2 Timothy 4:19-22
English Standard Version

Final Greetings
19 Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. 20 Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus. 21 Do your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers.

22 The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.

These are the last words of Paul in this letter and they are chronologically his last words that he penned to anyone (yes, there are other Pauline epistles that follow this one in the New Testament, but that's because his epistles are generally sorted by length from longest to shortest in the New Testament).  Though he knows he is about to die, he sends his usual greeting to him ministry partners, Prisca and Aquila (Priscilla and Aquila)--see Acts 18 and Romans 16:3.

​He also greets the household of Onesiphorus (recall this is the man who stood by Paul when everyone else close to him deserted him and was not embarrassed by Paul's chains, and came and comforted Paul).  We don't know anything of this man outside of the two times that he's mentioned here in 2 Timothy, but it seems like he was very important to Paul in this season of his life as Paul did not have many people that would come and visit him in prison, but Onesiphorus ​was one of those who would.

Paul then gives Timothy a couple people to check on.  Erastus stayed in Corinth to minister to the Corinthians.  There was a lot going on with that local church and Paul probably wants to make sure Erastus is doing okay.  Paul also seems to want someone to check on Trophimus a companion who became ill and had to stay behind in Miletus.

Paul reminds Timothy that he'd really like him to visit (probably to bring his cloak) before winter.  Eubulus sent his greetings as did Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers.  That last statement is important because there were Christians all over the known world that were praying for Timothy and the church he was pastoring.

Then Paul's final words, "The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you."  I think Paul cares deeply about how his loss is going to affect Timothy and he knows that he's going to have to count on the Lord being with Timothy.  Paul will no longer be there to walk beside Timothy, but Jesus will always be there for him.  As always, Paul wishes grace upon all his readers, but especially his son in the faith, Timothy.

2 Timothy 4:9-18
English Standard Version

Personal Instructions
9 Do your best to come to me soon. 10 For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. 11 Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. 12 Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. 13 When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. 14 Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. 15 Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. 16 At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! 17 But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Paul knows he is not going to be able to go to Timothy (though that is his desire), so he tells Timothy to do his best to come to him soon.  Not only does he long to see his spiritual son, but the others who are supposed to be with Paul have left him now that he is imprisoned and awaiting execution.  Demas has deserted Paul, going back to Thessalonica (Paul does not have nice things to say about him),  Crescens  has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.  Only Luke remains with Paul to be his friend and help take care of him (remember that Luke is also a medical doctor and has been Paul's constant companion since the First Missionary Journey).  Paul asks Timothy to get Mark and send him to Paul, because Mark is useful to his ministry (this is Paul finally forgiving him for what happened in the book of Acts and seeking restoration).

Some people are gone and not with Paul because Paul sent them to check on churches that Paul will not be able to visit.  Tychicus was sent to Ephesus.  Paul spent much time there with that church and he cared very much about them (as did the apostle John). 

Paul then instructs Timothy to bring his cloak when he comes because it it starting to get cold.  He left it with Carpus at Troas.  Above all else, he also wants Timothy to bring him his scrolls and parchments (copies of the Scriptures that he had access to).  This is more important to him than friends or warm clothes.  He needs to be able to study the Scriptures and write effective letters to the churches.

Paul then warns Timothy of the danger of Alexander the coppersmith.  Paul wants to let the Lord take vengeance on him for the great harm he has done, but he wants Timothy and everyone else to watch out for him, because he is no friend to them or the gospel.  Paul notes that all of his friends deserted him (none would stand by his side at his trial).  Only the Lord stood with Paul, but that was enough.  He made it clear to Paul that he was still to preach the gospel to many Gentiles, including in the courts of the kings and governors who were holding him for trial.  We read about some of this at the end of the book of Acts.

During this first set of trials, Paul was rescued from death (what he calls "the lions mouth," because he probably would have been thrown to the lions as his punishment).  Even now as he is waiting to die (he knows this time his sentence will be death), he knows the Lord will deliver him through death, not from death.  Even death cannot be victorious because death has been defeated and Paul knows to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.  The Lord will deliver Paul to the heavenly kingdom which has been prepared for Paul and everyone else who belongs to Christ.  This thought causes Paul to burst out in praise (what we call doxology) reminding us that God alone is to get all the glory and honor and praise both now and forevermore.  Then Paul finishes this passage with an "Amen."  This essentially closes the letter with the exception of his Final Greetings that we'll talk about next time.

