A. M. Chirgwin in The Bible in World Evangelism tells the story of a ward sister in a children's hospital in England. In the Jewish pictures of these last terrible times we get exactly the same kind of picture as we get here. The great thing is to do the will of God, let others say what they please; and so the apostle Paul exhorts Timothy. Copyright Statement These files are public domain. That which finishes a man of God in this world is the scripture. Vincente Quiroga of Chile found a few pages of a book washed up on the seashore by a tidal wave following an earthquake. But no man ought to separate himself from the children of God, unless it be a dire necessity for the Lord; it is clearly not according to Christ. He would not have him to be spreading doubtful opinions; but what he had heard from the apostle himself he need not scruple to give out freely. It would not burn. for reproof, for correction ( 2 Timothy 3:16 ), And how often the word of God has brought correction to my course of life. What a blessing. If there is no human affection, the family cannot exist. And the word of God comes and it brings a balance, it brings a correction, it brings a correct perspective.It's profitable. On the whole we here see, [1.] Yet. It is used in Matthew 8:28 to describe the two Gergesene demoniacs who met Jesus among the tombs. 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. "Reprobate concerning the faith.". For it is not dogma pure and simple, it is not mere instruction; and we may thank God for it. Men will be disobedient to their parents. "Because ye are not of the world therefore the world hateth you" (John 15:19; Matthew 10:22,38,39). There is patience. In certain of these books Jannes and Jambres figured largely. "My God shall supply all of your needs" ( Philippians 4:19 ). Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines; for it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace,Hebrews 13:9. Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (186) Et tous ceux aussi qui veulent vivre en la crainte de Dieu. And all those also who wish to live in the fear of God., (187) Que rien ne luy est advenu que tous fideles ne doyvent aussi attendre. That nothing has happened to him which all believers must not also look for.. Look at the lack, lackness. The closing chapter (2 Timothy 4:1-22) then gives his solemn charge, and at the same time his own expression of what was before him. Let me remark, that there are comparatively few indeed that receive truth without help of others directly from God. One day they said to Jesus, Show us a sign. Even a dog may be sorry when he has hurt his master, but there are people who, in their treatment of others, can be lost to human sympathy and feeling. Plutarch uses the word to describe a quack doctor. 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 . The final condemnation of these people is that they retain the outward form of religion but deny its power. They had been long accustomed to the truth, and alas! (3) if we are persecuted, we should carefully inquire, before we avail ourselves of this consolation, whether we are persecuted because we "live godly in Christ Jesus," or for some other reason. I thought you were, you know, the Son of God and smarter than that. To report dead links, typos, or html errors or suggestions about making these resources more useful use the convenient, Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Et tous ceux aussi qui veulent vivre en la crainte de Dieu, Que rien ne luy est advenu que tous fideles ne doyvent aussi attendre. How Daniels Prophecy of 70 Weeks Connects to the End Times. And that's what creates the problem all the way through. Pride always begets insult. Men will be implacable in their hatreds (aspondos, G786) . Few choose to leave behind the elementary teaching about Christ, and press on into maturity.Sadly many believers, although saved by grace through faith in Christ, refuse to move past the elementary principles of the Christian life. The difference between the braggart and the man who is arrogant is this. He flung the New Testament on it. Note, Those are wise indeed who are wise to salvation. It is able to make us wise to salvation; that is, it is a sure guide in our way to eternal life. But after giving the characteristics and traits of the godly man, Jesus then in the final Beatitudes said, "Blessed are ye, when men shall persecute you, and revile you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake" ( Matthew 5:11 ). We must remember that they were Gnostics and that the basic principle of Gnosticism was that spirit was altogether good and matter altogether evil. Seeking the Gospel in Malachi, the Last Book of the Old Testament. Now these seem to many very difficult indeed to combine. Possibly he did appoint them; but there is no scriptural proof of it. It would not be accordant with the mind of God. 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. For "all scripture is given by inspiration of God. 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 ). "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. The word is almost exactly the English swelled-headed. Timothy had been schooled in the Scriptures from his early youth by his mother and grandmother, and so as Paul began to, with the Scriptures, prove that Jesus was the Messiah, with Timothy's background, he could see the truth of it. There was to be a final show-down with the forces of evil. Paul's life: one of longsuffering, one of love and one of patience. Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. And as we go down the list, it's like reading the afternoon newspaper. (iv) The Scriptures are of use for correction. "But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. Commentary on 2 Timothy 3:14-17. In the light of this warning from the Saviour, no Christian should be surprised at persecution. And, let every one that nameth the name" not of "Christ," but "of the Lord depart from iniquity." Promotions are withheld, invitations are denied, and a snickering unpopularity are the daily portion of many precious souls working in a hostile, atheistic environment. 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. 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. In short, let us know that we are Christians on this condition, that we shall be liable to many tribulations and various contests. Yea, and all that would live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 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. Be assured, that if you do not bring the Spirit of God into these matters, perhaps your cloak, perhaps a book, will become a snare to you. That is why the church which has no Bible Class is a church in whose work an essential element is missing. On the other hand, it is unholy to tamper with evil. 2 Timothy 3 He preached in the same church as C. H. Spurgeon over one hundred years earlier. The Gnostic insinuators would teach these doctrines to impressionable women. But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: a. Timothy, again, winced under trials, too sensitive to slights, disappointments, and the manifold griefs that came upon him. And for a person to take advantage of a child is unthinkable. And my full doctrinal concepts are premised upon the scriptures. Compare the catalogue, Ro 1:29, &c., where much the same sins are attributed to heathen men; it shall be a relapse into virtual heathendom, with all its beast-like propensities, whence the symbol of it is "a beast" (Re 13:1, 11, 12, &c.; 17:3, 8, 11). "Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things. He lit the