Present Yourself to God as One Approved – 2 Timothy 2:14-19

Not everyone who claims to be a Christian, is a Christian.  Christians demonstrate that they are Christians by persevering in the true faith and doctrine, in love for other believers, and in obedience to Christ’s commands (see 1 John).

Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”  (2 Timothy 2:14-19 ESV)

As a leader Timothy is not only to watch out for himself but to help the believers he leads to follow the truth no matter what.  In particular, he is to charge them to avoid useless quarrels that lead to disunity.  He is to make every effort to correctly understand and teach God’s truth.

Falsehood abounds and it leads inevitably to irreverent and disrespectful babble and ungodliness.  And like a limb that gets infected and it spreads to the bloodstream and the rest of the body, this kind of talk is deadly.  Hymenaeus (mentioned in Paul’s first letter to Timothy) and Philetus are examples of this false teaching, following a particular heresy that says the resurrection has already occurred (a view of the resurrection as not bodily, but spiritual, like some of the Corinthians believed).

But God’s foundation has two major platforms. First, He knows who belongs to Him, implying that He preserves that believer in the faith and keeps him from error.  Second, those who know Him demonstrate it by persevering in the faith.  This is how we recognize true believers.  He preserves, we persevere.