2 Timothy: Week 8 (Wednesday, April 25 2018)
(from www.insightforliving.org.uk)
Chapter 3: 1-9
LET’S BEGIN HERE
Reality in the raw —that’s what the Bible gives us. It tells the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And the truth it tells includes a ghastly story of godlessness. Human depravity marches across its pages. Sadly, many have grown so accustomed to watching the parade, whether in the Bible or the culture, that we’ve become numb to the depths of debauchery residing in the human heart. We’re no longer shocked and outraged. Perhaps that’s why the Bible sometimes backs up the truck and unloads a descriptive deluge of indecency on us. That’s exactly what we get in 2 Timothy 3:1– 9.
LET’S DIG DEEPER
1. A Harsh Reality We Must Realize (2 Timothy 3:1)
Early Christians, not unlike Christians today, believed the Lord’s return was just moments away (Acts 1:6). And with good reason. Even so, Jesus instructed: stop looking to the sky; build His kingdom until He returns (1:7 –8). Why? Because time is running short.
2. An Unvarnished Exposé of “Last Days” Depravity (2 Timothy 3:2– 7)
As we look at Paul’s exposé of “last days” depravity, remember his list of nineteen godless qualities isn’t the musings of a desperate man in a dungeon; it’s a description from the Holy Spirit of the reality of our times.
“Lovers of self”
“Lovers of money”
“Boastful”
“Arrogant”
“Revilers”
“Disobedient to parents”
“Ungrateful”
“Unholy”
“Unloving”
“Irreconcilable”
“Malicious gossips”
“Without self-control”
“Brutal”
“Haters of good"
“Treacherous”
“Reckless”
“Conceited”
“Lovers of pleasure”
“[Not] lovers of God”
3. A Biblical Example of Opposition (2 Timothy 3:8)
The description of depravity in the last days (2 Timothy 3:2 –5) and the warning about those who enter into spiritually weak women’s houses (3:6 –7) were startling —and theoretical. So to illustrate just how base and vile false teachers can be, Paul provided an example from history.
LET’S LIVE IT
We sometimes get distracted and discouraged because evil seems to have the upper hand. But God specializes in overcoming overwhelming odds. Jannes and Jambres were eventually found out for the frauds they were (Exodus 7:12; 8:18; 9:11), and so, too, will false teachers be in the last days (2 Timothy 3:9). Falsehood may be fashionable for a while, but in time, the folly of falsehood becomes “obvious to all.” What did Jesus promise in Matthew 16:18 and 28:20? After studying 2 Timothy 3:1– 9, how encouraged or discouraged are you about the present and the future? Explain.