Paul
was inspired to give these last words of 2 Timothy as he awaited execution in
the Mamertine Prison. The practice of incarcerating people for long periods of
time as a penalty for crime did not come about until the 15th century. In
Paul's day the Romans would imprison political prisoners or captured enemy
leaders for short periods of time until execution could be carried out.
Therefore, if Paul was in Mamertine, he likely had only a short time to live.
Conditions were cramped and miserable. The Romans sometimes used such
underground prisons to chain prisoners and let them slowly starve to death
hidden from public view. [1]
The prison was known to be rat infested. [2]
Paul was therefore likely poorly fed, sleepless in the cold stonewalled and rat
infested cellar of a prison, and in constant discomfort and pain from his
chains. On top of this was the impending reality that he would soon be
executed. We know Paul didn't fear death and that he looked forward to
departing this life to go into the presence of His Savior and Lord Jesus (cf.
Phil. 1:19-26). But in the little time he had left on this side of eternity he
wanted to share some last words with his protégé Timothy in this Second
Epistle.
Sometimes
people pooh-pooh eschatology (i.e. the study of last things) as unimportant.
However that is not the way God sees it. About 27 % of the Bible is prophetic.
And Paul in these last precious moments of life spends one of four chapters
(25%) on eschatological material. If Paul devoted such precious space to
"the last days," shouldn't we also receive such revelation with all
seriousness and attention?
The Perilous Last Days
But know
this, that in the last days perilous times will come:
Paul has just written to Timothy about rightly
handling God's Word and not getting caught up in pointless arguments. He has
instructed him to be gentle or under control and also able to teach. He has
instructed Timothy that the target with the sinner and those who are walking
outside the parameters of God's word is that such people repent and get back to
God's word. Now he substantiates his exhortation by warning that "in the last days perilous times will
come." "Perilous" (Greek chalepos)
refers to something that reduces
strength, hard to bear, fierce, dangerous, and difficult. What Paul is
about to share is something that is it imperative
to know (Greek ginosko - Present/Active/Imperative
of ”to know" - be aware of,
perceive, be sure of, understand, know.)
What Paul is about to share is not something that is optional to know it is something that is essential and necessary, of utmost import to know. What will make
the last days perilous?
2 For men will be lovers of
themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to
parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving,
slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors,
headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having
a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
Paul provides quite an inspired list of what to
expect people in the last days to be like. When we look at this list we should
note the following.
First,
expect people in the last days to pervert love. Jesus said His disciples
would be known by the love they show (cf. John 13:34-35; cf. also 1 John
4:7-12). If sinners are ensnared by the devil to do his will (2 Tim. 2:26) then
it isn't surprising that part of the devil's strategy would include a
perversion and distortion of God's greatest evidence of ownership, love. In the
last days Paul reveals that the love of people will be self-centered and
misapplied.
Second,
expect people in the last days to be obsessed with self-love. Robert
Schuller taught that in order to fulfill Jesus' call to "love your
neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:39) a person has to first learn to love
themselves. In 1982 Schuller promoted self-esteem packaged in self-love as a
"New Reformation." This fit hand in glove with the worldview of
modern psychology. But people don't have to learn how to love themselves; the
nature of the sinful nature is to obsessively love self. That's the problem!
That's the heart of sin! Sin is all about the "I." Sin is rooted in
self-centeredness. When Jesus taught that we ought to love our neighbor as our
self He was pointing us away from self love to love of others.
Paul states the one thing that will make the last
days perilous or the will sap spiritual strength is that "men will be lovers of themselves."
"Lovers of themselves" is translated from a single Greek term (philautos) and means fond of self, selfish, focused on self,
self-centered. Modern psychology may believe and promote self-love and
self-esteem as a positive and necessary thing for human health, but Paul sees
it as perilous! People are already
sinfully self-centered. You don't have to teach a child to be self-centered.
People who have "low self-esteem," and even self-destructive
tendencies do so because their
circumstances aren't what they think they should be or are rightfully deserving
of.
The Biblical alternative is to die to self (e.g. Romans 12:1; Galatians
2:20). The problem with humanity is that it is more self-conscious than
God-conscious. To be self-centered and preoccupied with loving yourself is
perilous and a great obstacle to knowing God.
Third,
expect people in the last days to love money. Paul says people in the last
days will be "lovers of money"
(Greek philargyros) or fond of silver, covetous of things, obsessed
with money and everything connected to accumulating it and obtaining more and
more of it. The economy will drive people's decision making. What something
cost will determine a person's decisions. People will rely on money as a safety net or to protect them from need. What
makes loving money so perilous is that you
can't depend on it. The stock market crashes of the 1920a and early 2000s
are examples of this. The Great Depression was introduced by a huge Stock
Market crash where people lost entire life savings. People were jumping out of
buildings to their death because they had lost their first love; money.
The apostle John was inspired to warn, "Do not love the world or the things of the
world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all
that is in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the
pride of life - is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is
passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides
forever" (1 John 2:15-17). The ONLY thing anyone can rely on that will
never fail or let you down is Jesus (cf. Matthew 7:24-27). Depending on
anything or anyone but Jesus is perilous because things are passing away and
people will let you down. Jesus exhorted, “Therefore do not worry,
saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your
heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom
of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry
about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." (Matthew
6:31-34).
