Raising a Future Preacher
2 Timothy 1:5
Introduction.
Have you ever thought of what it takes to raise a future preacher?
To be sure, we all have different backgrounds.
Many of us had unbelieving parents, or parents who weren’t NT Christians.
Many of us still had very faithful parents, or one was faithful but the other wasn’t—our backgrounds are quite diverse.
Some grew up with both parents, some in single-parent homes, some were raised by their grandparents.
Timothy was one of those who grew up in a mixed household.
Not much is said about Timothy’s background, but there are some things we can glean.
We know the religious backgrounds of his parents: Timothy was born to a Jewish Christian woman named Eunice and a Greek father (Acts 16:1; 2 Tim. 1:5).
We know Timothy had a faithful grandmother, Lois (2 Tim. 1:5).
We know Timothy had a great reputation, though he wasn’t circumcised (Acts 16:2-3).
And we know he was taught the Scriptures from his childhood (2 Tim. 3:15).
So let’s talk about these things and see what it takes to raise a preacher.
And even if the outcome is your son doesn’t become a preacher, at least he will be faithful to the Lord.
Of course, we must keep in mind that these are only general rules—basically, if it worked for Timothy, it may work for you, too.
And since this is mother’s day, we cannot neglect the influence of Timothy’s mother and grandmother in his formative years.
Preview.
Lois – A Faithful Grandmother.
Eunice – A House Divided.
Timothy – A Future Preacher.
Body.
Lois – A Faithful Grandmother (2 Tim. 1:5).
Lois, Timothy’s grandmother, was a woman with genuine faith.
It dwelt in her, and she was able to pass that on to her daughter Eunice.
We have no idea the family dynamic of Lois’s family.
But if Lois’s husband were alive and/or faithful, I’m sure Paul would have mentioned it.
When we first meet Timothy, he is a resident of Lystra, and he and his family are well-known by the Jews and the Christians there and in the neighboring Iconium.It’s safe to say that Timothy’s family had lived there for several generations.
This was the same town that, when Paul and Barnabas first visited a couple chapters earlier, tried to sacrifice animals to them after they performed a miracle thinking they were the Greek gods Hermes and Zeus!
It was a very pagan town, and likely no synagogue in AD 48 when Paul and Barnabas first stopped by since they did not go there first.
It takes ten Jewish men in an area in order to have a synagogue, which meant that there weren’t ten Jewish men in Lystra.
If Lois were to take her daughter Eunice to worship, she’d have to travel quite a distance to the nearest synagogue, likely in Iconium (cf. Acts 14:1).
But since they couldn’t travel much more than a half mile on any Sabbath (Sabbath Day’s journey – cf. Acts 1:12), they would have had to travel there before sundown on Friday and lodge with someone.
But on foot, it would have taken them 23 hours to get there, so they’d have to leave no later than Thursday (probably Wed), returning no earlier than Monday (probably Tues)—hardly a feasible option!
So Lois is there, raising her daughter Eunice with genuine faith, but without much of a “church” family, to put it in Christian terms, and likely not much support from her husband.
We don’t know what brought her to this place without much, if any, Jewish presence—maybe she had always been there, or maybe her husband brought her out there like Naomi was brought to Moab (Ruth 1:1-2).
We also know nothing of her husband. Maybe, like Naomi’s husband, he was Jewish but died.
Or maybe he wasn’t Jewish at all—though since Eunice was Jewish, that might lend a clue.
Whatever the case, she managed to maintain her faith through all these hardships and difficulties: her name means “agreeable,” but she’s tough as nails!
It all starts with a faithful grandmother.
Now those of you who are women here may be grandmothers, or “just” mothers, or maybe you’re not even that yet.
But for any woman out there with that potential, it starts now.
If you’re not a grandmother yet, you may be one day.
It seems many of us have a “faithful grandmother” story, and Lois was that for sure!
How many could say that they went to such great lengths to make sure their child and grandchild were taught the ways of God?
Without a church family, without a husband or father to help?
Can they (or will they) say the same about you?
You see, our decisions now have ripple effects.
We don’t know what effects our faithfulness or lack of faithfulness will have on others, or even on future generations.
But I do know that the more faithful you are, the more likely your children will be faithful, and the more likely their children will be, too.
Lois was a woman dedicated to making sure her daughter would also have a genuine faith, and even imparting that to her grandson Timothy.
Eunice – A House Divided (Acts 16:1, 3).
Eunice grows up and gets married to a Greek, yet still maintains her faith.
One reason I know there weren’t very many Jewish men in Lystra is that Eunice ends up marrying a Greek.
You know that a woman as dedicated as Lois would have insisted that her daughter marry a Jewish man had there been any around.
Well, with few options in that society, she gets married to a Greek, and they have a son, and name him Timothy, a Greek name.
In the KJV, sometimes the name is rendered Timotheus, which might help us understand its meaning a bit better: τιμη (honor), θεος (God). So Timothy means “honoring God.”
This is the name she chose for her son, regardless of the husband’s wishes.
Though, I know a girl in high school whose father wanted to call her Stephanie, but her mother wanted to call her Penny. Her name is legally Stephanie, but guess what everyone calls her!
At any rate, Eunice has the same difficulties that her mother had in raising this boy in the faith—far from a synagogue or any other Jewish influence.
On top of that, we know for sure that she had no support from her husband.
If she had, don’t you think Timothy would have been circumcised?
Christianity came to Lystra in AD 48 and Timothy joined Paul a few years later in AD 51 – if this faithful Jewish woman could, she would have had her son circumcised!
And who knows what pagan rituals his father would have had him participate in?
