| Chapter 2 |
Doing Your Best for God |
Chapter 2 |
| 1 You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. |
1 So, my son, throw yourself into this work for Christ. |
1 SO YOU, my son, be strong (strengthened inwardly) in the grace (spiritual blessing) that is [to be found only] in Christ Jesus. |
| 2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. |
2 Pass on what you heard from me—the whole congregation saying Amen!—to reliable leaders who are competent to teach others. |
2 And the [instructions] which you have heard from me along with many witnesses, transmit and entrust [as a deposit] to reliable and faithful men who will be competent and qualified to teach others also. |
| 3 Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. |
3 When the going gets rough, take it on the chin with the rest of us, the way Jesus did. |
3 Take [with me] your share of the hardships and suffering [which you are called to endure] as a good (first-class) soldier of Christ Jesus. |
| 4 No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs--he wants to please his commanding officer. |
4 A soldier on duty doesn't get caught up in making deals at the marketplace. He concentrates on carrying out orders. |
4 No soldier when in service gets entangled in the enterprises of [civilian] life; his aim is to satisfy and please the one who enlisted him. |
| 5 Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules. |
5 An athlete who refuses to play by the rules will never get anywhere. |
5 And if anyone enters competitive games, he is not crowned unless he competes lawfully (fairly, according to the rules laid down). |
| 6 The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. |
6 It's the diligent farmer who gets the produce. |
6 [It is] the hard-working farmer [who labors to produce] who must be the first partaker of the fruits. |
| 7 Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this. |
7 Think it over. God will make it all plain. |
7 Think over these things I am saying [understand them and grasp their application], for the Lord will grant you full insight and understanding in everything. |
| 8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, |
8 Fix this picture firmly in your mind: Jesus, descended from the line of David, raised from the dead. It's what you've heard from me all along. |
8 Constantly keep in mind Jesus Christ (the Messiah) [as] risen from the dead, [as the prophesied King] descended from David, according to the good news (the Gospel) that I preach. |
| 9 for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God's word is not chained. |
9 It's what I'm sitting in jail for right now—but God's Word isn't in jail! |
9 For that [Gospel] I am suffering affliction and even wearing chains like a criminal. But the Word of God is not chained or imprisoned! |
| 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. |
10 That's why I stick it out here—so that everyone God calls will get in on the salvation of Christ in all its glory. |
10 Therefore I [am ready to] persevere and stand my ground with patience and endure everything for the sake of the elect [God’s chosen], so that they too may obtain [the] salvation which is in Christ Jesus, with [the reward of] eternal glory. |
| 11 Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; |
11 This is a sure thing: If we die with him, we'll live with him; |
11 The saying is sure and worthy of confidence: If we have died with Him, we shall also live with Him. |
| 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; |
12 If we stick it out with him, we'll rule with him; If we turn our backs on him, he'll turn his back on us; |
12 If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny and disown and reject Him, He will also deny and disown and reject us. |
| 13 if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself. |
13 If we give up on him, he does not give up— for there's no way he can be false to himself. |
13 If we are faithless [do not believe and are untrue to Him], He remains true (faithful to His Word and His righteous character), for He cannot deny Himself. |
| A Workman Approved by God |
|
|
| 14 Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. |
14 Repeat these basic essentials over and over to God's people. Warn them before God against pious nitpicking, which chips away at the faith. It just wears everyone out. |
14 Remind [the people] of these facts and [solemnly] charge them in the presence of the Lord to avoid petty controversy over words, which does no good but upsets and undermines the faith of the hearers. |
| 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. |
15 Concentrate on doing your best for God, work you won't be ashamed of, laying out the truth plain and simple. |
15 Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth. |
| 16 Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. |
16 Stay clear of pious talk that is only talk. Words are not mere words, you know. If they're not backed by a godly life, |
16 But avoid all empty (vain, useless, idle) talk, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness. |
| 17 Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, |
17 they accumulate as poison in the soul. Hymenaeus and Philetus are examples, |
17 And their teaching [will devour; it] will eat its way like cancer or spread like gangrene. So it is with Hymenaeus and Philetus, |
| 18 who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. |
18 throwing believers off stride and missing the truth by a mile by saying the resurrection is over and done with. |
18 Who have missed the mark and swerved from the truth by arguing that the resurrection has already taken place. They are undermining the faith of some. |
| 19 Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness." |
19 Meanwhile, God's firm foundation is as firm as ever, these sentences engraved on the stones: god knows who belongs to him. spurn evil, all you who name god as god. |
19 But the firm foundation of (laid by) God stands, sure and unshaken, bearing this seal (inscription): The Lord knows those who are His, and, Let everyone who names [himself by] the name of the Lord give up all iniquity and stand aloof from it. |
| 20 In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. |
20 In a well-furnished kitchen there are not only crystal goblets and silver platters, but waste cans and compost buckets—some containers used to serve fine meals, others to take out the garbage. |
20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also [utensils] of wood and earthenware, and some for honorable and noble [use] and some for menial and ignoble [use]. |
| 21 If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. |
21 Become the kind of container God can use to present any and every kind of gift to his guests for their blessing. |
21 So whoever cleanses himself [from what is ignoble and unclean, who separates himself from contact with contaminating and corrupting influences] will [then himself] be a vessel set apart and useful for honorable and noble purposes, consecrated and profitable to the Master, fit and ready for any good work. |
| 22 Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. |
22 Run away from infantile indulgence. Run after mature righteousness—faith, love, peace—joining those who are in honest and serious prayer before God. |
22 Shun youthful lusts and flee from them, and aim at and pursue righteousness (all that is virtuous and good, right living, conformity to the will of God in thought, word, and deed); [and aim at and pursue] faith, love, [and] peace (harmony and concord with others) in fellowship with all [Christians], who call upon the Lord out of a pure heart. |
| 23 Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. |
23 Refuse to get involved in inane discussions; they always end up in fights. |
23 But refuse (shut your mind against, have nothing to do with) trifling (ill-informed, unedifying, stupid) controversies over ignorant questionings, for you know that they foster strife and breed quarrels. |
| 24 And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. |
24 God's servant must not be argumentative, but a gentle listener and a teacher who keeps cool, |
24 And the servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome (fighting and contending). Instead, he must be kindly to everyone and mild-tempered [preserving the bond of peace]; he must be a skilled and suitable teacher, patient and forbearing and willing to suffer wrong. |
| 25 Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, |
25 working firmly but patiently with those who refuse to obey. You never know how or when God might sober them up with a change of heart and a turning to the truth, |
25 He must correct his opponents with courtesy and gentleness, in the hope that God may grant that they will repent and come to know the Truth [that they will perceive and recognize and become accurately acquainted with and acknowledge it], |
| 26 and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. |
26 enabling them to escape the Devil's trap, where they are caught and held captive, forced to run his errands. |
26 And that they may come to their senses [and] escape out of the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him, [henceforth] to do His [God’s] will. |