Review
Last week the title of our study was A Workman Approved By God. What we learned was that the a workman approved by God was one who was able to teach the truth and try to correct those who oppose the truth. They should be patient with them even when they do wrong. The goal is to correct what is false and it is to help these people know and accept the truth. Maybe this will cause them to repent and if so God will forgive them.2 Timothy 2:23-25 (HCSB)23 But reject foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they breed quarrels.24 The Lord’s slave must not quarrel, but must be gentle to everyone, able to teach, and patient,25 instructing his opponents with gentleness. Perhaps God will grant them repentance leading ⌊them⌋ to the knowledge of the truth.
To do that he or she couldn't get caught up in quarreling or even engaging conversation about stuff that isn't important to the gospel or the teaching of it. Quarreling or quibbling ruins those who listen and those who quarrel. It wears people out and chips away at the faith.
2 Timothy 2:14 (HCSB) Remind them of these things, charging them before God not to fight about words; this is in no way profitable and leads to the ruin of the hearers.
It would be silly and a waste of time to argue with them. You can't convince them to change their minds anyway.
2 Timothy 2:16-18 (HCSB)16 But avoid irreverent, empty speech, for this will produce an even greater measure of godlessness.17 And their word will spread like gangrene; Hymenaeus and Philetus are among them.18 They have deviated from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and are overturning the faith of some.
The example that Paul used to demonstrate the kind of false teaching that he should avoid was that of The example was Hymenaeus and Philetus who were teaching that the resurrection had already happened.
2 Timothy 2:16-18 (HCSB)16 But avoid irreverent, empty speech, for this will produce an even greater measure of godlessness.17 And their word will spread like gangrene; Hymenaeus and Philetus are among them.18 They have deviated from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and are overturning the faith of some.
They taught that when you believed you came to life again or were resurrected. They said that this was the resurrection. They didn't believe that God would raise people from the dead physically. They thought that the body would remain in the grave. But the Bible teaches that the resurrection is still in the future. Jesus will come again and everybody would be resurrected physically, believers to be with Jesus and unbelievers for judgement.
Mark 13:26-27 (HCSB) Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.27 He will send out the angels and gather His elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (HCSB)13 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.14 Since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in the same way God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. 15 For we say this to you by a revelation from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord’s coming will certainly have no advantage over those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.17 Then we who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so we will always be with the Lord.18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
Introduction
2 Timothy 3:1-17
Paul ended chapter 2 by telling Timothy that he must be able to teach the truth and try to correct those who oppose the truth. The people that Paul was talking about at that point about are people who may have a resistance or some problem with some aspect of the gospel, like immersion vs. sprinkling, tongues or no tongues, Saturday worship or Sunday. Paul says be gentle and kind to these folk because they may repent. The goal is to correct what is false and help these people know and accept the truth. Maybe this will cause them to repent and if so God will forgive them.
In chapter 3 however he is talking about false teachers who have a different motive. Their motive is what? Money. It can also be pride or notoriety.
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| What Motivates False Teachers |
1 Timothy 6:3-5 (HCSB)3 If anyone teaches other doctrine and does not agree with the sound teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the teaching that promotes godliness,4 he is conceited, understanding nothing, but has a sick interest in disputes and arguments over words. From these come envy, quarreling, slander, evil suspicions,5 and constant disagreement among people whose minds are depraved and deprived of the truth, who imagine that godliness is a way to material gain.
Most of us go through stages in our lives where we are vulnerable to false teachers. Life crises, a serious illness, financial issues, divorce or breakup of a relationship, death, are all doors to change—for good or bad. In addition, guilt, greed and other lusts often distort judgment and give false teachers their opportunity.
Philetus and Hymanaeus, who we talked about last week and just a minute ago are examples. This is something Timothy fought against and something that we need to recognize and fight also. We can expect the same kind of struggle that Timothy and Paul had but in spite of the appeal of false teaching and teachers Paul had confidence in both Scripture and those who live by it. In this chapter he encourages Timothy to have confidence in these things.
What we want to do today is set out some standards for distinguishing truth from false teaching and teachers.
1. What factors do you think would make a person particularly susceptible to heresy?
I just gave you a few a serious illness, financial crises, divorce or breakup of a relationship, death of a loved one. Can you think of others?
2. What did Paul call to our attention?
2 Timothy 3:1 (HCSB) But know this: Difficult times will come in the last days.
In the last days, perilous times will come. The word translated as perilous is chlepos which means harsh, difficult, painful, dangerous, fierce, grievous, hard to deal with. It describes a society that has no virtue.
The next few verses list the bad attitudes and the evils that are to come.
2 Timothy 3:2-5 (HCSB)2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,3 unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, 4 traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to the form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid these people!
- They are selfish and only think about themselves. Their aim in life is to get as much money as they can for their own benefit.
- They are proud. They try to convince people of how much better they are.
- They will say evil things. They will not respect other people in how they speak. They will be insulting and not polite. They will not obey or show respect for their own parents.
- They are not at all grateful for what they are or have. They do not give thanks to God for all that he has given.
