Paul told Timothy in his second letter to the young servant of God the following beginning in verse 12, of II Timothy, Chapter 3: Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15  And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. 4:1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 2  Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.   

The lesson you are about to read and the ones that follow will be an exposition of the eleven verses above with application of their truths and principles as they apply to our daily living. As has been pointed out in previous Bible lessons, if the scriptures are to be our guide for daily living in conformance with our most Holy God, then the behavior of real people and the things they do and say must be weighed against the Bible. If and when their words are contrary to sound scripture, they must be regarded as Agents of Evil. Thus, the title of the series articles you will be reading and the use of names of real people whose words are contrary to the sound doctrine of Christ. 

The ungodly and unbelievers of all stripes complain that those who follow God and preach his word are violating the separation of church and state when they insist on the government and its agents follow the moral principles and ethics of God. That is nothing more than the agents of evil making an attempt to silence those who will not bow to the ungodly pleasure of life. Verse 12, (Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution) applies to all who feel the sting of venomous words, which are a form of persecution. That is happening in the year 2008 when those who pray for the lost everywhere and those who are engaged in despicable behavior are subjected to vile words and are arrested because they are disturbing the ungodly (depraved) with the Word of Truth.

That the godly are hounded by the ungodly, should be proof positive to anyone that the writer of Hebrews wrote the truth in Hebrews Chapter 4:12-13: For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. If God is a myth and Jesus is a charlatan as the ungodly claim, then they need to explain why they are so bothered when they hear the word of God. The truth is that God sees their heart and so do they and they don’t like what they see. But rather than change, they want to destroy the messenger just as they did Jesus over 2000 years ago. 

As we know, the grave couldn’t hold him and his message lives on as he lives on, seated at the right hand of God, But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; 13  From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. (Hebrews 10:12-13)  Four words stand out in the verse that irritates the ungodly to the maximum degree. First is the word sin. The ungodly don’t want to hear that word because they know that their behavior is wrong. Not wanting to hear the truth, they claim that sin is just an arbitrary definition and has no meaning in this enlightened age.  Two, since they believe that sin doesn’t exist, the idea that Jesus in sacrifice died for them on the cross is most ludicrous. Three, those who proclaim the ways of the world are enemies of the cross. (See Romans 11:28)  In Paul’s letter to Philippians, Chapter 3, he told the brethren to mark those who walk contrary to good behavior. In verses 18-19 he wrote: 18  (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19  Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.) (Remember, these verses since they will be applied in on of the following lessons.) The last word is footstool. It is that which the feet are rested. The use of it in this verse means [the] total and absolute conquest at His coming is symbolized. (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown’s Bible Commentary) It is a symbolic comparison of Christ treading on the enemies of the truth to Joshua’s treading on the necks of the five kings. (Joshua 10:24-25)

© 03-08-2008 DEC

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