Continue In God's Truth

INTRO

As we continue with our study in 2 Timothy, we will specifically look at a verse in the Word of God toward the end of the chapter. I wonder what we are passing on to the next generation. Dalton Thomas said:

The last words we have from Paul before he lost his head for the Gospel are an admonition to his own beloved, adopted son in Christ to live into his own promises and purposes determined by the Author [Creator]of his days . . . the book of 2 Timothy is what spilled out of Paul’s pen when he knew he had reached his numbered days’ end. The stakes were not low for Paul and they wouldn’t be for Timothy. Paul had discipled this young leader; he did not simply ‘share the Gospel’ with him, or even stop at sharing his life with Timothy. He entrusted the Gospel with him. And he knew the Lord was about to remove him from Timothy’s life for the rest of this age. We are all responsible for our own lives in God, but Timothy was about to feel the absence of his “father.” As the aged apostle weighed how to word his final letter, Paul challenged his young “evangelist” from Ephesus with perhaps unexpected words: “Son, soldier up.”¹

TEACHING

2 Timothy 3:1-5: In verse 1, Paul used the phrase, “But know this,” to get Timothy’s attention for the long term. “Difficult times” can also be translated “perilous,” meaning a hugely stressful situation. That word is used only one other time in the New Testament in Matthew 8:28 when Jesus met the two demon-possessed men in Gadarenes. “In the last days” is a broad New Testament term and refers to the now, because Jesus initiated the last days. Peter announced it as fulfillment of prophecy that began at Pentecost (Acts 2:17). It has been used about the final judgment (John 6:39-40, 44, 54; 11:24; 12:48). It is especially appropriate for the season immediately before Jesus’ return. For Christians in the United States today, we do not think much about the coming of Christ. We get tired of waiting and concerned with other things, so this chapter is a challenge for us.

The reason Christians will be persecuted in troubled and perilous times grows out of the distorted values of the people around and among them. In verses 2–5, Paul identifies 20 characteristics of people who often unintentionally (due to their blindness) and sometimes intentionally, create a climate of trouble for those who take Jesus seriously. In this list, Paul used compound words for “love”— philos love, not agape. These people love people or things—a misdirected love. These people are also lovers of self. The biblical roots of this self-love are found in the encounter with Satan in the garden when he told Adam and Eve to go ahead and eat so they would be like God. Love of self is the basic sin from which all others flow. The moment a man makes his own will the center of life, divine and human relationships are destroyed, and obedience to God and charity to men become impossible.

The love of money is not new, but it is easier today to pursue our love for money (v. 2). The characteristics of boasting, pride, and blasphemy each show the individual considers themself more important than anyone else. As you read through the list, each shows a characteristic about love of self. Pastor David Guzik said, “We don’t have to choose between pleasure and God. Serving God is the ultimate pleasure”² (Psalm 16:11). We do not have to choose between the love of pleasure and the love of God. Living for God will give you many pleasures, but only as you love God first and refuse to love the pleasures themselves. In verse 5, Paul points out those who are “holding to the form of godliness but denying its power.” In our self-obsessed world, people feel free to have a salad-bar religion; they pick and choose what they want. They want to feel spiritual but don’t care about being biblical. Paul said to avoid these people! Paul explains why in verses 6–8.

2 Timothy 3:6–9: In verses 6–7,Paul describes these dangers. Paul knew these dangers were in the world in his day and would be increasingly present in the last days before Christ’s return. He seemed especially concerned that they would creep into households—it is one thing to have such evil present in the world and another to allow it into our homes. Note that the idolatry of misdirected love is tragic; when it becomes evangelistic, the trouble multiplies. There’s caution there for us as well: in our homes, on our TVs and computers (Deuteronomy 6:4–9). Verse 7 describes people who hear, even repeatedly hear, good sermons, but they don’t meditate on those words or apply what they hear. Guzik wrote:

One should know if they are indeed one of these captives that Paul mentioned, bound by the influence of this end times rejection of God and celebration of self. There is one effective way to know: walk away from any king of worldly influence and see if there are chains that make your escape difficult. Take a week off from letting anything marked by the spirit of the last days into your household—and see if chains bind you back to those things.³

Verses 8–9 explain that Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses and therefore also resisted the truth. These names were never given in the Exodus account, but Jewish tradition holds that they were Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses before Pharaoh, even matching Moses’ miracle for miracle for part of the time (Exodus 7:8–13, 19–23; 8:5–7, 16–19). Even as Jannes’ and Jambres’ power had limits, so does Satan’s power. Even in the last days, God is still in control.

2 Timothy 3:10–12: In verse 10, Paul began to talk about struggles in the Christian life. He began, “But you,” showing that Timothy was not like those he had been discussing. Timothy “followed” what he had been taught, meaning he modeled it and lived out Paul’s example. Paul then reminded Timothy of the specific persecutions he endured at Antioch (Acts 13:50), at Iconium (Acts 14:5), and at Lystra (Acts 14:19) (v. 11). Paul emphasized that all who live in Christ will be persecuted (v. 12). Read that again. Oswald Chambers wrote, “An average view of the Christian life is that it means deliverance fromtrouble; it is deliverance in trouble, which is a very different thing.”⁴ Rich Mullins said, “Never forget what Jesus did for you. Never take lightly what it cost Him. And never assume that if it cost Him His very life, that it won’t also cost you yours.”⁵ Persecution must not stop Christians today.

2 Timothy 3:13–16: Those who deceive will become worse. Evil people are obvious while imposters are not (v. 13). Henri Nouwen said, “The many disasters in our world, and all the tragedies that happen to people each day, can easily lead us to despair and convince us we are the sad victims of circumstances. But Jesus looks at these events in a radically different way. He calls them opportunities to witness!”⁶ For Timothy, he had been taught to know the difference and to live in the lifestyle of Christ, no matter what (vv. 14–15). The important thing is to abide and continue in those, and to never let them go. Timothy had been taught the Old Testament through his mother and grandmother. He knew the teachings of Christ. Those were the things he was to continue. That is the context for verse 16: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” “Inspired by” literally means “breathed out by God,” and this is the only time it’s used in the Bible (2 Peter 1:20–21). “All scripture” includes more than just the Old Testament. Paul changed his wording here because he recognized that what God uniquely brought forth from the apostles and prophets in Paul’s time was also the God-breathed Word of God.

CLOSING

Remember that it is possible to believe in the inspiration of the Bible in principle but deny it in practice. Vast Bible knowledge and regular church attendance won’t do much if your attitudes and actions are not Christlike.