This chapter contains some of the richest verses about the veracity of the Word of God, and the reality of persecution in the New Testament. It also contains some of the strongest language in the Bible against those who pose as teachers of the Scriptures, but are actually false teachers and what our world will be like as it approaches the end. And it contrasts for us the difference between those who accept the Bible as God’s Word, and those who don’t. It is both an encouragement and a warning to us.
Paul has just gotten through encouraging Timothy to hang in there - that serving the truth will make him a noble vessel in the Lord’s house - that he will be used for the Lord to do great things. He warned Timothy to stay away from contaminating behaviors "youthful lusts" he called them. What we see here are examples of people who have given in to every possible desire - youthful or otherwise.
1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God- 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
Times will be "terrible" (comes from a word that means "to strike") because the character of those who have rejected God will spill out into the world. No longer will their iniquity be concealed in a closet, but it will be open and attempts will be made to attack the godly and tempt the weak into ungodliness. Christians will be under attack as never before.
Paul gives us a searing list of the characteristics of those people:
The beginning of verse 2 says it all: they love themselves more than anything or anyone. This is the archetypical sin - and was Lucifer’s downfall (Isaiah 14:13) and ours as well (Genesis 3). How that manifests itself is found in the rest of the paragraph.
- Love money and pleasure
- Boastful and proud: boastful is someone who is proud without any basis for it and proud is someone who takes their false sense of self and looks down on others because of it (arrogant).
- Abusive describes the way in which they act towards others - like slanderous, brutal, treacherous, and rash. They will say or do anything to push themselves up and put others down.
- Ungrateful and disobedient to parents: Since all they can see is themselves they certainly won’t be thankful to others or obedient to their parents.
They also lack two important character ingredients: love, and self control. Love is putting the needs of others before yours needs. Self control is putting God’s character before yours.
Ephesians 4:17-19 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more
Rather than love God they love whatever pleases them.
Proverbs 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.
They have a "form of godliness but denying its power." They aren’t walking around wearing signs that say "I love myself more than you" - in fact, they wrap a robe of religion or respectability around them. But in reality, there is no truth to their religion and their lives deny the power of God over them.
This means that they could be church goers, who know the lingo and the songs and how to appear godly - but in reality they deny the gospel and leave God totally out of their lives. Such was the character of the false teachers plaguing Timothy at Ephesus.
What does it mean to us? You can’t just put on a Christian costume and be saved. Christianity isn’t a club you join or a part you play. There is a real salvation that needs to happen because without being made pure by God we are all destined for hell because of our sin. Without the power of God saving and transforming us we are simply fools - and once begun in God’s Spirit - we cannot hope to perfect ourselves by our own efforts - once again His power must be in us to make us like Him.
So now Paul begins to describe how these guys work:
6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7 always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.
These false teachers would come into the homes of women - not being truthful about their motives. Reminds me of the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses - who come into your house with a general sounding discussion topic, but their real motive is to take you captive into their false religion.
It’s important here to know some cultural things. Women here had recently come out of paganism and had new found freedom in Christ. They did not have the education or the foundations in sound doctrine that would have made them wary of the false teachers. Plus the fact that it was very difficult for women to be employed in that society and there were a large number of widows in that church.
So you have uneducated, but easily guilted, women (through their past in paganism) who had nothing but time to listen to this very intelligent sounding doctrine spoon fed to them. It wasn’t their fault - but a these men took advantage of a weakness caused by society.
(7) No matter how much they studied this doctrine, they could never come to an understanding of the truth because there is no truth in it!
That’s why it’s so important, especially as a young believer, to learn good doctrine. I would recommend using our website to go through some of the books we’ve studied - and also pick up some good books like: Dwight Pentecost "Things that make for sound doctrine"
8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth - men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.
Jannes and Jambres are not found anywhere in Exodus. But Jewish tradition held that they were two of the Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses (Exodus 7 & 9)
The two ideas about this type of person is that they have a mind that doesn’t work properly anymore and their beliefs - and their faith in their beliefs - doesn’t stand the truth test. You can get so caught up on legalism or false doctrine that you simply can’t think any other way - it’s called brain washing. No matter what you believe, if it is anything other than the gospel of Jesus Christ as clearly revealed in Scripture - then it simply won’t work!
