Worry About Yourself

In one paragraph

This message came from 2 Timothy 2:14-26, part of an ongoing study through the New Testament. Pastor Carl walked through Paul's instructions to Timothy about handling the word of God faithfully, avoiding empty argument, and what it looks like to serve others with gentleness rather than winning debates. Paul's command to "remind them of these things" points back to what he had just written: that...

Read together

1. 2 Timothy 2:11 trustworthy statement about dying and living with Christ, enduring and reigning, denying and being denied, faithlessness and his faithfulness
2. 2 Timothy 2:14-26 main passage for the sermon, covering wrangling over words, being a workman approved to God, avoiding empty chatter, Hymenaeus and Philetus, the firm foundation, vessels of honor, fleeing youthful lust, pursuing righteousness
3. Romans 2:4 the kindness of God leads to repentance
4. James 1:19-22 quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, doers of the word not hearers only

Talk about it

1. Pastor Carl said that wrangling over words is 'useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers.' Where do you see the line between carefully studying what Scripture says and getting into the kind of quarreling Paul warns Timothy against?
2. The sermon described being 'approved' or 'docimas' as passing the test, like a clay pot that holds water or a coin that is not counterfeit. In practical terms, what does that kind of diligent self-examination look like in your own walk with God?
3. Pastor Carl described two ditches on either side of the gospel: legalism, where you try to put God in a position where he must bless you, and license, where sin no longer seems to matter. Have you seen either of those pull at you personally, and how has the gospel itself been the answer?
4. The sermon pointed to the image of a large house holding vessels of gold, silver, wood, and earthenware, and kept coming back to the idea of worrying about yourself rather than sorting out who is in or out. How do you hold that personal focus together with the call to gently correct those who are in opposition?
5. Pastor Carl quoted Romans 2:4, that it is the kindness of God that leads to repentance, and tied it to the way the Lord's bond servant is to be 'not quarrelsome, kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged.' Where in your relationships right now do you find that kind of gentleness hardest to practice, and why?