‘Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. ‘ 2 Timothy 2:15
“Do your best…” This is one of those phrases that we hear all the time. We listen to it at work, on the ball field, or for any other endeavor that requires effort.
In this case, in the Second Timothy, Paul says to Timothy and, by extension, to us to “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved.”
“A worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”
We are called to a higher standard of living by calling on the Lord as our Savior. A life of sacrificial living focused on the needs of those around us over our needs. Jesus sacrificed His life to the point of death. We need to ask ourselves, would I be willing to lay my life down for those around me?
‘Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ‘ John 15:13
What does that look like in real life? The answer to this can also be found in Second Timothy as well.
‘Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” ‘ 2 Timothy 2:16-19
“Avoid godless chatter”
What we focus our minds on and what we say will expand our lives in that direction. “Godless chatter” will make us “become more ungodly.” When we find ourselves in this situation, we must return to the Lord and repent. If we are not careful, we can be led astray.
Look at the last part of that portion of scripture, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord MUST turn away from wickedness.”
‘In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. ‘ 2 Timothy 2:20-21
The Lord puts this on us to “cleanse” ourselves. What does this look like?
‘Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me— now let me rejoice. Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. ‘ Psalms 51:7-11
We need to bring our sins to the Lord. When we bring them to Him, He promises to remove them from us. When Jesus was cleaning the feet of the disciples in the upper room, He came to Peter; he requested that Jesus wash all of him. But Jesus responded that only the feet needed to be cleaned if everything else was cleaned.
When God gives us the faith to call on the Lord, and we respond, our sins are forgiven; Jesus died for all of them on the cross. But we are covered in the flesh and will continue to sin, hopefully, with reduced frequency when we bring these sins to the Lord.
We will not be perfect until Jesus comes to take us home, but as our lives progress, the level of sin in our lives should be reduced as we press forward in our faith.
As we do this, God will use us for His special purpose: to reach the lost.
‘Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.’ 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
“So that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”
We do not want to be disqualified. Please understand that this does not mean you are going to hell if you are truly saved, but I believe we can forfeit blessings in eternity if we do not live in God’s will.
So how are we supposed to handle ourselves with the people around us?
‘Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.’ 2 Timothy 2:22-26
“Pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”
Being a Christian is a team sport. It is not a life that we can do on our own. There are people in the church who need you, and believe it or not, there are people who you need.
“Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments because you know they produce quarrels.”
You’ve heard them before… “But don’t you think that this means this?” Or the person looking for an angle to be doing something they know they shouldn’t.
So what do we do in this case?
“The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but MUST be kind to EVERYONE, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be GENTLY instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape the trap of the devil.”
According to the word “everyone,” we must be kind to everyone. Easy right? We can only accomplish this with the Spirit of the Lord centered in our hearts.
The key here is as we “gently” instruct, we do it “in the hope that God will grant repentance leading to the truth.”
God is sovereign and will grant repentance leading to the truth.
Heavenly Father, let my heart submit to Your will. I pray that You give me a humble Spirit when I deal with those around me.
Let my heart be gentle in how I deal with others knowing that You and only You can bring about repentance in others.
I thank You for Your grace, mercy, and forgiveness.
In the name of Jesus, I pray, Amen!! 🙏❤️
