CONTINUE IN WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED

2 Timothy 3:1-17 (Key Verse: 3:14)

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it”

Thank God for the continued study of 2 Timothy! We are blessed as we could deeply meditate on Paul’s personal charges on Timothy, which can be ours with our prayerful and careful attention. From Msn. Gideon last week, we learned that we are to be God’s approved workers who do not need to be ashamed but correctly handle the word of truth. Surely, when we have less negatives like shame but more positives like correct word-handling, we are approved by God! We also heard that we need to be clean to be used by God regardless of what we are made of. And don’t forget what Msn. Gideon said about quarreling or arguing: let’s lose arguments but save a soul. In Ch. 3, our penultimate chapter, we see a dichotomy between two things: the terrible-times people and true believers. We should not be the lovers of ourselves or money but the lovers of God. We should not stay deceived but continue in what we have been doing such as deep Bible studies and Fishing-Club-like fellowships. May the Holy Spirit inspire us and equip us with necessary skills to be able to serve God’s work to the end!

1. Terrible-Times-People (1-9)

Look at verse 1. Here we see a sudden transition from what Paul has been instructing Timothy. Why so? Maybe he wants to add some urgency. Note the terms “terrible times” and “the last days.” In a sports game, when we are close to the end, the game somehow intensifies double or triple with each side of the teams desperately trying to win like the 2 minute-drive in the Super Bowl or the overtime in the NBA Championship game. The dark forces try to win, and as they intensify their efforts, terrible times come. What happens? In verses 2-5a, we see terrible-times people. The first thing will be those people becoming extremely self and money focused. Instead of loving others or God, people love themselves too much and for that they sense the need of money, so they begin to love money more than anything else. As they become rich by money-loving, they boast about their wealth and become proud and conceited. The thing is that they do not stop there. They begin to abuse others with little power and authority money can buy. They do not listen to anybody else, not even their own parents. They are no longer grateful for the support they have received from numerous individuals like their grade-school teachers or best friends or kind neighbors. When they are indulged in what they have acquired, they become unholy, loveless, and unforgiving. Slandering or becoming brutal or being treacherous and rash to others is now their second nature. No more self-control, love of the good and love of God! Perhaps, they still possess their slightest portion of conscience, so they want to pretend to be okay or possibly godly, and yet end up denying its power. They cannot hide their true faces. With these terrible-times-people, Paul sternly warns Timothy not to have anything to do with them. Now we can know what makes “terrible times” as genuinely “terrible times”; “terrible-times-people”!. Of course, we as believers must not have anything to do with them but at least pray for them to come back to their senses and be saved.

In my Bible study with one man of God, we agreed that we should not live as Christians on Sunday alone; rather, we keep our Christian lifestyle everyday so that others might see us and be influenced. We are surrounded by “terrible-time people” in the last days, but we are to be immune to their influences but rather influence them through our holy life and somehow bring them back to salvation.

Look at verses 6-7. Here, we see an example how terrible-times-teachers would take advantage of terrible-times-women. They would worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women. It is interesting to see a similarity between these women and the first woman, Eve, regarding how they were duped. Remember? Eve was deceived by the serpent while these gullible women were manipulated by “worming,” and a worm is a figurative form of a serpent. Also, all of the women were at home; the gullible women at their individual homes, Eve at our lost home, the Garden of Eden. When we are at home, we feel safe and thus let our guard down. Perhaps, that is what happened to King David, when he was at his home, his palace, letting his guard down and thus letting the temptation come in. Let us pray not to let down our guard at any time, even at home.

In our Friday meeting, we discussed the question why the women were gullible. My answer to it was that women in general are weaker partners just like Apostle Peter exhorted the husbands (1 Pe 3:7). As such, they would be blown away by strong figures, like terrible-times-teachers. However, the better answer was that the women were gullible because of their own sins and sinful desires. Note the term, “loaded down” and “all kinds of.” When we are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of sinful desires, regardless of where we are, whether we are at home or not, we are bound to be duped; not only being duped, but also never being able to come to a knowledge of the truth despite an all-out effort. 

Look at verse 8. There is possibly another reason why the women were gullible. It is because of those teachers’ position and their nature. They oppose the truth, are men of depraved minds, and reject the saving faith. With those elements deeply rooted in their life and with their position as teacher, it is not easy not to be deceived by them, not even for men. For the record, Jannes and Jambres were the Egyptian magicians who by their secret arts threw their staffs down, making them snakes. There are always, Jannes-and-Jambres-like people who oppose God’s servants and the truth but what would happen to them? They would not get very far because their folly would be clear to everyone.

