Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
2 Timothy 4:8

Clarke's Commentary

Verse 8. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown — This I can claim as my due; but the crown I expect is not one of fading leaves, but a crown of righteousness; the reward which God, in his kindness, has promised to them who are faithful to the grace he has bestowed upon them.

The Lord, the righteous Judge — He alludes here to the brabeus, or umpire in the Grecian games, whose office it was to declare the victor, and to give the crown.

At that day — The day of judgment; the morning of the resurrection from the dead.

Unto all them also that love his appearing. — All who live in expectation of the coming of Christ, who anticipate it with joyfulness, having buried the world and laid up all their hopes above. Here is a reward, but it is a reward not of debt but of grace; for it is by the grace of God that even an apostle is fitted for glory. And this reward is common to the faithful; it is given, not only to apostles, but to all them that love his appearing. This crown is laid up-it is in view, but not in possession. We must die first.

I have several times noted the allusions of St. Paul to the Greek poets, and such as seemed to argue that he quoted immediately from them. There is a passage in the Alcestis of Euripides, in which the very expressions used here by the apostle are found, and spoken on the occasion of a wife laying down her life for her husband, when both his parents had refused to do it.

Ουκ ηθελησας ουδ' ετολμησας θανειν

Του σου προ παιδος· αλλα την δ' ειασατε

Γυναικ' οθνειαν, ἡν εγω και μητερα

Πατερα τε γ' ενδικως αν ἡγοιμην μονην·

Και τοι καλον γ' αν τανδ' αγων' ηγωνισω,

Του σου προ παιδος κατθανων. Alcest. v. 644.

"Thou wouldst not, neither darest thou to die for thy son; but hast suffered this strange woman to do it, whom I justly esteem to be alone my father and mother: thou wouldst have fought a good fight hadst thou died for thy son."

See Sophocles and AEschylus, quoted 1 Timothy 6:15.

The καλοςαγων, good fight, was used among the Greeks to express a contest of the most honourable kind, and in this sense the apostle uses it.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

4:6-22 PAUL’S LAST FAREWELL

Knowing that he has faithfully carried out the work God entrusted to him, Paul faces execution with confidence. He looks beyond death to the full enjoyment of salvation that will be experienced by all whose love for Jesus is the controlling force in their lives (6-8).
Before he dies, Paul would like Timothy to come and visit him. He is disappointed that Demas has preferred the safety and comfort of ordinary life to the danger and hardship of life with Paul. Others have left Rome because of urgent needs in distant places (9-10). Paul has valuable help and comfort from Luke. He desires also that Mark come to Rome with Timothy, and that on the way they call at Troas to collect the books and warm clothing that Paul had left with Carpus. Tychicus will provide some help in Ephesus while Timothy is absent on his trip to Rome (11-13).
Paul warns Timothy to beware of Alexander, a person who did him much harm, possibly as a prosecution witness (14-15). After his arrest, when the Roman authorities laid charges against him, Paul had stood alone. No one was willing to witness for him in his defence. But God did not fail him, and gave him the opportunity to proclaim the gospel fully to all present. Because God was with him, he was neither attacked nor silenced (16-17). He is therefore confident that God will remain with him through whatever lies ahead and bring him safely into his heavenly kingdom (18).

Among the Christian friends whom Paul greets in Ephesus are Priscilla and Aquila, the Jewish couple who were among the first to take the gospel to Ephesus. They had now returned to Ephesus after their second period of residence in Rome, and were no doubt of help to Timothy in his difficult task (19a; cf. Acts 18:1-4,Acts 18:18-26; Romans 16:3). Another who could help Timothy was Onesiphorus, who was apparently back in Ephesus after his visit to Paul in Rome (19b; cf. 1:16-18). Erastus and Trophimus could not yet help Timothy, as they were temporarily in other parts (20).

Some of the local Christians in Rome, though unable to stay with Paul, visited him occasionally. They join in sending greetings to Timothy. With a final note urging Timothy to come with all speed, Paul signs off for the last time (21-22).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me at that day; and not to me only, but also to all them that have loved his appearing.

Henceforth … means that the next thing in order is for Paul to receive the crown.

Crown of righteousness … Hervey thought the crown of righteousness here means "that crown the possession of which marks the wearer as righteous before God"; A. C. Hervey, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 21, 2 Timothy (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), p. 59. whereas White believed that "it is the crown which belongs to, or is the due reward of, righteousness"; Newport J. D. White, op. cit., p. 178. however, the view here is that it is most certainly BOTH. Without the righteousness of keeping the word and commandments of the Lord, none shall receive that crown; but all of the righteousness of a Christian cannot make him ultimately and truly righteous in the eyes of the Lord, THAT righteousness being the achievement of Jesus Christ alone. However, the crown of righteousness at the last day will endow all who are truly "in Christ" with the sum total of our Lord's own righteousness. Analogous expressions are "the crown of glory" (1 Peter 5:4) and "the crown of life" (James 1:12; Revelation 2:10). Of course, all of these are used metaphorically, crowns being the earthly symbol of the glory, power and majesty of kings, they are also, by metaphor, fitting symbols of the rewards, honors and glory of Christians in the world to come.

The Lord, the righteous judge … There is an unstated but obvious contrast here between the righteous Lord and the unjust judge before whom Paul had stood to be condemned.

Shall give to me at that day … It should be noted that Paul said nothing of any who would be crowned in some "first resurrection." He spoke of only one day, only one occasion, that of the Second Advent of our Lord, as being the occasion when all of the redeemed would receive the crown of life.

To all who have loved his appearing … One cannot escape the overwhelming emphasis upon the doctrine of the Second Coming in a statement like this. Those who are finally to be saved are precisely those who love, and longingly await, the coming of Christ in judgment. How many professed Christians can meet this test? The great design of the Lord's Supper was that it should be observed by the faithful "until he come"; and it is a loss of interest in Jesus' Second Coming that contributes to the omission and forsaking of the Lord's table by vast multitudes of the secular church of this age. Why should Christians love the appearing of Christ in judgment? It will mean that the glory of Jesus Christ will then be apparent to all men; the time of probation shall have ended; the reward of the righteous shall be received; and God shall rise in holy wrath and cast evil out of his universe.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Henceforth there is laid up for me - At the end of my race, as there was a crown in reserve for those who had successfully striven in the Grecian games; compare the notes on 1 Corinthians 9:25. The word “henceforth” - λοιπὸν loipon - means “what remains, or as to the rest;” and the idea is, that that was what remained of the whole career. The race had been run; the conflict had been waged; and all which was now necessary to complete the whole transaction, was merely that the crown be bestowed.

A crown of righteousness - That is, a crown won in the cause of righteousness, and conferred as the reward of his conflicts and efforts in the cause of holiness. It was not the crown of ambition; it was not a garland won in struggles for earthly distinction; it was that which was the appropriate reward of his efforts to be personally holy, and to spread the principles of holiness as far as possible through the world.

Which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me - The Lord Jesus, appointed to judge the world, and to dispense the rewards of eternity. It will be seen in the last day that the rewards of heaven are not conferred in an arbitrary manner, but that they are bestowed because they ought to be, or that God is righteous and just in doing it. No man will be admitted to heaven who ought not, under all the circumstances of the case, to be admitted there; no one will be excluded who ought to have been saved.

At that day - That is, the time when he will come to judge the world; Matthew 25:0.

And not to me only - “Though my life has been spent in laboriously endeavoring to spread his religion; though I have suffered much, and labored long; though I have struggled hard to win the prize, and now have it full in view, yet I do not suppose that it is to be conferred on me alone. It is not like the wreath of olive, laurel, pine, or parsley (See the notes at 1 Corinthians 9:25), which could be conferred only on one victor (See the notes at 1 Corinthians 9:24); but here every one may obtain the crown who strives for it. The struggle is not between me and a competitor in such a sense that, if ‘I’ obtain the crown, ‘he’ must be excluded; but it is a crown which ‘he” can obtain as well as ‘I.’ As many as run - as many as fight the good fight - as many as keep the faith - as many as love his appearing, may win the crown as well as I.” Such is religion, and such is the manner in which its rewards differ from all others.

At the Grecian games, but one could obtain the prize; 1 Corinthians 9:24. All the rest who contended in those games, no matter how numerous they were, or how skilfully they contended, or how much effort they made, were of course subjected to the mortification of a failure, and to all the ill-feeling and envy to which such a failure might give rise. So it is in respect to all the prizes which this world can bestow. In a lottery, but one can obtain the highest prize; in a class in college, but one can secure the highest honor; in the scramble for office, no matter how numerous the competitors may be, or what may be their merits, but one can obtain it. All the rest are liable to the disappointments and mortifications of defeat. Not so in religion. No matter how numerous the competitors, or how worthy any one of them may be, or how pre-eminent above his brethren, yet all may obtain the prize; all may be crowned with a diadem of life, of equal brilliancy. No one is excluded because another is successful; no one fails of the reward because another obtains it. Who, then, would not make an effort to win the immortal crown?

Unto all them also that love his appearing - That is, unto all who desire his second coming. To believe in the second advent of the Lord Jesus to judge the world, and to desire his return, became a kind of a criterion by which Christians were known. No others but true Christians were supposed to believe in that, and no others truly desired it; compare Revelation 1:7; Revelation 22:20. It is so now. It is one of the characteristics of a true Christian that he sincerely desires the return of his Saviour, and would weLcome his appearing in the clouds of heaven.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

8Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness Having boasted of having fought his fight and finished his course, and kept the faith, he now affirms that he has not labored in vain. Now it is possible to put forth strenuous exertion, and yet to be defrauded of the reward which is due. But Paul says that his reward is sure. This certainty arises from turning his eyes to the day of the resurrection, and this is what we also ought to do; for all around we see nothing but death, and therefore we ought not to keep our eye fixed on the outward appearance of the world, but, on the contrary, to hold out to our minds the coming of Christ. The consequences will be, that nothing can detract from our happiness.

Which the Lord the righteous Judge will render to me Because he mentions “the crown of righteousness” and “the righteous Judge,” and employs the word “render,” the Papists endeavor, by means of this passage, to build up the merits of works in opposition to the grace of God. But their reasoning is absurd. Justification by free grace, which is bestowed on us through faith, is not at variance within the rewarding of works, but, on the contrary, those two statements perfectly agree, that a man is justified freely through the grace of Christ, and yet that God will render to him the reward of works; for as soon as God has received us into favor, he likewise accepts our works, so as even to deign to give them a reward, though it is not due to them.

