2nd Timothy Chapter 3 -- John Karmelich
1.
I believe one of
America’s greatest contributions to Christianity is the expression:
a)
“Put
your money where your mouth is!”
i)
What
that expression means is that if you make a statement, and you mean it,
put your money behind it.
ii)
Let’s
say a golfer says to his playing buddy, “I know I can make that 30-foot putt”.
iii)
The
buddy then says, “If you’re that sure, put your money where your mouth is.”
b)
I
am fond of that expression is that it separates the true Christian from the
imposter.
i)
There
are multitudes of people who “claim” to be a Christian.
ii)
The
difference is between the “true and false” believer is you don’t see any change
in the behavior of those who claim they are Christians.
c)
There
was a popular bunker sticker some time back that said, “Honk if you love
Jesus”.
i)
Personally,
I preferred the one that said, “Real men tithe their income for Jesus, because
any idiot can honk!”.
ii)
That
is an example of your belief in Jesus changing your behavior.
2.
This
concept is what Paul is going to focus on in Chapter 3: That is the idea of
separating the true believer from the false-believer.
a)
The
chapter only has 17 verses:
i)
The
first nine focus on the negative aspects of the false-believer.
ii)
The
last eight focus on characteristics to strive for as a true believer.
b)
As
a believer in Christ, we are actually “saved” three different times:
i)
The
first is when we first declared our allegiance to Christ and acknowledged Him
as payment for our sins. That is when
we became born-again.
a)
At
that point our salvation is guaranteed as long as we continue to believe those
facts. (That’s a good balance between
“pre-destiny” & “free will”.J )
ii)
The
second is we grow in maturity as believers.
During our lifetime here on earth, we seek God through prayer, through
time with other believers and through saturation in his Word to grow and mature
us as believers.
a)
Paul
said, “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling”
(Philippians 2:12b, NIV)
iii)
The
third is at our death we get “glorified” bodies for eternal salvation.
a)
“For
the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be
changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperish-able, and the
mortal with immortality.” (1st
Corinthians 15:52b-53, NIV).
3.
As
part of the preparation for this summary, I heard another good summary of the
Christian life:
a)
We
are to: 1) worship God; 2) love people;
and 3) use things.
b)
We
get into trouble when we ignore #1 and worship people or love other things.
i)
When
we worship people, including ourselves (e.g., fame, ego, etc.) is where we get
on the wrong path.
ii)
When
we worship things is a type of idolatry.
iii)
“Worshipping
things” does not necessarily mean bowing down before, say your car. The idea is to be given-over to them. The “thing(s)” becomes the all-consuming
priority for your life.
iv)
Everybody
worships something. To find out
what somebody’s “something” is, look where they spend their free time and look
where they spend their disposable income.
You will find a person’s “god”.
a)
By
the way, I’m not “anti-hobby”. The
simple test is “If God asks you to give up that hobby or interest tomorrow,
could you, or would you do it?
4.
Let’s
get started with Verse 1: But mark this: There will be terrible times in the
last days.
a)
The term “last days” is a
whole topic unto itself.
b)
In the Old Testament,
the “last days” usually refers to the end-times right before the second coming
of Jesus.
c)
In the New Testament,
the “last days” refers to the whole time era between the time the
Christian church was first formed until the time Jesus comes back for his
church.
d)
So the logical question
is, how could the “last days” be a 2,000+ year period of time?
i)
I believed Paul lived
his life as if the 2nd coming of Jesus was eminent.
ii)
I believe every
believer should live his life as if the 2nd coming was eminent.
a)
Why is that? It keeps
our focus on God.
(1)
Jesus said, “Watch
therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is
coming.” (Matthew 25:10, NKJV).
(a)
“Watch” is a command!
(b)
It is what Jesus
commanded us to do:
b)
Getting on my
pre-tribulation rapture soapbox for a second J, those
who believe Jesus does not come until after the 7-year tribulation can’t
believe Jesus can come back at any moment because that view (the post-
tribulation view) has the prerequisite that the Antichrist comes first.
(1)
Personally I would
rather live my life on the hope that Jesus’ return is eminent versus the
concept of looking for the Antichrist first.
e)
Getting back to 2nd
Timothy, Paul is saying that prior to Jesus return “terrible” times will
come. The actual Greek work is better
translated “violent” times or “turbulent” times, as if war conditions existed.
f)
The debate question is,
“Is Paul saying that this condition will exist for the next 2,000+ years or
does he mean to watch out that it will exist right before whenever Jesus
returns?
i)
Personally, my
view is that it refers to the whole 2,000+ year period of time.
a)
Other commentators
believe it means that this condition will exist just prior to the return of
Jesus.
b)
My view is that through
the ear of church history, these conditions that Paul has laid out exist more
than they did prior to Jesus’ first coming.
ii)
Consider the context of
this verse within this whole letter to Timothy.
a)
The purpose of the
letter is to teach Timothy how to be a good pastor.
b)
The letter focuses on
how to conduct worship service, who to let be part of the church, the
qualifications for church membership and leadership and a lot of verses
deal with false teachers.
c)
In context of that
statement, I believe that is what Paul is teaching here.
d)
From Paul’s perspective,
now that believing in Jesus brings salvation, Satan’s plan is now to prevent or
slow down Christian church growth.
