God’s Word for You
2 Timothy 2:19 away from wickedness
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Friday, June 26, 2026
19 Nevertheless, God’s foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “All who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”
The mention of the two men who fell into false teaching (verse 17) prompts Paul immediately to comfort the reader, since he knows that this letter will not only be read by Timothy but by his church, and eventually, by you and me as well. Therefore his pastoral concern takes over to reassure anyone with doubts that we can be certain of our salvation. How? “God’s foundation stands firm.” There are many guesses as to what this foundation might be, but since Paul calls the foundation “already laid” by the name of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11), we find it best to stand firm on this as the firm foundation. The church stands on the foundation of Christ, but the church is not the foundation, Christ is.
Next we are assured that this foundation is sealed with two inscriptions. The first is, “The Lord knows those who are his.” This is a type of saying in Greek known as gnomic, an axiom that is always right and true. It is a reminder of two things. On the one hand, God chose us in eternity to be his own (as we have already seen in 2:10), and at the same time, God is the one who has done this, and has done everything out of love and compassion for us, and therefore our salvation, our justification by faith, is also here in this foundation, since the foundation must be Christ. We have been brought to faith on account of God’s love. “What the Holy Ghost does to bring us to Christ and through faith to heaven, God has purposed and resolved to do for us in eternity.” Since God knows all of this, for “he knows those who are his,” this is also one of the proof texts for showing the invisible church. This means that God alone knows the members of the Holy Christian Church because he alone knows who truly has faith in their heart. Jesus said, “The kingdom of God does not come with careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21). And God taught Samuel: “The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
Our Confession states, “When people are taught to seek their eternal election in Christ and in his holy Gospel as the ‘book of life,’ this doctrine never gives occasions either to despondency or a riotous and dissolute life. This does not exclude any repentant sinner but invites and calls all poor, burdened, and heavy-laden sinners to repentance, to a knowledge of their sins, and to faith in Christ and promises them the Holy Spirit to cleanse and renew them. This doctrine gives sorrowing and tempted people the permanently abiding comfort of knowing that their salvation does not rest in their own hands. If this were the case, they would lose it more readily than Adam and Eve did in Paradise—yes, would be losing it every moment and hour. Their salvation rests in the gracious election of God, which he has revealed to us in Christ, and out of whose hands ‘no one can pluck’ (John 10:28).”
The second seal is that “All who confess the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” This is the natural response of the Christian to being given faith and forgiveness by God: we confess his name, and we want, with his help, to turn away from wickedness and sin. In other words, this is a summary of the doctrine of sanctification. We do not keep ourselves away from wickedness in order to earn anything; anything we do to merit anything from God ceases to be the fruit of faith and love. This is where the law, even the law of Moses, becomes a guide for the Christian, showing us how to live for God, show our obedience, and live in a way that pleases him. This is “faith expressing itself through love” (Galatians 5:6).
Christians have tried to find sources in the Scriptures for these two seals Paul mentions, such as Numbers 16:5; Isaiah 52:11, or Isaiah 26:13. Those are fine passages with direct application to what Paul is talking about, but since he, too, is writing under divine inspiration, we don’t need to search for where the Apostle found well-crafted words. Paul was no unlettered tramp.
We turn away from wickedness because this pleases God. “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word” (Psalm 119:9). We show our love because he loves us; because he has always loved us.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.