2Tim 3:13-15
Evil Men and A Good Man
When we slow down to
really consider what Paul is doing and saying in this short letter to Timothy,
we learn a lot about the kinds of things Timothy was commended for. That means
the things that he not only knew, but that he did as he sought to imitate the
Apostle Paul. Paul also reminded Timothy of some of his personal afflictions
and persecutions--especially those around the area where Timothy had grown up.
As I said last week, having a godly mother and grandmother, it is likely that
Timothy had heard a lot about what other believers had suffered. By just naming
the towns, Timothy would have recalled what he had been told.
We find a mix of good
things and more difficult things in this book. It is the difficult and contrary
things true of Ephesus and the church in that city, that add to the evidence
that Ephesus was the most difficult of the churches in the New Testament: they
were the most worldly, the most sinful, the most corrupted by Pagan ways
(perhaps they never really put them off Eph 4 illustration), they were full of
things that needed strong words. That was God's way of dealing with sin in
individuals and among those who profess to be God's people--and among some of
them, were falsely professing to believe.
The Holy Spirit
doesn't give therapy as the means to deal with the problems. That is a modern
development by non-Christian, and often atheistic people, in and since the
so-called enlightenment. A friend of mine often refers to it as the
endarkenment. Darkness has come into the churches under the guise of a new form
of paganism. It is added to a few Christian words or ideas and made to appear
as biblical truth or at least, consistent with the Truth--when it is not. One
of the biggest issues I have had to deal with in 25 years of ministry is this
kind of false gospel and false notions for living. They are taken from
pop-psychology, from secular ideas. Even the focus on small groups is often
taken from the dynamics of interaction found in men like Karl Jung. These ideas
seem to work for a little while. But, that is if they are filled with proper
oversight and directed into Christian truths. It is the church, the entire
church together that ought to function in this way. But, I'm off on a tangent
if I say any more.
We need to know what
God says about things and if he commands us to walk in a certain way, that is
the way in which we should go, without modernizing it according to our own
whims or what seems good to us. God knows the best way to do what we need to
do. It is based on perfect knowledge of all men and situations.
Humans since the fall,
have been basically the same. There is a kind of anthropological
uniformitarianism that we learn from the Bible. One of the first principles is
the evil of all human beings without exception. Not all are as bad as they
could possibly be. But, all men and women born of Adam and Eve and their
descendants are sinfully depraved and prone to evil. Some are worse than others
but all of us are sinners by nature.
Given the right
situations, we are also sinners by choice. We are evil. When we are tempted to
judge others, we must remember that we were once just like them. This is why I
pray for the Lord to get a hold of our children while they are still young.
Otherwise, they will find creative ways to
manifest what they are by nature and by nurture. Humans don't become good on
their own--it takes a work of God to change their roots in order for them to
produce good fruits (Matt 7:17ff).
Let's read the text
for this morning:
10 But you have
carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering,
love, perseverance, 11 persecutions, afflictions, which happened to
me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra--what persecutions I endured. And out of
them all the Lord delivered me.
12Yes, and all who desire to live godly in
Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
13 But evil men and impostors will grow
worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.14 But you must
continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from
whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have
known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation
through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
Let's look at the
text:
13 But evil men and impostors
Evil men are those
given over to evil. The word coupled with this in the NKJV is imposters--though
a number of words would convey the sense of the original. An impostor is
someone who presents themselves as something they are not. Their evil is manifest
by their studied ability to deceive others. The word is sometimes found for an
entertainer, an actor or a juggler. People with the ability to take in others
by their performing skills. In the ancient world, many of these vocations had
their own ways of tricking people in order to profit from them.
Let's consider some
ways in which the Scriptures talk about evil men (Women included in the
masculine--aner is men biologically, anthropos means mankind).
Eccl 6:1 1 There is an evil which I have
seen under the sun, and it is common among men:
Prov 24:1 1 Do not be envious of evil men,
Nor desire to be with them;
20 And He said, "What comes out of a
man, that defiles a man.
21 For from within, out of the heart of
men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 thefts,
covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride,
foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile a
man."
2Thess 2:11 11 And for this reason God will send
them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,
That is how God sometimes deals with people like this. We have to keep in mind that some people who are alive in our day are delusional about eternal realities because of a divine delusion. They can't believe unless God opens their spiritual eyes and they won't believe until and unless the delusion is lifted. This passage is in 2 Thessalonians. This is a New Testament reality, not just something that happened in the Old.
Paul continues writing
about these sorts of men who were in Ephesus, we know that from 1 Tim 1 and
other passages including some in Chapters 1-3 in this letter. Paul, by the
spirit says these evil men…
…will grow worse and
worse,
They will advance in
evil, they will become more evil, in academic terms, they will be schooled in
evil through a bachelors degree, then a masters and a PhD in evil. If God, by
the Holy Spirit did not restrain men from all the evil they could do, we would
have more people like this than we do. There are some that God has given over
who will become experts in evil. They will learn how to manipulate people in
ways that take advantage of them for personal gain.