2 Timothy 4:1-8
English Standard Version

Preach the Word
4 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 But as for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

I don't think this charge is meant to be a threat to Timothy or other pastors/elders as much as it is a motivation to get about the work of fervently and boldly proclaiming the Word because time is short because those whom the Word needs to reach will one day not have the opportunity.  There is a day fixed as the end of time as we know it (though we don't know when that day is coming) when the living and the dead will be judged (this will be the judgment of the wicked).  All the wicked, including the devil and his angels and all men who followed in rebellion after them (everyone who died in their trespasses and sins without repenting and surrendering their lives to Jesus as both their Lord and Savior) will also be throw into The Lake of Fire--a place of eternal torment and separate from the blessings that God has prepared from those who belong to Him.  We see in this passage that the people that belong to the Lord have a different destiny, and that is an eternal kingdom (The New Heavens and the New Earth) that you can read more about in Revelation 21 and 22 (among other places).

With this in mind, the man of God must preach the Word both when it is easy and when it is hard to do so.  This is God's means of bringing about salvation to those who are lost and we want to see people as citizens of His Kingdom, not the kingdom of this world that will be destroyed and has its end in the Lake of Fire.  Before that final judgment comes though, there will come another kind of judgment that is mentioned in Romans 1.  Men will be given over to their depraved minds and will no longer bear to hear the truth of God's Word.  We must eagerly share the Word with everyone who will listen while their hearts are receptive, because a time is coming when men will no longer listen.

Instead, men will form their own religious groups that they will call churches, and they will pay people they call pastors and priests to tell them what they want to hear.  Instead of expositional sermons, they will hear inspirational pep-talks and all sorts of perversions of God's Word where it is used to justify them continuing to live in sin.  It will be much like the days before the Babylonian Exile for Judah when the kings, priests, and prophets were all corrupt.  Together these leaders spoke "Peace, peace" to the people and promised them nothing bad would ever happen to them because God loved them too much to judge them like He judged all the other nations when God had been sending His prophets to them to tell them that He loved them enough to let them continue in sin.  The Lord will not continue to let sin reign and ruin His beautiful creation.  He will put an end to the time of sin and rebellion and all that have decided to join themselves to that kingdom.   Then He will make all things new and beautiful and right and it will be "very good" once again.

I've really only spoken about the words "preach" and maybe "teach" so far, but the text also calls the pastors to "exhort" (like Paul is doing here--urge someone to do the right thing), "reprove" (urge someone to stop doing the wrong thing), "rebuke" (publicly identify someone living in sin for what they are doing, usually accompanied with a public call for repentance that, if not heeded, would lead to excommunication)--this one in particular must be done with patience because it may take some time for God to work on someone to bring them to repentance, but the pastors and elders must not fail to enforce good church discipline and let this kind of rebellion (that we already talked about it being like gangrene) spread through the Body of Christ.  This too is done with the realities of the destinies of the redeemed and the lost in mind.  Many will think they are saved when they are still lost, and they need to be told to no longer be controlled by the flesh, but by the Spirit if they truly belong to Christ. 

The world will hate all those who preach and teach the truth and who call people to repent.  They will persecute pastors, elders, teachers, and other preachers with everything they have--hate speech laws that punish the public proclamation of the Word of God with fines, imprisonment, or maybe even loss of life, or they will allow the persecute them and will do nothing to stop or punish the mob thereby giving tacit consent and approval to the actions of the mob.  Such actions could be destruction of property, interference in worship services, doxing of religious leaders with the intent to encourage others to do harm to them or their family members, de-banking pastors and churches, de-platforming pastors and churches from social media accounts, and refusal of service in the public square (just to name a few things that have happened or are currently happening).  Lawfare is also a big issue where members of the "mob" I spoke of bring unfounded lawsuits against Christians to force them to pay large amounts of money in legal fees to defend themselves that they probably don't have access to, and, if they get the right judge and jury that let them win when they have no legal reason for the lawsuit, the Christian is forced to pay judgments far beyond their ability so that they are forced to pay these judgment the rest of their lives (our Constitution is supposed to have protections against such lawfare, but these protections are largely ignored).  In spite of all these same kinds of things that were going on in whatever form they were happening in Paul's day, Timothy is to stay true and faithful to God and His Word, no matter the cost.  The same goes for all those who are called to be pastors today.

