May 10, 2022 – Tuesday
2 Timothy 2:24-26 NIV
24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.
25 Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth,
26 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.
Comment.
This is Paul’s second letter to his protégé Timothy while he is in prison in Rome. Our verses above end a section (vv 14-26) on how Timothy is to deal with false teachers, but he prefaces with a trustworthy saying (vv 11-13),
If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;
if we are faithless,
he remains faithful,
for he cannot disown himself.
And then Paul begins verse 14 by writing Keep reminding God’s people of these things. We need to endure, it will not always be easy, but we have to remember He remains faithful always.
Our first verse for today, And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful reminds me of Mark 11:25a where Jesus says, And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them. Timothy is a teacher, a pastor, and he is not to be quarrelsome, even with false teachers, but to be kind to them as well as everyone else, and to stick to his teaching, and not be resentful.
This seems like a terribly difficult task, so one might naturally ask why? The next two verses for today tell the story, 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. Never stop teaching the truth. Never, because even the false teachers, your opponents, may be persuaded by being gently instructed, to repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth. Then knowing the truth, they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
Bottom Line: Never give up on sharing the truth of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, a man without sin who died on the cross for our sins and then rose on the third day. And He did this out of love for us, all of us. Be gentle, pray for the lost and never give up.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, Thank You that so many people You placed in my life never gave up on sharing the gospel with me until I was persuaded. – In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
RileyD, nwJ
Riley D. Driver – Pastor
Calvary Chapel of Dayton
in Beavercreek