New Life in Christ - Not Something New - 2 Timothy 3:1-9

Sermon Series: Burning Out?

Before we jump into our text this week I want you to think about men who go through what we call a “mid-life crisis.”  What are some of the things they do when they go through a mid-life crisis and what ultimately is driving that behavior?  Most often we think about them purchasing new things.  We think about them coming home with a new sports car or a Harley Davidson motorcycle.  Sometimes we think about them changing careers.  We think about them going into their steady, yet mundane career and quitting so that they can change things up and start something new.  Unfortunately we sometimes even think about them changing spouses.  We think about them leaving the women who have been faithfully by their sides for 15-20 years and looking to start relationships with women who are 15-20 years younger.  But why do they do this?  Many of these men feel like they have lost a sense of excitement and newness in their lives.  They’ve been driving the same old car, working the same old job, and married to the same old woman for the better part of their grown-up life.  They’ve gotten burnt out on the regular routine of life and with the reality of old age setting in and the limitations that will bring, they want to create a sense of adventure, excitement, and newness once again.  And most often these guys look to new ‘things’ to satisfy that craving.  We all need soul satisfaction in our lives.  We all need joy and fulfillment.  And we all need a sense of excitement and a source of refreshing when we suffer discouragement or feel like things have become routine.  But we also must realize that it isn’t something that is the source of this soul satisfaction, this joy and fulfillment, or this sense of excitement and source of refreshing.  So the question then is, “What will meet these needs that I have in my life?”  And I think we find part of this answer in this portion of Paul’s letter to Timothy.  In 2 Timothy 3:1-9 Paul provides Timothy with some warnings concerning some false teachers who were enticing believers with the promises of something new, but who in reality were leading these believers away from the only true source of life.  As we look closely at what these false teachers were doing and who they were preying on we discover some believers in Christ who were being led away because their life wasn't grounded in Christ - they were trying to find life in other things.   

As Paul progresses forward in his letter to Timothy we find that he continues to linger a while longer on the topic of false teachers.  In fact, the first 9 verses of chapter three are going to deal exclusively with these false teachers.  [Read 2 Timothy 3:1-9]  We begin in verse 1 with another command to Timothy.  Paul commands Timothy to be “continually understanding (or knowing) this” (literal translation).  Timothy is to be continually understanding that in the “last days” there will come “times of difficulty” (your text may translate it ‘fierce times’ or ‘perilous times’).  Now let’s just make sure that we have a clear understanding of the time frame that is being discussed here and the degree of the trials that will be faced during that time period.  The phrase ‘last days’ is not a reference to the days of the great tribulation that the Bible prophesies will take place in the future, nor is it the handful of days leading up to the return of Christ.  The phrase ‘last days’ in the New Testament “refers to that entire time from the completion of Christ’s redemptive work until his return.”  In other words, “Christ’s life, death, resurrection, and ascension have inaugurated the last days” (Lea, Thomas D.  2 Timothy in The New American Commentary.  Volume 34. [Nashville: Broadman Press, 1992.] pg. 223).  Let me try to explain it this way.  From the beginning of creation time was always progressing in a straight line toward a certain moment or ‘finish line’ when God’s patience with His creation would come to completion and He would judge His creation – welcoming into His presence for eternity all those who had trusted in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and condemning all those who had denied His Son, Jesus, to eternal separation from Him in a literal place of eternal torment called hell.  From the beginning of creation history was moving directly towards that point as God was unfolding His plan, revealing clues as to who the coming Savior would be, and waiting until the most opportune time when there was relative peace throughout the world, an infrastructure for travel and trade, and some predominant languages.  As part of that plan God took His only Son, Jesus, wrapped Him in flesh, and then sent Him into our world.  After Jesus was born he, like all children, grew into an adult and for three years had an amazing ministry that would ultimately impact the remainder of human history.  His life and ministry on earth concluded around 33 AD when He was put to death on a cross as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of humanity.  Three days after His burial He rose again, demonstrating His power and victory over both sin and death.  And then for the next 40 days he appeared alive and in the flesh to more than 500 eyewitnesses before He, in complete bodily form, ascended into the clouds and back into the presence of His Father, God, where He is reigning on His throne.  Now after Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension, everything that needed to be accomplished to redeem sinful humanity and a broken creation had been accomplished.  So at that point, time and history stopped moving in a straight line directly towards God’s ultimate time of judgment – instead it took a sharp 90 degree turn and started running parallel to that finish line.  Everything that needed to be accomplished had been done – the only thing left in redemptive history is the final judgment.  But God in His great grace and patience is allowing individuals more time to hear and respond to the good news of what Jesus has accomplished for them in His life, death, and resurrection.  At some point that line will once again make another 90 degree turn and cross over the finish line, but until that time we find time and history running parallel to that ‘finish line’ – a time the New Testament refers to as the last days.