Paul puts a fine point on this by saying that he already knows he's going to die for his commitment to teach, preach, and evangelize.  He has run the race set before him and finished well.  He has fought the good fight and looks forward to the day that the Lord says to him, "Well done, My good and faithful servant.  Enter now into the rest I have prepared for you."  He knows a crown of righteousness (the righteousness of Christ, not his own righteousness) awaits him--the same reward all of us who are in Christ can look forward to at His glorious appearing.

2 Timothy 3:10-17
English Standard Version

All Scripture Is Breathed Out by God
10 You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. 12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

"Sola Scriptura" was one of the foundations of the Reformation.  The Bible teaches that it is Scripture (not that it contains Scripture, but that it is the entirety of Scripture) and as this passage says, "All Scripture is breathed out by God" (the fancy name for this is the inspiration of Scripture).  What that means for us is that God is the ultimate author of everything in the Bible from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21, and that means that it was transmitted to men perfectly to communicate exactly what He meant to communicate to them.  For what reason(s) would He do this?  The text tells us that all of Scripture was given to us for teaching (this includes preaching, but is not limited to it), reproof and correction (self-correction and to correct others in the course of discipleship and church discipline), and training in righteousness.  Yet, these are not the only reasons.  Paul continues to say that it is meant to bring the man of God to full maturity (this is the meaning of the word "complete"--so that we "grow up" and do not remain "spiritual infants"), so that we are fully-equipped (for battle) and are ready for all the good things that God has prepared for us to do (so there is an assumption that the Bible will help us discern what things God has prepared for us and what things presented to us are "good").

I kind of started at the end of the passage though and probably should go back to the beginning of it.  Paul commends Timothy for staying true to Paul's teaching, conduct, aim in life, faith, patience, love, steadfastness, and even his sufferings.  In other words, Timothy has recognized Paul as an Apostle of Jesus Christ and his apostolic authority and example as someone who should be imitated/emulated.  However, that creates an issue if the only way the Timothy knows what to do is to look at Paul.  What happens when Paul is no longer there?  We have many today that are in a similar situation today and they are left in a lurch when their youth pastor or parents or senior pastor or whoever else they have been looking to in order to mimic them is no longer around.  Paul is going to have to teach Timothy to be reliant on the unchangeable, unshakeable truths of Scripture to answer these questions now, and others are going to be looking to Timothy to get these answers right so they can follow and emulate him.

Paul emphasizes that it is good that Timothy has shared in Paul's sufferings and persecutions because every man who truly wishes to lead a godly life will face persecution (and some of the persecution will come from unexpected places--we expect it from the world, but we don't always expect it from "lukewarm" people at church who are convinced you are being "hot" to try to make them look bad).  Paul includes both groups here to watch out for--evil people from the outside and imposters from the inside.  Both groups will go from bad to worse and try to drag you down with them and will attack you when you refuse to go along with the lies they proclaim to be true by their false doctrine and their sinful way of live (they have neither right belief--orthodoxy--or right living--orthopraxy).  Timothy must continue in the truth that he has learned from Paul (and the other Apostles) even though the time of the Apostles is coming to an end--this is why the Spirit told these Apostles to write the gospels and epistles that they did (and this goes for all the books of what we call The Old Testament as well).  Then get go back to where we started this article.  Everything God intended to communicate to the Church about life and godliness has been given to us in Scripture.  It is the very Word of God (not a mythology or the wisdom of men, or like any other book or anthology of books we will ever read).  This is why we must have a high view of Scripture as being authoritative in our personal lives and in the life of our local churches and the Church universal.

If you want to learn more about the inspiration of Scripture, the infallibility of Scripture, and purpose of God communicating to us through Scripture, please watch the free documentary made by American Family Studies (AFS) called "The God Who Speaks" that is embedded below.

