INTRO.- ILL.- A little girl came very early one morning to her mother, saying, “Which is worse, Mama, to tell a lie or to steal?”
The Mother replied that both were so sinful she could not tell which was worse.
“Well, Mama,” replied the little one, “I’ve been thinking a good deal about it, and I think it’s ever so much worse to lie than to steal.” “Why, my child?” asked the mother.
“Well, you see Mama, it’s like this,” said the girl. “If you steal a thing, you can take it back, unless you’ve eaten it, and if you’ve eaten it, you can pay for it; but a lie is forever.”
A lie is forever. Smart girl. And many people in our world both tell lies and live lies.
Famous American Fibs
- The check is in the mail.
- I’ll start my diet tomorrow.
- We service what we sell.
- Give me your number and the doctor will call you right back.
- Money cheerfully refunded.
- One size fits all.
- This offer limited to the first 100 people who call in.
- Your luggage isn’t lost, it’s only misplaced.
- Leave your resume and we’ll keep it on file.
- This hurts me more than it hurts you.
- I just need five minutes of your time.
- Your table will be ready in a few minutes.
- Open wide, it won’t hurt a bit.
- It’s not the money, it’s the principle.
And here’s one that could well the biggest of all: You only go around once in life, so eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die and there is nothing after death!
There are many smart people in our world but they oppose the truth of God with their lies, even though they think they aren’t lying.
ILL.- For example, it is said that the smartest person in the world today is 68 year old Stephen Hawking from Oxford, England, who has Lou Gehrig’s disease and was supposed to die in his 20’s.
Hawking takes an agnostic position on matters of religion. He has repeatedly used the word "God" to illustrate points made in his books and public speeches. His ex-wife, Jane, however, said during their divorce proceedings that he was an atheist.
He said, “There is a fundamental difference between religion, which is based on authority, [and] science, which is based on observation and reason. Science will win because it works.”
Hawkings doesn’t realize it, but if and when science does work it’s because God says so!
There are many supposedly well-educated people in our world today who not only don’t acknowledge God and Christ, but also oppose the truth of God with their lies. In our text, Paul speaks of some people like that.
II Timothy 3:4-5 “Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.”
Paul is saying that some who have only a form of godliness but deny God’s power in life are some who oppose God’s truth. It makes sense that if a person is living a lie, i.e. claiming to believe but not really believing then they would oppose God’s truth. If nothing else, they oppose the truth by living a lie.
PROP.- Paul describes some specific people who opposed the truth of God.
1- They are home invaders
2- They are ignorant of the truth
3- They are depraved of mind
I. THEY ARE HOME INVADERS
6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires.
Wow! What kind of deal is this? Apparently, there are some false teachers/preachers who would not hesitate to, as Paul says, “worm their way into homes” and deceive people, the women who are at home.
ILL.- When I was a student at Ozark Bible College back in the 1960‘s I worked part-time for the Fuller Brush company. Did you ever buy anything from the Fuller Brush man?
My boss for Fuller Brush products was a guy named “Lefty.” Does this sound somewhat suspicious? His name did to me.
Normally, you would think if a guy was named “Lefty” then he probably a “lefty.” However, in this man’s case I don’t it was true, but what I think he should have been named was “Shady.” Because he dealt with people in a shady way as in a “shady deal.”
Fuller Brush products were good products, but the way “Lefty” tried to sell them to people was kind of shady or indecent. Why? Because he got very pushy with people and I actually witnessed him put his foot in the door one time when a lady tried to shut it in order to get rid of him.
I didn’t like that at all and I never tried to do anything like that. He was something of a high pressure salesman and I was just the opposite. If they wanted the product, fine, if not then fine.
Likewise, in Paul’s time there were “lefty” type false teachers who dealt in a shady manner with people. Maybe they went door-to-door trying to sell their goods, their no-good goods.
In years past, many people from different religions (shall we call them) would go door-to-door trying to get converts by teaching and/or handing out their written material. And some people or perhaps some naive people would respond to them.
Nowadays, door-to-door evangelism doesn’t work so well and this may be reason. It’s because people don’t trust people who knock on their door trying to sell them something!
In Paul’s time these false teachers wormed their way into homes and not just to teach their doctrines. We get the idea that they wanted to gain control over weak-willed woman who had little or no faith at all. In other words, they weren’t there to teach anything but rather to get something!
What’s the warning for us today? Be careful about buying anything from anyone who knocks on your door. Be extra careful about letting them in your door!
II John 9-11 “Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him. Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work.”
II. THEY ARE IGNORANT OF THE TRUTH
7 Always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. Paul is actually saying that these women were always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. However, it is also true that false teachers are often always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth of God.
This thought is true for both the false teacher and the listener. People are always learning but so what?
ILL.- A long time ago, a student died in New York City at age 63. He had been a student all his life and the degrees after his name looked like the alphabet. He never had a job and never taught anyone else from his store of knowledge.