Think about it like this – a football player is running down the sideline towards the endzone.  But in an effort to use up all of the remaining time on the clock, right as he gets inside the 1 yard line, rather than crossing over into the endzone, he turns and runs parallel to the endzone, inside the one yard line.  Time, during those moments when he is running parallel to the endzone’ doesn’t stop progressing.  The time on the clock keeps running and progressing.  But rather than the player continuing to move directly towards the goal line he is now running next to the goal line.  When time is ready to expire, he will turn once again to run into the end zone, but until the clock shows 0:00 he is going to keep running alongside the end zone.  We can compare those moments when he is running alongside the end zone, inside the 1 yard line, to the time we are currently in and the direction of human history that we are residing in right now – we are moving parallel to the day of final judgment in a time that the New Testament calls “the last days.”     

Paul tells Timothy that in those last days there would come some pretty awful times.  The ESV says “time of difficulty,” but the language is actually a little stronger and is probably better understood as ‘harsh,’ ‘fierce,’ or ‘perilous.’  This won’t characterize all of the time making up the ‘last days,’ but it will characterize some of the time making up the ‘last days.’  Moving into verse 2 Paul suggests that one of the causes of these fierce and difficult times will be the presence and influence of the false teachers – a group the church at Ephesus was presently encountering and which Paul had just spent some time addressing in 2:14-26 (the passage we examined last week).  In verses 2 through 5 Paul spends some time characterizing these false teachers, pointing out that they typically display some common attributes.  The first attribute that he gives in verse 2 is the most important and dominating attribute – it is the one that fuels and drives all the others.  Paul says, “For people will be lovers of self.”  Self is without a doubt the biggest and most powerful idol in our world.  It was the love of self and the desire to make much of themselves that drove Adam and Eve to be disobedient in the garden.  There they attempted to take the place of God by putting themselves in His position, determining for themselves what was right and wrong, and the direction and course which they would pursue in life.  And when we are being lovers of self we open wide the door for every other kind of sin to invade our lives.  Those who struggle with materialism aren’t ultimately serving the material things they want, but themselves and their desire to have and possess things.  Those who struggle with lust and pornography aren’t ultimately serving the immoral images they are looking at, but themselves and the desire within their heart for sexual gratification outside the context of marriage.  Those who struggle with anger and rage are serving their own desires to dominate and control every aspect of their lives.  Those who struggle with pride and arrogance are ultimately attempting to exalt and make much of themselves.  You name the sin – whichever one you want – and you can ultimately trace it back to a love for self and an attempt to exalt and glorify one’s self.  It’s no different for these false teachers – at the root of their sin and their error is a gross and misplaced love for self. 

As these false teachers work out their love for self several other shared character flaws come to the surface.  Paul tells Timothy that these false teachers will be characterized by a love of money.  Because of their self love they will be individuals who are proud and arrogant.  They will display in their lives abusiveness, disobedience to their parents, and both an ungrateful and an unholy spirit.  In verse 3 Paul says these men will be ‘heartless.’  In other words the damage that they bring on some believers and some churches (either intentionally or unintentionally) won’t inspire a sense of sorrow or compassion – they simply won’t care about the damage they do, so long as it helps them achieve their goal of making a name for themselves.  Paul says these false teachers will be unappeasable, they will be slanderous, and they will act without self-control (an attribute demonstrating the absence of the spirit given to true believers in 1:7 and an attribute which will ultimately lead to their undoing – see 3:9).  These false teacher will not deal gently as Paul had instructed Timothy a few verses earlier (2:24-25) but will be brutal, and they will not love good.  Verse 4 tells us they will be marked by treachery, recklessness (not caring what damage they inflict along the way), and that they will be swollen with conceit (an image of someone who is noticeably puffed up with lofty views of themselves and their own abilities).  Ultimately their greatest desire will be to delight themselves in loving pleasures, rather than delighting in and loving God. 

Now make special note of verse 5!  Paul says these false teachers will have “the appearance of godliness” but that in reality they are “denying it’s power.”  This should strike the reader as a scary verse.  When we consider the character traits that Paul has just mentioned above I think that we slip into the trap of believing these ‘false teachers’ will be easily identifiable.  We think to ourselves, “these are truly ungodly men and if I ever run across one I’ll surely be able to identify him.”  But Paul says to Timothy in verse 5 that these crafty men will be able (at least to some extent) to disguise or hide these character traits behind an appearance of godliness.  But how will they do that?  Verses 6 through 9 give us some insight into that question.

