Note: Our list of recommendations is just getting started. We’ll be adding more in the coming months.
From Scott Wenig
Scott Wenig is associate professor of applied theology at Denver Seminary in Denver, Colorado, and author of Straightening the Altars.
- John R. W. Stott, Guard the Gospel (Downers Grove: IVP, 1973).
- As evidenced by his long ministry over the decades, Stott was a masterful scholar of the text as well as an experienced preacher. This volume is full of valuable exegetical and pastoral insights. Moreover, Stott’s research on this last letter of Paul’s provides numerous homiletical gems that can be leveraged to add some sparkle to our preaching.
- Walter Liefeld, The NIV Application Commentary on 1 & 2 Timothy/Titus (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999).
- The great strength of this commentary is its clarity and accessibility. Following the format of the NIV Application series, each section of the biblical text is divided into a) the Original Meaning, b) Bridging Contexts, c) Contemporary Significance. Liefeld’s commentary provides not only solid exegetical work but some helpful suggestions on preaching the text in a relevant way.
- Philip H. Towner, 1 & 2 Timothy & Titus (Downers Grove: IVP, 1994).
- Towner provides numerous insights into the general flow of the apostle’s thought. While readers may not agree with every conclusion he draws, he forces us to wrestle with the meaning of the text in light of the situation in which it was composed.
I also want to include a fourth “semi-commentary” (my term), Called To Lead: Paul’s Letters to Timothy for a New Day (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012) by Anthony B. Robinson and Robert W. Wall. This is a volume of practical pastoral theology on the two Epistles to Timothy with four chapters devoted to 2 Timothy. The authors work hard to navigate the distance between Timothy’s context and our own while offering some helpful suggestions on how the text can be communicated and lived out in our day.
Posted December 1, 2025
