Bible Study 2 Timothy 3: 1-17

 

A Commentary of the Book of 2 Timothy

By Dr. Barry L. Jenkins

Text Used: Legacy Standard Bible

Bible Study 2 Timothy 3: 1-17

Text:

Difficult Times Will Come

3 But know this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, [a]malicious gossips, without self-control, without gentleness, without love for good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of [b]godliness, but having denied its power. Keep away from such men as these. 6 For among them are those who [c]enter into households and take captive [d]weak women weighed down with sins, being led on by various desires, 7 always learning and never able to come to the [e]full knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, disqualified in regard to the faith. 9 But they will not make further progress, for their folly will be obvious to all, just as theirs was also.

10 But you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, [f]perseverance, 11 persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra. What persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me! 12 Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

13 But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

14 But you, continue in the things you learned and became convinced of, knowing from whom you learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is [g]God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for [h]training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be equipped, having been thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Verse by verse commentary:

Verse 1: “But know this, that in the last days difficult times will come.”

Contrary to the heretical prosperity preachers who seek to fleece the flock with their promises of material wealth, the Bible says difficult times will come. There will be persecution similar to the days of Nero in Rome in the first century. “Last days” means the era inaugurated by Christ’s First Advent and completed by His second.

Verse 2: “For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,”

“Lovers of self” speaks to the love of praise. Think about rich actors or politicians that seek the limelight. They desire preeminence. “Lovers of money” are characterized by their greed and selfishness. “Boastful” and “arrogant” speak of pride and being braggadocious about their achievements. “Blasphemers” speak contrary to God and place themselves as their own authority. Being “disobedient to parents” is quite common today. Years ago Disney programs had an agenda of teaching children that they were smarter than their parents. Consistent with the previous descriptions, “ungrateful” and “unholy” speak to people being self centered, prideful, profane, and all for themselves. Paul is describing what the last days will look like. Look around. They are here now.

Verse 3: “unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, without gentleness, without love for good,”

“Unloving” refers to having abnormal relationships. Think of the sexual deviants in our society today, e.g., homosexual marriage, transgenderism, etc. “Irreconcilable” means difficult to get along with. We all know people like that. “Malicious gossip” is literally devilish gossip. These people live to talk bad about others and stir up trouble. “Without self-control” is so common today as to make it seem normal. These people are all for themselves and full of pride. They are “Number 1” in their thinking and they put themselves first. “Without gentleness” means savage. In our day the city streets have become asphalt jungles. Many of them are unsafe even in the daytime. “Without love for good” is better translated as haters of the good. We see evidence of that all around us.

Verse 4: “treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,”

“Treacherous” means betrayers. There are some people whom you don’t dare trust. “Reckless” refers to people’s dangerous self-centered approach to life. It is all about them. They care not for others. “Conceited” means blinded by pride or drunk with pride. “Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” Today, billions of dollars are being spent for entertainment because men are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. In our day, pleasure has become a “god” and that is what people serve.

Verse 5: “holding to a form of godliness, but having denied its power. Keep away from such men as these.”

These people go through the rituals of religion but lack life and reality. They have not received the transformational power of the Holy Spirit when they were awakened to their lost condition, repented and placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. To “keep away from such men” means  that the believer is to avoid them.

Verse 6: “For among them are those who enter into households and take captive weak women weighed down with sins, being led on by various desires,”

The word translated “enter” could also be translated “creep.” I like the imagery of someone creeping into a house. They are sneaky and do not want to disclose their true self. The previous verse says to stay away from them. The “weak women” could also be translated as “idle women.” People with too much time on their hands open themselves up to all sorts of temptations. 

Verse 7: “always learning and never able to come to the full knowledge of the truth.”

These people have lots of head knowledge but little heart knowledge. They are always learning the newest fad in the religious world, but it does not impact their lives. The true gospel transforms the believer and they become a new creation in Christ. They learn much but it does them no good because they never have the “full knowledge” of the gospel message.

Verse 8: “Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, disqualified in regard to the faith.”