In verse 6 Paul transitions from describing the character traits of these false teachers to describing their methods of action.  In verse 6 Paul gives two important and descriptive verbs to help Timothy understand how these false teachers operate.  First of all he tells Timothy that they ‘creep’ into households.  In other words they don’t come in announcing their intentions and laying their cards on the table.  They come into households deceitfully with a purpose to ‘capture’ (the 2^nd descriptive verb Paul uses) particular individuals.  These false teachers aren’t looking to come into homes or churches to make observations – they are coming in deceitfully with the goal of taking hold of and leading individuals away under captivity. 

Now note 'who' these false teachers were preying on.  In the city and church of Ephesus their primary focus was on a group of women.  Understand gender in these verses to simply be an explanation of the particular group these false teachers were pursuing.  What’s more important to understand is the character traits of these particular victims.  Paul first describes them as ‘weak.’  In regards to spiritual maturity these were women who were probably still immature in their faith and who probably did not have a very good grasp on God, His mission for them, or what Christ-honoring methods of accomplishing that mission looked like.  Their weakness in their faith ultimately made them easily deceived.  Paul says they were ‘burdened with sins,’ (or loaded up with sins) continuing to emphasize the weakness of their faith and spiritual maturity.  They probably had not come to a complete understanding of God’s personal goal of sanctification in their lives.  So rather than working to pursue God and to pursue Christ-likeness they were still in the habit of pursuing that which made them happy – a trait we see emphasized next.  Thirdly Paul says these victims were ‘led astray by various passions.’  This does not necessarily imply sexual activity here, but it does certainly portray these individuals as those who are easily led astray by things that have the appearance of newness and excitement.  And finally, in verse 7 Paul characterizes these victims as those who are “always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.”  One commentator, D. E. Hiebert, notes here, “In their restless quest for the new and novel they turn to every new doctrine that comes to their attention” (Hiebert, D.E. Second Timothy. [Chicago: Moody, 1958] pg. 88).  These victims had a great curiosity about God and religion but had little to no discernment to help them distinguish between truth and error.  These false teachers were preying on those who were spiritually immature, who were still in the process of understanding God’s goal for them to be sanctified (as evidenced by their sin) and who seemed to place greater value on newness and excitement than they did on biblical truth and continued growth.

These false teachers were coming into these house churches and preying on these individuals.  They were coming in with deceitful intentions to capture and carry out as many as they could from the body of believers.  It was clear that their goal wasn’t to build up individuals in Christ or to build up the body of Christ – for their actions and intentions had everything to do with tearing the body of Christ apart.  (Notice how these actions and intentions demonstrated many of the characteristics Paul described in the verses above – verses 2 through 5.)  Paul compares these false teachers to men named Jannes and Jambres.  These men are not mentioned by name in the Bible, but they are mentioned in ancient Jewish, pagan, and Christian literature by men such as Pliny and Origen.  These works identify these two men as two of Pharoah’s magicians who attempted to demonstrate that they could work miracles just as effectively as Moses and Aaron.  These two magicians opposed Moses in a strong way.  And Paul says the false teachers who were presently stirring up trouble in Ephesus as well as the other false teachers who would come onto the scene in the last days would stand in strong opposition to the truth in the exact same way.  The false teachers Paul further described as men whose minds were corrupted and who were disqualified regarding the faith (i.e. unfit to be used by God for His kingdom purposes).  These are weighty accusations here in verse 8.  These false teachers weren’t men with good intentions who just needed to mature and grow a little.  They weren’t men who, with a little mentoring could get things back on track.  It wasn’t even that these were a 2^nd tier of gospel workers, with the apostles and other talented teachers making up the 1^st tier and some less talented but still workable men making up the 2^nd tier.  These were men whose minds were corrupt and who were unfit for the ministry of the gospel – and needed to be recognized as such by the believers. 

Having painted a picture of false teachers with bad characters (though often unperceived) who were deceitfully preying on and capturing individuals out of homes and churches, tearing apart some of the local bodies of Christ, Paul does offer up a bit of encouraging news.  He says in verse 9, “But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all . . .”  Though these men had intentions of building a name for themselves and making much of themselves, Paul says that their efforts won’t amount to much in the long run.  For in the long run their ‘folly’ would give them away.  Their ‘folly’ probably isn’t a reference to their doctrine as much as it is a reference to their conduct.  One can proclaim with their mouths a doctrine that is right and consistent with orthodox beliefs.  But as Vance Havner once said, “How you live is what you believe – the rest is just religious talk.”  We see the deeply held belief and doctrines of individuals in the way they live their lives.  The true doctrine of these false teachers would come to light as their actions were beheld and their characters revealed themselves through their interactions with others.