(1)
One of his methods is to
allow false believers and false teachers to be “around” true believers.
(2)
The goal is to make the
true believers “bad witnesses” for Jesus.
(3)
Given that reality, Paul
is going to teach Timothy what to watch out for in the Christian church.
5.
Verse
2: People
will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive,
disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without
love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the
good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure
rather than lovers of God--5 having a form of godliness but denying its power.
Have nothing to do with them.
a)
Yeah Paul, but how do
you really feel about these people?
J
i)
Sorry I couldn’t resist
doing that. J
b)
I’m going to take these
four verses on a verse-by-verse basis.
First I wanted to give you a flavor of the whole sentence and the tone
of the message.
6.
Verse 2 (again): People will be lovers of themselves, lovers
of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful,
unholy,
a)
First of all, remember
the context of these verses.
b)
Paul is not
talking about pagans or people who simply don’t believe in Jesus; the focus is
on those who “claim” to be believers in Jesus.
i)
How do I know this?
a)
Verse 5 says, “having a
form of godliness but denying its power.”
(1)
This is a reference to
those who “think” they are Christians.
b)
Also, Verse 8 compares
these people to Pharaoh’s magicians in Egypt during the time of Moses. Those magicians did acknowledge the
existence of God, but choose to serve Satan through his powers.
(1)
We’ll talk more about
that when we get to Verse 8.
c)
Why is Paul teaching all
of this?
i)
Notice
the last phrase of Verse 5: “Have nothing to do with them.”
a)
Paul is teaching Timothy
and us:
(1)
The personality traits
of this type of person so we can avoid them!
(2)
That is another reason
why I believe Paul is talking about those who “claim” they are Christians. It refers to those attending church service,
but aren’t part of the church.
d)
With that stated, let’s
take a look at their characteristics:
i)
“Lovers of themselves” –
This is a good summary statement of all these characteristics.
a)
It describes putting one’s
interest above God’s interest.
b)
The first characteristic
of this false-believer is a big ego.
Their pride prevents them from seeing the wrong of any action.
c)
Remember my 3 principles
of the Christian life: 1) worship God;
2) love people; and 3) use things.
(1)
“Loving People” in the
biblical idea of “love”. It is the
giving of oneself for others. It is through
God’s strength that we can have this ability to love others.
(2)
This false-believer
focuses on his or her needs before others’ needs.
ii)
“Lovers
of money” is a natural outflow of those who are “lovers of themselves”.
a)
In
order to satisfy their personal needs, they need money as a resource.
b)
Money
itself is not an evil. The love
of money is quoted by Paul as being the root of all evil. (See 1st Timothy 6:10)
c)
Remember
that we’re addressing “church-goer’s”.
An example would be those who refuse to give their income to the church
out of a love of money. This gets back
to my opening premise of “putting your money where your mouth is”.
iii)
“Boastful”
is the idea of loving to brag about oneself and one’s accomplishments.
a)
If
one has an idolatrous love of oneself, they want to brag about it.
b)
I
have a personal disdain for fundraisers where they glorify the big-check
givers. There are churches where
round-of-applauses are given for those who write the big checks. My response is “enjoy it, it is the only
reward you will get for that service.
(See Matthew 6:2)
iv)
“Proud”
is also translated arrogant. It is
another word for thinking more of oneself than of others.
v)
“Abusive” – can be either physically or verbally
abusive to others.
a)
If one desires to puts
themselves first, that person would get angry and abusive in a church setting
where others are trying to glorify God.
b)
I knew of a church elder
who was abusive to the pastor because she was a major donor to that
church. The good-news epilogue of that
story is the woman ended up leaving the church, all for the better of that
group.
vi)
“Disobedient
to their parents”. This is
self-explanatory.
a)
It
is a violation of one of the 10 commandments to “honor your parents”.
b)
I
talked a lot on this back in my lesson on 1st Timothy Chapter 5
where the church should not be burdened with taking care of widows who have
supportive children. I covered the
importance of believing adults taking the responsibility of supporting the
parents.
vii)
“Ungrateful” goes with a big ego. It is the idea one deserves something
and therefore should not be grateful for it.
viii)
“Unholy” – I should
begin by explaining what is “holy”
a)
The concept of holy is
to “separate” oneself for use to God.
b)
It
doesn’t mean every Christian has to quit their job and go into professional
ministry. It is the idea of whatever
we do, we do it for God.
(1)
Paul
said, “For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself
alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So,
whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
(Romans 14: 7-8, NIV).
c)
Anyway,
“unholy” is the opposite of that. J
(1)
It
is being in service for God and not for one’s own desires.
ix)
The good news is we made
it to verse 3. The bad news is this
list continues. J
7.
