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During this section of Apostle Paul’s letter to the bishop Timothy, he names those who have helped him along in his journey. It is an acknowledgment of their efforts and identified them as supports for continuing the work being requested of Timothy.

Surprisingly, the Apostle also names those who have placed barriers in front of the work of the Lord. The surprise is not that such people existed, nor that they would need to answer for their deeds, but that he would publicly name them for their behaviour.

We could all be accused of being a barrier to the Lord’s work at some stage in our life and, in this text, Paul shows a valuable lesson we should follow. Just as all the disciples forsook the Lord at His crucifixion, Paul experienced the ‘turning back or away’ from the work by those to whom he had preached the gospel.

Thankfully, he then prayed that God would ‘not lay that to their charge’. In this he taught a critical lesson of forgiveness. Firstly, by granting release from this offence committed against him that was then released in heaven. Matthew 18:18 “Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Secondly, he then moved on to show how forgiving others their trespasses is a great help to our trespasses being forgiven Mark 11:25-26, “And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.”  and subsequently, the ability to stay connected with God to fulfil His purpose for our life 2 Timothy 4:17-18, “Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”