John 15:19; Matthew 10:22; Matthew 10:38-39, 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. God wants you to be complete. At Ephesus some of the greatest roads in the world met. And when you lose authority you have anarchy. Afterwards he also speaks of his own work and of that which he was suffering. "Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all" ( Psalms 34:19 ). (1) To exhort Timothy in his ministry at Ephesus; (2) To warn Timothy of trouble both inside and outside the church; (3) To request Timothy to come to Rome to visit him in prison and bring certain personal effects to him (4:5-13; 21); and (4) To instruct all the churches in Timothy's territory. Help me totake this verse seriously, that I will suffer persecution if I live godly in Jesus Christ. 4. Let me remark, that there are comparatively few indeed that receive truth without help of others directly from God. It would all be over, where, you know, the miseries would all be gone.What's the first thing God said to Job? It is the sign of a man of honour that he pays his debts; and for every man there is a debt to God and there are debts to his fellow-men, which he must remember and repay. As Shakespeare had it: "Good name in man and woman, dear my lord. 14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. I'm afraid that that is also true of us. The scriptures we are to know are the holy scriptures; they come from the holy God, were delivered by holy men, contain holy precepts, treat of holy things, and were designed to make us holy and to lead us in the way of holiness to happiness; being called the holy scriptures, they are by this distinguished from profane writings of all sorts, and from those that only treat morality, and common justice and honesty, but do not meddle with holiness. The apostle well knew that the God who had brought these glorious truths to man, the God that had manifested His grace, had given a witness of their reality in the man from whom he had learned them; and this was meant to have an enduring effect on the conscience and heart of Timothy. These things may be expected in the best times, and under the most favorable circumstances; and it is known that a large part of the history of the world, in its relation to the church, is nothing more than a history of persecution. The man who is huperephanos ( G5244) , said Theophrastus, has a kind of contempt for everyone except himself. You have no authority.So if I tell you that some scriptures are not really inspired of God, then I become the authority, not the Bible anymore, because you can't just read the whole Bible and trust it because not all of it is inspired. Each of the chapters are done individually. Nor do I at all see that any Christians should be above learning, if others can teach. He was driven from Antioch in Pisidia ( Acts 13:50); he had to flee from Iconium to avoid lynching ( Acts 14:5-6); in Lystra he was stoned and left for dead ( Acts 14:19). On the other hand, it is unholy to tamper with evil. There is just a certain natural love that would keep people from doing a lot of the things they are doing today. In these terrible days men will be slanderers. Now though it is infallible, inerrant and inspired, I did make a mistake in my message this morning on the speed of Arcturus; it's twelve thousand miles a second, I think I said twelve million. These were graces that Paul was eminent for, and Timothy knew it. Copyright Statement These files are public domain. by George Whitefield. (4) Let those who have never been persecuted in any way, inquire whether it is not an evidence that they have no religion. He returned after the first missionary journey to visit the Churches he had founded, "strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God" ( Acts 14:22). 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. 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. Besides that, persecutions today are manifested much more indirectly. 2. menin the professing Church. 1. We must remember that this was written just at the beginning of the years of persecution, when it was becoming a crime to be a Christian. It was thus Paul treated the proud reasonings and speculations of man; withal briefly touching on those that had gone entirely astray Hymenaeus and Philetus. But let him not infer, "therefore," that he is to be enrolled among the martyrs, and that he is certainly a real Christian. But the apostle remembered it all, felt deeply for if not with him, and greatly desiring to see him once more. Parakolouthein ( G3877) is indeed the word for the disciple, for it includes the unwavering loyalty of the true comrade, the full understanding of the true scholar and the complete obedience of the dedicated servant. 3:14-17 But as for you, remain loyal to the things which you have learned, and in which your belief has been confirmed, for you know from whom you learned them, and you know that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that will bring you salvation through the faith which is in Christ Jesus. How Daniels Prophecy of 70 Weeks Connects to the End Times. Timothy had a great advantage in being trained up under such a tutor, and being apprised of the doctrine he preached. The reason is manifest: they themselves savour of the things of men, and not of God. There is that in the scripture which suits every case. Fear and timidity will keep us from using the gifts God gives. They were violent and dangerous. human nature began to show itself out in indifference. Consider of whom thou hast learned them; not of evil men and seducers, but good men, who had themselves experienced the power of the truths they taught thee, and been ready to suffer for them, and thereby would give the fullest evidence of their belief of these truths." Here he mentions his persecutions and afflictions at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra, besides what he suffered elsewhere. Lipscomb's Commentary on Selected NT Books, Verse 12. They will be inflated with a sense of their own importance. The Gnostic heretics taught, either that, since matter is altogether evil, a rigid asceticism must be practiced and all the things of the body as far as possible eliminated, or that it does not matter what we do with the body and its desires can be indulged in to the limit because they do not matter. They will refuse to recognize the debt they owe both to God and to men. No one can possibly mistake him. 