2 Timothy 3:6-9

In 2 Timothy 3:6-9 Paul warns that there are people that would creep into households in the last days. It is one thing to have such evil present in the world; it is another thing to allow it into your home. “For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.” Paul is concerned for the sake of the gullible, those who will believe or pay attention to most anything if it is packaged the right way. He calls out women specifically because in that day, women spent far more time at home than the men, and were far more exposed to any corruption that would infiltrate the household.

Guzik writes “The spirit of the last days has a certain intelligence about it; the high priests of the spirit of the last days know how to make things work and how to lead us away by various lusts. But for all their skill, for all of their marketing brilliance and knowledge, they never come to truth. In fact the spirit of the last days has a problem with the idea of “true truth” altogether, because it believes that we each are the center of our own universe and we each create our own truth. According to the spirit of the last days there is no truth outside of ourselves, so we can learn and learn and learn, but we will never come to God’s eternal truth.”

Paul gives a real example of this happening in the past with Jannes and Jambres who were Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses before Pharaoh. “Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith.” They were able to work real miracles – not mere tricks – but by the power of darkness and not the power of God. When Moses cast down his rod and it turned into a serpent, Jannes and Jambres could do the same. When he turned water into blood, they could do the same. When Moses brought forth a plague of frogs, Jannes and Jambres could do the same. Yet eventually they could not match God miracle-for-miracle, and their occult powers were shown to be inferior to God’s power.

“But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.” Even as Jannes and Jambres were eventually put to shame and were eventually compelled to give reluctant glory to God, so also will the evil men of the last days. Even as Jannes and Jambres’ power had limits, so does Satan’s power, even in the last days – God is still in control. This is the message of great hope in the midst of this great darkness – the spirit of the last days has an answer to it in Jesus Christ. The spirit of the last days is not stronger than the power of Jesus. There is hope, triumphant hope, in Jesus.

“Portions of this blog post have been taken from the Enduring Word commentary, (c) 2023 The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – ewm@enduringword.com“

“Scripture (bold and italicized) has been taken from the English Standard Version, © ESV.org – www.esv.org”

2 Timothy 3:3b-5

In 2 Timothy 3:3b-5 we pick up on the long list Paul shares of where people get pulled away from God, we see these in our world today.

• lovers of self
• lovers of money
• proud
• arrogant
• abusive
• disobedient to their parents
• ungrateful
• unholy
• heartless
• unappeasable
• slanderous
• without self-control
• brutal
• not loving good
• treacherous
• reckless
• swollen with conceit
• lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God
• having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power

Paul next calls out the issue of lacking self control. It is written across almost everything today – sex, drugs, alcohol, food, work. Whatever we do, we often do it out of control. Then comes cruelty and brutality. It’s been part of society since the beginning and we hear about it on the news daily. Next comes not loving good. That too is all too familiar. For one example, there was a time when most people thought letting people live was good and killing them was generally a bad thing. Today, we live in a culture when the simple good of life is now despised and attacked, through abortion, through the glorifying of violence and murder, and through euthanasia.

Then Paul lists several things that all have the same root – being lovers of self above all else. He lists treacherous, reckless, conceit and lovers of pleasure. We are all of those things because we elevate self above all else. The bottom line is we become lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. It’s all about me, myself and I. That’s not how God wants us to live, and certainly not the priority He wants us to follow. The message we hear daily from society is: You make your own rules. You answer to no one. You are the one that matters. Your universe revolves around you. We don’t have to choose between pleasure and God. Serving God is the ultimate pleasure. We do have to choose between the love of pleasure and the love of God. Living for God will give you many pleasures, but they only come as you love God first and refuse to love the pleasures themselves.

He wraps up his very long list by talking about our desire to appear godly but living a life that denies it’s power within and around us. In our self-obsessed world, people feel very free to have a “salad bar” religion – they pick and choose what they want. They feel free to be very “spiritual,” but sense no obligation to be Biblical. When we talk about the power of godliness, we often mean it in the sense of “power to give me what I want.” But this is exactly opposite of what Paul meant here. The power of godliness that men will despise in the last days is the power it should have to guide their lives; power in the sense of rightful authority – and many, many, today deny that God has the power to tell them what to do through His Word.

