Paul to Timothy: BE AWARE
There are people who walk around looking like they're half-expecting to be attacked at any moment. You've seen them: they're hunched over a little, looking fearfully at everyone nearby, seeming to hope that no one touches them or talks to them.
Then there's the completely opposite type: confident. Making eye contact with every passer-by, just daring them to look back. Back straight, head held high, assured in where she's going, what she's doing, and in her preparation. Hand tight on that strap because, buddy, you ARE NOT taking this purse.
(Yes, I've been to New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, London, Paris, and Amsterdam. I know how to walk like I will beat up any mugger.)
It's one thing to walk alone down the streets of a big city exuding confidence. It's another to walk through life with spiritual confidence.
Are you spiritually aware? Can you walk into a worship service or a Bible study with your head held high, knowing you are grounded in your faith? Can you walk into your family's Thanksgiving Dinner knowing there will be anger and strife but believing you have a mission to love and to forgive? Can you hang out with people who do not love or know or care about God, certain that your faith will not waiver in the face of their doubts and criticisms?
You can. You should. God, through His Word (next post!) and the Holy Spirit enable you to face any situation.
But there's one more I've never addressed: Fake Christians.
Paul said it to Timothy like this about the last days: "people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the form of godliness but denying its power" (2 Tim. 3:2-5, HCSB, italics mine).
That's a mouthful. And you probably had a dozen people pop into your head as you read the list. Maybe it was the girl who always hated you, and you returned the favor. Maybe it's your roommate. Maybe it's a member of your immediate family.
Paul warned Timothy those people would be everywhere. So what was his advice? Watch out? Keep your distance? Nope: "Avoid these people!" (2 Tim. 3:5, HCSB).
Avoid them. How? I mean, they're everywhere. You can't find five friends who love God and live it; how in the world are you supposed to actually do it?
I looked up every translation of this verse and most of them instruct us to "avoid them" or "turn away from them" or "reject them." But it's not talking about avoiding every single person who doesn't follow God. If we back up to the beginning of that phrase, here's what it is really saying:
"They will do things to make it look as if they are Christians. But they will not receive the power that is for a Christian. Keep away from such people" (NLV).
"They will act religious, but they will reject the power that will make them godly. Stay away from people like that!" (NLT).
"They act as if they worshipped God, yet they do not let God's power work in their lives. Keep away from people like that" (WE).
Paul is warning Timothy to stay away from "church people" who have no proof of God in their lives. Oh, come on. You know them. They do not love, forgive, or edify. They sin without remorse. They seek to look good but do not tap into the power of God--which comes ONLY through living according to the will of the Holy Spirit--and therefore are defeated.
DANGER. GET AWAY.
Here's where you need your confidence. Here's where you need that head high and back straight. Here's where you look him or her right in the eye and say, "I'm sorry. But our friendship/dating relationship/partnership is just not something I can pursue any more."
Why?
"For among them are those who worm their way into households and capture idle women burdened down with sins, led along by a variety of passions, always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth" (2 Tim. 3:6-7, HCSB).
That phrase "idle women" doesn't just mean they have nothing to do. It's also translated "silly women," "morally weak and spiritually-dwarfed women," "immature women," "weak-willed women," "unstable and needy women," and "gullible women." That's you. And me. Sometimes. Don't be insulted. We've all been one of these women at one time or another, depending on our stress level, hormone level, emotional level, or relationship level. You might be a mighty woman right now but tonight you'll be just like the 2 Timothy 3:6 woman.
And if those pseudo-Christians hold any authority in your life, they will worm their way in. They'll get you to believe what they believe about God, which is not the gospel. Christian actors are dangerous, invasive, and hard to dump.
Think of everyone you know in three categories:
Unbelievers: they are your mission field, your passion, your goal, and people you love in Jesus' name.
Followers of Christ: they live their faith, strengthen and encourage and challenge and love you as Christ does.
Fake Christians: they do not have a prominent place in your life.
And right now you're thinking: "Oh no. That's my best friend. That's my boyfriend. I can't walk away from him/her." Wrong. You can. YOU MUST. The fact that you are even considering choosing that person over Jesus right now proves you are already captured.
Every story is different and every relationship is unique, but you are not exempt from this instruction. You don't stay with your boyfriend who is a fake Christian just because, "If we break up He won't have anyone in his life who knows Jesus." You don't stay best friends with a fake Christian because "We've always been best friends." Your relationship with them must change. I'm not saying you boot them out of your life; but you must approach every encounter, every conversation, and every message with caution, knowing that you may be sacrificing your relationship with Jesus and your testimony and your calling.
So you keep them at arm's length. You are kind and loving and you pray for them, but they are no longer that primary friendship/confidant/love that they once were. Not because you don't love them, but because you love Jesus more.
This is a tough word. Please let me know if I can help.
myleslienotebook@gmail.com
@leslienotebook
And if you subscribe (above right!) you'll get an email whenever I post.
