In last week’s passage, Paul indicated that his time on earth was drawing to a close. However, he is not fearful. Instead, his demeanor is one of hopeful anticipation, looking forward to the time when he will be in the presence of the Lord, along with all those who have partnered with him in longing for the second coming of Christ.

Take a look at this encouraging passage in 2 Timothy 4:8:

Paul continues his athletic metaphor in this passage, describing a crown of righteousness. This is not the royal crown, belonging to the king. Rather, it is the victor’s crown, much like the garland that early Olympians received when victorious.

The phrase “crown of righteousness” has a couple of different potential meanings. First, it could be translated as “the crown which is righteousness,” meaning a right standing before God. This is similar to the various uses of the phrase “crown of life” in structure (James 1:12; Revelation 2:10), or the phrase “grown of glory” (1 Peter 5:4), and seems to be the likely meaning.

However, the phrase “crown of righteousness” could also be a simple possessive, being a crown given as a result of a righteous life, or right living. The drawback to this perspective however, is that a strict grammatical rule means that this crown belongs to righteousness itself, and is not necessarily an award for the ones receiving it. This stretches things a bit too far for Paul’s theology, giving the first option much more credence.

So far, Paul hasn’t said much about his imprisonment and his expectations for the future. However, in this week’s passage, he gives an indication that he sees the end in sight.

You can see his thoughts in 2 Timothy 4:6-7:

Earlier in the letter, Paul mentioned that he is in prison, something Timothy was surely aware of (2 Timothy 1:8, 12, 16, and 2:9). However, here he indicates that he feels his time on earth is about over. He must make sure Timothy is ready to take on the responsibility of leadership, because soon, Paul’s death will occur.

Paul uses two different metaphors in this verse alone to describe his impending death.

In last week’s passage, Paul gave a very dark description of the false teachers and those who prefer their teachings. In these two verses, Paul continues his critique and then compares that to how Timothy is to handle himself, giving four positive descriptions for Timothy to follow.

Take a look at this week’s passage in 2 Timothy 4:4-5:

In the previous verse, Paul gave a description of those who turn away from the truth and seek to justify their own actions and lifestyles. It is a very sad depiction, and looks very familiar today.

These people have turned away from seeking healthy teaching and sound doctrine. They have turned away from seeking the truth. They no longer want to hear the message of the cross with it’s power.

Paul says that there will be those who still teach the truth, but there will be few who want to hear it. Instead they have turned aside to myths and false teachings. Paul refers to these myths again in Titus 1:14. This was probably some form of Jewish Gnosticism, possibly including some variety of witchcraft. Whatever the case, it was not good.

Much of Paul’s letters to Timothy read like a commentary on today’s society, even though he wrote these two thousand years ago. This week’s passage seems especially so.

You can find it in 2 Timothy 4:3:

In the first couple of verses of this passage, Paul charged Timothy to stand firm, preaching the Word of God with boldness. In this next verse, he explains why this is necessary and urgent.

The need for Timothy to be patient is critical. He will soon be entering some difficult times for Christianity, and Paul is about to describe what those times will be like. The situation that begins during Timothy’s ministry has sunk lower and lower throughout the centuries, and we see the continual progression of this today.

What is the problem that Timothy faced, and we face now? It is a lack of commitment to “sound doctrine,” the Word of God. Paul warned that very quickly, people would not want to be faced with the truth of Scripture, or the conviction that comes with it.

As we begin the fourth and final chapter of Paul’s second letter to Timothy, we see Paul turning to a more personal charge for Timothy and his ministry. Paul senses his death is imminent, and he is ready to pass on the torch to a young man in whom he has invested much.

Look at this week’s passage, found in 2 Timothy 4:1-2:

Paul is certain that his death is at hand. And he is ready to go. However, before that can happen, he must pass on a personal charge to young Timothy. Much of that is found in this fourth chapter if 2 Timothy. And, even though it is directed towards Timothy personally, there is much that we can learn from his words.

Paul begins this chapter with a very solemn charge. His language here is very similar to his statements in 1 Timothy 5:21 and 6:13. And the idea of giving a charge such as this isn’t limited to Paul’s writings. Moses charged Israel in Deuteronomy 19:1-10, and Joshua in Deuteronomy 31:7-8. Joshua, Samuel, and Solomon gave charges to the nation of Israel, and David charged his son, Solomon. Jesus gave such a charge to the disciples in John 13:34. Each of these charges, and Paul’s charge is no different, carries with it an air of seriousness and gravity.