2 Timothy 3:1–9

3:1 “But” indicates a contrast with the end of chapter 2. There Paul told Timothy to confront false teachers in the hopes that “God may perhaps grant them repentance.” There is a ray of hope that perhaps those in open conflict with the gospel might come around to the truth instead of opposing it openly.

Paul begins this section with “but” to indicate a contrast in expectations. Timothy will not always be able to win over his opponents. The world is filled with opponents of the gospel, who make things difficult for God’s people. Timothy must “understand” what the church is facing: “in the last days there will come times of difficulty.” When Paul refers to the “last days,” he refers not to some “yet-to-come period of days” but to what the NT always means by that phrase.¹ The “last days” is the time between Jesus’ resurrection and his second coming (Acts 2:17; Heb. 1:1–2). This final period of history includes every day from Pentecost until now and every day from now until Jesus returns. The NT church is and has always been in the “last days.” And Paul says here that this entire period will be characterized by difficulty.

The word translated as “difficulty” appears one other time in the NT, in Matthew 8:28, where it refers to the violence of two demon-possessed men. This Greek word is defined by one lexicon as “hard to bear, painful, sore, grievous” (LSJ, s.v. χαλεπός). This age—these last days—is marked by active opposition to Christ and his purposes in the world. Such opposition causes difficulty and pain for God’s people.

3:2–5 The text explains why difficult times are coming: “For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money,” etc. Difficult people cause difficult times. People who do not know Christ can be “hard to bear, painful, sore, grievous,” thus making the times likewise “hard to bear, painful, sore, grievous” (cf. previous comment). Paul lists nineteen characteristics of people in these last days. These nineteen characteristics are what people have always been like apart from grace:

(1) “Lovers of self.” Such people put their own needs and wants before everyone else’s. This trait is the opposite of the first fruit of the Spirit, which is love for others. Such self-regard is the fountainhead of every other evil—it is the ultimate idolatry.

(2) “Lovers of money.” Jesus made clear that people cannot serve both God and money (Matt. 6:24).

(3, 4) “Proud, arrogant.” The word translated “proud” refers to one who boasts and brags (BDAG, s.v. ἀλαζών). “Arrogant” indicates a heart that gives birth to such boasting and bragging. Both are condemned here. These are the kind of people God rejects: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).

(5) “Abusive” comes from the Greek word blasphēmoi, from which we derive the word “blasphemy.” The term refers not to speaking against God but to speaking abusively of others, using words to defame, denigrate, and demean (BDAG).

(6) “Disobedient to their parents.” The OT makes clear that disobedience to parents is a serious sin. Such disobedience reveals a heart unwilling to come under authority.

(7) “Ungrateful.” The inability to give thanks for blessings is a sign of godlessness. This particular manifestation of ingratitude may be with reference to parents.

(8) “Unholy” pertains to “opposition to God or what is sacred” (BDAG, s.v. ἀνόσιος).

(9) “Heartless” paints a picture of one who is “without natural affection” (LSJ, s.v. ἄστοργος). The term may be understood in connection with “disobedient to their parents”—love for parents is a natural affection, but this person is “without natural affection.” He does not even love his own parents.

(10) “Unappeasable” refers to one “unwilling to negotiate a solution to a problem involving a second party” (BDAG, s.v. ἄσπονδος). This person is unwilling to reconcile after a conflict; he just likes to win. Even when such a person is wrong, he or she is more interested in saving face than in saving the relationship.

(11) “Slanderous” is another way of referring to one who uses abusive speech against other people. It comes from the Greek term diabolos, the same word used of the Devil in 2:26. One who talks like this does the Devil’s work.

(12) “Without self-control.” One of the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5 is self-control. In contrast, these people are without the Spirit and so cannot control themselves. They are still enslaved to their own sinful desires and longings; they cannot and will not break free of them.

(13) “Brutal” likens those in question to brute, violent, unthinking beasts.

(14) “Not loving good” draws us back to the beginning of the list. Evildoers love themselves and their own interests but do not love the good. This is the sinner’s natural condition apart from grace.

(15) “Treacherous” describes someone who is a “traitor” or “betrayer” (BDAG, s.v. προδότης, italics original). This same Greek word is used of Judas Iscariot in Luke 6:16.

(16) “Reckless” translates a term pertaining to one who is “impetuous, rash, reckless, thoughtless” (BDAG, s.v. προπετής, italics original) and refers to “those who stop at nothing to gain their ends.”²

(17) “Swollen with conceit” describes one who is “puffed up,” whose self-estimation is much higher than God’s estimation of him. He lacks the humility of a sinner saved by grace, and so is arrogant (cf. 1 Tim. 3:6; 6:4).

(18) “Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” portrays those who are preoccupied with pleasing themselves rather than pleasing God.

(19) “Having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.” This describes those who externally have all of the accouterments of authentic religion and piety yet on the inside differ not at all from unbelievers. They are enslaved to their sin. They take the name of Christianity on their lips but they do not have the power of Christ in their hearts. Paul commands Timothy to “avoid such people” (cf. 1 Cor. 5:11).

Paul’s point is this: sometimes as the church confronts the world, the world creeps into the church. Timothy and the congregation must be vigilant to keep clear of this kind of compromise. Paul does not mean to say that every sinner manifests each and every one of these characteristics. He simply means that these are the kinds of things that will be normal among sinners apart from grace. The human condition apart from Christ is desperate.

“Times of difficulty” (2 Tim. 3:1) afflict the church because the church is surrounded by difficult people who are lovers of themselves and not lovers of God. The only way to transform “difficult times” into good times is to transform “difficult people” into saved people. The only one who can do this is Jesus.

3:6 This group of faux-Christians will produce some who become false teachers. They will “creep” into households and ensnare “weak women” to follow their error. Paul is not saying that all women are “weak” in this sense, only that some in Ephesus fit this description. They are overly influenced by their own sinful natures and desires, and these false teachers sense this weakness and exploit it for their own purposes. This is why many false teachers are known for immorality. They sniff out weakness and devour Christ’s sheep in order to seek their own pleasure and purpose. In every generation, these kinds of spiritual predators threaten the church. On the outside they look harmless but on the inside they are ravenous wolves. Churches must recognize them and oppose their error.

3:7 The vulnerable women of verse 6 are “always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.” They like to keep an open mind to whatever someone might suggest, but their minds are so open that they are never able to reach a settled conviction about the truth. In the end they are taken in by every intellectual fad that comes their way and thus never plant their feet firmly in what God has said in his Word.

3:8 Extrabiblical Jewish tradition (which may or may not be correct) names Jannes and Jambres as magicians who served Pharaoh and imitated Moses’ miracles. They were able to distract from the true God by imitating the miracles. In that sense, they opposed the truth, and the false teachers in Ephesus do the same.

3:9 Such false teachers “will not get very far.” The error of false teachers has a limited appeal because they cannot keep up their ruse indefinitely. Just as Jannes and Jambres were eventually exposed by the true revelation of God in Moses, so false teachers will eventually be exposed by the apostolic word proclaimed in the churches. The folly of the false teachers will be plain to all because Christ’s sheep will hear his voice and follow him (John 10:27).