1But the Spirit says expressly that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, 2through the hypocrisy of men who speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron, 3forbidding marriage and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving. 5For it is sanctified through the word of God and prayer.
6If you instruct the brothers of these things, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine which you have followed. 7But refuse profane and old wives’ fables. Exercise yourself toward godliness. 8For bodily exercise has some value, but godliness has value in all things, having the promise of the life which is now and of that which is to come. 9This saying is faithful and worthy of all acceptance. 10For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we have set our trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe. 11Command and teach these things.
12Let no man despise your youth; but be an example to those who believe, in word, in your way of life, in love, in spirit, in faith, and in purity. 13Until I come, pay attention to reading, to exhortation, and to teaching. 14Don’t neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the elders. 15Be diligent in these things. Give yourself wholly to them, that your progress may be revealed to all. 16Pay attention to yourself and to your teaching. Continue in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.
Three groups of people are in view in 2 Timothy 4:3-5. His special interest is for believers and his exhortation for believers is based on the importance of truth. Paul uses this word in 1 Timothy 2:4, 7; 3:15; 4:3, and 6:5. In the short letter of 2 Timothy he does similarly in 2:15, 18, 25; 3:7, 8, and 4:4. This teaching does not only apply to his generation of believers but those of subsequent generations, even to our day ("the time will come"). His command comes from the fact that all Scripture comes from the mouth of God, and that this being true it gives the preacher the authority to teach doctrine, reproof, rebuke, and correct believers.
The second group that the apostle addresses is believers who will not be faithful to the truth taught in the Word of God. He says those who claim to be believers "will not listen to sound doctrine." In light of this lure to stop preaching what is true, Timothy is to "preach the Word." When those who profess Christ are led aside to falsehood by turning "away their ears from the truth, and turn away to fables" (vv. 3, 4), Timothy is to be watchful. He is to be willing to suffer hardship, even as his mentor had done and was still doing while in a Roman prison. Timothy was to tell the good news of Jesus and complete the service that God had for him, even as Paul enunciates he has done in verses 6-8.
The third group are teachers who are willing to forsake the truth at the urge of people that no longer want to hear the truth. These teachers may be even like Demas, mentioned in verse 10, but church history and our modern day has many examples of preachers who know little of the Bible and, thus, the truth, but instead use the ministry largely for their own profit and pride. This is diametrically different from their Lord Jesus, the apostles, and many preachers who have been faithful over the centuries.