And that quality of conquering endurance is necessary, because persecution is an essential part of the experience of an apostle. That is the inevitable way to ruin, for no man can master anything unless he first masters himself. Don't start messing with it. [Note: Knight, p. Now it is interesting that as Paul is referring to the Scriptures here, he is, of course, referring to the Old Testament Scriptures. The word we have translated to be a disciple includes so much that is beyond translation in any single English word. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." It is given by inspiration of God (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Timothy 3:16), and therefore is his word. But when dying upon the cross, He calls to John to behold His mother. In contrast, the sins of "evil people and impostors" can be expected to get worse and worse. When children are disobedient to their parents, and break through the obligations which they lie under to them both in duty and gratitude, and frequently in interest, having their dependence upon them and their expectation from them, they make the times perilous; for what wickedness will those stick at who will be abusive to their own parents and And the comfort is that, if prepared to cleave to the will of the Lord alone, we shall have, through His grace, fellowship with the true-hearted. There was a certain heretic called Marcus who dealt in magic. He tells such women that by his spells and incantations he can enable them to prophesy. That which finishes a man of God in this world is the scripture. And I will tell you what scriptures are inspired and which ones aren't. "In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. We live in a fallen world with a spiritual enemy who prowls around as a roaring lion or appears to us as an angel of light seeking to devour, destroy, or deceive us.Jesus clearly told us that in this world, those who believe in Him would suffer persecution and pain, and Paul expands that truth by adding that all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. In 2 Timothy 3:9 he meant that the teaching of evil does not necessarily become more extensive and capture a wider audience as evil becomes worse. Christianity was cradled in Judaism and very naturally thought largely in Jewish terms and pictures. Plutarch uses the word to describe a quack doctor. The one was suited to upset the young, the other to beguile the old. They choose to lay, again and again, the early foundations of their Christian faith i.e. Job, tell me, have you been beyond the gates of death, do you know what it's about? We should not be any more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive,Ephesians 4:14. This is God's attitude to men. And many shall be stirred up in anger to injure many; And they shall rouse up armies in order to shed blood. Paul concludes this section with an appeal to Timothy to remain loyal to all the teaching he had received. In the former epistle, Timothy was told how to behave in the house of God, as yet in order; but now we are told how to behave in such a state of things as the present disorder. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. No man can teach what he does not know, and therefore before a man can teach Christ to others he must know him himself. Had the Lord Jesus not sent him? He was to communicate the things he had learnt of Paul, that they might be able to teach others also. Paul regarded these as man-made things; but the great books for a man's soul were the God-inspired ones which tradition and the experience of men had sanctified. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord" (there must, I suppose, have been some ground for the exhortation), "nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel, according to the power of God; who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." (i) He says that the Scriptures give the wisdom which will bring salvation. But let not a man who will do this, suppose that he has any claim to be numbered among the martyrs, or even entitled to the Christian name. "The foundation of God standeth sure [or, the firm foundation of God standeth], having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. In the Testament of Issachar, one of the books written between the Old and the New Testaments, we get a picture like this: "Know ye, therefore, my children, that in the last times. Would you find it easier if it, if the account said, And a submarine surfaced and the captain got out on deck and, you know, they hauled Jonah in and they submerged again and headed towards Joppa and let him off the port. "Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry." Good. You know, I mean, talk about lovers of selves, look at the advertising. "She then makes the effort to reward Marcus, not only by the gift of her possessions (in which way he has collected a very large fortune), but also by yielding up to him her person, desiring in every way to be united to him, that she may become altogether one with him." He said, "A wicked and an adulterous generation seeks after a sign; but no sign will be given it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah: For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" ( Matthew 12:38-40 ). The fact remains that the only place in all the world where we get a first-hand account of that person and of his teaching is in the New Testament. shall suffer persecutionand will not decline it (Ga 5:11). Get Your Bible Minute in Your Inbox Every Morning, Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus All that live according to the will of God revealed in his word; and