Paul’s instructions related to the people that have these characteristics – avoid them. We are to turn away from them. That’s a pretty tall task in the world today as many of these qualilties are accepted in our culture. The simple responsibility of Christians is to turn away not only these attitudes, but also from the people who do these things. We should expect that these things will be even more numerous and have increased power in the last days shortly before the return of Jesus.

“Portions of this blog post have been taken from the Enduring Word commentary, (c) 2023 The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – ewm@enduringword.com“

“Scripture (bold and italicized) has been taken from the English Standard Version, © ESV.org – www.esv.org”

2 Timothy 3:2a-3b

In 2 Timothy 3:2a-3b we pick up on the long list Paul shares of where people get pulled away from God, we see these in our world today.

• lovers of self
• lovers of money
• proud
• arrogant
• abusive
• disobedient to their parents
• ungrateful
• unholy
• heartless
• unappeasable
• slanderous
• without self-control
• brutal
• not loving good
• treacherous
• reckless
• swollen with conceit
• lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God
• having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power

Paul next talks about the proud and arrogant. Both of these cause us to act like ‘we are the most important person in the room’. They express their ugliness by letting others know that they don’t matter, but worse yet they say that God doesn’t matter either. He’s not important compared to me and who I am. Next comes being abusive. That can take many forms, including physical and emotional, but in any form it is destructive to those who are its target. Often it happens to those who are unable to protect themselves or fight back, and they merely have to endure the abuse until something changes.

Paul calls out disobedience to parents next on the list. There is no question that the authority of parents has broken down in recent years. There is little respect for parental authority and even less toward honoring and holding parents in esteem as God intended. It was one of God’s Ten Commandments, so it is important and part of His plan for the family. Next comes ungrateful, which is one of the ways that the parental relationship is different today. Children should be grateful for their parents and the things they have done to raise them and help them get started on their life journey.

Paul’s next list of items – ungrateful, unholy, heartless (unloving), and unappeasable (unforgiving) have been a problem for mankind since the Garden of Eden and Creation. It seems that we can so quickly slide into these issues of the heart and our relationship with those around us. Next comes the slanderous – telling hurtful lies about one another. Today in our society there are so many different ways this can happen with media, politics, and other communication channels. It is rampant in politics and the slander can easily overtake truth when spread through so many different channels. We’ll continue the list tomorrow.

“Portions of this blog post have been taken from the Enduring Word commentary, (c) 2023 The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – ewm@enduringword.com“

“Scripture (bold and italicized) has been taken from the English Standard Version, © ESV.org – www.esv.org”

3 Timothy 1:1-2a

In 3 Timothy 1:1-2a Paul warns that there will be some tough days ahead. His warning carries the idea of troubles, difficulty, and stressful situations. This sort of atmosphere will mark the last days. “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.” The characteristics Paul will describe speak not of bad times, but of bad people. Calvin explains “We should note what the hardness or danger of this time is in Paul’s view to be, not war, not famine or diseases, nor any of the other calamities or ills that befall the body, but the wicked and depraved ways of men.”

Paul goes on to explain the characteristics that will be prevalent in that time: “For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.” The list is long, and definitely describes much of what we see in our world today.

• lovers of self
• lovers of money
• proud
• arrogant
• abusive
• disobedient to their parents
• ungrateful
• unholy
• heartless
• unappeasable
• slanderous
• without self-control
• brutal
• not loving good
• treacherous
• reckless
• swollen with conceit
• lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God
• having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power

We can read any newspaper or watch any new reporting and see most of this list on any given day. Barclay writes “It is no accident that the first of these qualities will be a life that is centred in self. The adjective used is philautos, which means self-loving. Love of self is the basic sin, from with all others flow. The moment a man makes his own will the centre 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 starts the list with a focus on love of self which is the foundation for all the other things on the list.

He moves on next to the love of money, which scripture tells us is the root of all evil. There is little doubt that money can cause any of us to lose our connection with God and all the relationships we have. It can become an idol in our life and the primary focus of our efforts if we don’t keep it in check. It becomes a competing priority for our time and talent as we try to increase the amount of our treasure. It can even tempt us to make decisions that can lead us to make bad decisions and get us into trouble – cheating, stealing, or compromising morals. It can cause us to be consumed with greed and make us anxious. No wonder Paul calls the love of money out as a potential issue.

