And he was probably in the company of those that were standing around, sort of crying, as they saw Paul's limp body on the ground. But now there were other reasons for it, namely, that Christians were neglecting godliness and order. 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. He had fought the good fight of faith. The defeat of error depends not on skill in controversy but in the demonstration in life of the more excellent way. He did so to help him realize that he faced no unknown situation in Ephesus and to enable him to combat it intelligently. In Jesus' name I pray, AMEN. Now many people have a legitimate and proper desire to be used of God. II. There is little likelihood that Timothy will be easily led astray by false teaching. Men would become lovers of money (philarguros, G5366) . So don't expect the world to speak well of you or to applaud you for your living a godly life and taking a righteous stand. All God-inspired scripture is useful for teaching, for the conviction of error, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work. 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! Living here almost in a Sodom-Gomorrah atmosphere and environment. Paul met him on his first missionary journey. There is a sense in which slander is the most cruel of all sins. He is the man whom God resists, for it is repeatedly said in scripture, that God receives the humble but resists the man who is proud, huperephanos ( G5244) ( James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5; Proverbs 3:24). "He kicked the world about," said one, "as if it had been a football." "The cloke," then says he, "that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books," not only the clothing, but even that which he is to read, "especially the parchments;" what he was going to write on, probably. And the word of God comes and it brings a balance, it brings a correction, it brings a correct perspective.It's profitable. Good to have pleasure but don't make it your God. There is a type of person who is eager to discuss every new theory, who is always to be found deeply involved in the latest fashionable religious movement, but who is quite unwilling to accept the day-to-day discipline--even drudgery--of living the Christian life. Here he mentions his persecutions and afflictions at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra, besides what he suffered elsewhere. The adjective used is philautos ( G5367) , which means self-loving. (187) And he says this, partly that believers may prepare themselves for submitting to this condition, and partly that good men may not view him with suspicion on account of the persecutions which he endures from wicked persons; as it frequently happens that the distresses to which men are subjected lead to unfavorable opinions concerning them; for he whom men regard with aversion is immediately declared by the common people to be hated by God. 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. "Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry." [2.] It is perfectly true--as we have so often said--that Christianity is not founded on a printed book but on a living person. What am I to believe about angels or the future? The prophets and apostles did not speak from themselves, but what they received of the Lord that they delivered unto us. Without natural affection ( 2 Timothy 3:3 ). The scriptures are able to make us truly wise, wise for our souls and another world. This chapter has a vivid description of the great apostasy (2 Timothy 3:1-9), signs of which were already present, an appeal to Paul's own inspiring and inspired example (2 Timothy 3:10-15), and one of the most impressive paragraphs in all the Bible with reference to the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16,17).For more extensive discussion of the apostasy, the man of . The history of the Christian Church teaches us that falsity cannot live. Such is the meaning of purging himself. At the same time there is not the smallest slight of the only and abiding standard. There were those who would revenge themselves on an enemy by informing against him. "True," said the other, "but he kicked it to a goal." By it we are thoroughly furnished for every good work. Irenaeus draws a vivid picture of the methods of just such a teacher in his day. 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. Timothy was well aware of this, even before he joined Paul in his work. In these last terrible days men will come to have no love for good things or good persons (aphilagathos, G865) . Rather he must "labour before he partake of the fruits." In his own neighbourhood he had seen Paul suffer because of his devotion to Christ (10-12; cf. One must try disorders and prove profession. 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. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1977. " 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. They claimed that their children learned the law even from their swaddling clothes and drank it in with their mother's milk. 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 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. Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary. Lipscomb's Commentary on Selected NT Books, Verse 12. Now, it is doubtless as true as it ever was, that a man who will live as the Saviour did, will, like him, be subjected to some such injury or disadvantage. The first is the moral character of the source or channel whence Timothy had derived what he knew. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: they are men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith ( 2 Timothy 3:8 ). It's twelve thousand miles a second, but that's pretty fast, too. Socrates skid that they were to be found in every walk of life but were worst of all in politics. Get out your pen and take out the red, put the blue one. ", Persecution = The essence of persecution consists in subjecting a person to injury or disadvantage on account of his [beliefs].. 10 million Ukrainians without power because of Russia. 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. 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 ). Men will be treacherous. If a man's goods are stolen, he can set to and build up his fortunes again; but if his good name is taken away, irreparable damage has been done. (2 Timothy 2:1.) As teachers we should sometimes ask ourselves: what am I trying to do with these people whom I teach? All who will show their religion in their conversation, who will not only be godly, but live godly, let them expect persecution, especially when they are resolute in it. With his or her commitment to follow Christ faithfully the Christian sets the course of his or her life directly opposite to the course of the world system. They just are irritated by your love and by your patience and by your goodness because they feel guilty. This I cannot but consider as a proof of want of faith. And so Paul is warning Timothy of certain things that will be transpiring in the last days. They choose to lay, again and again, the early foundations of their Christian faith i.e. THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL But the condition of the believers had deteriorated. It is Paul's conviction that the real follower of Christ cannot escape persecution. To love men is to forgive them and care for them as God forgave and cares--and it is only he who can enable us to do that. It can sometimes have the meaning of loyalty, or true religion. These things may be expected in the best times, and under the most favorable circumstances; and it is known that a large part of the history of the world, in its relation to the church, is nothing more than a history of persecution. III. In between there was The Day of the Lord, a day when God would personally intervene and shatter the world in order to remake it. It means to follow a person mentally, to attend diligently to his teaching and fully to understand the meaning of what he says. We are not meant to titillate our minds with the latest intellectual crazes; we are meant to purify and strengthen ourselves in the moral battle to live the Christian life. You've made a covenant and there are so many broken covenants. 