1, 2 Timothy / Titus

There is no doubt that for those of you who started reading your Bible in Genesis, you thought kind of what I did. First of all, that would have been a wicked awesome garden before Genesis 3. But you probably also felt like, “Wow, how cool would that be to walk with God?” Like literally, “Hey God, what’s up?” You have this intimate, face-to-face interaction with the Lord. You begin to see that God revealing Himself to His creation was absolutely profound.

Over time, as the people of God interacted with Him, there became this sense of, “Okay, these really spiritual people are interacting with God, but what about the rest of us?” God was speaking through Moses, and Moses would come down and say, “Hey, this is what God says.” The people would say, “Well, how do we know? Who are you, and how can we be sure?” So God said, “Moses, get a pen. Write this down.”

Moses began to write down the Word of God, and the Word of God became the center of all that they were. Their worship existence revolved around the text. Their familial existence revolved around the text, where fathers would study the Torah, roll out the scroll, read the text, and then teach their children. The Word of God became the heart and soul of the people. In fact, Moses was told by God to tell the people that this is not an idle word—this is your very life. This text became everything to them.

When Joshua took over for Moses, he had probably the hardest job in all the Bible. How would you like to follow Moses? Three times in the first chapter, the Lord tells him: be strong and courageous, be strong and courageous, be strong and very courageous. Why? Because the kid was scared to death. God tells him, “Let Me tell you how you’re going to make it, son. This Book of the Law, this Bible, shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you will be careful to do according to all that is written in it. Then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will find success.”

Joshua 1:8 (NASB)

’This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.

So the Word of God was at the forefront. But as you continue reading through the early parts of the Old Testament, you get to the book of Judges, which was a total catastrophe. The book summarizes the era by saying that everyone did what was right in their own eyes. That sounds liberating, but it is pure chaos. The book ends with unspeakable tragedy and depravity—a Levite sending his concubine out, a city committing a horrific atrocity, and the man cutting her into pieces to FedEx her to the rest of the nation. I can hardly believe that is in the Bible either! But that is what happens when everyone does what is right in their own eyes and they lose the Word of God.

Then the kings came along, and they were commanded by God to reestablish the Word of God as the center point of the community. They were called to write out a copy of the law and read it daily. Can you imagine the audacity? They were commanded by God to do what sounds like the simplest thing ever: just read their Bible every day. God knows that if you put the Word of God in you—if God is revealing Himself in the text and you are reading the text—you live differently. He told them, “You want to be a good king? Secret number one: just read your Bible.”

The problem was they didn’t always do what it said. They began to stray from the Lord, so God raised up prophets. All the prophets in the Old Testament did was say, “Hey dude, you are jacking up your life. Get back to obeying your Bible. Read your Bible and obey it. It’s not rocket science. Where you’re heading is a total mess. Please don’t do that; it’s going to work out poorly for you. Read your Bible, and do what it says.”

Of course, they didn’t listen, and they ended up in captivity. While in captivity, a few of them began to read their Bibles. They started doing the math, realizing, “Wait a minute—if the Book is true, we’re about to get out of here.” Sure enough, they were released from captivity. They came back and rebuilt Jerusalem. In Nehemiah chapter 8, as they were rebuilding, they found the Bible again. They said, “What should we do with it? Let’s read it!”

They built a wooden platform. A man named Ezra—who, as Ezra 7:10 says, had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, to practice it, and to teach it—opened the scrolls and started reading. The people began to weep, and they stood in ovation at the very hearing of the Word of God. Finally, God was back among them! This is what they were meant to be: a people created in His image who hear and honor the Word of God.

Ezra 7:10 (NASB)

For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD and to practice [it], and to teach [His] statutes and ordinances in Israel.

The Old Testament closes with Malachi, the final prophet, saying, “Remember the law of Moses. Be old school, would you please? In the areas revealed in Scripture, just be old-fashioned. That’s where peace is found; that’s where joy is found. Be a people of the Book.” Then it fades to black. For four hundred years of silence, there is nothing.

The Church as a People of the Book

Then the New Testament opens: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh. God is no longer just walking in the garden with Adam and Eve; God is incarnate in the person of Jesus Christ, living among us. We see Him. The Word of God is made flesh. Jesus dies on the cross for our sins, He is buried, and He rises from the dead.

Then the church begins. In Acts chapter 2, the early church commits themselves to four very specific things: the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer.