This family clearly had some interactions with the Jews in Iconium and the surrounding region since Timothy’s parentage was known.
But overall, it would have still been quite difficult for Timothy to have made it to the synagogue with her mother Eunice at a very young age.
Still, she, along with her mother Lois, instilled a genuine faith in this boy.
It is so difficult living in a house divided religiously.
We have a responsibility to teach our children how to live as Christians, but what if your spouse is not a Christian? What then?
And it is even more difficult if the mother is the faithful Christian, while the father is not.
Back then, culturally speaking, he had more say in the religious direction of the household, the spiritual leadership.
It would be very difficult for a woman to stand her ground religiously when up against her husband.
In fact, Peter has some advice on that (1 Pet. 3:1-6).
I can only imagine that, when Timothy read this letter, he couldn’t help but to think of his mother and how she interacted with his father.
Despite her obedience to her husband, she was still able to put her foot down to some degree to make sure her boy was raised with a proper faith.
And when she heard the gospel, she obeyed it (Acts 16:1), and was now able to worship with fellow Christians in her home town of Lystra!
How amazing that must have been for her, not to have to travel for several days just to worship! I know Timothy must have appreciated that, too.
And in their worship services, I’m sure Timothy was right there leading singing or prayers, and maybe even offering a lesson or two.
Statistics show that if you marry a non-Christian, you are far more likely to fall away than if you married a Christian.
But if you happen to find yourself in that situation, stay strong! If you can, lean on your faithful parents as Eunice did Lois.
Eunice didn’t let the faithful efforts of her mother be in vain, but kept the faith and even shared it with her son.
How many “faithful grandmother” stories are there, only to leave it there with mothers doing anything other than being a Christian?
Don’t let it end there! Be strong and faithful not just for your sake, but for your children, too!
After all, Eunice and her son (and probably even her mother) were able to attend worship together for 3 years or so before Timothy went with Paul and Silas on their journeys.
She had raised someone who would one day become a preacher—given all her hardships, how did she do it?
Timothy – A Future Preacher (2 Tim. 3:14-15; Acts 16:2).
First, she wasn’t alone.
While she may not have had help from her husband, we know she had help from her mother, Lois.
As I said, lean on your parents or surrogate parents that are around you if you can.
They can be so helpful in such times, especially if you can’t lean on your spouse for religious needs.
Second, she had a genuine faith.
I know I’ve harped on that quite a bit in this lesson, but that’s because of how important that is!
If our faith is genuine, what does that mean?
It means that we really believe what we teach, and we will live it!
Are we going to make mistakes? Of course, but we must own up to them.
Kids are often quite good at detecting hypocrisy, and they are often not shy about pointing it out, even if we think we’re not hypocritical at all.
Listen, examine yourself to see if you are truly being hypocritical (2 Cor. 13:5), and make the necessary changes if you are.
Have that genuine faith.
Third, she taught Timothy the Bible (2 Tim. 3:15).
Again, it wasn’t just her alone; her mother Lois was also involved.
But how did Timothy know the Holy Scriptures from childhood unless he was raised in it, steeped in it since he was a little child?
He wasn’t getting that from his father, sadly, but it was his mother and grandmother who were so instrumental in teaching him the Bible.
It just shows how important it is for us to instill in our kids a genuine faith through teaching the Scriptures along with our example.
After all, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, correct? (Rom. 10:17).
How will your children have any faith unless you teach them the Bible?
Timothy didn’t have “Sabbath” school to go to—his true religious education came solely from his mother and grandmother.
As parents, we cannot rely on the Bible class alone to teach our kids—it must be taught at home for it to have any lasting impact!
And who knows? Maybe you’re teaching a future preacher, or teaching a future teacher of a future preacher.
And then whoever they teach, you can know that you had something to do with that—the ripple effects!
And even if you’re not, having faithful children and grandchildren is still a great blessing!
Fourth, Timothy had a great reputation (Acts 16:2; Eccl. 7:1a; Prov. 22:1).
He was well-spoken of in his home congregation, and even in the church in the nearby Iconium.
Do you think that kind of thing happens by accident?
No, it was from the diligent efforts of his mother and grandmother working hard to raise this young man to have a genuine faith of himself.
They knew a “good name is better than precious ointment,” and that it is “to be chosen rather than great riches.”
How did he get that reputation among the brethren in Iconium?
Maybe he and his family visited Iconium on occasion, or maybe he was even asked to preach there some.
After all, with his knowledge of the Scriptures, he was no doubt able to help out in the pulpit (so to speak) from time to time.
Perhaps Paul even heard him preach, and decided he could be even better with some help and guidance to hone his skill.
In any event, his good reputation was a result of the efforts of both his mother and his grandmother to instill in him a genuine faith from the Scriptures and from their own faithfulness.
Conclusion.
How important mothers are!
The importance of the efforts of Lois and Eunice here in spite of so many difficulties and hardships cannot be understated.
And if they can do it, and raise a sound gospel preacher, you can, too!
- That’s how they did it, by teaching him the Scriptures and by having a genuine faith.
Only a genuine faith would be so dedicated to teaching the Scriptures and following them to the best of their ability.
Let us do all that we can to help our children and grandchildren to be the best Christians they can be.
Teach them what’s important.
It’s not a “youth program,” it’s serving God.
It’s not an after school activity (including sports), it’s worship and Bible study.
It’s not watching TV, but helping someone.
It’s not playing video games, it’s teaching someone the gospel.
Teach them to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,” and things will turn out well.
But you can’t teach them that effectively unless you’re doing it, too.
