Paul, having stood for the Testimony of the Lord for over 30 years, was now about to seal up that Testimony with his blood. He writes to exhort his spiritual son to take up that Testimony, and not to be ashamed of him, the prisoner of the Lord (2TIM.1:8). This is in the midst of many disappointment he was facing; many has abandoned the Testimony, for fear and for the love of this world. To quote Barne: “The principal design of 2 Tim 1 is to exhort Timothy to steadfastness and fidelity as a Christian and a minister; and to entreat him to adhere to the truth, and live as became a Christian, in the midst of all the temptations by which he was surrounded, and while so many were turning away from the Christian faith. Timothy was young; he was exposed, like others, to trials; he could not be unaware that not a few had apostatized; he knew that his father in Christ was in bonds, and he was liable to become disheartened, or to be led astray. In these circumstances, the apostle seems to have resolved to place before him strong reasons to induce him to devote himself steadfastly to the cause of religion, and not to allow those things which might tend to alienate him from Christianity to have any effect on his mind”
PWC Bible Study
Expository Bible Study on Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy
