2 Timothy 2:21-25 sits inside this longer paragraph.
15Give diligence to present yourself approved by God, a workman who doesn’t need to be ashamed, properly handling the Word of Truth. 16But shun empty chatter, for it will go further in ungodliness, 17and those words will consume like gangrene, of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus: 18men who have erred concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past, and overthrowing the faith of some. 19However God’s firm foundation stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let every one who names the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness.” 20Now in a large house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of clay. Some are for honor, and some for dishonor. 21If anyone therefore purges himself from these, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, and suitable for the master’s use, prepared for every good work.
22Flee from youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23But refuse foolish and ignorant questionings, knowing that they generate strife. 24The Lord’s servant must not quarrel, but be gentle toward all, able to teach, patient, 25in gentleness correcting those who oppose him: perhaps God may give them repentance leading to a full knowledge of the truth, 26and they may recover themselves out of the devil’s snare, having been taken captive by him to his will.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv21–25 21 If any man shall cleanse himself from these…
21 If any man shall cleanse himself from these If the reprobate are “vessels for dishonor,” they have that dishonor confined to themselves, but they do not disfigure the house, or bring any disgrace on the head of the family, who, while he has a variety of articles of furniture, appropriates each vessel to its proper use. But let us learn, by their example, to apply them to better and worthier uses; for in the reprobate, as in mirrors, we perceive how detestable is the condition of man, if he do not sincerely promote the glory of God. Such examples, therefore, afford to us good ground for exhortation to devote ourselves to a holy and blameless life.
There are many who misapply this passage, for the sake of proving that what Paul elsewhere (Romans 9:16) declares to belong “to God that sheweth mercy,” is actually within the power of “him that willeth and him that runneth.” This is exceedingly frivolous; for Paul does not here argue about the election of men, in order to shew what is the cause of it, as he does in the ninth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans (Romans 9); but only means that we are unlike wicked men, whom we perceive to have been born to their perdition. It is consequently foolish to draw an inference from these words, about the question whether it is in a man’s power to place himself in the number of the children of God, and to be the author of his own adoption. That is not the present question. Let this short warning suffice against those who bid a man cause himself to be predestinated; as if Paul enjoined men to do what they must have done before they were born, and even before the foundations of the world were laid.
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Others, who infer from these words that free-will is sufficient for preparing a man, that he may be fit and qualified for obeying God, do not at first sight appear to be so absurd as the former, yet there is no solidity in what they advance. The Apostle enjoins that men who desire to consecrate themselves to the Lord cleanse themselves from the pollution of wicked men; and throughout the Scriptures God gives the same injunction; for we find nothing here but what we have seen in many passages of Paul’s writings, and especially in the Second Epistle to the Corinthians,
“Be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord.”
Beyond all controversy, we are called to holiness. But the question about the calling and duty of Christians is totally different from the question about their power or ability. We do not deny that it is demanded from believers that they purify themselves; but elsewhere the Lord declares that this is their duty, while he promises by Ezekiel that he will send
“clean waters, that we may be cleansed.” (Ezekiel 36:25.)
Wherefore we ought to supplicate the Lord to cleanse us, instead of vainly trying our strength in this matter without his assistance.
A vessel sanctified for honor means, set apart for honorable and magnificent purposes. In like manner, what is useful to the head of the family is put for that which is applied to agreeable purposes. He afterwards explains the metaphor, when he adds, that we must be prepared for every good work. Away with the wild language of fanatics, “I will contribute to the glory of God, as Pharaoh did; for is it not all one, provided that God be glorified?” For here God explicitly states in what manner he wishes us to serve him, that is, by a religious and holy life.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv21, 22, 24, 25 By these words is meant the execution of the…
By these words is meant the execution of the matter, and not the cause: for in that we purge ourselves, it is not to be attributeth to any free will that is in us, but to God, who freely and wholly worketh in us a good and an effectual will.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv21–25 21 If a man therefore purge himself from these,…
21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.
Ver. 21. Purge himself from these] From these seducers or arch-heretics, those vessels of dishonour, whose doctrine defileth worse than any kitchen stuff or leprosy.
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He shall be a vessel, &c.] You know (said John Careless, the martyr, in a letter to Mr Philpot) that the vessel before it be made bright is soiled with oil and many other things, that it may scour the better. Oh, happy be you that you be now in this scouring house; for shortly you shall be set upon the celestial shelf as bright as angels, &c.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv21–25 If a man therefore purge himself from these; from…
If a man therefore purge himself from these; from these wicked men that subvert the faith of others, or from their wicked opinions and courses.
He shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use; God will honour him; and he will by it be set apart, and made fit for Christ’s use in his church.
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And prepared unto every good work; and made fit for every good work; which men are not, while they are either tainted with pernicious, damnable errors relating to the doctrine of faith, or the companions of those fools.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv22, 24 Still our apostle proceeds in his holy, cautionary directions…
Still our apostle proceeds in his holy, cautionary directions to Timothy what to avoid, and what to follow.
He advises him, 1. To avoid and flee youthful lusts: by which may be understood, not only the lusts of the flesh, but also the lusts and vices of the mind, as ambition and pride, vain-glory and ostentation.
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Where note, That the flesh, with its affections and lusts, are such dangerous enemies to our holiness and salvation, that the holiest of ministers and best of men have need, very great need, to be warned of them, and cautioned against them: flee thou, O Timothy, also youthful lusts.
2. He advises Timothy also to avoid foolish and unlearned questions, that is, controversies and disputes, knowing that such contentious wranglings do but engender strife.
It is not unworthy our observation, that no less than four times in these two epistles, do we meet with this precept from the apostle, to avoid questions and disputes, and to apply to that which is practical, showing of what great importance it is so to do; and we shall meet with it again in the epistle to Titus. Tit 3:9
From whence learn, That disputes about matters which only serve to beget strife and contention, but tend little to edification in faith and holiness, are vain talking, unprofitable disputes, and as such to be avoided.
Observe next, he directs Timothy what to follow, having shown him what to avoid; namely, to follow after righteousness and faith, peace and charity with all persons, but especially with all our brethren and fellow-Christians calling on the same Lord, and professing the same faith with us.
Where note, That we ought to have charity for, to maintain peace with, and by no means to separate from our communion, any person who serves Christ with a pure heart: Follow, says our apostle, charity and peace, with all those that call on the Lord Jesus Christ out of a pure heart.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v22 I. Paul here exhorts Timothy to beware of youthful…
I. Paul here exhorts Timothy to beware of youthful lusts, Ti2 2:22. Though he was a holy good man, very much mortified to the world, yet Paul thought it necessary to caution him against youthful lusts: "Flee them, take all possible care and pains to keep thyself pure from them." The lusts of the flesh are youthful lusts, which young people must carefully watch against, and the best must not be secure. He prescribes an excellent remedy against youthful lusts: Follow righteousness, faith, charity peace, etc. Observe, 1. Youthful lusts are very dangerous, for which reason even hopeful young people should be warned of them, for they war against the soul, Pe1 2:11. 2. The exciting of our graces will be the extinguishing of our corruptions; the more we follow that which is good the faster and the further we shall flee from that which is evil. Righteousness, and faith, and love, will be excellent antidotes against youthful lusts. Holy love will cure impure lust. - Follow peace with those that call on the Lord. The keeping up of the communion of saints will take us off from all fellowship with unfruitful works of darkness. See the character of Christians: they are such as call on the Lord Jesus Christ, out of a pure heart. Observe, Christ is to be prayed to. It is the character of all Christians that they call upon him; but our prayers to God and Christ are not acceptable nor successful except they come out of a pure heart.
