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The Christian's Path In a Day of Ruin
As seen in 2 Timothy ( Part II )
Now you might be tempted to ask; if conditions were so bad why did God allow Paul to be executed shortly after writing this epistle? Why remove this champion of the Faith when he was most needed? I believe the Spirit of God used this situation to show faithful believers, then and now, that God is able to give them the victory, apart from human agency, no matter how bad conditions get or how severe the opposition. Our resources are in Him alone, though He often uses human instruments to communicate them. This is an important first principle to remember in a day of collective failure (note the strategic use of the expression "in Christ Jesus" in chapters 1 and 2).
A Prophetic Preview - The Dark Side
If you have read this epistle then perhaps you were struck with its "devolutionary" character. As you moved from one chapter to the next the scenes got darker, the environment got colder, the twisting of truth more pronounced, and the opposition to the faithful more severe. In chapter 1 we see a scene of desertion (v15); in chapter 2 distortion (vs 14-18); in chapter 3 opposition (vs 5-8; 12); and finally in chapter 4 cold indifference (vs 3,4). With a prophet's eye, Paul looked down the corridor of time and saw that the current abandoning of the faith for the lies of some smooth sounding false teachers (chs. 1 and 2) would eventually lead to "difficult times" (3:1) during which "a form of godliness but denying the power of it" would prevail (3:5) giving birth to a day when most "will not endure sound teaching" but will seek out teachers who will say what they want to hear (4:3, 4). That sounds an awful lot like today! It's enough to overwhelm even a proven "soldier of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 2:19-23; 2 Tim. 1:3-8; 2:1-3). But this "somber setting", so accurately predicted by the Apostle, only serves to bring into clearer focus the only road available for those who would stay clear of "By-Path Meadow, Doubting Castle and Giant Despair". We will call it,
The Pathway of Piety - The Bright side
Piety is just an old fashioned word for godliness. Paul used it in 1 Tim. 3:16 when referring to "the mystery of piety (godliness)" revealed in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now those "who desire to live piously (godly) in Christ Jesus" (2 Tim. 3:12) must travel a pathway that has its origin in God (1:7-9), is characterized by a manifestation of the Divine life in vessels of clay 2 Tim. 3:14-17; 2 Cor. 3:18; 4:6-11; Col. 3:1-4), moves against the grain of this world (2 Tim. 4:10; 1 Pet. 2:21); but ends in glory (2 Tim. 4:8, 18). The one who is found on this road is called "the man of God" (1 Tim. 6:11; 2 Tim. 3:17) and he alone can stand against that "form of godliness" (3:5) that has let to this day of self-serving doctrines (4:3,4). It's a perilous journey through enemy territory, but, thank God, He has provided us with all the necessary resources for success. These are found in chapter 1 and can be broadly categorized under the heading: (1) Purpose, (2) Principles, (3) Power. The remaining chapters will confront us with the responsible use of these resources under different "road conditions".
A Suggestive Outline:
Before we look at the details let's get an overview of where we are going. Remember, we are not going to exegete the entire book, but instead trace out the main thread running through the book as a key to understanding its relevance for today.
I. The Provisions -or- the need of reliable resources, 1:13,14
II. The Word vs. Heresy -or- the need of an objective standard, 2:14-18
III. The Word vs. Apostasy -or- the need of subjective Power, 3:5-17
IV. The Word vs. Fables -or- the need of responsible teaching, 4:1-5
We can also illustrate it this way:
In this illustration the solid line veering off chapter one represents the path of departure while the dotted line represents God's remedy or the path of piety. The word TRUTH represents our responsibility to "hold fast an outline of sound words" (1:13). HERESY summarizes the activity of false teachers in chapter 2 as their "disputes of words" cause some of the saints to stray from the truth (2:14-18). In chapter 3 Heresy turns into APOSTASY as "a form of godliness but denying the power of it" begins to "withstand the truth" (3:5, 8). Finally, using the alchemy of apostasy, the majority "will turn away their ear from the truth and will have turned aside to FABLES" (4:4). Fables replace facts so that truth is unrecognizable to most yet remains their claimed possession!
The dotted line paralleling the solid one shows us how to use the resources of Ch. 1 to maintain the truth in the face of these varied stages of departure. In chapter 2 the answer to going off course is to have an objective standard against which everything can be tested. Thus we get "cutting in a straight line the word of truth" (2:15). However, in the face of apostasy, where there is form with out reality, what is needed is moral power. Something that can only be enjoyed by those who "abide in those things which thou hast learned" (3:14). Of course, these chapters are not to be treated in isolation but rather show progression so that now we have one who can be called "the man of God" (3:17) who alone is "thoroughly equipped" (3:17 Greek) to render an intelligent and effective ministry in maintaining the truth against fables (ch 4). Thus we can say with Paul: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith" as we await "that day" with joyful expectation (4:7,8). God grant this to be the portion of both writer and reader, for His name's sake.
G. Cofresi