’s Word. If Paul needed God’s Word at the eve of his death, how much more do all of us need God’s Word at every moment of our lives! God is glad to give us his Word, he has breathed it out so that we can learn it and grow through it – thank and praise him!

 

Application/Discussion

1. How does Scripture encourage us in our obedience? How does Scripture encourage us in our hardship?

2. Are there any passages of Scripture that especially encouraging for you in times of worry, moments of anger, or opportunities to share your faith? Make a plan to memorize some of these Scriptures if you have not already.

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for his saving, sustaining, and protecting and the certain rest that will come for all his people, and for the encouragement of his Word.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in pouring out your life in service of the Lord, loving God’s work and God’s Word more than anything, and being a faithful example to those around you.

3. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s encouragement, sustaining, and empowering of a missionary family you know, or find a prayer request about international missions at https://www.imb.org/pray/.

Thursday, May 1

Titus 1

 

Commentary

Paul opens his letter to Titus by identifying himself as a servant and apostle, serving God as his chosen messenger for the faith and growth of God’s elect. In other words, Paul says God has called him is to make and strengthen disciples of Christ. “Elect” is a word we should not be afraid to use and discuss; it is in the Bible fairly often. “Elect” in theological language simply means God’s chosen people, all who are saved by God’s gracious work. “Hope” in the Bible is not a possibility or dreamy wish, it is a certainty of something that will come to fruition. Here Paul says that we hope in the eternal life that God promised for his elect even before time began. We can trust that God will bring this promise to pass and he will bring his people home because he never lies. Paul also teaches that a right relationship with God leads to right knowledge and thus to right living, which is a major theme for this entire letter.

          Paul reminds Titus that Paul left him on the island of Crete to appoint pastors for the churches there, appointing men who meet the same qualifications he laid out to Timothy – godliness, proven character, faithful to his family, and able to teach, lead, and rebuke faithfully. One of the reasons these qualifications are so important is that pastors often face situations like the churches in Crete were facing – sinful, rebellious people sometimes infiltrate the church and try to lead people astray. Pastors must be above reproach in their character and firm in their doctrine and leading so that they can correct these false teachers and protect the church. Yes, we have seen this theme often in our last few days of reading, but if God emphasizes something so often, we had better pay attention to it. We must all seek to encourage, remind, and help each other along as we follow God, all to his glory.

 

Application/Discussion

1. Paul notes that the false teachers in Crete claim to know God, but deny God by what they do. Have you known people like this before? Did their hypocrisy make you want to listen to what they said? Follow godly examples and keep God’s Word in your heart and mind so that you will not follow these bad examples yourself!

2. Even the Cretans know not to live like the Cretans! Yet that is not enough to save them. We need more than morality, we need a personal, saving relationship with Jesus. How can we avoid mere moralism in our teaching and our sharing the gospel?

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for the instructions, warnings, and reminders he gives us in his Word.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in living out God’s Word and pointing others to him.

3. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help for the lost in your community to see the godly examples of you and your church members and desire to follow Christ.

Friday, May 2

Titus 2

 

Commentary

In this chapter, Paul helps us see that the church really is one big family and we should all do our part in encouraging each other and modeling good behavior. He tells the older men and the older women to model godly, respectable character in all areas of life. Then Paul transitions into specifics for younger men and women. Younger men need to be self-controlled. This is a brief instruction but anyone who is or has known a young man should realize that a lack of self-control lies behind just about every problem a young man could have.

God calls the young women who are to be godly wives – to love and support their husbands – and to be godly mothers – to be emotionally and spiritually present in their home and for their kids. In a more agrarian culture, one mostly based on agriculture, the day-to-day life of a husband and wife will look a lot different than what it looks like in a first world country today. Paul does not prohibit women from working outside the home or men from being in the home – just see Proverbs 31. When we read this passage in the wider context of the Bible, we understand that both fathers and mothers should be very present in the home, teaching, disciplining, and loving their children and should do all they can to take care of their children. Additionally, Paul commends those who desire to be single so they can better serve and focus on the Lord in 1 Corinthians 7. Here in our Titus passage, Paul is simply emphasizing that parents should do all they can to provide for their children and spouses should love and support each other. Servants are to work with integrity. Timothy himself is to live a godly life.

We must care about all these matters so that we do not make the gospel seem unattractive or hypocritical to the lost world. You may be the only glimpse of God someone sees – be a good picture of godliness! God came to save people of all tribes and all walks of life, so that all of his redeemed people would turn away from sin, live as lights in this dark world, and be eager to serve him in every way. I pray you are part of God’s people and that if you are not, you would repent and trust in Jesus today!

 

Application/Discussion

1. What roles do you have in life – an older or younger man, an older or younger woman? An employee or an employer? A leader in your church or a supporter of your leaders? How are you serving God in your role? Who is an encouragement and example to you as you serve?