Fourth, expect people in the last days
to be "boasters." "Boasters" (Greek alazon)
means braggarts, an empty pretender.
People, obsessed with themselves, will have a bloated opinion of themselves.
They will see and promote to others what they view as qualities and
achievements that they themselves have attained. But the Bible says that
everything good we have comes from God (James 1:17). Our salvation is a gift
from God not the result of our efforts. Therefore we have nothing to boast
about (Eph. 2:8-9). God provides all good things for us and we have no basis of
boasting (1 Cor. 4:7). Boasting is a consequence of spiritual blindness.
Fifth, expect people in the last days
to be "proud." "Proud"
(Greek hyperephanos) means seeing yourself as above others,
overestimating oneself, seeing yourself as better than others. God is
opposed to the proud and gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:6). The heart of
sin is pride; the "I" in "sin." People in the last days
will be so proud that they won't think they need God. The person who walks on
thinly covered ice unaware that he might soon plummet through that ice to their
death is a person in a very perilous position. Pride blinds people to their
spiritual eternal destiny and needs.
Sixth,
expect people in the last days to be "blasphemers." "Blasphemers" (Greek blasphemos) refers to slander and evil speaking towards people, impiety
towards God. There will be a general spirit of irreverence toward God in
the last days. People won't care about God. They will minimize and not
prioritize things of eternal worth. This might take the form of irreverent
humor involving God or people of God. Such irreverence and lack of the fear of
God will put people in a perilous position deserving of God's judgment. The
fear of the Lord is the prerequisite for true knowledge and wisdom (e.g. Psalm
111:10; Proverbs 1:7 and 9:10). Without such fear or reverence people in the
last days will be poking the Person and the people of the Person who has their
eternal destiny in His hands. Not smart.
Seventh,
expect people in the last days to be "disobedient to parents." "Disobedient" (Greek apeithes) means obstinate, unpersuadable, not compliant, disobedient, unyielding,
stubborn. Just as people will be irreverent towards the Lord they will
irreverently disregard His Commandments one of which is the call for children
to honor and obey their parents. "Honor
your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the
LORD your God is giving you" (Exodus 20:12). This also tells us that there
will be a breakdown in the family in the last days. There will be disorder
along with disobedience in the family as children meant to be discipled and
become the next generation of godly offspring for God will not be interested in
listening to their parents for such purposes (e.g. Deut. 4-6).
Eighth,
expect people in the last days to be "unthankful." "Unthankful" (Greek acharistos) means ungrateful, thankless, unappreciative. With no care for God and
knowing Him and no desire to obey His commands, it is not surprising that Paul
is inspired to state that people in the last days will be unthankful. They will
be unthankful to others and unthankful to God who gives them all things.
Ninth,
expect people in the last days to be "unholy." "Unholy" (Greek anosios) means impious, wicked, unholy, If to be holy is to be set apart unto God, then to be unholy is to not be set apart unto God. People will not view their life purposes
in connection to God. People will be focused on the secular not the sacred.
They won't care about storing treasures in heaven because they will be obsessed
with accumulating material things in their short life span on earth.
Tenth,
expect people in the last days to be "unloving." Here "unloving" (Greek astorgos) refers to not having affection for family, being hardhearted toward family,
without natural affection. the Greek term stergos from which this term "unloving" is derived is a
word that speaks of the affection between family members and relatives.
"Unloving" therefore points to the breakdown of the affection that
would normally be seen in the family. Family members will be so caught up in
self-love that they will disregard what their normal familial responsibilities
would be. This "unloving" can be seen in the rise of divorce,
infanticide of abortion, parenticide of children killing their parents, parents
abusing their children, children not caring for their parents and families
generally not caring to support and provide for their family members. The
loving affection that should hold families together will be lost. That spells
peril for the family.
Eleventh,
expect people in the last days to be "unforgiving." "Unforgiving" (Greek aspondos) means truceless, trucebreakers, unwilling to resolve offenses. The idea
here is that people in the last days will be so proud and engulfed in self-love
that they will want to exact the severest penalty against anyone who offends
them or does them wrong. They won't be interested in being "Kind to one
another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave
you" (Eph. 4:32). Their godlessness and irreverence, their obsession with
self-love will lead to a very harsh society. People in the last days will be
satisfied to remain irreconciled to others and especially without a care to be
reconciled to God.
Twelfth,
expect people in the last days to be "slanderers." "Slanderers" (Greek diabolos) refers to being devilish in accusing others falsely. People
in the last days will think nothing of bringing false accusations against
others if they think they can get away with it and profit from it. This
conjures up the idea of our litigious society today.
Thirteenth,
expect people in the last days to be "without self-control." "Without self-control" (Greek
akrates) means literally incontinent, intemperate, without
moderation, extreme, powerless, not the master of one's self. In the last
days people will be given to addictions. They will have little to no control
over their appetites, what the consume and what they indulge in. Things and
feelings, passions, will have control over people of the last days.
Fourteenth,
expect people in the last days to be "brutal." "Brutal" (Greek anemeros) means savage, fierce, untamed. People in the last days will live more
like animals than human beings. The world will seem more like a literal
dog-eat-dog environment than one where there is loving compassion for people.
