11. Here is a true statement: If we died with him, we will also live with him.
12. If we remain faithful even in suffering, we will also rule with him. If we refuse to say we know him, he will refuse to say he knows us.
13. If we are not faithful, he will still be faithful, because he cannot be false to himself.
14. Keep on telling everyone these truths. And warn them before God not to argue about words. Such arguments don’t help anyone, and they ruin those who listen to them.
15. Do your best to be the kind of person God will accept, and give yourself to him. Be a worker who has no reason to be ashamed of his work, one who applies the true teaching in the right way.
16. Stay away from people who talk about useless things that are not from God. That kind of talk will lead a person more and more against God.
17. Their evil teaching will spread like a sickness inside the body. Hymenaeus and Philetus are men like that.
18. They have left the true teaching. They say that the day when people will be raised from death has already come and gone. And they are destroying the faith of some people.
19. But God’s strong foundation never moves, and these words are written on it: “The Lord knows those who belong to him.” Also, these words are written there: “Everyone who says they believe in the Lord must stop doing wrong.”
20. In a large house there are things made of gold and silver. But there are also things made of wood and clay. Some of these are used for special purposes, others for ordinary jobs.