It may well be a proof of Timothy's courage and consecration that he had seen very clearly what could happen to an apostle and had yet not hesitated to cast in his lot with Paul. As members of the Church, we should sometimes ask ourselves, what are we trying to do in it? That the man of God may be perfect,2 Timothy 3:17; 2 Timothy 3:17. We don't have the time to devote to it this evening but I would suggest that you get a good Greek lexicon and do a word study on these particular Greek words that Paul uses to describe the attitudes and the actions of people in the last days. 2 Timothy 3:12 Commentaries: Indeed, all who desire to live godly in At the same time he shows also his sense of the kindness of a particular individual and his family. The strange characteristic of ingratitude is that it is the most hurting of all sins because it is the blindest. They must expect to be despised, and that their religion will stand in the way of their preferment; those who will live godly must expect it, especially those who will live godly in Christ Jesus, that is, according to the strict rules of the Christian religion, those who will wear the livery and bear the name of the crucified Redeemer. that will, &c.Greek, "all whose will is to live," &c. So far should persecution be from being a stumbling-block to Timothy, he should consider it a mark of the pious. Now this is in particular a difficulty for saints, when they have revived before the soul the blessedness of maintaining the unity of the Spirit. Synonyms of the New Testament. Pride always begets insult. He must take care of the manner in which he strives. Paul goes on to list the things in which Timothy has been his disciple; and the interest of that list is that it consists of the strands out of which the life and work of an apostle are woven. [Note: Knight, p. And you will find as God's word becomes a very part of your life and you begin to be guided by the word of God, that God will begin to use you in very exciting ways. ", Persecution = The essence of persecution consists in subjecting a person to injury or disadvantage on account of his [beliefs].. But this is not what the Bible teaches. In those days trade tended to flow down river valleys; Ephesus was at the mouth of the River Cayster, and commanded the trade of one of the richest hinterlands in all Asia Minor. If they had been more faithful, and more like their Master, would they have always escaped? It should be considered as one of the proper qualifications for membership in the church, to be willing to bear persecution, and to resolve not to shrink from any duty in order to avoid it. They will maintain the outward form of religion, but they will deny its power. 3:10-13 But you have been my disciple in my teaching, my training, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my endurance, my persecutions, my sufferings, in what happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra, in the persecutions which I underwent; and the Lord rescued me from them all. Story of Jonah has provoked a lot of problems for people, only because of their concept of God. We must remember that they were Gnostics and that the basic principle of Gnosticism was that spirit was altogether good and matter altogether evil. The most amazing things may happen if he does, for there is a saving wisdom here that is in no other book. They're profitable. It is often a very great safeguard for the saint of God; for, after all, it makes no small difference who says this or that. Again, it is startling. Things were so bad that Tacitus could say: "He who had no foe was betrayed by his friend." There was no longer the freshness of a new thing; and where the heart was not kept up in communion with the Lord, the value of divine things was less felt, if it did not quite fade away. Godly = adv. There was the great trade route from the Euphrates valley which came by way of Colosse and Laodicea and poured the wealth of the east into the lap of Ephesus. THE EXPERIENCES OF AN APOSTLE ( 2 Timothy 3:10-13 continued). For God hath not given us the spirit of fear" (it was what Timothy was manifesting), "but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. I don't know exactly yet what He said but when I find out I know He's going to be right. They must not lie by us neglected, and seldom or never looked into. This he had known most extensively, but it was closed; no longer had he before him any prospect of having to fight the battles of the church of God. Their own word would eat as a canker, and do harm to others as well as to themselves, "who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some." If anyone proposes to introduce into his life a loyalty which surpasses all earthly loyalties, there are bound to be clashes. Now they're right out where little kids can go in and pick them up and leaf through them. This was to reverse the lesson of a risen Christ, and to open the way for all laxity. John 15:19; Matthew 10:22; Matthew 10:38-39, Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus,. All that live according to the will of God revealed in his word; and to the glory of God, as the end of all their actions; and which the grace of God in the Gospel, and in their own hearts, teaches them; and who have the principles of a godly life from Christ, and derive the fresh supplies of grace and life from him, to maintain it; in whom their life is hid, and who live by faith upon him; all such that live, and that will live so, are desirous of living after this manner; in whom God has wrought in them both to will and to do, and are concerned when it is otherwise with them: these. But we have also been supplied with many precious promises which reassure us that His grace is sufficient, His strength is perfected in our weakness, that suffering for Christ's sake is a privilege for the child of God, and that no amount of trials, tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or the sword, is able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.May we grasp this truth in His strength, and remember that in this world we will have tribulation but that if we fellowship in the suffering of Christ, we will also be glorified with Him Who loved us so much that He died for us, that we might live for Him forever. Now I'm not about to say God was wrong. In living in such a manner, persecution will come; but the Lord will deliver the faithful. Barnes' Notes. There are still Church dignitaries whose main thought is their own dignity; but the Christian is the follower of him who was meek and lowly in heart. 