The journey down the yellow brick road seemed pretty safe at the beginning for Dorothy. But we know from the story of The Wizard of Oz that the bright yellow brick road would intersect with an evil witch, dangerous flying animals and personal fears that must be overcome.
One of the characters In the Wizard of Oz that Dorothy meets is the Tin Woodman. The original fairy tale provides some detail that the movie left out. The Tin Woodman had once been a REAL man who had been in love with a beautiful Munchkin maiden. It was his dream to marry her once he could earn enough money to build them a cottage in the woods. But the Wicked Witch hated his love and she cast spells upon the man that caused him injury, so that one by one his limbs needed to be replaced with artificial ones, made of tin. With a heart of love and arms that never tired, it seemed that victory was surely his.
Listen to the words that writer L. Frank Baum put into the mouth of the Tin Woodman.
“I thought I had beaten the Wicked Witch then, and I worked harder than ever; but I little knew how cruel my enemy could be. She thought of a new way to kill my love for the beautiful Munchkin maiden, and made my ax slip again, so that is cut right through my body, splitting it into two halves. Once more the tinner came to my help and made me a body of tin. Fastening my tin arms and legs and head to it, by means of joints, so that I could move around as well as ever. But alas! I now had no heart, so that I lost all my love for the Munchkin girl, and did not care whether I married her or not…”
The Tin Woodman then tells how he got caught in a rainstorm without his oil can and his joints rusted so that he could not move. A year passed before Dorothy finds him. When he can speak again he tells Dorothy.
“It was a terrible thing to undergo, but during the year I stood there I had time to think that the greatest loss I had known was the loss of my heart. While I was in love I was the happiest man on earth, but no one can love who has not a heart, and so I am resolved to ask Oz to give me one. If he does, I will go back to the Munchkin maiden and marry her.”
Both Dorothy and the Scarecrow had been greatly interested in the story of the Tin Woodman, and now they knew why he was so anxious to get a new heart. “All the same,” said the Scarecrow, “I shall ask for brains instead of a heart; for a fool would not know what to do with a heart if he had one.” “I shall take the heart,” returned the Tim Woodman; “for brains do not make one happy, and happiness is the best thing in the world.”
In 2 Timothy 3:1-9 Paul is going to describe life during the last days and the threat to our hearts and the happiest God desires for us. Let me warn you now…it is not pretty. I believe the challenge from this passage is that we must learn to protect our hearts and the hearts of the next generation. It warns us that along the yellow brick road there is an enemy roaming about who is seeking to kill our heart for God, steal the truth from our minds and end the happiest God intended for us.
Paul is shooting a warning shot across our spiritual bow so that we will protect ourselves and the next generation from the values, behaviors and beliefs of the world and those who would seek to push these values, behaviors and beliefs on us.
Let me share a personal word to put this challenge in perspective. As you know I have a wonderful wife and two great sons. I love them more than I can effectively communicate. For the most part, although some would disagree, I am pretty level headed and self-controlled in my responses to people and life. But let me tell you something honestly, if someone came around my house and sought to harm my sons or my wife they will discover really quickly that the path is blocked and any further attempts will be met with greater force. That’s a nice sugar coated way of saying I would be ticked and I am going to bring it. I’ll let you in on something else about me and my family. If anyone comes around seeking to harm their hearts and steal the truth from them, I will come with the same energy as if they were in physical danger because I do not want them to become Tin Woodman.
Men and women, as we grow the next generation of Christ-followers we must realize that many of them are like tender shoots that can be trampled upon by spiritual imposters. Others are young samplings that are still susceptible to the deceptions of people who appear to follow Christ but whose hearts are far from God. Others are once healthy trees that are now dying because they became infected with the disease of spiritual lies communicated by pseudo-spiritual people.
This spiritual forest has been entrusted to you and I and we must protect them from false truth, deceptive living and immoral seducers…and along the way we must protect ourselves as well. Before we look at the characteristics of these worldly people let me sternly warn us: the danger is not just “out there” it is “in here” as well. We have a tendency to think that the “world” is at our place of employment and in our neighborhood. But Paul is telling us that these people are in our Christian schools and masquerading even in our churches. And he is telling us to “bring it” spiritually.
Let’s begin by doing what all good soldiers do. Let’s understand what we are up against. Read 2 Timothy 3:1-5. What is your gut response to that list? Does it cause you fear, anxiety and to run away or does it kindle compassion for those blinded by sin and stir an urge to speak truth to them? I hope it is the latter.