“Portions of this blog post have been taken from the Enduring Word commentary, (c) 2023 The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – ewm@enduringword.com“

“Scripture (bold and italicized) has been taken from the English Standard Version, © ESV.org – www.esv.org”

2 Timothy 2:21-26

In 2 Timothy 2:21-26 Paul reminds us that we can be sanctified. He spoke about a cleansing that isn’t just something God does for us as we sit passively. This is a self-cleansing for service that goes beyond a general cleansing for sin. “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.” There is a main aspect of cleansing which comes to us as we trust in Jesus and His work on our behalf. This work of cleansing is really God’s work in us and not our work.

 Guzik explains “But there is another aspect of cleansing which God looks for us to do with the participation of our own will and effort. Not that it is our work apart from God, but it is a work that awaits our will and effort: If anyone cleanses himself. This aspect of cleansing is mostly connected with usefulness for service, and closeness to God.”

We must not think of being usable primarily in the sense of serving in the church. God wants to use His people for every good work, including those at the workplace, the school, in the home, in the community. So the first part of self cleansing is to free ourselves from the things that can pull us away from the Lord. “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” Cleansing can never be a matter of just avoiding bad things. It must also be the pursuit of good things. Bad relationships really hinder our service to the Lord. We must do what we can to set things right if we want to be used of God as much as we can be.

One thing we must avoid is conversations that are just attempts to pick a fight. “Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.” We can’t ignore what is being said, but our approach should not be to quarrel but rather be kind. “And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness.” We need to be humble as we correct those who are not sharing truth, and show gentleness and patience as we carefully share the truth of God’s Word and bring them back to it.

Bottom line is that people who are astray from God’s truth need to be returned and restored. Timothy’s job is to teach them the truth and then patiently wait for God to do His work. Anyone who fights against God is deceived and must come to their senses; repentance flows as someone comes to the truth in this way. “God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.” God’s work often takes time. Sometimes we can see why it takes so much time, sometimes we can’t – but God is not in a hurry, and wants us to learn how to patiently trust Him.

“Portions of this blog post have been taken from the Enduring Word commentary, (c) 2023 The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – ewm@enduringword.com“

“Scripture (bold and italicized) has been taken from the English Standard Version, © ESV.org – www.esv.org”

2 Timothy 2:16-20

In 2 Timothy 2:16-20 Paul continues to guide Timothy in how he should lead and serve the church. He again tells him to stay away from the useless discussions. “But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene.” Man’s opinions, man’s teachings, man’s opinion polls, man’s stories, man’s programs, are all profane and irreverent babble compared to the simple Word of God. When these things become the focus of the message from the pulpit, it will increase more ungodliness. That message will spread quickly and be like cancer to the church.

Paul gets personal and calls out two guys – Hymenaeus and Philetus – as examples of men who had gone off the rails and left the truth. They were teaching that the resurrection had already happened which was far from the truth. “Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some.” Paul said, they overthrow the faith of some. We shouldn’t require that everyone be led astray by a teacher before we avoid them; even if some are having their faith overthrown, it is bad enough.

No matter what any man or group may try and do, God’s Kingdom stands. People may make dangerous attacks against the church and those who worship there, but God’s foundation is solid and will stand the test of time. “But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” We don’t always know those who are His. We can know for ourselves though. God knows those who are His; and He calls those who are His to leave their sin behind, follow Him and live according to His Word.

God likens His church to a great house. “Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable.” Guzik wrote it is a great house….

• “It is a great house because of who it belongs to. The house of our great God is certainly a great house.
• It is a great house because it is planned and designed on a great scale. It has the most brilliant Architect and houses a great multitude of the greatest people to ever walk the earth.
• It is a great house because of the great cost it took to build it. This is a mansion far more valuable than any real estate on earth, built by the great work of Jesus on the cross.
• It is a great house because of its importance. This house and what happens in it is at the center of God’s plan of the ages. The business of this house is more important than any of the trivia most of the world is interested it.”

We are called to stop our sinning and become a useful vessel in service to Him!

