The Prophetic Appeal

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Turn from the False

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In this chapter, Paul is prophesying, he is warning Timothy of false teachers that will certainly come to the church at Ephesus. He is telling Timothy how to deal with them.

His first instruction is to "turn away" from them. Now, who are these false teachers? Paul describes them basically, three ways:

1. People who operate under the guise of religion. Imitators, hypocrites.
2. People having a form of godliness. Appearing correct on the outside.
3. People who deny the power of the Gospel. These people deny the resurrection and the justification that Christ purchased by the resurrection.

Paul lists 11 characteristics of these people:

1. Love of self. Very few people hate themselves and most of us think more highly of ourselves than we should, but here Paul is speaking of people whose love of self leads to the denying of God's part in salvation. God is the only one who has any part in salvation. Salvation is a gift from God, not of works. These people had a problem with accepting this and the realization that they were unable to save themselves, were unworthy of salvation and had to rely wholly upon God for it.
2. Lovers of money. Expending their energies on the accumulation of this world's goods at the expense of spiritual matters.
3. Having accomplished this, they become proud, arrogant and abusive. Fooling themselves into thinking that they were self sufficient lead to these traits. Wriesby puts it this way, "In the universe there is God, people and things. We should worship God, love people and use things." "The world wide craving for 'things' is just one evidence that people's hearts have turned from God."
4. They are "implacable, unable to be appeased or pacified.
5. They are "profligates". Completely given up to dissipation.
6. They are "ungrateful", wholly inconsiderate of the efforts of others in their behalf.
7. They are "slanderers". Degrading the names of others.
8. They are "treacherous". Reckless and not to be trusted.
9. They are full of "conceit". They think more highly of themselves then they should.
10. They are "lovers of pleasure". More concerned with themselves then with others.
11. They are "disobedient", both to parents and to God.

You may find other "adjectives" are used in other translations, but you get the picture. Paul says that these people consider themselves to be very religious, but they are not. So to Timothy and to us, Paul says, avoid these people. This is not normal for Paul, normally he would have suggested that you maintain the relationship that these people might eventually be led to the Lord, but here he says to "avoid" them. Why? Because they are dangerous. They are persuasive and their form of religion is attractive. Their chief targets are people who do not know the Word of God. These people are easily swayed by clever speech. Many people today are seeking an "easy" religion. They are "fair game" for religious racketeers.

Paul makes a parallel between these people and the Egyptian Magicians, Jannes and Jambres, who attempted to imitate the miracles of Moses. For a while it appeared that they were able to perform miracles, but soon their fakery was disclosed and they were proven to be what they were, only imitators. As we get closer to the Second Coming of Christ, the imitators will become more prevalent. More and more men will have a "counterfeit" form of religion. Their purpose will be to deny the authority of scripture and substitute a human philosophy. Paul calls them "reprobates". The word means, "tested and found counterfeit".

So be careful. Study the Word, choose your religious leaders very carefully, test them and beware of religions that thrive on self-satisfaction. So Paul says, turn from the "false" and turn to the "true".

Turn to the True

In these verses, Paul lists five of his characteristics that he believes Timothy and us, should imitate.

1. We should live "open lives" for all to see. Paul was not perfect nor was he seeking perfection out of Timothy or us, but, he was not trying to hide his imperfections either. He said nothing nor did he do anything in secrete. He was not a "hypocrite".
2. We should teach "true doctrines". Paul stresses that his doctrine was from God and he wanted Timothy's to be also. To do this, we must know the Word of God. Know what it says and develop from it our beliefs.
3. We must practice what we preach. Paul's life backed up what he preached. He did not preach "sacrifice" and live on "luxury". He stood up for what he believed even when it meant imprisonment and death. There used to be two types of people, the "godly" and the "godless". Now there is a second group who are doing more than the "godless", they are, as the church at Laodicea, "neither hot nor cold", and are called the "less-god". They want to keep God out of everything but the church.
4. We must examine our motives, our purpose for what ever we are doing for the Lord. Paul preached and witnessed for the glory of God and in spite of all forms of persecution and hardship, he trusted God to meet his needs.
5. Lastly, we must be willing to suffer for what we believe. We may never be called upon to suffer for our belief as Paul did, but we may be called upon to make some hard decisions that are "unpopular", the question is, will we do it? How much are you willing to suffer for the sake of Christ? Some people have the false idea that God will deliver us from persecution, the fact is that persecution is evidence that you are living a Godly life.