II. He cautions him against contention, and, to prevent this (Ti2 2:23), cautions him against foolish and unlearned questions, that tend to no benefit, strifes of words. Those who advanced them, and doted upon them, thought themselves wise and learned; but Paul calls them foolish and unlearned. The mischief of these is that they gender strifes, that they breed debates and quarrels among Christians and ministers. It is very remarkable how often, and with what seriousness, the apostle cautions Timothy against disputes in religion, which surely was not without some such design as this, to show that religion consists more in believing and practising what God requires than in subtle disputes. - The servant of the Lord must not strive, Ti2 2:24. Nothing worse becomes the servant of the Lord Jesus, who himself did not strive nor cry (Mat 12:19), but was a pattern of meekness, and mildness, and gentleness to all, than strife and contention. The servant of the Lord must be gentle to all men, and thereby show that he is himself subject to the commanding power of that holy religion which he is employed in preaching and propagating. - Apt to teach. Those are unapt to teach who are apt to strive, and are fierce and froward. Ministers must be patient, bearing with evil, and in meekness instructing (Ti2 2:25) not only those who subject themselves, but those who oppose themselves. Observe, 1. Those who oppose themselves to the truth are to be instructed; for instruction is the scripture-method of dealing with the erroneous, which is more likely to convince them of their errors than fire and faggot: he does not bid us kill their bodies, under pretence of saving their souls. 2. Such as oppose themselves are to be instructed in meekness, for our Lord is meek and lowly (Mat 11:29), and this agrees well with the character of the servant of the Lord (Ti2 2:24): He must not strive, but be gentle to all men, apt to teach, patient. This is the way to convey truth in its light and power, and to overcome evil with good, Rom 12:21. 3. That which ministers must have in their eyes, in instructing those who oppose themselves, must be their recovery: If God, peradventure, will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth. Observe, (1.) Repentance is God's gift. (2.) It is a gift with a peradventure in the case of those who oppose themselves; and therefore, though we are not to despair of the grace of God, yet we must take heed of presuming upon it. To the acknowledging of the truth. (3.) The same God who gives us the discovery of the truth does by his grace bring us to the acknowledging of it, otherwise our hearts would continue in rebellion against it, for we are to confess with our mouths as well as to believe with our hearts, Rom 10:9, Rom 10:10. And thus sinners recover themselves out of the snare of the devil; see here, [1.] The misery of sinners: they are in the snare of the devil, and are led captive by him at his will, Ti2 2:26. They are slaves to the worst of task-masters; he is the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, Eph 2:2. They are taken in a snare, and in the worst snare, because it is the devil's; they are as fishes that are taken in n evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare. Further, They are under Ham's curse (a servant of servants shall he be, Gen 9:25), they are slaves to him who is but a slave and vassal. [2.] The happiness of those who repent: they recover themselves out of this snare, as a bird out of the snare of the fowler; the snare is broken and they have escaped; and the greater the danger the greater the deliverance. When sinners repent, those who before were led captive by the devil at his will come to be led into the glorious liberty of the children of God, and have their wills melted into the will of the Lord Jesus. The good Lord recover us all out of the snare.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv21–25 If a man therefore purge himself from these,.... That…
If a man therefore purge himself from these,.... That is, if a man clears himself, and keeps himself clear from such men as Hymenaeus and Philetus, who are comparable to wooden and earthen vessels, and are dishonourable ones; if he shuns their defiling company, and polluting principles; if he keeps clear of their heresies, and is not carried away with the errors of these wicked men, and is not drawn aside by them into immoral practices, but stands fast in the faith, and departs from iniquity:
he shall be a vessel unto honour; he will be made manifest, and appear to be a vessel chosen to honour; and will be an honourable member of the church here, and will be honoured by Christ hereafter:
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sanctified: he will appear to be one that is set apart by God the Father, and whose sins are purged away by the blood of Christ, and who is sanctified internally by the Spirit of God; for external holiness springs from internal holiness, and is, an evidence of it:
and meet for the master's use: the use and service of Christ, who is the master of the house; either for the ministry of the word, the administration of ordinances, or for some service or another, which he calls him to, and employs him in.
And prepared unto every good work; which an unregenerate man is not; he is to every good work reprobate; he is not capable of performing good works; he is not prepared for them, nor ready at them; but a true believer, one that is regenerated, and sanctified by the Spirit of God, he is created in Christ Jesus unto good works; and has in the performing of them right principles, aims, and ends, as well as a supply of grace, by which he is enabled to do them.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv21, 22, 24, 25 If a man purge himself from these - Vessels…
If a man purge himself from these - Vessels of dishonour, so as to have no fellowship with them.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv21–25 Verse 21. If a man therefore purge himself from…
Verse 21. If a man therefore purge himself from these] He that takes heed to his ways and to his doctrines, and walks with God, will separate himself, not only from all false doctrine, but from all wicked men, and thus be sanctified and proper to be employed by the Master in every good word and work. The apostle has not made the application of these different similes, and it is very difficult to tell what he means.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv22–23 2Ti 2:22. Flee youthful lusts — Or desires, namely,…
2Ti 2:22. Flee youthful lusts — Or desires, namely, those peculiarly incident to youth; that is, shun all occasions of exciting or gratifying them, whether, on the one hand, the love of sensual pleasure and the inclination to gratify the appetites and senses of the body, or, on the other, pride, ambition, vain-glory, rashness, contention, obstinacy; vices to which young persons are peculiarly obnoxious; and which some who are free from sensual lusts, are at little pains to avoid; but follow, &c. — That is, instead of making provision for these carnal dispositions, or yielding to their motions when they arise, pursue with the greatest ardour and intenseness of mind, and with all diligence and constancy, righteousness — In all its branches; every part of thy duty toward God and man; faith — Or fidelity; charity — That is, love; peace with them that call on the Lord, &c. — Especially with all the true people of God.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv21–25 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he…
If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour - If a man “cleanse” or “purify” himself; compare the notes on Joh 15:2. The word “these” refers, here, to the persons represented by the vessels of wood and of earth - the vessels made to dishonor, as mentioned in the previous verse 2Ti 2:20. The idea is, that if one would preserve himself from the corrupting influence of such men, he would be fitted to be a vessel of honor, or to be employed in the most useful and honorable service in the cause of his Master. On the word “vessel,” see the notes at Act 9:15.
And meet for the master’s use - Suitable to be employed by the Lord Jesus in promoting his work on earth.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv21, 22, 24, 25 Man, we see here, hath free-will to make himself…
Man, we see here, hath free-will to make himself a vessel of salvation or reprobation; though salvation be attributed to God’s mercy, the other to his justice, neither repugnant to our free-will, but working with and by the same, all such effects in us, as to his providence and our deserts are agreeable. (Bristow)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv21–25 If a man . . . purge himself from…
If a man . . . purge himself from these--The Greek expresses "If one (for example, thou, Timothy) purify himself (so as to separate) from among these" (vessels unto dishonor).
sanctified--set apart as wholly consecrated to the Lord.
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and meet--Some oldest manuscripts omit "and."
the master's--the Lord's. Paul himself was such a vessel: once one among those of earth, but afterwards he became by grace one of gold.
prepared unto every good work-- (Ti2 3:17; Tit 3:1). Contrast Tit 1:16.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv21–25 21. Purge himself (in obedience to the second motto…
21. Purge himself (in obedience to the second motto in 2Ti_2:19) from these modern Korahites, the vessels of dishonour. The simile is carried out with much completeness. The cleaned dish is ready for all cleanly use by the owner.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv21–25 21. If a man therefore purge himself from these]…
21. If a man therefore purge himself from these] That is, as Bengel puts it, ‘if any one shall by purifying himself have gone out of their number.’ The compound verb ‘purge out’ only occurs besides in 1Co_5:7 where the preposition gives the force ‘purge out from your houses the old leaven.’ Wordsworth forcibly notes here; ‘a man may at one time of his life be numbered among vessels to dishonour, and yet may become a vessel to honour, by cleansing himself out from their number and condition. Mark this assertion of Free Will.’ And again, ‘a Christian man may not go out of the great house which is the Visible Church of God: he cannot separate himself wholly from sinners, but he must cleanse himself from them as sinners; that is, he must not communicate with them in their sins.’
sanctified] Or perhaps better ‘purified.’ ‘Sanctified’ belongs to metaphor, the implied Christian life and service; but in form the sentence remains a simile to the end. Hence R.V. rightly renders the master’s use, i.e. the master of the house, not with some printed copies of A.V. ‘the Master’s,’ which would imply an immediate reference to God. ‘Meet for use’ is the same word as in 2Ti_4:11 ‘serviceable,’ and in Phm_1:11, where Onesimus formerly ‘unprofitable’ is ‘now profitable.’
