Sun. Aug. 30, 2009 (Wes Smith)

On August 30th, Wes Smith spoke on 2 Timothy 3.1-4.5. In these passages, the writer develops the theme of endurance by building on the brief list of virtues presented as the conclusion of chapter 2. By contrast, chapter 3 opens with a lengthy list of vices, some of which spring from misdirected love (love of self, of money, etc.) The writer seems to have some specific thorny problems and people in mind, but we are not really told anything specific about the false teachings. The writer (3.8) refers to Jannes and Jambres, possibly magicians mentioned in Exodus, who opposed God but were finally revealed as frauds. The writer then assures Christians that they will eventually be revealed as being of God, whereas the teachings and lifestyles of Timothy's opponents will be shown to be false. The sufferings of the writer are mentioned, not so much to gain status within the community of believers, but to illustrate that the God who helped one specific person through severe difficulties can be trusted to assist you as well. Finally, the collection of ideas in 2 Timothy illustrates the usefulness of cross-generational mentoring at its best. [JEK] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, August 30th, 2009 using your browser's preferred media player.