2 Timothy 3:1-9
English Standard Version

Godlessness in the Last Days
3 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. 9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.

Paul has been telling Timothy that one of the jobs of the Church and its pastors (empowered by the Holy Spirit) is to teach truth to repudiate error (or outright lies) and to restrain evil by living lives that are countercultural to those living according to their flesh and the powers at work in the world.  Paul now tells Timothy that the day is coming when men will no longer listen to sound doctrine.  So-called "Christians" will be lovers of self instead of lovers of God and the so-called "Church" will be filled with people that look just like the world--lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, and having an appearance of godliness but denying it's power (the power of the transformation of the gospel to make all things new, good, and beautiful.  They instead preach a false gospel that God loves and accepts everyone just the way they are and that no one needs to change--no repentance, no regeneration, no sanctification, no ultimate glorification).  That sounds a whole lot like many "churches" today.  This is one of the reasons I think we are living in the time right before "the last days."

Timothy is told to avoid such people (because they existed in his time too) who claim to be something they are not and in so-doing tarnish the name of the Church and of Christ and His true gospel.  Among such imposters are people who prey on women and children, they are controlled by various passions (some natural, some unnatural).  They are highly-intelligent fools who spend their entire lives learning everything the world wants to teach them but never acquiring the true knowledge or wisdom that God has to offer to those who ask Him for it.

They oppose the leaders God has put in power over them just like James and Jambres did with Moses.  They were opposed not so much to the man, but to the truth that God spoke through the man.  Such men are given over to a depraved mind (see Romans 1) and God has disqualified them regarding the faith (see Revelation 21:8, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Galatians 5:19-21--note all these describe the unregenerate person controlled by the flesh and not by the Spirit, they are not describing a person who falls into temptation who has been saved, we have 1 John 1:9 for that, no matter how badly we sin, though we are not to abuse the grace of God either and intentionally sin and say "I don't need to worry because God will forgive me").  Such people that oppose the religious and civil leadership that God puts over them will not get far in life because it should be obvious to everyone (especially those in the Church) that such men are not of God and not of His Elect.  Moses did not need to defend himself or the leadership that the LORD had given him, he just needed to keep doing what God told him to do and let God deal with the rabble-rousers (and God did in an undeniable way).  I don't necessarily expect fire to come from heaven or the earth to open up and swallow people up today, but it could.  However, I do pray for God to strengthen me in such times and to allow people to see His truth and to help me to behave in a way consistent with that truth, even when those who oppose me try to get me to act in ways opposed to His truth and the gospel (they want me to roll around in the mud and the slop with the pigs--we need to stay away from such people when possible).

2 Timothy 2:14-26
English Standard Version

A Worker Approved by God
14 Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. 16 But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, 17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. 19 But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

20 Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.

22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24 And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

Paul tells Timothy that the congregation is going to need to be reminded (regularly) of all the things that Paul has been telling him--the words were not just for him, but for all the people.  Timothy is also going to have to help the congregation decide which debates are worth having and to keep things from turning into quarrels that would create factions and division.  Such arguments about things like words alone and not about the core issues of what it means to be a Christian (what we call first-order doctrines at our local church) are not worth having and ruin not only those participating in the quarrel, but those listening to it.

Instead, Paul tells Timothy to present himself to the Lord as a workman who has been approved by God and needs not be ashamed of the work God has given to him to do.  Primary among his duties is rightly handling the Word of Truth (the Scriptures).  Besides this, he should avoid being entangled in all kinds of useless talk like gossip and other irreverent babbling.  It will lead not just him, but the members of the congregation into all kinds of ungodliness if he participates in this. and this wickedness will spread like gangrene throughout the body of Christ (the only solution in the natural body for such an infection is to cut off the infected part to hope the infection stops spreading--sometimes excommunication is the only solution to keep a disease like this from spreading throughout the whole congregation.  I think the choice of word picture is intentional to bring up this imagery of both the disease and the "cure."  Thankfully, the Great Physician and heal and restore these diseased parts of the Body of Christ that have been infected and taken over by sin and being "cut off" (excommunicated) need not be a permanent condition--see both 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians where the congregation was told to excommunicate someone living in sin and then to let him back in once he repented.)

