1 Paul, an
Apostle of the Anointed Jesus by the will of The
God and by the promise of life in the Anointed Jesus, 2 to my loved child Timothy;
May you find loving care, mercy, and peace from God the Father and
from the Anointed Jesus, our Lord.
3 IÕm
thankful to The God whom IÕm worshiping with a clean conscience (as did my
forefathers) that I never forget you in my prayers, which I offer [on your
behalf] night and day.
4 For I
remember you with tears and I long to see you, so that I can be filled with
joy.
5 I fondly
remember the unhypocritical faith that your
grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice had first, and IÕm confident that you
have this also.
So, this is the reason why IÕm reminding you to rekindle the
gift of God that you received when I first laid my hands on you.
7 Since God didnÕt give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and good sense; 8 donÕt be ashamed of the testimony about
our LordÉ
Or of me, a prisoner for his sake.
So, come and share with us in suffering evil for the good
news with the power of God.
9
For He didnÕt save us or call us to holiness because
of anything that weÕve done, but because it has been His will through the ages to show us His loving kindness through Jesus
the Anointed One.
10 And all of
this has now been manifested by the arrival of our Savior the Anointed Jesus,
who has done away with death and is shining a light on life and freedom from corruption through this good news 11 of which I was appointed a preacher, an
Apostle, and a teacher.
12 Yes, this
is the reason why IÕve been suffering these things and why IÕm unashamedÉ
Because I really know this one in whom IÕve put my faith, and IÕm confident
that heÕll guard everything that IÕve entrusted to him until that Day.
13 Likewise, you should be hanging onto the healthy words that you heard from me and which I laid out for you through the love that is in the Anointed Jesus, 14 and you should be guarding these things that youÕve been given through the Holy Breath that dwells within us!
15 IÕm sure
that youÕre aware of the fact that all those in the [province of] Asia have
turned their backs on me, and especially PhyGelus and
HermoGenes.
16 But may the
LordÕs mercy rest upon the household of OnesiPhorus, because he has often
brought me refreshment and heÕs never been ashamed of my chains.
17 For when he came to Rome, he
diligently started searching for me and quickly found me.
18 So, may the Lord grant him mercy from Jehovah in that Day.
Yes, it would be good if you
knew all the services that he provided for me in Ephesus.
1 However,
as for you my child;
Keep growing stronger in the loving
care of the Anointed Jesus, 2
and keep on teaching the things that you heard from so many witnesses while you
were with me, to faithful men who are qualified to teach others.
3 Then, as a fine
soldier of the Anointed Jesus, [be prepared to] endure the hardships.
4 For no soldier can just go on living his
life as he once did, since he wants to please the one that enlisted him.
5 And the same is true of an athleteÉ he
canÕt win the prize unless he plays by the rules.
6 Yet, the hardworking field-hand must also be the first one to
taste the fruit.
7 If youÕll visualize what IÕm saying, the Lord will truly give you insight into everything.
8 Remember
that the good news IÕve been preaching teaches us that Jesus the Anointed (the
seed of David) was raised from the deadÉ
9
And itÕs over this that IÕm being persecuted and imprisoned like a criminal.
However, the word of God hasnÕt been locked up with me, 10 and the reason why I keep on enduring
all of this is for the sake of the elected onesÉ so they can gain the salvation
that comes from being in the Anointed Jesus and
receiving age-long glory.
11 For you can believe the saying,
ŌIf we
die together, weÕll also live together; 12 and if we hang on together, weÕll also rule as kings
together!Õ
However, if we deny this, heÕll also deny us.
13 Yet, even if weÕre unfaithful, heÕll be faithful, because he canÕt deny himself.
14 I want you to keep on reminding [the brothers] about these things, and I want you to instruct them in the sight of God not to be arguing over words, for this is just a waste of time and itÕs a snare to those that listen to it.
15 As for you;
Zealously keep on seeking GodÕs approval, so that you can be accepted by Him as a
workman who has nothing to be ashamed of and who lays out the truth in straight
ways.
16 Therefore, you should avoid speaking about worldly and foolish topics, because this leads [people] away from pure worship, 17 and whatever is said [spreads like] a field of gangrene!
ThatÕs what happened to Hymenaeus and PhileTos;
18 They got away from the truth and they
started teaching that the resurrection has already
happened, which misdirected the faith of some.
19 However,
you have a solid foundation in God and you have His seal [of approval].
So, as
we were told:
ŌJehovah knows those that [respect Him],Õ
and,
ŌLet those that speak in the Name of the Lord stop doing what is
unrighteous.Õ
20 Now, in a
large house there are not only containers that are made of gold and silver, but
there are also those [that are made] of wood and potteryÉ
Because some were
made for honorable purposes, while others were made for dishonorable purposes.
21 So if anyone chooses to be clean, he
must remove [everything thatÕs dishonorable] from himself so that he can then
become a container for an honorable purpose that is holy and useful to his
master.
And thereafter, he must ready himself to do every sort of good work.
22 So, flee
from the desires of youth and pursue righteousness,
faith, love, and peace, along with all the rest of those that are calling on the
Lord with a clean heart.
23
However, avoid foolish and ignorant questions, because you know that they just
create fightsÉ 24 and a slave
of the Lord shouldnÕt be fighting.
