To endure the hostilities of this world, you must remain faithful to the word of God, even if it requires you to stand apart from the world and unfaithful Christians.

Paul had known persecution and great suffering for the gospel. He knew that Timothy and the faithful church would likewise experience the world's hostility and the abuse of false teachers. He knew that under these pressures, there would be a great temptation to abandon the foundation of the faith.

Faced with the ever-growing threat of worldly hostility and spiritual imposters, how can you remain faithful to the Lord and mature in the faith? The Bible's answer is plain and simple: Hold firm to your faith and God's word.

This passage contains two commands that, when obeyed, provide for believers to remain faithful in a hostile world.

Salvation comes through faith. That is the most basic and important truth of scripture. But how do you know if you have saving faith?

Faith without works is dead and useless. Faith must produce works, and by those works, your faith is perfected.

Knowledge and understanding give perspective and hope in the midst of difficult times. 2 Timothy chapter 3 begins with the description of difficult days that the church will endure. Paul writes these words to inform Timothy that he might have knowledge and understanding to help him endure. These words are for the church today, so you also will have knowledge and understanding to help you endure.

This passage teaches three things that enable you to endure these difficult days.

To be useful to God, you must be set apart from sin and the world. And if you are to be used by God to rescue those who have swerved from the truth, you must reject the temptation to be quarrelsome and instead teach the truth with the gentleness and patience of Christ.

This passage has two commands required of those who desire to be ready for every good work and a good servant of the Lord.

Competence and skill are not declared but demonstrated. The evidence of a workman’s competence and skill is proved over time when their work proves to be able to endure the test of time.

The primary task of every ministry of the gospel is to rightly and faithfully make God’s word known. There are temptations that work against this, but Paul warns Timothy not to swerve from the truth.

In this passage, the Bible gives two commands to keep you from swerving from the truth so that you might be an approved and unashamed workman. It also gives a test that testifies to the genuineness of your faith and approval before God.

When the difficulties of this world seem too great, the cost of following Jesus too high, and your strength and ability too weak, remember Jesus Christ, who died for your sins, rose victoriously over death, and is coming again. Remember that the glory of salvation in Jesus makes all the costs and burdens of ministry worth it.

How can you keep Jesus at the forefront of your mind and heart when difficult moments come? How can you avoid the temptation to quit when you are suffering, when the costs of following Jesus are great, or when you find yourself discouraged? From this passage, Pastor Ben Smith encourages you to endure by remembering Jesus in moments of suffering, when you are counting the cost of following Jesus, and when you are discouraged.

When you have known and been transformed by the mercy of God the outward work response to this is showing mercy to others.

Work, labor, and suffering are not words well received today. Wealth and modern conveniences have created a world where ease and comfort are celebrated as the ultimate goal. This unhealthy celebration of ease and comfort has also infected the church. Many Christians today see their relationship with the church and gospel work not in terms of sacrifice and service but in terms of consumer choice and comfort.

God calls every Christian to labor in the gospel work. And God equips faithful Christians for the work. No Christian is called to be only a consumer. Ease and comfort are not the ultimate goals of followers of Christ. Christians are called to be about gospel work regardless of cost or difficulty. 2 Timothy 2:1-7 teaches three fundamental truths that must be understood by those who desire to be faithful to the gospel work.

When hard times come, many who once professed the gospel will fall away. In 2 Timothy 1:15-18, Paul speaks frankly with Timothy, not to be surprised when some fall away but to receive the good blessing of the ministry of those who are faithful.

Like Timothy, you may be discouraged today as you observe many people falling away from the faith. How can you guard your heart against discouragement when it seems many are falling away from the gospel? This passage teaches three truths that encourage the church in days of great unfaithfulness.

What are you ashamed of?

In a broken and sinful world, what is shameful is often celebrated, and what should be celebrated is shamed. To be ashamed of something is to feel shame or disgrace because you are embarrassed, guilty, or humiliated to be associated with it.