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prepared] This word and ‘sanctified’ are both perfect passive participles, and are more expressive than our English can shew of the resulting final state reached. See note on 2Ti_2:26.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv21–25 (21) If a man therefore purge himself from these.—Again…
(21) If a man therefore purge himself from these.—Again the reference is general, but there was a special thought for Timothy when St. Paul wrote this. If he would separate from all that was evil in his Church at Ephesus, then would he indeed be one of those golden vessels unto honour. The image of the great house, and its many and varied vessels, though still not quite lost sight of, is passing out of sight. This verse changes into a note of direct exhortation. The good and faithful must separate themselves from the evil and faithless. The thought of those deniers of the resurrection of the body was uppermost in St. Paul’s mind. There must, as it has been well said, be no communion on the part of God’s servants with impugners of fundamentals. It was imperatively necessary for Timothy—and, by implication, for all members of Christ’s Church—if they aimed at becoming vessels for honour in the great Temple, to break off from all Church fellowship, from all intimate friendship, with those above referred to under the image of wooden or earthen vessels.
He shall be a vessel unto honour.—Chrysostom’s note upon these words is somewhat remarkable. He points out the possibility of the vessel for dishonour becoming a vessel for honour, and the reverse; and refers to St. Paul, once an earthen vessel, who became a vessel of gold, and to the traitor Judas, who, on the other hand, from being a vessel of gold became an earthen vessel.
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Meet for the master’s use.—Or, useful for the master (of the house). “Useful,” as the next sentence shows us, through those good works by means of which others’ needs are ministered to, and the salvation of others is furthered, and the glory of God is increased.
Prepared unto every good work.—“Prepared”—that is, ready to take advantage of any opportunity which may offer itself to do a generous, noble action. So, too, Chrysostom, who would have the “vessel unto honour” ready for every emergency which would enhance the glory of the Lord—ready even for death, or (any painful) witness.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv21–25 Meet for and meet, A.V and T.R.; prepared for…
Meet for and meet, A.V and T.R.; prepared for and prepared, A.V Purge himself from these (ejkkaqarh); stronger than the simple kaqarh, "thoroughly purge himself," as in 1Co_5:7 (the only other place in the New Testament where it occurs) and as in classical Greek. It is used also by the LXX inx; Jud_1:7:4, as the rendering ofpr) to try metals. The idea, therefore, seems to be that of separation, and, if so, "from these" may certainly mean from the false teachers described under the image of the vessels unto dishonour, as usually explained. At the same time, the image is better sustained if we understand "from these" to mean the babblings, and ungodliness, and eating words of the heretics denounced. It is hardly natural to imply that one vessel in the house will become a golden vessel by purging itself from the wooden and earthen vessels. Neither is separation from the false teachers the point which St. Paul is here pressing, but avoidance of false doctrines. Meet foruse (eucrhstov); only here and ch. 4:11 and Phm_1:11. Also Pro 29:(31) Pro_29:13, LXX Common in classical Greek. The master (tw despoth); the master of the house, the oijkodespothv.
Fitness for service.
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for the Master"s use." Christ is our Lord as well as our Saviour. We are under a Master, and must bring our thought in captivity unto him.
I MEETNESS. For in man there is a power that grows by culture. Not so with the inferior animals. Take the bee: the first cell it makes is as geometrically perfect as the last. So take the bird: the first nest it makes is as soft and complete as the last. But man can grow in meetness. Self-discipline meetens. Sorrow meetens. Suffering meetens.
II MINISTRATIONS. Use. This characterizes all the works of God. The river is not only a silver thread running through the landscape; it brings freshness and verdure, and the cattle come to the banks to drink, and there is emerald verdure by the riverside. Ships, too, float on its waters. We are to be of use to the Master. He deigns to use us. "Son, go work today in my vineyard." Many in this age dislike the word "Master;" but we are always under some master, consciously or unconsciously. We serve God or Mammon, and we cannot serve both. We are to attend to spiritual means of grace, and to seek out modes of service, so as to be of use to the Master. W.M.S.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv22–25 Flee youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace.
2Ti_2:22
Flee youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace.
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Flee the passions of youth
Timothy was no longer a young man, but he was still in the strength of his manhood, when he might easily suffer from desires and passions which are comparatively venial in a youth. The juvenilia desideria, the immoderate hilarity, the irregular longings of the flesh and mind, the rashness of judgment, the self-indulgence, the love of admiration, which are weakness and failure of youth, not its beauty nor its charm. (H. R. Reynolds, D. D.)
The Christian young man
To the word lust a specific meaning is now popularly attached, which we do not find in the original; the term there used being much more extensive, and, with the addition of the epithet, youthful, much more expressive. It signifies the inclination of the mind; and thus it includes what is evil in the spark as well as in the flame, in the blossom as well as in the fruit, in the deep, though still fountain, as well as in the rolling, turbid, and impetuous stream. And with good reason; for however small and obscure the beginning, the end may be most momentous, most irreparable. Hear it plainly stated: Lust, when it hath conceived, bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Watch over inclination, lest it become desire; watch over desire, lest it become appetite; watch over appetite, lest it become passion; watch over passion, lest it become, in the evil and extreme sense, lust. And this applies equally to voluptuousness, ambition, covetousness, revenge, and all the characteristic vices of youth.
I. And this is to be done by avoiding, as far as it be possible, the companionship of the ungodly. On this subject, indeed, the wise man, teaching from experience, is earnest even beyond his wont; counselling with an emphatic iteration: Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men; avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. It is against the first step that young men should be exhorted especially to guard; to beware of the first act, against which conscience enters and records its solemn protest.
II. While, however, you flee youthful lusts by avoiding companionship with the wicked, flee them also by cultivating companionship with the heart; and weigh well those associations, habits, and pursuits, which give a direction to the mind. Beware lest inclination assume the reins of action; beware lest interest or convenience usurp that supremacy over the purposes and the practices, which ought to be exercised only by conscience and by principle. Test all things by one standard; try all men by one rule; and let that be the Word of God. Whenever, therefore, in a judgment administered upon such principles, and directed to such an cud, the bent of the mind and the will are found to be in any particular instance opposed to the great purpose, for which all who bear, by their own consent, the name of Christian, must for that very reason profess to live, it is clear that the course of life must be altered, the stream of thought and desire must be turned, the current must be made to flow in an opposite direction. And if this only be done as soon as the necessity is discerned, it will be done effectually, and it will be done comparatively without an effort.
III. Not only, however, are we exhorted in the text to flee youthful lusts, but to cultivate those Christian graces and dispositions, which can never appear to greater advantage than when they are associated with the natural transparency ann ingenuousness of youth.
1. Follow, then, after righteousness. Give God what is His due; and you will never withhold from man what is his.
2. Follow not only after righteousness, but, as the apostle exhorts his son Timothy, after faith. Account, that as practical righteousness, the rendering of everything that is due to man, so faith is the expectation of all that is needful from God.
3. Next, you are exhorted to follow charity or love. Love is the essence of righteousness, for it is the fulfilling of the law; it is also the evidence of faith, for faith worketh by love.
4. Lastly, in the words of the apostle, follow after peace. This, indeed, is the subject of one of the most earnest petitions that ever fell from human lips: Now the God of peace Himself give you peace always by all means. Nor can the apostles of the Lord and Saviour better express the fervour of their love for the brethren than by the prayer that grace, mercy, and peace may be multiplied to them through Jesus Christ. Yes, peace is indeed an object worthy to be followed by man, a blessing worthy to be multiplied by God. Follow after peace, then, and ye will find it, in all its varieties of excellency and of loveliness. Peace of conscience; for your sins, however multiplied and aggravated, shall be made as though they had never been. Peace of mind; for great peace have they that love Thy law, and nothing shall offend them. Peace with man in life, for the work of righteousness is peace; and peace--the peace that passeth understanding--in death, for mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace. Now we have looked upon four objects of moral excellency and social usefulness, which the young Christian is to follow--righteousness, faith, charity, peace. Let us contrast these with four youthful lusts, desires, inclinations, or tendencies, call them which you will, from which he is to flee. The love of self, as opposed to righteousness; the pride of philosophical unbelief--unbelief that calls itself philosophical--as opposed to faith; covetousness, or the desire of accumulation, as opposed to charity; and the turbulence of mirth, revelry, and excess, as opposed to peace. (T. Dale, M. A.)
