2 timothy 3:12 explained
And I will tell you what scriptures are inspired and which ones aren't. So we find that God knows how to temper the bitter with the sweet, always doing the right thing in the right place and time. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived ( 2 Timothy 3:13 ). It is derived from two Greek words which mean to show oneself above. 3 f I thank God g whom I serve, as did my ancestors, h with a clear conscience, as I remember you i . Here the apostle, to confirm Timothy in that way wherein he walked. The Christian life does not consist only in knowing something; it consists even more in being something. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:2, "But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every mans conscience in the sight of God." When we are tempted to do so, we should hear again the voice of our blessed Lord saying on the Cross: "Father, forgive them.". The word is propetes ( G4312) , precipitate. Abandoned by virtually all of those close to him for fear of persecution (cf. "To Timothy, my dearly-beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Matthew 10:22-23; Luke 21:12; John 15:20; Acts 14:22; 1 Thessalonians 3:4). Here is the essential conclusion. In other words, you may go along for a while, but ultimately it's going to catch up with you. Aristotle (Nicomachean Ethics, 7: 2) defined the alazon ( G213) as "the man who pretends to creditable qualities that he does not possess, or possesses in a lesser degree than he makes out." Perilous Times 2 Timothy 3:1. Even a dog may be sorry when he has hurt his master, but there are people who, in their treatment of others, can be lost to human sympathy and feeling. Any conversion which makes a man think of nothing but the fact that he has been saved is no true conversion. The technique would be the same in the days of Timothy as it was in the later days of Irenaeus. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1977. Aspondos ( G786) can mean two things. If the Lord doesn't come soon, we're going to destroy ourselves as we just sink in the filth. Persecution is Every Christian's Lot - 2 Timothy 3:12 At the same time he shows also his sense of the kindness of a particular individual and his family. The page number in Thayer is given, and the column on the page follows the hyphens. He was one that needed to lean on an arm stronger than his own. 2 Timothy 3:12, NLT: Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. The best way to overcome and to banish the false is to live in such a way that the loveliness and the graciousness of the truth is plain for all to see. And this, I believe, is much to be considered. Blasphemia is the word which is transliterated into English as blasphemy. Paul refers to his own experiences to illustrate the truth that the person who whole-heartedly follows God must expect persecution. a) Subject and Purpose of Epistle This second epistle which was written several years after the first draws a totally different picture before our eyes. We have the practice and treatment of true Christians: they live godly in Jesus Christ--this is their practice; and they shall suffer persecution--this is the usage they must expect in this world. The woman protests that she has never done so and cannot do so. It is Paul's conviction that the real follower of Christ cannot escape persecution. Don't start messing with it. It is the attitude which bears with everything men can do and refuses to be either angry or embittered, and which will never seek anything but their highest good. It is needful to exercise judgment now. 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. 2. O that we may love our Bibles more, and keep closer to them than ever! Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. For after all, I'm worth it. (2) They who are persecuted for their opinions, should consider that this may be one evidence that they have the spirit of Christ, and are his true friends. 1:15; 4:9-12, 16) and facing imminent execution, Paul wrote to Timothy, urging him to hasten to Rome for one last visit with the apostle ( 4:9, 21 ). The scriptures we are to know are the holy scriptures; they come from the holy God, were delivered by holy men, contain holy precepts, treat of holy things, and were designed to make us holy and to lead us in the way of holiness to happiness; being called the holy scriptures, they are by this distinguished from profane writings of all sorts, and from those that only treat morality, and common justice and honesty, but do not meddle with holiness. The thing that amazes me is that he can attract people who will support him. Finally, we have his assertion of the blessed Lord's care, and his confidence in Him that He would preserve him from all evil to His heavenly kingdom; closing this solemn and touching epistle (it would seem the last words he wrote) with salutations to various saints. In either case home and family life were destroyed. But they do enshrine the permanent truth that some time there must come the consummation when evil meets God in head-on collision and there comes the final triumph of God. Jambres. And that quality of conquering endurance is necessary, because persecution is an essential part of the experience of an apostle. The reason is manifest: they themselves savour of the things of men, and not of God. Otherwise this might have seemed to be (what unbelief taunts and stigmatizes it, spite of His sanction) pride of heart and presumption. 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 . We're going to drown in our own corruption. 6. Observe, (1.) Living here almost in a Sodom-Gomorrah atmosphere and environment. This sort of atmosphere will mark the last days . Christianity changed all that and a new set of problems arose. The New Testament had not yet been canonized. Then he points out the two principal guards for the faithful, in such a perilous state. Comp. You're a stranger. We should be asking: what, if any, is the unifying purpose which binds all this activity together? Then the apostle brings out most important directions for the days that were then coming in, but now come, and more. In a measure, no doubt, the truth is in Christendom, and only there; for one cannot look for the truth in Judaism or heathenism now. A. M. Chirgwin has story after story of how the Scriptures came by chance into the hands of men and changed their lives. The Gnostic insinuators would teach these doctrines to impressionable women. 