Fifteenth,
expect people in the last days to be ”despisers of good." "Despisers of good" (Greek aphilagathos) means actually hostile to virtue, despising of anything good, opposed to
goodness and good people. If any goodness can be found in the last days
people will be hostile to it.
Sixteenth,
expect people in the last days to be "traitors." "Traitors" (Greek prodotes) refers to giving an ally over to enemy hands, betrayal, surrender. People
obsessed with loving themselves will think nothing of betraying loyalties to
family, other groups and even nations in order to profit themselves. There will
be little faithfulness or loyalty in the last days.
Seventeenth,
expect people in the last days to be "headstrong." "Headstrong" (Greek propetes) means literally falling forward headlong, stepping forward
rashly without thinking, disregarding instruction, recklessness. People
will be closed to reason and wont' be interested in making well thought out
rational decisions. People will be stubborn and headstrong. Once they get a
thought about something in their head they will determine to follow through
with it no matter how much they are warned or how the truth and facts expose
such action to being stupid and dangerous. People won't much care that they way
they are living is perilous to their soul and eternal destiny.
Eighteenth,
expect people in the last days to be "haughty." "Haughty" (Greek typhoo) means to envelop with smoke, to inflate with self-conceit, to be lifted up
and blinded by pride. People will live in a cloud of delusions of grandeur.
They will be drunk with their own proud perspectives of self. They ought to
have heeded God's word that says, "Pride goes before destruction, and a
haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18).
Nineteenth,
expect people in the last days to be "lovers of pleasure rather than
lovers of God." "Lovers of
pleasure" (Greek philedonos)
means voluptuous, pleasure seeking,
living out a priority of feeling pleasure. This is the preference and
priority in the last days people. They will prefer carnal pleasures to being "lovers of God" (Greek philotheos) or living in the love of God and living in a way that is a demonstration
of such love for God; a God-loving person.
Twentieth,
expect people in the last days to have "a form of godliness but denying
its power." People in the last days will have "a form of godliness" (Greek morphosis) or an appearance or shape of "godliness"
(Greek eusebeia) or piety, religious practices. But such
"form" will be external only. There will be little heart
transformation that comes with genuine conversion of the Gospel. Paul says
whatever this "form of godliness" it will be "denying its power." "Denying" (Greek arneomai) means renouncing, disowning, disowning, denying. This seems to indicate
that there will be a form of religion of the people of the last days which will
reject the idea of the "power"
(Greek dynamis) or miraculous supernatural power, God sent Holy
Spirit ability. We see this today in the rejection of Jesus' command to be
"born again" (John 3) by certain segments of "the church."
There will be a form of godliness and religion to placate any guilt or assure
self-lovers that they can live in the perilous ways Paul lays out but have to
need to fear any eternal consequences. This will be a religion with little
mention of sin and the need to repent of it. The Bible will be cast aside as
archaic in such a form of religion. And such a religion will be human-centered.
Such
a condition brings to mind the prediction of General William Booth (1829-1912) of
the Salvation Army who toward the end of his life in the early 1900s stated, “The
chief danger of the 20th century will be religion without the Holy
Spirit, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation
without regeneration, politics without God, and heaven without hell.”
And from
such people turn away!
With this vivid picture of what to expect people
of the last days to be like, what are Paul's instructions for our response?
Paul says, "And from such people
turn away!" "Turn away" (Greek apotrepo) means deflect,
avoid, turn away from them. Paul is not saying we shouldn't minister to such
lost souls. His sense here is that we should not get caught up in the same
perilous ways of such people.
6 For
of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible
women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, 7 always
learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 Now
as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of
corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; 9 but they
will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs
also was.
Paul wraps us his description of last days people
with a further description of those who would be instrumental in such ways. He
says there will be "those who creep
into households." "Creep" (Greek endyno) means literally worm
their way in or sneak in. Like a tapeworm that gets into a human system it
can be there living off the body host, thriving while robbing the body of its
nutrients. If left unattended it will result in severe malnutrition and even
death. Such tapeworms can grow to grotesque sizes while the host body isn't
even aware of it. The people this describes sneak into people's lives and are
like parasites that use them and abuse them without the victim even being aware
of it. This word paints the picture of a sneaky snaky character. Satan is
described as "that serpent of old" (Rev. 12:9; 20:2) so we can see
who really is behind such behavior.
The objective of such wormy snaky people is to
"make captives" (Greek aichmaloteuo) which is a military term for
prisoners of way. There is a war
raging and the enemy of human souls will not hesitate to shrink to whatever low
depth is necessary to take prisoners for his domain.
Who are especially susceptible to the wormy snaky
manipulators? "Gullible women loaded
down with sins." "Gullible" (Greek gynaikarion) means little
women, [spiritually small], contemptible women. The gullibility of such
women is linked with their being "loaded
down with sins." "Loaded down" (Greek soreuo) means piled up,
heaped up, overwhelmed with a consciousness of sins. These gullible women
are susceptible to the enemy because they haven't availed themselves of the
freedom from sin that can come through Jesus Christ and the Gospel! There is no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). If a person fails
or refuses to trust in Jesus and His sin-cleansing blood for forgiveness (cf. 1
John 1:7 and 9) then they are vulnerable to the devilish tapeworm.
