On account of his opinions, he may be held up to ridicule, or treated with neglect, or excluded from society to which his attainments and manners would otherwise introduce him, or shunned by those who might otherwise value his friendship. That is to say, they go through all the correct movements and maintain all the external forms of religion; but they know nothing of Christianity as a dynamic power which changes the lives of men. He went home and found the fire was out. Nor do I at all see that any Christians should be above learning, if others can teach. At the end of each reading, the brigand said: "That's a good book; we won't burn that one; give it to me." But it is asked, Must all men be martyrs? Again he said, "Lo, I have come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God" ( Hebrews 10:7 ). God said it.They are profitable. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice.' The word here is makrothumia ( G3115) ; and makrothumia, as the Greeks used it, usually meant patience with people. "And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also." They choose to lay, again and again, the early foundations of their Christian faith i.e. Then he points out the two principal guards for the faithful, in such a perilous state. It was a part of his lot. Our God is much too small. The term "godly" (eusebos) means "piously" (Thayer 262-2-2153). The world really doesn't admire true Christian traits. The Greek moralists wrote much about this word. This might deter a sensitive saint from his duty. thoroughly furnished unto all good works ( 2 Timothy 3:17 ). It is undoubtedly true at all times, and will ever be, that they who are devoted Christians - who live as the Saviour did - and who carry out his principles always, will experience some form of persecution. Or are you going to develop a doctrine that is diametrically opposed to what Jesus said? We find a precisely similar kind of combination in Paul. There is a type of person who is eager to discuss every new theory, who is always to be found deeply involved in the latest fashionable religious movement, but who is quite unwilling to accept the day-to-day discipline--even drudgery--of living the Christian life. The wickedness of evil people, particularly charlatans, will increase as time passes. And the comfort is that, if prepared to cleave to the will of the Lord alone, we shall have, through His grace, fellowship with the true-hearted. He brings out the infinite value of the Scriptures, that is of what was written, the one transcendent resource for perilous times when we have not the presence and personal help of apostles. Or life, or death, or life after death? And for a person to take advantage of a child is unthinkable. It begets disregard of God, thinking that it does not need him and that it knows better than he. Note, It is not enough to learn that which is good, but we must continue in it, and persevere in it unto the end. See also 1 Timothy 4:7; 1 Timothy 6:11, and on godliness, 1 Timothy 2:2. 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. It is said that, after hearing an evangelical sermon, Lord Melbourne once remarked: "Things have come to a pretty pass when religion is allowed to invade the sphere of private life." He flung the New Testament on it. It is the sign of a man of honour that he pays his debts; and for every man there is a debt to God and there are debts to his fellow-men, which he must remember and repay. "Blessed is he who will come in the name of the Lord" ( Psalms 118:26 ). For him the light of eternity already shone strongly on present things, instead of taking him completely out of them. fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, [and then] lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God ( 2 Timothy 3:3-4 ); The pleasuremania of the United States. In these terrible days men will be slanderers. His own desire after going to the Lord did not prevent this, but the reverse: "that I may be filled with joy: when I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also." It is often a very great safeguard for the saint of God; for, after all, it makes no small difference who says this or that. But the apostle remembered it all, felt deeply for if not with him, and greatly desiring to see him once more. Accordingly the apostle reminds Timothy of this. Observe, The scriptures will make us wise to salvation, if they be mixed with faith, and not otherwise, Hebrews 4:2. Even an unbeliever is acting unfairly unless he tries to read it. There is that in the scripture which suits every case. It is interesting, when Jesus in the Sermon on the mount described the Christian in the Beatitudes, after having described the traits of the Christian in the Beatitudes; you'd say, My, a man like that who is a peacemaker, who is merciful, who is hungering and thirsting after righteousness, who is meek, who is poor in spirit, surely you know the world would respect such a man. There was the great trade route from the Euphrates valley which came by way of Colosse and Laodicea and poured the wealth of the east into the lap of Ephesus. Didn't you know that's just a myth? Men will be lovers of their own selves ( 2 Timothy 3:2 ). This time he was a Christian minister, and it was to the reading of the books that he attributed his change. (4) let those who have never been persecuted in any way, inquire whether it is not an evidence that they have no religion. Here we have him recurring to that which was entirely outside nature, and before its very platform existed. In the end not a book was burned; the brigand left the colporteur and went off into the darkness with the books. So God's word, scripture given for inspiration, by the inspiration of God and is profitable.Of course, this morning we pointed out that the inspiration of the Bible is proved by internal evidences, such as its total accuracy with known facts of science, when it happened to cover scientific subjects. You're a pilgrim. And he was probably in the company of those that were standing around, sort of crying, as they saw Paul's limp body on the ground. (12) Yea, and all that will live godly.--But St. Paul would not allow it to be thought for a moment that in the fact of his enduring persecution and suffering there was anything remarkable or singular; so he adds the words of this verse, which repeat in a peculiarly solemn way the great Christian truth that eternal glory was only to be reached by man through an avenue of sufferings. It is our duty to use our minds and set them adventuring; but the test must ever be agreement with the teaching of Jesus Christ as the Scriptures present it to us. There is love. Then the apostle brings out most important directions for the days that were then coming in, but now come, and more. It denotes a savagery which has neither sensitiveness nor sympathy. The woman, thrilled to the heart, does so and is deluded into thinking that she can prophesy. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: they are men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith ( 2 Timothy 3:8 ). And if you align your life with God, you're going to find yourself out of alignment with the world and persecution will come. What am I to believe about sin? 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. Therefore it is incumbent for the Christian to look to this gravely, never to be dragged by the fear of breaking unity into accrediting what dishonours the Lord. And there's such a complete, total absence of love. And many shall be stirred up in anger to injure many; And they shall rouse up armies in order to shed blood. "Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things. It is a divine revelation, which we may depend upon as infallibly true. It is not the question of discipline dealing With evil ways; but here we are in a state of things where we are in danger of being mixed up with vessels unto the Lord's dishonour. I can base my beliefs upon what God has said because it is indeed God's word.I have great difficulty with these people who develop doctrines that are contrary to what Jesus said, as though they understand more than Jesus about what's happening in the future. godly, Godfearingly. Paul "the aged," as he says, was just about to leave this world. It should be considered as one of the proper qualifications for membership in the church, to be willing to bear persecution, and to resolve not to shrink from any duty in order to avoid it. Finally, we have his assertion of the blessed Lord's care, and his confidence in Him that He would preserve him from all evil to His heavenly kingdom; closing this solemn and touching epistle (it would seem the last words he wrote) with salutations to various saints. 2 Timothy 3 Commentary - Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible It is true that these things happened before the young Timothy had definitely entered on the Christian way, but they all happened in the district of which he was a native; and he may well have been an eyewitness of them. Vincent, Marvin R., D.D. THE QUALITIES OF GODLESSNESS ( 2 Timothy 3:2-5 ). VERSION, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. Who is talking all these words without knowledge? If Timothy wishes to live godly in Christ, he must make up his mind to encounter. repentance from dead works and of faith toward God. The word is almost exactly the English swelled-headed. There was a state of things coming when it would be impossible to have local charges chosen according to the full sanction which they had in apostolic days. So you see, I'm not inerrant in all, but the scriptures are. In other words, you may go along for a while, but ultimately it's going to catch up with you.