‘Now Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth:
men of corrupt minds…but they will progress no further,
for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.’
II Timothy 3:8,9
When you read that verse, it’s easy to overlook who Jannes and Jambres were. Without going into details, Jannes and Jambres were people who resisted Moses which means these were brethren; Christians is what we’d call them nowadays. So lets re-read that verse keeping this in mind,
‘Now Jannes and Jambres (who were Christians) resisted Moses,
so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds...’
II Timothy 3:8,9
Now let’s examine this verse further in order to get a clearer understanding of who Paul is directing this scripture towards because he’s using Jannes and Jambres as an example of what’s going on today. Notice in verse 8 he says, ‘so do these also resist the truth.’ Who are the ‘these’s’ (excuse my English) in which Paul is referring? Go to II Timothy 3:2-5,
‘…men…lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power…’
Paul is referring to the aforementioned but here’s the thing. Ordinarily, when you read that list, you think of atheists, agnostics, secular humanists, devil-worshippers, people who aren’t saved and those that don’t know Jesus, right? Wrong. Remember when Paul refers to Jannes and Jambres he was talking about Christians? Well, guess what? Those ‘lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God’ were Christians too! I mean what devil worshipper has a form of godliness? They worship Satan. And don’t atheists reject the notion of God? So they’re definitely denying His power.
So how could Bible-toting, scripture quoting, note-taking, CD playing, DVD watching, conference attending, church going Christians be considered amongst the likes of II Timothy 3:2-5? We’ll learn more about it in our upcoming issues, but until then….
Pray this with me:
Heavenly Father, please give me eyes that see and perceive, ears that hear, and give my heart godly understanding of this issue. Lord, help me to recognize and see if any of II Timothy 3:2-5 is in me and if there is Lord, I ask You ahead of time to forgive me. In Jesus’ name. So be it. Copyright © 2013 Real Issues Ministries®. All rights reserved.
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