In his second letter to Timothy, the apostle Paul gives a long and scathing description of a group of people. Among other things, he calls them heartless, abusive, brutal, and treacherous (2 Timothy 3:2-4), and he tells Timothy to “avoid such people” (2 Timothy 3:5).
But hold on, didn’t Jesus spend time with sinners and invite them to follow him? Aren’t we called to do the same? Yes and no.
Avoid Such People
Paul isn’t talking about skeptics or people exploring Christianity. For those who don’t confess to be Christians, we should not avoid them. We should welcome them into our homes and invite them to know Jesus. And he isn’t talking about people who are struggling with sin, like we all are. He’s talking about people who instead of struggling with sin, have accepted and embraced it. They have the appearance of godliness but have denied its power (2 Timothy 3:5). That is, they have denied the power of God to change their hearts and actions.
These people appear to be godly. They go to church and maybe even consider themselves to be more spiritual than others because they’re especially nonjudgmental and open-minded. Unlike other Christians, they’re free from rules. In their minds, they live a more enlightened, a more “grace-filled” life, they may think. They have the appearance of godliness, but by their lifestyle they deny its power. They consider themselves Christians, but in reality, they’re not. They’re like a bad knockoff. At first glance, it may appear like the real thing, but when you look closer, you can tell it’s not.
This is not a judgment that we should make of anyone quickly. The apostle Paul instructs Timothy and us to first be patient and gentle, praying that God might lead them to repentance in the same way that he led our hard hearts to repent and trust in him (2 Timothy 2:24–26). But for those whom Timothy has gently rebuked and called to repent time and time again but who still deny God, there comes a day when he should “avoid such people.” Likely this refers to excommunication, when the church formally declares that a person is not a Christian.[1]
This is a serious command. And that tells us that this is a serious problem. Those who claim to be Christians but by their actions deny God is not a matter we should take lightly. We must avoid such people. And 2 Timothy 3 gives us two reasons why.
Reason #1: They Can Lead You Astray
The first reason we should avoid such people is that some of these people are false teachers, and it’s as if they’re sneaking into homes and capturing those inside to lead them astray from God (2 Timothy 3:6).
We need to be discerning with those whose teaching we listen to and read. These aren’t hypothetical people. They exist today, and they’re dangerous to your spiritual life. Under the guise of spirituality, they condone and encourage all kinds of ungodly living. Just because someone calls themselves a pastor doesn’t mean they’re teaching the truth. You need to compare their teaching and their lifestyle to what you see in the Bible.
And these false teachers are deceptive. They’re not going to tell you that what they’re saying goes against God’s word. They’re going to try to convince you that it is God’s word. They have “an appearance of godliness” (2 Timothy 3:5). If you don’t know the Word of God and if you don’t avoid these people, you’re in danger of being led astray, of always learning but never arriving at a knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 3:7).
What you need are pastors who call out your sin and encourage you toward godly living, not pastors who are perfect—you won’t find those—but pastors who strive to live according to God’s word and urge you to do the same. Be wary of pastors who just give you a pat on the back and tell you everything is fine. Everything is not fine. We’re filled with sin and need the power of God to change our hearts. Look for pastors and friends who are willing to gently and humbly but firmly tell you that.
If they don’t do that, if instead they encourage you in your sin, then “avoid such people”. They’re dangerous. They can lead you and others astray.
Reason #2: They Oppose the Truth
The second reason we are to avoid such people is that “just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith” (2 Timothy 3:8).
According to Jewish tradition, Jannes and Jambres were the names of the Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses by trying to imitate his signs before Pharoah.[2] So when Moses told Aaron to put his staff into the Nile River to turn it into blood, Jannes and Jambres did the same thing, to try to disprove the power of Moses’ God (Exodus 7:22; cf. 7:11).
Just as Jannes and Jambres tried to disprove God’s power and keep his people enslaved in Egypt rather than them being freed to worship God, so too do these false teachers. They claim to lead people to freedom, but in reality, they keep them enslaved to sin. They don’t lead people to a knowledge of the truth because they themselves oppose the truth.
When people and especially teachers claim to be Christians but rather than striving to live a godly life instead embrace their sin and encourage others to do the same, that’s not something to take lightly. That’s a dangerous thing! Whether they know it or not, they have denied the faith, are leading others astray, and actively oppose God and his people. We must avoid such people.
They Won’t Get Far
The good news is that these false teachers won’t get far (2 Timothy 3:9). Just like Jannes and Jambres eventually failed to replicate Moses’ miracles (Exodus 7:12; 8:18) and were overcome by the plague of boils (Exodus 9:11), so too the folly of false teachers will eventually come to light. Like a bad knockoff quickly becomes obvious it’s not the real thing, so too with these people.
If not in this life, then on the last day, when Christ returns to judge the world, all will be brought to light. Those who have only an appearance of godliness will be exposed, and those who trust in God will be openly acquitted, not because of our own righteousness, but because of the righteousness of Christ given to us by faith.
On our own, we all stand guilty before God and deserve his judgment. But the good news is that Jesus Christ lived a life of perfect godliness so that he might die for our sin a give us his perfect righteousness. If you cling to him, he will keep you from being led astray. Just as God was faithful to lead his people out of Egypt, so he will bring you into his Kingdom. And when we arrive, he will take away all our sin, and we will have not just an appearance of godliness but true and complete godliness.
[1] Cf. Philip H. Towner, The Letters to Timothy and Titus (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006), 561; ESV Study Bible [2]