Please turn in your Bibles this evening to II Timothy chapter 3 as we continue our study through the Word of God. Remember back in chapter 2 of II Timothy how Paul encouraged Timothy to be strong in the faith. In that chapter he used four illustrations to make his point of what a strong disciple of Jesus should manifest in his life.
He first speaks of a teacher who must TEACH others the things of God; you need to be able to pass on the information, the Gospel to others so they can pass it on. In Psalm 78:4-8 we are told, “We will not hide them from their children, Telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done. For He established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers, That they should make them known to their children; That the generation to come might know them, The children who would be born, That they may arise and declare them to their children, That they may set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments; And may not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not set its heart aright, And whose spirit was not faithful to God.” Thus, as disciples of Jesus, may we TEACH, pass on to others the things of God.
Next, Paul speaks of a soldier who needs to stay FOCUSED on the battle he is in. He is not to allow himself to be distracted by the things of this world but has counted the cost of war and is ready to endure the hardships that soldiers face, obeying his commander. The same is true for us, we are in a battle, we will face hardships, and we need to stay focused, not allowing the things of this world to entangle us from completing the work that our Commander has called us to do. It is as Paul tells us in II Timothy 3:12, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” Thus, as a disciple of Jesus we need to stay FOCUSED.
Next, Paul speaks of an athlete who must obey the rules of the games or he will be disqualified, he must be OBEDIENT. For us as Christians we need to be obedient to what the Lord has called us to do, to listen to His voice so we are not disqualified from service. Paul put it this way in I Corinthians 9:24-27, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” Thus, a disciple of Jesus must be OBEDIENT.
And lastly, Paul speaks of a farmer who works hard and must be PATIENT waiting for the fruitful harvest to come in. I have experienced that here in Manitowoc, and others who have visited here have commented on it also, that the ground here is hard; people’s hearts are very hard. Thus, like a farmer, the ground must be prepared before the seeds are planted, before they can grow. Then, after the seeds are planted you must care for the ground, water it, weed it, and-so-on. Then, after a while, the crop is ready for harvest, there is fruit from the labor. The important thing for us as we are waiting patiently for God to soften people’s hearts is that we would partake of the fruit of God’s Word because we can’t give what we don’t have; we need to be in the Word of God! Thus, a disciple of Jesus is PATIENT.
Why am I going over this material again? Because Paul is now going to share with Timothy that perilous times and perilous men are coming, it is going to get worse. Keep in mind that Caesar Nero burned Rome in 64 AD and then blamed the Christians for doing it. In 66 AD Paul was arrested and placed in the Mamertime prison there in Rome for his faith in Christ. Many other Christians were being arrested, some being put to death for their faith in Christ! Persecution against Christians was growing quickly!
Thus, Paul is admonishing Timothy to stand strong in the face of this persecution because it is only going to get worse and worse. Folks, just as this was a warning to Timothy regarding the Roman persecution, I truly believe it is a warning to us as the Day of the Lord quickly approaches and that man of sin, the Antichrist is revealed! With that as our background, let’s begin reading in II Timothy chapter 3, starting in verse 1, and let’s see what the Lord has for us this evening.
VERSE 1
Paul says that these difficult times will come in “the last days.” Now the $100,000 question is, “When did the last days begin or have they even begun yet?” In Hebrews 1:1-2 we are told, “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds.” So the last days started with the ministry of Jesus, the incarnation as God became flesh and dwelt among us and they continue on until His second coming. Now, like a woman in labor, the intensity of the pain and the frequency of those contractions will grow more and more as the child is to be born. The same is true here; as the tribulation period comes things will increase more and more until the kingdom age is birthed. I think what we are seeing now are false labor pains, but they are still painful. The persecution for our faith is going to keep growing, in fact, I believe it has only just begun!
As you read through verses 2-5 you will see 19 general characteristics of man, a time of social degeneration, the wickedness of man’s heart manifested in his actions. Paul calls them “perilous times” or times of stress because the evil of man is rampant!
