Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. (8) Using the boldness God gives, don't be ashamed of the imprisoned apostle. I think we've gone just about as far as we can. Here the apostle, to confirm Timothy in that way wherein he walked. At any rate the apostle presses this very strongly on Timothy. If he does not hide the sorrowful view of an old fellow-labourer's cooling in zeal, with all its dangers, the consolation is also before Timothy both of those that go on in faithful labour, and of one at least restored. Others must do that kind of work in future. Article Images Copyright 2023 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. He read them and never rested until he obtained the rest of the Bible. Thus he comforts Timothy at the same time that he admonishes him. Possibly he did appoint them; but there is no scriptural proof of it. Get out your pen and take out the red, put the blue one. He was to communicate the things he had learnt of Paul, that they might be able to teach others also. This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come ( 2 Timothy 3:1 ). And leaving guilelessness, will draw near to malice; And forsaking the commandments of the Lord. See also 1 Timothy 4:7; 1 Timothy 6:11, and on godliness, 1 Timothy 2:2. "It denotes living in the right attitude to God and to things divine. He speaks of "all God-inspired scripture." It is in terms of these last days that Paul is thinking in this passage. But continue thou in the things which you have learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through the faith which is in Christ Jesus ( 2 Timothy 3:14-15 ). This of itself indicates that the epistle provides for a time when it is no longer simply a question of recognising persons coming out of the world. Oh I know it costs more but . You're a stranger. The words that finally decided me were those in John 18:37: 'For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. So the Greek word that is used here to describe these that are going around, leading captive the silly women, is the same Greek word that was used to describe quackery, and that's probably they're quacks, Paul is saying. In other words, it's not going to get better for awhile. Questions are before him more serious than a maintenance of order. Observe, The scriptures will make us wise to salvation, if they be mixed with faith, and not otherwise, Hebrews 4:2. For him the light of eternity already shone strongly on present things, instead of taking him completely out of them. He had fought the good fight of faith. It imagines "the faith" as something to be guarded (see 2 Timothy 1:14), lest it become corrupted or . Edited by David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Merida, this new commentary series, projected to be 48 volumes, takes a Christ-centered approach to expositing each book of the Bible. His own desire after going to the Lord did not prevent this, but the reverse: "that I may be filled with joy: 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." It is the ability to accept the folly, the perversity, the blindness, the ingratitude of men and still to remain gracious, and still to toil on. That persecution which will properly furnish any evidence that we are the friends of Christ, must be only that which is for righteousness sake Matthew 5:10, and must be brought upon us in an honest effort to obey the commands of God. Paul said, you know, what kind of a life I've lived. THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL At this particular time in the ordinary matters of politics one of the curses of Rome was the existence of informers (delatores, compare G1213) . Instead of hiding either from Timothy, he points all out to him. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Paul concludes this section with an appeal to Timothy to remain loyal to all the teaching he had received. They will be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. There is instinctively, I think, within persons that love of a parent for a child or an adult for the child because we realize the helplessness of a child, the dependency that they have. He must study the Scriptures to make himself useful to God and to his fellow-men. We must remember that they were Gnostics and that the basic principle of Gnosticism was that spirit was altogether good and matter altogether evil. God wants you to be complete. When God came on the scene and entered the conversation with his friends? of Copyright Statement These files are public domain. In his own neighbourhood he had seen Paul suffer because of his devotion to Christ (10-12; cf. What is a man well taught in the truth for, if not to communicate his knowledge to others that are faithful, but not equally instructed in the word of God? Socrates skid that they were to be found in every walk of life but were worst of all in politics. But yet it is absolutely unavoidable that all of them shall have the world for their enemy in some form or other, that their faith may be tried and their steadfastness proved; for Satan, who is the continual enemy of Christ, will never suffer any one to be at peace during his whole life; and there will always be wicked men that are thorns in our sides. Here we have him recurring to that which was entirely outside nature, and before its very platform existed. It is interesting that the Scriptures in many places speak of the last days and in every case where the Scriptures speak of the last days, you find that it is an apt description of the day and the age in which we live. We've just experienced a tremendous demonstration of that in the Los Angeles basin in the last couple of weeks. Look what they did to Jesus, and Jesus said, "If they persecuted me, they're going to persecute you" ( John 15:20 ). And may not their freedom from it prove that they have surrendered the principles of their religion, where they should have stood firm, though the world were arrayed against them? 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. And the comfort is that, if prepared to cleave to the will of the Lord alone, we shall have, through His grace, fellowship with the true-hearted. When we are tempted to do so, we should hear again the voice of our blessed Lord saying on the Cross: "Father, forgive them.". There is only one test for falsity--"You will know them by their fruits." But they will not get much further, for their folly will be as clear to all as that of those ancient impostors. "She then makes the effort to reward Marcus, not only by the gift of her possessions (in which way he has collected a very large fortune), but also by yielding up to him her person, desiring in every way to be united to him, that she may become altogether one with him." YEA, AND - an additional consideration. Or it can mean that a man is so dishonourable that he breaks the terms of the agreement he has made. