Tag: 2 Timothy 3

Getting Better?

Theme Week: Review of Paul – 2 Timothy 3

Old Testament: Song of Songs Intro – see below

Poetry: Psalm 54

On their Sgt Pepper Album, the Beatles had a track called “Getting Better”.  “I’ve got to admit it’s getting better, a little better all the time.”  It’s actually a pretty optimistic song coming in the aftermath of WWII and what was then well into the Cold War between the West and the Soviet Union when everyone was waiting for nuclear war to break out (it almost did in 1962 during the Cuban Missal Crisis).

Should our expectation be that things will just keep getting better and better?  There was a theological movement that was very popular in the 19th and 20th centuries called Post-Millennialism.  The essential thrust of this teaching was that through the work of the Church and preaching of the Gospel and later the social ministries of the Church that we would usher in the Kingdom of God on earth and then Jesus would come back to rule.  This belief was in sharp contrast to much previous teaching in the early centuries of Christianity which saw this age ending with a big apocalypse and global destruction and time of great tribulation before the return of Jesus to bring about the Kingdom of God. 

Postmillennial preaching roughly corresponded with the optimism that accompanied the utopian vision of many in that same time frame.  Advances in technology and health care had many convinced that we would bring about a much better world through human effort.  For most, this all fell apart after two World Wars, the holocaust, the Cold War, and the nuclear age etc…

Where did the Apostle Paul stand in all of this?  It’s pretty clear from today’s reading in 2 Timothy 3 that Paul did not hold optimistic hopes for a world where things just keep getting better and better.  Paul gives no indication that he had a post-millennial hope of the kingdom being brought to completion solely through the efforts of the Church.  Paul warns that the “last days” would be days of difficulty: “People will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,  heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good,  treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (vs. 2-4).

Paul paints a dismal and disheartening picture of where he sees the human race headed.  But against this backdrop of increasing sin and brokenness, Paul presents the followers of Jesus Christ, those who will follow both his teaching and example, as standing out from this world in all its sin and brokenness, equipped by God to do good works.

As I look at the trajectory of this world during my lifetime of nearly 60 years, I see little evidence that the world is capable of creating the utopian vision that many dreamers had or that the Church’s power and influence is becoming greater and leading the world closer to the paradise envisioned in the Kingdom of God vision of the Bible.  I see Paul’s stark predictions being lived out every day.  In the US the life expectancy rate is now shrinking due to “Deaths of Despair”- deaths caused by suicide, opioid overdoses, and diseases related to alcohol abuse.  I won’t take the time to give examples of all the things that Paul warns against.  A quick scan of the social science writings over the last 50 years from Christopher Lasch’s Culture of Narcissism to Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death shows that one does not even have to have a Christian worldview to detect that things are not getting better and are exactly as Paul said they would be.

As Christians how should we respond?  Do we throw in the towel and give up?  Of course not.  God is still saving people from this present evil age.  People are still turning from darkness to the light of Jesus Christ.  Even as Paul kept preaching the gospel even in the midst of his trials and persecutions, so should we.  We know how the story ends. Jesus will come and make all things new.  In the meantime, we are invited to do the work of showing people Jesus Christ.  Many will reject us and our message, but some will believe and follow.

I’m reminded of the story of the man who was out on the beach looking at thousands of starfish that had washed ashore.  He was picking them up one at a time and throwing them back into the water so that they might be saved.  A man came along and watched him throwing them one at a time.  He scoffed and said “There are probably millions of starfish on his beach and most will die.  What possible difference do you think you can make?”  The other man reached down and picked up one single starfish and returned it to the ocean.  “For that one, I made all the difference in the world.”

There are billions in the world who do not know Jesus Christ as Savior.  You and I can’t save them all today, but there is someone that you will meet today or tomorrow that you can share the hope of Christ with, and for that one, your efforts might make all the difference.

-Jeff Fletcher

Reflection Questions:

  1. As you weigh the current condition of the world against the hopes of the postmillennial and utopian dreams of the 19th and 20th century and the predictions of Paul 2000 years ago, which do you think was more accurate?  Why?
  2. What can we do to stem the Deaths of Despair?
  3. Which starfish will you pick up first?  When will you start?

Song of SoNGS Introduction

King Solomon likely wrote the Song of Songs (or Song of Solomon, which is considered one of the books of poetry in the Bible.  The book is written as a series of monologues between “Beloved” (her) and “Lover” (him), with some commentary from “Friends”.

Many have suggested that Song of Solomon is an allegory, pointing to how much God loves us, and how we should love God.  I completely dismiss this interpretation.  The book clearly describes the romantic love between King Solomon and one of his wives.  (Song of Solomon 6:8 mentions that at the time of its writing, there were 60 queens and 80 concubines.)