Now, keep in mind who Paul is speaking of here. Yes, we see these characteristics in the unsaved but Paul is speaking of leaders in the church, so-called believers. And folks, as I look at some leaders today, they are nothing more than wolves in sheep’s clothing as they lead people away from God. Their heresy does not lead to holiness but as Paul told Timothy, “But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some.” II Timothy 2:16-18. These men that Paul speaks of, these characteristics that are manifested in their lives are nothing more than apostate leaders in apostate churches!
VERSES 2-5
Let’s look at these characteristics that Paul warned Timothy of because they are blatant in our society and in our churches today!
A. LOVERS OF SELF – Are people self-centered today? You bet and that idea of self-love is also being promoted by apostate pastors who believe that self is not the problem, that self should be exalted. I like how Barclay put it, “It is no accident that the first of these qualities will be a life that is centered in self. The adjective used is philautos, which means self-loving. Love of self is the basic sin, from which all others flow. The moment a man makes his own will the center of life, divine and human relationships are destroyed, obedience to God and charity to men both become impossible. The essence of Christianity is not the enthronement but the obliteration of self.”
Paul put it this way in Romans 12:3, “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” And we are told in Matthew 16:24-26, “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?’” Notice, deny self, not exalt self!
B. LOVERS OF MONEY – We talked about this back in I Timothy chapter 6 where people are greedy for money and they will sacrifice anything just to make it rich, to have a little bit more! If you are not content in what God has given you, then you will not be content in anything. Paul warned Timothy in I Timothy 6:9-10, “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
C. BOASTERS, PROUD, BLASPHEMERS – Think about it, if self is controlling your life, then you will manifest these characteristics in your life. You see, it all stems from the person believing “I am the center of my universe!”
D. DISOBEDIENT TO PARENTS – In our society today I see this as an epidemic where children are out of control, they are in charge and the parents have no rights in the matter. In the school that my youngest son attended, in grade school, he was told that if we did something that he didn’t like, if we punished him he could report us to the authorities! And you know what, we are now reaping what we have sown with our children. If they don’t respect those in authority, then they will respect no one and that is exactly what we are seeing!
E. UNTHANKFUL, UNHOLY, UNLOVING, UNFORGIVING – Here we see man lacking any apperception for what he has, he is unholy or he doesn’t hold anything sacred, just turn on the TV and see what these shows are saying. He is unloving or without natural affection. We have seen an increase in women who have been pregnant, not told anyone, and then had the child in secret, and placed that child in a dumpster or disposed of that child another way – that is not natural affection! They are unforgiving or they refuse to make peace, they refuse to reconcile their differences and I have seen this growing in the churches today, which saddens me greatly!
F. SLANDERERS – The idea here is the spreading of false and malicious reports. Look at what took place in the Presidential elections and the news reporters who spoke slanderous words of George Bush, lies and this time they got caught in their lies, but it doesn’t stop them!
G. WITHOUT SELF-CONTROL – The idea here is that their passions are out of control, the need to satisfy self is outweighing what is right. Look at the problems people have today as they are without self-control: Sex, Drinking, Drugs, Lying, Eating, and-so-on. We now even have therapies for these so-called addictions, we don’t like to call them sins, but they are!
H. BRUTAL – Man will be like a wild animal, savage in his actions. Just turn on the news and you can see how brutal, how cruel man is! We just saw how the wife of an inmate, who was being escorted from the courthouse, shot and killed the officer and escaped for a short time with her husband! That is brutal!
I. DESPISERS OF GOOD – How true this is as many today are calling good evil and evil good. They can protest for having gay marriages but we are arrested when we protest against gay marriages. They can protest for abortion rights but we are arrested when we protest against abortion. People are opposed to good because it exposes their evil!
J. TRAITORS, HEADSTRONG, HAUGHTY, LOVERS OF PLEASURE RATHER THAN LOVERS OF GOD – There is that desire to move towards betrayal, recklessness, being puffed up, loving pleasure rather than loving God. That last one is tough because I see that even in our own church, where we are competing for people’s time and pleasure is winning out over God! Pleasure is keeping people from church.
K. A FORM OF GODLINESS – Their outward shape is religious but inwardly they are ravenous wolves! And the people catch this attitude as they have developed a “salad bar” religion, picking and choosing what they like, being religious but not Biblical! Let me give you an example of what I mean and how this manifests itself in people’s lives. They lack the power to live because they lack the Spirit of God and they lack the Spirit of God because they are not saved!