2. Why is it important to see and learn from Christians of both genders, of different ages, of different places in life, of difficult classes, and of different backgrounds? Heaven will not be a blur of sameness, but a beautiful mosaic of all sorts of people, all joyfully worshipping the King.

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for sending his own Son to die for us, his enemies, so that we could be brought into his family.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help in loving and respecting the older and wiser members of your church.

3. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s encouragement and strength for the younger and less mature members of your church.

Saturday, May 3

Titus 3

 

Commentary

          In the last chapter, Paul encouraged us to live in a godly way to set an example for others and to not make the gospel look bad. Here, Paul exhorts believers to godly living because we should remember just how lost we were and what God has called us to in saving us. Without God, we would be hopelessly lost in sin. We cannot save ourselves. We cannot make up for our sin, we cannot avoid sin, and we cannot work our way to God. The only way we can be saved is by God’s gracious intervention in our lives to call us out of our sin and to cleanse and forgive us through his saving power. God came down to us, God made up for our sins, and God will sanctify us to increasingly turn away from sin. If we have truly come to know God, our lives should reflect it! We should be model citizens, kind strangers, faithful friends, and more – we should love others the way God has loved us, precisely because we have received and understand his love.

          Paul gives a stern warning about those who stir up division in the church – they should be warned, but if they persist in their sin, they should be excluded from the church because they are lost and unteachable in their sinfulness. Only two or three warnings is not many warnings, but this is how serious God takes the dividing of his people! We cannot change people’s hearts, as much as we may desire to, and if people continually harm our church and refuse to listen to correction, they must be stopped and removed. Pray earnestly for such people so that they would repent if they are disrupting your church and if they must be stopped, pray they would eventually repent and be restored.

 

Going Deeper

If you would like to dive a bit deeper into the book of Titus, check out these sermon series from three of my favorite preachers:

·      https://christcovenant.org/sermon-series/titus/

·      https://www.truthforlife.org/resources/series/study-in-titus-volume-1/

·      https://albertmohler.com/category/exposition/titus/

 

Application/Discussion

1. Why would it be bad for a church to allow a persistently divisive and unrepentant person to participate in the life of the church?

2. Paul mentions that one of his ministry partners is a lawyer – not a preacher or even a doctor or some other “useful” profession for the mission field. How does the diversity of the gifts and vocations of the church help us in ministry and bring glory to God?

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for giving us the gift of his salvation and his family.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help to unify and sanctify all your church members.

3. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s conviction and correction for someone you know who is inclined to divisiveness.

Sunday, May 4

1 Corinthians 1

 

Commentary

As we move into Paul’s letters to the Corinthian church, we better buckle up. This church had a lot of problems that Paul had to set in order. Things were so bad, that as we’ll see later in the letter, this church had someone sleeping with his stepmother and had people dying from the Lord’s Supper because they were so irreverent. This context is important as we open the letter because of all things to say, Paul begins his letter by calling them saints, those sanctified by the Lord, and reminds them that God has saved and will sustain them. We need this gospel encouragement – if we have truly come to know Christ by repenting of our sins and putting our faith in him, no matter how much we may mess up or foolishly turn away from God, he loves us and he keeps us and our salvation is secure because Jesus has paid the price for our sins. Some people may want to abuse this endless love and secure salvation to live however they want, but as Paul will detail in these letters, the very fact that God will hang onto us no matter how sinful we can be should be a great motivator to holiness. If God loves us this much, then surely we should do everything we can to thank and please him!

Paul warns the Corinthians to avoid the fan clubs and factions they have made about their favorite preachers. If they are truly preaching Christ, then they are all pointing to the same truth and the same person, Christ himself. He is who we should follow – not any one person or church or tradition, Christ himself. The gospel is central to the church and to the Christian life. We must understand, however, as Paul then explains, that the lost world around us does not understand the gospel; it seems foolish to them. We must be patient in our witnessing and realistic in our expectations. We cannot reason or preach or love sinful, stubborn hearts into changing. However, for those of us who know Christ, the gospel is a beautiful, powerful message of salvation. We must cling to this truth and preach this truth boldly, knowing that while the lost world may not regard us or our message, God will use our faithful proclamation of the gospel to draw people to faith in him. Share faithfully, pray fervently, and trust in God, who alone can save and certainly will save all his chosen people.

 

Application/Discussion

1. Why does the message of the cross seem foolish to lost people? Have you found yourself being frustrated at the great sin in the world or the persistent unbelief of the lost people around you? How does God’s Word give us realistic expectations about unbelievers’ inclination against the gospel and encourage us to share the gospel anyways?

 

Points of Prayer

1. Thank God for saving you despite your sinfulness and foolishness, or ask God to help you understand and receive his salvation if you have not yet.

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit to unify your church around sound teaching and embolden your church to share the gospel with your community.

3. Pray for the salvation of a lost person you know well and for the Holy Spirit to give you opportunities to witness to that person.