Timothy and Titus Training 101

There are so many of us who sit in the seats every Sunday (or Saturday nights) and listen to whatever the preacher or worship leader has to say. There many of us who will listen to Christian talk shows on the radio in our cars or on TV and mindlessly believe every thing they are saying. And why not, it’s a Christian station. If a politician says he/she is a Christian, we believe what they say without checking the facts out in God’s Word. If a good person, well respected in the community, leads people to do a good thing, we believe that they are Christian and must want to do things for our good. Because we are taught to look for the good in people, we are sometimes easily deceived. Satan knows that about us, and uses this trick often to make evil appear good.
We are a naive people.

Paul tells Timothy to watch out! To look thoroughly at people and do not be deceived by them. This takes prayer for discernment that we talked about earlier, along with the wisdom to check the facts in the Word consistently. Do not take anything at face value. Check it out for yourself. Question. Good questions help all of us learn.

Paul tells Timothy there are difficult times ahead…he was right! Difficult times are here NOW and always will be until Jesus comes back again. And He will. So, buckle up and stay close to the Truth (Jesus), and check out all that is said to us or done for us.

2 Timothy 3, The Message
1-5 Don’t be naive. There are difficult times ahead. As the end approaches, people are going to be self-absorbed, money-hungry, self-promoting, stuck-up, profane, contemptuous of parents, crude, coarse, dog-eat-dog, unbending, slanderers, impulsively wild, savage, cynical, treacherous, ruthless, bloated windbags, addicted to lust, and allergic to God. They’ll make a show of religion, but behind the scenes they’re animals. Stay clear of these people.

6-9 These are the kind of people who smooth-talk themselves into the homes of unstable and needy women and take advantage of them; women who, depressed by their sinfulness, take up with every new religious fad that calls itself “truth.” They get exploited every time and never really learn. These men are like those old Egyptian frauds Jannes and Jambres, who challenged Moses. They were rejects from the faith, twisted in their thinking, defying truth itself. But nothing will come of these latest impostors. Everyone will see through them, just as people saw through that Egyptian hoax.

INSTEAD…Keep the Message pure and alive!
10-13 You’ve been a good apprentice to me, a part of my teaching, my manner of life, direction, faith, steadiness, love, patience, troubles, sufferings—suffering along with me in all the grief I had to put up with in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. And you also well know that God rescued me! Anyone who wants to live all out for Christ is in for a lot of trouble; there’s no getting around it. Unscrupulous con men will continue to exploit the faith. They’re as deceived as the people they lead astray. As long as they are out there, things can only get worse.

14-17 But don’t let it faze you. Stick with what you learned and believed, sure of the integrity of your teachers—why, you took in the sacred Scriptures with your mother’s milk! There’s nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.

What do we learn?
–Don’t be naive.
–Return to the bottom line. Jesus is the Truth, the Way and the Life. Period.
–Stick with what you learned and believed.
–Be sure of the integrity of your teachers.
–The written word of God will show us the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus….our Lord as well as our Savior.
–God’s Word exposes our rebellion and the rebellion of others and shows us the Truth. Every. Time.
–God’s Word molds and shapes us to be and do all that God created us to be and do.

Dear Heavenly Father, We thank you for this guidance and reminder to check out all the facts in Your Word before preceding forward. Thank you for Your Presence in our lives always.
In Jesus Name, Amen