Here two blunders are committed by the Papists; first, in arguing that we deserve something from God, because we do well by virtue of our freewill; and secondly, in holding that God is bound to us, as if our salvation proceeded from anything else than from his grace. But it does not follow that God owes anything to us, because he renders righteously what he renders; for he is righteous even in those acts of kindness which are of free grace. And he “renders the reward” which he has promised, not because we take the lead by any act of obedience, but because, in the same course of liberality in which he has begun to act toward us, he follows up his former gifts by those which are afterwards bestowed. In vain, therefore, and to no purpose, do the Papists labor to prove from this, that good works proceed from the power of freewill; because there is no absurdity in saying that God crowns in us his own gifts. Not less absurdly and foolishly do they endeavor, by means of this passage, to destroy the righteousness of faith; since the goodness of God — by which he graciously embraces a man, not imputing to him his sins — is not inconsistent with that rewarding of works which he will render by the same kindness with which he made the promise. ⁽¹⁹⁹⁾

And not to me only That all the rest of the believers might fight courageously along with him, he invites them to a participation of the crown; for his unshaken steadfastness could not have served for an example to us, if the same hope of obtaining the crown had not been held out to us.

To all who love his coming ⁽²⁰⁰⁾ This is a singular mark which he employs in describing believers. And, indeed, wherever faith is strong, it will not permit their minds to fall asleep in this world, but will elevate them to the hope of the last resurrection. His meaning therefore is, that all who are so much devoted to the world, and who love so much this fleeting life, as not to care about the coming of Christ, and not to be moved by any desire of it, deprive themselves of immortal glory. Woe to our stupidity, therefore, which exercises such power over us, that we never think seriously about the coming of Christ, to which we ought to give our whole attention. Besides, he excludes from the number of believers those in whom the coming of Christ produces terror and alarm; for it cannot be loved unless it be regarded as pleasant and delightful.

(199) “The Papists themselves ought to observe carefully what was said by one of those whom they call their Doctors. ‘How would God render the crown as a righteous Judge, if he had not first given grace as a merciful Father? And how would there have been righteousness in us, had it not been preceded by the grace which justifies us? And how would that crown have been rendered as due, had not all that we have — been given when it was not due?’ These are the words of Augustin; and although the Papists do not choose to keep by the Holy Scripture, they ought at least not to be so base as to renounce that which they pretend to hold. But even this is not all. It is true that it is a doctrine which well deserves to be embraced, that God cannot be a righteous Judge to save us, unless he have been previously declared to be in the highest degree a merciful Father; that there will be no righteousness in us but that which he has placed there; and that he cannot reward us but by crowning his gifts. But it is also true, that, though God has given us grace to serve him, though we have laboriously done, according to our ability, all that was possible for us, though we have done so well that God accepts of it all; still there will be much to censure in all the best works that we have done, and the greatest virtue that can be perceived in us will be vicious.” — Fr. Ser.

(200) “Son apparition.” — “His appearing.”

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 4

Paul said to Timothy,

I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ ( 2 Timothy 4:1 ),

Hey, that's heavy duty, man, when you charge a person before God and before the Lord Jesus Christ. Laying a charge now on Timothy.

The Lord Jesus Christ,

who shall judge the quick and the dead ( 2 Timothy 4:1 )

Now the quick is an old English word, it means alive. Someone said in L.A. traffic there are two kinds: the quick and the dead. But the word means alive.

The Lord is going to judge those that are alive and those that are dead

at his appearing and his kingdom ( 2 Timothy 4:1 );

Now there will be two judgments. The one at His coming, His appearing, will be the judgment of those who have lived through the great tribulation period. The first thing that Jesus does when He comes again, according to Matthew's gospel is He gathers together the nations for judgment and He will separate them as a shepherd separates his sheep from his goats. And He'll put on His left hand and He said, you know, Depart from me, you workers of iniquity. I was hungry and you didn't feed me. I was thirsty; you didn't give me anything to drink. I was naked, you didn't clothe me. I was, you know, sick and you didn't visit me. In prison, you didn't visit. Lord, when did we see you this way? Well, inasmuch as you did not do it to the least of these, you didn't do it to me.

To those on His right hand, come ye blessed of the Father, inherit the kingdom that was prepared for you from the foundations of the world. For when I was hungry, you fed me. Lord, when did we see you like that? Well, inasmuch as you did it unto the least of these, you did it to me. But the judgment, which will determine those who will be allowed to go into the Kingdom Age when Jesus is going to reign upon the earth for a thousand years; after the thousand years reign, then He will judge the dead. And all of the dead, small and great, will stand before the great white throne of God and they will be judged out of the things that are written in the books.

So I charge you before God and before the Lord Jesus Christ, who is going to judge the alive and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom, the two judgments. What does He charge Him?

Preach the word ( 2 Timothy 4:2 );

Why? Because it is the word of God that can change man. It is the word of God that can inspire really the, well, bring the changes, can cleanse a man. So preach the word.

Oh, isn't it a shame that there is so little preaching of the Word of God today in the pulpits across the country? All kinds of preaching of psychology and all other kinds of things, but so little preaching of the word. "I charge you before God and before Jesus Christ, Timothy, preach the word." Paul said, "We preach not ourselves, but Christ crucified; and ourselves his ministers for your sake" ( 2 Corinthians 4:5 ). His servants. Preach the word.

And then he said,

be instant in season, and out of season ( 2 Timothy 4:2 );

In other words, be ready to go. Sometimes you feel like it, sometimes you don't. Ready to go.

reprove ( 2 Timothy 4:2 ),

The word of God is profitable for reproof.

rebuke, and exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine ( 2 Timothy 4:2 ).

Now Paul is emphasizing here, "Preach the word", and get the people indoctrinated in the basic foundational truths of God. "Preach the word".

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables ( 2 Timothy 4:3-4 ).

You know, it is an interesting thing how that the Word of God seems to create an appetite for the Word of God, and it seems to spoil you for anything else. The Word of God is so exciting. There is so much there. It is so powerful, so dynamic that when you really are being taught the Word, and you really get into the meat, you begin to grow and be strengthened. You just can't be satisfied with these little, you know, beautiful days and butterflies and sparrow sermons, you know, everything is pleasant and the world is great.

So the time will come though, if the person doesn't have a diet of the Word of God, they get itching ears. Oh, he tells the greatest jokes, you know, man, the guy's a great storyteller and people have itching ears. They want to be entertained and churches have become really entertainment centers. I mean, they put on shows that will make Hollywood jealous. They want to be entertained. Itching ears desiring entertainment, turning their ears away from the truth and it opens them up to be gullible to listen to fables.

But watch thou in all things, and endure afflictions, and do the work of an evangelist, and make full proof of thy ministry ( 2 Timothy 4:5 ).

Now Paul was an apostle by the will of God but he was also a pastor and a teacher. Timothy had the calling of an evangelist. Paul is encouraging him to preach and to do the work of an evangelist. Now it is important to know what area of ministry God has gifted you and called you to fulfill and that you be what God has called you to be, and not attempt to be something that God hasn't made you. Because the most difficult and frustrating thing in the world is to try to be an evangelist if God has made you a pastor-teacher or to try and be a pastor-teacher if God has made you an evangelist. You know, we've got to make our calling and election sure. We've got to know what God has called us to be.

The first sixteen years or so of my ministry was totally frustrating, as I sought to be Chuck an evangelist by the will of God. God didn't call me to be an evangelist. And my endeavors to do so were just totally frustrating and unfruitful. It was not until I really acknowledged and came to the realization that God had called me as a pastor-teacher that the ministry began to be blessed, because now it's natural, now it's not forced. Now I can be what God has called me to be, comfortable with it, loving it.

So to Timothy, "do the work of an evangelist, and make full proof of your ministry." So important that we make full proof of that ministry.

For [Paul said] I am now ready to be offered, the time of my departure is at hand ( 2 Timothy 4:6 ).

Things were going bad for Paul in Rome. The trial is not looking good. He's appeared for his preliminary hearings and he's heard the charges and he has seen the attitude of the Roman government at this point, and Paul realizes his days are numbered. This is the last letter that Paul wrote, his letter, second epistle to Timothy, and he realizes that the handwriting is on the wall. "The time of my departure is at hand." You see, with Paul he looked at death as only a departure on his journey. I'm going to move in a short while from this tent into a mansion. "The building of God, not made with hands, eternal in the heavens" ( 2 Corinthians 5:1 ). The time of my departure is at hand.

And then Paul said,

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith ( 2 Timothy 4:7 ):

Oh what an important thing to say when the time of departure gets close. And I look back at my life and I can say, Well, I fought a good fight. I gave up, you know, all I had and I have finished the course. Earlier Paul had written to the Philippians and he said, "I have not yet apprehended that for which I was apprehended of Jesus Christ, neither do I count myself perfect: but this is what I'm doing, forgetting those things which are behind, I'm pressing towards those things which are before, as I press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God which is in Christ Jesus" ( Philippians 3:12-14 ). He saw the Christian life as a race.

He said, don't you realize "that they which run in a race run all, but only one receives the prize? So run, that you might obtain" ( 1 Corinthians 9:24 ). I've fought a good fight. I've been in there. I have finished now my course and I have kept the faith.

So,

Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, our righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all of them also that love his appearing ( 2 Timothy 4:8 ).

We are told to wait for His appearing, to look for His appearing, and now Paul speaks about loving His appearing. The crown of righteousness, Jesus said to the church of Smyrna, "Be thou faithful unto death, I will give thee a crown of life" ( Revelation 2:10 ). The various crowns of heaven, that crown of righteousness. The Lord our righteous judge shall give, not to me only but all those that love His appearing.

So do thy diligence to come shortly unto me ( 2 Timothy 4:9 ):

Hey, get here quick. I'm about to leave. Time of my departure is at hand. So hurry, get here as quick as you can.

For Demas has forsaken me ( 2 Timothy 4:10 ),

Now Demas was joined with Paul in other of the salutations of his previous epistles, but Paul had said earlier that all of those of Asia had forsaken him. Actually, it probably would have meant their own death had they associated with Paul at this point of the trial, for he was a prisoner condemned to die and their association with him now would endanger their own lives. "So Demas has forsaken me." Tragic because of the reason,

having loved the present world, and is departed to Thessalonica ( 2 Timothy 4:10 );

In other words, for his own skin, you know, wants to live on so he's departed to Thessalonica.

Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. So take Mark ( 2 Timothy 4:10-11 ),

This is the Mark that was a nephew to Barnabas who created a fight between Paul and Barnabas earlier. When Paul and Barnabas left on their first missionary journey, Mark went with them, but when they had passed through Cyprus and were heading over to some rough country, Mark got scared and went home and Paul and Barnabas went on alone.

Now as Paul and Barnabas were getting ready to take their second missionary journey, to go back into the same areas to strengthen the brethren that had been converted in their first journey, Barnabas said, Well, I want to take Mark with me again. And Paul said, Oh no, kid defected the last time, I don't want to take him again. I don't want problems. And so a big argument arose between Paul and Barnabas. The contention was so great that Barnabas took Mark and headed on out for Cyprus and Paul took Silas and headed on back into Asia Minor again.

It is interesting now, though you know within the Christian body we can have differences and we have disagreements, but the Lord always brings us back. And now Paul writes of this same Mark that he had problems with earlier, wouldn't go along with Barnabas who wanted to take him.

And he says to Timothy, "Take Mark,"

and bring him with you: for he is profitable to me for the ministry ( 2 Timothy 4:11 ).

I like that young man. Of course, Mark had matured a lot by now, no doubt. Several years had gone by, but Paul speaks about him in loving terms as being profitable unto him and all.

And Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus. The cloak ( 2 Timothy 4:12-13 )

Now Paul's dealing with just some, you know, very personal kind of things but, "the cloak"

that I left at Troas with Carpus, when you come, bring it with you, and also my books, but especially bring the parchments ( 2 Timothy 4:13 ).

Paul, it is said, was an avid reader. In fact, history, Gamaliel, Paul said he sat under the feet of Gamaliel, and we have an account of Gamaliel talking about Paul as a student. And as he spoke of Paul as a student, he said the biggest trouble I had with him as a student was supplying him with enough books. An avid reader, that is why when Paul was making his defense before King Agrippa, Festus cried out, Your much learning has made you mad. Paul had been there reading for two solid years in prison in Caesarea, and every time he saw him, Paul was buried in a book. And he said, hey, you studied too much, you flipped. You went one over the edge. Your much learning has made you mad.

So bring me the books, bring me the parch, especially those parchments, you know. You know I think that that's something about a teacher that you have a thirst and you'll never stop.

Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works ( 2 Timothy 4:14 ):

That's interesting, isn't it? Pray for those, the Lord said, who despitefully use you but I don't know that He intended you to pray that way.

Of whom be thou wary also ( 2 Timothy 4:15 );

Watch out for that Alexander the coppersmith.

for he has greatly withstood our words. Now at my first hearing no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray that God will not lay that to their charge ( 2 Timothy 4:15-16 ).

Interesting, Paul was totally forsaken by all of his friends. At his first hearing before Nero, they all left him. When Paul, one of his first exposures to Christianity was the stoning of Stephen that is recorded in the Bible. The first time we find Paul, he is standing there holding the coats of the men who were stoning Stephen to death. He just heard Stephen's tremendous witness before the Sanhedrin, of which he was a member. They voted, Stone him. Paul voted, Yes, stone him, you know, he voted consenting to his death. He voted with them to stone him and then he participated by holding the coats of the men who did the actual stoning of Stephen.

While Stephen was being stoned, you remember that he looked up and he said, Father, lay not this sin to their charge. Don't charge them with this one. That evidently made a pretty heavy impression upon Paul. Because later when the Lord got hold of Paul on his way to Damascus, hey, it's been hard to kick against the pricks, you know, I'm sure that that whole thing with Stephen was still in his mind and on his heart. Seeing this guy die in such a way as, Lord, into your hands I commend my spirit. Don't charge them with this sin, Lord. Rather than cursing and screaming and all at, those who were, you know, stoning him, this beautiful attitude of love and forgiveness.

Now Paul is more or less emulating that as he talks about these fellows who forsook him. Lord, I hope that the Lord doesn't charge them with that one.

Notwithstanding ( 2 Timothy 4:17 )

And this I love. All of the men forsook me but nevertheless,

the Lord stood with me ( 2 Timothy 4:17 ),

And that's all I need. The Lord stood with me.

and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion ( 2 Timothy 4:17 ).

Or Nero. He calls him the lion. Or perhaps he could be referring to, you know, being put in the arena with the lions, but I just thought that he's referring, it was cryptic for Nero.

Now notice this, "Notwithstanding, the Lord stood with me and strengthened me that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear". You see what happened is that when Paul stood before Nero; he just took opportunity to preach the Gospel to Nero. I mean, what a great opportunity. I've got to make my defense before this guy and so, but that was Paul's tactic all the way along. Whenever Paul was arrested and had to appear before the judges, or later before King Agrippa, he always used that opportunity to witness and try to win them to Jesus Christ.

Now Jesus said to His disciples, You're going to be persecuted and they're going to arrest you and they're going to take you before the magistrates, and you're going to stand before kings. But don't take any forethought what you're going to say, for in that hour the Spirit will give you the words that you should say and it will turn to you as an opportunity to testify.

In other words, you're going to be, you know, arrested, brought to court and all, hey, don't worry about it. It's going to be an opportunity for you to testify, to share your faith. And so Paul took every appearance before the judges and all as the opportunity to testify until he was laying such a heavy witness on Agrippa, King Agrippa. He said, Agrippa, do you believe the scriptures? I know you believe the scriptures. Agrippa said, Wait a minute. Hold on here. You mean you're trying to convert me? And Paul said, Oh, I wish I could. He really was. He was trying to convert him.

Now Paul doesn't nor does Luke give us an account of what Paul said to Nero, but you can be sure he laid on Nero one of the, he no doubt figured, boy, if I could win this guy to Christ, think of what good it would do for Christianity, if Nero could be won to Christ. And I'm sure he laid on this guy a testimony like you can't believe. And he said, they all forsook me but "the Lord stood with me". The Holy Spirit will give you the words in that hour. And He strengthened me that by me the preaching might be fully known. I mean, he laid the full witness on him and that all the Gentiles might hear. The whole court of Nero heard the Gospel. "And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion."

And the Lord shall deliver me ( 2 Timothy 4:18 )

Oh yes, He sure did. His head was whacked off and he escaped from Nero. Because Jesus said, "Don't fear them that have the power to kill the body, but after that have no more power: but rather fear him who after the body is killed is able to cast your spirit into hell" ( Matthew 10:28 ).

Yeah, I tell you, fear ye him. So I'm going to be delivered, Paul says. I know God's going to deliver me. And Paul knew exactly how because he said "the time of my departure is at hand" ( 2 Timothy 4:6 ). I'm going. The Lord is going to deliver me. I think it is wrong when we think that deliverance only comes through healing. God has many ways of delivering us. "And the Lord shall deliver me"

from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom ( 2 Timothy 4:18 ):

The world might take my life away but man, I'm going to be preserved in the heavenly kingdom.

to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Salute Prisca and Aquila ( 2 Timothy 4:18-19 ),

Now here they are again, still in Ephesus, and Paul is so bound to Priscilla and Aquila. Met them first in Corinth. And then they went with him or they went before him to Ephesus. And they were with him in his ministry there and a couple of people that I am anxious to meet, Priscilla and Aquila. Salute them, greet them.

and also the household of Onesiphorus ( 2 Timothy 4:19 ).

Now it is thought that maybe he was killed also in Rome. He looked Paul up, sought for him diligently, found him in a dungeon but it is thought that maybe because of his relationship with Paul, he was slain because he doesn't greet him but only his household. And there are some accounts that he was actually killed because of his relationship to Paul.

Erastus stayed at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum [which is Malta] and he was sick. Now do your diligence to come before winter. And Eubulus greets you, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia ( 2 Timothy 4:20-21 ),

Now, with Pudens and Claudia, couple of interesting names.

and all the brethren ( 2 Timothy 4:21 ).

Oh, I don't have time to go into the story but there are some interesting stories behind Claudia who is thought to have been a princess from the British Isles. And there are some interesting stories in the early church concerning this Claudia. And it's, that she is the same Claudia of course, is not known. But in the early church in Rome, there was a Claudia that had become converted. She was a princess from Britain and had been sent to Mary, one of the Roman leaders, as a part of the treaty and all and was converted to Christ there in Rome and became a very powerful figure in the church.

The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen ( 2 Timothy 4:22 ).

So Paul's last letter to Timothy and the last letter that he wrote.

May the Lord richly bless you as the Word of God is now assimilated into your life and you begin to apply it in your daily experiences, that the Word of God might have a purifying effect upon your life this week. Even as Jesus said, "Now you are clean through the word that I have spoken unto you" ( John 15:3 ). May you find the Word of God guiding you in the way of righteousness, being profitable to you in leading you in that path of righteousness, that God would have you to run.

May the Lord be with you and strengthen you in the various tests and trials that you'll be facing this week, and cause you to be victorious, more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ. "

Contending for the Faith

WORKS CITED

Thayer, Joseph H., D.D. Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon. Grand Rapids, Michigan: AP & A, n.d. The page number in Thayer is given and the column on the page follows the dash. For example, page 37-1 means the reference is on page 37 and in column 1.

Clarke, Adam. Commentary and Critical Notes. Vol. 2. New York: Abingdon Press, n.d.

Ellicott, Charles John. Commentary on the Whole Bible. Vol. 8. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1959.

Jamieson, Robert, A.R. Fausset, and David Brown. A Commentary on the Whole Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1961.

Johnson, B.W. People’s New Testament With Notes. Nashville, Tennessee: Gospel Advocate, 1951.

MacKnight, James. MacKnight on the Epistles. One-Volume Edition. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1984.

Thayer, Joseph Henry. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. New York: American Book Co., 1886.

Vine, W.E. A Dictionary of New Testament Words. Iowa Falls, Iowa: World Bible Publishers, 1981.

Contending for the Faith

Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

Henceforth: This word means the same in the Greek as it does in the English (Thayer 352-1). It is a compound of two words, the first of which signifies "because of preceding facts or circumstances." "Forth" means "from this point on." In this context, the word explains that because of what is described in verse 7, what is stated in verse 8 will happen. If any believer has doubts about the conditions on which eternal salvation is predicated, the positioning of this word between the two verses should settle it. Because he had fought the good fight, finished the course, and kept the faith, there would be a crown of righteousness reserved for Paul from a certain point onward.

