“Godlessness and Deception”

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:1-17

For the past two weeks, we’ve been considering the advice that Paul is offering to his friend Timothy. He has been encouraging the young pastor in the ministry that he has accepted as God’s call on his life. Today’s study, though, takes on a whole different face. Chapter 3 of this letter seems to be more of a warning than encouragement.

Ministry and mission has always been a mix of celebration and struggle. It seems that as soon as glory and honor begins to be shown to our Almighty God, Satan rears his ugly head! The last thing that he wants is for the people of earth to start walking in Godly ways, instead of his destructive ones. And the more we give to the Lord, the more Satan tries to take away. Paul knew this truth very well – Satan’s hatred had followed him every day since he traveled that road to Damascus, and the persecution would never stop until the evangelist’s life was taken. Paul also knew that this lord of darkness would begin attacking Timothy soon, just as he infects every church with anger and disagreement and torment.

Paul wanted Timothy to be prepared for the tyranny that would, without a doubt, come his way.

Read 2 Timothy 3:1-5

At first glance, these verses sound a lot like the tribulations of Revelation! But the truth is that they represent today. Satan had been defeated at Calvary, but it wasn’t the end of his reign here on earth! It was simply the beginning of his efforts to disrupt and interrupt the salvation message that the Church is called to share. This list of ungodly attributes is nearly overwhelming, but I think that we all can agree that there isn’t a single word in these few verses that aren’t part of the Church’s reality. We are in a time when both Satan and Christ have influence over our lives, but the hope is that we will choose the better one to follow.

Think about that last admonition in this passage: the force behind these “terrible times” are due to “… lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God - having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.” Satan is willing to work overtime to make these struggles seem as though they are due to Godly power, that they are assaulting our very existence because God is angry and vindictive over the life we have been living.

The truth of the matter is, though, that it is all the work of evil in human lives. Satan’s greatest power is that he can make his deceptive words and way seem to be Godly in nature, when they are anything but Godly. As we read through the gospels, we will discover that these attributes stand totally in contrast to all that Jesus teaches and stands for. These 18 traits of the human life are all based in the first – that we are lovers of self. It’s about pride, it’s about elevation of ourselves above others, and it’s about the love of anything that advances our own status and position in the eyes of the world. This was never the way of Jesus, though. For him, and by necessity, for us, it will always be about raising others up above ourselves, about accepting the heat so others can be set free.

Read 2 Timothy 3:6-9

Christian women in Paul’s day had been freed from a submissive lifestyle, but many of them were still uncertain of how to live in that freedom. They were easily swayed into accepting whatever an authority figure might tell them. These men that the passage speaks about, were deceitful, and used these unsuspecting and vulnerable women for their own purpose and pleasure.

The names Jannes and Jambres were literary names that were given to unnamed men of ancient times. The earliest use of the names were for personalization of the anonymous magicians in Pharaoh’s court who tried to match the skills of Moses but never could. (Exodus 7:11, 8:7; 9:11) Tradition would use these same two names in other instances of unnamed men in scripture who opposed the will of God, and the work of the his true servants.

Paul goes on to say that these men – the deceivers, the evil doers, the self-centered and self-serving – will never get very far in their hateful work because the Lord has rejected them in whatever deplorable faith they may have had. But the last verse can be a little strange, for we are told that their lies and depravity “will be clear to everyone.” But are the lies of earth always clear and unbelievable? Not exactly! But I believe that through prayer and petition, the faithful will be led by the Holy Spirit to see through these masks of deception, and then the truth of Christ will, in all things, be revealed and will prevail.

Read 2 Timothy 3:10-13

And now, Paul returns to encouragement for his young friend in the faith. The attributes that he lists as pertaining to himself are the very ones which he prays will live in the life of Timothy. And this is the life that Paul now leads, not the one he has left behind, and in this abrupt change, the difficulties have increased, not diminished! He wants Timothy to teach in faith, to live a life worthy of a disciple of God, to have a purpose that is grounded in the ways of Jesus Christ, to trust in all that the Spirit shows to him, to patiently wait for the Lord’s time, to love as Christ loved, and to endure in faith so that he might withstand everything that the world will throw at him.
And the persecutions and suffering are guaranteed, just as the Lord’s presence and guidance and purpose and protection will be his, too. Paul reminds his friend that whenever trials came at him, the Lord was right there to rescue him from the hatred of the mobs. But it is more than just God at work – we also must constantly seek the Lord’s purpose and plan for our lives, and follow it every day, for it is when we are within the will of God that our lives will be most useful to the Lord.

Everyone who follows in the example of Jesus, as evidenced in the life of Paul, will know the Lord’s glory, and will also discover that the animosity and attacks of earth aren’t very far behind. Satan is just as committed to his deviltry as Jesus is to the glory, but while our lot in Christ will always improve, the minions of the darkness will find that their ways pull them down, diminishing their power at every turn. That is why endurance and perseverance are so vital in a Christian’s life (Romans 5:1-5). Standing firm in the faith is the only way we will ever survive the onslaughts of earth.

In Matthew 5:10, in the part of scripture that we know as the Beatitudes, we read “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Any time that we are willing to live by a set of standards and laws that differ greatly from those that the world puts forward, there is going to be trouble. And that should surprise no one, for in Matthew 10:34-39, Jesus tells us “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword”, and later in that passage he says “anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” Following Jesus was never meant to be an easy way, but it is the only way to God’s glory.

Read 2 Timothy 3:14-17

Timothy, as are we, is to remain faithful to Jesus, no matter what may come. And no one has any excuse for deviating from that way, for we have scripture to remind us. Starting with Jesus’ words for our lives, we can discern the difference between the world’s law and God’s law, and if we submit to the truth of Christ, we can never choose poorly.

We are told that all scripture is God-breathed, meaning that the Lord wants us to see the difference between the deceptive ways of earth and the eternal way of salvation. But we have to consider the caution that goes with this charge. All books that claim to be God’s word aren’t necessarily true to God’s will. It is only the Bible that can be completely trusted to be committed to the divine will, and if any others are lifted up for our use, and if they contradict the teachings of Jesus, they are nothing more than a pack of lies. We must learn our lessons well.

It is only scripture, and writings that are based fully in scripture, that can bring us Godly wisdom. Only scriptural truth should be used for teaching, training, and correcting us in righteous ways. Scripture, as the word and breath of God, are not to be used to our own advantage, but as an instruction in living in a way that brings glory to the Lord. Scripture is to be used to reveal the truth of God in our lives, not to justify our false beliefs. It is to prepare us for service and faith in the name of Jesus, and never to lead us away from that precious Name. Scripture should fan the flame of faith until we are fully refined and prepared to be that person who loves as Jesus loved, who trusts as Jesus trusted, who teaches the things that Jesus taught, who goes to the same ones who Jesus went to, who is prepared to give their all just as Jesus did.

The lessons that Paul offered to Timothy are the very same lessons that each of us must also learn. May we all learn our lessons well.