Correspondence: Entanglements in 2TI 2:4; 1CO 11:30; LUK 16:1-12

Luke 16:1‑12  •  2 min. read  •  grade level: 11
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Question: What do you think entanglements are, in 2 Timothy 2:4?
Answer: The man of God, of whom Timothy was one, is represented in a threefold way here: as a soldier (vss. 3, 4); as one striving for the masteries in the games (vs. 5), and as a husbandman (vs. 6).
In the soldier, purpose of heart to please the one he serves, teaches him to take his share in suffering, and in singleness of eye, refuses everything that would hinder his service to his master. The earnest soul will find out what are the things that will entangle or hinder his service.
The runner, contending with others, must obey the rules of the game, or he will lose the prize (vs. 5).
The husbandman must labor,—plowing, harrowing, sowing the seed, cultivating, and then wait with patience before he gets any results out of his field.
May we each, who are children of God, seek also to be men of God:—in singleness of eye, and purpose of heart; in obedience to the blessed Word of God, and in enduring labor, go on till we see our blessed Lord, that we may hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:21; 1 Cor. 15:58), and it will all be done by the love of Christ constraining us (2 Cor. 5:14).
Question: Please explain, “For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep” (1 Cor. 11:30).
Answer: These persons had failed to judge themselves—failed to discern the Lord’s body in the broken bread—they had eaten in an unworthy manner, though they were true Christians, and hence God, in His government of His house, had to chasten them by bodily sickness even unto death, in order that they might not be condemned with the world. No doubt others were called to learn and take warning from the discipline exercised upon those erring ones.
Question: Luke 16:1-12.
Answer: As to the parable of the unjust steward, the moral is this—use the present with an eye to the future— “The Lord commends the unjust steward” not for his honesty surely, but because he had dealt wisely; and the wisdom consists simply in providing for the future. This is the point of the parable. The lesson it teaches us is to use this world’s riches—which are not what properly belong to us, as Christians—in the service of Christ—to do good—to distribute and communicate—to open our hands wide to every form of human need—to lay up in store a good foundation against the time to come (1 Tim. 6:17-19).