Each chapter of Paul’s second letter to Timothy presents a focused theme. The theme provides the structure for Paul’s “last words” to Timothy. Here are the things that are important to Paul, the things that Paul wants Timothy to remember. The third chapter focuses on truth.
Why would Paul encourage Timothy to take a second look at truth? Doesn’t truth always stay the same? It does, but circumstances and people change. Straying from the truth can be relatively easy. Making correct applications of the truth becomes challenged, especially when faced with social pressures, personal biases, and a lack of critical and consistent thinking. Small compromises happen when people are not actively seeking accurate information.
Sometimes we stray from the truth on purpose. The truth tells us one thing but our sinful nature wants to follow our own path. There are other times when we compromise because of convenience. Take, for example, the doctrine and practice of baptism. Believers would be baptized in the river until Roman persecution when it became impossible to do so without dire consequences. But sometimes we stray from the truth because we are taught incorrect information.
So Paul encourages Timothy to take a second look at truth. Are you still holding to the things that you were taught? Are there any points where a compromise has taken place? Are the pressures at play right now that are pushing toward relinquishing the truth?
Here is our focused verse.
The Scripture
Stick to what you know is certain. All you have learned comes from people you know and trust.
2 timothy 3:14 VOICE
NIV 2 Timothy 3:14 NIV
NASB 2 Timothy 3:14 NASB
ESV 2 Timothy 3:14 ESV
NLT 2 Timothy 3:14 NLT
HCSB 2 Timothy 3:14 HCSB
MSG 2 Timothy 3:14 MESSAGE
Understand the original Greek? See 2 Timothy 3:14 in the Nestle – Aland Greek text.
“The Pointe” is the focused point that stands out from the rest. This is the main purpose of this lesson.
The believer must stand in an compromising manner upon the truth of Scripture.
But You, Timothy
Paul begins verse 14 in the same way he begins verse 10. “But you.” There is a marked and distinct contrast between Timothy and the rest of the world. Here the contrast is between Timothy and how many react to the truth.
But you, Timothy, stick to what you know is certain, is true. Everything that you have learned comes from people that you know and trust. You are certain of the validity of the truth. Whether Timothy learned it from his grandmother or mother (2 Timothy 1:5) or from Paul himself, Timothy knows the truth and should not yield to the temptation to compromise or abandon it.
There are some interesting nuances to the Greek verbs in this passage. We would expect them to be in the Greek perfect form emphasizing an action in the past with on-going effects and results. Timothy “learned” the truth at a past point in time, but the learning it has on-going effects in Timothy’s life.
Instead, Paul uses an unusual combination of tenses. Timothy, continue in what you have learned. The command is a present imperative. The tense has a real “future” flavor. Do this now – and continue doing it in the future. Continue.
Continue in the things that have convinced you. Now the tense is aorist – an action that has already occurred, but it is passive. Timothy doesn’t have to do something to become convinced. The truth has already convinced him.
Timothy, it is not that you will take actions that convince you of the truth. It is that the truth will convince – and convict – you.
Actions You Can Take
- So, what about You? How far have you wandered away from the truth? Have you ever played out in the waves of the ocean? You start squarely in front of the beach in front of your motel. Your family and friends are nestled into their chairs straight in front of you. But the movement of the waves and the tide, the fun of splashing with your friends, and suddenly you look up and your family and motel are no where to be found. Can you relate to that experience? Drifting away from sound doctrine happens exactly in that manner. You don’t intend to drift – but before you know it nothing around you looks familiar. So let’s dissect the drift. What doctrines of the faith have you wandered away from the Scriptural position because of decisions of your denomination or because of the trends in society? What can you do today to start walking back toward sound doctrine?
- When we drift away from sound doctrine, it becomes more difficult to make consistent application of the truth to the circumstances of society. With your family or friends, can you identify areas in your application of truth where you have drifted. Do you watch movies that you used to avoid? Has your language become “saltier” than it used to be? Do you accept positions for the “sake of tolerance” that used to offend you? How can you turn the tide?