Paul gives specific examples of members of the church that have been allowed to spread all kinds of evil in the Body.  Paul seems to be directing Timothy and the congregation to excommunicate these two that are controlled by sin and not by Christ.  They are making errors in first-order doctrines (saying that Christ is not coming back for His Church because they said He had already come back and everyone missed it.  They were stealing the hope from the congregation.  Paul reminds the believers that the Lord knows who belongs to Him and the Good Shepherd will bring all of His sheep into the sheepfold that He has prepared for them.  However, if we truly belong to Him, then we must live as if we are controlled by the Spirit and not the flesh.  That is, "If you love Me, you will keep my commandments."

Paul goes back to analogy of the same kind of object (like a plate or a bowl) that could be used for common use in one setting (for everyday use in your house), but for sacred use in another context (in the Temple).  It's not so much about what the plate or bowl is made of (you could be a rich person that uses gold or silver plates for everyday use), but the purpose for which it serves (whether that purpose is common or holy).  So then a clay jar may be treated with more honor than a gold pitcher if the clay jar is used in holy service to the LORD, but the gold pitcher is used for everyday tasks.  In the same way, if we are cleaned inside and out and made clean so that we are sanctified for the LORD's service, then we are "Holy unto the LORD" which is of great honor (even if we may not appear to be made of what the world thinks is valuable to them).  We also should not envy the work that God gives to someone else because every vessel in the LORD's service has its own purpose it was designer for.  It will not perform well if it tries to perform a task it was not designed for.  Everyone therefore should to the work that God has prepared for them and not worry about the work that God has prepared for someone else--even if that work is more "flashy."  In many ways, it is the "less flashy" work that is more important (Paul makes the argument elsewhere that the internal organs of the body that are invisible are more vital than the eyes, ears, nose, hands, or feet--all these are very visible but you can live without them, but you can't live without a heart, stomach, kidneys, liver, etc).  So then, we should be careful to be neither conceited nor envious when it comes to doing the work that God has prepared for us.

Finally, in this passage, Paul encourages Timothy to flee youthful lusts (probably referring to sexual temptations).  Instead, he is to pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace.  He is not to do this alone, but to pursue these together with all those who follow after the Lord with a pure heart.  He is again warned to have nothing to do with ignorant and foolish controversies (apparently, this bore repeating as it was either a significant problem for Timothy, for the church, or both).  Such controversies only lead to quarrels and the man of God should not be quarrelsome.  Instead he must be, "kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness."  The purpose for this correction needs to be a desire that these opponents would have God grant them both repentance and knowledge of the truth.  We should remember that they are ensnared by the devil and they are not the true enemy.  They are prisoners that we desire to see set free.  They are currently his captives and need to be set free by the Lord.  Therefore, we pray for them and speak the truth in love to them, even if they respond with hate and vitriol.

2 Timothy 2:1-13
English Standard Version

A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus
2 You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. 3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5 An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. 7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 11 The saying is trustworthy, for:

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
12 if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful--

for he cannot deny himself.

Notice that Paul is calling Timothy "my child."  Paul is not Timothy's flesh-and-blood father, but he is a spiritual father to him (notice the phrase "by the grace that is in Christ Jesus" which indicates this).  Paul tells Timothy to continue the work that Paul has started (again, this letter reads like a a last will and testament because Paul knows by the revelation of the Holy Spirit that he is going to die soon).  Verse 2 is a very important verse for discipleship:
1a1) "What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses" (starts with the apostles, which we have recorded for us in the Bible)
1b) Timothy received this directly from Paul (We have the additional writings of the Early Church fathers who heard the gospel directly from the Apostles, though these are not equal with Scripture, they are of great benefit to us)
2) "Entrust to faithful men" (those are Elders, pastors, and teachers)
3) "Who will be able to teach others also" (the congregation and the next generation of leaders of the Church)

This "program of discipleship" happens within the context of the local church with the interest of preserving the true gospel taught by Jesus and His Apostles and faithful leading His Church and watching over it until He returns.  Timothy (and all those in this process) are reminded that we are called to suffer for the sake of Christ.  That is the duty of a good soldier--to suffer for His commanding officer and to keep himself ready for action.  Part of diligently being ready to serve means not becoming entangled in "civilian" affairs.  This is especially important for the pastor or evangelist who has given his entire life to the preaching or the Word of God and the sharing of the gospel.  Everything he does is to do the will of and please his commanding officer (he will not act in a way that will discredit or bring dishonor or shame to himself or to his unit, chain of command, or country).