“Portions of this blog post have been taken from the Enduring Word commentary, (c) 2023 The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – ewm@enduringword.com“

“Scripture (bold and italicized) has been taken from the English Standard Version, © ESV.org – www.esv.org”

2 Timothy 2:14-15

In 2 Timothy 2:14-15 Paul calls on Timothy to remind them of God’s truth and not get caught up arguing about words. We can get caught up in the little things that don’t really impact the truth and that can cause us to completely miss the point. “Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.” The church is constantly tempted to get its focus off of the message that really matters, and is tempted to become an entertainment center, a social service agency, a mutual admiration society, or any number of other things. This temptation must be resisted, and the church should constantly remember these things.

Clarke wrote “We can get distracted by endless discussion or strife over things that don’t have central importance. “Words, not things, have been a most fruitful source of contention in the Christian world; and among religious people, the principle cause of animosity has arisen from the different manner of apprehending the same term, while, in essence, both meant the same thing.” And Calvin wrote “Let us notice first that teaching is rightly condemned on the sole ground that it does no good. God’s purpose is not to pander to our inquisitiveness but to give us profitable instruction. Away with all speculations that produce no edification!”

If we focus our time on words and having it our way, we miss the entire point of walking with Jesus. It’s a serious matter we need to address. If we do not hear the word of God, then ruin comes by hearing the opinions and speculations and entertainment of man. Paul charges Timothy to live his life as one approved. He exhorts him to be diligent and take action. “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” The focus is not on what people think, but to serve an audience of One and know that God has approved him as a minister of the gospel.

There was no reason to be ashamed. His first concern had to be to present himself approved to God. He was to work hard so he could rightly divide the word of God. He had to know what it said and didn’t say, and how it was to be understood and how it was not to be understood. It wasn’t enough for Timothy to know some Bible stories and verses and sprinkle them through his sermons as illustrations. His teaching was to be a “right dividing” of the Word of God, correctly teaching his congregation. We can’t just pick the interpretation that seems most comfortable to us and claim it as true – it must be rightly dividing the word of truth, and it must be consistent with what the Bible says in the specific passage and with the entire message of the Scriptures.

“Portions of this blog post have been taken from the Enduring Word commentary, (c) 2023 The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – ewm@enduringword.com“

“Scripture (bold and italicized) has been taken from the English Standard Version, © ESV.org – www.esv.org”

2 Timothy 2:12-13

In 2 Timothy 2:12-13 Paul has quoted an early Christian hymn. “The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him;if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.” The stanzas are if/then types of truths:

• If we have died with him, we will also live with him (covered yesterday)
• if we endure, we will also reign with him
• if we deny him, he also will deny us
• if we are faithless, he remains faithful

The second stanza of the song assures the faithful believer of eternal reward. This principle assures us that our present difficulty or trial is worth enduring. The reward is greater than what one might gain from quitting. We will reign with Him! This future destiny explains much of the difficulty described in this passage. We understand that God is training us to rule and reign beside Him in the world to come. That’s the promise of salvation – that we will not only spend eternity with Jesus but will also have the job of worship and helping rule the world we leave behind.

The third stanza of the song warns those who deny Jesus that they themselves will be denied. By doctrine or how we live, we may deny who Jesus is, deny what He has done for us, or deny what He commands us to do. And if we deny Him, we can expect Him to deny us. But even if we are faithless, the fourth stanza reminds us that He is always faithful. We must not deny Jesus and we must keep our allegiance to Him. But if we do fall away, it doesn’t change who God is. It is terrible when people who claim to follow Jesus are unfaithful; many non-believers have been turned off from Jesus because of the hypocrisy of those who take His name but live unfaithfully to the Gospel. But all the faithlessness of man doesn’t disprove the faithfulness of God.

Calvin wrote “Our faithlessness cannot in any way detract from the Son of God and His Glory. Being all sufficient in Himself He has no need of our confession. It is as if he had said, ‘Let all who will desert Christ, for they deprive him of nothing; when they perish, He remains unchanged.’” We can stand faithful as God empowers us. Even if we have been wavering, we still have time – as the Spirit of God calls us even now – to turn back to a faithful God. We can be like the prodigal son, who came to his senses, saw his faithlessness, and came home to his father who had been faithful to him the whole time.

