2 Timothy 3:1-9 (1)

How can we live faithfully as Christians?  It will help immensely if we can both anticipate and recognize the perilous times that are coming.  Some people stumble because they are surprised by the trials they encounter.  Perhaps they are shocked by the rebellious character of their loved ones.  Or they may not see the contradictory doctrines of the church they belong to or their Christian friends.  

Today’s passage refers to these as perilous events and times.  Perilous is another rare term in the New Testament, used only twice; but we should not miss its meaning.  It refers to things that are hard or hard to bear; these are difficult times beyond the normal difficulties.  It is used to describe the demonic men who lived in the cemetery and who were so fierce (difficult) that no one could pass by (Matt. 8:28).  These kinds of hard things are coming.

But notice the nature of these things.  It is not referring to terrorism, people being beheaded because they are Christians or large groups of people dying from the use of gas warfare.  These are perilous things we see in our day.  But Paul is talking about the kind of hard to bear things that will make their way into the church.  Look at the list in 3:2-4: people who love themselves, love money, boast, disobey their parents, don’t say thank you, love pleasure and don’t love God.  We might think: well that’s terrible but can’t I just walk away from those sort of people?  Can’t I just ignore this worldliness?  

Read on in 3:5 where these perilous times are summarized: having a form of godliness but denying its power.  This is talking about how the world will not only be a source of temptation in the visible Church; it will TAKE OVER the visible Church.  This is confirmed by the scenario described in 3:6-7.  This is one illustration of how this will happen, involving deceptive people who seduce gullible women who are eager to learn.  The picture was common in New Testament times and is not that uncommon today.  Women were in the home while their husbands worked, so they were available to these deceivers.  They may have even taken the lead in the home with respect to spiritual things.  And yet, because of guilt over past sins and the lust for the finer things in life they had gullibility for these men of corrupt minds.  

I beg of you not to get hung up on this illustration or on Jannes and Jambres (according to Jewish tradition, two Egyptians who went with Israel in the Exodus, but who instigated the idolatry involving the golden calf).  The context is saying that, apart from the kind of servant of the Lord described in 2:14-26 who can gently and patiently correct those who oppose, this worldly religion will become burdensome to overcome.  The story of the golden calf in Exodus 32 is a good illustration of how a religious lie so easily overcame the chosen nation.  May we be aware of and resistant to this lest we too become captive to the devil.