2
“Give Careful Thought to What I’m Saying”
1 You, my son, in light of these things, must be strong through+ the gift that is ours in union with Messiah Jesus.+
2 And the things you heard me teach+ in the presence of many witnesses: These entrust to trustworthy+ men who will be fit+ to pass the teachings on,+ likewise, to others.
3 Join me in suffering as a good soldier of Messiah Jesus.
4 No one serving as a soldier allows himself to get tangled up in civilian affairs; it is his enlisting officer whom he wants to please.
5 Or again, if someone competes as an athlete, he cannot win the victor’s crown unless he takes part in the contest according to the rules.
6 The farmer who works hard ought to be the first to receive a share of the crop.
7 Give careful thought to what I’m saying, for the Lord will give you understanding in all respects.
“Bear in Mind Jesus the Messiah”
8 Bear in mind+ Jesus the Messiah, raised from the dead, of the seed of David, as is taught+ in the gospel I proclaim,
9 on account of which I am suffering hardship even to the point of being chained in prison like a criminal. Yet the word of God is not chained.
10 That is the reason why I am ready to endure all things for the sake of those whom God has chosen,+ so that they, too, may take part in the salvation that is found in union with Messiah Jesus unto glory in the coming age.+
11 Trustworthy is this saying:
If we have shared in his death,
we will also share in his life;
12 if we endure,
we will also share in his reign;
if we disown him,
he, likewise, will disown us;+
13 if we are unfaithful,
because himself he cannot disown.+
“The Lord Knows Those Who Are His”
14 To these things keep calling people’s attention, solemnly warning them in the presence of God against quarreling about words,+ which is of no use at all, and leads to the ruin of those who listen.
15 Do everything you can, in regard to your own life and work,+ to present yourself to God as one whom he has examined and approved as genuine, a worker who has no reason to be ashamed, correctly expounding+ the message+ of truth.
16 Keep away from that empty chatter, however, which is so irreverent,+ because those who occupy themselves with it will only become more and more ungodly,
17 and their teaching+ will spread+ like a cancer.+ Take, for example, Hymenaeus and Philetus,+
18 who have with respect to the truth gone astray, claiming that the resurrection has already taken place, and as a result are overturning the faith of others.
19 The solid foundation set in place by God, however, despite these things, remains unshaken,+ attested as his own with these words, which are inscribed on it by his seal+: “The Lord knows those who are his,”+ and, “All must forsake wickedness who call on the name of the Lord.”
20 Now in an elegant+ house there are not only precious vessels made of gold and silver, but also ordinary ones made of wood and baked clay, the former whose special use results for them in honor, but the latter whose common use results for them in dishonor.
21 If someone thoroughly cleanses himself of the evil things I’ve just described,+ he will be a vessel whose special use will result for him in honor, set apart as a special holy possession and for sacred service,+ of valuable use to the Master of the house, prepared for indeed every kind of good work.
22 You must flee from those evil desires that so easily tempt the young,+ and chase hard after righteousness, faith, love, and peace, together with others who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
23 But to those controversies which are so foolish and ignorant pay no attention, because you know they give rise to quarrels.
24 A slave in the Lord’s service,+ however, must not be quarrelsome, but rather kind toward everyone, able to teach, patient and not resentful when wronged,
25 correcting his opponents humbly,+ for it may be that God will grant them opportunity to repent+ and come to a knowledge of the truth,
26 and that they will come back to their senses and escape the devil’s trap, having been captured by him to do his will.