The point at which this laying up would take place was Paul’s death. He had spoken of it in verse 6 as already taking place; thus, he can speak of the crown as already won.

laid up: This expression means "reserved" (Thayer 63-1). It is as if it has Paul’s name on it. He uses the same word to the Colossians (1:5); but since the Colossians were not dying, it was their "hope" that was reserved in heaven. Peter uses a different word but the same idea when he says the Lord knows how "to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished" (2 Peter 2:9). These passages make abundantly clear that for both the righteous and the wicked, rewards will be given at the judgment day.

at that day: This phrase is used many times in the New Testament to mean the day Jesus returns to judge the world (Thayer 277-2).

crown of righteousness: The reward that had Paul’s name upon it was this "crown of righteousness." He has brought into the mental view of his readers the Olympic games by the imagery of the race course in verse 7. Now, building on that image without actually naming it, he compares his heavenly crown to the garland of flowers given to Olympic winners. Paul explains to the Corinthian Christians that these athletic contestants "do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible" (1 Corinthians 9:25). The crown of righteousness was what James (1:12) calls the "crown of life," and Peter refers to as a "crown of glory" (1 Peter 5:4). In these instances, too, the crown was given for faithful service. It is called a crown of righteousness, as Ellicott points out, because it was righteousness that allowed him to lay claim to it (241).

The crown will be awarded by the "Lord the righteous judge." As noted in the Introduction, this expression is a subtle reference to the crooked Roman judge whom Paul knew would soon wrongly condemn him to death. It implies that the Roman official ruled over the pettiest of courts and that his sentence of death immediately will be reversed in the Supreme Court of all the Universe by a Judge who is infinite in righteousness. Christians of all ages have suffered many types of wrongs, confident in the knowledge that sentences here can always be overturned in the real court of last resort.

and not to me only: Paul closes this splendid passage by pointing out that the crown that awaits him is not his alone. In fact, like the phrases in verse 7, "a crown" is better translated as "the crown." There is one type of crown all faithful disciples shall receive, just as all faithful workers in His vineyard were promised "a penny." And as the reward is the same for all, so are the conditions of its receipt.

love his appearing: Paul concludes this portion of his discourse by suggesting that the motivating force that produces the type of life that earns the crown is love.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

C. Paul’s role in the last days 4:6-8

Paul revealed that he was about to die to impress on Timothy further the importance of remaining faithful to the Lord.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Because he had been faithful, Paul did not dread dying but looked forward to seeing His Lord. On the day of rewards for Christians (the judgment seat of Christ; 2 Timothy 1:12; 2 Timothy 1:18; 2 Corinthians 5:10) Paul was confident that the Lord would give him a reward that was proper.

The "crown of righteousness" may be either the fullness of righteousness as a reward or some unspecified reward for righteous conduct on earth (cf. James 1:12; Revelation 2:10). This seems to be a metaphorical crown (i.e., a reward) rather than a literal material crown since righteousness is non-material. This reward (victor’s crown, Gr. stephanos) will go to all Christians like Paul who, by the way they lived, demonstrated a longing for the Lord’s return. Not all Christians are anxious for the Lord to return since some know they need to change their way of living.

Clearly Paul was thinking of the judgment seat of Christ in 2 Timothy 4:1-8. He referred to his Judge in 2 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 4:8. Note that it will be the righteous Judge who will bestow the crown of righteousness.

"An expectation of reward is also a recognition of God’s grace. Those who anticipate reward will not be able to boast, ’Look at my accomplishments.’ They should be able to offer praise to God by saying, ’Thank you, Lord, for what you have produced in me.’ The very expectation of reward is an acknowledgment of God’s grace." [Note: Ibid., p. 249. See also Joe L. Wall, Going for the Gold, pp. 125-28, 131-39.]

Barclay's Daily Study Bible

Chapter 4

PAUL'S GROUNDS OF APPEAL ( 2 Timothy 4:1-5 )

4:1-5 I charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead--I charge you by his appearing and by his Kingdom--herald forth the word; be urgent in season and out of season; convict, rebuke, exhort, and do it all with a patience and a teaching which never fail. For there will come a time when men will refuse to listen to sound teaching, but, because they have ears which have to be continually titillated with novelties, they will bury themselves under a mound of teachers, whose teaching suits their own lusts after forbidden things. They will avert their cars from the truth, and they will turn to extravagant tales. As for you, be steady in all things; accept the suffering which will come upon you; do the work of an evangelist; leave no act of your service unfulfilled.

As Paul comes to the end of his letter, he wishes to nerve and to challenge Timothy to his task. To do so he reminds him of three things concerning Jesus.

(i) Jesus is the judge of the living and the dead. Some day Timothy's work will be tested, and that by none other than Jesus himself. A Christian must do every task in such a way that he can offer it to Christ. He is not concerned with either the criticism or the verdict of men. The one thing he covets is the "Well done!" of Jesus Christ. If we all did our work in that spirit, the difference would be incalculable. It would save us from the touchy spirit which is offended by criticism; it would save us from the self-important spirit which is concerned with personal rights and personal prestige; it would save us from the self-centred spirit which demands thanks and praise for its every act; it would even save us from being hurt by men's ingratitude.

(ii) Jesus is the returning conqueror. "I charge you," says Paul, "by his appearing." The word is epiphaneia ( G2015) . Epiphaneia was used in two special ways. It was used for the manifest intervention of some god; and it was specially used in connection with the Roman Emperor. His accession to the throne was his epiphaneia ( G2015) ; and in particular--and this is the background of Paul's thought here--it was used of his visit to any province or town. Obviously when the Emperor was due to visit any place, everything was put in perfect order. The streets were swept and garnished and all work was brought up-to-date so that the town might be fit for epiphaneia ( G2015) . So Paul says to Timothy: "You know what happens when any town is expecting the epiphaneia ( G2015) of the Emperor; you are expecting the epiphaneia ( G2015) of Jesus Christ. Do your work in such a way that all things will be ready whenever he appears." The Christian should so order life that at any moment he is ready for the coming of Christ.

(iii) Jesus is King. Paul urges Timothy to action by the remembrance of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. The day comes when the kingdoms of the world will be the Kingdom of the Lord; and so Paul says to Timothy: "So live and work that you will rank high in the roll of its citizens when the Kingdom comes."

Our work must be such that it will stand the scrutiny of Christ. Our lives must be such that they will welcome the appearance of the King. Our service must be such that it will demonstrate the reality of our citizenship of the Kingdom of God.

THE CHRISTIAN'S DUTY ( 2 Timothy 4:1-5 continued)

There can be few New Testament passages where the duties of the Christian teacher are more clearly set out than here.

The Christian teacher is to be urgent. The message he brings is literally a matter of life and death. The teachers who really get their message across are those who have the note of earnestness in their voice. Spurgeon had a real admiration for Martineau, who was a Unitarian and therefore denied the divinity of Jesus Christ which Spurgeon believed in with passionate intensity. Someone once said to Spurgeon: "How can you possibly admire Martineau? You don't believe what he preaches." "No," said Spurgeon, "but he does." Any man with the note of urgency in his voice demands, and will receive, a hearing from other men.

The Christian teacher is to be persistent. He is to urge the claims of Christ "in season and out of season." As someone has put it: "Take or make your opportunity." As Theodore of Mospeuestia put it: "The Christian must count every time an opportunity to speak for Christ." It was said of George Morrison of Wellington Church in Glasgow that with him wherever the conversation started, it went straight across country to Christ. This does not mean that we will not choose our time to speak, for there should be courtesy in evangelism as in every other human contact; but it does mean that perhaps we are far too shy in speaking to others about Jesus Christ.

Paul goes on to speak of the effect the Christian witness must produce.

He must convict. He must make the sinner aware of his sin. Walter Bagehot once said: "The road to perfection lies through a series of disgusts." Somehow or other the sinner must be made to feel disgusted with his sin. Epictetus draws a contrast between the false philosopher, who is out for popularity, and the real philosopher, whose one aim is the good of his hearers. The false philosopher deals in flattery and panders to self-esteem. The real philosopher says: "Come and be told that you are in a bad way." "The philosopher's lecture," he said, "is a surgery; when you go away you ought to have felt not pleasure, but pain." It was Alcibiades, the brilliant but spoiled darling of Athens, who used to say to Socrates: "Socrates, I hate you, because every time I meet you, you make me see what I am." The first essential is to compel a man to see himself as he is.

He must rebuke. In the great days of the Church there was an utter fearlessness in its voice; and because of that things happened. E. F. Brown tells of an incident from India. A certain young nobleman in the Viceroy's suite in Calcutta became notorious for his profligacy. Bishop Wilson one day put on his robes, drove to Government House, and said to the Viceroy: "Your excellency, if Lord ______ does not leave Calcutta before next Sunday, I shall denounce him from the pulpit in the Cathedral." Before Sunday came that young man was gone.

Ambrose of Milan was one of the great figures of the early Church. He was an intimate friend of Theodosius, the Emperor, who was a Christian, but a man of violent temper. Ambrose never hesitated to tell the Emperor the truth. "Who," he demanded, "will dare to tell you the truth if a priest does not dare?" Theodosius had appointed one of his close friends, Botherich, as governor of Thessalonica. Botherich, a good governor, had occasion to imprison a famous charioteer for infamous conduct. The popularity of these charioteers was incredible and the populace rose in a riot and murdered Botherich. Theodosius was mad with anger. Ambrose pled with him for discrimination in punishment, but Rufinus, his minister of state, deliberately inflamed his anger and Theodosius sent out orders for a massacre of vengeance. Later he countermanded the order, but too late for the new order to reach Thessalonica in time. The theatre was crammed to capacity with the doors shut, and the soldiers of Theodosius went to and fro slaughtering men, women and children for three hours. More than seven thousand people were killed. News of the massacre came back to Milan and when Theodosius presented himself at the Church service the next Sunday, Ambrose refused him admission. The Emperor pled for pardon. Eight months passed and again he came to Church. Again Ambrose refused him entry. In the end the Emperor of Rome had to lie prostrate on the ground with the penitents before he was allowed to worship with the Church again. In its great days the Church was fearless in rebuke.

In our personal relationships a word of warning and rebuke would often save a brother from sin and shipwreck. But, as someone has said, that word must always be spoken as "brother setting brother right." It must be spoken with a consciousness of our common guilt. It is not our place to set ourselves up as moral judges of anyone; nonetheless it is our duty to speak that warning word when it needs to be spoken.

He must exhort. Here is the other side of the matter. No rebuke should ever be such that it drives a man to despair and takes the heart and the hope out of him. Not only must men be rebuked, they must also be encouraged.