Acts 2:42 (NASB)

They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

They took the Hebrew concept of being a people of the Book and said, “Let’s keep doing that.” All Christianity is, after all, is embracing Jesus as the Jewish Messiah. We owe an enormous debt to our Jewish roots. The early church carried this core identity forward: they were utterly devoted to the apostles’ teaching.

The church began to move. It moved from Jerusalem to Antioch, and they established a teaching center there. It moved to Corinth, and they started a teaching center there. It moved to Ephesus, and they started a teaching center there. It moved to Rome, and they started a teaching center there. They were committed to being a people of the Book.

The number one thing a church is supposed to do is teach the Bible. I don’t care about personal opinions. I don’t care about “five ways to have a happy life” where every point starts with the letter P. Don’t show me a drama, don’t show me a skit, don’t bring up a soloist looking for personal glory—just teach me the Book. That is what the early church did.

Passing the Baton: The Pastoral Epistles

While Paul was in prison in Rome under house arrest, his teaching center happened to be his jail cell. During that time, he wrote four letters: Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, and Philippians. Eventually, he was released. Immediately upon his release, he revisited the churches he had planted and penned two letters: 1 Timothy and Titus. Later, he was arrested again, locked down on death row, and wrote his final letter: 2 Timothy.

These three books—1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus—are commonly called the Pastoral Epistles. They are written to two young pastors: Timothy, who was sent to pastor in Ephesus, and Titus, who was sent to the island of Crete. First Timothy and Titus are essentially pastoral job descriptions: “Here is how to lead, here is what an elder is, here is your responsibility as a shepherd.” Second Timothy contains Paul’s dying words.

The tone in these letters is distinct from anything else Paul wrote. In Romans, it feels like watching a brilliant courtroom drama—structured rhetoric, point, counterpoint, question, answer. Ephesians and Colossians follow a clear pattern of heavy theology in the first half and practical application in the second half. Philemon and Philippians are deeply intimate and warm—Philippians is like a big, snuggly sweater full of joy.

When you come to 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, there are 90 imperative commands in just 13 chapters. In the Greek language, an imperative command means, “I’m not messing around. Do this!” Guard this. Protect this. Preach this. Teach this. Remind them of this. Stand firm in this. It is rapid-fire: command after command. Paul is saying, “Boys, I am passing the baton to you. Do not drop it. You carry the torch now.”

If you step back and look at these three books from a high level, you see one overwhelming theme repeated constantly: teach, instruct, equip, train, sound doctrine, and entrust. If you highlight every instance of those concepts in red, the entire text lights up. The whole point of 1 Timothy, Titus, and 2 Timothy is instructing young leaders on how to be men of the Book and how to train others to be people of the Book. From the moment God told Moses to grab a pen all the way to today, God’s people are called to be people of the Book.

1 Timothy: Guarding the Deposit and Ordering the House

Look at the very beginning of 1 Timothy:

1 Timothy 1:3-5 (NASB)

As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than [furthering] the administration of God which is by faith. But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

Paul tells Timothy to charge certain people not to teach different doctrines or wander off into myths and speculations. Then he says in verse 5, “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” We could stop right there and preach that until Jesus returns! The goal of our instruction is love produced by a transformed life.

Paul goes on to say that the law is good if one uses it lawfully.

1 Timothy 1:8 (NASB)

But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully,

People were taking God’s Word and twisting it for their own agendas. Paul reminds Timothy of the gospel:

1 Timothy 1:11 (NASB)

according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.

That word “entrusted” appears throughout these letters. Paul is saying, “I was entrusted with the Word of God, and now I have handed it to you. What are you going to do with it?” The Word of God is never meant to come into our lives and get locked away like a vault. It is meant to enter us, transform us, and flow out of us to others.

In 1 Timothy 3:14–15, Paul explains his purpose: “I am writing these things to you so that… you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.” A person of the Book conducts themselves rightly.

Being a person of the Book begins with men stepping up. In 1 Timothy 2:8, Paul says he desires that in every place men should pray, lifting holy hands.

1 Timothy 2:8 (NASB)

Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.

Fellas, if we are candid, too often we act like passive bystanders rather than men of the Book. We let our wives carry the spiritual weight—we let them initiate Bible study, lead devotions, and set the spiritual tone. It is time for men to rise up. In 1 Timothy 2, Paul calls men to pray and to teach.

1 Timothy 2:11-12 (NASB)

A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.

Verses 11 and 12 have caused all kinds of controversy, but understand the heart of what Paul is addressing. Historically, men have used passages like this to demean women, and shame on any man who does that. Paul anchors his argument in the order of creation to show that when men fail to lead, women are forced to carry a burden God designed for men. Men of God are called to step up, take responsibility, pray, and teach.