- They do not have natural feelings and they do not show love. They never forgive people if they think that they have done wrong things to them.
- They will wrongly accuse people and speak bad things about them. They are not able to control their own actions. They are fierce and wild. They hate everything good because they are evil.
- You cannot depend on them because they will not be loyal. They will not do what they have promised. They do things without thinking. And they do not care what the effects might be. They will do anything to get what they want.
- They see themselves as important and they are proud of it. Their one aim is to satisfy their own desires. They love to please themselves. They have no room for God in their lives. They do not love or know him.
These people Paul is talking about are leaders
3. What kind of "godliness" will people have in the last days? and What should we do with the kind of people Paul described?
They have a "form of godliness" but "deny its power." These people wicked persons say that they have some kind of religion. Some will even claim to be Christians. A true belief in God will have the power to change us. And it will change how we live. The attitudes of these people show that they do not have a real belief in God. How they live denies the power of their religion. And so it shows that their religion is false. They keep the God of creation in some box in the heavens where He can accomplish nothing in His own creation. They claim to be people of faith but the only faith they display is in humanistic works
Paul tells Timothy to avoid these people and so should we.
This is the way that it is today in religions of the world. Islam claims to know God but they think that they have to conquer the world for Him and they deny His Son. Jews claim to know God but Israel makes decisions contrary to their own God given scriptures and they still deny His Son. Eastern religious and new age religions claim to know of God or gods but they think that they will exist on earth until, by their own efforts, they become one with the higher powers of the universe. Most in religion today have a form of godliness but they live as if God does nothing supernatural. They live as if God can do nothing outside of the efforts of man. Their God is no God at all.
Christians and those who claim to be Christians can and often do have a form of godliness and deny it's power.
A few examples are:
- Those who claim salvation comes through the good works of man
- Those who think man will bring a paradise on the earth through his own efforts
- Those who do not believe in the power of prayer to God to change things
- Those who are do not believe that the Bible is the word of God sufficiently preserved by God for our faith and practice
- Those organizations that use, predatory and misleading fund raising techniques
- The leader who preys on those in a life crisis
I'm sure you can think of other examples.
Paul says have nothing to do with these folk.
4. How do godless people exploit others?
2 Timothy 3:6-9 (HCSB) 6 For among them are those who worm their way into households and capture idle women burdened down with sins, led along by a variety of passions,7 always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.8 Just as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so these also resist the truth, men who are corrupt in mind, worthless in regard to the faith.9 But they will not make further progress, for their lack of understanding will be clear to all, as theirs was also
The people Paul tells us to avoid are those who want to gain control. The example that Paul uses is women but it can be anyone who is going through something or who is looking for answers to the issues of life.
They prey on our own weaknesses or unresolved emotions so it’s important that we recognize them so that we can avoid being manipulated. We are prey false teachers and teaching when we have guilt, because we can tend to give them the power to absolve us of that guilt. We are also vulnerable when we have self-worth problems, because we think they can offer us approval. When we are lonely, we are susceptible if they offer us friendship or community. When we have a sense of anxiety, we are vulnerable because we think they are strong and can bring order to us. All of these factors tend to motivate people to doubt their own judgment and relinquish it to a powerful leader
5. How can what Paul wrote to Timothy help us to discern when we are being spiritually manipulated?
When we are convinced we are being over influenced by these kinds of people, we should "have nothing to do with them"—make a clean break. Arguing with them would be pointless. It can be difficult when we are at a low point in our lives to make the decision to get out of an unhealthy involvement. Often the "false teacher" has convinced, or least confused, the person at an intellectual level. It is the feeling or inadequacy that continues to speak.
6. Who were Jannes and Jambres and why are they mentioned?
2 Timothy 3:8-9 (HCSB)8 Just as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so these also resist the truth, men who are corrupt in mind, worthless in regard to the faith.9 But they will not make further progress, for their lack of understanding will be clear to all, as theirs was also.
Jannes and Jambres are traditional names for the magicians who turned their staffs into serpents.
Long-standing Jewish tradition says that Jannes and Jambres were the two chief magicians who withstood Moses and Aaron.
The people Paul tells us to avoid are those who want to gain control. The example that Paul uses is women but it can be anyone who is going through something or who is looking for answers to the issues of life.
They prey on our own weaknesses or unresolved emotions so it’s important that we recognize them so that we can avoid being manipulated. We are prey false teachers and teaching when we have guilt, because we can tend to give them the power to absolve us of that guilt. We are also vulnerable when we have self-worth problems, because we think they can offer us approval. When we are lonely, we are susceptible if they offer us friendship or community. When we have a sense of anxiety, we are vulnerable because we think they are strong and can bring order to us. All of these factors tend to motivate people to doubt their own judgment and relinquish it to a powerful leader
5. How can what Paul wrote to Timothy help us to discern when we are being spiritually manipulated?
When we are convinced we are being over influenced by these kinds of people, we should "have nothing to do with them"—make a clean break. Arguing with them would be pointless. It can be difficult when we are at a low point in our lives to make the decision to get out of an unhealthy involvement. Often the "false teacher" has convinced, or least confused, the person at an intellectual level. It is the feeling or inadequacy that continues to speak.
