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 have 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.