thoroughly furnished unto all good works ( 2 Timothy 3:17 ). 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. Oh God, I want you to use my life. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known It is the whole spiritual experience, so to speak, of the apostle. Love of self is the basic sin, from with all others flow. So the Greek word that is used here to describe these that are going around, leading captive the silly women, is the same Greek word that was used to describe quackery, and that's probably they're quacks, Paul is saying. I don't know exactly yet what He said but when I find out I know He's going to be right. One dark night in a forest in Sicily a brigand held up a colporteur at the point of a revolver. For it is not dogma pure and simple, it is not mere instruction; and we may thank God for it. The devil is the patron saint of all slanderers and of all slanderers he is chief. Lipscomb's Commentary on Selected NT Books, Verse 12. The apostle mentions the Lord's delivering him out of them all, for Timothy's and our encouragement under sufferings. Here is the essential conclusion. The most amazing things may happen if he does, for there is a saving wisdom here that is in no other book. He returned after the first missionary journey to visit the Churches he had founded, "strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God" ( Acts 14:22). Traitors . Paul's life: one of longsuffering, one of love and one of patience. It may flourish for a time, but when it is exposed to the light of truth it is bound to shrivel and die. What Does It Really Mean That Your Body Is a Temple? In other words, there is within the Old Testament so much concerning Jesus Christ that through the understanding and the study of the Old Testament you should logically be led to Jesus Christ. As far as appointment went, Titus had a commission to establish elders in each city of Crete; but not so Timothy, as far as the inspired records speak. Nowadays we have to restate these old pictures in modern terms. (iv) The Scriptures are of use for correction. Paul suffered as he taught: a single eye to Christ and His grace made him consistent. 12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. He was to continue in the things which he had learned, and had been assured of, knowing of whom he had learned them a very important point. Noah, the earth was really flooded? It denotes a savagery which has neither sensitiveness nor sympathy. Paul kept back nothing from his hearers, but declared to them the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27), so that if it were not their own fault they might fully know it. The closing chapter (2 Timothy 4:1-22) then gives his solemn charge, and at the same time his own expression of what was before him. So you have to be careful when you start chipping it away at one side because the whole thing will come down on you. But they do enshrine the permanent truth that some time there must come the consummation when evil meets God in head-on collision and there comes the final triumph of God. So don't expect the world to speak well of you or to applaud you for your living a godly life and taking a righteous stand. It begets a contempt of men which can issue in hurting actions and in wounding words. Promotions are withheld, invitations are denied, and a snickering unpopularity are the daily portion of many precious souls working in a hostile, atheistic environment. How Daniels Prophecy of 70 Weeks Connects to the End Times. That persecution which will properly furnish any evidence that we are the friends of Christ, must be only that which is "for righteousness sake" Matthew 5:10, and must be brought upon us in an honest effort to obey the commands of God. The apostle had a particular reference, doubtless, to his own times; but he has put his remark into the most general form, as applicable to all periods. "Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. It is able to make us wise to salvation; that is, it is a sure guide in our way to eternal life. 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). In the Jewish pictures of these last terrible times we get exactly the same kind of picture as we get here. The way of sin is down-hill; for such proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. The real meaning of this is that all theories, all theologies, all ethics, are to be tested against the Bible. Oh, Jesus, you mean you believe that story? "She then makes the effort to reward Marcus, not only by the gift of her possessions (in which way he has collected a very large fortune), but also by yielding up to him her person, desiring in every way to be united to him, that she may become altogether one with him." Amidst all the stories one fact stands out--Jannes and Jambres became legendary figures typifying all those who opposed the purposes of God and the work of his true leaders. In vain shall we endeavor to detach Christ from his cross; for it may be said to be natural that the world should hate Christ even in his members. In either case the word describes a certain harshness of mind which separates a man from his fellow-men in unrelenting bitterness. The task of the apostle is not only to tell men the truth; it is also to help them do it. [2.] The study of the Scriptures must never be selfish, never simply for the good of a man's own soul. The disorder might be so great that we might make mistakes in our anxiety; but "The Lord knoweth them that are his." 2. Lear's words remain true: "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is. The woman protests that she has never done so and cannot do so. What does 2 Timothy 3:13 mean? Men will refuse to recognize even the ultimate decencies of life. If there is no human affection, the family cannot exist. [2.] And the reason why he makes it so urgent not to be turned aside was, that the time would come when men would not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts they should heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they should turn away their ears from the truth, and should be. He warns Timothy of the fatal end of seducers, as a reason why he should stick closely to the truth as it is in Jesus: But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, c., 2 Timothy 3:13; 2 Timothy 3:13. B. 2 Timothy 3:12 "Many are the afflictions of the righteous," the psalmist writes (Psalm 34:19).Peter supplies a partial answer to this in I Peter 4:12: "Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you, as does Paul's statement in II Timothy 3:12: "Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer . On account of his opinions, he may be held up to ridicule, or treated with neglect, or excluded from society to which his attainments and manners would otherwise introduce him, or shunned by those who might otherwise value his friendship. Jambres. Even if we look at Him so, He was raised from the dead. "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. It is undoubtedly true at all times, and will ever be, that they who are devoted Christians - who live as the Saviour did - and who carry out his principles always, will experience some form of persecution. If they contradict the teaching of the Bible, they are to be refused. Timothy's job, for the sake of the future, involves more preservation than innovation. Such offence can and does happen yet. "To Timothy, my dearly-beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Timothy fully knew Paul's good character, which he might gather from his doctrine, manner of life, and purpose; for he gave proofs of his faith (that is, of his integrity and fidelity, or his faith in Christ, his faith concerning another world, by which Paul lived), his long-suffering towards the churches to which he preached and over which he presided, his charity towards all men, and his patience. If Timothy would adhere to the truth as he had been taught it, this would arm him against the snares and insinuations of seducers. That which finishes a man of God in this world is the scripture. 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 leaving guilelessness, will draw near to malice; And forsaking the commandments of the Lord. There is patience. Look at the lack, lackness. Such is the meaning of purging himself. Blasphemia is the word which is transliterated into English as blasphemy. Accordingly, there is a depth of feeling that one may safely say far exceeds the first epistle, although it had shown so much tenderness and care both for Timothy and the faithful of those days. After considering his own life, Paul speaks of others desiring to live godly lives as he has done, a life of piety toward God that will always be opposed by the world. And they use the book of Job as their proof text. In 2Baruch we get an even more vivid picture of the moral chaos of these last times: And envy shall rise in those who had not thought ought of. I am not at liberty of course to leave Christendom, I dare not get out of the great house at all; indeed I cannot (at any rate without becoming an apostate) leave the house of God, however bad its state may be. This may be either an injury done to his feelings, his family, his reputation, his property, his liberty, his influence; it may be by depriving him of an office which he held, or preventing him from obtaining one to which he is eligible; it may be by subjecting him to fine or imprisonment, to banishment, torture, or death. Many and many a time we would be saved from hurting ourselves and from wounding other people, if we would only stop to think. Let me remark, that there are comparatively few indeed that receive truth without help of others directly from God. It is as if he said to them: "You have been well warned." It's instructing us in righteousness. A. M. Chirgwin in The Bible in World Evangelism tells the story of a ward sister in a children's hospital in England. Help us purchase electrical generators for churches. That's not the kind of promises we really enjoy, is it? 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.