Rather, we should be gentle with everyone,
we should be good teachers, and we should know how to keep our composure in bad
[situations] 25 so that we can
calmly teach those who disagree.
For perhaps God may lead them to repentance
and to an accurate knowledge of the truth 26
so that they may escape the SlandererÕs snares and
return to their good senses, once they realize how theyÕve been lured into his
cage.
1 Recognize
that the last days will bring fierce times.
2 For people will just love themselves and
money.
TheyÕll be braggarts, arrogant blasphemers, disobedient to their
parents, unthankful, and disloyal.
3
They wonÕt have any natural (family) love, and
they theyÕll be disagreeable.
TheyÕll be slanderers that donÕt have any
self-control, and theyÕll be wild people that wonÕt love anything thatÕs good.
4 TheyÕll also be betrayers who are
headstrong and proud, and care more for pleasures than for God.
5 So though they may practice some form
of worship, theyÕll deny its power.
You should reject people like this, 6 because itÕs from among such ones that certain men will arise that will work their way into homes and seduce weak women that are loaded down with sins (because they have so many desires) 7 and who will always be just students that can never come to a higher knowledge of the truth.
8 So,
whenever you must deal with men that are resisting the truth and
corrupting their own minds (making themselves worthless when it comes to the
faith);
Follow the example of Moses when he opposed JanNes
and JamBres, 9 so they
canÕt make any more inroads.
Then (as happened [to JanNes and JamBres]) their
unreasonableness will become plain for everyone [to see].
10 Now,
youÕve closely followed my teachings, my directions, my purposes, my faith, my
patience, my love, and my endurance.
11
[However, youÕve also had to share in] my persecution and my sufferings (such
as the things that happened to me in Antioch, Iconium,
and Lystra), and youÕve endured the same types of
opposition that IÕve had to endure (but from which the Lord has delivered me).
12 For everyone that wants to worship The God
through the Anointed Jesus is going to be persecuted, 13 because wicked and deceitful men will
just get worse and worse, misleading and being misled.
14 As for
you;
Stick with the things that youÕve learned and were convinced to believeÉ
and remember from whom you learned them.
15
For youÕve been familiar with the Holy Writings since you were a child, and
they can make you wise for salvation through your faith in the Anointed Jesus.
16 [Remember that] all the Holy Writings were inspired by God and they
are good for teaching, for correcting, for setting things straight, and for
providing righteous disciplineÉ
17
They qualify a man of God by providing him with whatever he needs to do all
sorts of good work.
1 So I solemnly
charge you in the sight of God and the Anointed Jesus
(whoÕs going to judge the living and the dead when he manifests himself in his Kingdom) 2
to keep on preaching the word!
Keep on doing it through both good times and bad!
Then, as you consider [what you see], you must offer criticism
and encouragement!
However, you should do this patiently and with all of your
teaching skills.
3 Yet, the
time is coming when they wonÕt put up with life-giving teachings anymore.
Rather, because they will prefer to follow their own desires, they will gather
teachers for themselves that will tell them whatever they want to hear.
4 They wonÕt listen to the truth, but
theyÕll all show up when it comes to listening to fables.
5 But as for
you;
Be serious about everything, endure all the bad, preach the good news, and
completely carry out your ministry!
6 As for me;
Though IÕm already being poured out as a drink offering and the time for my
departure (death) is almost here, 7
I can say that IÕve wrestled the fine match, IÕve finished the race, and IÕve
obeyed the faith.
8 So, all
thatÕs left for me now is to lay down my golden crown, which the Lord (who isnÕt
over just me but is over everyone that loves the way in which he showed himself)
will return to me in that Day.
9 HurryÉ
come to me quickly!
10 For
Demas has let me down and gone to Thessalonica (since he still loves this system of things), Kreskes has gone to Galatia, Titus
has gone to Dalmatia, 11 and
Luke is the only one that is here with me.
So, go find Mark and bring him with
you, because his services are very useful to me.
12 Oh yes, I also sent Tychikus off to Ephesus.
13 And when you come here, bring along the
robe that I left with Carpus in TroasÉ and the scrolls, especially the parchments.
14 Alexander the coppersmith
has testified and said many bad things against me.
But the
Lord will repay him for what he has done.
15
So watch out for him, because he really opposes everything that we say!
16
Unfortunately, nobody stayed with me during my first court hearingÉ
But though
they all left me, I donÕt want this held against them, 17 because the Lord stood by me.
Yes, he
gave me strength so that the preaching might be completed through me and that
all the gentiles might hear it.
As the result, I was virtually saved from the
lionÕs mouth!
18 And the Lord
will continue to save me from every sort of wickedness until he brings me into
his celestial Kingdom.
May he be glorified through the ages of agesÉ
May it be so!
19 Give my greetings to Priska and Aquila, and to the household of OnesiPhorus.
20 Erastus stayed in Corinth and I left Trophimus at Miletus, because he was sick.
21 Hurry and get here before the winter arrives!
EuBoulos sends you his greetings, as do Poudes, Linos, Klaudia, and all the brothers.
22 May the Lord bless the spirit youÕre showing, and may his loving care be with all of you.