When he was a young man, a rich relative had bequeathed him thousands of dollars a year as long as he remained in school, but his income was to cease as soon as he left school. The relative merely wanted him to get a good education. But the youth took advantage of the technicality and kept going to school.
Perhaps he was always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth of needing to go to work!
Eccl. 12:12 “Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.”
Learning isn’t bad depending on what you are learning in life or at school and if you are able to put it into practice in life. Education alone means little unless it leads to good action.
ILL.- A well-known professor of economics at Harvard tells this one on himself. A student who enrolled for one of his courses disappeared after the first lecture. At least he did not show up again until the final examination. The professor thought he was pretty brazen to think he could pass the course after attending only one lecture, but he said nothing and allowed him to take the examination.
On examining the paper he was amazed to discover how well the student had done. The paper was practically perfect but the professor, still galled at the boy’s failure to attend his classes, gave him only 98%. He was curious about the whole thing, however, and summoned the boy for an interview.
After praising him and telling him what a high grade he got in the examination, the professor said, “Now, I’ve never seen a student cut classes like that and pass the course. How did you do it?”
“Well,” said the student apologetically, “I should have done better. I should have got 100%, but the first lecture of yours got me a bit confused.”
There is much that is being taught today in our schools and colleges and it leaves me a bit confused. I think many teachers make things awfully complex or hard to understand. So with some preacher’s sermons.
One thing I strive for is clarity. If I don’t make clear what I’m preaching then I can’t do anybody any good.
Some people are always learning but never able to come to the truth of God. This leaves them wide open to false teachers who think they know something but in reality, they know nothing because they don’t know Him who is the way, the truth and the life!
The lesson for us? Beware of too much learning that leads you away from Christ and not toward Him!
III. THEY ARE DEPRAVED OF MIND
8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth—men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.
ILL. - Dear Abby: I am 44 and would like to meet a man my age with no bad habits. Dear Rose: So would I.
It’s probably true that most people have some bad habits, even if it’s a matter of throwing your dirty clothes on the floor. That’s probably minimal when it comes to bad habits. There are far worse habits that people have. However, as bad as we are at times, hopefully, we are not depraved of the mind.
When we think of depravity we often think of killers like Wayne Williams (The Atlanta Monster The Atlanta Child Killer) convicted of two murders; police claim his arrest solved 23 others in a string of 29 (1979-81).
Or maybe someone like Jeffrey Dahmer who killed between 1978 and 1991. He was responsible for 15 murders and sentenced to 15 life terms. He was beaten to death by a fellow inmate and died of severe head trauma.
Our text, however, reads: these men oppose the truth—men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. Sounds very bad to me.
Apparently, if a person opposes the truth (meaning the truth of God in scripture) they are classified as men of depraved minds and will be rejected by God.
This would cover a lot of people. Here’s a list of famous people who are considered to be atheists, which would also classify them as opposing the truth of God: Woody Allen, Jodie Foster, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, singer Billy Joel, Angelina Jolie, Bill Maher, Barry Manilow, Jack Nicholson, Ron Reagan Jr., actor Keanu Reeves, Andy Rooney, and a host of others.
Of course, those who actively oppose God, Christ and Christianity may not be many, but nevertheless, when people don’t stand for Christ they will stand against him.
ILL.- Comedian Bill Maher is active opponent of all things sacred. Maher said, "I’m not an atheist. There’s a really big difference between an atheist and someone who just doesn’t believe in religion. Religion to me is a bureaucracy between man and God that I don’t need. But I’m not an atheist, no. I believe there’s some force. If you want to call it God... I don’t believe God is a single parent who writes books."
He can call it whatever he wants but he still opposes the truth of God because apparently he doesn’t believe in the God of creation or the God of the Bible.
In two separate appearances on Real Time, comedian George Carlin and Maher argued that religion is a cause of many of society’s problems and that the practices of religion are mired in hypocrisy. Maher credited Carlin’s views as inspiration for him to speak out against religion.
Well, George Carlin has met his maker and if Bill Maher keeps up with his opposition to the truth he may meet God sooner rather than later! Then what will he say?
CONCLUSION---------------
Is there any hope for someone who opposes the truth? Yes, but only in Jesus.
ILL.- A tribal chief once came to David Livingstone with this request. He said: “Please give me some medicine to change my heart; it’s so proud, uneasy, and oftentimes angry.” He had seen what the missionary had done for those who were sick in body and had mistakenly concluded that medication would do the same thing for his soul. Livingstone then tried to explain that the Lord Jesus alone could bring about the needed transformation in his life. But the man refused to listen, saying, “No, no, I want medicine!”
Jesus alone is the great physician and the only one who can change our sinful condition, forgive us our sins and give us a better life. The people of our world would like an easy cure as in “give me some medicine” but they don’t want to surrender to the will and Lordship of Jesus. Jesus is the only hope for us and for anyone who opposes the truth of God.
Steve Shepherd, Jonesboro Christian Church, AR
jonesborochristianchurch@suddenlink.net
