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Paul’s final epistle is written by a man under sentence of death, suffering trouble as an evil doer. His busy life of service appears to be dwindling out in captivity and confinement and desertion by those that he had counted his friends. Against this background, he writes with intimacy to Timothy, his genuine son in the faith. With all this for context, we might have expected the letter to be full of bitter recriminations or to express a grim and helpless resignation in the face of the relentless march of Roman legal process. But we search the epistle in vain for theses things. At its commencement, Paul presents himself as an apostle ‘according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus’ and that opening note of victory re-echoes throughout. Paul rejoices in a course triumphantly completed. That imminent departure, however, breeds no detachment from the ongoing work. Paul’s continued interest in the work of God and the preservation of His truth is evident as he cautions and charges Timothy. Paul’s final words have lost nothing of their poignancy: this epistle still has the capacity to move us. And they have lost nothing of their power: Paul’s charges to Timothy are still relevant today, as, amidst the perilous times of the last days, we seek with God’s help to guard the precious deposit entrusted by Paul to Timothy and now, by faithful men, to us.

is in fellowship in the assembly at Rathmines, Dublin, Ireland. He teaches in the School of English at Trinity College Dublin and is the author of a number of books including Sanctify Them Through Thy Truth: God's Word in Human History (published by John Ritchie), The Dispensations: God's Plan for the Ages, Worship: The Christian's Highest Calling, To the Day of Eternity: Future Events in Bible Prophecy, and The Surprising Saviour (published by Scripture Teaching Library).

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