for instruction in righteousness ( 2 Timothy 3:16 ): And righteousness is just actually the act of being right or doing right or living right. shall suffer persecution; it is the will of God, and the appointment of heaven; Christ has foretold it, that so it shall be; and he the head has suffered it himself, and it is necessary that his members should, that they may be conformed unto him; it is the way Christ himself went to glory, and through many tribulations his people must enter the kingdom; and this is the common lot and certain case of all the saints, in one shape or another; for though all do not suffer confiscation of goods, beating, scourging, imprisonment, or a violent death; yet all are more or less afflicted and distressed by wicked men, and are subject to their reproaches and revilings, which are a branch of persecution; and that for professing Christ, and living a godly life in him and under his influence: and since such suffer as Christians, and not as evildoers; and this is the common condition of the people of God, in this world, it should not be thought strange, but be cheerfully endured; to encourage to which is the apostle's view in this passage. He is sure that in the long run it is better to suffer with God and the right than to prosper with men and the wrong. Jewish thought had one basic conception. 3:10-13 But you have been my disciple in my teaching, my training, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my endurance, my persecutions, my sufferings, in what happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra, in the persecutions which I underwent; and the Lord rescued me from them all. " Rejoice ( present imperative) and be glad ( present imperative ), for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Good. So don't expect the world to speak well of you or to applaud you for your living a godly life and taking a righteous stand. 10 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, 11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. We are not meant to titillate our minds with the latest intellectual crazes; we are meant to purify and strengthen ourselves in the moral battle to live the Christian life. It may be that, since we are only human, we cannot live entirely without differences with our fellow-men, but to perpetuate these differences is one of the worst--and also one of the commonest--of all sins. THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL
Get out your pen and take out the red, put the blue one. Xenophon tells us how Cyrus, the Persian king, defined the alazon ( G213) : "The name alazon ( G213) seems to apply to those who pretend that they are richer than they are or braver than they are, and to those who promise to do what they cannot do, and that, too, when it is evident that they do this only for the sake of getting something or making some gain" (Xenophon: Cyropoedia, 2, 2, 12). All who will show their religion in their conversation, who will not only be godly, but live godly, let them expect persecution, especially when they are resolute in it. It is the attitude which bears with everything men can do and refuses to be either angry or embittered, and which will never seek anything but their highest good. John 15:19; Matthew 10:22; Matthew 10:38-39, Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus,. All that live according to the will of God revealed in his word; and to the glory of God, as the end of all their actions; and which the grace of God in the Gospel, and in their own hearts, teaches them; and who have the principles of a godly life from Christ, and derive the fresh supplies of grace and life from him, to maintain it; in whom their life is hid, and who live by faith upon him; all such that live, and that will live so, are desirous of living after this manner; in whom God has wrought in them both to will and to do, and are concerned when it is otherwise with them: these. There is little likelihood that Timothy will be easily led astray by false teaching. My wife and I eat out quite a bit. It is no accident that the first of these qualities will be a life that is centred in self. So the same Greek is used of the same thing, Lu 14:28, 33, "intending (Greek, 'wishing') to build a tower counteth the cost.". But now before his heart just as in principle before the dying Lord Himself, wonderful to say two things come together: a deeper sense of what is in God, as revealed in Christ Himself, before there was any creation at all; and on the other hand so much the deeper sense also of what could be owned in nature. Once Agesilaus, the Sparta king, was asked, "What shall we teach our boys?" In vain shall we endeavor to detach Christ from his cross; for it may be said to be natural that the world should hate Christ even in his members. For he does not say Jesus Christ simply in. O that we may love our Bibles more, and keep closer to them than ever! And may not their freedom from it prove that they have surrendered the principles of their religion, where they should have stood firm, though the world were arrayed against them? There were those who would revenge themselves on an enemy by informing against him. And so there comes that point where they will proceed no further: "their folly becomes manifest to all men", as Jannes and Jambres also was. On his mother's side Timothy was a Jew, although his father had been a Greek ( Acts 16:1); and it is clear that it was his mother who had brought him up. Plutarch uses the word to describe a quack doctor. It is to be remembered that a man may lose his soul far more easily in prosperity than in adversity; and he is on the way to losing his soul when he assesses the value of life by the number of things which he possesses. Right out of the gate, Second Timothy presents itself as a conservative letter, understanding "conservative" in the most literal sense of the word. To many a man and woman has a little bit of dress done no small injury, just because they think it is too little for the Spirit of God to direct them in. Do you have a hard time with that? Assuredly he would rejoice to scare Timothy from the field of serving Christ, and would shrink from no means to secure it. (2.) They worship self instead of God. One day a visitor came to the ward and left a supply of gospels. Irenaeus draws a vivid picture of the methods of just such a teacher in his day. I've never found that in one of those little Bible promise books, I mean, promise things yet. It's going to get worse before it gets better. "The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day." No man is saved unless he is on fire to save his fellow-men. "True," said the other, "but he kicked it to a goal." But continue thou in the things which you have learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through the faith which is in Christ Jesus ( 2 Timothy 3:14-15 ). A. M. Chirgwin in The Bible in World Evangelism tells the story of a ward sister in a children's hospital in England. They should remember that, in this respect, they are treated as the Master was, and are in the goodly company of the