A 63-year-old married woman writes to Dear Abby to justify her adultery. She writes: “He’s also married. We meet once a week at a motel for three hours of heaven. My husband knows nothing about this, and neither does my lover’s wife. Sex with my husband is even better now, and it’s not as though I am denying my husband anything. I teach a class at church every week, but for some reason, I feel no guilt.” It is as Phillips said, “They will maintain a façade of ‘religion’ but their conduct will deny its validity.”
What do these 18 characteristics stem from? What we started out with, SELF-LOVE! That is why we are to deny self, crucify the flesh because if you don’t, you open yourself up to these other characteristics being manifested in your life. Now, as you read through these things, are they an indication that we are living in the last days, that the Lord’s return is getting closer? I believe they are!
Paul’s warning to Timothy is that true believers are to turn away from these people who put forth this false faith because to associate yourself with them not only condones their actions but it is dangerous for your faith! Heibert warns, “It is the fearful portrayal of an apostate Christendom, a new paganism masquerading under the name of Christianity.”
VERSES 6-7
By reading this don’t come to the conclusion that men are not gullible. In fact, it seems that the implication is that weak men and women are targets for these false teachers who come in and gather people who are not content, are not satisfied in the Lord, in what God has given them and they are swept away by these false teachers with their false doctrines!
Look at the proliferation of knowledge today and how much of that information is just a bunch of lies, but for many, they can’t discern between the truth and a lie. Folks, Paul is going to tell us in a few verses that the Word of God is a lie detector because it contains all truth! And I think one of the reasons people keep learning and not coming to the truth is pride, they refuse to admit they are wrong and God is right, that they need a Savior who will be Lord over their life!
Paul put it this way in Romans 1:18-25, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man — and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”
Now, because they rejected God, even though the evidence is before them, notice what God has done for them, He is going to give them what they want, what they desire and it is not pretty! In Romans 1:26-32 Paul goes no to say, “For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.” Thus, we see religious people but they lack the power because they don’t have the relationship with the true and living God and ungodliness grows!
VERSES 8-9
Jannes and Jambres seem to be the Egyptian men who opposed Moses before Pharaoh in Exodus, (Exodus 7:8-13, 19-23; 8:5-7, 16-19). Now these may be symbolic names given to them, not their real names for Jannes means “he who seduces” and Jambres means “he who makes rebellion.” Not a big deal, these are probably their names.
Now when God did a miracle through Moses, these men, by the power of darkness where able to copy it, but only up to a point. Today many seek after miracles not realizing that this may not be of God, but demonic in nature. In II Thessalonians 2:9-10 Paul warns us, “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” You see, people will believe all kinds of lies because they don’t want to receive the truth, and like Jannes and Jambres, “their minds are rotten to the core.”
The thing I want you to notice is that Satan’s power is limited, God is still in control. You see, no matter how dark things may seem, the light of Christ will dispel that darkness because the spirit of the last days is not stronger than the power of Jesus! Amen to that! Our hope is in Him, He will help us stand strong in the last days – don’t fall asleep, don’t become complacent!
VERSES 10-11
In contrast to these false teachers, these false believers, stood Timothy who witnessed all that Paul went through and “followed” his doctrine, manner of life, purpose and caught Paul’s passion and all that went with it. Ancient Greek philosophers used that word “followed”, to describe the close relationship between a teacher and his disciple or student. Barclay expounds on that and says:
“It means to follow a person physically, to stick by him through thick and thin, to be by his side in fair weather and in foul. It means to follow a person mentally, to attend diligently to his teaching, and fully to understand the meaning and the significance of what he says. It means to follow a person spiritually, not only to understand what he says, but also to carry out his ideas, and to be the kind of person that he wishes us to be.”
That was Timothy, he learned not only what Paul taught, but how he lived out his faith and because of what he heard and saw in Paul, he then followed his example, he saw that Paul’s faith was real! In Antioch where Paul was kicked out of the city for preaching the Gospel – Acts 13:50. In Iconium Paul was almost stoned by the people – Acts 14:5. And then in Lystra Paul was stoned and left for dead – Acts 14:19. Paul, in reminding Timothy of these things, was trying to encourage him by showing him that the Lord was in control and He is still in control. Why did Paul speak of all the persecution he went through trying to encourage Timothy? Look at verse 12 and you will see why.