Such women are also "led away by various lusts." The idea is to be distracted
from the spiritually nourishing truth found in God's word. What leads them
away? What distracts them? What gets them off course? "Various
lusts" (Greek epithymia) forbidden things, desires and cravings for
what God forbids. They are tempted to reach beyond the parameters of God's
word to fulfill themselves. If they cross that line they will only find
emptiness, frustration, and failures.
And such women are characterized by "always learning and never able to come to
the knowledge of the truth." One commentary explains the meaning here
stating:
A fourth description of these
"silly women" is that they are "ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." "Ever
learning" does not mean they assimilate what
they hear. It might better be translated: "Always listening, but never
able to learn or know the
truth." This suggests that they only hear the sensational and not the
serious or sacred. Possibly they wish
to pose as enlightened, learned females. But in truth they are ignorant of the truth.[3]
While Paul's warnings
are given especially in regard to women, men shouldn't be ignorant that they
too can fall prey to the tapeworm of sin.
"Jannes and Jambres" according to Jewish
Tradition, were the two magicians of Pharaoh's court who opposed Moses and
Aaron (Exodus 7:10-13). Such men are described as those who "resist" (Greek anthistemi) means oppose, resist, withstand "the truth" which is found in Scripture (cf. John 17:17). Such
men are of "corrupt minds" (Greek
kataphtheiro) or minds that have been corrupted
(Perfect/Middle/Particple). The minds of such men have been so corrupted that they are beyond the
capacity to discern or receive truth anymore. And such men are "disapproved" (Greek adokimos) or reprobate, depraved, disapproved, unworthy, useless "concerning the faith" or
that which concerns the true gospel and the word of God.
Paul encourages
Timothy that those who oppose God's truth like these men "but will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to
all, as their also was." What these men propose is "folly" (Greek anoia) or foolishness. Scripture says it is foolish to fail to factor
God into life's equation (e.g. Psalm 14). And just as the opposition of Jannes
and Jambres' limited powers were exposed by the true power of God through Moses
and Aaron, so too will those who promote a powerless alternative to God's powerful
gospel be exposed when people see the difference. When the counterfeit and
false alternatives to God's word and the gospel are contrasted with the real
and powerful work of the Holy Spirit it will be exposed and stopped in its
tracks. That is Paul's exhortation to Timothy. That is a good point for us to
remember too.
Protection
from Future Perils
Having laid out in great detail the perils Timothy
and we can expect to arise in the last days, Paul now provides instruction on
how to be protected from such perils. The inspired words that follow are a sure
fire, dependable, reliable, God ordained and God empowered provision for His
ministers and people. These are words that every Christian should take to heart
and live in light of.
10 But
you have carefully followed
Paul reinforces
Timothy's practice of being one who has "carefully
followed." "Carefully followed" (Greek parakoloutheo)
means to trace out and follow closely,
conform to, fully know and understand in order to follow. Timothy has done
his homework. He is a man of God who has worked to make himself a student of
God's word and minister who properly handles the word of God in ministry (e.g.
2 Tim . 2:15). What is it that Paul cites as being carefully followed by
Timothy? There are ten things Paul notes as being commendably carefully
followed by Timothy.
my doctrine, manner of life, purpose,
faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, 11 persecutions,
afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions
I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. 12 Yes,
and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
First,
we must carefully follow "doctrine." "Doctrine" (Greek didaskalia)
is simply teaching, instruction. What
Paul has taught Timothy personally through face to face encounters, seeing Paul
in action, and has written to Timothy in letters such as 2 Timothy, Timothy has
studied and learned and followed in his life.
Second, we must carefully follow
"manner of life." "Manner
of life" (Greek agoge) refers to upbringing,
mode of living, watching the way a mentor lives and then duplicating that in
one's life. Timothy watched Paul's walk as well as his talk. Timothy
watched how Paul practically lived out his faith. The original disciples did
the same thing with Jesus. They watched Him and even asked Him to teach them
how to pray because they were so intrigued and impressed by the prayer life of
Jesus (e.g. Matthew 6; Luke 11). Training people or discipleship involves their
doing ministry side by side with those who are mentoring them. Ministry is more
caught than taught by lecture.
Third, we
must carefully follow "purpose." "Purpose" (Greek prothesis)
refers to a setting forth, intention,
chief aim. Timothy had carefully recognized the primary purpose of Paul. We
might summarize Paul's purpose as doing all things to glorify God (1 Cor.
10:31; Col. 3:17-24). Glorifying God in Christ was Paul's primary life purpose.
It could also be said that Paul singularly sought to know Jesus more and more
each day because that would enable him to bring his Savior more glory as he got
to know Him and appreciate Him more (e.g. Phil. 3:10-15).
Fourth, we
must carefully follow "faith." "Faith" (Greek pistis)
refers to a moral conviction about
the truth of God. It also refers to walking
and living a life of trust and obedience to God in Christ. This would
include living by God's revealed word.
Fifth, we
must carefully follow "longsuffering." "Longsuffering" (Greek makrothymia) refers to patient
endurance of hardship. Just as Paul had demonstrated his willingness to
suffer for the cause of Christ so should we.
Sixth, we
must carefully follow "love." "Love" (Greek agape)
refers of course to that selfless
sacrificial Christlike love that is the fruit of the Spirit's indwelling
presence in a Christian's heart and life (Romans 5:5; Galatians 5:22-24).
