ADVICE TO A CHRISTIAN LEADER
2 Timothy 2:22–26 …paraphrased
Flee from youthful passions; run in pursuit of righteousness in the company of those who call on the Lord from a clean conscience. Have nothing to do with foolish and stupid arguments, for you know that they only breed quarrels. The servant of the Lord must not fight, rather he must be kindly to all, apt to teach, forbearing, disciplining his opponents by gentleness. It may be that God will enable them to repent, so that they will come to know the truth, and so that they will escape from the snare of the devil, when they are captured alive by God’s servant that they may do God’s will.

HERE is a passage of most practical advice for Christian leaders and teachers.

Timothy is told to flee from youthful lusts. Many commentators have made suggestions as to what these youthful lusts are. They are far more than the passions of the flesh. They include that impatience, which has never learned to make haste slowly and has still to discover that too much haste can do far more harm than good; that self-assertion, which is intolerant in its opinions and arrogant in its expression of them, and which has not yet learned to see the good in points of view other than its own; that love of debate, which tends to argue long and act little, and which will talk the night away and be left with nothing but a litter of unsolved problems; and that love of novelty, which tends to condemn a thing simply because it is old and to desire a thing simply because it is new, underrating the value of experience. One thing is to be noted – the faults of youth are the faults of idealism. It is simply the freshness and intensity of the vision which makes youth run into these mistakes. Such faults are matters not for austere condemnation but for sympathetic correction, for everyone has a virtue hidden beneath it.

Christian teachers and leaders are to aim at righteousness, which means giving both to other people and to God their due; at faith, which means loyalty and reliability which both come from trust in God; at love, which is the utter determination never to seek anything but the highest good of our neighbors, no matter what they do to us, and which has put away forever all bitterness and all desire for vengeance; and at peace, which is the right relationship of loving fellowship with God and with one another. And all these things are to be sought in the company of those who call upon the Lord. Christians must never seek to live apart and aloof from others. They must find their strength and their joy in the Christian fellowship. As John Wesley said: ‘A man must have friends or make friends; for no one ever [goes to the Kingdom] alone.’

Christian leaders must not get involved in senseless controversies which are the curse of the Church. In the modern Church, Christian arguments are usually particularly senseless, for they are seldom about great matters of life and doctrine and faith, but almost always about unimportant and trivial things. Once leaders become involved in senseless and un-Christian controversy, they have forfeited all right to lead.

Christian leaders must be kindly to all; even when they have to criticize and point out a fault, it must be done with the gentleness which never seeks to hurt. They must be apt teachers; they must not only know the truth but also be able to communicate it, and they will do that not so much by talking about it as by living in such a way that they show Christ to others. They must be forbearing; like their Master, if they are criticized they must not respond with similar criticism; they must be able to accept insult and injury, slights and humiliations, as Jesus accepted them. There may be greater sins than touchiness, but there is none which does greater damage in the Christian Church. They must discipline their opponents in gentleness; their hands must be like the hands of a surgeon, unerring to find the diseased spot, yet never for a moment causing unnecessary pain. They must love people, not browbeat them into submission to the truth.

The last sentence of this passage  [verse 26] is in very complex Greek, but it seems to be a hope that God will awaken repentance and the desire for the truth in people’s hearts, so that those who are trapped by the devil may be rescued while their souls are still alive and brought into obedience to the will of God by the work of his servants. It is God who awakes the repentance; it is the Christian leaders who open the door of the Church to all who have [repentant] hearts. ~Barclay's commentary

Now to the other commentaries. We will begin with the general and go to the specific.

Let us go to the Matthew Henry Main:

Those are unapt to teach who are apt to strive, and are fierce and froward. Ministers must be patient, bearing with evil, and in meekness instructing (2 Timothy 2:25) not only those who subject themselves, but those who oppose themselves. Observe,

1. Those who oppose themselves to the truth are to be instructed; for instruction is the scripture-method of dealing with the erroneous, which is more likely to convince them of their errors than fire and faggot: he does not bid us kill their bodies, under pretense of saving their
souls.

2. Such as oppose themselves are to be instructed in meekness, for our Lord is meek and lowly (Matthew 11:29), and this agrees well with the character of the servant of the Lord (2 Timothy 2:24): He must not strive, but be gentle to all men, apt to teach, patient. This is the way to convey truth in its light and power, and to overcome evil with good, Romans 12:21.

