2 Timothy 2:1–19

A Loyal Soldier of Christ Jesus

2You then, Timothy, my child, be strong in the grace we have in Christ Jesus. ²You should teach people whom you can trust the things you and many others have heard me say. Then they will be able to teach others. ³Share in the troubles we have like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴A soldier wants to please the enlisting officer, so no one serving in the army wastes time with everyday matters. ⁵Also an athlete who takes part in a contest must obey all the rules in order to win. ⁶The farmer who works hard should be the first person to get some of the food that was grown. ⁷Think about what I am saying, because the Lord will give you the ability to understand everything.

⁸Remember Jesus Christ, who was raised from the dead, who is from the family of David. This is the Good News I preach, ⁹and I am suffering because of it to the point of being bound with chains like a criminal. But God’s teaching is not in chains. ¹⁰So I patiently accept all these troubles so that those whom God has chosen can have the salvation that is in Christ Jesus. With that salvation comes glory that never ends.

¹¹This teaching is true:

If we died with him, we will also live with him.

¹²If we accept suffering, we will also rule with him.

If we say we don’t know him, he will say he doesn’t know us.

¹³If we are not faithful, he will still be faithful,

because he must be true to who he is.

A Worker Pleasing to God

¹⁴Continue teaching these things, warning people in God’s presence not to argue about words. It does not help anyone, and it ruins those who listen. ¹⁵Make every effort to give yourself to God as the kind of person he will approve. Be a worker who is not ashamed and who uses the true teaching in the right way. ¹⁶Stay away from foolish, useless talk, because that will lead people further away from God. ¹⁷Their evil teaching will spread like a sickness inside the body. Hymenaeus and Philetus are like that. ¹⁸They have left the true teaching, saying that the rising from the dead has already taken place, and so they are destroying the faith of some people. ¹⁹But God’s strong foundation continues to stand. These words are written on the seal: “The Lord knows those who belong to him,” ⁿ and “Everyone who wants to belong to the Lord must stop doing wrong.”