Further, the Christian duty of conviction, of rebuke and of encouragement, must be carried out with unwearied patience. The word is makrothumia ( G3115) , and it describes the spirit which never grows irritated, never despairs and never regards any man as beyond salvation. The Christian patiently believes in men because he unconquerably believes in the changing power of Christ.

FOOLISH LISTENERS ( 2 Timothy 4:1-5 continued)

Paul goes on to describe the foolish listeners. He warns Timothy that the day is coming when men will refuse to listen to sound teaching and will collect teachers who will titillate their ears with precisely the easy-going, comfortable things they want to hear.

In Timothy's day it was tragically easy to find such teachers. They were called sophists (compare G4680) and wandered from city to city, offering to teach anything for pay. Isocrates said of them: "They try to attract pupils by low fees and big promises." They were prepared to teach the whole of virtue or L15 or L20. They would teach a man to argue subtly and to use words cleverly until he could make the worse appear the better reason. Plato described them savagely: "Hunters after young men of wealth and position, with sham education as their bait, and a fee for their object, making money by a scientific use of quibbles in private conversation, while quite aware that what they are teaching is wrong."

They competed for customers. Dio Chrysostom wrote of them: "You might hear many poor wretches of sophists shouting and abusing one another, and their disciples, as they call them, squabbling, and many writers of books reading their stupid compositions, and many poets singing their poems, and many jugglers exhibiting their marvels, and many soothsayers giving the meaning of prodigies, and ten thousand rhetoricians twisting lawsuits, and no small number of traders driving their several trades."

Men in the days of Timothy were beset by false teachers hawking round sham knowledge. Their deliberate policy was to find arguments whereby a man could justify himself for doing what he wanted to do. Any teacher, to this day, whose teaching tends to make men think less of sin is a menace to Christianity and to mankind.

In contradistinction to that, certain duties are to be laid on Timothy.

He is to be steady in all things. The word (nephein, G3525) means that he is to be sober and self-contained, like an athlete who has his passions and his appetites and his nerves well under control. Hort says that the word describes "a mental state free from all perturbations or stupefactions...every faculty at full command, to look all facts and all considerations deliberately in the face." The Christian is not to be the victim of crazes; stability is his badge in an unbalanced and often insane world.

He is to accept whatever suffering comes upon him. Christianity will cost something, and the Christian is to pay the price of it without grumbling and without regret.

He is to do the work of an evangelist. In spite of the conviction and the rebuke the Christian is essentially the bringer of good news. If he insists on discipline and self-denial, it is that an even greater happiness may be attained than ever cheap pleasures can bring.

He is to leave no act of service unfulfilled. The Christian should have only one ambition--to be of use to the Church of which he is a part and the society in which he lives. The chance he dare not miss is not that of a cheap profit but that of being of service to his God, his Church and his fellow-men.

PAUL COMES TO THE END ( 2 Timothy 4:6-8 )

4:6-8 For my life has reached the point when it must be sacrificed, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight: I have completed the course: I have kept the faith. As for what remains, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which on that day the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me--and not only to me, but also to all who have loved his appearing.

For Paul the end is very near and he knows it. When Erasmus was growing old, he said: "I am a veteran, and have earned my discharge, and must leave the fighting to younger men." Paul, the aged warrior, is laying down his arms that Timothy may take them up.

No passage in the New Testament is more full of vivid pictures than this.

"My life," says Paul, "has reached the point where it must be sacrificed." The word he uses for sacrifice is the verb spendesthai ( G4689) which literally means to pour out as a libation to the gods. Every Roman meal ended with a kind of sacrifice. A cup of wine was taken and was poured out (spendesthai, G4689) to the gods. It is as if Paul were saying: "The day is ended; it is time to rise and go; and my life must be poured out as a sacrifice to God." He did not think of himself as going to be executed; he thought of himself as going to offer his life to God. Ever since his conversion, he had offered everything to God--his money, his scholarship, his time, the vigour of his body, the acuteness of his mind, the devotion of his heart. Only life itself was left to offer, and gladly he was going to lay it down.

He goes on to say: "The time of my departure is at hand." The word (analusis, G359) he uses for departure is a vivid one. It has many a picture in it and each tells us something about leaving this life. (a) It is the word for unyoking an animal from the shafts of the cart or the plough. Death to Paul was rest from toil. As Spenser had it, ease after toil, port after stormy seas, death after life, are lovely things. (b) It is the word for loosening bonds or fetters. Death for Paul was a release. He was to exchange the confines of a Roman prison for the glorious liberty of the courts of heaven. (c) It is the word for loosening the ropes of a tent. For Paul it was time to strike camp again. Many a journey he had made across the roads of Asia Minor and of Europe. Now he was setting out on his last and greatest journey; he was taking the road that led to God. (d) It is the word for loosening the mooring-ropes of a ship. Many a time Paul had felt his ship leave the harbour for the deep waters. Now he is to launch out into the greatest deep of all, setting sail to cross the waters of death to arrive in the haven of eternity.

So then, for the Christian, death is laying down the burden in order to rest; it is laying aside the shackles in order to be free; it is striking camp in order to take up residence in the heavenly places; it is casting off the ropes which bind us to this world in order to set sail on the voyage which ends in the presence of God. Who then shall fear it?

THE JOY OF THE WELL-FOUGHT CONTEST ( 2 Timothy 4:6-8 continued)

Paul goes on, still speaking in these vivid pictures of which he was such a master: "I have fought the good fight: I have completed the race: I have kept the faith." It is likely that he is not using different pictures from three different spheres of life, but one picture from the games.

(i) "I have fought the good fight." The word he uses for fight is agon ( G73) , which is the word for a contest in the arena. When an athlete can really say that he has done his best, then, win or lose, there is a deep satisfaction in his heart. Paul has come to the end, and he knows that he has put up a good show. When his mother died, Barrie made a great claim. "I can look back," he said, "and I cannot see the smallest thing undone." There is no satisfaction in all the world like knowing that we have done our best.

(ii) "I have finished the race." It is easy to begin but hard to finish. The one thing necessary for life is staying-power, and that is what so many people lack. It was suggested to a certain very famous man that his biography should be written while he was still alive. He absolutely refused to give permission, and his reason was: "I have seen so many men fall out on the last lap." It is easy to wreck a noble life or a fine record by some closing folly. But it was Paul's claim that he had finished the race. There is a deep satisfaction in reaching the goal.

Perhaps the world's most famous race is the marathon. The Battle of Marathon was one of the decisive battles of the world. In it the Greeks met the Persians, and, if the Persians had conquered, the glory that was Greece would never have flowered upon the world. Against fearful odds the Greeks won the victory, and, after the battle, a Greek soldier ran all the way, day and night, to Athens with the news. Straight to the magistrates he ran. "Rejoice," he gasped, "we have conquered," and even as he delivered his message he fell dead. He had completed his course and done his work, and there is no finer way for any man to die.

(iii) "I have kept the faith." This phrase can have more than one meaning. If we are to keep the background of the games, it is this. The great games in Greece were the Olympics. To these came all the greatest athletes in the world. On the day before the games all the competitors met and took a solemn oath before the gods that they had done not less than ten months training and that they would not resort to any trickery to win. So Paul may be saying: "I have kept the rules: I have played the game." It would be a great thing to die knowing that we had never transgressed the rules of honour in the race of life.

But this phrase may have other meanings. It is also a business phrase. It was the regular Greek for: "I have kept the conditions of the contract; I have been true to my engagement." If Paul used it in that way, he meant that he had engaged himself to serve Christ and had stood by that engagement and never let his Master down. Further, it could mean: "I have kept my faith: I have never lost my confidence and my hope." If Paul used it in that way, he meant that through thick and thin, in freedom and in imprisonment, in all his perils by land and sea, and now in the very face of death, he had never lost his trust in Jesus Christ.

Paul goes on to say there is laid up for him the crown. In the games the greatest prize was the laurel wreath. With it the victor was crowned; and to wear it was the greatest honour which could come to any athlete. But this crown in a few short days would wither. Paul knew that there awaited him a crown which would never fade.

In this moment Paul is turning from the verdict of men to the verdict of God. He knew that in a very short time he would stand before the Roman judgment seat and that his trial could have only one end. He knew what Nero's verdict would be, but he also knew what God's verdict would be. The man whose life is dedicated to Christ is indifferent to the verdict of men. He cares not if they condemn him so long as he hears his Master's "Well done!"

Paul sounds still another note--this crown awaits not only him but all who wait with expectation for the coming of the King. It is as if he said to the young Timothy: "Timothy, my end is near: and I know that I go to my reward. If you follow in my steps, you will feel the same confidence and the same joy when the end comes to you." The joy of Paul is open to every man who also fights that fight and finishes the race and keeps the faith.

A ROLL OF HONOUR AND DISHONOUR ( 2 Timothy 4:9-15 )

4:9-15 Do your best to come and see me soon. Demas has deserted me, because he loved this present world, and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Luke alone is with me. Take Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful in service. I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus.

Paul draws up a roll of honour and of dishonour of his friends. Some are only names to us; of some, as we read the Acts and the Epistles, we get little revealing glimpses. Some of the stories, if we are allowed to use our imagination, we can reconstruct.

The Spiritual Pilgrimage Of Demas

First on the list comes Demas. There are three mentions of him in Paul's letters; and it may well be that they hake in them the story of a tragedy. (i) In Philemon 1:24 he is listed amongst a group of men whom Paul calls his fellow-labourers. (ii) In Colossians 4:14 he is mentioned without any comment at all. (iii) Here he has forsaken Paul because he loved this present world. First, Demas the fellow-labourer, then, just Demas, and, finally, Demas the deserter who loved the world. Here is the history of a spiritual degeneration. Bit by bit the fellow-labourer has become the deserter; the title of honour has become the name of shame.

What happened to Demas? That we cannot tell for sure, but we can guess.

(i) It may be that he had begun to follow Christ without first counting the cost; and it may be that he was not altogether to blame. There is a kind of evangelism which proclaims: "Accept Christ and you will have rest and peace and joy." There is a sense, the deepest of all senses, in which that is profoundly and blessedly true. But it is also true that when we accept Christ our troubles begin. Up to this time we have lived in conformity with the world and its standards. Because of that life was easy, because we followed the line of least resistance and went with the crowd. But once a man accepts Christ, he accepts an entirely new set of standards and is committed to an entirely new kind of life at his work, in his personal relationships, in his pleasures, and there are bound to be collisions. It may be that Demas was swept into the Church in a moment of emotion without ever thinking things out; and then when unpopularity, persecution, the necessity of sacrifice, loneliness, imprisonment came, he quit because he had never bargained for anything like that. When a man undertakes to follow Christ, the first essential is that he should know what he is doing.

