Question: "What should we learn from the life of Timothy?"

Answer:

Timothy, the recipient of the two New Testament letters bearing his name, was the son of a Greek father and a Jewish mother. He joined Paul during one of Paul’s later missionary journeys. Paul addresses Timothy in his first letter to him as "my true son in the faith" (1 Timothy 1:2). He was probably no older than late teens/early twenties when he joined Paul, but had already distinguished himself as faithful, so that the elders noticed him. He probably heard the gospel when Paul came through the area on his first missionary journey, but we don’t know for sure. Timothy served as Paul’s representative to several churches (1 Corinthians 4:17; Philippians 2:19), and he was later a pastor in Ephesus (1 Timothy 1:3).

Paul says Timothy had a “genuine faith,” the same as that which lived in his mother and grandmother (2 Timothy 1:1-5). Eunice and Lois prepared Timothy to accept Christ when he heard of Him by teaching him the Old Testament Scriptures and preparing him “from infancy” to recognize the Messiah when He appeared (2 Timothy 3:15). When Paul came preaching Christ, all three accepted his teaching and committed their lives to the Saviour. We must prepare our children to be ready when Christ knocks on the door of their hearts. They must know how to recognize that pull on their spirits as coming from the Saviour, and the only way to do that is to follow the example of Eunice and Lois and teach our children the Word of God.

In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he warns Timothy about the false teachers that he will encounter and tells him to continue in the things he has learned because he knows the character of those he learned them from, namely Paul himself and his mother and grandmother (2 Timothy 3:14-15). These three lived the truth which they knew. They didn’t just preach one thing and live another. Our children watch how we live out our faith more than they listen to what we say about our faith. “Do as I say and not as I do” doesn’t work for children. The truths Timothy was taught from infancy were able to make him “wise for salvation,” which are the truths about sin and our need for a Saviour. As parents, we are to follow the godly example of Eunice and Lois and prepare our children to hear the Lord calling to them and to distinguish truth from error.

Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/life-Timothy.html#ixzz38mwVHpeP

OLAADEGBU: Question: "What should we learn from the life of Timothy?"

Answer:

Nothing

^ ^ ^

Now, that's better.

@Ola,
Thanks for the beautiful summary. Timothy was a blessed person. Tutored from a tender age by a godly mother and grandmother in the sacred writings which are able to give him the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. Paul seemed to be the spiritual father he needed to complete the equation.

One question though is the word of God he was tutored in gave him wisdom that leads to salvation. What could that mean? I will like to hear from you what that means... wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus

Alwaystrue:

@Ola,
Thanks for the beautiful summary. Timothy was a blessed person. Tutored from a tender age by a godly mother and grandmother in the sacred writings which are able to give him the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. Paul seemed to be the spiritual father he needed to complete the equation.

One question though is the word of God he was tutored in gave him wisdom that leads to salvation. What could that mean? I will like to hear from you what that means... wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus

It wasn't my summary it was posted from the suggested link.

To answer your question. My understanding of "wisdom that leads to salvation" is to have hearing ears and believing heart that will make us hear and believe the gospel truth that will lead to our convincing, conviction and eventual conversion of our souls.

"The truths Timothy was taught from infancy were able to make him “wise for salvation,” which are the truths about sin and our need for a Saviour."

@Ola,
Thanks a lot. I got this from an article I read online and thought to share in line with your response to me. It is quite revealing.

The three tenses of salvation.


Salvation, as the Bible presents it, has three tenses: past, present, and future.

Salvation-past has to do with salvation from the penalty of sin. The moment we first believe and confess Jesus to be Lord, all our sins are forgiven and God's wrath no longer remains on us.

Salvation-future has to do with salvation from the presence of sin. When we are finally brought into heaven, there will be no sin there for us to contend with and our salvation will have been completed.

Salvation-present has to do with our salvation from the power of sin. After receiving Christ and the promise of eternal life, but before entering the sinlessness of heaven, we remain in a sinful world where we must struggle against the power of sin every day. This means struggling with our temptations and wrong-doings as well as with the compounding consequences of everyone else's temptations and wrong-doings.


It is this third tense in which Paul is writing to Timothy. The Scriptures are able to make us wise for salvation from the power of sin by teaching us the godly responses to the various situations in life. Paul finishes this thought to Timothy in writing, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16 NIV).

As revealed through Paul's writing, the Word is God-breathed which establishes its unquestionable authority. As a result of its authority, the Word is our certainty concerning

teaching (it informs us about what is right),
rebuking (it informs us about what is wrong),
correcting (how the wrong is to be righted), and
training in righteousness (how we should act from then on).