VERSE 12
Paul wants Timothy to understand that if you are living for God, if you are standing up for what is good, what is right, you WILL, not might be persecuted! Why is that? Jesus said in John 3:19-20, “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.” Count the cost; if you are living for the Lord, persecution will come because godly living exposes their wickedness! It is as Jesus said in John 15:18-21, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.”
VERSE 13
We have two groups of people spoken of here. “Evil men” are those who are enemies of Christ and make themselves known for it. “Imposters” are the wolves in sheep’s clothing, they say they are Christians but their actions, their words say otherwise. And as the Lord’s return draws closer, the deceptions will increase. Just look at the groups like the Jesus Seminar who vote on what Jesus said and didn’t say. They deny His virgin birth, His deity, His resurrection, they deny the Gospel message and they call themselves the Jesus Seminar! We need to be careful because the deceptions are growing and it may be easy to tell the “evil men” but it is a lot harder to tell the “imposters.” In fact, the only way is by holding up what they are saying to the light of God’s Word!
VERSES 14-15
Notice again, “But you,” Timothy was different, he was not going down that path and Paul exhorts him to stand strong, to continue on in all that he has learned, to not let go or walk away from the Gospel message, from Jesus! He is calling Timothy, and truly all of us, to swim against the current of this world that is leading to destruction and move towards Christ!
We gain wisdom from God’s Word, applying it to our lives and it is God’s Word that leads us to salvation as the Spirit of God opens our hearts to Jesus. For Timothy, as a child, he was taught the Scriptures and as he grew, that is what led him to saving faith. How important it is for our children to be taught the Scriptures, they are never too young. That is why our Sunday School classes teach the kids the Word of God, the Bible and when they go home, they should also be taught the Scriptures by their parents, it is that important.
VERSES 16-17
Paul tells us that “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” and that phrase “given by inspiration of God” in the Greek is THEOPNEUSTOS, (theh-op’-nyoo-stos) and it literally means “God-breathed.” All Scripture comes from God. Now some would argue that point, but that is the reality. Paul is not just speaking of the Old Testament here, but from Genesis and ultimately through the book of Revelation. In I Timothy 5:18 Paul quotes out of the Gospel of Luke stating that it is Scripture. In II Peter 3:16 Peter tells us that Paul’s writings are part of the Scriptures. And thus, the entire Bible is God’s Word to us!
The Bible was written over a 1500-year time span. More than forty different authors from all walks of life – from kings to peasants, wrote it. It was written on three different continents – Africa, Asia and Europe. It was written in three different languages – Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. There are a variety of literary styles. It addresses hundreds of controversial subjects and yet there is harmony. And it is the unfolding story of God’s love for sinful man. Prophetically it is awesome because what God has said would talk place, has or will. There are over 300 prophecies of Christ’s first coming and all of them were fulfilled down to the tiniest detail. Some argue that the Bible, over the years has many errors as it was copied. Look at the facts, the New Testament alone we see not more than one-one thousandth of the text is in question and not one significant doctrine is in question. The Old Testament is no different. Thus, God’s Word is accurate, it is truth!
Paul tells us that God’s Word is “profitable” or helpful for us and he lists four ways that it is helpful to us:
A. DOCTRINE – God’s Word tells us what is right.
B. REPROOF – God’s Word tells us what is wrong.
C. CORRECTION – God’s Word tells us how to get right when we have gone astray.
D. INSTRUCTION IN RIGHTEOUSNESS – God’s Word tells us how to stay right.
God’s Word makes us complete, it equips us for service. As you read God’s Word, as you apply it to your life, by the power of God’s Spirit, a believer will be able to meet the demands of righteousness, he will know what God desires of him and he will be able to stand strong, not for salvation but as evidence that a person is saved. Thus, Satan leads pastors and people away from God’s Word because God’s Word is living and it is powerful and it will transform our lives if we allow it to. Paul’s warning to Timothy and to us is to be students of the Word of God if you want to stand strong against the perilous times and the perilous men that have come in and are coming in these last days! What a powerful lesson for us!