- We need to consider one more area of drift – and it is an area that we often overlook. Has there been growth in your character? Is there more evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in your life today than there was last year? If not, pick one “fruit” and outline a handful of things that you could do to make strides for growth and progress during the coming year.
Truth Almost Always Brings Difficulty
Timothy, warns Paul, “Mark this. There will be terrible times in the last days.” It is a challenge to know exactly what Paul means when he speaks of the last days. From the flavor of the letter, it seems apparent that these are Paul’s last days. Nero is the Roman Emperor and his fury against the Christians knows no end. Paul anticipates his own death by beheading in the coming days. Timothy, things are getting worse right now.
Sometimes New Testament writers use the last days to speak of the days around the return of Christ and the end of time. Paul could be pointing out that as we get closer to the end of time, the days are going to be difficult. Timothy, things will get worse just before Jesus returns. There is no real context about the return of Christ in this epistle and on our side of history, it seems pointless for Paul to emphasize this to Timothy.
Last Days
Most often, New Testament writers talked about the last days in reference to the times of the message of the gospel. The Hebrew writer says, “in these last days God has spoken to us by His Son” (Hebrews 1:2). This is God’s final dispensation. Paul warns Timothy that the message of the gospel can bring difficult times. Timothy, in your lifetime, things are going to get more difficult.
I wonder whether the statement from Paul is true for everyone, in every generation. During your lifetime, have things gotten worse? Probably. Does the “worse” rest upon the reaction and response of people to the message of the gospel? Are people less receptive to the truth today than they were forty years ago? Again, the answer is most likely.
The truth does that to some people. It spurs them to rebel. Paul describes them in three verses at the beginning of chapter three, and he uses a laundry list of the results of evil thoughts. The challenge for Timothy falls in verse nine.
Jesus warned the disciples that His message of truth would agitate many people. People will arrest them and persecute them just because they follow Jesus. Brothers will turn against brothers. This message will stir many people (Matthew 10:16-22).
Their folly will be evident to everyone. Have nothing to do with them.
People Will Pretend
Paul’s words to Timothy ring hopeful but harsh. Throughout this third chapter, Paul warns Timothy of the hypocritical nature of many people. They will pretend to love the truth, but they really do not. He points to the Old Testament characters Jannes and Jambres who opposed Moses. The apostle hints of others in their day who turned and opposed the truth. He says these “evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:13).
This warning resonates throughout the New Testament. Consider Paul’s earlier words to the Thessalonians:
The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 NIV).
Hypocrisy
Jesus also speaks about hypocrisy. He takes an entire chapter in the gospel of Matthew to address the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 23). But Jesus speaks to the idea of hypocrisy in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6).
The idea that a hypocrite is someone who says one thing and does another is prevalent. But Jesus’ understanding and application is far richer.
The original Greek word is ὑποκριταί (hypokritai), which means “stage actors.” At one level it is easy to see how this word has come to mean someone who is phony. For what hypocrites claim to be, they really are not; they are just acting a role. But when no one is looking (i.e., the audience is gone), the hypocrite reverts to his true self, which is someone quite different.
Do you see how this word speaks so deeply to the Christian faith? We are to be like Christ – not as a mask we put on, clothes we only wear to church on Sunday. We are to be Christ-like through and though.
Paul warns Timothy of two characteristics of the hypocrite.
KBS2501_04 | Second Look at Truth
2 Timothy 3
Introducing the Lesson
Use this exercise to introduce the concept of the lesson and to prompt discussion among your group. Generally these questions do not have a “right or wrong” answer, so even those newer to a faith experience will not feel intimidated to speak.
Below are 10 facts that you have heard and probably repeated or taught to others. Which of them are actually true?
- A penny dropped from the top of the Empire State Building will kill you.
- The Great Wall of China is the only man-made object that can be seen from space.
- Cracking your knuckles will give you arthritis.
- On average, a person swallows eight spiders a year in their sleep.
- When briefed on those suffering in her kingdom, Marie Antoinette replied, “Let them eat cake.”
- Toilet seats are full of germs.
