But now Paul
takes it a step further. He's getting ready to depart the scene and wants
Timothy to mark well the fact that this demonic activity, this false
Christianity is something that will be characteristic of the entire age.
Forest Fellowship Archive/Part II
Formerly Titusville Bible Fellowship.
20 May 2015
2 Timothy 3.1-9
In the last
section Paul identified the source of the false teaching as ultimately demonic.
The false teachers which plague the Church are in fact ensnared by the devil.
They are captives to do his will. And thus we learn something of Satan's
tactics. The danger to the Church is not so much overt paganism or even the
secular humanism of our day but the false gospel which looks true but in fact
is something else. It builds on speculation, diverts the attention of the flock
away from Christ, and perverts and destroys the Christian life. Paul deals with
this in his other epistles and Timothy has heard it before as well. This came
up in the first epistle with regard to ascetic practices and Christian piety
rooted in such exercises.
30 April 2015
2 Timothy 2.20-26
Continuing
his allusion to the solid foundation established and sealed by God, Paul speaks
of a great house. What's he referring to? At first it's not entirely clear and
his illustration seems to break down or get side tracked.
Is he
referring to the Church and 'dishonor'-able vessels within it? You might think
that at first glance but when we look at the further personalized exhortations
in v.22 which seem to flow out of this illustration we are led to conclude the
great house (as it were) is a reference to Timothy or in general terms to the
believer. This is a continuation of the charge in v.14 to remind them (the
elect v.10) of these things, be diligent to (v.15), but shun (v.16) and now
finally in v.22 the exhortation to flee.
2 Timothy 2.14-19
Timothy is
further exhorted to 'remind them of these things'. Who is Timothy exhorting?
This is referring back to the elect in v.10. The elect whom Paul suffers for
and he applied to them the faithful saying of vv.11-13. Timothy is commanded to
repeat and revisit these ideas concerning our union with Christ and the nature
of our profession as well as the danger of denial and apostasy.
Part of the
warning, for a solemn warning it is, is that they do not strive about words to
no profit and with this charge the implication that such strivings can lead to
the ruin of the hearers.
04 March 2015
2 Timothy 2.3-13
Again Paul
encourages Timothy to 'endure', to share in the suffering and thus 'war' a good
warfare. The non-carnal weapons of the Christian are utter foolishness to the
world but as Christians we live our lives on a different level. Like Elisha's
servant we have our eyes opened and we see the spiritual realities of the
universe.
2 Timothy 2.1-4
Chapter two
continues with an exhortation and application of the previous points. Timothy
affectionately referred to as Paul's spiritual son is pointed to the previous
examples of suffering loyalty and perseverance. He is encouraged to be strong
in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
14 February 2015
2 Timothy 1.13-18
Paul
continues to exhort Timothy to hold fast to the pattern of sound words, the
doctrine which Paul the Apostle to the Gentiles has conveyed to him. Paul is
explicit that the purity of the Gospel and by implication the sound or healthy
Christian life is tied to 'words'... to ideas, doctrines and concepts rooted in
true reality given to us via revelation. Knowing God through His Word is the
route to holiness as opposed to human wisdom or unreliable emotion. This is not
to say we do not 'feel'. By no means does it suggest that but the criteria for
knowing Truth is through the Word and it is the sound and solid Word which
produces sound and solid Christian living.
07 February 2015
2 Timothy 1.8-12 Notes
Paul has
concluded the opening passage by pointing to the reality that the genuine and grounded
faith Timothy possessed emboldens him (and us) to stand fast in the face of the
suffering all Christians must necessarily endure. It is not something we need
to fear but we understand that it testifies to the power of the Gospel and
brings glory to God.
18 January 2015
2 Timothy 1.1-8 Notes
Setting and
Purpose:
Paul is
writing to Timothy his assistant and protégé. Paul it would seem knows that he
will soon die. There is a good possibility that this setting is what we would
call Paul's Second Imprisonment. The tone here is quite different from the
other Prison Epistles. This coupled with some other evidences from the Pastoral
Epistles points to activities unaccounted for in the book of Acts. Despite the
assertions of some unbelievers, this does not discredit the integrity of the
Biblical Text.
30 December 2014
Why does Titusville need yet another church?
Certainly a valid question, and the issues are complex but we
can address them in brief.
The main issue the every Christian and congregation must
wrestle with is that of Authority. On what basis do you decide and what
criteria do you employ to determine Christian doctrine and life? What do we
believe and how do we apply it?
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