2. Continue in What You Have Learned (10-17)

Look at verse 10. With the problem of the terrible-times-people and -teachers still in full view, Paul now shifts his gear into the teaching mode so as to strengthen Timothy. Here note how Paul not just tabulates his teaching as a teaching methodology, but also includes other things noticeably his way of life regarding what Timothy should learn from him. This means Paul has lived out his teaching and it could be the best help Timothy can get. It is like a teaching hospital where budding doctors learn their mentor’s life and by doing so, could best learn medicine. From verse 11, we have a very hard teaching point to learn from Paul, that is, persecutions and sufferings. Paul even elaborates on them, citing the things that happened to him in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. In Antioch, the Jews there, after looking at that almost the whole city gathered to hear from Paul on Sabbath, were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what Paul said and heaped abuse on him. So, Paul had to leave Antioch and headed to Iconium. At Iconium, the same Jews that opposed Paul at Antioch followed him there and poisoned the mind of the people of Iconium so that they could not believe the gospel. In addition, they hatched a plan to stone Paul there. Paul and his companions somehow discovered their evil plan ahead of time and thus could go to Lystra, the hometown of Timothy. At Lystra, however, again, the same Jews won the crowd over and succeeded in their earlier plan of stoning Paul. They literally stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. This shows how much Paul was persecuted and suffered. Yet Paul also points out that God rescued him from all of them. I can tell you I can possibly handle stones and being dragged outside the city, but I cannot handle their stalking and their poisoning of the people’s mind because it would be doubly hard to win back them over. No matter what, we want people’s hearts and minds.

Look at verse 12. This is one of the most trustworthy sayings for genuine Christians. “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” The terrible-times-teachers in Part 1 would also teach a prosperity gospel or a cotton-candy gospel that tells you everything would be okay, or God would make you prosper and happy. Well, listen to what our Lord Jesus said about prosperity: “..., no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life (Mk 10:29-30).” Even our Lord Jesus includes persecutions for our true Christian life. Hence, we should not take persecutions as something strange (1 Pe 4:12). Rather, we consider it is a certificate that we are true Christians. 

Look at verse 13. The last days will be more terrible because evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. Those bad people could do such evil things because they were deceived themselves with their false conviction. In those times, what do we do? Look at Paul’s final charge to Timothy in verse 14. “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it.” Continuing is a hard thing even though it is the right thing. We cannot continue unless we know what we are doing is absolutely good and have our conviction about it. Many great men and women of God have had their conviction about what they have been doing. Think about Enoch and Noah. Without conviction, they could not continue walking with God or working on God’s ark. Of course, Paul had his conviction and because of that was about to finish what he had been doing. And he wants to help Timothy to continue what he has been doing with conviction. That is the true love for a father to give to his son.

Look at verses 15-17. Paul says that Tim’s learning and the conviction could come from the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make him (and us) wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Why is it so? Verse 16 tells us the reason. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” “God-breathed” means the Holy Spirit has inspired the Scriptures so that the living word might inspire us the same way the Spirit inspired their authors. Because of this inspiration of the Spirit on the Scriptures, we can repent, be corrected and turn ourselves to God. Not only so for salvation, but also for thoroughly equipping us for every good work. During 80s, one Korean pastor who wanted to serve workers at a nearby industrial complex tried to get a loan to build a church there. The banker, however, was skeptical about the church business of his, saying that the complex needs workers, not believers. However, this pastor who has no prior business background wisely answered him, saying that the complex workers need rest, restoration and rejuvenation from the word of God when they become exhausted. Otherwise, he claimed, they would be too tired, frustrated to work right and thus possibly make faulty products and the complex would go bankrupt. So, he got a loan, built a church and had a revival among complex workers and beyond.

In conclusion, we learned we can overcome terrible-times or avoid becoming terrible-times-people by loving others and God. Those terrible people may worm their way into our home or become worse by deceiving and being deceived, but we are not to let down our guard and continue what we have been doing, that is, deep Bible study and fellowship. Persecutions are bound to come to true Christians. Yet let us be thoroughly equipped through the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures and serve His work!