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Men's Leadership Support Group Meeting notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/mensupport/20060317.m.htm

MEN'S LEADERSHIP SUPPORT GROUP
Part XI: Functioning Effectively As A Leader Under Pressure - 2 Timothy
D. Staying Holy As A Leader Under Fire
2. Staying Untainted From Dangerously Evil People
(2 Timothy 3:1-5)
  1. Introduction
    1. In the latter days of the Church era, ungodly people will become so dangerously evil that the godly will find it hard to know how to relate to them and protect themselves from needless trouble; for this reason, Paul warned Timothy: "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days," 2 Tim. 3:1 NIV.
    2. Godly leaders must discern who such people are and how to relate effectively with them so they can watch their own lives and thus the influence they leave on subordinates. We view 2 Timothy 3:1-5 to that end:
  2. Staying Untainted From Dangerously Evil People, 2 Timothy 3:1-5.
    1. When Paul wrote about the terrible times of the last days of the Church era in 2 Timothy 3:1 NIV, he sandwiched this remark between (1) words about the foes Timothy faced who were enslaved to Satan (2 Timothy 2:24-26) and (2) a description of people who would be notoriously evil (2 Timothy 3:2-5a).
    2. Accordingly, Paul conveyed this thought: "Timothy, this is how you are to relate to people you now face who are enslaved by Satan to do his will; however, mark this: evil men will only get much worse, so let me tell you how to prepare for that (as follows):"
    3. Hence, Paul delivered a candid directive to Timothy, one any godly leader does well to apply as follows:
      1. First, Timothy was to discern the following characteristics of people who would be dangerously evil: they would be (a) self-centered, 2 Tim. 3:2a; (b) lovers of money ( philarguroi, cf. R. C. Trench, Synonyms of the N. T., p. 83), 2 Tim. 3:2b; (c) outwardly boastful (aladzones, Ibid., p. 98-99), 2 Tim. 3:2c; inwardly proud (huperayphanoi, Ibid., p. 98-101), 2 Tim. 3:2d; (d) verbally abusive (blasphaymoi, Moulton & Milligan, The Vocabulary of the Greek N. T., p. 112), 2 Tim. 3:2e; (e) disobedient to their parents, which also implies insubordinate to authority in general, 2 Tim. 3:2f; (f) ungrateful (acharistoi, Arndt & Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the N. T., p. 127), 2 Tim. 3:2g; (g) wickedly unseparated from sin (anosioi, Ibid., p. 71-72), 3:2h; (h) loveless (astorgoi , Ibid., p. 117), 2 Tim. 3:3a; (i) irreconcilable (aspondoi, Ibid., Trench, p. 193), 2 Tim. 3:3b; (j) slanderous (diaboloi, Ibid., Arndt & Gingrich, p. 181), 3:3c; (k) without self-control (akrateis, Ibid., p. 32), 2 Tim. 3:3d; (l) untamed (anymore, Ibid., p. 65), 2 Tim. 3:3e; (m) unloving of what is good (aphilagathoi, Ibid., p. 126), 3:3f; (n) traitors (prodotai, Ibid., Moult. & Milligan, p. 539), 3:4a; (o) rash (propeteis, Ibid., p. 544), 2 Timothy 3:4b; (p) foolish and/or reckless (tetuphomenoi, Ibid., Arndt & Ging., p. 838; Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978 ed., ftn. to 2 Tim. 3:4), 2 Tim. 3:4c; (q) given to pleasure (philaydonoi, Ibid., Arndt & Ging., p. 867) rather than loving God (philotheioi , Ibid., p. 868), 2 Tim. 3:4d and (r) having an external appearance (morphosin, Ibid., Trench, p. 261) of godliness while denying its spiritual power, 2 Tim. 3:5a.
      2. Having thus discerned such dangerously evil people, Timothy was to avoid them, 2 Timothy 3:5b:
        1. The verb, apotrepou that is translated "Have nothing to do with" (NIV) or "from such turn away" (KJV) means, "turn away from, avoid," Ibid., Arndt & Gingrich, p. 101 and "turn a deaf ear; shrink away from," Liddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon, (1968), p. 224.
        2. The verb is written in the middle voice, meaning Timothy was to heed this verb's directive for his own personal benefit and welfare, Analytical Grk. Lex. (Zondervan), p. 48.
        3. Thus, upon identifying dangerously evil people from the list given above, Timothy was to turn a deaf ear to, shrink away from, turn away from and have nothing to do with such folk!
      3. In thus avoiding such folk, Timothy would deliver himself and his subordinates from evil influence.
Lesson Application: (1) Leaders are to DISCERN dangerously evil people as being self-centered, lovers of money, boastful, proud, verbally abusive, disobedient to authority, ungrateful, unseparated from evil, loveless, irreconcilable, slanderous, without self-control, untamed, not loving what is good, traitorous, rash, foolish, reckless, given to pleasure over loving God and having an artificial form of godliness. (2) As such, leaders must AVOID these folk, keeping themselves untainted for the good of subordinates.