Things will get worse as people turn away from those who teach the Scriptures, and listen to those who teach their own theories. (iv) The Scriptures are of use for correction. shall suffer persecutionand will not decline it (Ga 5:11). Don't start messing with it. (1) it teaches the only way to the Father is through Jesus; (2) it teaches a morality (a way of life) unpopular with the world; (3) it teaches a miraculous creation, a miraculous end; and a miraculous Savior who was resurrected; (4), Why does the world hate Christians? Without natural affection ( 2 Timothy 3:3 ). This was always the becoming tone; but now it is imperiously necessary, as well as wise and good. It is perfectly true--as we have so often said--that Christianity is not founded on a printed book but on a living person. That's not the kind of promises we really enjoy, is it? The world just exists, no real goal, no real meaning; you're just existing. This is the right thing to do. There is love. In these last terrible days men will come to have no love for good things or good persons (aphilagathos, G865) . Quite a promise, isn't it? Sets before him his own example, which Timothy had been an eye-witness of, having long attended Paul (2 Timothy 3:10; 2 Timothy 3:10): Thou hast fully known my doctrine. The New Testament had not yet been canonized. 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. 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. Next he comes to a more personal need. " 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. 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. He blames the Jews who searched them, because they failed to learn the lesson which they were intended to convey. Verse 2 Timothy 3:4. I think the next major event, Revelation 4:1 . And passion shall seize him that is peaceful. There is only one test for falsity--"You will know them by their fruits." The apostle's life was very exemplary for three things: for his doctrine, which was according to the will of God; for his life, which was agreeable to his doctrine; and for his persecutions and sufferings. 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. We've just experienced a tremendous demonstration of that in the Los Angeles basin in the last couple of weeks. (This book is used for definition of Greek words. It answers not a little to the kind of thing ,;et forth here. Take what is called physical Christianity a stupid, gross, and heathenish phrase, but just enough to show where people are drifting to. Look at, of course, all of these other things that have come along as the result of it. The Gnostic heretics taught, either that, since matter is altogether evil, a rigid asceticism must be practiced and all the things of the body as far as possible eliminated, or that it does not matter what we do with the body and its desires can be indulged in to the limit because they do not matter. His mind was caught; he took it back. If we would know the holy scriptures, we must read and search them daily, as the noble Bereans did, Acts 17:11. It is the Greek parakolouthein ( G3877) and literally means to follow alongside; but it is used with a magnificent width of meaning. There was to be a final show-down with the forces of evil. This is God's attitude to men. Paul contrasts the conduct of Timothy, his loyal disciple, with the conduct of the heretics who were doing their utmost to wreck the Church. No matter what the reasons or excuses for joining with them, "turn away.". What does 2 Timothy 3:12 mean? | BibleRef.com In 2 Timothy 3:13 he meant that evil becomes more intensive as time goes on. They should remember that, in this respect, they are treated as the Master was, and are in the goodly company of the prophets, apostles, and martyrs; for they were all persecuted. That which finishes a man of God in this world is the scripture. 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. Each one of these words in the Greek is an interesting word study. 2 Timothy 3:12. 3:1 You must realize this--that in the last days difficult times will set in. The study of the Scriptures must never be selfish, never simply for the good of a man's own soul. He was wrong on that you know. One only meets Satan when traveling in an opposite direction! 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. 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. He knew that he had suffered ill for doing well (2 Timothy 3:11; 2 Timothy 3:11): "Thou hast fully known the persecutions and afflictions that came unto me" (he mentions those only which happened to him while Timothy was with him, at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra); "and therefore let it be no surprise to thee if thou suffer hard things, it is no more than I have endured before." Word Studies in the New Testament. It is a divine revelation, which we may depend upon as infallibly true. Two men were talking of a great satirist who had been filled with moral earnestness. In these terrible days men will be slanderers. The oldest Greek laws disfranchised the man who struck his parents; to strike a father was in Roman law as bad as murder; in the Jewish law honour for father and mother comes high in the list of the Ten Commandments. and then shall we find the benefit and advantage designed thereby, and shall at last attain the happiness therein promised and assured to us. It begets a contempt of men which can issue in hurting actions and in wounding words. The Greek for slanderer is diabolos ( G1228) which is precisely the English word devil. Be assured, that if you do not bring the Spirit of God into these matters, perhaps your cloak, perhaps a book, will become a snare to you. 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." Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. "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.". If you can read and buy the first verse of the Bible, you should have no problem with the rest of the Bible. On the other hand, it is unholy to tamper with evil. If we consult the scripture, which was given by inspiration of God, and follow its directions, we shall be made men of God, perfect, and thoroughly furnished to every good work. It is still possible for a teacher to gain an undue and unhealthy influence over others, especially when they are impressionable. "To Timothy, my dearly-beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. It is needful to exercise judgment now. The scriptures are profitable to establish the foundation of my beliefs. SEDUCTION IN THE NAME OF RELIGION ( 2 Timothy 3:6-7 ). But the apostle at the same time owns, and loves to own, that which another might perhaps despise. 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 ). There might be a mixture of timid shrinking from pain and shame. The word we have translated to be a disciple includes so much that is beyond translation in any single English word. Jambres. The woman, thrilled to the heart, does so and is deluded into thinking that she can prophesy. In other words, it's not going to get better for awhile. 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. There are those who shrink from helping on others in order to the work and doctrine of the Lord. 2 Timothy 3:12 in Other Translations - Bible Study Tools Years later that same brigand turned up again. Thus he comforts Timothy at the same time that he admonishes him. "Follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. It was the glory of the Jews that their children from their earliest days were trained in the law. 3 f I thank God g whom I serve, as did my ancestors, h with a clear conscience, as I remember you i . godly, Godfearingly. 