to the glory of God, as the end of all their actions; and which the grace of God in the Gospel, and in their own hearts, teaches them; and who have the principles of a godly life from Christ, and derive the fresh supplies of grace and life from him, to maintain it; in whom their life is hid, and who live by faith upon him; all such that live, and that will live so, are desirous of living after this manner; in whom God has wrought in them both to will and to do, and are concerned when it is otherwise with them: these. Shall we turn now in our Bibles to Second Timothy chapter three? In the first part of this chapter 2 Timothy 3:1-8, Paul reminds Timothy of the great apostasy which was to be expected in the church, and states some of the characteristics of it. 2 To Timothy, d my beloved child:. The essence of persecution consists in subjecting a person to injury or disadvantage on account of his opinions. It is something more than meeting his opinions by argument, which is always right and proper; it is inflicting some injury on him; depriving him of some privilege, or right; subjecting him to some disadvantage, or placing him in less favorable circumstances, on account of his sentiments. What is the excellency of the scripture. 2 Timothy - Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary - StudyLight.org But the sin of the man who is arrogant is in his heart. The Christian emancipation of women inevitably brought its problems. 3:10-13 But you have been my disciple in my teaching, my training, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my endurance, my persecutions, my sufferings, in what happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra, in the persecutions which I underwent; and the Lord rescued me from them all. "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." 12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. for reproof, for correction ( 2 Timothy 3:16 ), And how often the word of God has brought correction to my course of life. Persons sometimes say it does not matter who taught; but God does not treat the matter so lightly. The whole idea is that of thoroughly fitting you as an instrument that God can use. Men will be disobedient to their parents. Here we find the perilous times fairly brought before us. The coming of the Lord will in no way manifest the faithfulness of the servant; His appearing will. But they will not get much further, for their folly will be as clear to all as that of those ancient impostors. Deliberately he lit it. When we know the afflictions of believers only in part, they tempt us to decline the cause for which they suffer. It is still possible for a teacher to gain an undue and unhealthy influence over others, especially when they are impressionable. He had fully known his conversation: Thou hast fully know my doctrine, and manner of life; his manner of life was of a piece with his doctrine, and did not contradict it. In the last days there would come times which would menace the very existence of the Christian Church and of goodness itself, a kind of last tremendous assault of evil before its final defeat. We don't have the time to devote to it this evening but I would suggest that you get a good Greek lexicon and do a word study on these particular Greek words that Paul uses to describe the attitudes and the actions of people in the last days. Each one of these words in the Greek is an interesting word study. 442.]. The woman, thrilled to the heart, does so and is deluded into thinking that she can prophesy. Whose will is to live, or who are bent on living. He lit the fire, and then he asked if he might read a little from each book before he dropped it in the flames. They should remember that, in this respect, they are treated as the Master was, and are in the goodly company of the prophets, apostles, and martyrs; for they were all persecuted. shall suffer persecution; it is the will of God, and the appointment of heaven; Christ has foretold it, that so it shall be; and he the head has suffered it himself, and it is necessary that his members should, that they may be conformed unto him; it is the way Christ himself went to glory, and through many tribulations his people must enter the kingdom; and this is the common lot and certain case of all the saints, in one shape or another; for though all do not suffer confiscation of goods, beating, scourging, imprisonment, or a violent death; yet all are more or less afflicted and distressed by wicked men, and are subject to their reproaches and revilings, which are a branch of persecution; and that for professing Christ, and living a godly life in him and under his influence: and since such suffer as Christians, and not as evildoers; and this is the common condition of the people of God, in this world, it should not be thought strange, but be cheerfully endured; to encourage to which is the apostle's view in this passage. The volume of the book, the Old Testament, it's all about Jesus Christ. No matter what the reasons or excuses for joining with them, "turn away.". And those who wish to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted; while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceived themselves and deceiving others. Thus it was that God had made him: there was no use denying it. Real teaching is always born of real experience. ", Persecution = The essence of persecution consists in subjecting a person to injury or disadvantage on account of his [beliefs].. 2. 