Seventh, we
must carefully follow "perseverance." "Perseverance" (Greek hypomone)
is consistency, constancy, cheerful
hopeful enduring and continuing on in Christ.
Eighth, we
must carefully follow "persecutions." "Persecutions" (Greek diogmos)
refers to being pursued to do harm to
because of one's association with Jesus. Timothy was well aware of how Paul
and the other apostles had been pursued and persecuted because of their
association with being followers of Jesus. Are you carefully following in the
path of those who have been willingly persecuted for the sake of Christ?
Ninth, we must carefully follow
"afflictions." "Afflictions"
(Greek pathema) refers to hardship or pain experienced, affliction in
mind and body, suffering. Paul had gone through incredible hardship as an
apostle of Jesus. Timothy needed to carefully be aware of this and prepared for
it when and if it came.
Paul
gives some references of the afflictions he's suffered. In Antioch (Acts 13:50)
a group of devout Jewish women was stirred up by the Jews and to persecute Paul
and Barnabas. In Iconium (Acts 14:5-6) a group abused and sought to stone Paul.
In Lystra (Acts 14:19-20) Paul was stoned and left for dead but he rose up and
pressed on.
Tenth, we must carefully follow that
"out of them all [ i.e. persecutions] the Lord delivered." "Delivered" (Greek rhyomai) means to rescue, to deliver. Paul was a living walking , talking example
of how God was able to deliver those with whom He was not yet finished. When we
call on God, He delivers (e.g. Psalm 34:17; 50:15). If He chooses to not
deliver, then it is time for us to go home.
Paul
informs Timothy that "Yes, and all
who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." In
fact, Paul's sense here is that the genuinely saved person who is seeking to
live all out for Jesus can't avoid persecution of some kind. How could living
out a scriptural world view that id diametrically opposed to the world's
worldview result in anything else. Living for Jesus demands we count the cost. Persecution
of Christians is something taught in Scripture (e.g. Matthew 10:22; Acts 14:22;
Phil. 1:29; 1 Peter 4:12 and 13). Living for Jesus involves denying self,
picking up our cross and following Jesus. Jesus went to the cross. We should be
willing and expect to do the same.
13 But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.
Paul builds further that "evil men" (Greek poneros - spiritually diseased, derelict, evil, depraved) and "imposters" (Greek goes - a wizard who casts spells, seducer, enchanter, one who howls
incantations, deceiver) "will
grow worse and worse." Those who are the instruments pushing for such
decline will use "deceiving" (Greek
planao - roam from the truth, go astray, err, deceive, seduce, be out of the way)
and "being deceived" themselves.
Where you see deception you can be assured that Satan is at work (cf. John
8:43-44). There are no winners outside of Christ and His gospel.
As time passes from the point in
history in which Paul first delivers this inspired word down through time those
who are spiritually bankrupt and who practice devilishly backed behavior are
only going to get worse. more and more deception will creep into the world.
Paul is warning Timothy don't expect for
things to get better but expect them to get worse. In other words BE PREPARED!
14 But you must continue in the things which you have learned
and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and
that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make
you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
Paul exhorts Timothy to "continue in" (Greek meno) or abide, remain, stand fast, dwell in, outlast, endure, be permanent,
stay true to "the things which
you have learned and been assured of." Timothy must press on and not let up. He must be
consistent in what Paul has passed on to him. This is a must and this is
something he must keep on doing (Present/Active/Imperative of meno).
Timothy must continue is "the things which you have learned and
been assured of." "Learned" (Greek manthano) means to have been
schooled in, taught, to hear in order to be informed of, to learn by use and
practice/ "Assured of" (Greek
pistoo) means things he has become certain of. These are
things that have been made certain to him. He needed to remember, "knowing from whom you have learned
them." Timothy had been taught by his spiritual father Paul. But way
before that he had been trained in the home by his mother and grandmother.
What was it that Timothy had
learned and become assured of? "The
Holy Scriptures." The Holy Scriptures that Timothy had been taught
from childhood would be the 39 books of the Old Testament canon. The New Testament
had yet to be discovered by the church. The letters of the New Testament would
in time be recognized as inspired and canonical in and of themselves.
The
Complete Biblical Library explains:
"From a child" means
"from infancy, from a babe." "The holy Scriptures" refers
to the Old Testament and can also
be translated "the Sacred Writings." A Jewish boy began to study the Old Testament at the age of
5. Timothy was even younger when his mother Eunice
and his grandmother Lois taught him at home (see 1:5). They taught him the Old Testament
discipline of obedience to God and pointed him to the coming Messiah. As he responded in faith, Timothy received the
salvation God had promised in the Old Testament
and provided in the person of His Son Jesus Christ.
The words "able to make thee
wise unto salvation" carry the idea of giving the ability to make the choice that results in salvation.
"Able" is the present participle that means a permanent, enduring quality.[4]
The word of God is God's revelation of Himself and His plan
of salvation and way of abundant life. Faith is built on God's word (Romans
10:17). God uses His Word to work spiritual birth or our second birth unto
eternal life in Christ (e.g. 1 Peter 1:22-25). Yes, "the Holy Scriptures, . . . are able to make one wise for
salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." One of the best
ways to lead people to salvation is to get them into God's word. God's word is
the seed of the Gospel (cf. The Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13; Mark 4; and
Luke 8).