The Life of Worldly People: vs 1-5
Before describing their lives Paul gives us a statement in verse 1 that is meant to stop us dead in our tracks. Men and women, we are living in the last days. I believe the last days began with the coming of Christ and will culminate when He returns again. The church of God has been at war since its inception in Acts 2 and will continue to wage war until Christ returns to make all things right.
The word “times” could better be translated “epochs” or “eras” thus the verse reads, “But realize this, in the last days difficult epochs will come.” The battle we wage today is simply the current expression of an on-going war with an old enemy. You and I are the warriors called to the battle today. The church has always been under attack and you and I are here today because previous warrior mentors protected us. Somebody fought for you and somebody fought for me and now we must fight for the next generation. So sober up we are in the last days. In the next few verses Paul gives us a laundry list description of people in the last days. Let me summarize these 19 characteristics in 4 ways.
1. They are empty of true love
Lovers of self. Lovers of money. Lovers of pleasure.
Without love. Not lovers of good. Not lovers of God.
They loved themselves, money and pleasure rather than loving good and God. Their heart beats only for their own wants, desires and pleasures. They are infatuated with themselves, their lusts and their personal gain. The Reformer John Calvin wrote, “For so blindly do we all rush in the direction of self-love that everyone thinks he has good reason for exalting himself. There is no other remedy than to pluck up by the roots that most noxious pest, self-love.” Quoted in The MacArthur NT Commentary-2 Timothy, page 109. In reality they have prostituted themselves at the feet of self, money and pleasure. They share love with no one and experience little love in return.
2. They worship at the alter of self
Boastful. Proud. Rash. Conceited. Without self-control
Boasting and pride are evil twins marked by self-exaltation and a fierce determination to have their own way. They live recklessly and without a sense of boundaries. They have no self-control. This is not talking about an occasional raid on the refrigerator in the midst of a diet but of a lack of ability to reign in immoral impulses and desires. The commentator William Barclay describes this person like this. “In his heart there is a little alter where he bows down before himself, and in his eyes there is something which looks at all (other) men with a silent contempt.” Quoted in The MacArthur NT Commentary-2 Timothy, page 113.
3. They devalue life and relationships
Abusive. Disobedient to parents. Ungrateful. Unholy. Unforgiving. Slanderous. Brutal. Treacherous.
They are the Homer Simpson’s and Sponge Bobs of the world. They are the video game programmers who hide graphic sex scenes in retail version video games that can be unlocked via the Internet.* They demonstrate little or no respect for people and devalue human life even as they rebel against their parents. Ungrateful. Unholy. Unforgiving. Slanderous. Brutal. Throw those ingredients into the blender of life and relational death will pour out. “Thanks” and “thank you” will be seldom upon their lips. Decency will not characterize their behavior toward God and others. They prefer a good fight rather than a reconciled friendship. Their words are full of gossip and put downs. Compassion is replaced by revenge; care by mockery; sensitivity by coldness and faithfulness by betrayal. There is one more.
4. They fake the spiritual life: Having a form of godliness but denying its power.
This is perhaps the most dangerous aspect of these people. They claim to know God. They come to church, possibly even a small group. They sing the songs and attend the meetings. They may even help out at church. To the casual observer they appear to be faithful followers of Christ. BUT the life changing power of the gospel is vacant from their life. They claim to be a tree but dig below the surface and you will find no roots. Slice into the trunk and you will find disease. Look into the limbs and their will be no fruit. Titus 1:16 puts it this way, “They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.”
And what is to be our response to such people? The Apostle Paul says have nothing to do with them. And if they bring their lies into the church then for the sake of our hearts and the sake of the next generation, we must call them out and confront them. Now let’s keep in mind a bit of wisdom here. Paul is telling us to separate from those who HARM the church but to remain among those who NEED the church. We need to go after those who spread lies within the body but be winsome to those who are seeking. We need to stop false teaching but inform mis-guided but genuine spiritual inquirers. This is going to demand discernment and wisdom. It is going to require that we be people of the Word and people who walk close with Christ.
While these encouraging words are still ringing in our ears let’s pause a moment and talk about protecting our hearts. How are we going to avoid becoming Tin Woodman without a heart? Let me offer three suggestions.
1. Know your areas of temptation and set up barriers to prevent falling.
Verses 1-5 listed some 19 characteristics of the world. I know that more than one of them is a challenge for me. Maybe you are like me. In dark moments I want to indulge the flesh. In spiritually dry times sin begins to look more like chocolate ice cream than the raw sewage it is. So look through the list some time this week and mark the top 2 that are challenges for you. Then do this. Set up some barriers around those temptations that will help you to remain strong. People often put orange cones around things they want to make off limits. Place these cones in your life to make sin off limits.