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God. One day they said to Jesus, Show us a sign. And then Jesus will come and establish God's righteous kingdom, but by then, those that will remain will be saying, Oh, God help us. The Jews divided all time into this present age and the age to come. It's twelve thousand miles a second, but that's pretty fast, too. All rights reserved. Afterwards he also speaks of his own work and of that which he was suffering. How gracious of the Lord to point out the path for the saint, separate from that which grieves the Lord, yet enjoying all that He sees good for us of the privileges of Christianity! In 2 Timothy 3:9, he says that that apostasy would not always continue; but would be at some time arrested, and so arrested as to show to all men the . They choose to lay, again and again, the early foundations of their Christian faith i.e. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. Lear's words remain true: "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is. Christ's apostles had no enemies but those who did not know them, or not know them fully; those who knew them best loved and honoured them the most. A man may embrace some absurd opinion, and call it religion; he may adopt some mode of dress irresistibly ludicrous, from the mere love of singularity, and may call it conscience; or he may be boorish in his manners, and uncivil in his deportment, outraging all the laws of social life, and may call this deadness to the world; and for these, and similar things, he may be contemned, ridiculed, and despised. And yet, it is becoming in this hedonistic society commonplace, all too commonplace, tragically commonplace. It is used in Matthew 8:28 to describe the two Gergesene demoniacs who met Jesus among the tombs. One of my most unfavorite promises in the Bible. Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. He went home and found the fire was out. "Follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. The qualities he lists are not qualifications in the sense that anyone who fulfils these requirements is an elder (for such a person may not have the elder-shepherd qualities outlined above). The apostle mentions the Lord's delivering him out of them all, for Timothy's and our encouragement under sufferings. 2 Timothy 3:12, NASB: Indeed, all who want to live in a godly way in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. As teachers we should sometimes ask ourselves: what am I trying to do with these people whom I teach? After considering his own life, Paul speaks of others desiring to live godly lives as he has done, a life of piety toward God that will always be opposed by the world. 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 repentance from dead works and of faith toward God. The alazon ( G213) was a mountebank who wandered the country with medicines and spells and methods of exorcism which, he claimed, were panaceas for all diseases. live godly in Christ(Ga 2:20; Php 1:21). "All scripture is given by inspiration of God.". From , before, and , to deliver up.Those who deliver up to an enemy the person who has put his life in their hands; such as the Scots of 1648, who delivered up into the hands of his enemies their unfortunate countryman and king, Charles the First; a stain which no lapse of ages can wipe out. Noah escaped? If anyone proposes to accept a set of standards quite different from the world's, he is bound to encounter trouble. Far more harm is done from want of thought than almost anything else. 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. And come up a hundred days later and be deposited at a port. Description of His Past Curriculum 2 Timothy 3:10-12. And as we go down the list, it's like reading the afternoon newspaper. Look at the rapid deterioration of our society. Vincente Quiroga of Chile found a few pages of a book washed up on the seashore by a tidal wave following an earthquake. 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. Do you have a hard time accepting that man can build a great fish that can swallow men and keep them under water for several days and deposit them later at a port?Hey, hey, wait a minute then. It denotes a savagery which has neither sensitiveness nor sympathy. Now, there's nothing wrong with enjoying life. We find a precisely similar kind of combination in Paul. They're profitable. 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? And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully." In these terrible days men would be braggarts and arrogant. Commentary on 2 Timothy 3:14-17. To the Greek it was anosios ( G462) to refuse burial to the dead; it was anosios ( G462) for a brother to marry a sister, or a son a mother. As far as appointment went, Titus had a commission to establish elders in each city of Crete; but not so Timothy, as far as the inspired records speak. ", The Lord said it's "what comes out of the mouth of a man, that defiles a man" ( Matthew 15:11 ). 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, Man can do it but not God. There is teaching. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1977. [3.] They will refuse to recognize the debt they owe both to God and to men. Such is the perversity of sin. Look at the magazines that were once really under the counter kind of stuff and sold illegally. He must take care of the manner in which he strives. Many and many a time we would be saved from hurting ourselves and from wounding other people, if we would only stop to think. 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. (4) let those who have never been persecuted in any way, inquire whether it is not an evidence that they have no religion. "Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. Now I'm not about to say God was wrong. "Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works: of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words.". But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. 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. And as we pointed out, the danger always of saying some scriptures, not all scriptures, is the loss of authority. They're profitable for doctrine. When the Lord was entering on His ministry He says, "Woman, what have I to do with thee?" by George Whitefield. And so Paul is warning Timothy of certain things that will be transpiring in the last days. There were false teachers who were quick to take advantage of that. And he embraced Christianity, but he was probably standing there in Lystra when the people in the city stoned Paul until they thought he was dead and dragged him out of the city. turned unto fables. 