2tim3v1-9

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READING: 2 TIMOTHY 3:1-17 PASSAGE: v1-9 [SERIES #12]

The opening words/passage say it all for the preacher: This know…
The word for know is a very deep one – know intimately
First used in the NT re: Joseph not knowing Mary until after the birth/Jesus (Matthew 1:25)
What Paul is getting at here is that our knowledge of what was to follow should not be of a mere cursory kind
It is not for us to run our eye over the Bible
We might do that if we were tired or something
But we must really come often to the Bible and read it as it deserves to be read: deep carefulness and respect

James used the picture/man who but glanced at the mirror in the mornings and then went away and forgot what he saw! (1:23)
Paul doesn’t want us to do that with what is to follow

As we examine what follows, then it is obvious: a mere cursory glance as if we were reading a comic would be inappropriate

Not that we are to know these things at the expense of other things – Paul carefully uses the little word “also”
Let’s get to know intimately every part of the Scripture
It is all there for our help in this present evil world,

There are 4 things/passage which we should come to know:

1) THE TIME WHICH THE APOSTLE FORESAW:
…in the last days…

A/ What does Paul mean –period/time are we looking at here?
Phrase itself is somewhat ambiguous

[i] The whole of the NT era (and obviously the days after) carry a similar designation:

Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, (1 Peter 1:20)
Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; (Hebrews 1:2)
These words were written nearly 2,000 years ago
That period was considered be the last times

So it might well be a general reference to the last 2,000 years

[ii] However, it is generally thought to refer to the time just prior to the Lord’s return to earth in power/great glory
Hence preachers refer to it as “the last days of the last days”
The final run in to the great tribulation etc.,

This would tend to be my view
Such days evidently will not be easy days to live for Christ

I like to read the Reformation history and of the Covenanting Struggles in England/Scotland (and indeed wherever)
Right up to the Bill/Rights in 1689 there were times of much bloodshed for the Evangelical people/God in Scotland/England
They had their troubles afterwards – very much reduced
Society seemed to mature and people could meet/worship pretty much as they fancied without any serious trouble
The law came to protect when before it was used to persecute

We have had many decades of relative peace and prosperity
Never let us take such for granted
Days will come when the times will be perilous
Word there for perilous is used only in one other place:
Matthew 8:28 re: the fierceness of the mad man/Gadara
So, we’re not talking about a bit of pushing/shoving and jostling

B/ Are we living in the last days foretold of here?
I cannot tell
I’m sure that every Christian for the last umpteen hundred years must’ve thought that they were
Does this make the warning then of no effect?
Answer: No – not at all
There is not one set of principles for Christian living in the last days and another for times that cannot be so considered

Someone said that we should live every day as if the Lord was to return that very day
Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. (Matthew 24:46)
Be ye also ready – for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh

2) THE TRANSGRESSION WHICH THE APOSTLE FORESAW:

A dark catalogue of horrible sins is recorded here (v2-5)
Could spend a long time working our weary way through this list
The sins seem to divide up into 3 distinct groups:

A/ Sins which target the sinner’s own self:
(Such may be said of them all – but my meaning will be clear)
For example: A covetous man (v2) harms only himself
He torments himself – cannot rest content with what he has
Contrast the covetous person with: those whom Solomon spoke:
The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil. (Proverbs 19:23)
Not so a covetous person - he wants more and more and more

Incontinence (v3) – lack of self control
Again: In many ways the main loser/sufferer is himself
He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls. (Proverbs 25:28)
It stands defenceless against every passing enemy

We do not live in particularly happy days
People today (credit crunch or not) have more money, more leisure time, more opportunities than even their own parents
Yet (without romanticising the past) they were happier
They had far less and looked for/expected far less
Today, we have a generation of grabbers and wasters too

B/ Sins which largely target others
Trouble with some of these self inflicting sins: they break out
You remember how Ahab coveted Naaman’s vineyard
Wanted to buy it – Naaman refused to sell – Ahab sulked
At this stage, he affected none but himself
Just an irritant having to witness it
Enter Jezebel: soon you have slander/judicial murder and theft