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. 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. It was the glory of the Jews that their children from their earliest days were trained in the law. Negative and positive illustrations 3:8-13. Sponde is the word for a truce or an agreement. for it is evident that there have been many godly persons who have never suffered banishment, or imprisonment, or flight, or any kind of persecution. The Christian life does not consist only in knowing something; it consists even more in being something. This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come ( 2 Timothy 3:1 ). They were never meant to be anything else but visions; we do violence to Jewish and to early Christian thought if we take them with a crude literalness. Take what is called physical Christianity a stupid, gross, and heathenish phrase, but just enough to show where people are drifting to. Good to have pleasure but don't make it your God. "Perilous times shall come." Comp. How big is your God? Whatever therefore may be right in certain cases, the assembly of God ought never to be forced to put every case on the same dead level ought never to be bound by any special process, as if it were unalterable. The Christian, the minister, is the man of God. 3. Things were so bad that Tacitus could say: "He who had no foe was betrayed by his friend." He blames the Jews who searched them, because they failed to learn the lesson which they were intended to convey. In vain shall we endeavor to detach Christ from his cross; for it may be said to be natural that the world should hate Christ even in his members. It is not enough to be satisfied when a church is humming like a dynamo and every night in the week has its own crowded organization. Now what is it that Timothy had so fully known in Paul? There is slander enough in many a church to make the recording angel weep as he records it. And, let every one that nameth the name" not of "Christ," but "of the Lord depart from iniquity." Or are you going to develop a doctrine that is diametrically opposed to what Jesus said? The early Church lived in an age when the time was waxing late; they expected the Second Coming at any moment. In short, let us know that we are Christians on this condition, that we shall be liable to many tribulations and various contests. 1 Paul, a an apostle of Christ Jesus b by the will of God according to c the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,. There is faith, complete belief that God's commands are binding and that his promises are true. There is nothing that more shows God than His ability to combine that which is eternal with care for the smallest things of this life. turned unto fables. 2 Timothy 3:12, CSB: In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. And they shall be dispersed among the Gentiles. "Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 3:12, "Yes, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution.". In 2 Timothy 3:9, he says that that apostasy would not always continue; but would be at some time arrested, and so arrested as to show to all men the . I'm just saying, Hey, I am stupid and I lack an understanding. But the condition of the believers had deteriorated. Rather they are minimum requirements that otherwise suitable people must fulfil if the church is to recognize them as elders or deacons. 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. thoroughly furnished unto all good works ( 2 Timothy 3:17 ). The study of the Scriptures trains a man in righteousness until he is equipped for every good work. There can come a time in a man's life when the company of good people and the presence of good things is simply an embarrassment. There is no occasion for the writings of the philosopher, nor for rabbinical fables, nor popish legends, nor unwritten traditions, to make us perfect men of God, since the scripture answers all these ends and purposes. This is God's attitude to men. How is a man to walk in such a state of things as this? As far as appointment went, Titus had a commission to establish elders in each city of Crete; but not so Timothy, as far as the inspired records speak. It means to follow a person spiritually, not only to understand what he says, but also to carry out his ideas and be the kind of person he wishes us to be. " Rejoice ( present imperative) and be glad ( present imperative ), for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. There was no longer the freshness of a new thing; and where the heart was not kept up in communion with the Lord, the value of divine things was less felt, if it did not quite fade away. Paul concludes this section with an appeal to Timothy to remain loyal to all the teaching he had received. But thou hast fully known ( 2 Timothy 3:10 ), Now in contrast to this, boy, and what a contrast the Christian is to the world around him, and more and more, you know, more and more your lifestyle is different from the world. [2.] That is to say, they go through all the correct movements and maintain all the external forms of religion; but they know nothing of Christianity as a dynamic power which changes the lives of men. The Platonic Definitions defined the corresponding noun (alazoneia, G212) as: "The claim to good things which a man does not really possess." Judaism had its divine institutions and hopes, but the truth is found in Christendom only: nevertheless in Christendom, who fails to discern Jewish elements and heathenish enormities? And I filed many scriptures in that file. And the reason why he makes it so urgent not to be turned aside was, that the time would come when men would not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts they should heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they should turn away their ears from the truth, and should be. Perilous Times 2 Timothy 3:1. Regardless of the persecution, it is our duty to live in such a way that the world will know that we are Christians. I think the next major event, Revelation 4:1 . There is little likelihood that Timothy will be easily led astray by false teaching. "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." He said that one isn't inspired; obviously inspired. Those ministers are likely to do good, and leave lasting fruits of their labours, whose manner of life agrees with their doctrine; as, on the contrary, those cannot expect to profit the people at all that preach well and live ill. 3. (2.) It may well be that the greatest handicap to Christianity is not the scarlet sinner but the sleek devotee of an unimpeachable orthodoxy and a dignified convention, who is horrified when it is suggested that real religion is a dynamic power which changes a man's personal life. Timothy, again, winced under trials, too sensitive to slights, disappointments, and the manifold griefs that came upon him. Luke recorded the very words spoken on the mission field long ago, "Through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22); and, in the words of White, "Consistency in the life of Christ must necessarily be always opposed by the world. The woman, thrilled to the heart, does so and is deluded into thinking that she can prophesy. He lets Timothy know that while he laid this on others, he must look carefully to his own ways. But, says the apostle, "be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. It should be considered as one of the proper qualifications for membership in the church, to be willing to bear persecution, and to resolve not to shrink from any duty in order to avoid it. Didn't you know that's just a myth? It is an immense blessing that we have the truth not only in a book, but in a practical shape, the truth that comes out of the heart and from the lips of living men of God. The apostle had a particular reference, doubtless, to his own times; but he has put his remark into the most general form, as applicable to all periods. 3:2-5 For men will live a life that is centred in self; they will be lovers of money, braggarts, arrogant, lovers of insult, disobedient to their parents, thankless, regardless even of the ultimate decencies of life, without human affection, implacable in hatred, revelling in slander, ungovernable in their passions, savage, not knowing what the love of good is, treacherous, headlong in word and action, inflated with pride, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. 9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was. Narcissism is at an all-time peak, but with lovers of yourself comes. If we would know the holy scriptures, we must read and search them daily, as the noble Bereans did, Acts 17:11. The strange characteristic of ingratitude is that it is the most hurting of all sins because it is the blindest. Jewish thought had one basic conception. A book with a record such as it has cannot be disregarded. Rather than a verse-by-verse approach, the authors have crafted chapters that explain and apply key passages in their assigned Bible books. THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL The whole idea is that of thoroughly fitting you as an instrument that God can use. Paul's life: one of faith. It may be that, since we are only human, we cannot live entirely without differences with our fellow-men, but to perpetuate these differences is one of the worst--and also one of the commonest--of all sins. So I become the authority if I make such an affirmation to you. I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers," what singular language this from Paul! Such offence can and does happen yet. As I read the things that are happening in our modern-cultured Orange County, as I read the reports from the social department on the child abuse, I just shake my head in disbelief because a person could not possibly do these things unless they were without natural affection. Difficult is the Greek word chalepos ( G5467) . One of my most unfavorite promises in the Bible. But then another thing. It is not the question of discipline dealing With evil ways; but here we are in a state of things where we are in danger of being mixed up with vessels unto the Lord's dishonour. ' according to godliness, 1 Timothy 6:3; Titus 1:1; and in all godliness, 1 Timothy 2:2. [Note: Knight, p. But continue thou in the things which you have learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through the faith which is in Christ Jesus ( 2 Timothy 3:14-15 ). Theophylact called this kind of pride akropolis (compare G206 and G4172) kakon ( G2556) , the citadel of evils. Right out of the gate, Second Timothy presents itself as a conservative letter, understanding "conservative" in the most literal sense of the word. "Men of corrupt minds. The world really doesn't admire true Christian traits. Observe, (1.) In either case home and family life were destroyed. Accordingly, there is a depth of feeling that one may safely say far exceeds the first epistle, although it had shown so much tenderness and care both for Timothy and the faithful of those days. The first is the moral character of the source or channel whence Timothy had derived what he knew. There are persons who think that the approach of death is intended to blot out everything here. Here we come back to where we started; such men place their own wishes in the centre of life. Therefore it is incumbent for the Christian to look to this gravely, never to be dragged by the fear of breaking unity into accrediting what dishonours the Lord. It instructs us in that which is true, reproves us for that which is amiss, directs us in that which is good. Now when Moses appeared before Pharaoh and he threw down his rod and it turned into a snake, you'll remember that Pharaoh's magicians threw down their rods and they also became snakes, but Moses' snake swallowed theirs.
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