Verse
3: without
love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the
good,
a)
“Without love” –
Remember that this letter is written to believers.
i)
How do people know
we are believers?
a)
“If we love other
Christians, it proves that we have been delivered from hell and
given eternal life. But a person who doesn’t have love for others is headed for
eternal death.” (1st John
3:14, The Living Bible)
b)
“Unforgiving” – Part of
being a Christian is we must forgive others.
i)
Jesus said, “But if you
do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:15, NIV).
a)
By the way, I don’t
think that’s a salvation issue as much as a witness issue.
b)
Part of the reason for this
is for our own peace. Being unforgiving
blocks our relationship with God as we are focusing on the pain of being hurt.
c)
There are situations
where I have given that “hurt” to God and let Him deal with the
situation. I believe that is a big part
of the forgiveness.
c)
“Slanderous” – This is
about making false accusations. A
synonym is a “gossiper”.
i)
For what it is worth,
I’ve personally seen more damage done to church members by this act than any
other so far on the list. All it takes
is one good false rumor to due horrible damage to someone’s reputation.
d)
“Without self-control” -
Christianity does involve self-discipline.
i)
I’ve lectured on this
many times.
ii)
There is the danger as a
Christian of being dependant upon one’s self-discipline.
a)
There is also the danger
of not having any self-discipline whatsoever.
iii)
In context of the “false
believer”, since the priority is themselves, they follow whatever “whim” pops
in their head. I believe that is what
Paul meant here by a lack of self-discipline.
e)
“Brutal” – The Living
Bible says, “rough and cruel”, which I think is a good synonym.
i)
As Christians, we need
to be good “ambassadors” for Christ.
a)
That often means
handling difficult situations delicately.
(1)
Jesus said, “I am
sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and
as innocent as doves.”
(Matthew 10:16 NIV)
(2)
The idea is to be smart
(“shrewd as snakes”), but act cautiously and delicately (“innocent as
doves”).
(3)
The opposite is one who
acts brutally.
f)
“Not lovers of the good”
– An illustration of Jesus is appropriate here:
i)
I
believe Paul is focusing on the love of a material thing more than a love of
God.
ii)
Someone
once asked Jesus, "Good teacher," he asked, "What must I do to
inherit eternal life?" "Why do you call me good?" Jesus
answered. "No one is good--except God alone.”(Mark 10-17-18, NIV)
a)
Many
misinterpret this verse by saying Jesus is claiming He’s not God.
b)
The
true point of Jesus’ response is that He is testing the man who asked
the question to see if he was really willing to be Jesus’ disciple.
c)
By
Verse 21, you discover the man loved money more than God and was not
willing to give that up to be Jesus’ disciple.
d)
That
is the concept being taught here. The
idea of loving “things” more than loving God.
8.
Ok
folks, we made it to Verse 4. J
a)
If
you haven’t figured it out by now, the reason I’m going detail by detail is
that I want this lesson to be a self-examination report card (for me as well as
you!).
b)
Part
of our maturity as a Christian is a good healthy self-examination every know
& then.
c)
My
motivation is not so much to make us feel guilty as much as to improve our
relationship with God.
9.
Verse
4: treacherous,
rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God--5 having a
form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
a)
Treacherous - Other
translations say “treasonous” or betrayer of friends.
i)
This is similar to the
idea of a church-going rumor-spreader.
ii)
If one’s complete
loyalty isn’t to God, then this will likely to occur.
iii)
There is a psalm
reference where David was betrayed by a close friend:
a)
Even
my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread,
has lifted up his heel against me.
(Psalm 41:9 NIV)
iv)
The
point is simply that the “Non-Christian-churchgoer” is not trustable.
a)
If
they don’t have a healthy fear-of-God, they won’t hesitate to betray someone
else in the church.
b)
“Rash”
– I think of quick tempered. This is
pretty self-explanatory.
i)
One
of the common traits used to describe God-the-Father” in the Old Testament is
“slow-to-anger”. I counted 9 times
where it is used in the Bible to describe God.
ii)
If
“Godliness” is being like-God, then it should be an attribute for us to shoot
for.
c)
“Conceited”
– This is saying they have a big ego.
There is not much more to add to that.
d)
“Having a form of godliness but denying its power” –
Here is the Living Bible translation:
i)
“They will go to church,
yes, but they won't really believe anything they hear.”
a)
This verse is my support
that this whole section is about those who “think” they are Christians, but are
not.
e)
Paul
concludes this list by saying, “Have
nothing to do with them.”
i)
Remember that the main
topic of both letters to Timothy is his conduct as a church leader and how to
conduct church affairs. A lot of this
letter is warnings about what to avoid false teachers and false-believers.
ii)
This half a verse has
powerful implications: “Have nothing to do with them.”
a)
Does it mean we are not
to witness to everybody?
b)
Does it mean we are to
outcast these types of people?
(1)
The appropriate answer
depends on how obvious the problem is.
(2)
If a person just comes
every Sunday and is not involved, you can still preach & teach to them as
part of the audience.
(3)
But if this person is
causing division and harm in the church as indicated by these traits, then out
they go!
(4)
Getting on my soapbox, I
find many churches are too soft on this issue.
By wanting to “love and forgive everybody”, we turn a blind eye to
troublemakers in order to be a good witness to them.
(a)
One has to think of the
good of the greater church versus that one person.
10.
