4:15 all may see your progress. A reference to the advancement of Timothy’s spiritual life, his ministry, or perhaps both. Noteworthy is the fact that it is “progress,” not arrival. Although Christians must not perform good works for the sake of gathering others’ attention and admiration (Matt. 6:1), Christ’s reputation and believers’ spiritual growth are enhanced when growing maturity can be seen in the church’s leaders and members (3:7; Col. 4:5; 1 Thess. 4:12; Titus 2:5, 7, 8, 10).
4:16 on yourself and on the teaching. That Paul summarizes his instructions to Timothy in this manner is an indication of where the false teachers have gone astray, and, hence, where both ministers and Christians in general can go astray, both in character and in convictions.
you will save. God alone grants salvation (v. 10; 1:1; 2:3), but He is pleased to use His people as instruments in bringing salvation to others. Salvation is not completed in our experience when we come to saving faith. To be sure, faith brings justification and the assurance of salvation, and having been justified, there is no doubt that we will be glorified and freed from the presence of sin, which is the consummation of our salvation (Rom. 8:28–30). Faith also begins the lifelong process of sanctification by which we are conformed to Christ that continues until the Christian’s final glorification in heaven. In other words, everyone who has been justified will certainly be sanctified and glorified, but whereas our justification is complete the moment we believe, our sanctification is an ongoing process that is not completed until we die. Even then, we do not receive our full and final glorification until the resurrection of our bodies, although in heaven we will be free of sin as we await the final resurrection (Rom. 8:1–30).
Theologically speaking, salvation refers to the entire work of God’s redemption that encompasses predestination, regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification, although the biblical writers sometimes use the terms “salvation” and “saved” as synonyms for one of the aforementioned aspects of what the Lord does in redeeming us. For example, when Paul says that “by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast,” he is using the term “saved” as a synonym for “justified.” By grace we have been justified by faith, which is not our own doing but the gift of God and not the result of our works.
yourself. Sanctification is a work of God that includes the cooperative activity of the Christian. However, God’s work in His people guarantees that they will cooperate (Phil. 2:12, 13). The Lord never fails to sanctify those whom He justifies. Having changed our hearts in regeneration, our natural and inevitable response is to walk by the Spirit and put sin to death.
R. C. Sproul, ed., The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015), 2160–2161.
