Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20000910.htm

STAYING SPIRITUALLY VIBRANT IN THE CHURCH'S LAST DAYS
Part II: Discerning And Responding In Depth To The Arrival Of "Grievous Wolves"
  1. Introduction
    1. Since troublesome times will come in churches in the last days because of Acts 20:29 "grievous wolves" who will afflict God's flock, we should be aware of how to respond in depth to the coming of such parties.
    2. Paul provides such insight for us in 2 Timothy 3:1-17 as follows:
  2. Discerning And Responding In Depth ToThe Arrival Of "Grievous Wolves", 2 Timothy 2:23-3:17.
    1. Paul describes "grievous wolves" in depth in 2 Timothy 3:1-5a, 6-8:
      1. This section describes difficult people who will enter the Church in its latter days on earth, 2 Tim. 3:1.
      2. The parties described are those who are errant ringleaders, "wolves" mentioned in Acts 20:29-30.
        1. Paul had briefly discussed two men who had misled others doctrinally in 2 Timothy 2:17-18.
        2. Consequently, he instructed Timothy to avoid such "unclean vessels" so as to be useful to God in his own pastoral ministry, 2 Timothy 2:19, 20-21 (Hendriksen, I-II Timothy-Titus, p. 270-271).
        3. Then Paul gave a brief treatise about conflicts Timothy would face with such men in 2 Tim. 2:23-26 before discussing such "wolves" in depth in 2 Timothy 3:1-17.
    2. That description in 2 Timothy 3 dwells first on the characteristics and then on the actions of such people:
      1. The characteristics typical of "grievous wolves" described in the Greek N. T. text are as follows: they would love themselves, 2 Tim. 3:2a; love money, 3:2b; be arrogant, 3:2c; proud, 3:2d; slanderous (false allegations), 3:2e; disobedient to parents, 3:2f; unthankful, 3:2g; profane (worldly), 3:2h; without love for kindred, 3:3a; irreconcilable, 3:3b; false accusers, 3:3c; lacking self-control, 3:3d; untamed, 3:3e; despisers of those who are wholesome, 3:3f; traitors, 3:4a; reckless, 3:4b; conceited, 3:4c; lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, 3:4d and have an external, artificial form of godliness, 3:5a.
      2. The actions typical of "grievous wolves" are described by Paul as follows:
        1. They would craftily work their way into churches (house churches here) and captivate weak, carnal people who constantly crave "more" teaching but never acknowledge God's truths, 2 Tim. 3:6-7.
        2. They would seek to discredit duly-appointed church leaders so as to compete against them for the flock's following, 2 Tim. 3:8 with Ex. 7:11, 22 and Ryrie Study Bible: KJV ftn. to 2 Tim. 3:8. (Jannes and Jambres, names given to Egyptian magicians by various religious writers of antiquity, belonged to the magicians who sought to discredit Moses before Pharaoh in Exodus 7.)
    3. Though their opposition to the upright would seem humanly great, such "wolves" were not to be feared, for their own works eventually would discredit themselves before others, 2 Tim. 3:9 (Ex. 7:18-19). This is because sin is inefficient, entangling its practioners in their own web! (Numbers 32:23)
    4. Accordingly, God wants the believer's response to "grievous wolves" to be an insightful one as follows:
      1. We must accept the fact that such "wolves" will afflict the church; it was prophecied! (Acts 20:29-30)
      2. God has a plan here: (a) God uses grievous factions created by "wolves" to expose to weak believers who God approves so they will stop following errant men and heed the truth, 1 Cor. 11:19 NIV. Yet, (b) the ideal is for the flock to heed the truth to mature, becoming immune to wolves, Eph. 4:11-14. (c) Hence, if we must stand against "wolves" to hold to the truth, whether in the pew or in the pulpit, we must lovingly accept conflict with such "wolves" (2 Tim. 3:10-13) as a blessed calling (Mtt. 5:11-12) for the welfare of the weak so that they may more readily mature in the truth!
      3. We must keep our own thinking right by immersing our minds in Scripture and in holding firmly to what God allowed us to be convinced was true before the deceiving "wolves" came, 2 Tim. 3:14-17.
      4. When discipling in such situations as sheep among wolves, Jesus taught we must be as "harmless as doves but as wise as serpents," Matthew 10:16. Thus, once we discern the presence of a "wolf", we effectively disciple the weak by presenting as humanly an unchallenging profile before the wolf as is possible to minimize undue, flock-upsetting conflict with him (harmless) while also staying upright (wise) for God's enabling us to be used by the Holy Spirit to neutralize his efforts. (2 Tim. 2:23-26)
Lesson: Grievous wolves are PREDICTED -- we cannot insure the Church against their arrival. Hence, we must view life in the church of the latter days NOT as a life of ease, but as a spiritual WAR, and take SERIOUSLY our need to KEEP GROWING and STANDING for the truth in our lives!