Admonitions to the young
I. Consider what you ought to avoid--Flee youthful lusts. The objects of abhorrence are distinctly specified in this short but impressive caution. No palliating epithets are employed to divest them of their disgusting qualities. They are not pleaded for by being called, as too many in modern times represent them mere juvenile indiscretions,--youthful follies, which maturer age will correct; but they are marked by a term, which at once describes and condemns them. Lust, in the language of Scripture, has an extensive latitude of meaning; it is applied to evil desire in general--the desire of what is in itself unlawful and forbidden, or the intemperate desire of what is in itself lawful and allowed. This explanation accords with the assertion of the apostle John in his first Epistle, in which he gives an accurate classification of evil desires: All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but of the world. The passions and appetites of our nature are powerful principles of action. Were they always subjected to the government of enlightened reason, they would become sources of innocent gratification; indulgence would leave no stain, and remembrance would awaken no remorse. But from their fatal predominance over the convictions of the understanding, and the remonstrances of conscience, what streams of sin and misery have inundated the world! To these, as their immediate sources, may be traced innumerable diseases which ruin the body, by causing its premature debility, and securing its inevitable destruction. But their direst evil is that they war against the soul, impair the mind, and pollute the heart. In order to render the impression more vivid, let us consider to what evil desires the young are peculiarly exposed; what are the unhallowed passions that require their utmost vigilance and opposition.
1. I would first exhort you, my young friends, to guard against the seductions of sensuality; against what are emphatically termed fleshy lusts. On no subject are the sacred writers more frequent, or more alarming in their denunciations than on this. Aware of the wide-spreading nature of the contagion, they continually remind us of its evil, and direct us to the means of counteracting and expelling it.
2. Beware of intemperance. By intemperance, I mean particularly the excessive indulgence of those appetites of our nature on which our existence depends. It is sometimes said that such indulgence, so basely irrational, places a man on a level with the brutes that perish. But it is insulting to brutes to make the comparison. The laws of animal instinct teach them moderation, and the dictates of universal conscience as well as the grace of God, should teach men, that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, they should live soberly in this present evil world. Intemperance is the baneful source of most destructive evils; it is the powerful stimulus to the commission of crimes, which men would shudder to perpetrate in the cool moments of sobriety.
3. Amongst the evil principles which the apostle warns us to avoid, may be included also high-mindedness, for immediately after the exhortation in the text, he says, The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves. And to enforce this impressive caution he predicts the approach of perilous times, when all the symptoms of unhallowed self-exaltation should be manifest in the prevailing characters of men. I have adopted a term of extensive application, because it includes the various modifications of pride, haughtiness, conceit, vanity, and ambition. It is worthy of your attentive regard that the admonition in the text is levelled at the very seat and principle of iniquity. The tyranny of the passions is enthroned on the heart; and it is from that interior dominion they must be expelled. The axe is therefore laid at the root of the tree, that all its branches and fruit may be destroyed. The apostle does not merely say, Flee evil habits, impure connections, and all the scenes of temptation, but he says what virtually includes all this, by denouncing their pernicious origin: Flee youthful lusts; let not the desire be indulged; the thought of foolishness is sin. As the venerable Elisha purified the waters of Jericho, by sprinkling salt on the fountain whence they flowed, so the apostle directs us to cleanse the springs o! action; persuaded that they will send forth wholesome streams when healed from the contamination of sin.
II. Our next general inquiry respects the opposite principles and tempers which ought to form the objects of your constant and unremitting pursuit what should you follow? He was persuaded that in order to abhor that which is evil, we must cleave to that which is good. Let us attend to his wise and salutary directions.
1. Follow righteousness. This term frequently occurs in the sacred writings, with various, though connected acceptations. In its most important reference it is applied to that perfect obedience even unto death, by which our exalted Lord magnified the law and made it honourable. The Scriptures which so clearly reveal this righteousness as the exclusive basis of acceptance with God, announce the method of obtaining its blessings. Not to him that worketh, but to him that believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness. This righteousness, the possession of which justifies a sinner in the sight of God, will infallibly secure as its invariable consequence, an inherent rectitude of principle--that personal righteousness, without which no man can see the Lord. In conformity with this statement, I would earnestly exhort you, my young friends, to cultivate all the fruits of righteousness. Aim at the entire agreement of your spirit and actions with the unerring rule of righteousness, laid down in the sacred Word. There you behold its nature clearly defined, and its wide extent unfolded. It is not a variable, shifting principle, adapted to the changes of custom, and the fluctuations of caprice. Its nature and obligations are not dependent on views of expediency, which may happen to agree with its dictates to-day, and suggest an opposite rule of conduct to-morrow. Righteousness is the conformity of the heart and life to the immutable laws of equity which God has established; an equity, unbending in its decisions, and unalterable in its claims.
2. If you follow righteousness, your character will be adorned by fidelity. This I conceive is what the apostle meant by faith; and the word has precisely this rendering, in the Epistle to Titus, in which servants are exhorted to show all good fidelity. Fidelity is an important part of righteousness; it is one of the essential expressions of it, and all pretensions to rectitude without it are but as tinkling cymbals and as sounding brass.
3. With righteousness and fidelity, the apostle connects charity and peace. The principles and duties of justice are intimately blended with those of benevolence. The latter derive all their value and stability from the former, and give them in return an ornament of grace--a crown of glory. Charity, or love, is of essential importance to Christian character. It is often referred to as a decisive test of real religion. It is well described by the apostle Paul as the bond of perfectness. It unites and combines all the other graces, fitly framing them together, giving them beauty, proportion, and effect. The apostle Paul has presented a full-length portraiture of Charity. Are you surprised that peace should spring from that charity which endureth all things? This is its rational and invariable result. The peace which flows from believing, and which consists in reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ, will be connected with a pacific temper and disposition. These are the objects of pursuit exhibited to your attention, in the exhortation of the text. You are commanded to follow them, wherever they may lead you; to aim at attaining them, whatever they may cost you; anti with unremitting diligence to persevere in the path which they have prescribed. With peculiar propriety has the apostle connected this wise direction with the preceding caution. Every disposition marked out as the object of pursuit, immediately tends to the subversion of those unhallowed desires which you are warned to avoid. You cannot indulge in one youthful lust but you violate the claims of righteousness, faith, charity, and peace. Let these holy principles exist, and you will be effectually armed against the enemies of your souls.
III. with whom should you associate? With them that call on the Lord with a pure heart. Religion does not extirpate the social affections of our nature; but it directs their exercise, and consecrates them supremely to the glory of God. The fellowship of a Christian Church is designed to bring them under the guidance of those laws which Christ has revealed in His Word, and to regulate all our voluntary associations. The influence of pernicious example is peculiarly felt in the circle of intimate friendship. There your opinions and practices receive their strongest confirmation; and your character and habits, if at first opposed to the prevailing complexion of those with whom you associate, will be almost imperceptibly changed. Consider the infinite importance of being now numbered with the saints, on the Lords side, that you may not be gathered with sinners at the day of final separation and unalterable decision! (Jos. Fletcher, M. A.)