Paul then switches metaphor to his next-favorite analogy--an athlete preparing to to compete in what would appear to be the Olympics (because they competed for a perishable crown made of olive branches.  This in no way compares to the imperishable crown that we will one day receive from our Lord for running our race well and finishing the race set before us.  However, every athlete competing in the games much play by certain rules so as to not be disqualified.  Paul tells Timothy to run in such a way so that he will not be disqualified when it comes time for the Lord to give rewards to His servants.

Paul then switches analogies again to talk about a farmer who plants his field the produces fruit who has a right to take some for himself and his family to enjoy the fruits of his labor.  In the same way, Paul argues that it is good and right for someone who has given their whole life to teaching and preaching and evangelism to be supported by the local churches and to not need to worry about anything.  They should not need to worry about "civilian affairs" of where they will stay, what they will eat, buying new clothes, etc.  Everything they need should be provided for them (notice I said need, not want).  In fact, they should be so well cared-for that the world sees how the Church cares for its Elders and marvels, because the world does not value their work, but to the Christian, it should be one of the most-valued occupations.

Paul encourages Timothy never to forget or stop preaching the Resurrection, because it is the core of the gospel--without it, we have no "good news."  Even if Paul is currently in chains as a prisoner because of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the gospel itself has not been bound as the Romans hoped, because it is not the work of men, but of God.  His gospel will go forth to the entire world though unlikely men and women, and though the world may try, they will not be able to stop it.  Not only will it go forth, but it will accomplish its purpose of bringing about the salvation of people from every tribe, tongue and nation and redeeming a people who belong to God (by His Election) that He will one day glorify to make into the perfect Bride for His Son.

Then there is a little creed (maybe a song or poem) for Timothy to remember and teach to the congregation so that they remember the truth of the gospel and the power and centrality of the Resurrection.

"If we die with Him, we will also live with Him;
if we endure, we will also reign with Him;
if we deny Him, He will deny us;
if we are faithless, He is faithful--

for He cannot deny Himself."

I think that's both simple and profound.  We must be born again (buried in the likeness of His death and raised to walk in newness of life) to truly have eternal life.  If we have never died to our old man, then we do not have the salvation and eternal life that only Christ can offer.  However, Jesus did not just die for us so that we could receive eternal life and have nothing to do--that seems to be the view a lot of people have of heaven.  No, we are going to have shared dominion over the New Creation in the same way Adam and Eve had dominion over the original Creation.  We won't be fighting the Curse of Sin, but we will still have good work to do--not just now, but for all eternity.  I look forward to seeing exactly what it is that God has prepared for me because He knows exactly what He created me to do (some of us spend our entire lives here on Earth never figuring that out).

Next, Paul addresses those who would deny Christ when put in situations where they were challenged to denounce their Savior and Lord and their so-called faith to save their own life and/or the lives of their family members.  Jesus, Paul and the other writers of the New Testament are clear that anyone who would deny Christ to try to save his own life is proving that he does not have the faith that he claims to have.  Those who possess true faith will never deny Christ, even in the circumstance where they die for Him because He died for them and they love Him more than even their own lives (or anything else that anyone may try to take from them to coerce them to deny Christ).

That said, the true disciple of Christ is not always going to be faithful to Him.  We sin and deny Him in small ways nearly every day through our actions--sometimes in even greater ways like what Peter did when he swore with an oath that he didn't know who the slave girl and the people around the campfire were talking about when Jesus was on trial.  Yet, Jesus forgave Peter, and He is able to forgive us too.  He is "Faithful and True" even if we are not.  Thank you, Jesus, that the salvation you provide is based totally on your faithfulness and not mine!