Author’s Preface

THE PASTORAL LETTERS have encouraged and instructed me for many years, but never as much as during the writing of this commentary. Their complexity, including frequent repetition of topics and the intertwining of doctrine, instruction, and personal reminiscences add to the problems of dating and authorship. But it is perhaps these very characteristics that have drawn me to them the most. Having spent a lifetime in both theological education (teaching New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) and ministry (InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, preaching, and pastoral ministry), I have found these letters not frustrating but true to life. In pastoral ministry, people and problems have a way of reappearing and reasserting themselves. Instructions from the Lord need to be heard again and again to keep us focused on the essentials. In teaching, doctrine needs to be clarified and reemphasized, and error needs to be discerned and dealt with repeatedly. In every situation temptations have a way of being new and old at the same time.

Given this dual perspective, it has been impossible for me to do the exegesis without thinking of its practical side, or to do the Bridging Contexts and Contemporary Significance sections without being aware of the need to be controlled by the text. In some ways I have found the exegesis more demanding but the “practical” sections more challenging. Sermon illustrations have always been hard for me to plan in advance; they always seem to wait to enter my mind until I am preaching! Perhaps there is some of that here, and if I occasionally fail to list sources on a topic, it is probably because the example comes out of my own observations and experience.

The personal nature of these letters, therefore, finds a parallel in the personal nature of my commentary and its preparation. That inevitably means that many people have had a part in it, not just in the research, writing, and editorial guidance, but in life. My father, who has been in heaven almost thirty years, wanted to be a missionary and, when that was not possible, became a medical doctor who devoted himself to Bible study, teaching, witnessing, and counseling. He was an example of the blend of doctrine and life enjoined in these Pastoral Letters. The early influence of my mother and the constant encouragement of my wife, Olive, can never be adequately expressed in writing. Beyond that, Olive provided both arduous typing and probing questions that improved the commentary immensely. The constant encouragement and challenge of my adult children, David, Beverly, and Holly, and their families all have had their part.

If I were writing an extended preface, it should contain the names of all the students I have had—especially in my classes on the Pastoral Letters— and of all those who have encouraged me in the churches I have served. From among the latter group, Larry Smith was one among a number of cherished friends at Christ Church, Lake Forest, Illinois, who asked me as their pastor the tough questions of life. He went over the manuscript thoroughly and nudged me toward more difficult questions and more realistic answers of the sort that business men and women like himself were seeking. I also want to express appreciation for my faculty colleagues at Trinity, especially former Academic Dean Kenneth S. Kantzer, who devoted his time to us so that we could devote our time to teaching and writing and still have time for our students, families, and churches.

One of the joys of writing this commentary has been having the helpful editorial comments of my former student, Scot McKnight. His careful attention to my manuscript enhanced my appreciation for him even further. I am also indebted to the early editorial suggestions of Marianne Meye Thompson and another esteemed former student, Klyne Snodgrass. Terry Muck’s written comments on the manuscript read like a conversation between friends on topics of joy. I recall the first conversation Jack Kuhatschek and I had about this commentary. His patience during the long time since then and his encouragement have helped carry me through personal delays. And any author is blessed to have a manuscript placed in the capable hands of Zondervan editor Verlyn Verbrugge.