(ii) It may be that there came to Demas the inevitable weariness of the years. They have a way of taking our ideals away, of lowering our standards, of accustoming us to defeat.

Halliday Sutherland tells how he felt when he first qualified as a doctor. If on the street or in any company there came the call: "Is there a doctor here?" he thrilled to it, proud and eager to step forward and help. But as the years went on, a request like that became a nuisance. The thrill was gone.

W. H. Davies, the tramp who was also one of the greatest poets, has a revealing passage about himself. He had walked to see Tintern Abbey which he had last seen twenty-seven years ago. He says: "As I stood there now, twenty-seven years after, and compared that young boy's enthusiasm with my present lukewarm feelings, I was not very well pleased with myself. For instance, at that time I would sacrifice both food and sleep to see anything wonderful; but now in my prime I did not go seeking things of beauty, and only sang of things that came my way by chance."

Dean Inge had a sermon on Psalms 91:6 --"the destruction that wastes at noonday," which he called "The Peril of Middle Age." There is no threat so dangerous as the threat of the years to a man's ideals; and it can be kept at bay only by living constantly in the presence of Jesus Christ.

(iii) Paul said of Demas that "he loved this present world." His trouble may have been quite simple, and yet very terrible. It may simply be that he loved comfort more than he loved Christ, that he loved the easy way more than he loved the way which led first to a cross and then to the stars.

We think of Demas, not to condemn, but to sympathize, for so many of us are like him.

It is just possible that this is neither the beginning nor the end of the story of Demas. The name Demas is a shortened and familiar form of Demetrius and twice we come upon a Demetrius in the New Testament story. There was a Demetrius who led the riot of the silversmiths at Ephesus and wished to lynch Paul because he had taken their temple trade away ( Acts 19:25). There was a Demetrius of whom John wrote that he had a good report of all and of the truth itself, a fact to which John bore willing and decisive witness ( 3 John 1:12). May this be the beginning and the end of the story? Did Demetrius the silversmith find something about Paul and Christ which twined itself round his heart? Did the hostile leader of the riot become the convert to Christ? Did he for a time fall away from the Christian way and become Demas, the deserter, who loved this present world? And did the grace of God lay hands on him again, and bring him back, and make him the Demetrius of Ephesus of whom John wrote that he was a servant of the truth of whom all spoke well? That we will never know, but it is a lovely thing to think that the charge of being a deserter may not have been the final verdict on the life of Demas.

A ROLL OF HONOUR AND DISHONOUR ( 2 Timothy 4:9-15 continued)

The Gentile Of Whom All Spoke Well

After Paul has spoken of the man who was the deserter, he goes on to speak of the man who was faithful unto death. "Luke alone is with me," he says. We know very little about Luke, and yet even from that little he emerges as one of the loveliest characters in the New Testament.

(i) One thing we know by implication--Luke accompanied Paul on his last journey to Rome and to prison. He was the writer of the Book of Acts. Now there are certain passages of Acts which are written in the first person plural and we can be quite sure that Luke is here describing occasions on which he himself was actually present. Acts 27:1-44 describes Paul setting out under arrest for Rome and the story is told in the first person. Therefore we can be sure that Luke was there. From that we deduce something else. It is thought that when an arrested prisoner was on his way to trial at Rome, he was allowed to be accompanied by only two slaves, and it is therefore probable that Luke enrolled himself as Paul's slave in order to be allowed to accompany him to Rome and to prison. Little wonder that Paul speaks of him with love in his voice. Surely devotion could go no farther.

(ii) There are only two other definite references to Luke in the New Testament. In Colossians 4:14 he is described as the beloved physician. Paul owed much to Luke. All his life he had the torturing thorn in his flesh; and Luke must have been the man who used his skill to ease his pain and enable him to go on. Luke was essentially a man who was kind. He does not seem to have been a great evangelist; he was the man who made his contribution in terms of personal service. God had given him healing skill in his hands, and Luke gave back that skill to God. Kindness is the quality which lifts a man out of the luck of ordinary men. Eloquence will be forgotten; mental cleverness may live on the printed page; but kindness lives on enthroned in the hearts of men.

Dr. Johnson had certain contacts with a young man called Harry Hervey. Hervey was rich and more than something of a rake. But he had a London house where Johnson was always welcome. Years later Harry Hervey was being unkindly discussed. Johnson said seriously: "He was a vicious man, but very kind to me. If you call a dog Hervey, I shall love him." Kindness covered a multitude of sins.

Luke was loyal and Luke was kind.

(iii) The other definite reference to Luke is in Philemon 1:24; where Paul calls him his fellow-labourer. Luke was not content only to write nor to confine himself to his job as a doctor; he set his hand to the work. The Church is full of talkers and of people who are there more for what they can get than for what they can give; Luke was one of these priceless people--the workers of the Church.

(iv) There is one other possible reference to Luke in the New Testament. 2 Corinthians 8:18 speaks of "the brother who is famous among all the Churches." From the earliest times that brother has been identified with Luke. He was the man of whom all men spoke well. He was the man who was loyal unto death; he was the man who was essentially kind; he was the man who was dedicated to the work. Such a man will always be one of whom all speak well.

A ROLL OF HONOUR AND DISHONOUR ( 2 Timothy 4:9-15 continued)

There is still another name with an untold, yet thrilling, story behind it in this roll.

The Man Who Redeemed Himself

Paul urges Timothy to bring Mark with him "for he is profitable to me for the ministry." The word ministry is not used in its narrower sense of the ministry of the Church but in its wider sense of service. "Bring Mark," says Paul, "for he is very useful in service." As E. F. Scott puts it; "Bring Mark, for he can turn his hand to anything." Or, as we might put it in our own everyday language: "Bring Mark, for he is a useful man to have about the place."

Mark had a curiously chequered career. He was very young when the Church began, but he lived at the very centre of its life. It was to the house of Mary, Mark's mother, that Peter turned his steps when he escaped from prison, and we may take it that this house was the central meeting place of the Jerusalem Church ( Acts 12:12).

When Paul and Barnabas set out on their first missionary journey they took Mark with them--John Mark was his full name--to be their assistant ( Acts 13:5). It looked as if he was earmarked for a great career in the company of Paul and in the service of the Church. Then something happened. When Paul and Barnabas left Pamphylia and struck inland on the hard and dangerous road that led to the central plateau of Asia Minor, Mark left them and went home ( Acts 13:13). His nerve failed him, and he turned back.

Paul took that defection very hard. When he set out with Barnabas on their second missionary journey, Barnabas--he was related to Mark ( Colossians 4:10) --planned to take Mark with them again. But Paul absolutely refused to have the quitter a second time, and so fierce was the argument and so acute the difference that Paul and Barnabas split company and never, so far as we know, worked together again ( Acts 15:36-40). So then, there was a time when Paul had no use for Mark, when he looked on him as a spineless deserter and completely refused to have him on his staff.

What happened to Mark after that we do not know. Tradition has it that he went to Egypt and that he was the founder of the Christian Church in that country. But, whatever he did, he certainly redeemed himself. When Paul comes to write Colossians from his Roman prison, Mark is with him, and Paul commends him to the Colossian Church and charges them to receive him. And now, when the end is near, the one man Paul wants, besides his beloved Timothy, is Mark, for he is a useful man to have about. The quitter has become the man who can turn his hand to anything in the service of Paul and of the gospel.

Fosdick has a sermon with the great and uplifting title, "No man need stay the way he is." Mark is proof of that. He is our encouragement and our inspiration, for he was the man who failed and yet made good. Still to this day Jesus Christ can make the coward spirit brave and nerve the feeble arm for fight. He can release the sleeping hero in the soul of every man. He can turn the shame of failure into the joy of triumphant service.

A ROLL OF HONOUR AND DISHONOUR ( 2 Timothy 4:9-15 continued)

Helpers And A Hinderer And A Last Request

So the list of names goes on. Of Crescens we know nothing at all. Titus was another of Paul's most faithful lieutenants. "My true child," Paul calls him ( Titus 1:4). When the trouble with the Church at Corinth had been worrying him, Titus had been one of Paul's emissaries in the struggle to mend things ( 2 Corinthians 2:13; 2 Corinthians 7:6; 2 Corinthians 7:13; 2 Corinthians 12:18). Tychicus had been entrusted with the delivery of the letter to the Colossians ( Colossians 4:7), and of the letter to the Ephesians ( Ephesians 6:21). The little group of helpers was being dispersed throughout the Church, for even if Paul was in prison the work had still to go on, and Paul must go lonely that his scattered people might be strengthened and guided and comforted.

Then comes the mention of a man who had hindered instead of helping: "Alexander the coppersmith did me a great deal of harm." We do not know what Alexander had done; but perhaps we can deduce it. The word that Paul uses for did me much evil is the Greek endeiknumi ( G1731) . That verb literally means to display, and was in fact often used for the laying of information against a man. Informers were one of the great curses of Rome at this time. And it may well be that Alexander was a renegade Christian, who went to the magistrates with false information against Paul, seeking to ruin him in the most dishonourable way.

Paul has certain personal requests to make. He wants the cloak he had left behind at the house of Carpus in Troas. The cloak (phainole) was a great circular rug-like garment. It had a hole for the head in the middle and it covered a man like a little tent, reaching right down to the ground. It was a garment for the winter time and no doubt Paul was feeling his Roman prison cold.

He wants the books; the word is biblia ( G975) , which literally means papyrus rolls; and it may well be that these rolls contained the earliest forms of the gospels. He wanted the parchments. They could be one of two things. They might be Paul's necessary legal documents, especially his certificate of Roman citizenship; but more likely they were copies of the Hebrew Scriptures, for the Hebrews wrote their sacred books on parchment made from the skins of animals. It was the word of Jesus and the word of God that Paul wanted most of all, when he lay in prison awaiting death.

Sometimes history has a strange way of repeating itself. Fifteen hundred years later William Tyndale was lying in prison in Vilvorde, waiting for death because he had dared to give the people the Bible in their own language. It is a cold damp winter, and he writes to a friend: "Send me, for Jesus' sake, a warmer cap, something to patch my leggings, a woollen shirt, and above all my Hebrew Bible." When they were up against it and the chill breath of death was on them, the great ones wanted more than anything else the word of God to put strength and courage into their souls.