Insecurities and fears tempt you to be ashamed of Jesus and the gospel, but Christians must confidently identify with Jesus and boldly proclaim the gospel truth. That is easily said, but how can you resist the temptation to be ashamed of the gospel? This passage teaches us three ways to fight against the temptation to be ashamed of the gospel.

Money can buy many things but can not buy salvation or a right relationship with God. James 2:1-10 calls out the sin of partiality. In doing so, it calls Christians to live differently from the world in how you judge, in what you honor, and in how you obey.

The faith of your parents is a blessing, but you must also actively stir up your faith by remembering what God has done for you, in you, and is doing through you.

Fanning the flames of your faith does not begin with the actions you take; it starts with turning your attention to what God has done and is doing. 1 Timothy 1:3-7 calls you to three ways you can fan the flame of faith in your life.

As Paul writes these opening words of this final letter to the young pastor Timothy, he is not writing as a failure, in defeat, or even depressed by his circumstances. Paul writes with expectation and authority, knowing that his life is not his own and the kingdom of God is not dependent on his circumstances.

This is not an effort to put a positive spin on a bad situation. This is Paul writing and living according to God's perspective, not man's. To live faithfully and obediently to the Lord, you must live according to God's perspective, not man's.

In these final two verses, Paul gives two commands and a closing blessing of grace. Guard the truth entrusted to you and turn away from anything and everything that distracts you from faithful obedience.

What does it mean to be rich?

The meaning of being rich is a complicated question. Though you may be rich compared to others, you may struggle to pay your bills. You may have a high income but great debt.

1 Timothy 6:2-10 instructs Christians who are poor how to live and relate to wealth. In verses 17-19, the Bible instructs wealthy Christians how to use their wealth for God's glory. In this passage, the rich are those whose wealth is such that they are not concerned with their basic needs and can afford comforts and pleasure beyond basic needs.

Christians with earthly riches are warned not to put any hope in their riches but to hope in God alone, trust in God's provisions, and use what they have for God's glory.

In the concluding words of 1 Timothy, Paul addresses Timothy as a man of God. From this passage, the Bible commands Christians to be set apart for God and called to faithful obedience because God is worthy of all the glory and honor.

Does the pursuit of worldly gain drive you, or are you driven by growing in godliness? This passage does not teach that Christians cannot have wealth or do well in this world. The issue at the heart of this passage is what drives your heart, what motivates your life, and what you see as the greatest value. Those captured and controlled by worldly things will be driven and motivated by worldly gain, but those who are servants of Christ will be driven and motivated by godly gain.

You might expect the cost of receiving the gift of atonement provided by the eternal Son of God to be high and costly. You might expect the requirements for exchanging your sin for the righteousness of Christ and being made heirs with Christ, adopted as children of God, to be complicated and difficult to achieve. However, in simple language, the Bible declares that to be saved from your sin requires the confession of Jesus as Lord and the belief that God raised him from the dead.

The most offensive thing is to dispute someone's definition of what is good. The greatest of these offenses is rejecting what someone claims makes them good. What is so offensive about Jesus is not that he died but that he had to die for your sins. The world is happy to receive him as a dying martyr, but a savior dying to atone for your sins requiring believing faith, the world finds offensive.

The crowd wanted a warrior king, but Jesus was the suffering servant who came to die for man's sins (Isaiah 53). The crowd wanted someone to affirm and support their cause, but Jesus called sinners to repent of their sins and believe in faith on him. Jesus, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29), is also a stumbling stone and offensive to all who remain in their sin.

1 Timothy 6:1-2 is not an endorsement of slavery, but it is an acknowledgment that slavery was part of the societal reality in which the church in Ephesus lived. Recognizing these realities, Paul instructs the church to live according to who they are in Christ, even in the brokenness of this world. In these verses, the Bible instructs Christians on how to labor for unbelieving masters and for masters who are fellow brothers in Christ.