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 complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Before
we approach the holy ground of the next couple of verses I'd like to sight a
few quotes from noted Christians of the past and what they thought of the
Bible. H.A. Ironside, noted Bible preacher and teacher, a prolific writer with
a photographic memory stated, "It is well to
remember that reading books about the Bible is a very different thing to
searching the Word for oneself."[5] It is important to be a
reader, but what we read and what we give priority to in our reading makes all
the difference in the world. Prayerful reading of God's word should be a daily
regular and consistent practice for every Christian.
A.W.
Tozer exhorted Christians on the importance and centrality of God's word when
he wrote:
"Let
us seek to know Him in the Word. It is in the Word we will find the Holy
Spirit. Don't read too many other things. Some of you will say,
"Look who's talking!" Well, go ahead and say it, I don't mind; but I am
reading fewer and fewer things as I get older, not because I'm losing
interest in this great, big, old suffering world, but because I'm gaining interest in
that other world above. So I say, don't try to know everything. You can't. Find
Him
in the Word, for the Holy Ghost wrote this book. He inspired it, and He will be
revealed
in its pages."
John Wesley in his Preface to Standard Sermons said the
following:
TO candid, reasonable men, I am
not afraid to lay open what have been the inmost thoughts of my heart. I have thought, I am a creature of
a day, passing through life as an arrow
through the air. I am a spirit come from God, and returning to God: just
hovering over the great gulf;
till, a few moments hence, I am no more seen; I drop into an unchangeable eternity! I want to know one
thing,—the way to heaven; how to land safe on
that happy shore. God himself has condescended to teach me the way. For this
very end He came from heaven. He
hath written it down in a book. O give me that book! At any price, give me the book of God! I have it: here is
knowledge enough for me. Let me be homo
unius libri. Here then I am, far from the busy ways of men. I sit down
alone; only God is here. In His
presence I open, I read His book; for this end, to find the way to heaven. Is there a doubt concerning
the meaning of what I read? Does anything appear dark or intricate? I lift up my heart to the Father of
Lights:—“Lord, is it not Thy word, ‘if any
man lack wisdom, let him ask of God?’ Thou givest liberally, and upbraidest
not. Thou hast said, ‘if any be
willing to do Thy will, he shall know.’ I am willing to do, let me know Thy will.” I then search
after and consider parallel passages of Scripture, “comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” I meditate
thereon with all the attention and earnestness
of which my mind is capable. If any doubt still remains, I consult those who are experienced in the things of God: and then
the writings whereby, being dead, they yet speak.
And what I thus learn, that I teach.[6]
There is good reason to give priority to the Bible. Paul
gives us a number of reasons.
First, "All Scripture is given
by inspiration of God." "All Scripture is given by inspiration of
God." "Inspiration" (Greek theopneutos) which means God breathed. The idea behind
inspiration is not a literal mechanical dictation of God's word but more of God
working in and through the individual personalities of people to direct them to
write what He wanted written. Inspiration conveys the idea of wind moving a ship as it blows into its
sails. We may be able to discern the unique ways of Peter and Paul and
James and Luke but there is a holy uniqueness and singular continuity in what
God moved them to write. When you read through the Bible from Genesis to
Revelation there is a conformity, a One Authorship nature to the Bible that
reveals God, while He chose to use human agents, is the True Author of the
Bible.
It
should be noted that inspiration applies to the autographs or original first letters of scripture. At the present
we have no autographs of Old or New Testaments. We have no first original issue
of Paul's letters for instance. However, while there are some very minor
deviations in our copies the thousands of manuscripts we do have make a way for
us to come to an extremely high confidence that the copies we have contain the
inspired message God breathed through the human agents He chose to use to
deliver the Scriptures. For example of we lacked the original copy of a
paycheck but had five copies with some variations in them, we could still
arrive at a confident conclusion of what had been originally indicated on the
paycheck. If copy one gives a figure of "$2_01.53," copy two,
"$_501.53," copy three, "$2501.__," copy four,
"$2501.5_," and copy five, "$2501._3" then by comparing
each copy we could come to a very firm conclusion that the original paycheck
was in the amount of $2501.53. The same principle is applicable to Scripture manuscript
evidence. We may not have the original autograph manuscripts, but given that we
have nearly 30,000 manuscripts and portions of manuscripts we can compare them
to each other and conclude what was in the original with a tremendous amount of
certainty.
Second, What is "All Scripture"? We
need to ask the question of canonicity. How can we know that the 66
books of the Bible (Old and New Testament) are the books God has ordained? How
can we be sure that the Bible we have is God’s word? Who determines that the
Bible is the word of God? How did we get our Bible? How was the canon of
Scripture, the accepted 66 books of the Bible, determined? In 2 Timothy Paul
writes to pastor Timothy about this very subject.
