Endure Last-Day Godlessness
The Godlessness Timothy Must Endure (1-13)
In this section, Paul listed 20 characteristics of the godlessness that would grow and prevail in the last day they and we are living in (1-4). Timothy was to withdraw completely from such people (5) because they were perverse in behavior, preying on women already lust-driven due to the guilt of their choices (6-7).
Paul then gave a couple of well-known Jewish examples of people who were completely disqualified from faith: Jannes and Jambres were sorcerers who resisted Moses’ and God's authority in Egypt while the Lord was seeking to rescue the Israelites (8). Their folly was certain to be revealed (9). Paul then reminded Timothy of his example of life and how the Lord rescued him in trouble (10-11) and then that those who followed Jesus and imitated His life would be persecuted (12-13).
The Word Timothy Must Faithfully Preach (14-17)
Timothy was not to preach just any word but the one he had learned and believed (14), the word rooted in Old Testament Scriptures, the word he had been devoted to from his childhood. This word birthed from Old Testament Scriptures possessed three significant properties:
The word made one wise for salvation (15).
The word was breathed by God (16).
The word was profitable for instructing a person to be fully trained and equipped for good works (17).
Prejudicial Proverbs (16:1-22:16)
Solomon opens this chapter by revealing how God interacts with His leaders and how He directs and examines their hearts, directs their actions, and warns the king of pride.
A) The Lord directs the king’s heart (1)
B) The Lord examines the heart (2)
A) The Lord directs the king’s actions (3)
B) The Lord warns the king of pride (4)
Solomon now lists out nine vices that the providence of God is continually working against.
A) Covetousness (5)
B) Dishonesty (6)
C) Insensitivity (7)
D) Deceitfulness (8)
E) Contentious (9)
F) Merciless (10)
G) Mocking (11)
H) Corruption (12)
I) Heartlessness (13)
Next, Solomon contrasts seven different kinds of lifestyles.
A) A gift contrasted with a bribe (14)
B) Justice contrasted with favoritism (15)
C) Wandering contrasted with death (16)
D) Love of pleasure contrasted with love of luxury (17)
E) Unfair treatment of the godly contrasted with unfair treatment of the honest (18)
F) The solitude of the desert contrasted with a complaining wife (19)
G) The wealth of the wise contrasted with the debt of fools (20)
Solomon now defines the outcome of right pursuits.
A) The righteous and their comfort (21)
B) The wise and their leveling of strongholds (22)
C) The wise and their closed mouths (23)
Solomon next looks at the outcome of unwise pursuits and attitudes.
A) The arrogance of the mocker (24)
B) The ruin of the lazy (25)
C) The ambition of the greedy (26)
D) The wrong motive in sacrifice (27)
E) The future of a false witness (28)
F) The bluff of the wicked (29)
Finally, Solomon mentions the futility of planning and preparing without God.
A) The futility of human planning (30)
B) The futility of human preparation (31)