2 Timothy 4:1-5 Scripture Study
By Pastor Chris Simmons – Trinity Lutheran Church, Paso Robles CA
A reinforcement/supplement study to our Sunday service meant for “Building up the body of Christ… the manifold Wisdom of God made known” (Ephesians 4+3)
For Sunday, January 18, 2026
How do you prepare to start something new? Personally, I do a lot of research. Watch videos on YouTube, look up several websites with “how to” instructions. I try to take classes, seek out training or advice from someone who has experience or has done it before… I’ve also been told that I am a bit excessive with research and prep work…. As the phrase goes “preparation is the key” and I take that to heart. Preparation, a state of readiness… anticipating potential issues to act with confidence and adaptability. What about the “unknowns”? How do you prepare for something when you don’t know when it’s coming, what it is, or what it is going to do? Those are the evils of this world… they come when you least expect it, seeking to catch you off-guard, and at a time when you are even at your worst. As Jesus begins His earthly ministry, we look to Him, witness His preparation as He encounters the evils of the world… because He has defeated evil… and went to face it prepared.
I pray this study is a blessing for you, preparing you to face all the difficulty and even evil you will encounter, in the strength of Christ Jesus.
~ Pastor Chris Simmons
Discuss: How do you prepare for new experiences or challenges
(like travel, a new hobby, or a big event)?
Continued Discussion: What's one thing you want to accomplish in the next year, and how will you prepare for it?
2 Timothy 4:1-5
1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship,do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
2 Timothy 4 is the final chapter most likely of the final letter Paul ever wrote, as the tone throughout this chapter indicates that it’s Paul's “farewell” letter as he will soon be executed. (side note: Church tradition states Paul was beheaded during emperor Nero’s reign in Rome, others believe it could have been by far more gruesome means such as immolations ‘death by fire’ or eaten by wild dogs). Needless to say, all those offers are not all that apppealing… therefore Paul writes to Timothy to encourage this young minister in his last hours. Facing these perilous times and evils, people would fall away when they weren’t prepared to face such dangers. Paul reminds Timothy that the world will need teachers who speak God’s truth in the face of opposition, because false teachers will continue to pop up and seek to appeal to the sin that dwells within us.
In Paul’s last days… with his last moments… notice how he spent them. Not trying to get in one last “hurrah”. He spent them preparing the next generation. Preparing those who would continue in his stead. Preparing Timothy to go on propagating the gospel as Paul did, sharing the struggles that he faced, and the opposition he could see on the horizon that Timothy would have to face without him. That there would be a time… “a time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” This could come at any time… and we today realize it’s something coming at us all the time… therefore, as Paul states, we are to be read “in season and out of season”. Which sounds like… all the time!
Discuss: What are some of the best ways your parents, grandparents, or mentors prepared you to face the challenges of this world?
Continued Discussion: In what ways do you feel you’ve helped prepare others/the next generation to face the challenges of this world? What are some you see on the horizon?
To be ready “in season and out of season” sounds ideal… but how do we prepare for something we don’t know how to face yet? If I’m going to face my opposition in a sword fight, I would go get sword training and a really good sword… if I had to face them in a freestyle poetry exhibition, I would begin rhyming and writing everyday… but each day only has so many hours… how do I know if I rhyme or fence? If the sword should be mightier than the pen? (see what I did there…). Unless…. It’s not about what we prepare, but how we are prepared and who prepares us?
My current devotional practice is I read a chapter from a particular devotional book called Untamed Prayers by Chad Bird, along with the assigned Psalm reading, then journal on it along with a portion of whichever book or letter of Scripture I am going through. I find the journaling part to be very fruitful and hearing the thoughts of others also challenges me as I write to myself almost a response, rebuttal, or agreement. I do this everyday and rarely do I miss it. I feel it prepares me. Whether it prepares me by equipping me for whatever task God has set before me that day… or it prepares me to face whatever evil comes lurking my way seeking to take me out, or scratch my “itching ears”.
I was particularly moved by a devotion from last week and wanted to share just a portion of it with you.
Psalm 5:1-5
1 Give ear to my words, O Lord;
consider my groaning.