Even though the whole book is sexually suggestive, it repeatedly warns (in 2:7, 3:5, and 8:4), “Do not arouse or awaken love before it so desires.”  – presumably warning to wait for sex until marriage.

-Steve Mattison

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Our Response to a Corrupt World

2 Timothy 3

Tuesday, September 13, 2022

Though I’ve always struggled with anxiety, I can trace a lot of my childhood anxiety back to one source: the 5 o’clock news. I dreaded the hour-and-a-half each evening that my Dad would sit down in his recliner and turn on the television to hear the journalists report the sad and scary happenings of the day. I grew up near Dayton, Ohio, which has several times been on the “ten most dangerous cities (of its size) in the USA” list, so there were a lot of terrifying updates about local robberies and murders, not to mention domestic and global catastrophes, such as the Persian Gulf War and the Oklahoma City bombing. My tender heart had great difficulty accepting such chaos and pain in the world. 

Then as a sophomore in college, I witnessed a hit-and-run, a robbery gone awry that resulted in the vehicular homicide of a sweet man, beloved in his community. I was forced to relive that terrible day many times over the next several years as a prime subpoenaed witness, until a series of unfortunate mishaps with the trials resulted in the guilty suspects being released with a clean record. I was aghast that the lawyers could be so slimy as to defend people who were clearly guilty of theft and murder, and that such evil could exist in the first place. 

With all the terrible things in the world today, it causes me to wonder, how much worse could it actually have been back in Genesis 6 when God felt he needed to start again with godly people on Earth?

The world became corrupt again after Noah, and the wickedness in human hearts has continued for millenia. Paul warned Timothy, starting in verse 2, that in the final days, “people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power.” Paul reminds Timothy to stay away from such people. That list sure sounds like the tendencies of a lot of people in this world and on the news today… and if I’m being completely honest, it sounds a lot like me at times too, when I lose my Christ-focus. I, too, have been “such people.”  I am a sinner saved by grace, and I need to humbly remember how Jesus has saved me. I also need to be careful when I am in the world, to not be of it; it is important to not be influenced by people who are doing evil things, or I might sway to become a part of the sin and be pulled away from my relationship with God. Yes, we need to share the love of Jesus with everyone, but also have boundaries in those relationships.

Sometimes new Christians think that following Jesus should be The Easy Life, but the Bible is very clear that we will have difficulties as followers of Jesus. In verse 12, Paul promises that “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Jesus himself said that we will have trouble, but he has overcome the world! (John 16:33). So Paul reminds Timothy two verses later to keep focused on what he has learned, keep the legacy of faith alive. By focusing on what we knew in the good times, we can have the strength to make it through the difficult times. 

Then in verse 16, he reminds Timothy that the scripture is a guidebook for life, a manual for living. By following the God-breathed scriptures, we can have the training and correction we need to be ready to do good work for him, and (I would add) to fight any battle that we might face: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” I believe that is true today as well. The scriptures have survived for thousands of years because God wanted us to have them as a roadmap for our journey in this life, His special guidance through which He still speaks to us. 

I’ll never forget how I beamed with pride as I sat in the front seat of our old red Dodge Omni hatchback, filled to the brim with camping supplies for our family’s annual vacation to the Hocking Hills KOA campground, with the Rand McNally road atlas sprawled over my 10-year-old lap. I was my Dad’s “navigator”; I had the very important job of following the criss-cross lines on the map (which my Dad had conveniently highlighted prior to our departure) to help us arrive at our vacation destination, leading the way for the rest of the clan in the car behind us. Until I was a young adult, I believed I was a good navigator. However, when my husband Dan and I got married and began to go on trips together (before smartphones were commonplace and while GPS car systems were still out of our price range), I realized that a modern Ferdinand Magellan I was not. As a directionally-challenged individual, my mis-reading of maps led us on many, shall we say, unplanned adventures. (Now, we reminisce about those frustrating adventures with a half-smile as we thank God for the invention of Google Maps and data plans.) It turns out that I wasn’t the navigator at all; my Dad had already highlighted the route and knew where he was going. He gave me the map and taught me how to read it at a basic level, but ultimately he was leading us the whole time. Likewise, God has given us a map (the Bible), and He shows us the best way to live. But we need to read His word, study His “map” and seek His ways for our lives through prayer and wise counsel. Then we will be better equipped to do His work. 

-Rachel Cain

Reflection questions: 

As a Christian, we are guaranteed persecution in this life. Think and pray about ways that you can prepare yourself to face those trials.

In what practical ways can you encourage and support other Believers who are facing trials? 

Look back on your life. How have you felt God’s leading through prayer and His word? How do you sense Him leading you today? (It’s a great idea to keep a journal of God’s faithfulness and answered prayers, which you can read again during difficult times!)

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