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? Consider of whom thou hast learned them; not of evil men and seducers, but good men, who had themselves experienced the power of the truths they taught thee, and been ready to suffer for them, and thereby would give the fullest evidence of their belief of these truths." "All scripture is given by inspiration of God.". 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. Product Information. This is the right thing to do. This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come ( 2 Timothy 3:1 ). 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. By this general statement, therefore, Paul classes himself with the children of God, and, at the same time, exhorts all the children of God to prepare for enduring persecutions; for, if this condition is laid down for all who wish to live a godly life in Christ, they who wish to be exempt from persecutions must necessarily renounce Christ. Synonyms of the New Testament. (This book is used for definition of Greek words. B. It opened at the Sermon on the Mount. There was the road from north Asia Minor and from Galatia which came in via Sardis. It has become their God and thus, they are guilty as those in the Old Testament who were worshipping Mammon, who, or rather Molech who was the god of pleasure. In Jesus' name I pray, AMEN. THE EXPERIENCES OF AN APOSTLE ( 2 Timothy 3:10-13 continued). How are we to walk so as to please the Lord when disorder reigns, claiming to be the only true order? 12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. It is not meant that the Scriptures are valuable for finding fault; what is meant is that they are valuable for convincing a man of the error of his ways and for pointing him on the right path. And, let every one that nameth the name" not of "Christ," but "of the Lord depart from iniquity." And a less confession than this God never permitted the church to accept; nor in fact in Jerusalem itself was less ever accepted than the naming the name of the Lord. It is said that, after hearing an evangelical sermon, Lord Melbourne once remarked: "Things have come to a pretty pass when religion is allowed to invade the sphere of private life." But let not a man who will do this, suppose that he has any claim to be numbered among the martyrs, or even entitled to the Christian name. Paul goes on to other qualities of an apostle. e Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.. Guard the Deposit Entrusted to You. He tells such women that by his spells and incantations he can enable them to prophesy. It is interesting, when Jesus in the Sermon on the mount described the Christian in the Beatitudes, after having described the traits of the Christian in the Beatitudes; you'd say, My, a man like that who is a peacemaker, who is merciful, who is hungering and thirsting after righteousness, who is meek, who is poor in spirit, surely you know the world would respect such a man. It is a great happiness to know the certainty of the things wherein we have been instructed (Luke 1:4); not only to know what the truths are, but to know that they are of undoubted certainty. 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 ). 2. It is the normal Greek word for difficult, but it has certain usage's which explain its meaning here. The history of the Christian Church teaches us that falsity cannot live. It's twelve thousand miles a second, but that's pretty fast, too. Xenophon tells us how Cyrus, the Persian king, defined the alazon ( G213) : "The name alazon ( G213) seems to apply to those who pretend that they are richer than they are or braver than they are, and to those who promise to do what they cannot do, and that, too, when it is evident that they do this only for the sake of getting something or making some gain" (Xenophon: Cyropoedia, 2, 2, 12). God had made Jesus to be Lord and Christ, preached Peter on that day of power, when as yet much lay hid, and the great instrument of the revelation of the mystery was still shrouded in the darkness of midnight. that will, &c.Greek, "all whose will is to live," &c. So far should persecution be from being a stumbling-block to Timothy, he should consider it a mark of the pious. When Job was talking to his friends and they were talking to him about the future, and Job said, Oh, I wish I were dead. It may flourish for a time, but when it is exposed to the light of truth it is bound to shrivel and die. ( 2 Timothy 3:1) Perilous times in the last days . (v) Paul makes a final point. 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). And you will find as God's word becomes a very part of your life and you begin to be guided by the word of God, that God will begin to use you in very exciting ways. It was only to be expected that certain women would not know how to use their new liberty. Things are very much taking this direction of late, and at the present moment. "I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers, with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears." The world easily puts up with the mask of a religion which depends on itself, but the piety which derives its vigor directly from Christ is as odious to modern Christians as it was to the ancient Jews [Bengel]. The closing chapter (2 Timothy 4:1-22) then gives his solemn charge, and at the same time his own expression of what was before him. Good. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. He opened out the pages to make it burn more easily. Again, it is startling. by George Whitefield. 