TC w/ T

Once a week for the past two years I have had the privilege of meeting at Taco Cabana with my former Bible teacher, Tyler Sultze, for breakfast. There we enjoy not only the delicious breakfast tacos, but we also partake of the delectable truths of the Bible. Over the next month, we will be going through the book of 2 Timothy, so I thought I would share some of the things I’m learning from the study here.

Recently a local news report cast the local Taco Cabana that Tyler and I frequent in not a very good light, but Tyler and I have been going there for about two years and so we weren't about to stop now.

Today we discussed 2 Timothy chapter two. This second chapter very much builds on the first. In chapter one, Paul urges Timothy not to be ashamed of the gospel and have confidence in the Lord. In chapter two, he goes deeper with his encouragement and gets more specific.

Both Tyler and I observed that Paul urged Timothy to take focused action. We both noticed the number of imperative verbs in the passage. He was being urged to fight like a soldier, endure like a runner, and wait expectantly like a farmer. All the while he is supposed to be remembering Jesus Christ. (v. 8) This reminded me of Hebrews 12, where we are commanded to run with endurance while keeping our eyes on Jesus.

In the second half of the chapter, Tyler and I noticed a connection between strong doctrine and holy living. Verse 15 states, "Do your best (another imperative) to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who had no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth." This exhortation is a theme for the second half of the chapter, as Paul tells Timothy to cut it straight and not get caught up in the proverbial rough of arguments and foolish controversies. Yet another theme is that of holy living. "So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with all those who call on the Lord from a pure heart," says verse 22, and verse 19 says, "'Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.'" Tyler and I noticed a correlation between these two themes. Tyler said, "Good doctrine cannot be disconnected from holy living." If we want to rightly divide the word of truth and make an impact with the Bible, we must first be cutting it straight in our own lives. We must flee from the youthful passions of lust, pride, and arrogance, and pursue the righteousness, faith, love, and peace that we read about in the Bible.

Paul wrote this letter to Timothy to encourage him, but I know that Tyler and I have both been encouraged by Paul's words. I hope they have strengthened you, too.