* Cone of daily Bible reading: There are reading plans on the table in the lobby if you need one. You can go to www.backtothebible.org/devotions/journey. There you can download a reading plan to your computer or PDA or print a paper copy. You can even buy a CD version of the Bible and have someone read it to you each day.
* Cone of Bible memorization: begin to memorize the Bible. How about one verse a month. On the table are a couple samples from NavPress you can check out.
* Cone of accountability to a spiritual friend: Christ meant for us to include others in our lives. Remember, following Christ is intensely personal but cannot be entirely private. We need another Christ-follower to open our life to who will challenge us, love us and who will not let us get away with sin.
* Cone of replacement. Find the opposite of the temptation and pursue it. For instance, replace your gossip with prayer; replace pride with service; replace the need for things by giving to others; replace revenge with forgiveness. Maybe even replace the internet and TV with spiritual conversations with family and friends.
2. Remain hidden in Christ as you walk among the world. Colossians 3:3
People who fight wild fires around the world understand well the dangers of working in the middle of danger. Wild fires are unpredictable and can change suddenly. The wind shifts and a fire fighter who was safe a moment before is suddenly caught in the middle of the blaze. That is why these fire fighters carry with them a portable fire shelter. These portable fire shelters pop up quickly and the fire fighter climbs inside until for safety. Men and women, as we journey through life there will be times when the world will seek to over take us and destroy us. In those moments we must find our security and safety in Christ alone. Hide in His power. Hide in His care. Hide in Him…but don’t hide from the world.
3. Periodically remove yourself from the battle for a time of solitude.
Christ had a habit of seeking solitude as a means of spiritual rejuvenation. As we read the gospels we find Him often alone with the Father. I believe those were deep moments where Christ found the perspective, peace and energy to go at it again. One writer said this about the importance of solitude. “It has been said that no great work in literature or science was ever wrought by a person who did not love solitude. We may lay it down as an elemental principle of religion, that no large growth in holiness was ever gained by one who did not take time to be often long alone with God.” Austin Phelps as quoted in Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald Whitney, page 186.
In the remaining part of our passage Paul describes a specific example that was happening in the Ephesian church. Read 2 Timothy 3:6-9.
The capture and enslavement of the weak. 2 Timothy 3:6-9
Paul describes how a small group of men from the world infiltrated the church and were able to prey upon the spiritually weak. In this case, the prey were weak-willed women who were “heaped with sin and fed by various lusts” as the literal translation would read. The worldliness and immaturity of these women coupled with gullibility made them vulnerable to whatever religious fad or deviation from truth that came their way. They were the ones sending money to preachers promising health and wealth or inviting cults like the Jehovah Witness or Mormons into their homes with a genuine interest to join them.
As Paul peels back the layers of lies, deceptions and sins these women were committing he finally arrives at the core. They could not grasp truth and so they gave themselves both physically and spiritually to men who in reality opposed the very truth of God.
Paul uses the example of Jannes and Jambres to make his point. These men are listed no where else in the Bible but Jewish legend says they were two of the magicians Pharaoh called upon to oppose Moses in the book of Exodus. Paul uses the comparison to both warn Timothy and affirm him. The warning is that people have always opposed the truth of God and those who stand with God. The affirmation is that they will not win the war.
So let me ask you a question. Are you the hunted…or the hunter? Are you so spiritually weak that you have become the prey? Have you already been taken captive and are presently a walking slave? Or are you the hunter seeking out those who seek to harm God’s people? Are you so steeped in God’s truth that you walk through you day as a threat to any who spread lies and deceptions? Remember, if our heart is captive, we will not be able to protect the next generation. So a word to each. If you are enslaved, acknowledge your sin, ask God to forgive you and get right whit anyone you need to and then get into the Bible with other Christ-followers. If you are the hunter, I want you to protect the next generation.
3 Suggestions for Protecting the Next Generation
1. Pass to them the practice of spiritual solitude and being hidden in Christ.
Give them the refreshment of solitude and the protection of being hidden in Christ.
2. Speak the truth of Scripture into their lives. Read 2 Timothy 2:2
3. Confront those who seek to bring the world into the church and thus harm the next generation: Read Titus 1:10-11
Let’s close with a word of encouragemen. Read 2 Timothy 3:9. The folly of those who oppose God will not endure. Christ wins. His church wins. So let’s walk out of here today knowing that in Christ we can protect our hearts and the hearts of the next generation of Christ-followers.
