THE aged apostle Paul, in the very last letter he wrote before he went home to be with Christ, said to Timothy,
Timothy had a godly mother and grandmother and they taught him to love the Word of God, but you see it was not being their child that saved him. They were persons of faith, but it was not because they had faith in Christ that could save Timothy. It was his own faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that saved him.
He was a very useful man in the work of the Lord, and much loved and valued by Paul, as we see almost every time Paul speaks of him (Romans 16:2121Timotheus my workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you. (Romans 16:21); 1 Cor. 16:1010Now if Timotheus come, see that he may be with you without fear: for he worketh the work of the Lord, as I also do. (1 Corinthians 16:10); Phil. 1:1, 2:19-22; 1 Tim. 1:22Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Timothy 1:2); 2 Tim. 1:55When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. (2 Timothy 1:5)).
Paul tells us that the man of God could find all the instruction he would need for his work in the service of God in those very same Scriptures that Timothy had known from a child.
The Lord wants to have a people in this world who will confess Him before men, and prove that they are not their own, but His, for He has bought them with His precious blood—He has died for them, that they should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him, their living Lord and Master in heaven.
ML 04/16/1933