Well, how did you rate? Can you honestly say that you have followed all five? How would you rate a Christian that had these following characteristics?

1. Had a prison record.
2. Had a physical affliction.
3. Stirred up trouble everywhere he went.
4. Was very poor.
5. Did not cater to the rich and influential.

Would he be allowed to join your church? Well I just described the Apostle Paul. It's not always easy to know the "truth", but Paul says that we are to turn from that which is "false" and turn to that which is "true".

Continue in God's Word

What do you believe about the Bible? Is it God's Word or the opinion of people who knew the Lord or knew someone who did know the Lord? Is the Bible infallible? The way you answer these questions will determine your relationship with the Lord.

Here Paul establishes 4 basic facts about the word of God:

1. It is able to instruct in salvation.
2. It is inspired by God.
3. It contains that which we need to become proficient in teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training others in righteousness.
4. It contains all that is necessary to equip the man of God for every good work.

Timothy was fortunate in that he had three good teachers. In his early life he had his mother, Eunice and his grandmother, Lois, who were well versed in the scriptures and taught them to Timothy. In his Christian life, Timothy had Paul who taught him the truths of the Gospel. Paul says here to Timothy, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you have learned it.

We to are very fortunate, those of us who have been raised in Christian homes. We owe a debt to those who taught us in our childhood and those who instructed us in our Bible study and search for the truth. Wiersby says in his commentary that we should treat our Bibles with reverence. He believes that the way we treat them reflects how we feel about it's contents, after all it does contain "God's Word".

Lets take a closer look at those 4 basic facts that Paul establishes about the Bible:

1. It is able to instruct in salvation. That brings up an interesting question. Are we saved by reading the Bible? The answer, of course, is no, and Paul was not saying that. Jesus condemned the Pharisees for believing that. In John 5:36, Jesus said to the Pharisees, "You search the scriptures because, in them, you think you have eternal life." The Bible instructs ABOUT salvation. It establishes the need, it describes the plan. Without the "enlightenment" of the Holy Spirit", these instructions would not be meaningful to us. With the "enlightenment" of the Holy Spirit, these truths become meaningful and understandable, and then we have the opportunity and the responsibility to accept or reject Jesus as our Lord and Savior. The Bible also instructs us how we should live after we accept Christ. So it is able to instruct in all areas of salvation, but cannot, in and of itself, save anyone.
2. It is inspired of God. This doctrine of the "Inspiration of Scriptures" is basic to our Christian beliefs. It says that Holy Spirit used men of old to write the Word of God. The Holy Spirit did not "dictate", He only "inspired" these men. The natural writing characteristics of the writer still remain, their own distinctive style and vocabulary is still evident, but what they wrote is true, approved and edited by the Lord.
3. It contains that which we need to become proficient in teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training others in righteousness. Good Bible teachers use the "whole Bible" when they teach. Never take a scripture out of context, but explain it in light of what the whole Bible teaches. In areas of reproof and correction, The Bible is quite clear as to how this is to be handled and in these areas, it should be followed completely.
4. It contains all that is necessary to equip the man of God for every good work. All that we may be called to do for the Lord is described, and if we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, can be accomplished often in spite of our own lack of ability. It will become a tool in our hands to do three things. To understand doctrine, to defend truth and to equip others.

So to sum up the instructions in Chapter Three to Timothy, we see that Paul is telling him to separate himself from that which is false, devote himself to that which is true and to continue in the study of the Word of God as he was brought up and as he was taught by Paul himself.

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