FAITH OVERTHROWN?

2 Timothy 2:17-21 (KJV)

And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;

Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.

Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.

If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.

There is a phrase in verse 18 that, if we think about it, could be shocking.

The false and erring claims of Hymenaeus and Philetus, the Bible says, seems to have overthrown the faith of some.

Whose faith can be overthrown?

I suggest that there are two types:

·   The simple who have not thought through what they believe

·   The false professing, who don’t actually have saving faith

We know that no true believer can ever lose their salvation so one way to see this passage is as I just viewed it, as speaking to unbelievers,

One other the possibility is to focus on the word faith.

·   Faith can speak of that which saves us or

·   Faith can speak of that which the saved believe

We could say that it had overthrown for some the doctrine of a future resurrection, and not their saving faith.

Here is what happens:

·   A false teacher asserts some doctrine that brings questions to the mind of a weak Christian

·   That weak Christian, having doubts, allows false doctrines to persist

·   A new generation grows up hearing the false doctrines and never the truth and

·   An entire church system is established among people who have never believed.

So – if you overthrow the doctrinal convictions of some, you will likely overthrow the preaching of saving faith for many more.

In light of this, Paul assures Timothy that, though these two had overthrown the faith of some, the faith had not been overthrown.

Notice in verse 19 the word, “Nevertheless.”

The faith of some seems to be overthrown, nevertheless,

I. THE FOUNDATION OF GOD IS SURE

·   The truthfulness of God’s Word

·   The perfection of the Gospel

·   The forgiveness of sins for the believer and

·   The hope of eternal life in heaven

Are in no way effected by those who preach falsehood, or those who are influenced by that falsehood.

Romans 3:4a (KJV)

… yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; …

Further,

II. THE LORD KNOWS THEM THAT ARE HIS

John 10:27-28 (KJV)

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Those who are saved stay saved.

Though any one of us may be shaken with by a false teaching that sounds true and, sort of, takes us by surprise, those who are saved are drawn toward the Lord Jesus Christ and His truth.

Sooner or later they will be restored.

Therefore

III. EVERY TRUE BELIEVER SHOULD DEPART FROM INIQUITY

2 Timothy 2:19 (KJV)

 …  And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

I call this the “no duh!” clause.

It ought to stand to reason that the Christian turns from iniquity, that he or she separates their life from sin.

In fact, this has been a matter of contention almost from the beginning of the faith:

·   First Corinthians is a first century book arguing for Christians to be separate from the world

·   One group of Anabaptists were known by their detractors as the Cathari (Pure ones) because they preached that Christians should live separated from sin

·   Martin Luther was originally helped by the German Anabaptists and had a respect for them except for two things, he could not see how church could survive without government enforcement and he did not agree with their standards of separation from sin

Should we be surprised then, that there are huge numbers of modern day believers who criticize anyone who preaches that we should “depart from iniquity” as legalists?

Paul goes on to explain departing from evil more precisely in 2 Timothy 2:20-21 (KJV)

But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.

If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.

There are at least two ways to apply this:

A. Hymanaeus and Philetus are those “vessels of dishonor.”

You purge yourself from them.

You recognize their error and their danger and you separate from them.

Notice that the man is supposed to do this himself.

It isn’t a government inquisition; it is something that every single Christian does for himself. Knowing how easily we can be led astray, we keep ourselves away from those who could lead us astray.

Our pastor helps us separate from these. It is part of his duty of keeping away the wolves. But it only works if his sheep are content to stay in the pasture he places them.

B. The “deeds of the flesh” vs the “fruit of the Spirit” is in reference.

In this case a man would purge himself by putting off the old man and his deeds and putting on the new man, which is after Christ.

Conclusion

A Christian cannot lose his salvation. There is no one out there who can deceive you and cause you to turn away from the Lord so fully that you would lose your saving faith.

But that doesn’t mean that we can’t be deceived by false doctrine.

It becomes us then:

·   To purge ourselves from those who try to turn us from what we have been taught in the Bible and

·   To cleanse ourselves from those sins that could draw us away from a faithful walk with the Lord.