Now allow me to share with you some similarities I see within our country today and what these first century believers were experiencing.  After Jesus ascended into heaven and the apostles began to spread out we see for the first time in history a ‘church planting movement.’  Christianity was new, the message of the gospel had taken on new clarity with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and churches were being planted in homes and in towns all across the Roman Empire.  Certainly there was an excitement that accompanied this new movement as new believers in Jesus were doing their best to flesh out the commission of Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20).  But while there was an excitement that accompanied this new movement there was not a well defined Biblical cannon yet to serve as a standard for the gospel message and the means by which Christ followers were to live.  This atmosphere provided ripe soil for false teachers to come onto the scene, to present an exciting new thing to be a part of, and then to capture and lead away some of those who lacked the discernment to see through the exciting proposition to see the character flaws of the false teachers.  Today in America there is a new church planting movement that is gaining momentum like we haven’t seen in many generations.  Church plants are popping up all over the place.  And just like the church planting movement of the first century, the church planting movement we are seeing today is surrounded both by excitement and (unfortunately) a lot of spiritually immature believers.  One of the reasons I think we are seeing so many new churches popping up in our country is because so many of the existing churches have done a poor job of teaching the scriptures and building up believers in Christ.  This has left many believers and many church staff members looking for something new – something that will inspire their hearts and get them excited about their faith once again.  So they launch out on an endeavor to start a new church.  The fear I have though is that just like the excitement and spiritual immaturity that surrounded the church planting movement of the first century made for a ripe soil for false teachers, I fear that the excitement and spiritual immaturity surrounding the church planting movement that we are seeing in this generation has made for ripe soil for false teachers once again.  I’m afraid that in our time one of our greatest threats in the arena of false teaching and false teachers is the arena of church planting.  There are believers in our churches today who are trying to live out their faith as a follower of Christ and as a worker for the gospel and who are enduring sufferings, trials, and hardships for their faith.  But these trials and hardships have made some of them vulnerable to the lie that there is something better out there to be a part of.  Often times these believers (who don’t really understand what the source of life is) begin to look to something new as a possible solution to the refreshing and newness of life that they are looking for.  They haven’t been taught that our source of life isn’t a something – it’s a Someone.  Paul reminded Timothy in the opening line of his letter that the life we have is in Jesus.  Our soul’s satisfaction, our joy, and our fulfillment isn’t in any kind of activity – it’s in Jesus!  But having never been taught this these believers look to something else.   

Now let me be clear – our country needs new churches.  Too many churches in our country are teaching moralism, relativism, or some combination of both, while too few churches are teaching the good news of Jesus and the sound biblical doctrine that surrounds it. Too many churches act as if they are some elitist country club and too few churches are raising up true disciples of Christ who are taking their place in the Missio Dei (the mission of God).  So we need new churches who will break the status quo and who will dare to do these things.  But as believers in Christ, we need to be able to take the sales pitches of church planters which can often seem full of excitement and adventure, set those sales pitches aside, and then discerningly examine the character of the church planter.  The one planting the church is the one who will set the direction and course of the church – and rather than listening only to his words and stated doctrine, we need to thoroughly examine his character before locking arms with him and potentially putting ourselves in a position of spiritual compromise.  So with that being said, let me suggest some questions we ought to ask ourselves of church planters we encounter and who may be making a pitch for us to join them in their endeavor:

1. Is he a sincere and genuine lover of Christ or is he more of a lover of self who is looking for a platform to make a name for himself?

2. Does he have a humble charisma and a genuine sense of dependence upon God or is he proud and arrogant and over-confident in what he can do?

3. Is there tangible evidence of conceit (i.e. the belief that though he’s never planted or pastored before that he can do it differently and better than everyone else)?

4. What are his methods for growing the church?  Is he working hard to engage those who are truly lost and share with them the good news of Jesus, and working hard to protect the other brides of Christ (local churches) that are already in existence in the community?  Or is he heartless, not loving good, and reckless in his pursuit to grow the church?  In other words, does he have a genuine regard for the health of the bride of Christ that already exists in his community or is he creeping into some of the local churches to capture and steal individuals away from other churches, trying to take over areas of ministry where other churches are already laboring, and doing it with absolutely no regard or remorse?  A true man of God is going to be concerned about the bride of Christ as a whole and will do his best to protect her – not just the one he is trying to grow.