Paul then lays out the qualifications for an overseer or elder in chapter 3:

1 Timothy 3:1-7 (NASB)

It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires [to do]. An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. [He must be] one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?), [and] not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. And he must have a good reputation with those outside [the church], so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

There are two roles in the local church reserved exclusively for qualified men: elder and preaching pastor. This is not about spiritual superiority, intelligence, or gifting; it is about God’s created design. Paul lists eighteen character qualifications: above reproach, the husband of one wife (literally a “one-woman man”), sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, and not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, because if a man cannot shepherd his own family, how can he care for God’s church? He must not be a recent convert, and he must have a good reputation with outsiders.

I double-dog dare every man here to read through that list, grade yourself, and then ask your wife to grade you. See if there is a difference, and talk about it. As an elder of this church, I have walked through that list and thought, “Lord, I have so much work to do.” Men, please raise your sights. Aspire to that kind of biblical character.

Why is this character so critical? Because spiritual deception is real.

1 Timothy 4:1-5 (NASB)

But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, [men] who forbid marriage [and advocate] abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.

Paul warns that people will abandon the faith to follow deceitful teachings based on human opinion rather than God’s Word. The only defense is being grounded in Scripture. Paul tells Timothy:

1 Timothy 4:6-8 (NASB)

In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, [constantly] nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following. But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and [also] for the [life] to come.

“Train yourself for godliness.” That verse ought to hit us deeply. We will count calories, track points, run on treadmills, climb virtual mountains on elliptical machines, and pump iron begging for a beach body—yet we won’t read our Bibles! What good is being completely fit physically if you are spiritually bankrupt? Train yourself for godliness. Spend half as much time in your Bible as you do trying to stay in shape and watch what God does on the inside.

Paul reminds Timothy that youth is no excuse for spiritual laziness:

1 Timothy 4:11-13 (NASB)

Prescribe and teach these things. Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but [rather] in speech, conduct, love, faith [and] purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. Until I come, give attention to the [public] reading [of Scripture], to exhortation and teaching.

Age and maturity do not automatically go hand in hand. I have met young men full of deep biblical wisdom because they live in the Scriptures, and I have met older men whose counsel I would never seek because they never open their Bibles. Paul charges Timothy:

1 Timothy 4:16 (NASB)

Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.

This commitment to Scripture transforms everyday life. In 1 Timothy 6, Paul addresses how we work:

1 Timothy 6:1-3 (NASB)

All who are under the yoke as slaves are to regard their own masters as worthy of all honor so that the name of God and [our] doctrine will not be spoken against. Those who have believers as their masters must not be disrespectful to them because they are brethren, but must serve them all the more, because those who partake of the benefit are believers and beloved. Teach and preach these [principles]. If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness,

If you are an employee, work in such a way that your boss looks fantastic, so that God’s name and teaching are not reviled. If you are told to mop the floor, mop it well. If you have to dig a ditch, dig it deep. If your employer is a believer, do not slack off—serve them even better. Being a person of the Book means that on Tuesday morning in the office and Thursday afternoon on the job site, our work is exceptional because we represent Jesus.

Titus: Sound Doctrine and Everyday Discipleship

Turning to Titus, Paul writes to another young pastor facing massive cultural headwinds in Crete. In Titus 1:9, Paul reiterates that an elder must hold firm to the trustworthy Word as taught, so that he can give instruction in sound doctrine and refute those who contradict it.

Titus 1:9 (NASB)

holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.

Being a person of the Book means knowing what you believe and having the discernment to say, “That teaching does not align with Scripture.” Paul warns that false teachers are upsetting whole families for shameful gain.

Titus 1:11 (NASB)

who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not [teach] for the sake of sordid gain.

In response, Paul calls the church to multigenerational discipleship:

Titus 2:1-5 (NASB)

But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance. Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, [to be] sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.

What does it look like to be a woman of the Book? Titus 2 paints a magnificent picture. Older women are called to be reverent in behavior and to teach what is good. Ladies, you have a vital, indispensable teaching ministry that no man can fulfill. Older women are called to train younger women in how to love their husbands and children, and how to be self-controlled, pure, kind, and faithful in their homes—so that the Word of God will not be reviled.

I was talking with a new mother recently about maternal instincts. When a woman has a baby, she often steps into motherhood naturally. But do you know what no one picks up naturally? How to love your husband selflessly, how to maintain self-control and purity, and how to honor biblical roles amidst our fallen human nature.

