2 Timothy 3.6a-Unrepentant Apostate Pastors Insinuated Themselves into Christian Homes
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday July 8, 2015
Second Timothy: Second Timothy 3:6a-Unrepentant Apostate Pastors Insinuated Themselves into Christian Homes
Lesson # 68
2 Timothy 3:1 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. 6 For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses. (NASB95)
“For among them are those who enter into households” presents the reason for the previous command Paul issues Timothy which required that the latter continue making it his habit of disassociating himself from unrepentant apostate Christians living in the last days during the church age.
“Among them” is composed of the following: (1) preposition ek (ἐκ), “among” (2) genitive masculine plural form of the demonstrative pronoun houtos (οὗτος), “them.”
The demonstrative pronoun houtos is the object of the preposition ek which means “from” since it is functioning as a marker of source.
This would indicate that these individuals who enter into Christian homes and captivate foolish Christian women “originate from” these apostate Christians living in the last days during the church age who are described in verses 2-5.
“Are” is the third person plural present active indicative form of the verb eimi (εἰμί), which means, “to belong to a particular class of individuals.”
This indicates that these individuals who insinuate themselves into Christian homes “belong to a particular group of individuals” who are unrepentant apostate Christians living in the last days during the church age.
“Those who enter” is the articular nominative masculine plural present active participle form of the verb endunō (ἐνδύνω), which means “to insinuate oneself” since it pertains to introducing oneself gradually or in a subtle, smooth, stealthy, indirect or covert way and with ulterior motives.
Here it refers to some of these unrepentant, apostate Christians described in verses 2-5 “insinuating themselves” into Christian homes in the sense that they worm their way into these homes by subtle, smooth, stealthy, indirect and in a covert manner with ulterior motives.
The present tense of the verb endunō is a customary present used to signal a regularly occurring action which would indicate that some of these unrepentant apostate Christians described in verses 2-5 “made it their habit of” or “habitually” insinuated themselves into Christian homes.
“Into households” is composed of the following: (1) preposition eis (εἰς), “into” (2) articular accusative feminine plural form of the noun oikia (οἰκία), “households.”
The noun oikia is in the plural and means “homes, households” since it pertains to a social unit living together usually consisting of family, servants, and some extended family.
It is usually understood by the physical building in which a family resides.
The word is the object of the preposition eis, which means “into” since it is a marker of an entrance into a particular location and is referring to these unrepentant apostate Christian pastors entering the various house churches in the Christian community.
The articular construction of the noun oikia indicates that these households in which some of these unrepentant apostate Christians were making it their habit of insinuating themselves into were well-known to Timothy because they were Christian homes.
Second Timothy 3:1 Indeed continue making it your habit of taking note of this, namely that dangerous circumstances interacting will exist during the last days. 2 For out of selfishness, people will be characterized as self-centered, lovers of money, braggarts, arrogant, slanderous, disobedient to the detriment of their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 devoid of natural affection, implacable, malicious gossips, self-indulgent, brutal, opposed to what is good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, hedonists rather than lovers of God. 5 They exhibit that which resembles godliness. However, they reject for themselves its power. Consequently, for your own benefit, continue making it your habit of disassociating yourself from these types of people 6 because out from these individuals are those who make it their habit of insinuating themselves into households. In fact, they make it their habit of captivating foolish women because these are overwhelmed with guilt because of sins because they are driven by means of various kinds of lusts. (My translation)
In Second Timothy 3:6, the apostle Paul presents the reason for the previous command he issued Timothy which required that the latter continue making it his habit of disassociating himself from unrepentant apostate Christians living in the last days during the church age.
In Second Timothy 3:2-5, he describes these individuals character.
Verse 6 begins with Paul telling Timothy that out from these unrepentant apostate Christians are those who insinuate themselves into Christian households.
He then advances upon this by stating that these individuals captivate foolish Christian women.
Therefore, Timothy was to continue to disassociating himself from these apostate Christians because they insinuate themselves into Christian households and captivate foolish Christian women.
When Paul says that these unrepentant apostate Christians insinuate themselves into Christian homes, he means that these individuals introduced themselves gradually in these homes in a subtle, smooth, stealthy, indirect or covert way and with ulterior motives.
They wormed their way into these homes by subtle, smooth, stealthy, indirect and in a covert manner with ulterior motives.
Paul says that this was a habitual activity performed by these individuals in the Christian community.
That these were Christian homes is indicated by a couple of factors.
First of all, in verse 5 Paul ordered Timothy to continue to avoid these unrepentant apostate Christians he describes in verses 2-5.
This is a reference to Timothy administering church discipline since he would never order Timothy to avoid the non-Christian but only to discipline unrepentant apostate Christians.
Then, here in verse 6 he reminds Timothy that out from these unrepentant apostate Christians, some were making it their habit of insinuating themselves into households.
These individuals also captivate the women in these homes and they are described as weak who are weighed down with sins, and led on by various sinful impulses.
Then, in verse 7, the apostle describes these women as always learning and never able to come to an experiential knowledge of the truth.
Therefore the households in question must be Christian because these unrepentant apostate Christians described in verses 2-5 who Timothy was to continue to disassociate himself from are teaching these women in these households.
Also only a Christian can come to an experiential knowledge of the truth and never a non-Christian.
The mention of these unrepentant apostate pastors insinuating themselves into Christian homes is another piece of evidence that the early first century apostolic church met in homes.