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. The technique would be the same in the days of Timothy as it was in the later days of Irenaeus. We have already seen that that teaching issued in one of two things. 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. And there came that place where, hey, Moses performed a miracle of God and they backed away. What am I to believe about man? It may flourish for a time, but when it is exposed to the light of truth it is bound to shrivel and die. He says: "Open thy mouth, speak whatsoever occurs to thee, and thou shalt prophesy." It can never cease to be a Christian's duty to maintain the unity of the Spirit; but it is not maintaining the unity of the Spirit to couple with the name of the Lord that which is fleshly and sinful. His answer was: "That which will be most useful to them when they are men." Verse 1. 3 f I thank God g whom I serve, as did my ancestors, h with a clear conscience, as I remember you i . 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? You can you see what's happened even in the last twenty-five years. and then shall we find the benefit and advantage designed thereby, and shall at last attain the happiness therein promised and assured to us. Why cannot a man be as simple now as in apostolic times? THE EXPERIENCES OF AN APOSTLE ( 2 Timothy 3:10-13 continued). B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1977. Men would be headlong in words and action. 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. It was a part of his lot. The difference between the braggart and the man who is arrogant is this. In Brazil Signor Antonio of Minas bought a New Testament which he took home to burn. Timothy needed to realize, as all Christians do, especially those to whom "prosperity theology" appeals, that when a person determines to live a godly life he or she will suffer persecution. Now are you going to, you know, take the word of Jesus? In the Jewish pictures of these last terrible times we get exactly the same kind of picture as we get here. Titus, we know, did so; but God took care that it should never be positively stated about Timothy. Each of the chapters are done individually. That the man of God may be perfect ( 2 Timothy 3:17 ). 2. From childhood he has been guided by the Scriptures, and his faith in those Scriptures gives him assurance in his salvation (14-15). James encourages us by explaining that those who persevere under trial, on the journey to maturity, will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him, and He exhorts us to consider it all joy, when we encounter various trials.There is an urgency in this final letter thatPaul wrote before his death, to remind us that ALL who live godly lives in Christ will certainly suffer persecution. YEA, AND - an additional consideration. We must note that Paul here makes a distinction. The peculiar task confided to the latter was care of doctrine much more than of outward order. It is a duty in the present state of confusion to use scriptural means; and here we have our warrant, as in the epistles we find more. How many people who have stood before God and have pledged for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death do us part; and yet again, the high divorce rate. He is sure that in the long run it is better to suffer with God and the right than to prosper with men and the wrong. Accordingly, in much grief of heart, the apostle writes to his tried and trembling child in the faith, and seeks to strengthen him, above all things not to be discouraged, and to make up his mind to endure hard things. Certain of the temporary persecution, he is equally certain of the ultimate glory. As Timothy was about to enter upon a new phase of his ministry, without the apostle's presence or living counsel, the latter charges him with great emphasis, "before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; preach the word, be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine." It is not a question here about elders, but what would abide all the same when elders could not be duly appointed. And in the end they shall perish together with them." We have sown the wind, now we're going to reap the whirlwind. In other words, they simply remain in spiritual infancy and keep repeating the first stage of their Christian faith, over and again, without pressing on to spiritual maturity.Many are falsely taught that becoming a Christian will secure a quiet life and provide a ticket to prosperity, with numerous earthly blessings and a free pass from God, to prevent or remove any difficulties or dangers that may arise. Exalting Jesus in 1,2,3 John (Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary They claimed that the law was so imprinted on the heart and mind of a Jewish child that he would sooner forget his own name than he would forget it. Even an unbeliever is acting unfairly unless he tries to read it. It is undoubtedly true at all times, and will ever be, that they who are devoted Christians - who live as the Saviour did - and who carry out his principles always, will experience some form of persecution. He had not said a word about them before. This was always the becoming tone; but now it is imperiously necessary, as well as wise and good. 13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. That is to say, they go through all the correct movements and maintain all the external forms of religion; but they know nothing of Christianity as a dynamic power which changes the lives of men. When we know the afflictions of believers only in part, they tempt us to decline the cause for which they suffer. "Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come ( 2 Timothy 3:1 ). 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. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men." A. M. Chirgwin in The Bible in World Evangelism tells the story of a ward sister in a children's hospital in England. Second Timothy 3:12-13 "Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being. 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. 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. The New Testament had not yet been canonized. It follows from this: (1) that they who make a profession of religion, should come prepared to be persecuted. Timothy's job, for the sake of the future, involves more preservation than innovation. Paul's life: one of longsuffering, one of love and one of patience. And many shall be stirred up in anger to injure many; And they shall rouse up armies in order to shed blood. "Put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit but to the subverting of the hearers. It imagines "the faith" as something to be guarded (see 2 Timothy 1:14), lest it become corrupted or . And the word perfect of course is always that of completeness. The fact remains that the only place in all the world where we get a first-hand account of that person and of his teaching is in the New Testament. They're profitable for doctrine. But this is not what the Bible teaches. If they contradict the teaching of the Bible, they are to be refused. In living in such a manner, persecution will come; but the Lord will deliver the faithful. (2.) Again and again Scripture has opened for men and women the way to God. One day a visitor came to the ward and left a supply of gospels. "Beloved, consider it not strange concerning the fiery trials which are to try you, as though some strange thing has happened to you" ( 1 Peter 4:12 ).
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