It Starts Small

God’s Word provides detailed explanation of Heavenly wisdom, which leads to godliness, or earthy demonic wisdom which leads to corruption.

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Yesterday, Paul gave us 19 attributes to wicked evil people. Today we look at additional evil acts these type of people do.

⁶ For among them are those who worm their way into households and deceive gullible women overwhelmed by sins and led astray by a variety of passions, 

2 Timothy 3:6

Paul told Timothy to avoid people who claim to know God yet live in sinful ways (2 Timothy 3:5). Then Paul goes into describing a smaller group within that category of wicked people. Paul’s description suggests a con-man or a swindler. The Greek word he uses is  aichmalōtizontes, which implies a “leading away,” or a “taking captive.” This implies one who turns a certain way of thinking into something else.

This probably involved scam artists and other thieves. It may have also meant those who physically seduced women. The idea of a false teacher taking advantage of women in their own homes would have been repulsive to Timothy and other believers. It should be repulsive to us, today. These men were targeting those who were vulnerable.

Paul uses the phrase “weak women.” These woman were noted as having three concerns. They were “burdened to sins.” They had other sinful actions in their lives on top of what the false people brought up to them. These women were led astray by various passions and in other areas they had weaknesses. These false teachers preyed off the weaknesses of the women. Notice it says in their own home, and not in the church setting. They did their wickedness out of the view of others.

In addition to the concerns of weak women who were being taken advantage of were the people that were always learning but never able to arrive at a knowledge of truth. This is referring the people who are always seeking the latest, greatest spiritual teaching. In modern terms, it is people who are so open-minded that their brains have fallen out. At some point, a person needs to recognize truth and accept it, rather than constantly bouncing from one fad to the next.

¹⁰ If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your home, and do not greet him; ¹¹ for the one who greets him shares in his evil works.

2 John 1:10-11

John even warns us to be careful who we let into our homes!

Paul then gives an example of these type of people. Jannes and Jambres are understood as the characters in Exodus who fought against Moses in Egypt. They are not mentioned in Exodus by name, but other Jewish manuscripts do. They were the two magicians of Pharoah (Exodus 7:11-12, 22, 8:7, 18).

There are three things Paul wants us to know about false wicked people:

They oppose the truth! They stood against the command God had given them through Moses to let His people go.

Second, they were spiritually and intellectually depraved. They did not know God. They did not believe the Word of God.

Third, they were rejected by God. Paul’s words here resemble what he told the Colossians:

Let no one condemn you by delighting in ascetic practices and the worship of angels, claiming access to a visionary realm. Such people are inflated by empty notions of their unspiritual mind. ¹⁹ They don’t hold on to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and tendons, grows with growth from God.

Colossians 2:18-19

Such people, in Ephesus and Colossae, did not truly know God despite their claims to be spiritual leaders. What does Paul have to say about these type of people:

 ⁹ But they will not make further progress, for their foolishness will be clear to all, as was the foolishness of Jannes and Jambres.

2 Timothy 3:9

Can you hear Paul’s words: AVOID these type of people….and DO NOT BECOME these type of people!

We really need a complete surrender to the Holy Spirit for discernment and we need to grow in our relationship with Christ and God to mature our faith. To trust in the Holy Spirit’s discernment. These people prey on God’s people.

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If you are following along in the Journal, the back pages have a table of Heavenly Wisdom vs. Corrupted Wisdom. Today’s scripture is in the blocks under the column Corrupted Wisdom. If you get stuck, you can visit this page and see my example.