“Jannes and Jambres” apparently were the names of the two magicians called in by Pharaoh when Moses began the miracles and the plagues came upon Egypt. The account in Exodus reveals that Satan has power, supernatural power, and also that he is a great little imitator—he imitates the things that God does. “Men of depraved mind” refers to  Paul’s belief that men on the contemporary scene, like Jannes and Jambres, have corrupt or depraved minds. Romans 3: 10-18 give a complete description of the depravity of man. Depraved men will not come to Christ without the grace of God being given to them to open their eyes, i.e. awaken them to their lost condition. This is old fashioned Holy Spirit conviction which is rarely preached today. The truth is opposed when the truth is concealed. Let us be faithful to preach the whole gospel message.

Verse 9: “But they will not make further progress, for their folly will be obvious to all, just as theirs was also.”

Eventually, their folly will be obvious to all, just as theirs was also. These pretenders can play the religious game for a while, but ultimately, they will be exposed for what they truly are. They may manifest Satanic power and do signs and wonders, but they cannot manifest a holy life. Truth will be seen in the fruits from the lives they live.

Verse 10: “But you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance,”

Who you follow will impact the life you live. Timothy knew Paul, knew him very well. Paul’s life was an open book, as every Christian’s life ought to be. The open book of our lives should reflect Who our Master is. If we are His disciples, then we should imitate Him in all we do.

Verse 11: “persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra. What persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me!”

Timothy knew well Paul’s suffering and persecution which he had endured for the gospel in his travels. Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, and Lystra were all places in the Galatian country where Paul had gone on his first, second, and third missionary journeys. When Paul was at Lystra, he was stoned and left for dead. Paul said that God intervened on his behalf. “and out of them all the Lord rescued me.” Timothy knew of these things because he and his family were from that area and would have been well acquainted with what had happened to Paul.

Verse 12: “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

If you preach this message, you will never have a parking problem at your church. The modern unsaved religionist posing as a pastor will never give you a message on this text. I believe that we are beginning to move into a time in this country when it will cost you something to be a Christian. The word “all” is very inclusive. We should not run toward persecution, but neither should we shrink from it. If our Lord suffered, and He did, we can expect the same fate in the latter days (which are now).

Verse 13: “But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”

As we get closer to the end, those that seek to oppose the gospel will grow worse and worse. They are deceived and blinded to the Truth so they cannot help you find the Truth. Prosperity preachers and many Charismatics are in this crowd. They are lost but think they are saved. They are leading many souls to destruction. They are deceived. This is the worst deception. They will hear the words from our Lord, “Depart from me I never knew you.”

Verse 14: “But you, continue in the things you learned and became convinced of, knowing from whom you learned them,”

The only antidote against a world of apostasy is the written Word of God. The only resource and foundation for living for the child of God is the Word of God. Paul tells Timothy to continue in the things he had learned. He had learned the Holy Scriptures because his grandmother and mother were Jewish women and had seen to it that Timothy grew up on the Word of God. May we do the same for our children and grandchildren. 

Verse 15: “and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

Notice what is receiving the credit for Timothy’s Christian faith: knowing the sacred writings, i.e. the Bible. It is not Christian music, movies, vacation Bible school, or any other gimmicks, it is the Word of God. If you want to impact your family for Christ make sure to give them the Word of God on a consistent basis. 

Verse 16: “All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness,”

This is the power behind the results in the preceding verse. The Word of God is “God-breathed,” or in other words, it is inspired. The Bible is not just a collection of interesting stories, but rather it is the very Word of God. When you read the Bible, you are hearing God talk directly to you. Oh treasure it is, how can any believer ignore you! The Bible is sufficient to instruct us in God’s ways to deal with every aspect of our lives. It will teach you, rebuke you, correct you and train you. The training you receive is not how to get a better job or the right spouse, it is training in being righteous. “Holiness unto the Lord” needs to be our “watchword and song” as the old hymn states.

Verse 17: “so that the man of God may be equipped, having been thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

The Bible will not just equip you to live for God, it will “thoroughly” equip you for every good work. Our work is to glorify God and evangelize the world. We are to give a “general call” to the lost knowing that only the Holy Spirit can take that general call and make it specific to the individual sinner. Paul is emphasizing the Word of God and so should we. I have seen modern day seminars where you are taught to be a prophet. They are led by unsaved religionists who know not the truth and they seek to add to God’s Word. All you need is the Word of God. It is inspired, inerrant, and sufficient for you to know God’s will. His will is to make you more like Christ everyday.