2Timothy 3:1 ¶ This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. 9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.
Whereas Paul gives a summary of mankind’s
religious history in Romans, chapter 1…
Romans 1:16 ¶
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God
unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the
Greek. 17 For therein is the
righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just
shall live by faith. 18 For the wrath of
God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,
who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19
¶ Because that which may be known of God
is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the
creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are
made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God,
they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their
imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became
fools, 23 And changed the glory of the
uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and
fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24
Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of
their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and
worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for
ever. Amen. 26 For this cause God gave
them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use
into that which is against nature: 27
And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned
in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly,
and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
28 And even as they did not like to
retain God in their knowledge, God
gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do
those things which are not convenient; 29
Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness,
covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity;
whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of
God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to
parents, 31 Without understanding,
covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who knowing the
judgment of God, that they which commit such
things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them
that do them.
… he here outlines what will happen to the
Christian church in the last days. Is this the falling away spoken of in
2Thessalonians 2:3?
2Thessalonians 2:3 ¶ Let no man deceive you by any means: for that
day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin
be revealed, the son of perdition;
See my comments on Romans, chapter 1, to see
many of these issues underscored.
He warns Timothy about people who have a form
of godliness but deny the foundation on which it is based, the deity of Christ
and the truth of the Bible I would say and the simplicity of the Gospel of
Christ. They deceive the naïve.
Romans 16:18
For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own
belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
Paul has warned the Corinthian church about
this.
2Corinthians 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly
jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a
chaste virgin to Christ. 3 But I fear,
lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your
minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 4 For if he that cometh preacheth another
Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye
have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well
bear with him.
Today, people are constantly seeking, reading
and studying Dead Sea Scrolls’, Oxyrhyncus papyri from a garbage dump, and
manuscripts being burnt as trash in St. Catherine’s Monastery on Mount Sinai,
and gospels like Q, Cain’s, Peter’s, and Thomas’ along with “ancient” books
like the Book of Enoch, Jasher, and Jubilees, and other Apocrypha. They are
always asking when you read a text from the Bible, “yeah, but what about…?”
They never come to the truth or even a conclusion. They are simply looking for
excuses and credibility as some kind of “dime store” scholar.
Verse 8 mentions two of the Egyptian priests
who opposed Moses in Exodus 7:10-12 that are not mentioned by name elsewhere so
clearly this comes from tradition. Paul is confident that fakers and hypocrites
will be exposed at the end. Remember Christ’s parable of the tares, the phony
wheat.
Matthew 13:24 ¶ Another parable put he forth unto them,
saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in
his field: 25 But while men slept, his
enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. 26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought
forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. 27
So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst
not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? 28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this.
The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye
gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and
in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the
tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn…36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went
into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable
of the tares of the field. 37 He
answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
38 The field is the world; the good seed
are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are
the children of the wicked one; 39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the
harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. 40 As therefore the tares are gathered and
burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. 41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels,
and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which
do iniquity; 42 And shall cast them into
a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the
sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
2Timothy 3:10 ¶ 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. 12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Paul asserts that Timothy, his protégé, is
fully aware of what Paul is espousing, his doctrine that he received from Jesus
Christ and the faithful Christians who mentored him. Timothy knows what Paul
has suffered for the Gospel of Christ. We’ve talked about them before in the
comments on the letters to Timothy.
2Corinthians 11:24 Of the
Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. 25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I
stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;
26 In journeyings often, in perils of
waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by
the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in
the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27
In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst,
in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 28
Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily,
the care of all the churches.
If you read the Acts of the Apostles, which
we just call Acts, you can see how God used Paul to get the Christian movement
going and what he faced in those cities he mentions and elsewhere. Read Acts,
chapter 14, paying particular attention to these verses.
Acts 14:19 ¶ And there came
thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and,
having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.
20 Howbeit, as the disciples stood round
about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed
with Barnabas to Derbe.
Paul then makes a statement that affects us
greatly as we look around the world. All who live godly in Christ will suffer persecution.
If you do God’s will and witness for the Gospel to other people you will be
vilified, marginalized, mocked, and denied your rights in certain cases. But in
other parts of the world today; in Vietnam, in Muslim countries, in communist
China, you can lose your freedom and your life. This is not about being told to
take down a scripture verse from your office cubicle because you wanted to
confront the homosexual in the office carrel next to you. This is serious
stuff, regarding your responsibility to do what the early Christians did so
selflessly as reported in Acts, to witness for our Lord.
Acts5:29
Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God
rather than men.
Timothy is told to continue in what he has
been taught and has known from his childhood, having been taught by his mother
and grandmother as noted earlier.
2Timothy 1:5
When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which
dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded
that in thee also.
Then Paul makes an important statement
regarding all scripture. He is referring to the Bible, which in typology,
is almost like saying we have Christ in print form that we can handle. Of
course, all types fall apart at some point in our argument but it is something
to consider.
God sanctifies His people through His word.
John 17:17
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
God’s word seems to have a knowledge of what
is inside each of us.
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any
twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and
of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the
heart.
It can keep us from sin.
Psalm 119:11
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
God has preserved it for us by the Holy
Spirit through the His church throughout the ages, refining, and pruning as we
would a garden.
Psalm 12:6 The words of the LORD are pure words: as
silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. 7 Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt
preserve them from this generation for ever.
He has placed His word above even His name,
under which every knee will bow.
Isaiah 45:23
I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in
righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every
tongue shall swear.
Romans 14:11
For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to
me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
Philippians 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
Psalm 138:2
I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy
lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy
name.
And God’s word will have its desired effect
through His timing.
Isaiah 55:11
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not
return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall
prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
There is so much more to be said about the
scripture. In conclusion, it will equip us with all we need spiritually.
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