2 Timothy 2:3

Plain English Version

Remember that you belong to Jesus Christ. You are like his soldier. If soldiers get hurt, they don’t stop fighting. They just forget their pain and keep going. Well, you have to be like that now. If people see that you belong to Jesus, and then they hurt you, you just have to forget it and keep going, just like a good soldier, and like other good Christians.

Cross References

Acts 23:31

So the soldiers did everything that their big boss told them to do. They got Paul and took him with them. That night, they stayed at a town called Antipatris.

1 Corinthians 13:7

If we love people properly, we will keep on loving them, no matter what happens. If we love people, we will keep on believing good things about them, and we will keep on hoping good things for them, and even if we are getting trouble, we will not give up.

1 Corinthians 9:7

You know, everyone that works gets some sort of pay for their work. You know about soldiers. They don’t have to buy their own food or their gear. And you know about gardeners. They work, and they always eat some of the food they grow. And it is the same for people that look after cows. They work, and they can drink some of the milk they get. You see, it’s right for people to work and then get something for it. So, if my work is to tell you about Jesus, it’s right for you to give me something for my work. But I never ask you to give me anything.

1 Timothy 1:18

Timothy, you are like a son to me, so I’m telling you to do these things. Remember that the Holy Spirit told the Christians there a message about you, some time ago. Well, you have to think about that message, so that you can stand up against things that are wrong, like a soldier that stands up and fights against an enemy.

2 Timothy 1:1

Dear Timothy, I am Paul, and this letter is from me. God picked me out to be Jesus Christ’s special worker. He gave me this job, to tell other people that they can believe in Jesus, and then they will live with God for ever. God promises to do that for us. Timothy, I love you like you are my own son. I pray to God our father, and to Jesus Christ our leader, that they will show you that they love you. I am asking them to be good to you, and to make you feel happy and quiet inside yourself.

2 Timothy 1:8

You have to tell people about our leader Jesus. Don’t feel shame about that. And don’t feel shame about me because I’m in jail. I’m here because I told people about Jesus. But don’t worry. Just go ahead anyway and tell people about our leader Jesus. And then maybe some people might make trouble for you, just like they made trouble for me. But God will make you strong, and you will not worry about that trouble.

2 Timothy 2:10

So I reckon it’s all right for me to stay here in jail so that other people will hear that message and believe in Jesus. They are the people that God picked out. He will save them and make them great, and they will live happy with him for ever.

2 Timothy 2:9

But some of them don’t like me telling everybody that message, so they make trouble for me. They even treat me like a criminal. They tied me up and put me here in this jail. But nobody can tie up God’s word or keep it in jail. Anyone out there now can still go around and tell people God’s message.

2 Timothy 3:11

You know that bad people in some towns gave me a lot of trouble. They did that at Antioch, and at Iconium, and at Listra. You know that they hurt me a lot at those places. But Jesus, our leader, saved me from them, and they didn’t kill me.

2 Timothy 4:5

Don’t be like those people. You have to control yourself all the time, no matter what happens to you. If they get tough on you, don’t get upset, just keep going. You have to keep on telling people the good news about Jesus, and you have to finish all the work that he gave you to do.

Philemon 1:2

And we are also writing this to our friend Afia, and to our friend Arkipus. He is like a soldier for Jesus, just like me and Timothy. And we are also writing this to all you Christians there in the church that meets at Philemon’s place.

James 1:12

If God lets people test you, to see if you trust him properly, don’t give up trusting him. After God sees that you keep on trusting him, he will give you new life, so that you will live with him for ever. He promised to do that for everybody that loves him.