Norman Geisler provides the
proper perspective on canonicity when he states, “Canonicity is determined by
God. A book is not inspired because men made it canonical; it is canonical
because God inspired it.” [7]
Geisler provides a contrast to differentiate the correct from incorrect view of
canonicity:
INCORRECT
VIEW CORRECT
VIEW
The Church is DETERMINER of
Canon The Church is DISCOVERER of
Canon
The Church is MOTHER of
Canon The Church is CHILD
of Canon
The Church is MAGISTRATE of
Canon The Church is MINISTER
The Church is REGULATOR of
Canon The Church is RECOGNIZER
of Canon
The Church is JUDGE of
Canon The Church is
WITNESS of Canon
The Church is MASTER of
Canon The Church is
SERVANT of Canon
How
was canonicity discovered? Geisler states
were five criteria used by the early church to discover the canon of Scripture.
- Is it AUTHORITATIVE? Did it come with the authority of
God? (E.g. “Says the LORD” Is.
1:18; Mk. 1:22)
- Is it PROPHETIC? Was it written by a man of God? (2
Peter 1:20; Heb. 1:1)
- Is it AUTHENTIC? Did it tell the truth about God, man,
etc.? The Bible does not contradict truth. (Acts 17:11; I John 4:1-6)
- Is it DYNAMIC? Did it come with the life-changing
power of God? (2 Tim. 3:16-17;Heb. 4:12; 1 Peter 1:23)
- Was it RECEIVED? Was it collected, read, used and
accepted by the people of God as the word of God? (1 Thessalonians 2:13)
Geisler adds that canonicity is
based on “The witness of the Holy Spirit.
He states:
The
recognition of canonicity was not a mere mechanical matter settled by a synod
or ecclesiastical council. It was a
providential process directed by the Spirit of God as He witnessed to the church about the reality of
the Word of God. Man of himself could not identify
the Word of God, but the Holy Spirit opened the eyes of their understanding so that they could recognize God’s Word.
Jesus said, ‘My sheep will hear My voice’ (John 10:27). . . . In the providence of God, the principles
were used to determine the extent of the
canon, while the Holy Spirit gave assurance as to the reality of its
message.” [8]
“The
Old Testament canon was probably completed about 400 B.C. . . . At the
councils (of Hippo -A.D.
393 and Carthage - A.D. 397) the New Testament canon which was ratified agreed with the present-day
canon of twenty-seven books. It should be remembered,
however, that the canon was actually completed when the last New Testament book was written. “ [9]
Third, "All Scripture . . . is
profitable." "Profitable"
(Greek
ophelimos) means beneficial, useful, that which accomplishes its purpose. Scripture
is our God-given practical instrument to know Him and His heart and truth and
to live in a way that is pleasing to Him. Scripture helps us to know right from
wrong, truth from falsehood and how God's will is carried out in life. Paul
lays out seven useful purposes of Scripture:
1.
“Doctrine”
(Greek didaskalia) means teaching. Scripture is the basis and
resource for what is to be taught to
God's people. The Scriptures are what we use to train disciples in the ways of
God's truth and salvation. .
2.
“Reproof”
(Greek elegchos) means proof,
conviction, the measure of what is and isn't sin, conviction
of sin. Scripture is useful to test and prove, to convict people of sin. We know what sin is by God's word. And we
know where confession of sin and repentance are necessary based on God's word.
3.
“Correction”
(Greek epanorthosis) refers to straightening up again, rectification,
restoration to an upright position or right state with God. Scripture
doesn't only negatively point out sin in life, it also provides the counsel on
how a sinner can be restored to proper standing.
4.
“Instruction in righteousness” -
"Instruction" (Greek paideia) refers to educational
training, disciplinary action. Scripture
is our primary instrument for discipleship. "Righteousness" (Greek dikaiosyne) refers to what is necessary for a person to be in a
state of rightness with God; acceptable to God.
5. “That
the man of God may be complete,"
"Complete" (Greek artios) means complete,
capable, measuring up to what it should be, perfect. The disciples Jesus
desires to be made via the fulfillment of the Great Commission are people of
the Scriptures.
6.
“Thoroughly equipped” (Greek
exartizo) means having been fully fitted and furnished, to furnish perfectly. to have
everything needed. Scripture provides us with everything we need. We don't
have to supplement it. We simply have to study it and know it better. If we
come to a situation where we can't find an answer or solution in God's word, it
doesn't mean the Scriptures are deficient. It means we simply need to
prayerfully study God's word more deeply.
7.
"For every good work" -
"Good" (Greek agathos)
refers to that which is beneficial, good,
a good thing, good in the sense of being pleasing to God. Whatever good
thing we desire to do we can find what we need on how to do it in God's word.
Respect
God’s Word
It is always a dangerous thing to try to bend
God’s word to fit human opinion. That is what we will see happening in some segments
of the church today. This is especially the case when the world is approving of
behaviors the Scriptures define as sin. Pressure is brought to bear on the
church to be "relevant" and comply with the ways of the world. If the
church doesn't comply, doesn't depart from the truth of Scripture, then the
world brings out the big guns of false accusations of being evil such as were
levied against Paul by opposition in his day (e.g. 2 Tim. 2:9). No matter how much we are referred to as
"haters, bigots, intolerant," etc., we must speak the truth in love
and not compromise.
God
in His word warns against altering or deviating from HIs revealed truth in His
word. From the beginning God
has commanded this very clearly. For instance:
·
Deuteronomy 4:2 - 2 You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor
take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.
·
Deuteronomy 12:32 - 32
“Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor
take away from it.
·
Proverbs 30:5-6 - Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those
who put their trust in Him.6 Do not add to His words, Lest
He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.
