God’s Word for You

2 Timothy 3:10-11 the Lord rescued me

by Pastor Timothy Smith on Saturday, July 4, 2026

10 You, however, have closely followed my teaching, my conduct, my purpose, my faith, my patience, my love, my perseverance, 11 my persecutions and sufferings—such as what happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra, which I endured; and from them all, the Lord rescued me.

“You however” (σὺ δὲ) stands out in contrast to what Paul has just been saying, in contrast to the kinds of people, false apostles and false teachers, that were exemplified in the ancient magicians and arch-heretics, Jannes and Jambres. “But you, Timothy, are not one of those.” Timothy has been Paul’s disciple, companion, and partner in the ministry of the gospel.

Paul pours out his feelings in these verses. He is not speaking like a man who only knows about suffering by reading about it; it is not merely an academic exercise for him. He lived this. He lived through all of it, and Timothy was a witness and sometimes a companion even in the suffering as well as in the preaching. The items that Paul describes are in three groups of three, and the threes belong together.

First: “My teaching, my conduct, and my purpose.” Paul’s teaching is his gospel message, about which he often says “my gospel” (2 Timothy 2:8; Romans 2:16; Romans 16:25; 1 Corinthians 15:1; Galatians 2:2). This is what he has preached and upon which the churches have taken their stand (1 Corinthians 15:1; Galatians 1:11). Conduct follows teaching; it is the way we live that becomes the measure of what people think about our words. Does his life match what he says? Remember that at the end of the book of Esther, Mordecai is held in high esteem because he spoke up for the good of his people and because he worked for their good as well (Esther 10:3). Conduct that is pure and right is noticed even in the life of a child (Proverbs 20:11). These things show the purpose of the man’s life. So with Paul, his teaching and his actions revealed his purpose, which was to give glory to Christ and bring the gospel of Christ to whomever would listen: If not the Jews, then the Gentiles (Acts 13:46).

Second: “My faith, my patience, and my love.” The difference between faith and faithfulness is that the one is the attitude of trust, and the other is the trait that puts that trust into action. Paul had both. He also shows almost unending patience, bearing with opposition and standing up even to Peter the Apostle when Peter’s actions did not match his preaching and teaching in Antioch (Galatians 2:11), although this was the exception in Peter and not the rule. Peter displayed his faith by taking his wife along with him when he preached the gospel throughout Palestine and Asia Minor and setting this example for the other Apostles and their wives (1 Corinthians 9:5). “Love” in Paul’s list is the compassion of Paul for lost souls. This led him to many extremes and self-denial for the sake of the spiritual life of sinners. As an example, Paul even said “If what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin” (this was an example, not a rule) “I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall” (1 Corinthians 8:13).

Finally, in the third group, Paul says: “My perseverance, my persecutions, and sufferings.” Perseverance (or endurance) is one of the things Paul told Titus to teach to older men (Titus 2:2). This is a brave patience that holds up under all difficulties, like the farmer who doesn’t give up when torrential rains wash away what he has planted (Job 14:19). The wise teacher asks, “Woe to you when you have lost your endurance! What will you do when the Lord tests you?”

Paul had stood up to many persecutions, and he names a few that Timothy had witnessed. In Antioch, Paul had success to begin with, but “when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and talked abusively against what Paul was saying” (Acts 13:45). In Iconium, Paul and Barnabas once again had success in their preaching, but “the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers” (Acts 14:2) and “there was a plot afoot among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them” (Acts 14:5), so they moved on. But at Lystra, the Jews of Antioch and Iconium caught up with Paul and stoned him to death (or so they thought), and then dragged his body outside the city, leaving it there in the dust in the road or alongside the road, as an abandoned corpse (Acts 14:19). But Paul was still alive, and his friends helped him, and he recovered. This and many other things count as his sufferings, and the prophet also said, “I remember my affliction and my wandering” (Lamentations 3:19). There is no suffering that is unique to any one man; others have suffered in the same way, but some of them did not persevere. Therefore we keep praying for God’s help and strength (Psalm 22:19, 46:1). “There is one who is slow and needs help, who lacks strength and abounds in poverty; but the eyes of the Lord look upon him for his good; he lifts him out of his low estate and raises up his head, so that many are amazed at him.”

And what does Paul say about all these things? “The Lord rescued me.” This is the same term used by Moses for the answers to give to children about the Passover: “The Lord passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and rescued (spared) our homes when he struck down the Egyptians” (Exodus 12:27). And again, when the people passed through the Red Sea with a wall of water to the right and to the left, “The Lord rescued Israel from the hands of the Egyptians” (Exodus 14:30).

This word (errhysato, ἐρρύσατο), “delivered,” is a favorite of Paul’s to describe the saving work of God on behalf of his people. Paul uses it of the forgiveness of sins (2 Corinthians 1:10), and deliverance from the dominion of darkness and the devil (Colossians 1:13), and from death and dangers of every kind (2 Timothy 4:17). But he also uses this word of personal deliverance, when God has watched over his apostle, not because Paul was such a great or useful tool for the gospel, but on account of Paul’s simple faith in Christ. And so also God delivers us from many dangers (2 Corinthians 11:26). And while some dangers are permitted to come our way, either to test us or to take us away from this world and to bring us home to heaven, “when the songs of the birds grow faint” (Ecclesiastes 12:4), it is for our eternal good. For God will deliver each of us with faith in Christ from the power of the devil and from the evils of this world. And he promises his blessing at the resurrection of all flesh, when we will be united with him and reunited with many loved ones for all eternity.

In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith

 

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