Eventually they will be found out. In Exodus the magicians were able to do some sleight of hand to create snakes (though Moses snake ate theirs), and blood - but when they tried to make gnats they failed. I’ve always wondered what good it did for them to make more of what hurt the Egyptians anyway. You can fool people for a while - even do fake healings or fake word of knowledge - but eventually - like taking a lie detector test - it will come out - either as people see the trickery or the lack of real effect in their life - or when God returns and everyone’s real motives are revealed.
Talk about a truth detector, though - that was Paul:
10 You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11 persecutions, sufferings - what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 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 the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Again - Timothy may have struggled - against these kind of people - what use is it for me to carry on? So Paul again uses himself as an example. Earlier in the book he told Timothy that he wasn’t alone in his struggles - here Paul tells him that the Lord will not only be with him but will rescue him.
You’ve gotta picture Paul in a dark cold dungeon, knowing the likelihood that Nero was going to execute him - yet he says that the Lord has delivered him from all sufferings. It reminds me of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. When they were told to bow before an idol or be thrown into the fiery furnace they said:
Daniel 3:17-18 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."
Even if they had died, they would have been rescued. So too it was for Paul, Timothy - and you and I.
Jesus said:
Luke 12:4-5 "I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear : Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.
So nothing anyone can do to you will harm you, really. Not ultimately.
So in this paragraph Paul is saying:
1. I’ve stuck with it through thick and thin - my calling
2. Knowing that the Lord is Lord of my trials as well as my triumphs
3. You too will undergo trouble as a Christian (if you want to be like Him)
4. Bad guys will likely stay bad guys
5. But continue no matter what in what you have learned from people you trust ("keep on")
Then in verse 15 Paul makes two startling statements about the Bible:
- Scriptures can make you wise for salvation. Primarily this refers to the Old Testament, but could also include the 4 gospels and Paul’s writings. Notice Timothy didn’t hear the gospel from a powerful preacher, but from Mom, Dad, and Grandma.
- All Scripture is God-breathed.
1. God said it
Again, Paul may have had the Old Testament in mind - but all Scripture can easily include the writings of the New Testament. The Apostle Peter indicates in 2 Peter 3:15 that Paul’s writings are also from God.
2. God meant it to be used
Paul says Scriptures are "useful" - they are not just a collection of stories and wise sayings - the Holy Spirit inspired men for a reason - one of which is to show what is false by telling what is true!
Paul gives us four purposes for the Word:
Teaching - telling us what the truth is - that’s what God designed to do with the Scriptures. What’s the truth that God is trying to share with me?
Rebuking - telling what the false is. You must measure everything by whether it squares with the Bible, and that’s how we tell truth from error and we should be taken to task for something that isn’t aligned with Scripture. What part of my thinking or behaving has been in error?
Correcting - means to take that which is false and make it correct. Like taking a bent rod and straightening it - the Bible gives us the template for how to adjust our thinking and our acting. How can I adjust my thinking or behavior to be like the Lord?
Training - The Bible is not just a teacher but also a trainer. As you practically apply the doctrines, rebukes, and corrections you become "right" or someone that thinks like the Lord. How can I take the truth and make it work out in my life and prepare me for the future?
Now its not just our idea of what Scripture says or what we think it says - that’s why we need to study it for ourselves and along with godly men and women who have prayed and thought about these things.
What is the goal? 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
It means to be capable and proficient. We shouldn’t study the Bible just to get more head knowledge or win arguments - but so that we can take His truth and live it out in our lives and share it with others.
Conclusions
Do you trust the Scriptures as the Word of God? If not, why not? Think long and hard about it, especially based on this chapter. The Bible itself is not sacred - not the pages of a book - but the words written in it are. They are the very words breathed out by God. You cannot take just some of them, you have to take the whole thing. Why not believe and then let His Holy Spirit guide you into all truth?
Which kind of person do you want to be? If you try to make the Scriptures bend to your own understanding, you will see the consequences - rotten flesh and corruption of others. But if you let the Scriptures bend you - and you stick with the Lord even though the tough times when the opposition tries to waylay you - you will see your own life transformed into His image and others benefit from what He has worked in you.
"But as for you - continue in what you have learned!"
Jesus also said:
John 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
For more Bible studies and an audio copy of this message, go to: www.CalvaryChapelNewberg.org.