Again: The lustful thought and sinful look upon a neighbour’s wife
Soon, the act of adultery is done (Cp. David/Bathsheba)

You can go down this list and see where others are effected
Disobedient/parents – truce breakers – false accusers etc.,
Would be profitable although depressing to look at each sin and list out how they affect others
Take that word traitor – a traitor inflicts the greatest damage
Both Absalom and Ahithophel inflicted great hurt on David
Many followed these treacherous people in their simplicity

C/ Sins which largely target God
All sin targets God – even if of a secular kind
Confessing his sin/adultery unto God, David said:
Against thee and thee only have I sinned etc., (Psalm 51:4)
Not that he hadn’t sinned against Urijah – Evidently he had
But all sin is first/foremost against God whose law we break

But some sins are specifically against God i.e. religious/nature
Here, Paul specifically identifies:
[i] blasphemey (v3)
[ii] being unholy (v3)
[iii] lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God (v4)
[iv] Having a mere form/godliness but denying/power (v4)

D/ There are and will be no new sins on this list
You can bring various Scriptural scenarios to this list and start ticking off the various sins as they appear in the narrative

[i] Consider original sin/earth i.e. Adam/Eve and unbidden fruit
As Satan dangled the fruit before their eyes and suggested that
they would be as gods if/when they ate etc.,
Did they becomes lovers of pleasure more than lovers/God?
Did they not covet this fruit?
Were they not high minded and proud etc.,?

[ii] Consider Cain but a little while later
His bloodless offering shows that he had a form/godliness
But where was his natural affection towards his brother?
Instructed by his parents to offer that which was good
Despiser of Abel who was good
He became unholy – John indicts him as being of that wicked one

[iii] It would not be hard to fit Achan in there esp. coveting
Doubtless there would be many more – some ticking more boxes than others, but all ticking some

E/ So the issue of the last days here is not that there will be new sins – but that they will be committed to a greater degree
The enemy is really going to come in like a flood/last days

We know that the church will be around in such days
It may even be in our generation
Therefore we need to be a spiritual people to stand fast in such an evil day – a people who know their God and shall do exploits

3) THE TREACHERY WHICH THE APOSTLE FORESAW:

We want here to concentrate further still on the spiritual end of things – just as Paul himself does
He himself moves out of the generic list to particulars

A/ He talks about those who have a form of godliness (v5)
To maintain this form- they are found in Evangelical churches
Outwardly, all appears to be great/spiritual with them
But it is all a shell – for they deny the power/godliness

Godliness does have a power
Not God’s will that His redeemed people (at such a cost) should live in defeat – mere playthings of the Devil
I always think of Gideon when I get on to these things
I admire this man – but he wasn’t living in victory
We see him in threshing out the corn by night in fear
He understood and believed that God had worked/past
He just wondered if God would start working again/present
And God did!
Enabled poor, timid Gideon to rise up and overthrow Philistines
God wants us to be full of spiritual power to live for Him

B/ But these outward godliness/no power are malignant
They do not merely sit back and have a careless attitude
That would be the lesser of two evils
As before – it would affect but themselves and they alone/lose
But these ones gain access to houses and lead astray silly women

Of course, there are silly men led astray too
But (without being unfair here) often it is the womenfolk who bite the bait first and fall into this captivity
Either sex, however, must take heed to these things

C/ These men too seem well versed/Bible etc: Ever learning
OBJECTION: Well – that sound good!
QUALIFIED: Only to a degree – never come to knowledge/truth
It is all outward but the heart is as hard as ever

Note the emphasis of the text: ..never able to come to a knowledge of the truth…
What is the cause of this ignorant inability?
Ans;- Their own sin and nothing else
Here are men who have resisted the truth (v8)
They stand in wicked succession to Jannes/Jambre who withstood Moses as he sought to instruct the people
Soon they become reprobate re: the truth (v8)
It is fitting that if men give up on God that He gives up on them
Law of the Harvest – Poetic Justice

D/ One who wants/learn spiritual things will never lack a teacher
Ignorance is the trademark of the Devil
Here is a Bible principle from the lips/Jesus:
If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, (John 7:17)