5. What’s his involvement with other churches?  When he’s interacting with other churches (either by visiting other churches or by talking with members of other churches) is he doing so to get a better feel for what the existing churches in the community are doing so that the new church can offer something different and reach into portions of the community that haven’t been reached?  Or is he cunningly coming in to prey on and capture those who may be burnt out or not as spiritually mature – those who aren’t as capable of discerning his errors?

 6. When he’s talking about the new church plant is he pitching the newness of the church, the differences of the new church, and the excitement of the new church in an attempt to get as many believers as possible to make an emotional response to leave the church they are at and to join the new church?  Or is he exemplifying a heart to partner with God in the great commission, being upfront about the challenges and difficulties that accompany the service of the gospel, and encouraging a small handful of people to partner with him in ministry?

7. Does his conduct and interaction with others adorn the gospel and exalt Christ, or are there parts of his conduct that don’t align themselves with how Christ would act or how a man of God should act?

Whenever someone feels the calling of God to plant a new church he will need other believers in Christ to help him and to partner with him.  But my firm belief is that this should only be a few particular individuals.  They should be individuals who have had ample time to pray and see if it is God’s leading for them to partner with the new church.  It should be people who are committed to seeking out those who are lost and de-churched – not attempting to persuade those who are already active in and committed to a local church to leave.  And when that initial group of partners is being sought out it should not be done in a cunning or deceitful way.  Along the way you may have other individuals who were engaged in a church decide to partner with the church plant, and that is not necessarily a bad thing if those individuals aren’t being spiritually fed at their existing church, if their existing church is not helping them to grow as disciples, or if their church is not striving to be on mission with God.  But those individuals who partner with you later should do so under the conviction of the Holy Spirit – not because they were recruited away from the church where they are currently involved.

Let me conclude with this last bit of application.  Chances are that in the next few months and years you will be approached by someone who says, “I’m starting a new church and I’d like for you to partner with me and help me in the endeavor.”  With the number of new churches popping up all around us the odds are pretty high.  And it may be that in fact God is calling you to partner with and help that church planter reach the community for Christ.  But as a believer in Christ you have to be aware of the fact that this church planting movement has provided a ripe soil for false teachers.  So you need to take your time to examine the character of the planter.  You need to take your time in making observations in how he is attempting to grow the church and what he’s really pursuing, making the name of Christ great or making his own name great.  This won’t always be evident in the words he speaks (we can hide bad doctrine by vocalizing right doctrine).  But it will be evident in the way he lives and conducts his ministry.  So be on guard.  And if you are experiencing burn out in your faith or in the place you are currently serving it’s good to look for refreshing and for newness of life.  But understand that refreshing and newness of life aren’t found in a new endeavor, a new project, or a new work.  Refreshing for your spirit and newness of life are only experienced in Christ.  If your current church isn’t helping you to grow in your love for Christ and grow in your relationship with Him, then you may need to move on.  But it may be that you’ve filled your life with so much other stuff that you haven’t left any room for building your relationship with your Savior.  If that’s the case don’t be fooled into thinking that being part of a new church will resolve your feelings of burnout.  More busyness and more distraction may only cause you to experience more burn out.  The real answer is in understanding that new life is in Christ – not something new!

Small Group Questions for Discussion

1. Have you ever sought excitement and refreshing in 'something' (i.e. something you purchased, a job change, etc.) only to find that the excitment and refreshing you were looking to experience was temporary and fleeting?  What was the 'something' and how did you feel after the excitment wore off?

2. Have you ever purchased a product based on a clever demonstration or sales pitch only to find that the product wasn't quite as spectacular as it was made out to be?  What was the product and how did you feel when it didn't work out to be as great as you first thought?

3. If we are willing to admit that we have been misled by our own desires and clever sales pitches in regards to secular things, is there a chance that we could be misled by false teachers in regards to spiritual matters and matters of the Bible too?  Do you think most believers take seriously the threat of false teachers around us today?  Why or why not?  What (if anything) do we need to remember from this passage to take the threat of false teachers more seriously?

4. How can developing, deepening, and strengthening our relationship with Jesus help protect us against false teachers?  How can we as a community encourage one another in Christ and help each other remain protected from the deceitfulness and craftiness of false teachers?  How  does our conversation with and conduct around non-believers need to be different to distinguish us from the false teachers who are out there?