2 timothy 3:12 explained
he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me." It is no accident that the first of these qualities will be a life that is centred in self. At the same time there is the carrying on his full notice of everything found here below that would be a source of comfort to one who anticipated the ruin of Christendom. by George Whitefield. Paul cites three instances when he had to suffer for Christ. At the same time He will have them undividedly for Himself; and He is also jealous of the way in which they seek even the ends of God. As we know, there may be over it all a certain form of godliness, but underneath it is really wickedness. This is God's attitude to men. 2 Timothy 3: Bible Study, Commentary and Summary Comp. Look at our attitudes towards morality. Paul concludes this section with an appeal to Timothy to remain loyal to all the teaching he had received. The study of the Scriptures trains a man in righteousness until he is equipped for every good work. But let him not infer, "therefore," that he is to be enrolled among the martyrs, and that he is certainly a real Christian. It describes the man who is swept on by passion and impulse to such an extent that he is totally unable to think sensibly. 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. (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? [4.] Turning to the SECOND EPISTLE, we find that, although there is the same grand truth of the Saviour God maintained, the state of things had become sensibly worse, and the hour for the apostle's departure from the world was drawing near. 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. There are those who shrink from helping on others in order to the work and doctrine of the Lord. Paul's life: one of longsuffering, one of love and one of patience. Marks of Perilous Times; Excellence of the Scriptures. Originally the alazon ( G213) was a wandering quack. We find a precisely similar kind of combination in Paul. So I listened to that voice, and heard the truth, and found my Saviour.". He lets Timothy know that while he laid this on others, he must look carefully to his own ways. Those who deceive others do but deceive themselves; those who draw others into error run themselves into more and more mistakes, and they will find it so at last, to their cost. 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 answers not a little to the kind of thing ,;et forth here. (3.) The Kingdom had its price. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord" (there must, I suppose, have been some ground for the exhortation), "nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel, according to the power of God; who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." 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. That is why the church which has no Bible Class is a church in whose work an essential element is missing. It begets disregard of God, thinking that it does not need him and that it knows better than he. Friday evenings, you know, everybody out looking for their weekend companion, incontinent, no sexual restraints. Fear and timidity will keep us from using the gifts God gives. Yet. One must try disorders and prove profession. But we, so often, make the mistake of going out ill-equipped or running without a message. Would you find it easier if it, if the account said, And a submarine surfaced and the captain got out on deck and, you know, they hauled Jonah in and they submerged again and headed towards Joppa and let him off the port. Some of you here are victims of broken covenants. The adjective used is philautos ( G5367) , which means self-loving. 2 Timothy 3:1 - Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary - StudyLight.org He wants to accustom his mind to expect hardship instead of shirking it. The Greek is hupomone ( G5281) , which means not a passive sitting down and bearing things but a triumphant facing of them so that even out of evil there can come good. Copyright 2023, Bible Study Tools. We must remember that they were Gnostics and that the basic principle of Gnosticism was that spirit was altogether good and matter altogether evil. McLean, Virginia: MacDonald Publishing Company, n.d. Wuest, Kenneth S. Wuests Word Studies From the Greek New Testament. 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. The woman protests that she has never done so and cannot do so. Article Images Copyright 2023 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. And Jesus himself had said: "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake" ( Matthew 5:10). Oh, yeah, I like that one. [1.] The same tone of mercy is equally promised in this #epistle as in the last. This is unfortunate, since his works contain priceless gems of information that are found nowhere except in the ancient writings of the Jews. 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 The doctrine that he preached. 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). That's just fable. If they had been more faithful, and more like their Master, would they have always escaped? 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. It begets a contempt of men which can issue in hurting actions and in wounding words. The world just exists, no real goal, no real meaning; you're just existing. Now, there's nothing wrong with enjoying life. The Greek word literally is fully matured or of full age, fully matured, that the man of God might be fully matured. "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." 