2 Timothy 3 - Spiritual GPS
Don't just follow the crowd, rather continue in what you've learned.
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2 Timothy 3 (ESV)
1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.
2 For people will be
lovers of self,
lovers of money,
proud, arrogant, abusive,
disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous,
without self-control, brutal, not loving good,
4 treacherous, reckless,
swollen with conceit,
lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 having
the appearance of godliness,
but denying its power. Avoid such people.
6 For among them are those who creep into households
and capture weak women,
burdened with sins and led astray by various passions,
7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.
8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses,
so these men also oppose the truth,
men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith.
9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all,
as was that of those two men.
10 You, however, have followed
my teaching,
my conduct,
my aim in life,
my faith,
my patience,
my love,
my steadfastness,
11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me
at Antioch,
at Iconium,
and at Lystra—
which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me.
12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
14 But as for you,
continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed,
knowing
from whom you learned it
15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings,
which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
16 All Scripture
is breathed out by God
and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
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2 Timothy 3 Summary
A good argument can be made that chapter three begins in 2:22. There Paul writes that opponents must be gently instructed in the hope God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of truth (2:25).' But in v5, we're told to have nothing to do with the scoundrels described in chapter three.
But how can you tell the difference between the 'opponents' in chapter two and the creeps described in 3:6? How do you know who to have patience with and who to put out of your life?
It seems to be a matter of degree. The farther a person slips away from God, the more difficult it is to pull them back. God can certainly save anyone, but that doesn't necessarily mean He's calling you to put yourself in spiritual danger required to rescue one so far out.
Dig Deeper
Once again, we're reminded that the Christian life is one in which we're called to separate ourselves from the rest of the herd. Don't follow the crowd, rather continue in what you've learned.
Remember, Christianity is an intellectual pursuit, so make sure that you can articulate what you've come to know. This takes lots of repetition and continued discipline. If you don't know what you've learned, how can you continue in it?
What you've learned must be based on what you've read in God's Word.
Verse 16 is an amazing way to summarize what it means that the Bible was certainly written by men, yet that God was breathing through those men as they wrote. This is why there's so many different styles and genres in the Bible, because God used the personalities and experiences of so many different men over thousands of years.
Still we can truly say that these are God's Words which authoritatively determine absolute truth, and guide us through every situation in life to salvation through Jesus Christ.
AAA Prayer:
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: The God who has revealed Himself to us in His Word (v16)
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Ask God to enable you to continue in what you have learned and become convinced of (v14)
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