“Portions of this blog post have been taken from the Enduring Word commentary, (c) 2023 The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – ewm@enduringword.com“

“Scripture (bold and italicized) has been taken from the English Standard Version, © ESV.org – www.esv.org”

2 Timothy 2:10-11

In 2 Timothy 2:10-11 Paul explains why he is willing to suffer for the Gospel which did not bring Paul a life of glamour and ease. It brought him a life full of adventure and challenge, and a life also marked by suffering. “Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.”  Any true follower of Jesus Christ will be willing to suffer with Him. Those who are determined to never suffer for Jesus may admire Him from a distance, but they do not genuinely follow Him. A true Christ Follower must be willing, and expect that suffering will be part of that journey.

No government, no religious authorities, no skeptics, no scientists, no philosophers, or no book burners have ever been able to stop the work of the Word of God. Paul knew that his love for God could reliably be measured by his love for God’s people. White wrote “St. Paul was much sustained by the thought that his labours and sufferings were, in the providence of God, beneficial to others.” Paul’s life was not spent merely in getting people rescued in Jesus, but also in seeing them grow and become complete in their relationship with Him. The ultimate outcome is eternal glory, something we can’t really understand or even imagine, but a promise of our salvation.

Paul quotes an early Christian hymn known among the Christians of his day. “The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.” The stanzas are if/then types of truths:

• If we have died with him, we will also live with him
• if we endure, we will also reign with him
• if we deny him, he also will deny us
• if we are faithless, he remains faithful

The Bible speaks of dying with Jesus in at least two ways:

1. Baptism is the first illustration of that in our life. Each of us can have a life-after-death experience with Jesus, seeing our old life ended with Jesus on the cross, and have our new life beginning with His being raised from the dead.
2. The other way the Bible speaks of dying with Jesus is, of course, in the sense of martyrdom – of paying the ultimate price for following Jesus. This is probably Paul’s idea here.

Remember that Paul is sitting in jail as he writes this and is facing death in the face.

“Portions of this blog post have been taken from the Enduring Word commentary, (c) 2023 The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – ewm@enduringword.com“

“Scripture (bold and italicized) has been taken from the English Standard Version, © ESV.org – www.esv.org”

2 Timothy 2:6-9

In 2 Timothy 2:6-9 Paul also uses a farmer to drive home his point. Paul emphasized the fact that farmers are hard-working. In the same way, all who serve the Lord should be hard-working. “It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.” Unlike the soldier and the athlete, there is nothing glamorous about the work a farmer does. It is often tedious, boring, and unexciting. The nation’s best farmer really isn’t a celebrity. But he must work hard just the same. Paul wasn’t just called, he wasn’t just blessed, he wasn’t just anointed; Paul was also hard-working. His ministry would have been far less than it was if he had not worked hard. He wanted to pass that on to Timothy.

Some people expect something for nothing. But wise people know that you often get out of things according to the measure you put into them. If you are putting forth little effort in your Christian walk, you should expect little result. Paul knew the balance of working hard, yet always knowing it is all of grace. When Timothy had spiritual food to give to the congregation, he needed to eat of it first. If he wasn’t being fed from the Word of God, he couldn’t really feed others. Like a good farmer, any godly pastor will work hard and he will patiently await the harvest – which really comes at the end of the age, not at the end of the meeting.

Paul has just explained three illustrations of the Christian life – a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer. Each of these three occupations need great perseverance to succeed.

• The soldier who stops fighting before the battle is finished will never see victory.
• The athlete who stops running before the race is over will never win the race.
• The farmer who stops working before the harvest is complete will never see the fruit of his crops.

“Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” Timothy was instructed to see the importance of perseverance, and to receive understanding from the Lord in all these things.

Paul reminds Timothy that Jesus is the center of the Gospel story. “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!” Jesus victory over death and resurrection from the dead is something no other has ever done. Jesus’ resurrection was the proof that though it looked like He died on the cross as a common criminal, He actually died as a sinless man, giving His life out of love and self-sacrifice to bear the guilt of our sin. Jesus’ death on the cross was the payment but the resurrection was the receipt, showing that the payment was received as perfect before God the Father.

“Portions of this blog post have been taken from the Enduring Word commentary, (c) 2023 The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – ewm@enduringword.com“

“Scripture (bold and italicized) has been taken from the English Standard Version, © ESV.org – www.esv.org”