Verse
6: They are the kind who worm their way
into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with
sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires,
a)
Through most of history,
through most civilizations, women have stayed home to raise children while men
have worked.
b)
This verse implies that
these false-church goers take advantage of that act and seek to sway those
women who are weak in the faith.
i)
They seek after women
who have a lot of guilt of sin, but don’t understand that God is willing to
forgive them of all of their sins.
c)
I don’t think this verse
is talking about Mormon’s and Jehovah Witness’ who walk door to door during the
daytime. The Bible says a lot
about those types of false teachers, but I don’t believe that’s the context of
this verse.
i)
The subject here is
“fake-Christians-who-still-go-to-church”, not cult members.
ii)
Are you familiar with
the expression “misery loves company”?
a)
This describes the
action here. People who desire
attention and want to be love crave others to follow them and join them.
b)
Thus the desire to seek
others to join their actions.
11.
Verse
7: always learning but never able to
acknowledge the truth.
a)
If
you want to hear “wisdom” or advice contrary to the Bible, it is out there.
i)
You
find bookstores, TV shows and talk radio full of such advice.
b)
In
context of these false-believers, since their ego is not interested in serving
God, but in serving themselves, there is a “learning need” particularly about
things pleasing their ego.
12.
Verse
8: Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed
Moses, so also these men oppose the truth--men of depraved minds, who, as far
as the faith is concerned, are rejected.
a)
OK, first question, who
are these Jannes and Jambres characters?
i)
If you remember the
story of Moses facing the Pharaoh of Egypt, you will remember that the first
few plagues performed by God through Moses were “duplicated” by the Pharaoh’s
magicians. (See Exodus Chapters 7-8).
a)
I
found it interesting these magicians couldn’t stop the plagues performed by
Moses, only duplicated it. It supports
my theory that demonic power is used to “cause” damage, not “cure” damage.
b)
Because
they duplicated the plagues, the Pharaoh didn’t repent because he thought, “if
my guys could do this, it is just some sort of trick”.
ii)
It wasn’t until the 4th
plague, which was “lice-everywhere” where Pharaoh’s magicians made the
statement, “This is the finger of God”
(Exodus 8:19)
b)
The point is these guys acknowledged
who God was, but didn’t follow Him!
i)
Demons in hell are quite
aware who and what God is, but choose to disobey.
c)
Getting back to the
false-church attendees, Paul’s point is that they know what is the right
thing to do, but won’t do it.
That is the comparison to Pharaoh’s magicians.
d)
One trivial point before
we move on. When you read Exodus, the
names “Jannes and Jambres” are never mentioned. How did Paul know their names?
i)
“There
was a Jewish tradition that they were two of the Egyptian magicians who
withstood Moses and Aaron. They are thus mentioned in the Targum (a Jewish commentary on the Old Testament). It has been
suggested that the names mean "the rebel" and "the
opponent" (Lock, p. 107). Bible
Expositor’s Encyclopedia.
ii)
We as Christians believe that all Scripture is inspired by God.
a)
We will discuss that topic more in Verse 16.
b)
It does not mean all reference sources for Paul are inspired, just the
words of the Bible. Therefore, I don’t
believe the Jewish commentaries are inspired, but I’m sure they contain some
principals of God’s truth.
c)
Thus I accept by faith that these guys names are truly “Jannes and
Jambres” no matter how Paul knew that information.
13.
Verse
9: But they will not get very far
because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.
a)
Remember when I
discussed whether or not you should kick out people like this?
i)
This verse says that
sooner or later, what they do will be clear to everybody.
ii)
There comes a point
where this church-attender’s attitude is obvious and it is time to shun them
from the church.
b)
Jesus himself talked
about how a person’s personality will become obvious. In this illustration, he compares people to “trees”:
i)
“Each tree is recognized
by its own fruit. People do not pick
figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things
out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out
of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his
mouth speaks.
(Luke 6:44-45 NIV)
ii)
The point is that we
don’t have to be the “church-police” looking for these types. As Jesus taught in this illustration, they
will become obvious by their deeds.
14.
Verse
10: You, however, know all about my
teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance,
a)
I stated in the
beginning that this chapter could be divided into two paragraphs.
i)
The first focus on the
fake-believers.
ii)
The second focuses on
the qualities a true believer is to strive for.
iii)
We are now on the
second topic.
iv)
Paul is changing his
focus from the “negative” to the “positive”.
b)
A big part of being a
Christian is to “model”, and be like Christ.
i)
A true saying is, “you
are what you eat.” There is literalness
to that saying.
ii)
The same for what we
worship. If we spend lots of time
consumed with prayer, Bible study, hanging around other Christians, (i.e.,
“modeling” the Christian life) we will become like what we worship. Like “you are what you eat”, it will
happen. The same principal applies to
any false-god or passion one has.
a)
A large part of our
motivation as Christians to do these things is to be more “Christ-like”. What is our motivation?
(1)
I always liked this
illustration: Remember when you were a
teenager and “fell in love” with somebody?
You wanted to find out all you could about them. To learn all you could about them. To find any excuse to be with them. That should be Jesus and us!
iii)
A lot of people wonder,
“What is God like? Jesus answered that
question:
a)
Jesus said, “He who has
seen Me has seen the Father; (John 14:9b, NIV)
b)
“I and the Father are
one.” John 10:30, NIV
c)
The point is when people
ask, "What is God the father like"?