- Alcohol warms you up.
- Wear a cap in the cold because you lose about 90% of your body heat through your head.
- Wait at least 30 minutes after eating before jumping in the pool to swim.
- Shaving makes hair grow back thicker.
Understanding the Lesson
- What does Paul tell Timothy about truth in 2 Timothy’s third chapter?
- What did Jesus mean when He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6)? How does that apply to our understanding of “truth” in this lesson?
- What is meant by the phrase “absolute truth?” Does absolute truth exist? Is it possible to know truth in that way? Even though I may not be 100% certain of the truth, is it possible for it to still exist? Around what subject topics does the question of absolute truth come into play?
Actions You Can Take
The Essence section gives you a smorgasbord of choices of activities that you can do that will help you apply the pointe of the lesson. Choose a commitment that fits your schedule and your personality.
- Find ten Scriptures that teach about truth. How many of them equate “truth” with God’s Word or God’s Law? How important is the connection?
- Memorize the one of the following verses about truth: John 8:32, 1 John 1:6, or Ephesians 6:14.
- The Bible often teaches to speak the truth with love (Ephesians 4:15). How does one speak the truth without love? Why is adding “love” so important?
People Will Be Very Self-Centered
“People will be lovers of themselves,” Paul reminds Timothy. Selfishness is at the root of so many other sins. Indeed, selfishness really is self-idolatry. It is easy to see someone who follows a particular religion, or even someone who carves an idol representing some part of the creation. But it is difficult to spot the person who just puts themselves of the throne. They can appear to be very faithful, but the center of their life is off.
Listen to these Scriptures:
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others (Philippians 2:3-4 NIV).
We should stop looking out for our own interests and instead focus on the people living and breathing around us (1 Corinthians 10:24 VOICE).
“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25 NKJV).
“Selfishness is the greatest curse of the human race,” wrote William E. Gladstone. While C.S. Lewis claimed, “Selfishness has never been admired.”
People Appear to be Godly, but the Godliness Lacks Power
These people have “a form of godliness” (2 Timothy 3:5), a form that looks good until examined carefully. But Paul says they don’t have the power that should go along with it. If their faith is tested, it will show weaknesses.
The phrase at the end of verse five is not always translated well. The phrase says, “keep turning away from these.” The NIV brings forth, “Have nothing to do with them” – which is strong, but it fails to emphasize the imperative, continuing nature of the verb.
Truth Will Be Persecuted
Paul’s next warning to Timothy is pointed. “All who desire to live a godly life in Christ will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). No one know this truth better than Paul. Listen to what he tells the Corinthians.
Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches (2 Corinthians 11:24-28 NIV).
Notice what he tells the Romans:
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:35-39 NIV).
Truth Comes from God
Frank Gaebelein, pastor, theologian, author, and editor of one of the most respected commentary sets on the entire Bible, wrote, “All truth is God’s truth.” Paul wants Timothy to never forget that God’s Word is inspired.
Timothy knew that God’s Word was holy. Most translations present the phrase “Holy Scriptures” (CEV, DRA, ERV, GNV, GW, GNT, KJV, TLB, NCV, NIV, NKJV, NLT, VOICE). A few translations stress “sacred writings” (ASV, NASB, NRSV). Both renderings paint a bigger picture than the Greek targets.
The Greek word is in the plural and refers to the written characters, the letters. These Holy Letters can make you wise for salvation. Married to what Paul says in verse 16, God has inspired His Word down to the letter. If God says it, how can it not be true?
A Second Look at Truth for You
As this lesson on truth comes to a close, how important is the truth to you? Does it bother you when people argue against what the Bible says? Do you shrug it off and simply move on? Let’s conclude our thoughts with prayer.
Heavenly Father, Help us to understand how important truth is to You. Because of Your Scripture, not only do we know words that are true, we know the Word that is true. May the meditations of our heart and the words of our mouth be true – pleasing and acceptable to You. In Your Son’s name we pray, Amen.
Print Lesson Summary
Print Lesson Discussion Questions
Print For Further Study
Continue to the Next Lesson