Please share, like, forward, favorite, or whatever else you social media-ers do. I love it. This blog is spreading, and it's because you read it and encourage others to read it, too.
Then there's the completely opposite type: confident. Making eye contact with every passer-by, just daring them to look back. Back straight, head held high, assured in where she's going, what she's doing, and in her preparation. Hand tight on that strap because, buddy, you ARE NOT taking this purse.
(Yes, I've been to New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, London, Paris, and Amsterdam. I know how to walk like I will beat up any mugger.)
It's one thing to walk alone down the streets of a big city exuding confidence. It's another to walk through life with spiritual confidence.
Are you spiritually aware? Can you walk into a worship service or a Bible study with your head held high, knowing you are grounded in your faith? Can you walk into your family's Thanksgiving Dinner knowing there will be anger and strife but believing you have a mission to love and to forgive? Can you hang out with people who do not love or know or care about God, certain that your faith will not waiver in the face of their doubts and criticisms?
You can. You should. God, through His Word (next post!) and the Holy Spirit enable you to face any situation.
But there's one more I've never addressed: Fake Christians.
Paul said it to Timothy like this about the last days: "people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the form of godliness but denying its power" (2 Tim. 3:2-5, HCSB, italics mine).
That's a mouthful. And you probably had a dozen people pop into your head as you read the list. Maybe it was the girl who always hated you, and you returned the favor. Maybe it's your roommate. Maybe it's a member of your immediate family.
Paul warned Timothy those people would be everywhere. So what was his advice? Watch out? Keep your distance? Nope: "Avoid these people!" (2 Tim. 3:5, HCSB).
Avoid them. How? I mean, they're everywhere. You can't find five friends who love God and live it; how in the world are you supposed to actually do it?
I looked up every translation of this verse and most of them instruct us to "avoid them" or "turn away from them" or "reject them." But it's not talking about avoiding every single person who doesn't follow God. If we back up to the beginning of that phrase, here's what it is really saying:
"They will do things to make it look as if they are Christians. But they will not receive the power that is for a Christian. Keep away from such people" (NLV).
"They will act religious, but they will reject the power that will make them godly. Stay away from people like that!" (NLT).
"They act as if they worshipped God, yet they do not let God's power work in their lives. Keep away from people like that" (WE).
Paul is warning Timothy to stay away from "church people" who have no proof of God in their lives. Oh, come on. You know them. They do not love, forgive, or edify. They sin without remorse. They seek to look good but do not tap into the power of God--which comes ONLY through living according to the will of the Holy Spirit--and therefore are defeated.
DANGER. GET AWAY.
Here's where you need your confidence. Here's where you need that head high and back straight. Here's where you look him or her right in the eye and say, "I'm sorry. But our friendship/dating relationship/partnership is just not something I can pursue any more."
Why?
"For among them are those who worm their way into households and capture idle women burdened down with sins, led along by a variety of passions, always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth" (2 Tim. 3:6-7, HCSB).
That phrase "idle women" doesn't just mean they have nothing to do. It's also translated "silly women," "morally weak and spiritually-dwarfed women," "immature women," "weak-willed women," "unstable and needy women," and "gullible women." That's you. And me. Sometimes. Don't be insulted. We've all been one of these women at one time or another, depending on our stress level, hormone level, emotional level, or relationship level. You might be a mighty woman right now but tonight you'll be just like the 2 Timothy 3:6 woman.
And if those pseudo-Christians hold any authority in your life, they will worm their way in. They'll get you to believe what they believe about God, which is not the gospel. Christian actors are dangerous, invasive, and hard to dump.
Think of everyone you know in three categories:
Unbelievers: they are your mission field, your passion, your goal, and people you love in Jesus' name.
Followers of Christ: they live their faith, strengthen and encourage and challenge and love you as Christ does.
Fake Christians: they do not have a prominent place in your life.
And right now you're thinking: "Oh no. That's my best friend. That's my boyfriend. I can't walk away from him/her." Wrong. You can. YOU MUST. The fact that you are even considering choosing that person over Jesus right now proves you are already captured.
Every story is different and every relationship is unique, but you are not exempt from this instruction. You don't stay with your boyfriend who is a fake Christian just because, "If we break up He won't have anyone in his life who knows Jesus." You don't stay best friends with a fake Christian because "We've always been best friends." Your relationship with them must change. I'm not saying you boot them out of your life; but you must approach every encounter, every conversation, and every message with caution, knowing that you may be sacrificing your relationship with Jesus and your testimony and your calling.
So you keep them at arm's length. You are kind and loving and you pray for them, but they are no longer that primary friendship/confidant/love that they once were. Not because you don't love them, but because you love Jesus more.
This is a tough word. Please let me know if I can help.
myleslienotebook@gmail.com
@leslienotebook
And if you subscribe (above right!) you'll get an email whenever I post.
Please share, like, forward, favorite, or whatever else you social media-ers do. I love it. This blog is spreading, and it's because you read it and encourage others to read it, too.
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