Quoted verses:
Matthew 11:29
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Romans 12:21
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

3. That which ministers must have in their eyes, in instructing those who oppose themselves, must be their recovery: If God, peradventure [chance, doubt or uncertainty], will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.

Observe [regarding Item 3],

(1.) Repentance is God's gift.
(2.) It is a gift with a peradventure in the case of those who oppose themselves; and therefore, though we are not to despair of the grace of God, yet we must take heed of presuming upon it. To the acknowledging of the truth.
(3.) The same God who gives us the discovery of the truth does by his grace bring us to the acknowledging of it, otherwise our hearts would continue in rebellion against it, for we are to confess with our mouths as well as to believe with our hearts, Romans 10:9-10. And thus sinners recover themselves out of the snare of the devil; see here,

Quoted verse:
Romans 10:9-10
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

[1.] The misery of sinners: they are in the snare of the devil, and are led captive by him at his will, 2 Timothy 2:26. They are slaves to the worst of task-masters; he is the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, Ephesians 2:2. They are taken in a snare, and in the worst snare, because it is the devil's; they are as fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare. Further, They are under Ham's curse (a servant of servants shall he be, Genesis 9:25), they are slaves to him who is but a slave and vassal.

Quoted verses:
Ephesians 2:2
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

Genesis 9:25
And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

[2.] The happiness of those who repent: they recover themselves out of this snare, as a bird out of the snare of the fowler; the snare is broken and they have escaped; and the greater the danger the greater the deliverance. When sinners repent, those who before were led captive by the devil at his will come to be led into the glorious liberty of the children of God, and have their wills melted into the will of the Lord Jesus. The good Lord recover us all out of the snare. ~Matthew Henry Main

Minister's note: Go back to our Lesson on verse 24 and read our discussion of the commentary from the Matthew Henry Concise.

I want to go to the Biblical Illustrator for an outline on Timothy's ministry

Timothy’s ministry
(2Timothy 2:25-26):—Consider—
I. The characters among whom it was to re exercised—opposers not only of God, but of themselves. They oppose—
1. Their duty.
2. Their conscience.
3. Their peace.
4. Their safety.

II. Its nature. It was a ministry of—
1. Instruction.
2. Meekness.

III. Its design.
1. That sinners may be led to repentance.
2. Led to an acknowledgment of the truth.
3. Recovered from the snares of the devil. ~Biblical Illustrator

Here is another piece from the same commentary on ministers.

Meekness in the minister
He who cannot bear calmly and reply with dignity to contradiction, is just as little fitted for the ministry of the gospel as the physician would be for his profession who would allow himself to become moved by the abusive speech of a patient in fever delirium either to forsake the sick-bed, or to hurl back the abuse. ~Biblical Illustrator

Now a piece on repentance in the design of preaching.

Repentance the design of preaching
1. One principal end of the ministry is to bring men to repentance.
2. By meek preaching God may work repentance.
3. Repentance is hopeful and yet doubtful.
4. Ministers are to preach and leave the success to the Lord. ~Biblical Illustrator

Now to the specific commentaries.

Primarily the verse is broken out in two parts:

1] In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves.
2] If God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.

Again, some commentaries will narrow in on just a phrase or two.

1] In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves.

In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves - That is, those who embrace error, and array themselves against the truth. We are not to become angry with such persons, and denounce them at once as heretics. We are not to hold them up to public reproach and scorn; but we are to set about the business of patiently “instructing them.” Their grand difficulty, it is supposed in this direction, is, that they are ignorant of the truth. Our business with them is, “calmly to show them what the truth is.” If they are angry, we are not to be. If they oppose the truth, we are still calmly to state it to them. If they are slow to see it, we are not to become weary or impatient. Nor, if they do not embrace it at all, are we to become angry with them, and denounce them. We may pity them, but we need not use hard words. This is the apostolic precept about the way of treating those who are in error; and can any one fail to see its beauty and propriety? Let it be remembered, also, that this is not only beautiful and proper in itself; it is the wisest course, if we would bring others over to our opinions. You are not likely to convince a man that you are right, and that he is wrong, if you first make him angry; nor are you very likely to do it, if you enter into harsh contention. You then put him on his guard; you make him a party, and, from self-respect, or pride, or anger, he will endeavor to defend his own opinions, and will not yield to yours. “Meekness” and “gentleness” are the very best things, if you wish to convince another that he is wrong. With his heart first, and then modestly and kindly show him “what the truth is,” in as few words, and with as unassuming a spirit, as possible, “and you have him.” ~Barnes Notes

The Cambridge breaks this first part out into three parts:

In meekness instructing - Meekness, gentleness of heart, the feeling as separate from the demeanor: still more clearly brought out by the use of the compound word 1 Timothy 6:11. The corresponding adjective is used by ‘the Lord’ Himself of Himself, ‘I am meek and lowly in heart,’ Matthew 11:29. See Titus 3:2. A very interesting passage where it occurs is Galatians 5:22, where Bp Lightfoot divides the nine fruits of the Spirit into three sets of three, and shews how each of the first two triads is arranged in an ascending scale,

(1) love, joy, peace,
(2) patient endurance, kindly feeling, active beneficence. May not the third triad be similarly arranged thus,
(3) a childlike trust, a woman’s meekness, a man’s self-mastery?

Quoted verses:
1 Timothy 6:11 [See Lesson]
But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

Matthew 11:29 ...mentioned above
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Titus 3:2
To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.

Galatians 5:22
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

Instructing - The word is explained 1 Timothy 1:20 and Titus 2:12; in all but two of the thirteen places where it occurs in N.T. the sense of ‘correction,’ ‘discipline’ is clear; and in those two, Acts 7:22; Acts 22:3, the instruction is that of school or college, and ‘schooled’ will best express it. So here ‘correcting,’ bringing under discipline.

Quoted verses:
1 Timothy 1:20 [See Lesson]
Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

Titus 2:12
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Acts 7:22
And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.

Acts 22:3
I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.

Those that oppose themselves - Lit. ‘that are becoming contentiously disposed’; the usage of the middle is disponere aliquid, not disponere se; hence ‘oppose themselves’ must not be taken as at any rate a literal version; the word corresponding to the perfect of this verb is the well known ‘adversaries’ 1 Corinthians 16:9, used also 1 Timothy 5:14.

1 Corinthians 16:9
For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.

1 Timothy 5:14 [See Lesson]
I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. ~Cambridge Bible

2] if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.

If God peradventure will give them repentance - Give them such a view of the error which they have embraced, and such regret for having embraced it, that they shall be willing to admit the truth. After all our care in teaching others the truth, our only dependence is on God for its success. We cannot be absolutely certain that they will see their error; we cannot rely certainly on any power which argument will have; we can only hope that God may show them their error, and enable them to see and embrace the truth; compare Acts 11:18 [See below]. The word rendered “peradventure,” here - μήποτε mēpote - means, usually, “not even, never;” and then, “that never, lest ever” - the same as “lest perhaps.” It does not imply that there was any chance about what is said, but rather that there was uncertainty in the mind of the speaker, and that there was need of caution lest something should occur; or, that anything was done, or should be done, to prevent something from happening.

It is not used elsewhere in the New Testament in the sense which our translators, and all the critics, so far as I have examined, give to it here - as implying A hope that God would give them repentance, etc. But I may be permitted to suggest another interpretation, which will accord with the uniform meaning of the word in the New Testament, and which will refer the matter to those who had embraced the error, and not to God. It is this: “In meekness instructing ‘those that oppose themselves’ (ἀντιδιατιθεμένους antidiatithemenous) ‘lest’ - μήποτε mēpote - God should give them repentance, and they should recover themselves out of the snare of the devil,” etc. That is, they put themselves in this posture of opposition so that they shall not be brought to repentance, and recover themselves. They do it with a precautionary view that they may not be thus brought to repentance, and be recovered to God. They take this position of opposition to the truth, intending not to be converted; and this is the reason why they are not converted. ~Barnes Notes

Here we continue in the Cambridge Bible commentary which breaks out this second part in four words and verses.

If God peradventure - Lit. ‘if God might perchance at some time,’ Lat. ‘si forte aliquando.’

Will give - The optative not subjunctive mood has the best authority. The exact force then is ‘You must discipline them, in case God may give them repentance, as we wish and pray.’

Repentance - The word occurs only four times in Paul’s Epistles, though frequent in Luke’s Gospel and Acts. Cf. Trench, N. T. Syn. p. 247, who defines it as ‘a change of mind, taking a wiser view of the past, a regret for the ill done in that past, and out of all this a change for the better.’

To the acknowledging of the truth - Better, unto the full knowledge; ‘unto’ expresses the state into which repentance is designed to bring them, as Acts 11:18, ‘hath God granted repentance unto life’; ‘full knowledge’ as in 1 Timothy 2:4. ~Cambridge Bible commentary

Quoted verses:
Acts 11:18
When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

1 Timothy 2:4 [See Lesson]
Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.