2 Give attention to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God,
for to you do I pray.
3 O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.
4 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
evil may not dwell with you.
5 The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;
you hate all evildoers.
6 You destroy those who speak lies;
the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
7 But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
will enter your house.
I will bow down toward your holy temple
in the fear of you.
Untamed Prayers by Chad Bird - January 7 Psalm 5:1–7
Through the Abundance of Your Steadfast Love
When Jesus said, “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof,” (KJV) he was admonishing us not to fret about the future, but also reminding us that the days are indeed evil (Mat. 6:34). “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time” (Eph. 5:16). Our time begins anew every morning, so we pray, “O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch” (Ps. 5:3). The Hebrew verb, arak, translated here as “prepare a sacrifice,” means to “set something out in order or arrange.” As the sun rises, we rise to orient our lives before God. Will the day be evil? Yes, for the lion of hell prowls about, “seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). Will we struggle with our own propensity to evil? Yes, for “none is righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10; Ps. 14:3). So, we ask the Father to open his ears and heart to our groaning, while “the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words,” as we cry to Jesus, our King and our God (5:1–2; Rom. 8:26).
Prepare a sacrifice… arak… set something out in an arranged order. Why? Because the days are evil… As you read in that devotion they certainly are… whether it is because they are intentionally seeking to derail your relationship with God, or because they are alarmingly short, causing you to feel anxiety, as if you are not prepared enough to face anything. As Paul mentioned in our reading.
“For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth” If I could describe a day as evil, one that turns you away from God certainly fits the bill.
Discuss: We will struggle against evil every day.. Even our own evil… What can prepare us to face that? How?
Notice our Gospel reading this week. As Jesus prepares to face evil face to face… to go up against Satan, one who certainly “fits the bill” in turning our ears away from the truth (need proof see Genesis 3 titled “The Fall”).
Matthew 3:16-17
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
(The very next verse after that… occurring immediately after Jesus Baptism)
Matthew 4:1
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Discuss: How would you summarize Jesus' preparation before going into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil? What importance does it have for us? How can we apply that to our lives?
As Jesus set forth to be at the beginning of His earthly ministry… at the start of something new.. His preparation to face the evil of the world… the devil who has spent thousands of years perfecting the act of scratching “the itching ears of others”… was to lean into His baptismal identity… to hear the voice of God proclaim “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.” Jesus prepares Himself to face temptation, to face evil in the world, by hearing the Word of God, and doing what it says.
It’s not a question of if you’ll face evil each day… It’s a question of how much.
2 Timothy 4:5
But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship,do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
In order to keep your head in all situations, to endure hardship, to reach the lost, to perform all the tasks of the ministry God has set before you. You must be Prepared. And when it comes to preparation, why not learn from the best? Why not learn from Jesus… That we are best prepared by the Word of God. To hear and know His promises for us and to do what it says.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
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.
Equipped by God so we can face all things. Prepared by Him so we are ready “in season and out of season.”
Discuss: Is there anything that prevents you from inviting people to worship with you? How can our relationships with God, connection to Jesus, and Jesus’ authority at Trinity break down barriers that would keep people from being welcomed and cared for?
Prayer
Do you often seek out answers only you want to hear to satisfy your itching ears? Pray for God to soften your heart and open your ears and mind to His word.
Is it difficult for you to sacrifice your time (arak) for personal devotions? How could you better set out your day in an arranged order as a God honoring sacrifice so He can better build you up?
Do you carry any fear or anxiety about being unprepared? Pray to God for confidence in His preparation of you. That in your Baptism you are gifted the Holy Spirit, who dwells in you richly. You are more than prepared, you are a dwelling house for the Lord.
Lord God, we ask you to keep us prepared in season and out of season. By Your Spirit, inspire our hearts to continually run to your Word, to Your Church, to Your Son that we would be prepared to face all evil- the evils of the world and our own propensity for evil. Please forgive us Lord when we stray and lead us back to Your Word. That we would continually seek out the mercy and love of Christ not just for ourselves, but to better prepare the future generations for the challenges we can see coming over the horizon. Come soon Lord Jesus, and we pray this all in your name. Amen.