Purity
Antony William Boehme, a German divine, once preached from Exo_20:14 : Thou shalt not commit adultery. A chevalier, who was one of his hearers, felt himself so much insulted that he challenged Boehme to fight a duel, because he thought his sermon designed entirely to offend him. Boehme accepted the challenge, and appeared in his robes; but instead of a pistol he had the Bible in his hand, and spoke to him in the following manner: I am sorry you were so much offended when I preached against that destructive vice; at the time I did not even think of you. Here I appear with the sword of the Spirit, and if your conscience condemns you, I beseech you, for your own salvation, to repent of your sins and lead a new life. If you will, then fire at me immediately, for I would willingly lose my life if that might be the means of saving your soul l The chevalier was so struck with this language that he embraced him and solicited his friendship. A bold man was this preacher, and reminds you of another bold man in English history, Hugh Latimer, Bishop of Worcester, who presented to Henry VIII. for a new years gift a New Testament, doubled down at the leaf where is written, Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge (Heb_13:4). Gods truth must be told, and not be kept back. The Seventh Commandment concerns our own and our neighbours chastity: Thou shalt not commit adultery. It forbids all acts of uncleanness, with all those fleshly lusts which produce those acts and war against the soul; and all those practices which cherish and excite those fleshly lusts, as looking in order to lust, which Christ tells us is forbidden in this commandment (Mat_5:28). The eyes, like Jacobs cattle, too firmly fixed on beautiful objects, make the affections bring forth spotted fruit, and it is as easy to quench the fire of Etna as the thought fixed by lust. Lusting is often the result of looking, as in David, who saw Bathsheba bathing, and in Josephs mistress, who set her eyes upon Joseph. Lust is quicksighted. How much better Job, who would not look, lest he should think upon a maid! He had learned to keep in his eyes from roving to wanton prospects. Samsons eyes were the first offenders that betrayed him to unlawful desire of carnal pleasure; therefore are his eyes first pulled out, and he led a blind captive to Gaza, where before he had with carnal appetite gazed on his Delilah. Among the things which in our baptismal vow we promised to renounce are the sinful lusts of the flesh. The text enforces that promise upon us. Carnal pleasures are the sins of youth; ambition and the love of power the sins of middle age: covetousness and carking cares the crimes of old age. Flee fornication, etc. (1Co_6:18-19). He that commits this sin sinneth against his own body; and inasmuch as his body was created for Gods Holy Spirit to dwell in, it is a defilement of the temple of God. This sin of fornication is, therefore, the more hateful, because by committing it a man sins both against himself, against his fellow-creature, and against his God. By indulging in this sin he debases his noblest faculties; he defiles and destroys Gods handiwork; he makes vile that which God made holy. By the just judgment of God all these irregular and sinful connections are married to death. Neither prostitutes, whore mongers, nor unclean persons of any description can live out half their days. Parents! beware of the example of Eli! He was a good man himself, but his children were extremely wicked--he restrained them not. Parents! see that your children do not associate with corrupt companions--Evil communications corrupt good manners. Indulged children, like Dinah (Gen_34:1-31.), often become a grief and shame to their families. Her pretence was to see the daughters of the land, to see how they dressed, and how they danced, and what was fashionable amongst them; she went to see--she went to be seen too; she went to gain an acquaintance with those Canaanites, and to learn their way. See what came from Dinahs roving! The beginning of sin is as the letting forth of water--Give the water no passage, neither an unprotected daughter liberty to gad abroad (Ecclus). Carefully avoid all occasions of sin and approaches to it. Parents! let your household arrangements be such as never to endanger your childrens purity of character; never let the blush of shame be needlessly raised on their cheeks. Whatever sacrifice it may cost you in other ways, do not put them in jeopardy by crowding your family into too small a space, thus rendering it impossible that a sense of decency and modesty should be preserved. It is a false and fatal economy that would tempt you to do this. Much depends on you, landlords, masters, employers of labour. But whatever may be done by parents or by masters, to you, young men and young women, we must mainly look. The celebrated John Newton, as the commander of a slave-ship, had a number of women under his absolute command, and knowing the danger of his situation on that account, he resolved to abstain from flesh in his food, and to drink nothing stronger than water during the voyage, that by abstemiousness he might subdue every improper emotion. Upon his setting sail, the sight of a certain point of land was the signal for his beginning a rule which he was enabled to keep. (R. A. Taylor, M. A.)
Helps against lusts
1. Get a sound knowledge of them.
2. Mortify thy carnal members.
3. Labour for a broken heart.
4. Be diligent in thy calling.
5. Abandon lewd companions.
6. And strive to taste deeply of the water of life; favour the best things. (J. Barlow, D. D.)
Youthful lusts
And thy lusts of youth are principally these: pride, idleness, pleasure, wantonness. To avoid these See thou--
1. Set a watch over all thy external senses. In presence, view not, touch not. In absence, talk not, think not on wanton affections.
2. Sleep little, eat little, work much, pray much; for take away the fuel and the fire will be quenched.
3. When wandering cogitations or suggestions reflect on thy fancy, divert them the contrary way. Forget not this.
4. Attend to good counsel, and follow it; and see before thou purpose anything what the best men advise thee. (J. Barlow, D. D.)
A choice between the higher and lower life
Thou hast a double nature. Choose between the worse and the better that is within thee. Thou hast it in thy power to become the slave of passion, the slave of luxury, the slave of sensual pleasure, the slave of corruption. Thou hast it in thy power to become the free master of thyself, to become the everlasting benefactor of thy country, and the unfailing champion of thy God. (Dean Stanley.)
Passions to be early checked
There was once an old monk walking through the forest with a little scholar by his side. The old man suddenly stopped and pointed to four plants close at hand. The first was beginning to peep above the ground; the second had rooted itself pretty well into the earth; the third was a small shrub; whilst the fourth and last was a full-sized tree. Then the old monk said to his young companion: Pull up the first. The youth easily pulled it up with his fingers. Now pull the second. The youth obeyed, but not so easily. And the third. But the boy had to put forth all his strength, and to use both arms, before he succeeded in uprooting it. And now, said the master, try your hand upon the fourth. But lo! the trunk of the tall tree, grasped in the arms of the youth, scarcely shook its leaves, and the little fellow found it impossible to tear its roots from the earth. Then the wise old monk explained to his scholar the meaning of the four trials. This, my son, is just what happens with our passions. When they are young and weak, one may, by a little watchfulness over self, and the help of a little self-denial, easily tear them up; but if we let them cast their roots deep down into our souls, then no human power can uproot them, the Almighty hand of the Creator alone can pluck them out. For this reason, watch well over the first movements of your soul, and study by acts of virtue to keep your passions well in check.
The bloom of youthful purity
There grows a bloom and beauty over the beauty of the plum and apricot, more exquisite than the fruit itself--a soft, delicate flush that overspreads its blushing cheek. Now, if you strike your hand over that, it is gone for ever, for it never grows but once. The flower that hangs in the morning impearled with dew, arrayed as a queenly woman never was arrayed with jewels; once shake it so that the beads roll off, and you may sprinkle water over it as you please, yet it can never be made again what it was when the dew fell silently on it from heaven. On a frosty morning you may see panes of glass covered with landscapes, mountains, lakes, and trees, blended in a beautiful fantastic picture. Now, lay your hand upon the glass, and by a scratch of your finger, or by the warmth of your palm, all the delicate tracery will be obliterated. So there is in youth a beauty and purity of character, which, when once touched and defiled, can never be restored-a fringe more delicate than frost-work, and which, when torn and broken, will never be re embroidered. He who has spotted and soiled his garments in youth, though he may seek to make them white again, can never wholly do it, even were he to wash them with his tears. When a young man leaves his fathers house with the blessing of a mothers tears still wet upon his brow, if he once lose that early purity of character, it is a spot that he can never make whole again. Such is the consequence of crime. Its effects cannot be eradicated; it can only be forgiven.
Righteousness
Let me exhort you to put on the righteousness of Christ Jesus, as by application, so in imitation. When thou art to deal with God, and to appeal in His court, see thou have this wedding garment: clothe thy nakedness with the mantle of Jesus; cover thy sinful person with no other robe; wear not linsey woolsey; mix not thy pigeon feathers with this eagles plumes; blend not thy flash water with this fresh wine, lest thy nakedness appear, and death be found in the pot. But with him, who knew what he did (Php_3:8-9), cast off thy rags, trample them under foot, and apparel thyself with the pure linen of Christ our Lord; for Solomon in all his royalty was not clothed like him, who hath put on Christ Jesus. (J. Barlow, D. D.)