prophets, apostles, and martyrs; for they were all persecuted. So he's referring to the Old Testament Scriptures, those which Timothy knew from the child and he called them the "holy scriptures," which they are, "and they are able to make you wise unto salvation through the faith which is in Christ Jesus." The cause of this is the present confusion, and accordingly the apostle brings a picture of it before Timothy's mind. Love of self is the basic sin, from which all others flow. Copyright Statement These files are public domain. C. Description of His Present Resource 2 Timothy 3:13-17. In other words, the word of God is that which thoroughly prepares me for any work that God might have for me to do. A man may embrace some absurd opinion, and call it religion; he may adopt some mode of dress irresistibly ludicrous, from the mere love of singularity, and may call it conscience; or he may be boorish in his manners, and uncivil in his deportment, outraging all the laws of social life, and may call this deadness to the world; and for these, and similar things, he may be contemned, ridiculed, and despised. 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. 2 Timothy 3:12 (NASB) Verse Thoughts We live in a fallen world, and there are many challenges that face the believer who has not only trusted Christ for salvation, but is also ready and willing to deny self, take up his cross, follow Christ's example, and say without compromise - Thy will, not mine, be done. He read the twenty-third psalm from one; the story of the Good Samaritan from another; from another the Sermon on the Mount; from another 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. A man has sunk far when he finds even the presence of good people something which he would only wish to avoid. Word Pictures in the New Testament. Avoid such people. He said, "A wicked and an adulterous generation seeks after a sign; but no sign will be given it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah: For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" ( Matthew 12:38-40 ). There is no godliness (Greek, "piously") or piety out of Christ. The Greek is hupomone ( G5281) , which means not a passive sitting down and bearing things but a triumphant facing of them so that even out of evil there can come good. He flung the New Testament on it. The Gnostics had their own fanciful books; the heretics all produced their own literature to support their claims. The scriptures we are to know are the holy scriptures; they come from the holy God, were delivered by holy men, contain holy precepts, treat of holy things, and were designed to make us holy and to lead us in the way of holiness to happiness; being called the holy scriptures, they are by this distinguished from profane writings of all sorts, and from those that only treat morality, and common justice and honesty, but do not meddle with holiness. 14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. Each one of these words in the Greek is an interesting word study. The world is full of these braggarts to this day; the clever know-all's who deceive people into thinking that they are wise, the politicians who claim that their parties have a program which will bring in the Utopia and that they alone are born to be leaders of men, the people who crowd the advertisement columns with claims to give beauty, knowledge or health by their system, the people in the Church who have a kind of ostentatious goodness. Quite a promise, isn't it? Christianity was cradled in Judaism and very naturally thought largely in Jewish terms and pictures. Such offence can and does happen yet. But I can't believe what I see in some of these restaurants over here in the Irvine industrial business center. And he embraced Christianity, but he was probably standing there in Lystra when the people in the city stoned Paul until they thought he was dead and dragged him out of the city. 1. It describes, not the spirit which accepts life, but the spirit which masters it. 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(2.) He had fully known his conversation: Thou hast fully know my doctrine, and manner of life; his manner of life was of a piece with his doctrine, and did not contradict it. There is no occasion for the writings of the philosopher, nor for rabbinical fables, nor popish legends, nor unwritten traditions, to make us perfect men of God, since the scripture answers all these ends and purposes. He knew that he had suffered ill for doing well (2 Timothy 3:11; 2 Timothy 3:11): "Thou hast fully known the persecutions and afflictions that came unto me" (he mentions those only which happened to him while Timothy was with him, at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra); "and therefore let it be no surprise to thee if thou suffer hard things, it is no more than I have endured before." 5. 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 3:12, "Yes, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution.". They'll say, Crucify him, rather than applaud. No amount of intellectual curiosity can ever take the place of moral earnestness. So I listened to that voice, and heard the truth, and found my Saviour.". Don't start messing with it. This may be either an injury done to his feelings, his family, his reputation, his property, his liberty, his influence; it may be by depriving him of an office which he held, or preventing him from obtaining one to which he is eligible; it may be by subjecting him to fine or imprisonment, to banishment, torture, or death. It is well to be exclusive of sin, but of nothing else. 2 Timothy 3:12 - KING JAMES BIBLE ONLINE Paul's life: one of longsuffering, one of love and one of patience. III. In the midst of all, he is told to bring the cloak that he left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, but especially the parchments. In the first part of this chapter 2 Timothy 3:1-8, Paul reminds Timothy of the great apostasy which was to be expected in the church, and states some of the characteristics of it. Ephesus was the town of a prosperous, materialistic civilization; it was the kind of town where a man could so easily lose his soul. Sets before him his own example, which Timothy had been an eye-witness of, having long attended Paul (2 Timothy 3:10; 2 Timothy 3:10): Thou hast fully known my doctrine. "Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry." How is a man to walk in such a state of things as this? The closing chapter (2 Timothy 4:1-22) then gives his solemn charge, and at the same time his own expression of what was before him. Barnes' Notes. The final condemnation of these people is that they retain the outward form of religion but deny its power. Living here almost in a Sodom-Gomorrah atmosphere and environment. And for a person to take advantage of a child is unthinkable. He said that one isn't inspired; obviously inspired. But they do enshrine the permanent truth that some time there must come the consummation when evil meets God in head-on collision and there comes the final triumph of God. In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.