(1)
The answer is to study
the life of Jesus, and you will find out.
(2)
When we turn our lives
over to Christ, he becomes our “master”
as to how to live our lives.
(3)
Jesus said, “I tell you
the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater
than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed
if you do them. John 13:16-17, NIV)
c)
OK, John, this is all
well and good. What does it have to do
with 2nd Timothy?
i)
Let’s
read Verse 10: “You (Timothy), however,
know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith,
patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings
a)
“My
teaching, my way of life, my purpose, (my) faith, (my) love, “(my) endurance” all
stem from modeling your life after Jesus.
(1)
Remember
the whole “negative” list that covered half of this lesson? Paul ends all of that with, “Have nothing to
do with them.”
b)
Instead,
Paul is urging Timothy “to be like me, as I have tried to live my life for
Christ.
(1)
It
is a command to live one’s life for Jesus.
(2)
A
very popular expression today is, “What would Jesus do?”
(a)
Personally,
I’m “mixed” on that expression.
(b)
I
would rather say, “What would Jesus want me to do?”
(i)
That’s
a better question to ask in prayer.
c)
I
also can’t emphasize enough the importance of letting God work through
us to have the ability to teach, life this life, to have that purpose,
to have that faith, to have patience, to be above to give of
oneself (love) unconditionally and to have that endurance.
(1)
If
this is Paul’s model for us to live by, it makes a pretty good prayer. If God the Father wants us to be more like
Him, and He sent Jesus so that we may know what God expects of us, then
we pray for God to give us these abilities, we study God’s word to find out
specifically what God has called us to do, and we work with people in order to
help and strengthen & mature them as believers.
(a)
This
is what I get for studying Paul too much.
Now I’m writing in very long, rambling sentences like him. J
(b)
This
is what I meant earlier by we are to:
(i)
1)
Worship God; 2) love people; and 3) use things.
15.
Verse
11: persecutions,
sufferings--what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra,
the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in
Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
a)
Paul
finishes his sentence of all those positive aspects (teach, love, faith, etc.)
with the negative Christian aspects that all Christians will be persecuted.
i)
At
any Christian bookstore, you can find little books of “God’s promises”.
a)
They
forget to include this promise about all of us will be persecuted. J
b)
Most
of Paul’s life is taught to us in the Book of Acts.
i)
Most
of the Book of Acts covers the travels of Paul.
ii)
For
those who don’t know, Luke was Paul’s traveling companion on some of his
journeys and a good historian. He wrote
the Book of Acts.
a)
When
you read Acts, you will find the references to Paul’s experiences in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra. (See Acts Chapter 14 for some of the details). In each case Paul barely escaped with his
life. God rescued Paul to preach
another day as stated in Verse 12.
b)
Remember that Paul wrote
2nd Timothy from a jail cell, near the end of his life. There is the possibility that Paul was
having that same hope here.
iii)
The
late pastor and author Ray Steadman has a good summary of the Christian life
that applies here.
a)
A
good Christian is:
(1)
Completely
fearless;
(2)
Continually
cheerful, and
(3)
Constantly
in trouble.
b)
I
think that describes the Christian life very well. He trusts in God and has the boldness to go forth into whatever
God calls him or her to do; that person has a good attitude (continually
cheerful) and suffers persecution (constantly in trouble).
iv)
Let’s
face it, there are dark spiritual forces who don’t want you in the
ministry, who don’t want you being a good witness for Christ on the job or at
home, or don’t want you praying for other Christians.
v)
Every
now and then when I do suffer hardships, it is sort of good reminder to me that
all of this is very real. It is
easy to have doubts about your faith because God is not visible to the naked
eye.
a)
Some
of the best reminders of the reality of God is the persecution one gets in
doing anything for God.
b)
To
remind you again of one of my favorite sayings, “If you don’t think Satan is
real, try opposing him for awhile.”
c)
Does
this mean every tragedy and hardship is Satan inspired? I doubt that.
i)
How
does one tell the hardships that come from being a Christian from one that just
comes from “life”? The answer is, “what
difference does it make?
a)
Either
way, the hardships are real.
b)
Either
way, it should drive us on our knees back to God.
c)
Either
way, God promises us comfort and strength during these trials.
d)
Keeping
the perspective that we are going to live and reign forever gives us
peace during the difficult times of life.
(1)
That
is how we can have a good attitude during these times.
(2)
That
is how we are a witness to the world.
(3)
People
do watch you, especially when things are going rough, because everybody
goes through some rough times.
(4)
If
you can be “constantly cheerful” during one’s life as a Christian
(5)
It
doesn’t mean you can’t grieve, it just means you have a good eternal
perspective during those times and it shows forth to others.
(6)
That
makes one is an outstanding witness for Christ.
16.
Verse
13: while evil men and impostors will go
from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
a)
If one turns away from
God, one grows worse and worse in their behavior.
i)
Study and observe people
who have turned their back on God their whole lives.
ii)
I always recommend
spending some time with seniors. Look
at the difference between those who have followed Jesus all their lives versus
those who haven’t. For those who
haven’t, you usually see bitterness and anger in their life.
iii)
Most people turn their
lives over to Christ at a young age.
a)
This verse supports that
fact. As people waste their lives on
their own interest and own desires versus serving God, they go from “bad to
worse”. Statistically, the older one
gets, the less likely it is for them to turn to God.
b)
There are older people
who I pray for that God opens their heart.