fire, and then he asked if he might read a little from each book before he dropped it in the flames. We live in a fallen world, and there are many challenges that face the believer who has not only trusted Christ for salvation, but is also ready and willing to deny self, take up his cross, follow Christs example, and say without compromise Thy will, not mine, be done.The newbornbaby Christian has to grow in grace and mature in the faith over an unspecified periodof time, to reach this level of maturity in his faith, while other who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ may slip in and out of carnality and worldliness for many years, stunting their growth and even regressing in their faith back to spiritual infancy.Many, if not all believers, are called to become mature in the faith by walking in spirit and truth and living godly, Christ-centred lives, but few are willing to exchange the cosy blessings of early Christian infancy, for the difficulties that inevitably follow the mature believer. The essence of Christianity is not the enthronement but the obliteration of self. And in the end they shall perish together with them." 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. 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. Irenaeus draws a vivid picture of the methods of just such a teacher in his day. This was always the becoming tone; but now it is imperiously necessary, as well as wise and good. I have many scriptures that I don't understand yet. But now there were other reasons for it, namely, that Christians were neglecting godliness and order. Jambres. Lear's words remain true: "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is. Just to go line upon line, precept upon precept, plodding right straight through the word of God. All that will live godly So opposite to the spirit and practice of the world is the whole of Christianity, that he who gives himself entirely up to God, making the Holy Scriptures the rule of his words and actions, will be less or more reviled and persecuted. All that will live godly So opposite to the spirit and practice of the world is the whole of Christianity, that he who gives himself entirely up to God, making the Holy Scriptures the rule of his words and actions, will be less or more reviled and persecuted. He is the man who is guilty of the "sin of the high heart." Having a form of godliness ( 2 Timothy 3:5 ). Closely allied with the braggart, but--as we shall see--even worse, is the man who is arrogant. Word Studies in the New Testament. How many people who have stood before God and have pledged for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death do us part; and yet again, the high divorce rate. And this, I believe, is much to be considered. In these terrible days men will be slanderers. We have already seen that that teaching issued in one of two things. How is a man to walk in such a state of things as this? When Job was talking to his friends and they were talking to him about the future, and Job said, Oh, I wish I were dead. What is the excellency of the scripture. The world easily puts up with the mask of a religion which depends on itself, but the piety which derives its vigor directly from Christ is as odious to modern Christians as it was to the ancient Jews [Bengel]. Then in 2 Timothy 3:1-17 he proceeds to show us not merely a picture of the condition that Christianity will fall into, but, besides, a state of things that would be produced by this confusion. Let us then see what Paul says of the usefulness of scripture. Godly = adv. The way of sin is down-hill; for such proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. And passion shall seize him that is peaceful. Look at the magazines that were once really under the counter kind of stuff and sold illegally. Paul goes on to other qualities of an apostle. And come up a hundred days later and be deposited at a port. And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully." Confirmed that Noah was a real person and it was a real event. There is no godliness (Greek, "piously") or piety out of Christ. At the same time there is the carrying on his full notice of everything found here below that would be a source of comfort to one who anticipated the ruin of Christendom. Now hatred is attended by cruelty, and hence arise persecutions. (This book is used for definition of Greek words. Men will be inflated with conceit (tetuphomenos, G5187) . Here we come back to where we started; such men place their own wishes in the centre of life. It denotes a savagery which has neither sensitiveness nor sympathy. 2 Timothy 3:12, NASB: Indeed, all who want to live in a godly way in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Observe, Timothy must continue in the things which he had learned and had been assured of. The kind of guys that went around selling snake oil or cure-alls, deceiving, defrauding people. Even an unbeliever is acting unfairly unless he tries to read it. In other words, they simply remain in spiritual infancy and keep repeating the first stage of their Christian faith, over and again, without pressing on to spiritual maturity.Many are falsely taught that becoming a Christian will secure a quiet life and provide a ticket to prosperity, with numerous earthly blessings and a free pass from God, to prevent or remove any difficulties or dangers that may arise. The man who is mastered by his lower passions will gratify them in the most shameless way, as the streets of any great city will show when the night is late. Why does the world hate Christians? He lets Timothy know that while he laid this on others, he must look carefully to his own ways. The result would often be either that the woman broke off married relationships with her husband in order to live the ascetic life, or that she gave the lower instincts full play and abandoned herself to promiscuous relationships. "The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain; but, when. God wants us each to take His power, His love, and His calm thinking and overcome fear, to be used of Him with all the gifts He gives. I think we've gone just about as far as we can. If what be claims for scripture is true of the Old Testament, how much truer it is of the still more precious words of the New. "That thou hast had good teachers. 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. But God prepares the instruments through which He works and the most important preparation is through the Word of God. They claimed that the law was so imprinted on the heart and mind of a Jewish child that he would sooner forget his own name than he would forget it. Rather they are minimum requirements that otherwise suitable people must fulfil if the church is to recognize them as elders or deacons. For him the light of eternity already shone strongly on present things, instead of taking him completely out of them. repentance from dead works and of faith toward God. 2. Men will be treacherous. Word Pictures in the New Testament. The persecutions today may not be the same Paul had to withstand, but persecutions of some type will confront us from time to time. This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come ( 2 Timothy 3:1 ). The ancient world set duty to parents very high. e Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.. Guard the Deposit Entrusted to You. Originally the alazon ( G213) was a wandering quack. That desire for more. I think the next major event, Revelation 4:1 . Now this is not given to us in the Scriptures but there are other, what are known as apocryphal books, in which these two fellows are named.