Faith
By faith the righteousness of Christ is unfolded, apprehended, put on. Knowledge, like the eye, may direct us unto the wedding garment. But faith, as the hand, must take hold of it, apparel ourselves with it. What if we be said to live by faith? so are we by our hands. Yet doth any man eat his fingers? No; it is by that which faith applieth; and the motion of the hand procureth and receiveth. (J. Barlow, D. D.)
Following peace
For thy help take these directions:--
1. Be at peace with God; for that will keep thy heart and mind in the acknowledgment and love of the truth (Php_4:7; Php_4:9).
2. Have peace with thyself. In all things be in subjection to the Spirit (Jam_3:14-15). For if wars be in us, peace will not be without us (Gal_6:16),
3. Depart with part of thine own rights; so did Abraham to Lot (Gen_13:9). Christ paid tribute to preserve peace (Mat_17:1-27., ult.). And for peace sake we should suffer wrong (1Co_6:7).
4. Abandon self-love, and pray for peace. When men will have their own actions still go forward, without doubt, it is a work of the flesh (Gal_ 6:20).
For motives--
1. Are we not the sons of God? and is not He the King of Peace? (1Co_14:33).
2. Be we not subjects to Him who is the Prince of Peace? (Isa_9:6).
3. Is not a Christian called to live in peace? (1Co_7:15).
4. And if we continue in peace, will not the God of love and peace be with us? (2Co_13:11). (J. Barlow, D. D.)
Self-control inspired by the thought of God
A heathen may herein teach multitudes of unconverted men and many professing Christians a lesson. We read of Cyrus, that when, after one of his victories, a captive of singular beauty, Panther, the wife of Abradates, king of Susiana, was taken, he refused to see her, and entrusted her to the keeping of Araspes, giving him a very prudent admonition respecting his conduct, and was thus assured by him; Fear nothing; I am sure of myself, and I will answer with my life that I shall do nothing contrary to my duty. This young nobleman was notwithstanding overcome by her beauty, and in danger of basely violating his promise, had not Panthea given Cyrus intelligence of his baseness. Araspes, when cited to appear before his prince, was overwhelmed with shame and fear, and spoke of the control over his desires which he had when in Cyrus presence, and his weakness when left to himself (see Rollins Ancient History, bk. 4., ch. 1., sec. 4.). If the presence of a fellow-creature, however marked by purity and moderation, availed to curb the passions of a heathen, how much more should the re collection of a pure and holy God! And if love constrain not, the fear of His displeasure should lead us to beware of danger, and to guard our eyes and our hearts, lest we fall into temptation.
Avoiding danger
Have you never heard the story of a lady who wanted a coachman? Two or three called to see her about the situation, and, in answer to her inquiries, the first applicant said, Yes, madam, you could not have a better coachman than myself. She replied, How near do you think you could drive to danger without an accident? Madam, I could go within a yard of it, and yet you would be perfectly safe. Very well, she said, you will not suit me. The second one had heard the question upon which the other had been rejected, and therefore he was ready with his answer, Danger! madam, why I could drive within a hairs breadth, and yet be perfectly safe. Then you will not suit me at all. When number three came in, he was asked, Are you a good driver? Well, he replied, I am careful and have never met with an accident. But how near do you think you could drive to danger? Madam, he said, that is a thing I never tried, I always drive as far away from danger as ever I can. The lady at once replied, You are the kind of coachman I want, and I will engage you at once. Get such a coachman as that yourself, to guide your own heart, and lead your own character. Do not see how near you can go to sin, but see how far you can keep away from it. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Abstinence
A friend who, in the opinion of all who knew him, was very unlikely to take stimulants to excess, and who had very little sympathy with teetotalism, told me the other day that he had given up wine. When I asked him his reason he gave me this suggestive reply: Because I was beginning to like it and count on it. It was the wise repression of incipient rebellion before it had asserted itself by overt act. (A. Rowland, LL. B.)
Taken unawares
We have read that a debtor seeing a bailiff in quest of him ran three miles to a boundary, beyond which he was safe. The bailiff, seeming calmly to submit to his failure, stretched out his hand and said, Well, let us part good friends, at any rate. The debtor, off his guard, accepted the offered hand, whereupon the bailiff, with a desperate effort, pulled him across the line, and clapping him on the shoulder, said, You are my prisoner. So men may be overcome by the evil one when they least expect an assault from him, and think themselves most safe. (Sunday School Teacher.)
Self-control
Bishop Ryle, in his Young Men Exhorted, makes some pungent remarks on this duty of self-control. Resolve at once, he writes, by Gods help, to shun everything that may prove an occasion of sin. It is an excellent saying of good old Bishop Hall: He that would be safe from the acts of evil must wisely avoid the occasions. Never hold a candle to the devil. He that would be safe must not come near the brink of danger. He must look upon his heart as a magazine of gunpowder, and be cautious not to handle one spark of temptation more than he can help. Where is the use of your praying, Lead us not into temptation, unless you are yourselves careful not to run into it? Flee:--Prayer is not enough. Many have prayed, and have not found it sufficient. Therefore the advice in the Bible is rational--Flee. The usual receipt for resisting sin is, Fight; but I venture to say the Bible and common sense recommend flight rather. There are many sins we must not even look at; to turn away and run is the only resource. The Bible says, Flee youthful lusts, and Look not on the wine. The brave thing, although it looks the cowardly, is to flee. But it is not into space we are to flee. We are to fly upward, to get into a higher mood, and breathe another atmosphere. (Prof. H. Drummond.)
Temptations deceits
In the Fisheries Exhibition the nets were so beautifully hung and draped as to form graceful curtains. How many of Satans nets are made to appear charmingly attractive. (H. O. Mackey.)
The conquest of self
The following epitaph was once placed over a soldiers grave:--
Here lies a soldier, whom all must applaud,
Who fought many battles at home and abroad;
But the hottest engagement he ever was in
Was the conquest of self in the battle of sin.
The danger of success
There is danger in success. St. Bernard astonished an immense congregation, intensely interested in his sermon, by suddenly exclaiming, Get thee behind me, Satan. He felt that the devil was tempting him to be proud of his eloquence, as though he would win souls by his own enticing words. And when Lacordaire had enthralled thousands by one of his Lenten sermons in Notre Dame, the young monk who went to summon him to the refectory, found him kneeling before a crucifix, with the tears on his cheeks, and inquired, Oh, father, why are you so sad? This was the answer, My son, I am afraid of success. Be not high-minded, but fear. (Dean Hole.)
Undiscovered character
Every man has in himself a continent of undiscovered character. Happy is he who acts the Columbus to his own soul. (Sir Jr. Stephen.)
Peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
This last peace must be joined with the words immediately following: With them that call on the Lord, etc. The peace here signifies absence of contention; it is well paraphrased by, that spiritual concord which unites together all who call upon and who love their Lord. (H. D. M. Spence, M. A.)
The Christian young man
It will be manifest, at the very first glance, that when the apostle expresses with whom his son Timothy should, he implies with what kind of persons he should not associate; with those who do not call upon the Lord, and with those who do indeed appear to call upon the Lord, but not out of a pure heart. First, the unbeliever, whether he be such in appearance, or only in practice; and next, the hypocrite, the formalist, the inconsistent, and the insincere.
1. Our first character is that of the avowed and unblushing sceptic; that of the man who contemptuously characterises religion as the business of women, the trade of preachers, and the toy of men; one who mistakes adroitness in contending against truth in argument, for capability of disproving it, and who is as much delighted with himself, when he has hurled a sarcasm or a sneer against the gospel or the Church, as if he had invented an objection which must tend to the overthrow of them both. This class of persons may be ordinarily identified by one generic feature; namely, that they assume everything, and demonstrate nothing. Avoid, then, as far as possible, all intercourse, all communion, with persons such as these. If they interrogate you, answer; but when you have answered, do not argue.