I know the odds are against it, but I care for them and love them and
want them to change. One has to
remember that God is in “the miracle business”. J
(1)
“Who then can be saved?”
But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with
God; for with God all things are possible.”
(Mark 10:26b-27, NKJV).
b)
Paul
categorizes this group as “evil men and imposters”. Who are the “imposters”?
i)
I
believe it is those people Paul focuses on in the first half of this chapter.
a)
It
is those who “claim” to be Christians, but don’t follow through.
b)
Notice
it says, “deceiving and being deceived”.
(1)
It argues that those who
attempt to be deceived will be deceived themselves.
17.
Verse
14: But as for you, continue in what you
have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you
learned it,
a)
If you continue to grow
in Christ, you will become a mature believer.
A parent gives a child more and more freedom as they grow, because they want
that child to grow up and eventually make decisions on their own based
on what the parents taught them.
i)
God is no
different. I have found that most
“baby-Christians” get more “miraculous guidance” than more mature
Christians. God takes a more
“hands-off” approach to mature Christians.
By this, God lets us grow in our faith.
a)
It doesn’t mean mature
Christians should for example, “read the Bible less because we know this stuff”
as much as it means there are periods in a mature believer’s life where God
puts you through more trials, or you don’t sense His presence, or some other
negative attribute.
(1)
It is the idea that God
is trying to mature us by saying, “Walk on your own, I’m still there
with you, just continue to trust me.”
b)
Notice the “charge” of
Paul in Verse 14: “continue” in what
you have learned”
i)
This is a statement of
encouragement to press on in one’s faith, despite the difficulties and
hardships.
a)
Personally,
I have found that sin never dies of old age.
J
b)
Despite
years of learning, years of praying and lots of time with God, a lot of bad
habits are still there or are still just a temptation away.
c)
The
command to press on is that reminder that the sinful life is still there, the
persecutions are still real, but what choice do we have?
(1)
It
is still far better to press on than to turn to anything else the world has to
offer.
(2)
God
is always faithful, even when we are not. (See Psalm 33:4)
(3)
God
is always ready to forgive (See 1st John 1:9)
(4)
The
charge to press on is because there’s a tremendous life that God desires for us
that is far greater than anything life on earth offers.
18.
Verse
15: and how from infancy you have known
the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through
faith in Christ Jesus.
a)
Back in Chapter 1 of 2nd
Timothy we talked about this verse.
i)
Timothy was raised in a
Christian household by his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice.
ii)
They raised him
on the Scriptures.
iii)
I’m sure they taught him
by example and illustration as well as memorization.
iv)
Lois and Eunice are
great examples for all of us (men & women!) raising children
b)
I want to comment here
on the usually false accusation that Evangelical Christians are accused of
worshipping the Bible.
i)
While it is true we
reverend the book as being the Word of God, we treat it as a book of
instruction as opposed to the source of our affection.
ii)
The purpose of
the Bible is summarized in Verse 15:
“make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”
a)
That is why we study the Bible. To learn how to apply it to our life.
19.
Verse 16: All Scripture
is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training
in righteousness,
a)
Verse 16 and 17 are
special to most pastors and Bible teachers.
b)
First of all, it says all
Scripture. “All means all and that is
all “all” means”.
i)
That does not mean the
Bible contains God inspired writing.
ii)
It means all of
the Bible is God-inspired.
iii)
I take the view that the
words of the Bible “in their original autographs” is God breathed, God
ordained, and just plain the Words-of-God.
a)
I take the view that
most people knew it was the Word of God pretty fast after it was
written.
(1)
The next generation of
pastors after Paul & Timothy distinguished their letters from “Scriptures”
in their writings.
b)
I believe the copies we
have today are 99%+ accurate of the original.
The only possible (I emphasize that word!) errors are the most
minor or most trivial of things that have no affect whatsoever
on any of the issues found in most versions of the Apostles’ Creed or doctrines
of faith taught at conservative evangelical schools and churches.
c)
Look
at the first phrase of Verse 16: “All Scripture is God-breathed”.
i)
The Hebrew word for
“breath” and “spirit” are the same word.
a)
It refers to being
inspired by the Holy Spirit.
ii)
I believe it is
essentially to read your Bible prayfully.
a)
Let the Holy Spirit
guide you as to its meaning:
b)
Jesus said, “But the
Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach
you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to
you. (John 14:26, NIV)
c)
Notice the word
“all”. That means the Holy Spirit can
teach you all things of the Word.
It is a great promise to apply:
d)
Next time you come to a
verse you don’t get, pray “Lord, you promised the Holy Spirit will teach all
things. Well, I don’t understand this
part right here, so I’m claiming that promise.
