James Patrick O'shaughnessy Obituary, Articles OTHER

There is just a certain natural love that would keep people from doing a lot of the things they are doing today. The Christian life does not consist only in knowing something; it consists even more in being something. This chapter has a vivid description of the great apostasy (2 Timothy 3:1-9), signs of which were already present, an appeal to Paul's own inspiring and inspired example (2 Timothy 3:10-15), and one of the most impressive paragraphs in all the Bible with reference to the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16,17).For more extensive discussion of the apostasy, the man of . 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 Commentary - John Gill's Exposition of the Bible Then the apostle brings out most important directions for the days that were then coming in, but now come, and more. And you will find as God's word becomes a very part of your life and you begin to be guided by the word of God, that God will begin to use you in very exciting ways. Rather he must "labour before he partake of the fruits." These were graces that Paul was eminent for, and Timothy knew it. Friday evenings, you know, everybody out looking for their weekend companion, incontinent, no sexual restraints. A true insight would have made them recognise in Jesus the Messiah for whom they waited. "Thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering, charity, patience, persecutions, afflictions." Truth and holiness and endurance are wanted, not authority or outward order. Luke recorded the very words spoken on the mission field long ago, "Through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22); and, in the words of White, "Consistency in the life of Christ must necessarily be always opposed by the world. Then the word went on to widen its meaning until it meant any braggart. It is well to maintain the largest heart for everything that is really of Christ. That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us." More and more the Christian is a marked person because the more corrupt the world becomes, the more the Christian stands out. At any rate the apostle presses this very strongly on Timothy. Commentary on 2 Timothy 1:1-14 - Working Preacher Jannes and Jambres were the names of the two magicians that withstood Moses. He said, Who is this? This is God's attitude to men. She doesn't have the time to prepare the meal on Friday evening and we'll go out on Friday night. Now many people have a legitimate and proper desire to be used of God. Of course it was infinitely higher, it is needless to say, in the Master; but the servant was as closely as possible following in His steps. 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. Regardless of the persecution, it is our duty to live in such a way that the world will know that we are Christians. He had not said a word about them before. On account of his opinions, he may be held up to ridicule, or treated with neglect, or excluded from society to which his attainments and manners would otherwise introduce him, or shunned by those who might otherwise value his friendship. a) Subject and Purpose of Epistle This second epistle which was written several years after the first draws a totally different picture before our eyes. The world really doesn't admire true Christian traits. His connection with the church, but "of the seed of David," the fulfiller of the promises, and object of the prophecies. So the same Greek is used of the same thing, Lu 14:28, 33, "intending (Greek, 'wishing') to build a tower counteth the cost.". . They claimed that the law was so imprinted on the heart and mind of a Jewish child that he would sooner forget his own name than he would forget it. They were said to be the two servants who accompanied Balaam when he was disobedient to God ( Numbers 22:22); they were said to have been part of the great mixed multitude who accompanied the children of Israel out of Egypt ( Exodus 12:38); some said that they perished at the crossing of the Red Sea; other stories said that it was Jannes and Jambres who were behind the making of the golden calf and that they perished among those who were killed for that sin ( Exodus 32:28); still other stories said that in the end they became proselytes to Judaism. Timothy needed to realize, as all Christians do, especially those to whom "prosperity theology" appeals, that when a person determines to live a godly life he or she will suffer persecution. As far as appointment went, Titus had a commission to establish elders in each city of Crete; but not so Timothy, as far as the inspired records speak. Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. The braggart is a swaggering creature, who tries to bluster his way into power and eminence. And so Paul said to Timothy, "You have fully known". Xenophon in the Memorabilia tells how Socrates utterly condemned such impostors. 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." There was the road from the south which centred the trade of the Maeander valley in Ephesus. There was no longer the freshness of a new thing; and where the heart was not kept up in communion with the Lord, the value of divine things was less felt, if it did not quite fade away. "Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.". The crumbling away of everything here was before the apostle; and accordingly it is one of the peculiar features of this second epistle, that he brings out that which never can decay which was before there was a world to dissolve namely, that life which was in Christ Jesus before the world began. Sponde is the word for a truce or an agreement. Lear's words remain true: "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is. And suddenly, of course, their tears were changed because Paul began to breathe and move and he stood up and he said, Let's go back in and preach some more. These things may be expected in the best times, and under the most favorable circumstances; and it is known that a large part of the history of the world, in its relation to the church, is nothing more than a history of persecution. The Jewish Rabbis ranked high in the list of sins what they called the sin of insult. The whole idea is that of thoroughly fitting you as an instrument that God can use. It is a great happiness to know the holy scriptures from our childhood; and children should betimes get the knowledge of the scriptures. It means to follow a person physically, to stick by him through thick and thin. "And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also." It is no accident that the first of these qualities will be a life that is centred in self. Fear and timidity will keep us from using the gifts God gives. Trench, Richard Chenevix, D.D. God is right. The best way to overcome and to banish the false is to live in such a way that the loveliness and the graciousness of the truth is plain for all to see. Don't start messing with it. Rather than a verse-by-verse approach, the authors have crafted chapters that explain and apply key passages in their assigned Bible books. And I filed many scriptures in that