2 Timothy 3 He preached in the same church as C. H. Spurgeon over one hundred years earlier. He did so to help him realize that he faced no unknown situation in Ephesus and to enable him to combat it intelligently. By this general statement, therefore, Paul classes himself with the children of God, and, at the same time, exhorts all the children of God to prepare for enduring persecutions; for, if this condition is laid down for all who wish to live a godly life in Christ, they who wish to be exempt from persecutions must necessarily renounce Christ. The man who is mastered by his lower passions will gratify them in the most shameless way, as the streets of any great city will show when the night is late. And for this reason we should continue in the things we have learned from the holy scriptures; not that we ought to continue in any errors and mistakes which we may have been led into, in the time of our childhood and youth (for these, upon an impartial enquiry and full conviction, we should forsake); but this makes nothing against our continuing in those things which the holy scriptures plainly assert, and which he that runs may read. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1975. Thus the apostle comes to the close of his ministry, and touches upon the line of St. John. There would be two ways in which these heretics in the days of Timothy could exert an evil influence. There is love. What am I to believe about sin? Abandoned by virtually all of those close to him for fear of persecution (cf. Those who are well instructed in the Scriptures will always be ready when an opportunity arises to do good (16-17).Since Gods servants must give him an account of their service, they should not miss any opportunity to teach the Scriptures, though they must always speak in a manner suited to the circumstances (4:1-2). It seems to me, I confess, that if there were simplicity of faith, the Lord would give one eyes to see some at least that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart. This is God's attitude to men. ", The Lord said it's "what comes out of the mouth of a man, that defiles a man" ( Matthew 15:11 ). The New Testament had not yet been canonized. Anosios does not so much mean that men will break the written laws; it means that they will offend against the unwritten laws which are part and parcel of the essence of life. ii. Who is talking all these words without knowledge? He had fought the good fight of faith. (ii) The Scriptures are of use in teaching. 10 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, 11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. "They that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." And man has prepared a great fish and they powered it with atomic engines. The study of the Scriptures must never be selfish, never simply for the good of a man's own soul. It is needful to exercise judgment now. Accordingly, there is a depth of feeling that one may safely say far exceeds the first epistle, although it had shown so much tenderness and care both for Timothy and the faithful of those days. And I filed many scriptures in that file. Now these seem to many very difficult indeed to combine. And when you lose authority you have anarchy. What Does It Really Mean That Your Body Is a Temple? Persons sometimes say it does not matter who taught; but God does not treat the matter so lightly. Here we have him recurring to that which was entirely outside nature, and before its very platform existed. When the Lord was entering on His ministry He says, "Woman, what have I to do with thee?" A whole collection of stories gathered round their names. Men will be disobedient to their parents. A great many certainly flatter themselves that they are thus favoured; but the cases are uncommon where it is more than pretence. It was a kindred error, though in an opposite direction, to that which false teachers sought to infuse among the Thessalonians: there that the day of the Lord was come, producing panic; here that the resurrection was past, leading, to ease. Men will be lovers of their own selves ( 2 Timothy 3:2 ). When children are disobedient to their parents, and break through the obligations which they lie under to them both in duty and gratitude, and frequently in interest, having their dependence upon them and their expectation from them, they make the times perilous; for what wickedness will those stick at who will be abusive to their own parents and This sort of atmosphere will mark the last days . If what be claims for scripture is true of the Old Testament, how much truer it is of the still more precious words of the New. Timothy had been schooled in the Scriptures from his early youth by his mother and grandmother, and so as Paul began to, with the Scriptures, prove that Jesus was the Messiah, with Timothy's background, he could see the truth of it. The insult which comes from anger is bad but it is forgivable, for it is launched in the heat of the moment; but the cold insult which comes from arrogant pride is an ugly and an unforgivable thing. (12) Yea, and all that will live godly.--But St. Paul would not allow it to be thought for a moment that in the fact of his enduring persecution and suffering there was anything remarkable or singular; so he adds the words of this verse, which repeat in a peculiarly solemn way the great Christian truth that eternal glory was only to be reached by man through an avenue of sufferings. But God prepares the instruments through which He works and the most important preparation is through the Word of God. God is right. And those who wish to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted; while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceived themselves and deceiving others. What am I to believe about God? Love of self is the basic sin, from which all others flow. 2 Timothy 3:12-17 - Bible Gateway Judaism had its divine institutions and hopes, but the truth is found in Christendom only: nevertheless in Christendom, who fails to discern Jewish elements and heathenish enormities? 