2. I shall next describe the character of the man whose infidelity is practical; who is only not an atheist because he is nothing; who does not avow or advocate false principles simply because he has no principles at all; and who remains just as indifferent to all that concerns his moral responsibility or his religious duty, as if indeed he were the base degraded thing, to which he endeavours to assimilate himself; as if in truth he were the beast, whose spirit goeth downward to the earth--not the rational, immortal, intelligible, accountable man, whose spirit, when dismissed from and disencumbered of its earthly tabernacle, must return to God that gave it. The root of the evil is, that so far as the interests of the soul are concerned, persons of this class do not think at all. From such, then, as we have now described, such as separate themselves front the assemblies of Christian worship, being sensual, having not the Spirit; such as do not call upon the Lord in the house of prayer, and therefore cannot be presumed to call upon Him in the closet--you ought to separate yourselves as far as possible, on no other ground than the simple knowledge of the fact. They are far more likely to injure you than you are likely to profit them; for they have an ally, an accomplice, in your own sinful nature.
3. There is yet another class of characters, from whom in following out the spirit of the text, we are constrained to counsel separation. It is the inconsistent, the undecided, the manifestly insincere; those who call on the Lord, but not out of a pure heart; those who observe proprieties, but who disregard principles; who conform to the ritual without imbibing the spirit of the Church; who profess with their lips that they know God, but in works do deny Him--disguising their practices by their profession, and masking their private vices by their public prayers. Those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But then understand what this means--the heart of such persons is not innately pure; it is not pure from the first. No, nor is it inherently pure by any natural constitution or organisation peculiar to itself. Nor is it independently pure--without the aids of Divine and spiritual operation, or by influence of its own. Nor is it invariably pure--pure without any apprehension of or capability of change. Its purity is derived and imparted from above; purity in the comparative sense, for all human purity is comparative; and produced by the action of the Spirit of God upon the heart. It is first the purposed, attempted, desired separation from all iniquity--because we name the name of Christ; the ceasing to regard it with the heart, as well as admit it knowingly into the life. It is next the fixed, settled, honest purpose, to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and to postpone all considerations of present pleasure, interest, or inclination to the one thing which is supremely needful, even to win Christ and be found in Him. Purity, indeed, is but another name for what is elsewhere called singleness of heart; that which St. Paul exemplified when he declared, One thing I do; forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus; and what the Lord Himself delineated when He said, If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. I have already spoken to you about the prudence of avoiding companionship with the ungodly, but this example leads you one step beyond it--to the cultivation of fellowship with the pious. And for this reason: that every friendship, which is formed upon such principles and with such persons, is an additional barrier and defence against the encroachment or aggressions of the enemy. To form a new Christian connection or intimacy is like placing a new warrior within the citadel of the heart, a new sentinel upon the watch-tower, or, it may be, a new defender in the breach. (T. Dale, M. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv21–25 21. If a man therefore purge himself from these.…
21. If a man therefore purge himself from these. If a man wishes to be a noble vessel, of gold, for honorable uses in the Lord's house, let him cleanse himself from earthly lusts.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v23 2Ti_2:24. And the servant of the Lord must not…
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES
2Ti_2:24. And the servant of the Lord must not strive.—The wrangling spirit that delights in strife should never be seen in the messenger of the gospel of peace and good-will. But be gentle.—The word occurs again in New Testament only at 1Th_2:7. “It is used of an amiable conduct or disposition of a superior towards an inferior,” or “an outward mildness and gentleness especially in bearing with others.” Apt to teach.—He must be didactic—not only having the ability but the willingness to teach. Though the public address in the congregation was permitted to every one with a charisma, still the bishop in particular had to know how to handle doctrine. Patient.—Able to endure evil, as it is directed against himself. On the necessity of a high priest being compassionate to the erring see Heb_5:2.
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2Ti_2:25. Those that oppose themselves.—When a man imagines those who are bent on his welfare are his worst enemies, he sets himself with very determined opposition.
2Ti_2:26. That they may recover themselves.—A.V. margin, “awake.” R.V. margin, “Gr. return to soberness.” The preposition in the compound word may express motion from beneath, and so the word would mean that they may come up out of the stupefaction which holds them down, but the classical meaning is, to become sober again. Heretical teaching, like intoxication, clouds men’s wits. Who are taken captive by him at his will.—R.V. “having been taken captive by the Lord’s servant unto the will of God.” The sense conveyed by the A.V. (which is the interpretation given by most modern commentators) is singularly flat and insipid, says Bishop Ellicott. The R.V., which gives the interpretation of Wetstein, Bengel, and others, is equally objectionable, says the same authority, who adopts with but little hesitation the interpretation of Beza. This connects “that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil” with “unto His will,” i.e. unto God’s will. So we get the translation, “And that they may return to soberness out of the snare of the devil, though holden captive by him to do his will.” See R.V. marginal note.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—2Ti_2:23-26
The Duty of the Gospel Teacher.
I. To remember that he is the servant of the Lord (2Ti_2:24).—The minister of the gospel is not the servant of man, or of a clique or party, nor is he the servant of the Church excepting so far as in serving the Church he is serving the Lord. His high distinction is to be the servant of the Lord; from Him he receives his commission and authority, and to Him he is accountable. The servant should seek to imitate the spirit and example of his Master.
II. To be careful to avoid themes provocative of useless contention (2Ti_2:23).—A spark will raise a conflagration; a single word may light the lurid torch of war. “You may tame the wild beast; the conflagration of the American forest will cease when all the timber and the dry wood is consumed; but you cannot arrest the progress of that cruel word you uttered carelessly yesterday or this morning” (Robertson). Of all men the minister of the gospel should be cautious and circumspect in speech. An indiscreet word may lead to endless contention.
III. To mingle gentleness and patience with sound and faithful instruction (2Ti_2:24-25).—The successful teacher must have not only intelligence and ability, but the aptitude that comes from patient study and the gentleness which is the fruit of stern self-discipline. He is to be gentle that he may not be the cause of wrong, and patient so as to endure wrong. To gain influence with others we must practise much self-suppression. The simplest statement of truth will sometimes raise opposition. It should be our aim to allay or disarm opposition, so that the taught may receive with meekness the engrafted word. Truth is most effective in the mind prepared for its reception. The judicious teacher will know when and how to speak.
IV. To aim at the moral rescue of those ensnared in error (2Ti_2:25-26).—The gospel teacher has to contend not only with subtle phases of error, but with the devil, the great master-spirit of all error. To rescue man from sin is to snatch him from the clutches of the evil one. Everything depends on the manner and spirit in which the truth is presented, and every possible means should be used to ensure success. Anthony Blane, one of Felix Neff’s earlier converts, was very earnest in winning souls for Christ. The enemies of the gospel were angry at his success, and treated him with scoffs and threats. One night he was followed by a man in a rage, who struck him a violent blow on the head. “May God forgive and bless you!” was Anthony’s quiet and Christian rejoinder. A few days after the same man met him in a narrow road, and stretching out his hand beseechingly, cried in a tremulous voice, “Mr. Blane, forgive me, and let all be over!” Thus did this disciple of Christ, by gentle and peaceful words, make a friend of an enemy.
Lessons.—
1. The best teacher is always anxious to learn.
2. To teach others to profit we must be masters of ourselves.
3. The highest end of teaching is the salvation of others.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
2Ti_2:23-26. The Model Preacher—
I. Avoids occasions of strife.
II. Understands the use and power of gentleness.
III. Is thoroughly master of his theme.
IV. Aims at the immediate rescue of men from the thraldom of sin and Satan.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On v23 23. “Avoid foolish and unlearned questions, knowing that they…
ARGUMENT 5
THE VICTORY OF THE LORD’S SERVANT
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23. “Avoid foolish and unlearned questions, knowing that they gender strifes.” The great Spurgeon said when his members backslid they always became much concerned to know who Cain’s wife and Melchizedek were. Satan uses all sorts of silly, foolish, and worthless questions to tangle weak Christians and attract their attention from Christ, and plunge them into hell. These foolish questions are not answered in the Bible, from the simple fact that they are not worth answering.
