Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

2 TIMOTHY 2:22KJV
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2 Timothy 2:22 (KJV)

What does 2 Timothy 2:22 mean?

2 Timothy 2:22 tells Timothy to run away from the desires and temptations that often come with youth, and instead to actively pursue living in a right way, trusting God, loving others, and seeking peace—especially together with people who sincerely call on God. The verse encourages making a clear choice to leave behind harmful impulses and to join with others who are genuinely seeking God.

Paul, the apostle, is writing this letter to Timothy, a younger leader in the early church, giving him practical advice for living out his faith. Paul’s instructions here focus on both avoiding certain dangers and intentionally seeking out good things, especially in the company of others who are sincere in their devotion to God. This verse is part of a larger section where Paul is urging Timothy to be a faithful and honorable servant of God.

The Greek behind 2 Timothy 2:22

  • "Flee" (φεῦγε, pheuge): This Greek word means to run away or escape quickly. Paul is not suggesting a casual avoidance, but an urgent, deliberate action to get away from harmful desires.
  • "Youthful" (νεωτερικός, neōterikos): This word refers to things characteristic of young people, often impulsive or passionate desires. Paul is pointing out that certain temptations are especially strong or common in youth.
  • "Lusts" (ἐπιθυμίαι, epithymiai): This word means strong desires or cravings, not only sexual but any kind of uncontrolled longing. The warning is broad, covering all kinds of self-centered urges.
  • "Follow" (δίωκε, diōke): This Greek word means to pursue eagerly or chase after. Paul balances the command to flee with an equally strong call to actively seek out good qualities.
  • "Charity" (ἀγάπη, agapē): This is the Greek word for selfless, sacrificial love. Paul highlights this as a key quality to pursue, not just a feeling but a way of acting toward others.
  • "Pure" (καθαρᾶς, katharas): This word means clean or unmixed, describing the kind of heart from which true devotion to God comes.

Why 2 Timothy 2:22 matters

  • This verse clarifies that spiritual growth is not just about avoiding wrong, but also about actively seeking what is good, especially in community with others who are sincere.
  • Paul’s advice helps correct the idea that faith is only personal or private; he emphasizes the importance of joining with others who genuinely seek God.
  • The verse connects to the wider passage by showing Timothy, and readers today, that living faithfully involves both personal discipline and supportive relationships with other believers.

Where else these words appear

“pure” Greek G2513 · used in 24 verses

  • Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
  • Acts 18:6 And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.
  • James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

“Flee” Greek G5343 · used in 31 verses

  • Matthew 2:13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
  • Mark 14:52 And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked.
  • 1 Corinthians 6:18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

“on” Greek G1941 · used in 32 verses

  • Matthew 10:3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;
  • Acts 10:32 Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee.
  • Acts 25:25 But when I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death, and that he himself hath appealed to Augustus, I have determined to send him.

“lusts” Greek G1939 · used in 37 verses

  • Mark 4:19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
  • Philippians 1:23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
  • 1 Peter 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;