Holding to Sound Teaching
"Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching you have heard from me, with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard the treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.
You know that everyone in the Province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.
May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he has often refreshed me and was unashamed of my chains. Indeed, when he arrived in Rome, he searched diligently until he found me.
May the Lord grant Onesiphorus His mercy on that day. You know very well how much he ministered to me in Ephesus." 2 Timothy 1:13-18
Paul presumably wrote his second letter to Timothy from prison during his last days, before his death.
This he wrote a few years after the first letter.
Paul, knowing that Timothy needed more of the encouragement he sent him the first time, especially because he knew that his days are numbered and that Timothy has to go on with the work of the Lord through God's Spirit for a long time after he has passed away.
Never Stop
In the short excerpt from that letter that we read above, Paul just wanted to tell Timothy not to quit doing what he is doing for the Lord and to not stray away from the path or the teachings that the Lord has entrusted to them.
He said to continue on with the faith through the love of Christ
with the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells inside him.
Never Be Like Them
Paul also warns not to be like certain other leaders or teachers who have abandoned Christ and are teaching a different doctrine.
He even named two of those who were doing this. And he named another, Onesiphorus, who should be his example instead.
We all need a mentor like Paul, who even in his final days is still concerned with others even as he contemplates his demise. Paul knew he has ran his race, he is nearing the end of his lap and he has to pass on the baton to the next runner who will be running the next lap of this relay race we call Christian living.
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