If we seek Him – then we will surely find Him

4) THE TRIUMPH WHICH THE APOSTLE FORESAW:

A/ Need to be careful when we paint these last days so black (as they need to be painted) that we give/impression that the church is looking at defeat and great loss
This is not so

B/ Church will always emerge in victory
Passage here indicates that:

[i] By encouraging us to turn away from such men (v5)
It can only be worth our while turning away if it results/victory
Furthermore: We turn away from something to something

[ii] Example given of Jannes/Jambres withstanding Moses (v8)
Although they made life very difficult for Moses and inflicted great harm/loss on the work/God – yet it triumphed at last
Joshua took the COI into the Promised Land as promised

Every last child/God will make it safely home to Heaven

[iii] Although these men/last days (and indeed in any day) can only go so far – yet their course is regulated by the sovereign decree/God (v9) they shall go no further

[iv] With all their learning – they are open fools (v9)
It exposes one’s position to ridicule/rejection when its folly becomes so apparent
Therefore God (use a popular idiom) gives them more rope

C/ Application as to how to avoid this for ourselves (v14ff) which is a different message but is Bible based/centred and within reach if we do not resist the truth but rather receive it

THE ENDlive in defeat – mere playthings of the Devil
I always think of Gideon when I get on to these things
I admire this man – but he wasn’t living in victory
We see him in threshing out the corn by night in fear
He understood and believed that God had worked/past
He just wondered if God would start working again/present
And God did!
Enabled poor, timid Gideon to rise up and overthrow Philistines
God wants us to be full of spiritual power to live for Him

B/ But these outward godliness/no power are malignant
They do not merely sit back and have a careless attitude
That would be the lesser of two evils
As before – it would affect but themselves and they alone/lose
But these ones gain access to houses and lead astray silly women

Of course, there are silly men led astray too
But (without being unfair here) often it is the womenfolk who bite the bait first and fall into this captivity
Either sex, however, must take heed to these things

C/ These men too seem well versed/Bible etc: Ever learning
OBJECTION: Well – that sound good!
QUALIFIED: Only to a degree – never come to knowledge/truth
It is all outward but the heart is as hard as ever

Note the emphasis of the text:
..never able to come to a knowledge of the truth…
What is the cause of this ignorant inability?
Ans;- Their own sin and nothing else
Here are men who have resisted the truth (v8)
They stand in wicked succession to Jannes/Jambre who withstood Moses as he sought to instruct the people
Soon they become reprobate re: the truth (v8)
It is fitting that if men give up on God that He gives up on them
Law of the Harvest – Poetic Justice

D/ One who wants/learn spiritual things will never lack a teacher
Ignorance is the trademark of the Devil live in defeat – mere playthings of the Devil
I always think of Gideon when I get on to these things
I admire this man – but he wasn’t living in victory
We see him in threshing out the corn by night in fear
He understood and believed that God had worked/past
He just wondered if God would start working again/present
And God did!
Enabled poor, timid Gideon to rise up and overthrow Philistines
God wants us to be full of spiritual power to live for Him

B/ But these outward godliness/no power are malignant
They do not merely sit back and have a careless attitude
That would be the lesser of two evils
As before – it would affect but themselves and they alone/lose
But these ones gain access to houses and lead astray silly women

Of course, there are silly men led astray too
But (without being unfair here) often it is the womenfolk who bite the bait first and fall into this captivity
Either sex, however, must take heed to these things

C/ These men too seem well versed/Bible etc: Ever learning
OBJECTION: Well – that sound good!
QUALIFIED: Only to a degree – never come to knowledge/truth
It is all outward but the heart is as hard as ever

Note the emphasis of the text:
..never able to come to a knowledge of the truth…
What is the cause of this ignorant inability?
Ans;- Their own sin and nothing else
Here are men who have resisted the truth (v8)
They stand in wicked succession to Jannes/Jambre who withstood Moses as he sought to instruct the people
Soon they become reprobate re: the truth (v8)
It is fitting that if men give up on God that He gives up on them
Law of the Harvest – Poetic Justice

D/ One who wants/learn spiritual things will never lack a teacher
Ignorance is the trademark of the Devil

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