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. That the scripture has various uses, and answers divers ends and purposes: It is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction of all errors in judgment and practice, and for instruction in righteousness. 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. It may well be that the greatest handicap to Christianity is not the scarlet sinner but the sleek devotee of an unimpeachable orthodoxy and a dignified convention, who is horrified when it is suggested that real religion is a dynamic power which changes a man's personal life. "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." 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). [3.] 3. Closely allied with the braggart, but--as we shall see--even worse, is the man who is arrogant. Don't expect the world to applaud when you speak out against evil. Their own word would eat as a canker, and do harm to others as well as to themselves, "who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some." Narcissism is at an all-time peak, but with lovers of yourself comes. He did so to help him realize that he faced no unknown situation in Ephesus and to enable him to combat it intelligently. The Jews divided all time into this present age and the age to come. But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. Rather he must "labour before he partake of the fruits." In contrast, the sins of "evil people and impostors" can be expected to get worse and worse. In his own neighbourhood he had seen Paul suffer because of his devotion to Christ (10-12; cf. It is the whole spiritual experience, so to speak, of the apostle. It is an immense blessing that we have the truth not only in a book, but in a practical shape, the truth that comes out of the heart and from the lips of living men of God. The absence of persecution, in any active sense, from the lives of most Christians of this era is generally due to the watered-down version of their Christianity and not to any subsidence of the savage hatred of the darkness for the light. Persons sometimes say it does not matter who taught; but God does not treat the matter so lightly. There is teaching. Abandoned by virtually all of those close to him for fear of persecution (cf. There was no longer the freshness of a new thing; and where the heart was not kept up in communion with the Lord, the value of divine things was less felt, if it did not quite fade away. It was not merely now that they had made their consciences bad and slipped away from faith. 2 Timothy 3:12 (KJV) - Forerunner Commentary - Bible Tools This the apostle guards Timothy against, and indeed ourselves, he warns him how seduction would go on more and more, but "from such turn away." Have you ever seen an age when people were more conscious of their own selves? It's twelve thousand miles a second, but that's pretty fast, too. It is one thing to start an evil and untrue report on its malicious way; it is entirely another thing to stop it. You're a stranger. We find a precisely similar kind of combination in Paul. 2 Timothy 3 Commentary - John Gill's Exposition of the Bible The world really doesn't admire true Christian traits. This sort of atmosphere will mark the last days . It was a part of his lot. There is nothing that more shows God than His ability to combine that which is eternal with care for the smallest things of this life. 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." That is, it is not enough that I should walk with the Lord individually, but I must clear myself of association with that which is contrary to His name. As we know, there may be over it all a certain form of godliness, but underneath it is really wickedness. But now before his heart just as in principle before the dying Lord Himself, wonderful to say two things come together: a deeper sense of what is in God, as revealed in Christ Himself, before there was any creation at all; and on the other hand so much the deeper sense also of what could be owned in nature. Paul's life contrasted with the world. But after giving the characteristics and traits of the godly man, Jesus then in the final Beatitudes said, "Blessed are ye, when men shall persecute you, and revile you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake" ( Matthew 5:11 ). For "all scripture is given by inspiration of God. It is not simply now to follow these, as urged in the first epistle (1 Timothy 6:11); but he adds a most characteristic word in the second epistle. he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me." And leaving guilelessness, will draw near to malice; And forsaking the commandments of the Lord. A man can reach a stage when, so far from controlling it, he can become a slave to some habit or desire. ", Persecution = The essence of persecution consists in subjecting a person to injury or disadvantage on account of his [beliefs].. So I listened to that voice, and heard the truth, and found my Saviour.". The braggart is a swaggering creature, who tries to bluster his way into power and eminence. Perverse Men 2 Timothy 3:2-4 . Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. It would not be accordant with the mind of God. Everything today is, you know, for the body beautiful. To many a man and woman has a little bit of dress done no small injury, just because they think it is too little for the Spirit of God to direct them in. 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. The prophets and apostles did not speak from themselves, but what they received of the Lord that they delivered unto us. Aspondos ( G786) can mean two things. And if you align your life with God, you're going to find yourself out of alignment with the world and persecution will come. 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. "He kicked the world about," said one, "as if it had been a football." 2 Timothy 3 1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. "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." When we know the afflictions of good people but in part, they are a temptation to us to decline that cause which they suffer for; when we know only the hardships they undergo for Christ, we may be ready to say, "We will renounce that cause that is likely to cost us so dear in the owning of it;" but when we fully know the afflictions, not only how they suffer, but how they are supported and comforted under their sufferings, then, instead of being discouraged, we shall be animated by them, especially considering that we are told before that we must count upon such things (2 Timothy 3:12; 2 Timothy 3:12): All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution: not always alike; at that time those who professed the faith of Christ were more exposed to persecution than at other times; but at all times, more or less, those who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 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 ). Nothing can sanction this. Once Agesilaus, the Sparta king, was asked, "What shall we teach our boys?" He flung the New Testament on it. 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. This statement does not contradict what Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:9. I've never found that in one of those little Bible promise books, I mean, promise things yet. 2 Timothy 3:1 - Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary - StudyLight.org "They that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." In the second chapter he turns to another theme, he instructs and exhorts Timothy as to communicating (not authority, or status, or gift, but) truth to others.
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