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." You may be able to deceive people for a while, but ultimately, it's going to catch up, even as it did with Jannes. Not only did he become a Christian; he devoted the rest of his life to the distribution of the Scriptures in the forgotten villages of northern Chile. And there came that place where, hey, Moses performed a miracle of God and they backed away. With this prospect he comforts Timothy no less than his own spirit; but at the same time he speaks as to joining him, with a glance at one that had forsaken him. But, says the apostle, "be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." "In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. 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. The doctrine of the necessity of persecution was no new thing to Paul. ", and [as such they are] profitable ( 2 Timothy 3:16 ). 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." He speaks of "all God-inspired scripture." B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1977. But the apostle at the same time owns, and loves to own, that which another might perhaps despise. We should not be any more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive,Ephesians 4:14. How is it that you could be deceived, Jesus? It is still possible for a teacher to gain an undue and unhealthy influence over others, especially when they are impressionable. A word altogether unbecoming in one mouth might be most proper in another. And why read them anyhow if they're not inspired? 2 Timothy 3 Bible Commentary - Matthew Henry (concise) - Christianity 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. Paul said to Timothy. and then shall we find the benefit and advantage designed thereby, and shall at last attain the happiness therein promised and assured to us. The technique would be the same in the days of Timothy as it was in the later days of Irenaeus. The devil is the patron saint of all slanderers and of all slanderers he is chief. The thing that amazes me is that he can attract people who will support him. "Knowing especially the firm foundation upon which thou hast built, namely, that of the scripture (2 Timothy 3:15; 2 Timothy 3:15): That from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures.". Only here and Titus 2:12. Paul's life: one of faith. Titus, we know, did so; but God took care that it should never be positively stated about Timothy. He did so to help him realize that he faced no unknown situation in Ephesus and to enable him to combat it intelligently. The prophets and apostles did not speak from themselves, but what they received of the Lord that they delivered unto us. 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 ). It may be that, since we are only human, we cannot live entirely without differences with our fellow-men, but to perpetuate these differences is one of the worst--and also one of the commonest--of all sins. 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. The disorder might be so great that we might make mistakes in our anxiety; but "The Lord knoweth them that are his." The ancient world set duty to parents very high. It was a part of his lot. They choose to lay, again and again, the early foundations of their Christian faith i.e. Men will be lovers of their own selves ( 2 Timothy 3:2 ). 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." How big is your God? Our God is much too small. The task of the apostle is not only to tell men the truth; it is also to help them do it. Bishop Pearson proves the divine origination of Christianity from its success being inexplicable on the supposition of its being of human origin. (iv) The Scriptures are of use for correction. Luke recorded the very words spoken on the mission field long ago, "Through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22); and, in the words of White, "Consistency in the life of Christ must necessarily be always opposed by the world. 3:2-5 For men will live a life that is centred in self; they will be lovers of money, braggarts, arrogant, lovers of insult, disobedient to their parents, thankless, regardless even of the ultimate decencies of life, without human affection, implacable in hatred, revelling in slander, ungovernable in their passions, savage, not knowing what the love of good is, treacherous, headlong in word and action, inflated with pride, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. The defeat of error depends not on skill in controversy but in the demonstration in life of the more excellent way. There is patience. 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. He directs him to keep close to a good education, and particularly to what he had learned out of the holy scriptures (2 Timothy 3:14; 2 Timothy 3:15): Continue thou in the things which thou hast learned. And they were able to imitate the workings of God up to a point and then they came to the place where they were backed down by Moses, but "men of corrupt minds, they are reprobate concerning the faith. These twin qualities of the braggart and the arrogant man inevitably result in love of insult (blasphemia, G988) . (2.) The man who has exhausted the normal pleasures of life and still unsated, will seek his thrill in pleasures which are abnormal. shall suffer persecutionand will not decline it (Ga 5:11). 