Help me with this verse, Amen.”
e)
Then watch God work in your life, to help you understand
that verse!
d)
The
next phrase of Verse 16 says, “useful for
teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”
i)
I rarely go a day in my
Bible reading where one of those things doesn’t happen.
ii)
My fault is my
short-term memory of what God has taught me that day! J
iii)
Which is why it
is encourages spending time reading it daily.
iv)
Of all the habits I have
developed as a Christian, I can’t tell you of the one I enjoy more than my
daily Bible reading. When I skip it, it
is like skipping a meal, I will survive, but I feel weak for a time
v)
“For the word of God is
living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to
dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and
attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews,
4:12, NIV).
20.
Verse
17: so that the man of God may be
thoroughly equipped for every good work.
a)
Why study your Bible?
Verses 16 & 17 are your answer.
i)
Not only is it personally
good as described in the concepts of Verse 16 which again, are “teaching,
rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness”
ii)
But it is also good for
the external work as Christian as described in Verse 17.
a)
Verse 16 describes how
God’s word benefits you personally.
b)
Verse 17 describes how
God’s word benefits your relationship with others.
b)
Verse 17 says studying
God’s word makes you equipped for every good work.
i)
I have yet to find an
exception to the “every” part. J
ii)
This applies to work, to
family relationships, to my prayer life, etc.
iii)
I
said a few pages back (in so many words) that “you become what you eat and you
become what you worship”. If you use
the Bible as a model for your life you can’t help but have it influence
every part of your life.
a)
That
is why it is such an essential part of the Christian life.
b)
It
is our instruction guide.
c)
Prayer
is our source of strength. The
Word is our instruction guide.
21. On that note, we’ll wrap it up for this week. Let’s pray: Father, you have given us models for what you desire for us to become as well as for what you desire us to avoid. Help us to study both models, as we desire to become more like you in our daily lives. Lord, we who are yours all have tremendous power to do your will. Through your grace you have given us this power to boldly go out and be your witness. We draw upon that power for your glory. Show us this day what you desire for us, so that we, your ambassadors, may go forth and be your shining witness so that you may receive all the glory. For we ask this in Jesus name, Amen.
Bonus Material – Below is the class handouts. It is a “summary” version of this lesson.
Notes for 2nd Timothy – Chapter 3 (Page 1 of 6)
Introduction: The Difference between the “True” Christian
and the “False” Christian
i.
There
are multitudes of people who claim to be a Christian.
ii.
The
difference is between the “true and false” believer is you don’t see any change
in the behavior of those who claim they are Christians.
i.
Personally,
I preferred the one that said,
“Real men tithe their income for Jesus, because any idiot can honk!”
i.
Paul
said, “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12b, NIV)
i.
“For
the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be
changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and
the mortal with immortality.” (1st
Corinthians 15:52b-53, NIV).
i.
The
mistake is when we worship people or worship things.
2nd Timothy,
Chapter 3, Verse 1: “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.”
i.
In
the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in
various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son,
(Hebrews 1:1-2a, NIV)
Notes for 2nd Timothy -
Chapter 3 (Page 2 of 6)
Verses 2-6: “People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud,
abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,” 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without
self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure
rather than lovers of God-5 having a form of
godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
i.
This
is a reference to those who “think” they are Christians
(or simply those who claim they believe in God, but don’t act like it.).
|
1.
Lovers of themselves |
|
|
2.
Lovers of money |
|
|
3.
Boastful |
|
|
4.
Proud |
|
|
5.
Abusive |
|
|
6.
Disobedient to Parents |
|
|
7.
Ungrateful |
|
|
8.
Unholy |
|
|
9.
Without love (Verse 3) |
|
|
10.
Unforgiving |
Being unforgiving blocks
our relationship with God as we are focusing on the pain of being hurt and
not focusing on God. |
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11.
Slanderous |
|
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12.
Without self-control |
Notes for 2nd Timothy - Chapter
3 (Page 3 of 6)
Verses 2-6:
“Character Traits of a False-Believer”
(cont.)
|
13.
Brutal |
|
|
14.
Not lovers of the good |
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15.
Treacherous (Verse 5) |
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16.
Rash |
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17.
Conceited |
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Verse 5(cont): Paul’s summary of what to do
with these people: “Have nothing to do
with them.”
Verse 6: “They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over
weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of
evil desires,”
Verse 7: “always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.”
Notes for 2nd Timothy -
Chapter 3 (Page 4 of 6)
Verse 8: “Just as Jannes and Jambres
opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth--men of depraved minds, who,
as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.”
1.
OK,
first question, who are these Jannes and Jambres characters?
a.
If you remember the story of Moses facing the Pharaoh of
Egypt, you will remember that the first few plagues performed by God through
Moses were “duplicated” by the Pharaoh’s magicians. (See Exodus Chapters 7-8).
b.
These
magicians could not stop the plagues performed by Moses, only duplicate
them.
It supports my theory that demonic power is used to cause damage, not cure
damage.
c.
Because
they duplicated the plagues, the Pharaoh didn’t repent because he thought,
“If my guys could do this, it is just some sort of trick”.
d.
It
wasn’t until the 4th plague, (“lice”) where Pharaoh’s magicians made the
statement, “This is the finger of God”
(Exodus 8:19)
e.
The point is these
magicians acknowledged who God was, but didn’t follow Him!
f.