6. Who were Jannes and Jambres and why are they mentioned?
2 Timothy 3:8-9 (HCSB)8 Just as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so these also resist the truth, men who are corrupt in mind, worthless in regard to the faith.9 But they will not make further progress, for their lack of understanding will be clear to all, as theirs was also.
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| Illustration of the rods of Aaron and the magicians becoming snakes. |
Jannes and Jambres are traditional names for the magicians who turned their staffs into serpents.
Long-standing Jewish tradition says that Jannes and Jambres were the two chief magicians who withstood Moses and Aaron.
Exodus 7:10-12 (HCSB)10 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD had commanded. Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent.11 But then Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers—the magicians of Egypt, and they also did the same thing by their occult practices.12 Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron’s staff swallowed their staffs.
Exodus 7:20-22 (HCSB)20 Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded; in the sight of Pharaoh and his officials, he raised the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile was turned to blood.21 The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad the Egyptians could not drink water from it. There was blood throughout the land of Egypt.22 But the magicians of Egypt did the same thing by their occult practices. So Pharaoh’s heart hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.
Exodus 8:5-7 (HCSB)5 The LORD then said to Moses, “Tell Aaron: Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, canals, and ponds, and cause the frogs to come up onto the land of Egypt.”6 When Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.7 But the magicians did the same thing by their occult practices and brought frogs up onto the land of Egypt.
Here’s Paul’s point
Exodus 8:18-19 (HCSB)18 The magicians tried to produce gnats using their occult practices, but they could not. The gnats remained on man and beast.19 “This is the finger of God,” the magicians said to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh’s heart hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.
Paul's point was to use the wickedness of Jannes and Jambres, as presented in the Torah, as an illustration of a widespread, active rejection of the truth in the last days. In that it reaches a certain point and after that point is reached it will then have no effect at all.
False teachers and teaching may seem to succeed. But that success will not last. The truth will win in the end. In due time, all will see the true character of these teachers.
7. Why could Timothy trust Paul's spiritual influence?
2 Timothy 3:10-13 (HCSB)10 But you have followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, and endurance,11 along with the persecutions and sufferings that came to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from them all.12 In fact, all those who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.13 Evil people and impostors will become worse, deceiving and being deceived.
These are the things that we should look for in leaders to combat false teaching. Here Paul talks about his credentials in contrast to the false teachers. In contrast to being a deceiver, Paul's life had been an open book to Timothy. Paul's influence on Timothy came more through example not through control. He lived by what he taught and paid the price.
Timothy knew that Paul practiced what he preached because He had traveled and worked with him. He had seen how Paul lived out what he believed. Paul’s aim in life was to please the Lord. His main purpose in life was to preach the gospel of Christ to all people.
He also reminded Timothy that he isn't the only one who has to suffer for being a Christian. All who live out their trust in the Lord Jesus will have persecution. All who want to live like this must be ready to suffer. It should not surprise them when trouble comes because they serve the Lord.
He tells him that it’s going to get worse as time goes on. Those who are wicked will get still more evil. There is so much that is false. And there is so much that will turn people from the truth. Even the false teachers will start to believe what they teach.
8. What does he expect Timothy to do and why?
2 Timothy 3:14-15 (HCSB)14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. You know those who taught you,15 and you know that from childhood you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
Paul expects Timothy to obey what he has been taught because (1) those who taught him were trustworthy, and (2) he has personally experienced spiritual life from the Scriptures they introduced him to.
He knew who taught him. He knows what they believed. And he knows how they lived. He can trust them because he knows them. Among those who taught him were his mother Eunice, his grandmother Lois and Paul.
2 Timothy 1:5 (HCSB) clearly recalling your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois, then in your mother Eunice, and that I am convinced is in you also.
His mother raised him to know the Jewish Scriptures. It was the custom for the Jews to teach their children the law of God from an early age. This law of God is the Old Testament, called here the holy scriptures. God gave these scriptures to prepare the Jews and us for the coming of the Messiah. The scriptures teach us about the Jesus and about our need of salvation. By the scriptures, we can know the truth because they are the words of God.
9. Where does Scripture come from and what is its power ?
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (HCSB)16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness,17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Scripture comes from God. It is able to bring about a saving relationship with God and instructs us both inside and out.so that we can live as a "thoroughly equipped" man or woman of God. It is as if he breathed them through the human writers.
2 Peter 1:20-21 (HCSB)20 First of all, you should know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from one’s own interpretation,21 because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
- The scriptures show us what God is like.
- They show us how God sees us.
- They teach us what pleases God. T
- The scriptures show us what sin is.
- The scriptures teach that, as we trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, God can forgive us our sins. If we repent of them and bring them to God, he will remove them from us.
- By doing what the scriptures tell us, God can change us.
- They teach us how to live, as God wants us to live.
- God gave the scriptures was to prepare his people for good works.
This is why it is essential then that Christians read and study the scriptures.
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