The Bible is not merely a book of rules to obey or doctrine to believe; it is the soul’s food, its companion in every mood, and the supply of its every need — and there is no other source for what it gives. Most believers value…
The Old Testament is the inspired Word of God — a claim made by the writers themselves, confirmed by Jesus Christ in person, and endorsed by the apostles throughout the New Testament. The church has at various times been tempted to treat the Old Testament as…
A final judgment is coming — one day, one Judge, all people. The biblical description of that event and its two outcomes is not speculative or symbolic; it is the most concrete and consequential fact about the future that the New Testament presents. Some people dismiss…
Everything God has done — creation, redemption, Scripture, church, eternal life — is an act of love. God is love, and his every act must be interpreted in terms of that nature. Some themes are too large for words to do them justice. The outline says…
Timothy’s life is the story of what faithful parents, a mentor-apostle, and willingness to be sent can produce. He was the son of a mixed household — Greek father, Jewish mother — with no obvious path to apostolic usefulness. By the end of Paul’s ministry he…
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (II Tim. 2:15). The call to accurate handling of the word implies the capacity for it — which means it implies study….
Second Timothy is a letter from a prisoner to his most trusted companion — written with the awareness that Paul will not leave Rome alive. The two chapters are saturated with the tension between Paul’s circumstances (imprisonment, abandonment, suffering) and his instructions (teach, endure, handle the…
The final two chapters of II Timothy are the last words of an apostle who has finished his course. They alternate between warning and charge: warning about the times that are coming, warning about the enemies of truth, and the charge to preach anyway, to endure…
True liberty is not the freedom to do anything — it is the freedom to do what is right within the boundaries that God has set. Every servant of God, from Christ himself down to the local preacher, operates within those limits. The word “liberty” is…
The New Testament is the inspired Word of God because Christ, who possessed all authority, delegated it to the apostles, and the Holy Spirit guaranteed the accuracy and completeness of their record. Some people accept the Old Testament as inspired by God but hold the New…