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. Here is the essential conclusion. SEDUCTION IN THE NAME OF RELIGION ( 2 Timothy 3:6-7 ). One must try disorders and prove profession. Observe, (1.) Negative and positive illustrations 3:8-13. Lipscomb's Commentary on Selected NT Books, Verse 12. Originally the alazon ( G213) was a wandering quack. 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, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. "And in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.". His mind was caught; he took it back. A whole collection of stories gathered round their names. 3. 2 Timothy 3 He preached in the same church as C. H. Spurgeon over one hundred years earlier. That is where you become thoroughly equipped to do the work that God has designed and ordained for you. He must maintain this confidence, knowing that the Scriptures are divinely given and that they are Gods means of instructing people in right belief and right living. 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. In Jesus' name I pray, AMEN. 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. A. M. Chirgwin has story after story of how the Scriptures came by chance into the hands of men and changed their lives. It instructs us in that which is true, reproves us for that which is amiss, directs us in that which is good. Those who would acquaint themselves with the things of God, and be assured of them, must know the holy scriptures, for these are the summary of divine revelation. "I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. In the Old Testament they are not named, but they are referred to in Exodus 7:11; Exodus 8:7; Exodus 9:11. Accordingly the apostle reminds Timothy of this. 2. Accordingly, although they are not exposed to the same assaults, and do not engage in the same battles, yet they have a warfare in common, and shall never be wholly at peace and exempt from persecutions. 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. B. Note, It is not enough to learn that which is good, but we must continue in it, and persevere in it unto the end. 2 Timothy 3 Commentary; 2 Timothy 4 Commentary; HENRY ALFORD 2 TIMOTHY COMMENTARY The Greek Testament. And a servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle toward all, apt to teach, forbearing, in meekness correcting those that oppose, if perhaps God may give them repentance for acknowledgment of the truth, and they may for his will wake up out of the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him." Whatever therefore may be right in certain cases, the assembly of God ought never to be forced to put every case on the same dead level ought never to be bound by any special process, as if it were unalterable. So if you want God to use your life, then thoroughly equip yourself in the Word of God, the study, the understanding.That's why we're here tonight. 2 Timothy 3:12 "Many are the afflictions of the righteous," the psalmist writes (Psalm 34:19).Peter supplies a partial answer to this in I Peter 4:12: "Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you, as does Paul's statement in II Timothy 3:12: "Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer . Word Pictures in the New Testament. The moment a man makes his own will the centre of life, divine and human relationships are destroyed, obedience to God and charity to men both become impossible. The age of children is the age to learn; and those who would get true learning, must get it out of the Scriptures. "The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day." It can mean that a man is so bitter in his hatred that he will never come to terms with the man with whom he has quarrelled. 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. Persons sometimes say it does not matter who taught; but God does not treat the matter so lightly. 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. 12And all who wish to live a godly life (186) Having mentioned his own persecutions, he likewise adds now, that nothing has happened to him which does not await all the godly. That persecution which will properly furnish any evidence that we are the friends of Christ, must be only that which is "for righteousness sake" Matthew 5:10, and must be brought upon us in an honest effort to obey the commands of God. I refer to this just to remark that such links as these, which are connected with nature, all come before the apostle's mind, at the very moment when a spurious feeling would have judged it precisely the time to banish and forget them. We live in a fallen world, and there are many challenges that face the believer who has not only trusted Christ for salvation, but is also ready and willing to deny self, take up his cross, follow Christs example, and say without compromise Thy will, not mine, be done.The newbornbaby Christian has to grow in grace and mature in the faith over an unspecified periodof time, to reach this level of maturity in his faith, while other who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ may slip in and out of carnality and worldliness for many years, stunting their growth and even regressing in their faith back to spiritual infancy.Many, if not all believers, are called to become mature in the faith by walking in spirit and truth and living godly, Christ-centred lives, but few are willing to exchange the cosy blessings of early Christian infancy, for the difficulties that inevitably follow the mature believer. Do you have a hard time with that? "To make thee wise to salvation through faith." It is our duty to use our minds and set them adventuring; but the test must ever be agreement with the teaching of Jesus Christ as the Scriptures present it to us. He said that one isn't inspired; obviously inspired. Such offence can and does happen yet. I. In the days between the Old and the New Testaments many Jewish books were written which expanded the Old Testament stories. Given the right conditions, such oppositions would be just as deadly as the great Roman persecutions. On account of his opinions, he may be held up to ridicule, or treated with neglect, or excluded from society to which his attainments and manners would otherwise introduce him, or shunned by those who might otherwise value his friendship. Few choose to leave behind the elementary teaching about Christ, and press on into maturity.Sadly many believers, although saved by grace through faith in Christ, refuse to move past the elementary principles of the Christian life.
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