·
Revelation 22:18-19 - 18 For I testify to everyone who
hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things,
God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19
and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall
take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from
the things which are written in this book.
If you wrote a letter to someone and the
person who read it changed your words and altered its meaning to mean something
other than what you clearly and simply intended, you would probably find that
offensive and even criminal. If a general sent orders to the front lines and
when they got there the orders were altered
by those in lesser command, the offenders would face a court marshal and
more importantly victory in the battle would be put in jeopardy. Changing God’s
word is like changing orders or changing a letter, it puts people at risk and
jeopardizes God’s intended purposes, it is offensive and it is criminal.
God’s
word is holy, unique, and ought to be approached with the utmost reverence. God says His word is holy which means it is
unique. To the Romans Paul spoke of God's promises, "which He promised before through His
prophets in the Holy Scriptures, (Romans 1:2). There is no book like God’s Bible. No other book is verified and
validated by the combination of manuscript evidence, archeological evidence,
prophetic evidence, the preservation in the face of persecution evidence and
the logical statistical rational of the combination of these factors considered
together. No book can match the 66 book
Bible for truth and reliability. God’s word is holy and we ought to have
reverence for it.
We
should inductively look to learn from God in His word not deductively look to
use God’s word to support our views. The proper way to approach God’s word is
inductively. This means we come to it open and eager to learn what the Holy
Spirit wants to reveal to us through the word. This means we come to the word
of God first and form our beliefs and opinions based on what the word says, not
the other way around. When a person approaches God’s word deductively with
preconceived beliefs and then seeks to support their particular opinions with
God’s word, it leads to scripture twisting, misinterpretation, misunderstanding
and manipulation of God’s Holy Word.
We are the ones who must learn from God; we
cannot teach God anything. At the root of the problem is that we live in a
sinful world with man at its center. Unfortunately, this man-centered mentality
has crept into the church. The Bible refers to this as the works of the flesh,
walking according to our own understanding rather than walking in the Spirit
and being guided by God (1 Corinthians 3; Galatians 3:1-5; 5:16-26). We
shouldn’t look to shade God’s word to fit our preconceived opinions. Rather we
should look to the Holy Spirit to illuminate God’s word to our understanding (1
Corinthians 2:9-15).
When people try to contemporize God’s word
under the premise that it needs to be made “relevant” to the peer pressures,
people and beliefs of the day, what they have done is they have become people
pleasers and consequently stopped being servants of God (Galatians 1:10). This is the problem we see especially in the
area of the creation-evolution debate. Some have accepted that science has
proven the age of the universe to be billions of years old. They therefore come
to God’s word with this preconceived belief and superimpose it on God’s word.
They look for gaps where they can fit “millions of years.” They look for loop
holes to stretch twenty four hour days into millions of years. All of this is
done by leaving the common sense clear meaning of scripture for complicated
reinterpretations of God’s word. It is interesting that efforts to alter the
understanding of God’s word to fit modern “scientific” findings coincide with
the prevailing fads of the day and in reality the ever changing notions of the
time. For instance the theory that there is a gap in Genesis 1 where millions
of years could be fit coincided with the rise in the scientific community of
the belief that the earth was millions and then billions of years old.
God’s word is true and unchanging like He is
(Matthew 24:35; John 17:17 ;
Hebrews 13:8). Rather than trying to change God’s word to fit the prevailing
human opinion of the day we ought to be trying to see how what human beings say
fit according to God’s word. When you look at human fields of learning you find
an ever changing unstable series of “facts” that with time prove to be wrong or
off for the most part. God’s word is dependable and has stood the test of time.
We need to respect it when we approach it because it is indeed, God’s word.
As we conclude this chapter which communicates so powerfully the vital
place God's Word holds in the Christian life I share a statement on God's word
that I came across written by an anonymous author. It is one of the best
descriptions of God's word and its usefulness for the Christian that I've come by.
THE BIBLE - GOD’S HOLY BOOK
This Book contains the mind of God,
the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. It’s doctrines
are holy, it’s precepts are binding, it’s
histories are true, and it’s decisions immutable. Read it to be wise, believe
it to be safe, and practice it to be
holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s
staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s
sword, and the Christian’s charter. Christ is it’s subject, our good it’s
design, and the glory of God it’s
end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently and prayerfully. It
is given to you in life, will be open in the judgment,
and be remembered forever. It involves the highest responsibility, rewards the greatest labor, and condemns all who trifle
with its holy precepts.”
Remember that the next time you
hold God's precious Scriptures in your hands. Remember and approach the Holy
Ground accordingly.
[1] http://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-europe/infamous-mamertine-prison-and-supposed-incarceration-saint-peter-003447
[2] http://scholarscorner.com/museums/mamertin
[3] Complete Biblical Library Commentary - The Complete Biblical
Library – Galatians-Philemon.
[5] H
A Ironside - American Bible teacher, pastor, and author. Authored more than 60
volumes including highly regarded commentaries on the books of the Bible. For
18 of his 50 years of ministry, he was pastor at Moody Memorial Church in
Chicago.
[6] http://www.bartleby.com/209/750.html
[7]
A
General Introduction to the Bible, Norman Geisler and William E. Nix, Moody Press, p.
136-147.
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