Young mothers need mature, godly women walking beside them. I have zero credibility trying to teach a mother about maternal instincts! When my wife was in labor with our second child and in intense pain, I foolishly said, “Come on, honey, push through it!” She immediately looked at me and said, “Get out!” Men cannot speak into those spaces, but mature women of God can and must.

2 Timothy: The Final Charge on Death Row

After writing Titus, Paul was rearrested. As he writes 2 Timothy, he is on death row in a cold Roman dungeon. The tone shifts to absolute urgency. Paul knows his time is short, and he writes to Timothy:

2 Timothy 1:12-14 (NASB)

For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day. Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to [you].

Paul passes the baton with holy intensity:

2 Timothy 2:1-2 (NASB)

You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

Look at the multiplication: what you heard from me, entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others also. That is four generations of discipleship in one verse!

Someone discipled the person who led you to Christ. Someone poured into them, and they poured into you. Who are you pouring into? When your life on this earth is finished, who will stand before the Lord and say, “That man, that woman, taught me the Bible and showed me what it means to follow Jesus”?

Paul writes from chains:

2 Timothy 2:8-9 (NASB)

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned.

Paul is locked up in chains, but the Word of God is unbound! Rome could imprison the apostle, but they could not chain the gospel. Therefore, Paul gives Timothy this unforgettable standard:

2 Timothy 2:15 (NASB)

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

Rightly handling the Word of truth means cutting straight, like a surgeon with a scalpel. Study the text. Do not be sloppy with God’s Word.

In chapter 3, Paul warns that difficult times will come as people reject truth for personal preferences. His remedy is simple:

2 Timothy 3:14-17 (NASB)

You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned [them], and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

All Scripture is breathed out by God. It is entirely sufficient to teach, reprove, correct, and train us so that we are fully equipped for every good work. Do you want to be equipped for life and ministry? Immerse yourself in the Book.

Paul delivers his final charge:

2 Timothy 4:1-5 (NASB)

I solemnly charge [you] in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season [and] out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but [wanting] to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Preach the Word. Be ready in season and out of season. When culture wants its ears tickled with comfortable myths, stay faithful to the text. Paul looks back on his life:

2 Timothy 4:6-8 (NASB)

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

He has fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith. Then, in his final personal words, he makes a touching request to Timothy:

2 Timothy 4:9-13 (NASB)

Make every effort to come to me soon; for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens [has gone] to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service. But Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. When you come bring the cloak which I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments.

Paul is cold and awaiting execution. He does not ask for a gourmet meal or worldly comforts. He asks for his cloak, his books, and above all, the parchments—his Scriptures. At the end of his life, facing death, all he wants is to stay warm and read his Bible.

Are You a Person of the Book?

Let me ask you directly: are you a person of the Book?

Do you read your Bible? I don’t just mean right now in church. Did you read it yesterday? Did you read it the day before that? Do you study it? Do you ever dig into a passage and ask, “What does this mean? Why does this word keep repeating?” Do you memorize Scripture?

Psalms 119:9-11 (NASB)

How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping [it] according to Your word. With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments. Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.

We claim to follow Christ, but so often the Bible sits on our coffee table like a decorative ornament. God told Moses, “This is not an idle word—it is your very life.”

If you are struggling spiritually, have you considered that it might be because you do not know your Bible? How can you know who God is if you do not read His revelation? How can you know who you are or how to navigate life without His Word? If you feel inadequate in ministry, or unprepared to lead a small group, or awkward leading family devotions in your living room—read your Bible!

I want to challenge you to do something practical. Go to your local coffee shop, buy a latte, and read one chapter. Wake up tomorrow morning and read another chapter. If you miss a day, don’t give up in defeat—shake it off and pick it up the next morning. If reading a chapter feels overwhelming, start with one verse. Just begin ingesting the Word of God daily.

There is no greater gift you can give to your spiritual life than to immerse yourself in the Scriptures. Let the Word wreck you, comfort you, instruct you, and transform you. Read it, and do what it says—even when it hurts.

Let’s rise up and truly be a people of the Book.

Let us pray.

Father, there is so much contained within these sixty-six books that reveals Your heart, Your grace, Your holiness, and Your redemption through Jesus Christ. Your Word teaches us how to live as men and women, husbands and wives, parents and workers, and faithful witnesses in this world. Forgive us for the times we merely survive on a weekly sermon rather than feeding on Your Word daily. Stir in our hearts an insatiable hunger for Scripture. Make us a people of the Book, transformed by Your truth for Your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.