24. “It does not behoove the servant of the Lord to strive, but to be gentle toward all, competent to teach, enduring evil.” Never argue with any one. You see here you are positively forbidden to contend with any person. Be thoroughly posted in God’s Word, and competent to teach the people; but be sure you teach them in an uncontroversial way. Utterly ignore their spirit of controversy. Like a Christian gentleman, teach all you meet the simple truth of God in a kind, frank, and uncontroversial spirit. These disputers are all idolaters, worshipping their creed, and trying to bend the Bible to it. They need your prayers for personal salvation, instead of the cudgel of controversy. Teach them the Word of God; patiently endure all their abuse for Christ’s sake, and pray for them with your might.
25. “In meekness instructing the opposers, lest at some time God may give unto them repentance unto the perfect knowledge of the truth.” We receive
knowledge of the truth in regeneration and perfect knowledge; i.e., we reach experimental certainty in sanctification. John Wesley preached the “repentance of Christians.” In that case we call it consecration, which is but a continuation of the repentance we began when a sinner, both being generically identical; i.e., a giving up; e.g., the sinner giving all of his bad things (for he has nothing else) to the devil, where they belong, and leaving him and his sins with him forever, and the Christian giving up all of his good things (in consecration) to the Lord, to be used for his glory forever.
26. “They may escape from the snare of the devil, having been led captive by same [servant of the Lord] at his will;” i.e., the will of this servant of the Lord. (See R.V.) Of course, these wicked disputers have been captivated by the devil and led away, but this “servant of the Lord,” in patience, love, and kindness, suffering all their abuses and persecutions by the grace of God out generals the devil, captivating them and leading them away from Satan to God, and receiving a crown of glory for saving them, which he never could have done if he had antagonized them in controversy.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v22 (See Scofield "1Jn 3:7").
righteousness
(See Scofield "1Jn 3:7").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v22 The Minister’s Personal Conduct.
The Minister’s Personal Conduct.
v. 22. Flee also, youthful lusts; but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
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v. 23. but foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.
v. 24. And the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
v. 25. in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth,
v. 26. and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
The conduct of Timothy as preacher and pastor the apostle had discussed at length. He here takes the opportunity of showing him how he ought to conduct himself so far as his own person was concerned: But the youthful lusts flee; rather follow after righteousness, faith, love, peace with those that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart. According to the standards of that day and age, Timothy, who was then some thirty years old, was still considered a youth. Paul, therefore, knew what he was doing when he included a warning concerning the sins of uncleanness which are peculiar to youth, for this desire is in need of constant taming and suppressing. Other desires and lusts which also must be watched very carefully are false ambition, officiousness, contentiousness. All these tendencies, but especially that of unchastity, can best be combated by fleeing from them, as the example of Joseph shows. But the opposite tactics must be employed where the acquisition of Christian virtues is concerned. There it is necessary to follow after, to seek earnestly, to aim at, righteousness, the proper conduct before God and men, faith in Christ and God and the confidence of faith, love that is active in all good works, peace with all those that are united with us in the fellowship of faith. He does not advocate a false peace, which might amount to a denial of God, but he does want us to confess our mutual faith in the Redeemer openly and cheerfully. Brethren in faith should not hesitate to make public declaration of that fact.
But while Timothy was using all diligence in growing in Christian virtues, he was incidentally to guard against the ways of the errorists: But futile and ignorant questions avoid, knowing that they engender strifes. Futile questions are such as are broached by people that have too much time on their hands, in the effort to kill time. And they were ignorant, arising from a misunderstanding of the matter in dispute. It seems that the people of the early days mere just as adept in discussing fruitless subjects as many a conference and many a theological paper is in our days, splitting hairs over immaterial matters and callous and indifferent with regard to the fundamentals. But discussions of this nature are sure to breed strife, since they are invariably subjective. In most cases, moreover, the personal element is brought into the situation, excluding all chances of bringing the matter under consideration to a successful conclusion.
For that reason Paul writes: But the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be placid toward all, apt to teach, enduring injury. It is in itself an honor to be called a servant of the Lord, to be in charge of the ministry which He Himself instituted. Such a man, however, must not be quarrelsome, must not indulge in quarrels, in petty contentions upon the slightest provocation. A different matter is that of defending the truth of God against vile attacks. A minister should be characterized by equanimity, kindness, benevolence toward all, not only toward his own members, but toward all with whom he comes in contact. That he must have aptness to teach, naturally, or the ability to teach, acquired, preferably both, is one of the first requirements of a teacher. But in thus giving instruction concerning the truth, it will be necessary quite often for the minister to endure injury and insult. Since natural man considers the teaching of the Gospel foolishness, he will usually object very decidedly to the idea of making a serious study of Christianity. It is an art which may be learned only in the school of the Holy Ghost, to endure insults, on the one hand, and on the other, to confess the truth in the face of all opposition.
But just this difficult part of a minister’s work the apostle describes: in gentleness instructing those that oppose themselves, if possibly God will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth and a return to their senses out of the snare of the devil, captured by him to his own will. Blustering and threatening rarely convince a person of the truth of the Gospel. If a teacher of the Word, therefore, has such people before him as err from ignorance or even from malice, attempting to establish various points against the truth, then patient gentleness in explaining the Christian doctrine and in testifying to its soundness is the proper mode of procedure. The success of the teaching indeed rests with God; for it is He that must work the change of heart in man and give him the proper understanding of the truth. Repentance and conversion is a free gift of God to men, Jer 31:18; 2Co 4:6; 2Ti 1:9. Thereby his heart is changed so as to possess a full and perfect knowledge of the Savior. At the same time the person that is converted comes to his right senses. As long as he is held captive in the bonds of Satan, he is in a sort of stupor, which prevents his knowing Jesus Christ as his Redeemer and accepting the Word of God as the eternal truth. The moral condition of unbelievers is that of people that are captives of the devil, who has so thoroughly enslaved them as to use them for his willing tools in the execution of all his wicked schemes and works, Eph 2:2. Only the power of God through the Word can save people from this condition, and therefore every pastor should use all gentleness in his efforts to convince the gainsayers of the error of their ways. Evangelical kindness may give way to legal harshness only when men refuse to accept the instruction of the Word of God and blaspheme in spite of better knowledge.
Summary
The apostle admonishes Timothy to faithfulness in his ministry and to steadfastness in faith and sanctification; he urges the proper application of the Word in contrast to the confused methods of the errorists, and briefly sketches the personal behavior of the Christian pastor.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv22, 24 Flee youthful lusts
Flee youthful lusts
Paul speaks about youthful lusts as if they are a dangerous person or animal that Timothy should run away from. AT: "Completely avoid youthful lusts" or "Absolutely refuse to do the wrong things that young people strongly desire to do" (See: Metaphor)
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Pursue righteousness
Here "Pursue" means the opposite of "Flee." Paul speaks of righteousness as if it is an object that Timothy should run towards because it will do him good. AT: "Try your best to obtain righteousness" or "Seek after righteousness" (See: Metaphor)
with those
Possible meanings are 1) Paul wants Timothy to join with other believers in pursuing righteousness, faith, love, and peace, or 2) Paul wants Timothy to be at peace and not argue with other believers.
those who call on the Lord
Here "call on the Lord" is an idiom that means to trust and worship the Lord. AT: "those who worship the Lord" (See: Idiom)
out of a clean heart
Here "clean" is a metaphor for something pure or sincere. And, "heart" here is a metonym for "thoughts" or "emotions." AT: "with a sincere mind" or "with sincerity" (See: Metaphor and Metonymy)
refuse foolish and ignorant questions
"refuse to answer foolish and ignorant questions." Paul means that the people who ask such questions are foolish and ignorant. AT: "refuse to answer the questions that foolish people who do not want to know the truth ask" (See: Metonymy)
they give birth to arguments
Paul speaks of ignorant questions as if they were women giving birth to children. AT: "they cause arguments" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
lust
righteous
faith
love
peace
call
lord
clean
heart
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv22, 24, 25 2:22 those who call on the Lord: Cp. Ps…
2:22 those who call on the Lord: Cp. Ps 99:6; Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21; 9:14, 21; 22:16; Rom 10:12-13; 1 Cor 1:2. • with pure hearts: Cp. 1 Tim 1:5.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.