SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/18/2025 8:03 AM
My Worship Time
Focus: “Strong Convictions Built Into A Spiritual Foundation”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:
2 Timothy 3:14
Message of the
verse: “You,
however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of,
knowing from whom you have learned them;”
This morning I begin
the last section that John MacArthur writes about in his commentary, which
means that there will have to be another chapter that he writes that will end
this 3rd chapter of 2 Timothy.
I don’t really know why it was that the Lord caused me to study the last
books that John wrote and the last book that Paul wrote, but when one reads
these last books one can see some important things that are written in
them. Paul’s last letter to Timothy
would happen close to when his life would end, and Johns last letter to a
friend in the faith, Gaius, may have been written before or after the book of
Revelation, but it certainly was near the end of his life for he was in his 90’s
when these books were written, and it is my belief that all of his letters that
are found in the Bible were written close to the same time.
John MacArthur begins
his commentary on 3:14 by writing “A second characteristic of effective
defenders of the faith is that of strong conviction being built into a solid
spiritual foundation. More often than
not, such leaders have been reared in a family where God’s Word was loved and
exalted, in practice as well as principle.”
In his sermon he spoke
of the fact that both his father and grandfather were preachers of the Word,
and now that he is in his 80’s it may be that this will end with him because I
have not heard of any of his sons becoming Pastors.
MacArthur goes on “That
was Timothy’s heritage. Near the
beginning of this letter, Paul reminded him ‘of the sincere faith within you,
which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and I am
sure that it is in you as well’ and admonished him ‘to kindle afresh the gift
of God which is in you’ (1:5-6). He now
repeats the admonition, saying in effect, ‘Unlike the evil men and impostors,
about which I just gave warning, you however, are fundamentally different. Whereas they are unbelievers and are
characterized by self-love and its many related sins (vv. 1-9), you belong to
the Lord and have emulated the godly virtues I have through God’s grace (vv.
10-11).”
As I think about this
last letter that Paul wrote that is found in the Word of God I think how
special it was for Timothy to receive Paul’s last letter, so that makes Timothy
a very special person that Paul spent a lot of time with teaching him the
things that he needed to know in order to become a second generation Pastor as
the only Apostle that would be alive after Paul’s death would be John whom I
wrote about at the beginning of this SD.
“Like many other verbs
in this epistle (see, e. g., ‘abstain,’ 2:19; ‘flee,’ ‘pursue,’ v. 22; ‘refuse,’
v.23), continue translates a present active imperative, which has the force of
a command. Have learned is from mantano,
which is related to mathetes (‘disciple’) and carries the
connotation of intentional learning by inquiry and observation. Timothy had not learned from Scripture and
from Paul incidentally but by intent. He
had pursued and become convinced of the truths of Scripture—fixed,
nonnegotiable truths that are not subject to compromise of dilution. It was those strong convictions, held with
equally strong tenacity, that made Timothy a worthy prospect to follow in the
footsteps of Paul.
“Knowing and
remembering the godly people from whom he had learned those truths was, in
itself, a source of great strength and encouragement. Whom translates a plural pronoun, indicating
Timothy’s obligation to several teachers and examples. To successfully learn spiritual convictions
from others and to hold them as your own, it is necessary not only to hear them
clearly taught but to see them consistently lived.”
Spiritual
Meaning for My Life Today: I have to
say that I have set under some very good Pastors since I became a believer 51+
years ago. I have also learned much from
Pastors like the late Warren Wiersbe, and John MacArthur and others. People I chose to learn from because I know that
they are teaching the Word of God the way God desires it to be taught.
My Steps of
Faith for Today: I trust
that the Lord will be with me in a special way in the teaching of our Sunday
school class this morning.
5/18/2025 8:36 AM
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