LAST WORDS AND GREETINGS ( 2 Timothy 4:16-22 )

4:16-22 At my first defense no one was there to stand by me, but all forsook me. May it not be reckoned against them! But the Lord stood beside me, and he strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation of the gospel was fully made so that the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the mouth of the lion. The Lord will rescue me from every evil, and will save me for his heavenly kingdom. Glory be to him for ever and ever. Amen.

A Roman trial began with a preliminary examination to formulate the precise charge against the prisoner. When Paul was brought to that preliminary examination, not one of his friends stood by him. It was too dangerous to proclaim oneself the friend of a man on trial for his life.

One of the curious things about this passage is the number of reminiscences of Psalms 22:1-31. "Why hast thou forsaken me?--all forsook me." "There is none to help--no one was there to stand by me." "Save me from the mouth of the lion--I was rescued from the mouth of the lion." "All the ends of the earth shall turn to the Lord--that the Gentiles might hear it." "Dominion belongs to the Lord--The Lord will save me for his heavenly kingdom." It seems certain that the words of this psalm were running in Paul's mind. And the lovely thing is that this was the psalm which was in the mind of Jesus when he hung upon his Cross. As Paul faced death, he encouraged his heart with the same psalm as his Lord used in the same circumstances.

Three things brought Paul courage in that lonely hour.

(i) All men had forsaken him but the Lord was with him. Jesus had said that he would never leave his own or forsake them and that he would be with them to the end of the world. Paul is a witness that Jesus kept his promise. If to do the right means to be alone, as Joan of Arc said, "It is better to be alone with God."

(ii) Paul would use even a Roman court to proclaim the message of Christ. He obeyed his own commandment; in season and out of season he pressed the claims of Christ on men. He was so busy thinking of the task of preaching that he forgot the danger. A man who is immersed in his task has conquered fear.

(iii) He was quite certain of the ultimate rescue. In time he might seem to be the victim of circumstances and a criminal condemned at the bar of Roman justice; but Paul saw beyond time and knew that his eternal safety was assured. It is always better to be in danger for a moment and safe for eternity, than to be safe for a moment and jeopardize eternity.

A HIDDEN ROMANCE? ( 2 Timothy 4:16-22 continued)

Finally there come greetings sent and given. There is a greeting to Priscilla and Aquila, that husband and wife whose home was ever a church, wherever it might be, and who had at some time risked their lives for Paul's sake ( Acts 18:2; Romans 16:3; 1 Corinthians 16:19). There is a greeting to the gallant Onesiphorus, who had sought out Paul in prison in Rome ( 2 Timothy 1:16) and who, it may be, had paid for his loyalty with his life. There is a greeting to Erastus, whom once Paul sent as his emissary to Macedonia ( Acts 19:22), and who, it may be, was afterwards within the Church at Rome ( Romans 16:23). There is a greeting to Trophimus, whom Paul had been accused of bringing into the Temple precincts in Jerusalem, although a Gentile, an incident for which Paul's last imprisonment began ( Acts 20:4; Acts 21:29). Finally there are greetings from Linus, Pudens and Claudia. In the later lists Linus stands as the first bishop of Rome.

Around the names of Pudens and Claudia a romance has been woven. The story may be impossible, or at least improbable, but it is too interesting not to quote. Martial was a famous Roman poet, a writer of epigrams, who flourished from A.D. 66 to A.D. 100. Two of his epigrams celebrate the marriage of a highborn and distinguished Roman called Pudens to a lady called Claudia. In the second of them Claudia is called a stranger in Rome, and it is said that she came from Britain. Now Tacitus tells us that in A.D. 52, in the reign of the Emperor Claudius, certain territories in south-east Britain were given to a British king called Cogidubnus, for his loyalty to Rome; and in 1723 a marble tablet was dug up in Chichester which commemorates the erection of a heathen temple by Cogidubnus, the king, and by Pudens, his son. In the inscription the full name of the king is given and, no doubt in honour of the Roman Emperor, we find that the British king had taken the name of Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus. If that king had a daughter her name must have been Claudia, for that is the name that she would take from her father. We can carry the story further. It may be that Cogidubnus would send his daughter Claudia to stay in Rome. That he should do so would be almost certain, for when a foreign king entered into an alliance with Rome, as Cogidubnus had done, some members of his family were always sent to Rome as pledges of keeping the agreement. If Claudia went to Rome, she would certainly stay in the house of a Roman called Aulus Plautius, who had been the governor in Britain from A.D. 43-52, and to whom Cogidubnus had rendered his faithful service. The wife of Aulus Plautius was a lady called Pomponia, and we learn from Tacitus that she had been arraigned before the Roman courts in A.D. 57 because she was "tainted with a foreign superstition." That "foreign superstition" may well have been Christianity. Pomponia may have been a Christian, and from her Claudia, the British princess, may have learned of Jesus also.

We cannot say whether the guesses in that story are true. But it would be wonderful to think that this Claudia was actually a British princess who had come to stay in Rome and become a Christian, and that Pudens was her husband.

Paul comes to the end by commending his friends to the presence and the Spirit of his Lord and theirs, and, as always, his last word is grace.

-Barclay's Daily Study Bible (NT)

FURTHER READING

Timothy

D. Guthrie, The Pastoral Epistles (TC; E)

W. Lock, The Pastoral Epistles (ICC; G)

E. F. Scott, The Pastoral Epistles (MC; E)

E. K. Simpson, The Pastoral Epistles

Abbreviations

CGT: Cambridge Greek Testament

ICC: International Critical Commentary

MC: Moffatt Commentary

TC: Tyndale Commentary

E: English Text

G: Greek Text

-Barclay's Daily Study Bible (NT)

Gann's Commentary on the Bible

2 Timothy 4:8

Henceforth = finally (next in order)

Laid = to be laid away. The word appeared not only in an athletic context, but was also used of an award made to loyal subjects for services rendered by oriental rulers.

Paul’s certainly is not based on his merit, but rather on the certainly of his faith and hope.

Shall give = Idea of something (a treasure) laid up (reserved) in store, and is now given out.

Crown of righteousness = 1) crown which marks the wearer as righteous before God; 2) or the due reward of righteousness. Here both.

His appearing = Is it is first advent, or his second advent which is meant? "at that day" would point to his Second Coming.

Why would Christians love Christ’s appearing in judgment? 1) The Lord’s glory would now be apparent to all; 2) the reward of the righteous; 3) the revelation of God’s wrath against all evil.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness,.... The happiness of the future state of the saints is signified by a crown, on account of the glory and excellency of it; and in perfect agreement with the character of the saints, as kings; and who are raised to sit among princes, and to inherit the throne of glory, and have a kingdom prepared for them; and this is called a crown "of righteousness", because it comes through the righteousness of Christ; it is that which gives a right unto it, and without which it cannot be enjoyed; and because it is obtained and possessed in a righteous way, and not by force and usurpation, as crowns sometimes are: it is God the Father's free gift unto his children, what they are born heirs unto, and have a meetness for, through regenerating and sanctifying grace, and have a legal title to it through the righteousness of Christ. Moreover, this may be expressive of the perfect holiness and righteousness of the heavenly state, and of the saints in it, wherein will dwell none but righteous persons, and who will be entirely without sin. And this happiness, signified by a crown, is "laid up"; in the covenant of grace for the saints, which is ordered in all things and sure; and in Christ, in whose hands their persons are, and their grace is, and with him also is their life of glory hid and secured: and this also is laid up in heaven, and reserved there, and that

for me, and thee; for particular persons, for all the vessels of mercy, for all that are chosen in Christ Jesus, and redeemed by his blood, and sanctified by his Spirit;

which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day. By the Lord is meant the Lord Jesus Christ; as is evident from his character, as a Judge, for the Father judgeth no man; and from mention being made hereafter of his appearing: Christ is ordained Judge of quick and dead, for which he is abundantly qualified, and a "righteous" one he will be; he is righteous as God, and as man, and as Mediator, in the discharge of all his offices, and so he will be as a Judge, in the administration of that office; righteousness will be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins; and from Christ, under this character, the apostle expected to receive all his future glory and happiness; and that both in a way of gift, as a free grace gift from him, and through him, and in a way of righteousness; and this seems to be a Jewish way of speaking. One of the Septuagint interpreters, whom Ptolomy king of Egypt sent for from Judea, to translate the law of Moses into Greek, in answer to a question put to him by the king, uses this phrase of

στεφανος δικαιοσυνης, "a crown of righteousness"; and which he represents as the gift of God z:

at that day; either at the day of death, the time of his dissolution, which was at hand; or at the day of the resurrection, and of the last judgment, when Christ will appear under the above character: and the apostle further observes, to the comfort and encouragement of Timothy, and others, that this happiness was not intended and prepared for himself only, but for others:

and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing; that is, his appearing at his second coming; which is to be loved, and so looked for by the saints, not only because it will be glorious in itself, in its attendants and consequences, but will be of great advantage to the saints; Christ will appear unto salvation to them, and so to their joy; they will appear with him in glory, and be like him, and enjoy the everlasting vision of him. The devils believe this appearance of Christ, but tremble at it; wicked men will behold him, and fear; saints know, believe, and love both Christ and his appearing; and such will wear that crown: the Ethiopic version renders it, "who love him at his coming"; all that love him now, will love him then.

z Aristeae Hist. 72. Interpr. p. 91, Ed. Oxon.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;   2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.   3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;   4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.   5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.   6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.   7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:   8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

      Observe, I. How awfully this charge is introduced (2 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 4:1): I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom. Observe, The best of men have need to be awed into the discharge of their duty. The work of a minister is not an indifferent thing, but absolutely necessary. Woe be to him if he preach not the gospel, 1 Corinthians 9:16. To induce him to faithfulness, he must consider, 1. That the eye of God and Jesus Christ was upon him: I charge thee before God and the Lord Jesus Christ; that is, "as thou tenderest the favour of God and Jesus Christ; as thou wilt approve thyself to God and Jesus Christ, by the obligations both of natural and revealed religion; as thou wilt make due returns to the God who made thee and the Lord Jesus Christ who redeemed thee." 2. He charges him as he will answer it at the great day, reminding him of the judgment to come, which is committed to the Lord Jesus. He shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom, that is, when he appears in his kingdom. It concerns all, both ministers and people, seriously to consider the account that they must shortly give to Jesus Christ of all the trusts reposed in them. Christ shall judge the quick and the dead, that is, those that at the last day shall be found alive, and those who shall be raised to life out of the grave. Note, (1.) The Lord Jesus Christ shall judge the quick and the dead. God hath committed all judgment unto the Son, and hath appointed him the Judge of quick and dead, Acts 10:42. (2.) He will appear; he will come the second time, and it will be a glorious appearance, as the word epiphaneia signifies. (3.) Then his kingdom shall appear in its glory: At his appearing and kingdom; for he will then appear in his kingdom, sitting on a throne, to judge the world.

