August 23 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

2 Timothy 1

¹Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,
²To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
³I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;
⁴Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;
⁵When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.
⁶Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.
⁷For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
⁸Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
⁹Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
¹⁰But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
¹¹Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
¹²For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
¹³Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
¹⁴That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.
¹⁵This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.
¹⁶The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain:
¹⁷But, when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me.
¹⁸The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.

Devotional

No doubt the apostle Paul refers here to the preaching of the gospel. He speaks of sound words. Sound words are words that are tree from all error, free from admixture of falsehood. Paul had used sound words in teaching and preching the gospel. Timothy had heard these words from Paul. Now Paul's concern is that Timothy should hold fast these words in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. He wants him to believe them and to proclaim them, and to commit them to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. He says, "Hold fast the form of sound words, " and then to emphasize this, he goes on to say: "That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us." Only by the Holy Ghost can we be kept from error. He is the Spirit of truth, and leads us into all truth. No one can be saved by error.

In our day there is so much distraction and confusion; people do not take time to learn the Word of God. Furthermore, there is so much false doctrine that people are drawn away from the true doctrine. Many prefer the enticing words of men to the sound words of God. Paul says, "The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine." That is all the more reason to hold fast the faithful word, "that we may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers." Paul exhorts Titus, "But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine." Let us not be deceived, but let us heed the warning of Christ: "Many false prophets shall arise, and shall deceive many." Therefore, "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised."

Prayer

Our Father, we thank Thee that in Thine infinite love Thou hast sent the gospel of salvation to us. May we never be cold and indifferent toward it, but may we embrace it with our whole heart, and cling to it unto life's end. Fill our hearts with Thy joy of salvation, and grant us Thy peace. For Jesus' sake. Amen.

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Scripture in Devotional: 2 Tim. 2:2; Luke 11:28; 2 Tim. 4:3; Titus 1:9; 2:1; Matt. 24:11; Heb. 10:23.

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