PT-2 "False Teaching Upsets The Faith of Some" (2 Timothy 2:17b-18)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/22/2025 7:43 AM

 

My Worship Time                                  Focus: PT-2 “False Teaching Upsets The Faith of Some”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                             Reference: 2 Timothy 2:17b-18

 

            Message of the verses: “Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and thus they upset the faith of some.”

 

            I begin by saying that the particular heresy of Hymenaeus and Philetus was their claiming the resurrection has already taken place.  “12 Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?” (1 Cor. 15:12).   Now Paul does not explain what resurrection they had in mind.  Neither Jesus’ resurrection, the one that has taken place, nor the physical resurrection of believers, which had not take place yet, makes sense in this context.  It would seem provable, therefore, that they men propounded some form of spiritual resurrection as the only resurrection.  It is possible that they were teaching that the only resurrection was the spiritual union with Christ in His death and resurrection (cf. Rom. 6:1-11).  Such a view would have been based on pagan Greek philosophy, perhaps incipient Gnosticism, whose adherents believed that the body and all other material things are intrinsically evil.  It is possible that they got this false idea from the fact that once a person is born-again that the old nature has died, but believers still have the flesh which certainly can cause a believer to sin.  In Acts 17:32 we read “Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, "We shall hear you again concerning this."  This happened at the time when Paul was along in Athens and had a chance to witness to some Greeks there.  The ones that he was talking to, MacArthur reports “were doubtless into such philosophical dualism and were horrified at the idea of the body’s being restored in the afterlife.  Hymenaeus and Philetus possibly held the belief of many pagans that the only immortality is in life carried   on through progeny.  By denying the bodily resurrection, they were destroying the very foundation of the Christian faith—denying both the reality and the implications of Christ’s resurrection.”

 

            Now in the first letter to the church at Corinth, Paul makes clear the monumental importance of both Christ’s and also the believer’s resurrection and of a right understanding of those truths.  “12 Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. 15 Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; 17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:12-17).

 

            “To deny or distort the truth about the resurrection is to deny and distort the heart of the gospel.  It is therefore a tragic and damnable thing to teach falsehood about that doctrine.  Not only does it blaspheme God and denigrate His Word but inevitably it will upset the faith of some.

 

                        “Anatrepo (to upset) carries the idea of overturning or overthrowing, indicating that the faith held by some of those who listened to false teachers was not saving faith, which cannot be overthrown or destroyed.  Those hearers apparently had heard the gospel and been attracted to Christianity as a possible answer to their religious quest.  But because they had not placed their faith in Christ as Savior and Lord and were exposed to deception, they fell prey to corrupt teaching and remained lost.

 

            “Again, that sad truth reveals one of the greatest perils of a false gospel: It keeps some souls—over the centuries, countless millions of them—out of the kingdom.”

 

            I have to say in conclusion that that is a very sad, sad situation to be in, to believe a lie that will keep you out of the kingdom of God.

 

2/22/2025 8:12 AM