2 Timothy 3 1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. (1) that they who make a profession of religion, should come prepared to be persecuted. A. M. Chirgwin has story after story of how the Scriptures came by chance into the hands of men and changed their lives. The promise of the Messiah, the details of the Messiah, they are all there. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice.' She had never tried the Bible, for a friend had convinced her by subtle arguments that it could not be true. The more fully we know the doctrine of Christ and the apostles, the more closely we shall cleave to it; the reason why many sit loose to it is because they do not fully know it. C. Description of His Present Resource 2 Timothy 3:13-17. It is not "the commandment," as of authority, but "according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus." But this is not what the Bible teaches. But the apostle at the same time owns, and loves to own, that which another might perhaps despise. Timothy needed to realize, as all Christians do, especially those to whom "prosperity theology" appeals, that when a person determines to live a godly life he or she will suffer persecution. And, let every one that nameth the name" not of "Christ," but "of the Lord depart from iniquity." The history of the Christian Church teaches us that falsity cannot live. The essence of Christianity is not the enthronement but the obliteration of self. Even an unbeliever is acting unfairly unless he tries to read it. Introduction; 2 Timothy 1 Commentary; Don't expect the world to applaud when you speak out against evil. Men can be savage in rebuke and savage in pitiless action. In these terrible days men would be braggarts and arrogant. 3. So if you want God to use your life, then thoroughly equip yourself in the Word of God, the study, the understanding.That's why we're here tonight. That the man of God may be perfect,2 Timothy 3:17; 2 Timothy 3:17. As Shakespeare had it: "Good name in man and woman, dear my lord. When our Lord was pleased to take upon himself the form of a servant, and to go about preaching the kingdom of God; he took all opportunities in public, and more especially in private, to caution his disciples against . Here is one of the most terrible pictures in the New Testament of what a godless world would be like, with the terrible qualities of godlessness set out in a ghastly series. For he does not say Jesus Christ simply in. That persecution which will properly furnish any evidence that we are the friends of Christ, must be only that which is for righteousness sake Matthew 5:10, and must be brought upon us in an honest effort to obey the commands of God. But let not a man who will do this, suppose that he has any claim to be numbered among the martyrs, or even entitled to the Christian name. 9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was. Copyright 2023, Bible Study Tools. And Paul said, You've known the Holy Scriptures, able to bring you to a faith in Jesus Christ, salvation through the faith in Jesus Christ. Though his life was a life of great usefulness, yet it was a life of great sufferings; and none, I believe, came nearer to their great Master for eminent services and great sufferings than Paul: he suffered almost in every place; the Holy Ghost witnessed that bonds and afflictions did abide him, Acts 20:23. There was infirmity in the character of Timothy. The nature of its doctrine was no way likely to command success: (1) it condemns all other religions, some established for ages; (2) it enjoins precepts ungrateful to flesh and blood, the mortifying of the flesh, the love of enemies, and the bearing of the cross; (3) it enforces these seemingly unreasonable precepts by promises seemingly incredible; not good things such as afford complacency to our senses, but such as cannot be obtained till after this life, and presuppose what then seemed impossible, the resurrection; (4) it predicts to its followers what would seem sure to keep most of the world from embracing it, persecutions. Why? Do you have a hard time accepting that man can build a great fish that can swallow men and keep them under water for several days and deposit them later at a port?Hey, hey, wait a minute then. 2 Timothy - Discover Books of The Bible - bible-studys.org He said that one isn't inspired; obviously inspired. And when you lose authority you have anarchy. Men will be thankless (acharistos, G884) . It answers not a little to the kind of thing ,;et forth here. In those days trade tended to flow down river valleys; Ephesus was at the mouth of the River Cayster, and commanded the trade of one of the richest hinterlands in all Asia Minor. Easy it seems to get sort of distracted and off course. Amidst all the stories one fact stands out--Jannes and Jambres became legendary figures typifying all those who opposed the purposes of God and the work of his true leaders. Again, it is startling. "He devotes himself specially to women, and those such as are well-bred, and elegantly attired, and of great wealth." my doctrine, and my manner of life, my purpose, my faith, my longsuffering, my love, and my patience, [you know the] persecutions, and the afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, and Iconium, and Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me ( 2 Timothy 3:10-11 ). B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1975. Two men were talking of a great satirist who had been filled with moral earnestness. To take pains and to endure are requisite even in what pertains to this life. And I filed many scriptures in that file. This was to reverse the lesson of a risen Christ, and to open the way for all laxity. How is a man to walk in such a state of things as this?
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