This evil is so
advanced, that they start believing in their evil ways as the right ways to
live.
deceiving and being
deceived
First they deceive
others and at sometime it becomes their habitual activity and then their
lifestyle. This is why the Bible is full of warnings about those who are evil.
Being evil from birth is bad enough, but to become a master or evil or more, is
a terrible thing. These are the sorts of people to stay away from lest you be
caught up in God's judgment of them in this life.
Be careful of being
deceived, either by your own thinking or the thinking of others. Learn from
God's Word. It is better to trust in Him and live in his ways--all men and
women have the ability to send you off on the wrong path. The straight and
narrow is the best path on which to walk.
Paul then turns to
give positive instruction to Timothy:
14 But you must continue in the things
which you have learned and been assured of,
Paul sends Timothy
back to the solid, Bible-based things hae has been taught in his life. Some
commentators mention the ministry of Paul alone, but if we continue to read on
in this chapter, we find his Mother and Grandmother are credited with having
taught him the scriptures from childhood. We'll see that when we get to verse
15.
Timothy is to treasure
what he had been taught as a child. Let me make some application to the
children who are here this morning and those who might be sick at home who need
to hear this from the fathers and grandfathers as much as the mothers and
grandmothers.
Children, Don't hide
behind others so I can't see your eyes. Do you realized how privileged you are
to have parents that love you so much that they bring you to hear God's Word
each Lord's Day? You are blessed more than most children for this one reason.
But, you also hear the gospel explaining how to believe and trust in the Lord
Jesus Christ. If you come to believe, you will be spared a life of misery and
sin. You will act out on the evil that is in you by nature. You may not be
among the worst of sinners, but you are sinners nonetheless. Each sin is cosmic
treason against the God who brought you into existence and gave you life. If
you do not come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ all you heard and know about
the gospel will be brought as witnesses against you on the Day of Judgment.
And, it will be better for you in the degrees of justice than if you had not come
to church. Don't waste this time. Call out to God that He would soften your
heart and give you faith to believe.
Maybe when you have
children of your own, you can tell them these important truths about their need
to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ that he would forgive of sin and save your
soul. These are important realities that have eternal consequences. Many of you
have been nurtured in the faith by your mothers and grandmothers. Don't make
the time they spent out of love and concern for your soul to be wasted.
Paul knew Timothy's
life story well. He knew all of those who taught him the scriptures. Paul
writes:
knowing from whom you have learned them,
Paul knew what he
taught him in the presence of many witnesses and in private discussions. Paul
knew Timothy's family well enough to know the place of his grandmother and
mother. Paul had these blessings in greater abundance than most Jewish boys.
Notice that it does not say anything about the Law, which would have been the
statements made by the teaching Rabbis. In the end, the rabbinical teachings
are but commentary to make Jews think they could be good and accepted by
obeying a certain interpretation of the law. Pharisee believed there were 230
or so laws to follow that made them perfect. They also believed if they all
obeyed those principles on just one Sabbath, the Messiah would come. That was
not the case is what Timothy is commended for. We read:
15 and that from childhood you have known
the Holy Scriptures,
Timothy was not taught
the sayings of the Rabbis, as it appears Paul had learned. Timothy had the
direct blessing of having been taught the Holy Scriptures. Most of these would
have been the Old Testament Scriptures. But, the Old was God's Word and in so
much that Timothy would have been taught after Pentecost, they were relevant
for Timothy's spiritual education in obedience to many commands in the OT about
teaching children. The OT did not become obsolete in any way. They were the
scriptures that were able to make him wise unto salvation.
We are blessed more
than they. We have the NT as well. Combined, we have all that God revealed by
the Spirit. We have enough to teach the whole counsel of God unto his glory. We
have the fullness of the revelation of God given to man for God's glory and to
see a glimpse of that glory.
Among all humans that
have ever lived, we are most blessed. Let us not take it for granted. While we
have breath and life, let's give ourselves to know God's Word and through that
Word, know God as well.
1Thess 4:3 For this is the will of God, your
sanctification…:5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do
not know God;
6 that no one should take advantage of and
defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all
such, as we also forewarned you and testified.
7 For God did not call us to uncleanness,
but in holiness.
8 Therefore he who rejects this does not
reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.
What is my job towards
this church? TO preach the Gospel of salvation and the way of sanctification.
It is not to pat you on the back and assure you in any sin that you are
acceptable to God. It is to call you to Holiness--that my friends is the
highest human calling. It is opposed to all kinds of evil whether it be in you
our outside of you.
It is the scriptures,
as Paul finishes the thought in our passage for today, which are able to make
you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
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