file. These were the names given to the court magicians of Pharaoh who opposed Moses and Aaron, when Moses was leading the children of Israel out of their slavery in Egypt. Irenaeus draws a vivid picture of the methods of just such a teacher in his day. It is beyond argument that the Scriptures can convict a man of his error and convince him of the power of Christ. It is true that these things happened before the young Timothy had definitely entered on the Christian way, but they all happened in the district of which he was a native; and he may well have been an eyewitness of them. The moment a man makes his own will the centre of life, divine and human relationships are destroyed, obedience to God and charity to men both become impossible. It is the sign of a man of honour that he pays his debts; and for every man there is a debt to God and there are debts to his fellow-men, which he must remember and repay. Men will be inflated with conceit (tetuphomenos, G5187) . One must try disorders and prove profession. You're a stranger. They're profitable for doctrine. The more the person who lives godly and righteous in Christ stands out. He read them and never rested until he obtained the rest of the Bible. It can never cease to be a Christian's duty to maintain the unity of the Spirit; but it is not maintaining the unity of the Spirit to couple with the name of the Lord that which is fleshly and sinful. 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. Storge is the word used especially of family love, the love of child for parent and parent for child. Men would be headlong in words and action. (This book is used for definition of Greek words. 4. 2 Timothy 3:12, "Yes, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution.". I thought you were, you know, the Son of God and smarter than that. Accordingly, although they are not exposed to the same assaults, and do not engage in the same battles, yet they have a warfare in common, and shall never be wholly at peace and exempt from persecutions. There is a sense in which slander is the most cruel of all sins. ", The Lord said it's "what comes out of the mouth of a man, that defiles a man" ( Matthew 15:11 ). It is interesting that the Scriptures in many places speak of the last days and in every case where the Scriptures speak of the last days, you find that it is an apt description of the day and the age in which we live. Pride always begets insult. E. F. Brown has pointed out the danger of what he calls "intellectual curiosity without moral earnestness." Again he said, "Lo, I have come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God" ( Hebrews 10:7 ). Why does the world hate Christians? 12And all who wish to live a godly life (186) Having mentioned his own persecutions, he likewise adds now, that nothing has happened to him which does not await all the godly. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. He tells him further to "hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. In contrast, the sins of "evil people and impostors" can be expected to get worse and worse. There are still Church dignitaries whose main thought is their own dignity; but the Christian is the follower of him who was meek and lowly in heart. 2 To Timothy, d my beloved child:. (8) Using the boldness God gives, don't be ashamed of the imprisoned apostle. It is beautiful to trace this double working and current of the apostle that is, what is imperishable, above and beyond nature; and, along with this, the utmost value put on everything that he would own in those naturally bound up with him those of either family that feared God. As members of the Church, we should sometimes ask ourselves, what are we trying to do in it? You're a pilgrim. That will = Who will live ( ) to desire, to want to, to wish. But the sin of the man who is arrogant is in his heart. The one was suited to upset the young, the other to beguile the old. And why read them anyhow if they're not inspired? This world is in rebellion against God. Judaism had its divine institutions and hopes, but the truth is found in Christendom only: nevertheless in Christendom, who fails to discern Jewish elements and heathenish enormities? And this, I believe, is much to be considered. Second Timothy 3:12-13 "Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being. In it we find the duties, the qualities and the experiences of an apostle. A man can reach a stage when, so far from controlling it, he can become a slave to some habit or desire. Confirmed that Noah was a real person and it was a real event. But after giving the characteristics and traits of the godly man, Jesus then in the final Beatitudes said, "Blessed are ye, when men shall persecute you, and revile you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake" ( Matthew 5:11 ). Look at, of course, all of these other things that have come along as the result of it. Now, it is doubtless as true as it ever was, that a man who will live as the Saviour did, will, like him, be subjected to some such injury or disadvantage. Nor do I at all see that any Christians should be above learning, if others can teach. When our Lord was pleased to take upon himself the form of a servant, and to go about preaching the kingdom of God; he took all opportunities in public, and more especially in private, to caution his disciples against . They will refuse to recognize the debt they owe both to God and to men. THE DUTIES AND THE QUALITIES OF AN APOSTLE ( 2 Timothy 3:10-13 ). 2 Timothy 3:1 - Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary - StudyLight.org The page number in Thayer is given, and the column on the page follows the hyphens. They must expect to be despised, and that their religion will stand in the way of their preferment; those who will live godly must expect it, especially those who will live godly in Christ Jesus, that is, according to the strict rules of the Christian religion, those who will wear the livery and bear the name of the crucified Redeemer. He blames the Jews who searched them, because they failed to learn the lesson which they were intended to convey. II. It answers not a little to the kind of thing ,;et forth here. Article Images Copyright 2023 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. (1) it teaches the only way to the Father is through Jesus; (2) it teaches a morality (a way of life) unpopular with the world; (3) it teaches a miraculous creation, a miraculous end; and a miraculous Savior who was resurrected; (4), Why does the world hate Christians? There will always be those who have their own twisted ideas of the Christian faith, and who wish to win others to their mistaken beliefs. Men will be disobedient to their parents. For "all scripture is given by inspiration of God. Persecution and hardships will come, but of two things Paul is sure. ", Persecution = The essence of persecution consists in subjecting a person to injury or disadvantage on account of his [beliefs].. You may be able to deceive people for a while, but ultimately, it's going to catch up, even as it did with Jannes. 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.