Paul's Exhortations & Instructions to Brother Timothy 2nd Letter Volume 12

Paul tells Timothy Stand Firm and be Steadfast in The Faith Part 2

2 Timothy 1:15-16 This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain: KJV

Paul had given Brother Timothy the reasons why he should stand fast and firm in 'The Faith' which he had taught him over the years and the means, manner, and method that he could only be successful in doing so and that is, yielding to the power of God the Holy Spirit who dwelt in him and dwells in all of us true believers who have been figuratively born again by Him, but now Paul needs to remind Timothy of the men who turned away from the truth by turning away from Paul who was a herald of the truth of the Gospel with these words, "This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes." (2 Timothy 1:15) (KJV). Paul had at one point in his missionary journeys attempted to go into Asia and preach the Gospel of our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ there, but as documented for us by Luke, this happened, "Paul and his friends went through Phrygia and Galatia, but the Holy Spirit would not let them preach in Asia. After they arrived in Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not let them. So they went on through Mysia until they came to Troas. During the night, Paul had a vision of someone from Macedonia who was standing there and begging him, 'Come over to Macedonia and help us!' After Paul had seen the vision, we began looking for a way to go to Macedonia. We were sure that God had called us to preach the good news there." (Acts 16:6-10) (Contemporary English Version).

It seemed that Paul would not get the Gospel of Grace heard in Asia, however, we find out  (as documented by Luke again) that latter on in his missionary journey to Ephesus this happened, "For three months Paul went to the Jewish meeting place and talked bravely with the people about God's kingdom. He tried to win them over, but some of them were stubborn and refused to believe. In front of everyone they said terrible things about God's Way. Paul left and took the followers with him to the lecture hall of Tyrannus. He spoke there every day for two years, until every Jew and Gentile in Asia had heard the Lord's message." (Acts 19:8-10) (Contemporary English Version). Therefore, we see then that the message of the Gospel of Christ/Gospel of Grace reached the people of Asia and Paul had even formed bonds with some of those believers in our Lord Jesus Christ and even did ministry work with some of them. The little English phrase 'be turned away from' is translated by the Greek word apostrephō which means to turn away or back (literally or figuratively): - bring again, pervert, turn away (from).

In other words, Paul declared to Timothy that everyone that he knew of who had professed faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and loyalty to him turned their back on the truth of the Gospel and perverted, twisted, misrepresented, and altered it with a lie, giving themselves cause to turn their back on Paul as he was facing execution by the Roman Government during the time he is writing this letter, even these two men he mentions Phygellus and Hermogenes, even as the children of Israel did as documented for us by Moses with these words, "The people of Israel were very sad after Moses gave them the LORD's message. So they got up early the next morning and got ready to head toward the hill country of Canaan. They said, 'We were wrong to complain about the LORD. Let's go into the land that he promised us.' But Moses replied, 'You're disobeying the LORD! Your plan won't work, so don't even try it. The LORD refuses to help you, because you turned your backs on him. The Amalekites and the Canaanites are your enemies, and they will attack and defeat you.'" (Numbers 14:39-42) (Contemporary English Version). Here is what Dr. John Gill had to say concerning those in Asia who turned their backs on Paul, "Were ashamed of him, because of his chain, and despised him under his afflictions, and had him in abhorrence and contempt, and revolted from his doctrine; though the defection was very general, and the Apostle appeals to Timothy for the truth of it, as a fact well known to him: 'this thou knowest'; Timothy being at Ephesus, which was in Asia; and since there was so great an apostasy in the country where he was, the above exhortations were very seasonable, to hold fast the form of sound words, and keep the good thing committed to him; seeing so many were falling off from the truth of the Gospel:"

Paul now contrast his disdain, despisement, and disgust with those in Asia who had turned away from him during the hour of his greatest persecution to praising a household of believers who had been converted by God the Holy Spirit through Paul's declaration of the Gospel of Grace with these words written to Timothy, "The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain:" (2 Timothy 1:16) (KJV). It seems that Onesiphorus and his family were also from that region of the world Asia and they were not ashamed nor afraid nor absent from showing Paul mercy and kindness as he was in captivity of the Roman thugs who would soon execute him by way of beheading. Paul had ministered the Gospel of Grace to his household, so in turn he remembered Paul during this time of captivity (not for committing a crime), but for simply preaching the Gospel of Grace to others. The English word 'mercy' Paul uses here referring to Onesiphorus and his family is translated by the Greek word eleos meaning (as used here) compassion (divine, especially active): - (tender) mercy. Here is what Adam Clarke had to say about Paul's desire for the household of Onesiphorus, "Onesiphorus had acknowledged him, and continued to do so; he, and his house, or family, ministered to him in prison, and were not ashamed of their imprisoned pastor, nor of the cause for which he was in disgrace and suffering. As he showed mercy to the Apostle, the Apostle prays the Lord to show mercy to him."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Sincerely in Christ,

Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…