DISCUSSION QUESTIONS | June 17/21, 2026

The following questions may be used for further personal or group reflection as you strive to build your house on the rock of Christ and his Word (cf. Luke 6:46).  

 

Join the Apostle Paul in Suffering for the Gospel
1) Do not compromise the truth
2) Communicate the truth “in season and out of season”
3) Cling to the truth when dying

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2 Timothy 4:1-8

 

I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom: Preach the word. Be ready whether it is convenient or not.  Correct, rebuke, and encourage, with all patience and teaching.  For there will come a time when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, because they have itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in line with their own desires.  They will also turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths.

 

 As for you, keep a clear head in every situation. Bear hardship. Do the work of an evangelist. Fulfill your ministry.

 

 You see, I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.  I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. 8 From now on, there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness. The Lord, the righteous Judge, will give it to me on that day, and not only to me but also to everyone who loved his appearing.

1)  Our text is from 2 Timothy.  The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the young pastor Timothy, his protégé and coworker.  Paul was in prison and facing death.  This letter has been called “Paul’s Last Will and Testament.” 

Paul’s first imprisonment was from about 57-62 A.D. (3 years in Caesarea and the last 2 years in Rome).  During his first imprisonment he wrote the “Prison Epistles” – Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon.  In Rome his appeal to Caesar was successful. 

Paul then enjoyed about 5 years of freedom to continue his ministry of outreach to the gentiles (non-Jews).  He probably fulfilled his wish of going to Spain to preach the gospel during this time.  He also wrote his letters of 1 Timothy and Titus during this time.

Paul was arrested a second time in 67 or 68 A.D..  This time he would not be acquitted.  The only letter from his second imprisonment is his letter of 2 Timothy.

Question for Discussion
The first time Paul was in prison his prayers were answered – so to speak – and he was released and able to resume his ministry.  The second time Paul was in prison things did not turn out the way he might have preferred.  What do these two “opposite” experiences tell us about the Christian life?  How is this sobering?  What comfort do we have even when things “do not go our way”?  In Acts 14:22 the Apostle Paul reminds the believers that “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” 

2) Paul encourages Timothy to stay in God’s word.  He warns Timothy about false teachers and false teaching in these words -

“There will come a time when people will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, because they have itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in line with their own desires.  They will also turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” (2 Tim 4:3,4).

Question for Discussion:
What were some of the false teachings in Paul’s day? (The answer to this question is provided at the end of our lesson.)  What are some of the false teachings in our day?

3)  In our day and age many people denigrate “doctrine.”  “Doctrine” is another word for teaching.  Some Christians will say, “Deeds not creeds.”  But the Apostle Paul in his so-called “Pastoral Epistles” – [letters written to Pastors (Titus and 1 & 2 Timothy)]– strongly emphasizes purity of teaching.

Beliefs determine behavior.  Our principles determine our practice.  “As a man thinks, so is he.”  The brain is the control center of the body.  People act on the basis of what they believe is true.  So it has been – and so it will always be.  Even unbelievers act on the basis of their principals, morals, ethics, beliefs, etc.

Question for Discussion:
So what will be the guiding principles of our lives?  What truths guide us and make a difference in how we live. 

4) Paul says people gather around themselves a great number of false teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear (2 Tim 4:3). 

Question for Discussion
Why do people do this?  Can you see examples of this in the world around you?  Give examples.
What do the following sentences have to say about this:

                                       “Truth is not determined by a majority vote”

                    “What’s right isn’t always popular.  What’s popular isn’t always right.”
                                                          Albert Einstein

5) Paul encourages Timothy to communicate God’s truth “in season and out of season” (NIV)

“Preach the word.  Be ready whether it is convenient or not.  Correct, rebuke anb encourage, with all patience and teaching” (2 Tim 4:2 EHV).
How did Paul share the word of God with others – whether it was convenient or not convenient?   Give an example.

Two examples from Pastor Mike:

a) During the riot at the temple in Jerusalem (Acts 21:27-40 & Acts 22)

Paul is being beaten to death when the Roman guards rescue him.  Within minutes of his rescue he asks the Roman Centurion for the opportunity to speak to the rioters – which he then does.  If I were in Paul’s shoes, my heart would be beating so fast that I could scarcely catch my breath – and at best I would be thanking God for rescuing me.  Paul looks at this “awful situation” as an opportunity to lift up Jesus before the mob – who then listen to Paul’s testimony “spell-bound”  until he mentions Jesus’ command to Paul to share the gospel with the gentiles (non-Jews). 

b) During Paul’s first imprisonment when he is under house arrent in Rome

Paul is chained to a Roman soldier 24 hours a day.  Every 6 hours the Roman guard changes.  So Paul has 4 different guards every 24 hours.  We learn from his letter to the Philippians, that “it has become clear throughout the entire palace guard” that he is in chains for Christ (Philippians 1:13) and that “all the saints (believers in Christ Jesus)” send their greetings “especially those who belong to Caesar’s household” (Philippians 4:22).  Paul shared the gospel with the Roman guards to whom he was chained – and some of them were converted to Christianity.  These soldiers belonged to the elite Praetorian guard which was charged with protecting the Roman Emperor, Nero.

Paul viewed every situation – good and bad – as an opportunity to share Christ, to lift him high. “For to me to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21).

Give examples from your life when it was inconvenient to share the gospel but you did anyway.

6) Finally Timothy learns from the Apostle Paul how to cling to the gospel even when facing death.

“You see, I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.  I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.  From now on, there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness.  The Lord, the righteous Judge, will give it to me on that day, and not only to me but also to everyone who loved his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:6-8).

How does Paul face his death?  Is he a victim or a victor?  What is that crown of righteousness reserved for him in heaven?  (If necessary, you may look up 2 Cor 5:21 and Philippians 3:9 and Romans 3:21,22 and Isaiah 61:10 to see what this righteousness is.)

7) Give examples of Christians in the world today – America and elsewhere – who suffer for the gospel like the Apostle Paul.  What can we learn from their example?

Answer to question #2:
* False teachers in Paul’s day included: (1) Judaizers – they emphasized that you cannot be saved unless you followed the Jewish ceremonial law.  For example, they insisted that non-Jewish converts to Christianity be circumcised or they could not be saved.  (2) Gnostics – they claimed that the “Christ” lived in the body of Jesus for a short time – and left before his crucifixion.  So only a man died on the cross, not God.  They believed that all things physical were sinful – and so they taught that one must abstain from certain foods and sometimes even marriage.  They denied the bodily resurrection of Jesus on Easter morning.