Demons in hell are quite
aware who God is, but willfully choose to disobey.
2.
Getting back to the
false-church attendees, Paul’s point is that they know what is the right
thing to do, but won’t do it.
That is the comparison to Pharaoh’s magicians.
3.
In Exodus, the names
“Jannes & Jambres” are not mentioned.
How did Paul know their names?
a.
We don’t know. I believe God simply gave Paul direct
insight into some historical facts.
b.
Thus I accept by faith that these guys names are truly “Jannes and
Jambres” no matter how Paul knew that information.
Verse 9: “But they will not
get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to
everyone.”
a.
“Each tree is recognized by its own
fruit. People do not pick figs from
thorn bushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the
good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the
evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth
speaks.” (Luke 6:44-45 NIV)
Verse 10: “You, however, know all about
my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance,”
a.
Paul said, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate
Christ.” (1st Corinthians
11:1, NKJV)
b.
Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.”
(John 14:9b, NIV)
c.
Jesus also said, “I and
the Father are one.” John 10:30, NIV
Notes for 2nd Timothy - Chapter 3 (Page 5 of 6)
Verses
11-12: “persecutions, sufferings--what kinds of
things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I
endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in
Christ Jesus will be persecuted,”
1.
When
you read Acts, you will find the references to Paul’s experiences in Antioch, Iconium
and Lystra. (See Acts Chapter 14 for
some of the details)
a.
In each case Paul barely
escaped with his life.
b.
God rescued Paul to
preach another day as stated in Verse 12.
c.
Remember that Paul wrote
2nd Timothy from a jail cell, near the end of his life.
There is the possibility that Paul was having that same hope here.
d.
We don’t know God’s
plans for our lives. Especially when
things seem hopeless is when God can do his best work!
2.
The
late pastor/author Ray Steadman wrote a good summary of the Christian life that
is similar to what Paul taught here.
Ray Steadman says a good Christian is:
(1)
Completely
fearless;
(2)
Continually
cheerful, and
(3)
Constantly
in trouble.
a.
A
Christian trusts in God and has the boldness to go forth into whatever God
calls him or her to do (completely fearless); that person has a good attitude (continually
cheerful) and suffers persecution (constantly in trouble).
3.
Paul
finishes his sentence of all those positive aspects (teach, love, faith, etc.
in Verse10) with the dangers and warnings that all Christians will be
persecuted.
a.
Some
of the best reminders of the reality of God are the persecution one receives in
doing anything for God.
b.
I
like the expression: “If you don’t
think Satan is real, try opposing him for awhile.”
4.
Does
this mean every tragedy and hardship is Satan inspired? I doubt that.
a.
No
matter the source of our hardships, they should drive us on our knees back to
God.
b.
God
promised “He would never leave us nor forsake us” (Hebrews 13:5b)
Verse
13: “while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and
being deceived.”
1.
If one turns away from
God, one grows worse and worse in their behavior.
2.
I always recommend
spending some time with seniors. Look
at the difference between those who have followed Jesus all their lives versus
those who haven’t. You can usually see
bitterness and anger in the lives of those who don’t.
3.
Most people turn their
lives over to Christ at a young age.
a.
As
people waste their lives on their own interest and own desires versus serving
God, they go from “bad to worse”.
b.
Statistically, the older
one gets, the less likely it is for them to turn to God.
c.
There are older people
who I pray for that God opens their heart.
d.
“Who then can be saved?”
But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with
God; for with God all things are possible.” (Mark 10:26b-27, NKJV).
4.
Notice
it says, “deceiving and being deceived”.
a.
It argues that those who
attempt to be deceived will be deceived themselves.
b.
Paul
is saying in effect, “These deceivers will get a taste of their own medicine”.
c.
There
is a Proverb that teaches the same idea:
1.
“If a man digs a pit, he
will fall into it;
if a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.” (Proverbs 26:27, NIV)
2.
I believe that Proverb
is the basis of the “Roadrunner/Wile E. Coyote” cartoons. J
Notes for 2nd Timothy -
Chapter 3 (Page 6 of 6)
Verse
14: “But as for
you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because
you know those from whom you learned it, “
1.
This
verse is about encouragement. Paul is
saying in effect, “keep focusing on your Christian faith and ideals”.
2.
Remember
that Timothy is facing a very-real Roman army.
At this time it was a death sentence to practice Christianity. Paul is encouraging Timothy to press on
during this time era.
3.
Notice the “charge” of
Paul in Verse 14: “continue” in what
you have learned”
a.
Personally,
I have found that sin never dies of old age.
J
b.
The
charge to press on is because there’s a tremendous life that God desires for us
that is far greater than anything life on earth has to offer.
Verse
15: “and how from
infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for
salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”
a.
Lois and Eunice are
great examples for all of us (men & women!) raising children
Verses
16: “All
Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and
training in righteousness,”
i.
Notice the word
“all”. That means the Holy Spirit can
teach you all things of the Word.
It is a great promise to apply to your daily bible reading.
i.
“Sin will keep you from
this book, and this book will keep you from sin.”
Verse
17: “so that the man of
God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Prayer
is our source of strength. The
Word is our instruction guide.