Read with Me
2 Timothy 2:14-19 (HCSB)
Remind them of these things, charging them before God not to fight about words; this is in no way profitable and leads to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth. But avoid irreverent, empty speech, for this will produce an even greater measure of godlessness. And their word will spread like gangrene; Hymenaeus and Philetus are among them. They have deviated from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and are overturning the faith of some. Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, having this inscription:
The Lord knows those who are His, and
Everyone who names the name of the Lord
must turn away from unrighteousness.
Listen with Me
In this section, Paul transitions to a focus on the absolute importance of correctly teaching God’s word. Paul knew that it was possible to warp the meaning of the Scriptures, making them say things that God never said by twisting the clear meaning of the words He specifically selected, or by taking words or passages out of the context in which God caused them to be written.
Paul reminded Timothy that as a leader in the Church, he had those who were following him, looking to him to teach them accurately what the Scripture said and how they were to be applied to one’s life. But this could only be done well by those who correctly taught the word of truth, and who did not twist them to either reinforce pet doctrines or to build themselves up by presenting some kind of “mystical” interpretation of what God had clearly written.
Two of those self-styled “scholars” who had gathered a following, Hymenaeus and Philetus, had pushed forward the idea that Jesus’ return and the resurrection of the dead had already happened. This necessarily meant that those still present on earth had missed it. And that thought was damaging the faith of some people, which both God and Paul found utterly abhorrent.
For Paul, the solution was twofold. The first part was an awareness of who the false teachers were so that they could be marginalized, and their damage could be cut short. He did not shy away from naming names and pointing out specific false teachings. Wolves in sheep’s clothing were not to be accepted as sheep merely based on external appearances.
But in the second part, Paul pointed to the foundation that had stood the test of time. The first block in this solid foundation is based on trusting God. He knows who belongs to Him, and He will keep His hand on them. The second block is commitment and life transformation: those who confess the Lord cannot continue on their old life track. Instead, for their commitment to be real, it must result in a changed life, one that is characterized by a concrete turning away from all wickedness. Without that positive transformation, they cannot be trusted as a source of God’s truth.
Pray with Me
Father, thank you for this reminder. It is easy for us to allow false teaching to propagate in the Church under the banner of “unity”. But false, non-biblical teaching actually fosters division, not unity, destruction of faith, not tolerance. Help me, Lord, to keep a solid focus on you on Your truth, on guarding it, and on sharing it faithfully. I don’t have to “sell it” by dressing it up in my own theology or in a shroud of “secret teaching”. I just have to be faithful and allow Your Spirit to do the work. Amen.