The Man of God

2 Timothy 3:10–17

Introduction: Last week we discussed perilous times will come in the THE LAST DAYS

a) The sign of the times is people become lovers of themselves rather than lovers of God

b) (V8) Some resist the truth, men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith

c) (V9) They will progress no further and their folly will be manifest to all (Their sin will be exposed for all to see)

1. (V10) But you have carefully followed

Paul is praising Timothy for his faithfulness

Timothy witnessed not only the things Paul taught, but also how he lived

a) Timothy carefully followed

The word translated “doctrine” means “instruction, especially as it applies to lifestyle application.” In other words, doctrine is teaching imparted by an authoritative source. In the Bible, the word always refers to spiritually related fields of study.

Biblical doctrine helps us understand the will of God for our lives.

Biblical doctrine teaches us the nature and the character of God

b) What about purpose?

Solomon says that life is all about honoring God with our thoughts and lives and thus keeping His commandments, for one day we will stand before Him in judgment. Part of our purpose in life is to fear God and obey Him.

APPLICATION: What is your Purpose?

Do you live for a biblical purpose or do you live for yourself

What is the sign of the end times? (People are lovers of themselves instead of lovers of God)

2. (V11) Which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra

Paul reminded Timothy of the specific occasions of persecution which he endured.

 At Antioch, where Paul was kicked out of the city for preaching the gospel (Acts 13:50).

 At Iconium, where Paul was almost executed by stoning (Acts 14:5).

 At Lystra, where they actually did stone Paul and leave him for dead (Acts 14:19).

And out of them all the Lord delivered me: Paul remembered this as he sat in prison and waited for execution

He knew that God was completely able to deliver him again, or that He might not. Paul seemed at complete peace, leaving it in the Lord’s hands. Persecution was not going to stop Paul from following hard after Jesus Christ.

Psalm 34:19 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.”

APPLICATION: God was and is faithful to deliver us through the hour of trial

3. (V12) All who live godly lives will suffer persecution

Paul is encouraging Timothy as well as us not to be afraid of the things you will suffer

4. (V14) Continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of

Application: Are you assured of this faith? (Meaning without doubt?)

As we seek to know God, He promises to reveal himself to us

Jeremiah 29:12–13 “Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”

5. (V16) All scripture is given by the inspiration of God

All scripture (All of it is inspired, which means we can’t decide which we believe or not believe)

What is the reliability of the scriptures?

The Dead Sea Scrolls are as old as 300 BC to AD 70 with the bulk of the documents dating to 100 BC (Vermes, Geza. The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English. The Penguin Press. 1997, p. 15). This means our oldest copy of the Old Testament existed before Jesus came. Gleason Archer comments that the two copies of Isaiah found at Qumran,