Paul's Previous Charge to Timothy
1 This letter is from me, Paul. I am an apostle of Christ Jesus. God is the one who has saved us. We trust Christ Jesus to take care of us. They are the ones who have sent me.
2 I am writing to you, Timothy. I told you the message about Jesus and you believed in him. So you are like my own child. I pray that God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord will continue to help you and be kind to you. I pray that they will give you peace in your mind.
3 When I was going to Macedonia, I asked you very strongly to stay in Ephesus. You must continue to stay there, because certain people there are teaching wrong things about God. You must tell them to stop doing that.
4 Neither should they listen to false stories. Nor should they always be studying long lists of their families' names from years ago. They should not believe that to study lists like that can help them. Those things only cause people to argue. Those things do not help God's work. To do God's work, people must believe him.
5 Here is the reason why I am telling you to do this. I want people really to love each other. Only people who are good and clean inside themselves can love like that. Those people know the difference between what is right and wrong. And they try to do only what is right. People love properly only when they really believe God.
6 But certain people have failed to do these things and they have turned away from them. They would rather talk about things that mean nothing.
7 They want to be teachers of God's rules. They seem very sure when they talk about things. They speak very strongly. But they do not understand what they are talking about.
8 We know that God's laws are good, if people use them properly.
9 We also know that God did not make those laws for people who do right things. He made them for people who refuse to do right things. Those people refuse to obey good rules. God made his laws for people who like to do bad things. He made them for people who do not worship him. Those people do not want to obey God. God gave his laws to show these people what is right: People who kill their fathers or their mothers People who choose to kill other people
10 People who have sex with someone who is not their wife or their husband Men who have sex with other men People who catch other people and take them away to be slaves People who say things that are not true People who promise seriously to speak true things, but then they speak false things People who do any other wrong things that are against God's true message.
11 The good news that comes from God teaches us right things. We should worship God because he is great. He has chosen me to tell this good news to people.
12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who chose me to work on his behalf. He believed that I would continue to obey him. And he has made me strong.
13 Before he chose me, I spoke bad things about him. I hurt his people and I caused great trouble for them. I said and did very bad things against Christ. But he was very kind and he chose not to remember those things. He chose not to punish me. He was kind because I did not believe him then. So, I did not know what I was doing.
14 Our Lord continued to be very, very good to me. He caused me to believe him. And he caused me to love other people as Christ Jesus loves them. These things happen to us when we are united to Christ Jesus.
15 Here are some words that everyone should believe. Everyone should agree that these words are true. ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save people who do wrong things.’ And I am the worst of those people.
16 But, because I was the worst, God was kind to me. He wanted Christ Jesus to make me an example. Christ showed, by me, how completely patient he is. Christ made me an example to those people who would later believe him. Then, because they believed him, those people would live with God always.
17 God is the King who will rule always. He can never die. We cannot see him. He is the only God. Everyone should say always how very great he is! Everyone should do that always. Amen! This is true. [1]
First Charge: War a Good Warfare
18 Timothy, you are like my own child. This is what I am telling you to do. People spoke words from God about you before, and you should remember those words. They will help you to fight well for what is true. You must be like someone who fights in a good war. [2] [3]
19 You must continue to believe God. And you must always do what you know to be right. Some people have known what is right. But they have refused to do it. As a result, they have completely stopped believing Christ. Their lives as believers are like ships that have sailed on to the rocks.
20 Hymenaeus and Alexander are like that. I have given them to Satan so that he may punish them. Then they can learn not to say bad things against God any more. [4]