12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Therefore, isolation is never desirable, though it may be sometimes necessary. Not only did he become a Christian; he devoted the rest of his life to the distribution of the Scriptures in the forgotten villages of northern Chile. "He devotes himself specially to women, and those such as are well-bred, and elegantly attired, and of great wealth." You may be able to deceive people for a while, but ultimately, it's going to catch up, even as it did with Jannes. But, if one confesses the name of the Lord, the word is imperative: "let him depart from iniquity." When we are tempted to do so, we should hear again the voice of our blessed Lord saying on the Cross: "Father, forgive them.". No matter what the reasons or excuses for joining with them, "turn away.". And so Paul said to Timothy, "You have fully known". But the condition of the believers had deteriorated. There were those who would revenge themselves on an enemy by informing against him. Paul said, you know, what kind of a life I've lived. In the last days there would come times which would menace the very existence of the Christian Church and of goodness itself, a kind of last tremendous assault of evil before its final defeat. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work." That is why the church which has no Bible Class is a church in whose work an essential element is missing. I'm afraid that that is also true of us. There is just a certain natural love that would keep people from doing a lot of the things they are doing today. Right out of the gate, Second Timothy presents itself as a conservative letter, understanding "conservative" in the most literal sense of the word. Look at, of course, all of these other things that have come along as the result of it. (2) They who are persecuted for their opinions, should consider that this may be one evidence that they have the spirit of Christ, and are his true friends. Otherwise this might have seemed to be (what unbelief taunts and stigmatizes it, spite of His sanction) pride of heart and presumption. So God's word, scripture given for inspiration, by the inspiration of God and is profitable.Of course, this morning we pointed out that the inspiration of the Bible is proved by internal evidences, such as its total accuracy with known facts of science, when it happened to cover scientific subjects. I believe that God intended you to have pleasure, but when it comes before God, it means that it has become your God and it makes a very poor God to worship or serve. Or are you going to develop a doctrine that is diametrically opposed to what Jesus said? He warns Timothy of the fatal end of seducers, as a reason why he should stick closely to the truth as it is in Jesus: But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, c., 2 Timothy 3:13; 2 Timothy 3:13. The Greek for slanderer is diabolos ( G1228) which is precisely the English word devil. Here he mentions his persecutions and afflictions at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra, besides what he suffered elsewhere. Here we find the perilous times fairly brought before us. No one can possibly mistake him. Christianity was cradled in Judaism and very naturally thought largely in Jewish terms and pictures. The woman protests that she has never done so and cannot do so. Good. More and more the Christian is a marked person because the more corrupt the world becomes, the more the Christian stands out. It was thus Paul treated the proud reasonings and speculations of man; withal briefly touching on those that had gone entirely astray Hymenaeus and Philetus. Rather he must "labour before he partake of the fruits." The apostle mentions the Lord's delivering him out of them all, for Timothy's and our encouragement under sufferings. It is derived from two Greek words which mean to show oneself above. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God. And for a person to take advantage of a child is unthinkable. Get Your Bible Minute in Your Inbox Every Morning, Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus All that live according to the will of God revealed in his word; and to the glory of God, as the end of all their actions; and which the grace of God in the Gospel, and in their own hearts, teaches them; and who have the principles of a godly life from Christ, and derive the fresh supplies of grace and life from him, to maintain it; in whom their life is hid, and who live by faith upon him; all such that live, and that will live so, are desirous of living after this manner; in whom God has wrought in them both to will and to do, and are concerned when it is otherwise with them: these. Thank You that Your grace is sufficient for any attack that the evil enemy of my soul can throw at me, and that nothing can ever separate me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. Every man doing his own thing or every man believing as he wants. Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. How comes it so? "Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. Perverse Men 2 Timothy 3:2-4 . (2) they who are persecuted for their opinions, should consider that this may be one evidence that they have the spirit of Christ, and are his true friends. A true insight would have made them recognise in Jesus the Messiah for whom they waited. They did not keep the covenant that they made. THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL One day they said to Jesus, Show us a sign. There is little likelihood that Timothy will be easily led astray by false teaching. Who steals my purse steals trash; 'tis something, nothing; 'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands: Many men and women, who would never dream of stealing, think nothing--even find pleasure--in passing on a story which ruins someone else's good name, without even trying to find out whether or not it is true. And that is, it doesn't tell us in the Scripture in Exodus that that was their names but Paul gives us their names here, Jannes and Jambres who withstood the truth. It would not be accordant with the mind of God. First, there are the duties of an apostle. To take pains and to endure are requisite even in what pertains to this life. The Greek word is that men will become anosios ( G462) . It is perfectly true--as we have so often said--that Christianity is not founded on a printed book but on a living person. It is the sign of a man of honour that he pays his debts; and for every man there is a debt to God and there are debts to his fellow-men, which he must remember and repay. Without natural affection ( 2 Timothy 3:3 ). Such offence can and does happen yet. So he's referring to the Old Testament Scriptures, those which Timothy knew from the child and he called them the "holy scriptures," which they are, "and they are able to make you wise unto salvation through the faith which is in Christ Jesus." The cause of the perilous times are found in the things that people will be doing, and at the top of the list. " Rejoice ( present imperative) and be glad ( present imperative ), for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. In 2 Timothy 3:9 he meant that the teaching of evil does not necessarily become more extensive and capture a wider audience as evil becomes worse. But no man ought to separate himself from the children of God, unless it be a dire necessity for the Lord; it is clearly not according to Christ. The defeat of error depends not on skill in controversy but in the demonstration in life of the more excellent way. C. Description of His Present Resource 2 Timothy 3:13-17. It answers not a little to the kind of thing ,;et forth here. The thing that amazes me is that he can attract people who will support him. It was the common lot of all who endeavored to serve their Redeemer faithfully; and Timothy himself, therefore, must not hope to escape from it. turned unto fables. The age of children is the age to learn; and those who would get true learning, must get it out of the Scriptures. With this prospect he comforts Timothy no less than his own spirit; but at the same time he speaks as to joining him, with a glance at one that had forsaken him. And many shall be stirred up in anger to injure many; And they shall rouse up armies in order to shed blood. There is that in the scripture which suits every case. Now hatred is attended by cruelty, and hence arise persecutions. 2 Timothy 3:12 - KING JAMES BIBLE ONLINE When trouble fell on the Thessalonians, Paul wrote to them: "When we were with you, we told you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction; just as it has come to pass, and as you know" ( 1 Thessalonians 3:4). It instructs us in that which is true, reproves us for that which is amiss, directs us in that which is good. Compare the catalogue, Ro 1:29, &c., where much the same sins are attributed to heathen men; it shall be a relapse into virtual heathendom, with all its beast-like propensities, whence the symbol of it is "a beast" (Re 13:1, 11, 12, &c.; 17:3, 8, 11). . In the Testament of Issachar, one of the books written between the Old and the New Testaments, we get a picture like this: "Know ye, therefore, my children, that in the last times. 2. menin the professing Church. The technique would be the same in the days of Timothy as it was in the later days of Irenaeus. We must remember that this was written just at the beginning of the years of persecution, when it was becoming a crime to be a Christian. It is not the question of discipline dealing With evil ways; but here we are in a state of things where we are in danger of being mixed up with vessels unto the Lord's dishonour. Paul met him on his first missionary journey. This present age was altogether evil; and the age to come would be the golden age of God. Men will be implacable in their hatreds (aspondos, G786) . He is the man who is guilty of the "sin of the high heart." Regardless of the persecution, it is our duty to live in such a way that the world will know that we are Christians. VERSION, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. I think we've gone just about as far as we can. [ See verse text ] Persecution against godly people is to be expected in this world; it's one of the few constants in life (2 Timothy 3:12). The adjective used is philautos ( G5367) , which means self-loving. What does 2 Timothy 3:13 mean? Titus, we know, did so; but God took care that it should never be positively stated about Timothy. We have already seen that that teaching issued in one of two things. There is no godliness (Greek, "piously") or piety out of Christ. Again he said, "Lo, I have come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God" ( Hebrews 10:7 ). We must remember that Timothy's work lay in Ephesus, perhaps the greatest market in the ancient world. (4) Let those who have never been persecuted in any way, inquire whether it is not an evidence that they have no religion. And the word of God comes and it brings a balance, it brings a correction, it brings a correct perspective.It's profitable. We're going to drown in our own corruption. The peculiar task confided to the latter was care of doctrine much more than of outward order. The Gnostic insinuators would teach these doctrines to impressionable women. In the terrible times men will be so set on self that even the closest ties will be nothing to them. Finally, we have his assertion of the blessed Lord's care, and his confidence in Him that He would preserve him from all evil to His heavenly kingdom; closing this solemn and touching epistle (it would seem the last words he wrote) with salutations to various saints.

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