      II. What is the matter of the charge, 2 Timothy 4:2-5; 2 Timothy 4:2-5. He is charged,

      1. To preach the word. This is ministers' business; a dispensation is committed to them. It is not their own notions and fancies that they are to preach, but the pure plain word of God; and they must not corrupt it, but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God, they speak in Christ, 2 Corinthians 2:17.

      2. To urge what he preached, and to press it with all earnestness upon his hearers: "Be instant in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort; do this work with all fervency of spirit. Call upon those under thy charge to take heed of sin, to do their duty: call upon them to repent, and believe, and live a holy life, and this both in season and out of season. In season, when they are at leisure to hear thee, when some special opportunity offers itself of speaking to them with advantage. Nay, do it out of season, even when there is not that apparent probability of fastening something upon them, because thou dost not know but the Spirit of God may fasten upon them; for the wind bloweth where it listeth; and in the morning we must sow our seed, and in the evening not withhold our hand," Ecclesiastes 11:6. We must do it in season, that is, let slip no opportunity; and do it out of season, that is, not shift off the duty, under pretence that it is out of season.

      3. He must tell people of their faults: "Reprove them, rebuke them. Convince wicked people of the evil and danger of their wicked courses. Endeavour, by dealing plainly with them, to bring them to repentance. Rebuke them with gravity and authority, in Christ's name, that they may take thy displeasure against them as an indication of God's displeasure."

      4. He must direct, encourage, and quicken those who began well. "Exhort them (persuade them to hold on, and endure to the end) and this with all long-suffering and doctrine." (1.) He must do it very patiently: With all long-suffering. "If thou do not see the effect of thy labours presently, yet do not therefore give up the cause; be not weary of speaking to them." While God shows to them all long-suffering, let ministers exhort with all long-suffering. (2.) He must do it rationally, not with passion, but with doctrine, that is, "In order to the reducing of them to good practices, instil into them good principles. Teach them the truth as it is in Jesus, reduce them to a firm belief of it, and this will be a means both to reclaim them from evil and to bring them to good." Observe, [1.] A minister's work has various parts: he is to preach the word, to reprove, rebuke, and exhort. [2.] He is to be very diligent and careful; he must be instant in season and out of season; he must spare no pains nor labour, but must be urgent with them to take care of their souls and their eternal concerns.

      5. He must watch in all things. "Seek an opportunity of doing them a kindness; let no fair occasion slip, through thy negligence. Watch to thy work; watch against the temptations of Satan, by which thou mayest be diverted from it; watch over the souls of those who are committed to thy charge."

      6. He must count upon afflictions, and endure them, make the best of them. Kakopatheson, endure patiently. "Be not discouraged by the difficulties thou meetest with, but bear them with an evenness of spirit. Inure thyself to hardships."

      7. He must remember his office, and discharge its duties: Do the work of an evangelist. The office of the evangelist was, as the apostles' deputies, to water the churches that they planted. They were not settled pastors, but for some time resided in, and presided over, the churches that the apostles had planted, till they were settled under a standing ministry. This was Timothy's work.

      8. He must fulfil his ministry: Make full proof of it. It was a great trust that was reposed in him, and therefore he must answer it, and perform all the parts of his office with diligence and care. Observe, (1.) A minister must expect afflictions in the faithful discharge of his duty. (2.) He must endure them patiently, like a Christian hero. (3.) These must not discourage him in his work, for he must do his work, and fulfil his ministry. (4.) The best way to make full proof of our ministry is to fulfil it, to fill it up in all its parts with proper work.

      III. The reasons to enforce the charge.

      1. Because errors and heresies were likely to creep into the church, by which the minds of many professing Christians would be corrupted (2 Timothy 4:3; 2 Timothy 4:4): "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. Therefore improve the present time, when they will endure it. Be busy now, for it is seedtime; when the fields are white unto the harvest, put in the sickle, for the present gale of opportunity will be soon over. They will not endure sound doctrine. There will be those who will heap to themselves corrupt teachers, and will turn away their ears from the truth; and therefore secure as many as thou canst, that, when these storms and tempests do arise, they may be well fixed, and their apostasy may be prevented." People must hear, and ministers must preach, for the time to come, and guard against the mischiefs that are likely to arise hereafter, though they do not yet arise. They will turn away their ears from the truth; they will grow weary of the old plain gospel of Christ, and then they will be greedy of fables, and take pleasure in them, and God will give them up to those strong delusions, because they received not the truth in the love of it, 2 Thessalonians 2:11; 2 Thessalonians 2:12. Observe, (1.) These teachers were of their own heaping up, and not of God's sending; but they chose them, to gratify their lusts, and to please their itching ears. (2.) People do so when they will not endure sound doctrine, that preaching which is searching, plain, and to the purpose; then they will have teachers of their own. (3.) There is a wide difference between the word of God and the word of such teachers; the one is sound doctrine, the word of truth, the other is only fables. (4.) Those that are turned unto fables first turn away their ears from the truth, for they cannot hear and mind both, any more than they can serve two masters. Nay, further, it is said, They shall be turned unto fables. God justly suffers those to turn to fables who grow weary of the truth, and gives them up to be led aside from the truth by fables.

      2. Because Paul for his part had almost done his work: Do thou make full proof of thy ministry, for I am now ready to be offered,2 Timothy 4:6; 2 Timothy 4:6. And,

      (1.) "Therefore there will be the more occasion for thee." When labourers are removed out of the vineyard, it is no time for those to loiter that are left behind, but to double their diligence. The fewer hands there are to work the more industrious those hands must be that are at work.

      (2.) "I have done the work of my day and generation; do thou in like manner do the work of thy day and generation."

      (3.) The comfort and cheerfulness of Paul, in the prospect of his approaching departure, might encourage Timothy to the utmost industry, and diligence, and seriousness in his work. Paul was an old soldier of Jesus Christ, Timothy was but newly enlisted. "Come," says Paul, "I have found our Master kind and the cause good; I can look back upon my warfare with a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction; and therefore be not afraid of the difficulties thou must meet with. The crown of life is as sure to thee as if it were already upon thy head; and therefore endure afflictions, and make full proof of thy ministry." The courage and comfort of dying saints and ministers, and especially dying martyrs, are a great confirmation of the truth of the Christian religion, and a great encouragement to living saints and ministers in their work. Here the apostle looks forward, upon his death approaching: I am now ready to be offered. The Holy Ghost witnessed in every city that bonds and afflictions did abide him, Acts 20:23. He was now at Rome, and it is probable that he had particular intimations from the Spirit that there he should seal the truth with his blood; and he looks upon it now as near at hand: I am already poured out; so it is in the original, ede spendomai; that is, I am already a martyr in affection. It alludes to the pouring out of the drink-offerings; for the blood of the martyrs, though it was not a sacrifice of atonement, was a sacrifice of acknowledgment to the honour of the grace of God and his truths. Observe,

      [1.] With what pleasure he speaks of dying. He calls it his departure; though it is probable that he foresaw he must die a violent bloody death, yet he calls it his departure, or his release. Death to a good man is his release from the imprisonment of this world and his departure to the enjoyments of another world; he does not cease to be, but is only removed from one world to another.

      [2.] With what pleasure he looks back upon the life he had lived (2 Timothy 4:7; 2 Timothy 4:7): I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, c. He did not fear death, because he had the testimony of his conscience that by the grace of God he had in some measure answered the ends of living. As a Christian, as a minister, he had fought a good fight. He had done the service, gone through the difficulties of his warfare, and had been instrumental in carrying on the glorious victories of the exalted Redeemer over the powers of darkness. His life was a course, and he had now finished it as his warfare was accomplished, so his race was run. "I have kept the faith. I have kept the doctrines of the gospel, and never betrayed any of them." Note, First, The life of a Christian, but especially of a minister, is a warfare and a race, sometimes compared to the one in the scripture, and sometimes to the other. Secondly, It is a good fight, a good warfare; the cause is good, and the victory is sure, if we continue faithful and courageous. Thirdly, We must fight this good fight; we must fight it out, and finish our course; we must not give over till we are made more than conquerors through him who hath loved us, Romans 8:37. Fourthly, It is a great comfort to a dying saint, when he can look back upon his past life and say with our apostle, "I have fought, c. I have kept the faith, the doctrine of faith and the grace of faith." Towards the end of our days to be able to speak in this manner, what comfort, unspeakable comfort, will it afford! Let it then be our constant endeavour, by the grace of God, that we may finish our course with joy, Acts 20:24.

      [3.] With what pleasure he looks forward to the life he was to live hereafter (2 Timothy 4:8; 2 Timothy 4:8): Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, c. He had lost for Christ, but he was sure he should not lose by him, Philippians 3:8. Let this encourage Timothy to endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ that there is a crown of life before us, the glory and joy of which will abundantly recompense all the hardships and toils of our present warfare. Observe, It is called a crown of righteousness, because it will be the recompence of our services, which God is not unrighteous to forget and because our holiness and righteousness will there be perfected, and will be our crown. God will give it as a righteous Judge, who will let none love by him. And yet this crown of righteousness was not peculiar to Paul, as if it belonged only to apostles and eminent ministers and martyrs, but to all those also that love his appearing. Observe, It is the character of all the saints that they love the appearing of Jesus Christ: they loved his first appearing, when he appeared to take away sin by the sacrifice of himself (Hebrews 9:26); they love to think of it; they love his second appearing at the great day; love it, and long for it: and, with respect to those who love the appearing of Jesus Christ, he shall appear to their joy; there is a crown of righteousness reserved for them, which shall then be given them, Hebrews 9:28. We learn hence, First, The Lord is the righteous Judge, for his judgment is according to truth. Secondly, The crown of believers is a crown of righteousness, purchased by the righteousness of Christ, and bestowed as the reward of the saints' righteousness. Thirdly, This crown, which believers shall wear, is laid up for them; they have it not at present, for here they are but heirs; they have it not in possession, and yet it is sure, for it is laid up for them. Fourthly, The righteous Judge will give it to all who love, prepare, and long for his appearing. Surely I come quickly. Amen, even so come, Lord Jesus.