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. Things are very much taking this direction of late, and at the present moment. That's proper and you should have that desire. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God. Parakolouthein ( G3877) is indeed the word for the disciple, for it includes the unwavering loyalty of the true comrade, the full understanding of the true scholar and the complete obedience of the dedicated servant. (1) that they who make a profession of religion, should come prepared to be persecuted. Their falsity would be demonstrated and they would receive their appropriate reward. The Jewish Rabbis ranked high in the list of sins what they called the sin of insult. 1. Irenaeus draws a vivid picture of the methods of just such a teacher in his day. Study Guide for 2 Timothy 3 by David Guzik - Blue Letter Bible In these terrible days men would be braggarts and arrogant. 2 Timothy 3 Commentary; 2 Timothy 4 Commentary; HENRY ALFORD 2 TIMOTHY COMMENTARY The Greek Testament. 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. O that we may love our Bibles more, and keep closer to them than ever! Now this is not given to us in the Scriptures but there are other, what are known as apocryphal books, in which these two fellows are named. In certain of these books Jannes and Jambres figured largely. In short, let us know that we are Christians on this condition, that we shall be liable to many tribulations and various contests. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 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. Ephesus was the town of a prosperous, materialistic civilization; it was the kind of town where a man could so easily lose his soul. And for a person to take advantage of a child is unthinkable. See also 1 Timothy 4:7; 1 Timothy 6:11, and on godliness, 1 Timothy 2:2. He says that in them difficult times would set in. 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." Paul contrasts the conduct of Timothy, his loyal disciple, with the conduct of the heretics who were doing their utmost to wreck the Church. There might be a mixture of timid shrinking from pain and shame. A. M. Chirgwin in The Bible in World Evangelism tells the story of a ward sister in a children's hospital in England. The reason is obvious. 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. 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. You know the persecutions that I experienced, but the Lord delivered me out of them all. If Timothy wishes to live godly in Christ, he must make up his mind to encounter. Each one of these words in the Greek is an interesting word study. ' according to godliness, 1 Timothy 6:3; Titus 1:1; and in all godliness, 1 Timothy 2:2. "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. Having a form of godliness ( 2 Timothy 3:5 ). There is no occasion for the writings of the philosopher, nor for rabbinical fables, nor popish legends, nor unwritten traditions, to make us perfect men of God, since the scripture answers all these ends and purposes. Only Luke is with me." In contrast, the sins of "evil people and impostors" can be expected to get worse and worse. Observe, As good men, by the grace of God, grow better and better, so bad men, through the subtlety of Satan and the power of their own corruptions, grow worse and worse. For that very reason it is unanswerable that, whatever a man might argue about the rest of the Bible, it is impossible for the Church ever to do without the Gospels. And that's what creates the problem all the way through. 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. It is easy for a professed Christian to avoid persecution, if he yields every point in which religion is opposed to the world. 10 million Ukrainians without power because of Russia. And come up a hundred days later and be deposited at a port. Men will be thankless (acharistos, G884) . 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. And there's such a complete, total absence of love. Yet most people today have never heard of John Gill. Certain of the temporary persecution, he is equally certain of the ultimate glory. If the Lord doesn't come soon, we're going to destroy ourselves as we just sink in the filth. 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. Now when Moses appeared before Pharaoh and he threw down his rod and it turned into a snake, you'll remember that Pharaoh's magicians threw down their rods and they also became snakes, but Moses' snake swallowed theirs. 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. 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). The essence of Christianity is not the enthronement but the obliteration of self. "Blessed is he who will come in the name of the Lord" ( Psalms 118:26 ). Timothy had a great advantage in being trained up under such a tutor, and being apprised of the doctrine he preached. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. They cannot understand an inspired apostle talking about a cloak in the midst of a divinely given pastoral charge. In the end not a book was burned; the brigand left the colporteur and went off into the darkness with the books. Men will be treacherous. In the last days This often means the days of the Messiah, and is sometimes extended in its signification to the destruction of Jerusalem, as this was properly the last days of the Jewish state. There was no despising natural links or spiritual here, far from it. Enduring Word Bible Commentary 2 Timothy Chapter 3 "That thou hast had good teachers. As members of the Church, we should sometimes ask ourselves, what are we trying to do in it? There is just a certain natural love that would keep people from doing a lot of the things they are doing today. 3:1 You must realize this--that in the last days difficult times will set in. Paul was a prisoner again and awaited death. On the other hand, it is unholy to tamper with evil. repentance from dead works and of faith toward God. Now we see that when Paul was touching the confines of that difficult and most perilous moment when John was to be left alone, he brings out as his last note that very truth which John was to develop with special care and fulness. Godly = adv. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1975. That is where you become thoroughly equipped to do the work that God has designed and ordained for you. There is peril when men assess prosperity by material things. But the phrase may mean any future time, whether near or distant. 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 wickedness of evil people, particularly charlatans, will increase as time passes. (3) if we are persecuted, we should carefully inquire, before we avail ourselves of this consolation, whether we are persecuted because we "live godly in Christ Jesus," or for some other reason. Not so the apostle Paul. If what be claims for scripture is true of the Old Testament, how much truer it is of the still more precious words of the New. 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. But they will not get much further, for their folly will be as clear to all as that of those ancient impostors. Narcissism is at an all-time peak, but with lovers of yourself comes. It means to follow a person physically, to stick by him through thick and thin. "Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Get Your Bible Minute in Your Inbox Every Morning, Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus All that live according to the will of God revealed in his word; and to the glory of God, as the end of all their actions; and which the grace of God in the Gospel, and in their own hearts, teaches them; and who have the principles of a godly life from Christ, and derive the fresh supplies of grace and life from him, to maintain it; in whom their life is hid, and who live by faith upon him; all such that live, and that will live so, are desirous of living after this manner; in whom God has wrought in them both to will and to do, and are concerned when it is otherwise with them: these. How is a man to walk in such a state of things as this? Once Agesilaus, the Sparta king, was asked, "What shall we teach our boys?" That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us." 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. 2. They're profitable for doctrine. The difference between the braggart and the man who is arrogant is this. Now these seem to many very difficult indeed to combine. One only meets Satan when traveling in an opposite direction! Paul goes on to other qualities of an apostle. SEDUCTION IN THE NAME OF RELIGION ( 2 Timothy 3:6-7 ). What does 2 Timothy 3:12 mean? | BibleRef.com He was one that needed to lean on an arm stronger than his own. 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. I've never found that in one of those little Bible promise books, I mean, promise things yet. Many and many a time we would be saved from hurting ourselves and from wounding other people, if we would only stop to think. 2 Timothy 3 - But understand this, that in the last days there will Confrontation and conflict become inevitable (cf. He was driven from Antioch in Pisidia ( Acts 13:50); he had to flee from Iconium to avoid lynching ( Acts 14:5-6); in Lystra he was stoned and left for dead ( Acts 14:19). It is needful to exercise judgment now. The sister was persuaded to read a copy of St. John. You can you see what's happened even in the last twenty-five years. It denotes a savagery which has neither sensitiveness nor sympathy. godly, Godfearingly. Here we find the perilous times fairly brought before us. 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. 2. menin the professing Church. 2 Timothy 3:12. 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. Thus he comforts Timothy at the same time that he admonishes him. "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. Blasphemia is the word which is transliterated into English as blasphemy. We usually try to avoid it on Friday evening if we can, but sometimes our schedules are such that we just don't have time to. 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 ). It is one thing to start an evil and untrue report on its malicious way; it is entirely another thing to stop 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. The fact is that God loves to make His children mutually dependent; and if we are only humble, there are very few saints from whom we may not derive some good, though not always in the same way. They were violent and dangerous. 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. A whole collection of stories gathered round their names.