Not only must we call on the Lord, but this should be done in faith. #5 “…who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” We are not alone, and there are even those who will help us with the struggle who have been there. It is encouraging to know that the things with which we struggle have been faced by our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Faith, or belief, love, which is the greatest law, and peace which is ours in God, are derivatives of “righteousness.” #3 “…and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace,”īy grace, we are saved, and this is a free gift, but our efforts should go into pursuing God and his ways for us. Sexual sin, pride, and impulsiveness are all more difficult to resist when we are young, hormonal, and inexperienced. Another way to flee these desires is to answer with the Word of God, such as was done by Jesus in the wilderness (Mt 4). When we are tempted by Satan and sin, we should run from it like Joseph from Potiphar’s wife (Gen 39). Breaking Down the Key Parts of 2 Timothy 2:22 If you truly want to change, God’s Holy Spirit will help you. Learn to pursue God and his righteousness, and at the same time you will flee the “evil desires of youth.” If you fail a hundred times, keep going. If you have failed in this, God gives us grace to repent. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness (Mt 6:33). That Timothy has a pure heart is elsewhere testified (Phil 2:19). This, he says, is what “those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart” will do. Paul’s idea is that Timothy would pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace. One cannot only turn from sin but must turn toward something in its place. The desires of youth must be replaced by a greater desire. Simple repression will often lead to failure. Timothy and the reader are told to “flee the evil desires.” How one does this will have a great impact on the success of the venture. In addition to sexual temptation, impulses to anger, rash judgments, and pridefulness are all greater in one who has not been tempered by time and trials, and who is not made wiser by experience. Sexual desire, a good thing in a proper marital context, is generally a constant challenge for the youth, especially in young men. The hormone activity in the pubescent is much more likely to produce “evil desires” than in someone older. There are many aspects of being young that cause both men and women to struggle more with sin than those who are older. “Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” Explanation and Commentary of 2 Timothy 2:22Įven when 2 Timothy was penned, Timothy, an apostolic delegate of Paul, was still considered by Paul to be young, or at least not very far past his youth.
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