2 Timothy, Part Twenty
Love Your Opponents
2 Timothy 2v25-26
16th October 2026
Last time we studied:
2 Timothy 2v23-24
Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because
you know they produce quarrels.
And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to
everyone, able to teach, not resentful.
Some people are so difficult, so obstructive, so proud, so opinionated, or even so unpleasant, that we find it difficult to be kind to them. Nevertheless, Paul's instruction is clear: if we are to serve the Lord, we must be kind to everyone. This includes the people who seem to spend their time thinking up ways to be difficult, making our lives a misery and preventing the church fulfilling its mission. I hope you don't have many of these people in your life but just one can cause all sorts of problems. Rather than treat these people unkindly, Paul says:
2 Timothy 2v25-26
Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant
them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth,
and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of
the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
We can have many sorts of opponents, from outside the church and from inside. Non-Christians can oppose the Gospel, the church itself, or you as an individual. Church members can oppose some elements of Christian teaching, or of church practice, or the leadership. Some will oppose you. You're not perfect, and some people will find you difficult. All the opposition you experience will tend to make you insecure, defensive, and even irritable. Nevertheless, you are called by God to treat all your opponents with gentleness.
We must be gentle with those who oppose us because Jesus Christ was gentle with those who opposed Him. We must be also gentle with our opponents because being angry, judgemental or defensive never persuaded anybody to change his mind. We win people with gentleness and kindness, not with aggression. It's easy to win an argument and lose our brother.
Paul teaches us that opponents must be gently instructed. Some people oppose us so strongly that we feel like we have no opportunity to instruct them at all. However, even when we can't instruct them with our words, we can instruct them by our example, by being peaceable, friendly, patient and kind, even when we're being lied about or shouted at. That's how Jesus behaved.
Dealing with our opponents can be stressful and exhausting. Perhaps you'd rather do anything else than speak to them again. Perhaps you need some additional motivation to be kind and gentle towards them. Remember that they can change. Whoever is causing trouble, no matter how unreasonable or belligerent they are, we can hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth. After all, God did it for us! The vilest offenders can come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil if God sends the Holy Spirit to open their eyes and give them soft hearts. God showed this mercy to us!
We're called to love all our neighbours; not just the nice, helpful ones but also the difficult, obstructive ones. We can have sympathy for our angry, dishonest, negative neighbours, inside and outside the church, because we know they have been caught in the trap of the devil, as we once were. The devil has taken them captive to do his will. They need to be delivered from his power, and we can only help in that process by loving them with the love Jesus Christ has shown us.