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. In the Old Testament they are not named, but they are referred to in Exodus 7:11; Exodus 8:7; Exodus 9:11. Paul suffered as he taught: a single eye to Christ and His grace made him consistent. It is profitable to us for all the purposes of the Christian life, for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. Therefore, isolation is never desirable, though it may be sometimes necessary. Because the true child of God brings the worldly person under conviction. Now you get out your, you know, your green and blue pens and for the inspired ones, we'll underline those with blue and we'll use red, maybe, to underline those that are not inspired, you know and, and so here I am, I'm the authority.Well, the next liberal comes along and he says, Well, no, no, no, he was wrong on that one. Men can be savage in rebuke and savage in pitiless action. This statement does not contradict what Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:9. On the other hand, if a soul confesses the name of the Lord, he must have done with iniquity. But [Paul said] they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as [Jannes and Jambres] also were ( 2 Timothy 3:9 ). Observe, Timothy must continue in the things which he had learned and had been assured of. Here we come back to where we started; such men place their own wishes in the centre of life. And come up a hundred days later and be deposited at a port. If your God is big enough to create the heavens and the earth, no problem, but you see, we stumble on the very first verse. The emphasis of so many people is just on being beautiful, lovers of themselves. In the Jewish pictures of these last terrible times we get exactly the same kind of picture as we get here. 1. Observe, The scriptures will make us wise to salvation, if they be mixed with faith, and not otherwise, Hebrews 4:2. 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. We must remember that Timothy's work lay in Ephesus, perhaps the greatest market in the ancient world. Traitors . my doctrine, and my manner of life, my purpose, my faith, my longsuffering, my love, and my patience, [you know the] persecutions, and the afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, and Iconium, and Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me ( 2 Timothy 3:10-11 ). Afterwards he also speaks of his own work and of that which he was suffering. Each of the chapters are done individually. And the reason why he makes it so urgent not to be turned aside was, that the time would come when men would not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts they should heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they should turn away their ears from the truth, and should be. 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. So I become the authority if I make such an affirmation to you. It is easy for a professed Christian to avoid persecution, if he yields every point in which religion is opposed to the world. There was the road from the south which centred the trade of the Maeander valley in Ephesus. Jesus said, "You do search the scriptures: because in them you think you have life; but actually, they are testifying of me" ( John 5:39 ). But let him not infer, therefore, that he is to be enrolled among the martyrs, and that he is certainly a real Christian. 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. Note, It is not enough to learn that which is good, but we must continue in it, and persevere in it unto the end. The more fully we know the doctrine of Christ and the apostles, the more closely we shall cleave to it; the reason why many sit loose to it is because they do not fully know it. 1 Paul, a an apostle of Christ Jesus b by the will of God according to c the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,. The Greek word literally is fully matured or of full age, fully matured, that the man of God might be fully matured. In all life there is nothing so creative of really productive effort as a clear consciousness of a purpose. The crumbling away of everything here was before the apostle; and accordingly it is one of the peculiar features of this second epistle, that he brings out that which never can decay which was before there was a world to dissolve namely, that life which was in Christ Jesus before the world began. shall suffer persecution; it is the will of God, and the appointment of heaven; Christ has foretold it, that so it shall be; and he the head has suffered it himself, and it is necessary that his members should, that they may be conformed unto him; it is the way Christ himself went to glory, and through many tribulations his people must enter the kingdom; and this is the common lot and certain case of all the saints, in one shape or another; for though all do not suffer confiscation of goods, beating, scourging, imprisonment, or a violent death; yet all are more or less afflicted and distressed by wicked men, and are subject to their reproaches and revilings, which are a branch of persecution; and that for professing Christ, and living a godly life in him and under his influence: and since such suffer as Christians, and not as evildoers; and this is the common condition of the people of God, in this world, it should not be thought strange, but be cheerfully endured; to encourage to which is the apostle's view in this passage. It is beautiful to trace this double working and current of the apostle that is, what is imperishable, above and beyond nature; and, along with this, the utmost value put on everything that he would own in those naturally bound up with him those of either family that feared God. 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. Commentary on 2 Timothy 3:14-17. "Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry." The age of children is the age to learn; and those who would get true learning, must get it out of the Scriptures. Persons sometimes say it does not matter who taught; but God does not treat the matter so lightly. 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. (2) they who are persecuted for their opinions, should consider that this may be one evidence that they have the spirit of Christ, and are his true friends. All rights reserved. This he had known most extensively, but it was closed; no longer had he before him any prospect of having to fight the battles of the church of God. The insult which comes from anger is bad but it is forgivable, for it is launched in the heat of the moment; but the cold insult which comes from arrogant pride is an ugly and an unforgivable thing. But shun profane and vain babblings.".
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